We heard the exciting news that our scheduled date to meet with the SDA (State Department of Adoption) in Kiev Ukraine is September 11th. We're set to leave SLC on Monday, September 8th and travel through the night to arrive Tuesday morning the 9th in Kiev. Based on what we've heard from previous families, we are planning to be in Ukraine for 3-4 weeks to complete the adoption process.
We originally had intentions to adopt the 13 year old girl who stayed with us last year named Sveta Byk. We have recently learned that Sveta is not interested in being adopted by any family and moving to the United States. We love Sveta and hope she is able to connect with her extended family in Ukraine who will be able to help take care of her once she turns 16 and leaves the Sumy orphanage.
After some careful and prayerful consideration we have decided to keep our appointment date with the Ukraine government and find a new child that has desires to be adopted and join our family. We're unsure exactly how the actual process will work but believe we still have the ability and interest in saving a child without much of a future today. This means we also don't know what cities and orphanages in Ukraine that we will be visiting as part of this process. We really appreciate the support and encouragement of our family and friends. We're looking forward to the experience!
