The Avilla Family's own....
Adoption Adventure
Monday,
The Big Reunion - A Kodak Moment?
Breakfast is great
this morning, one of the treats Kerry had been looking forward to on our
trip. We sit at a little table in the kitchen and enjoy a few minutes
together over tea before the busy-ness of the day starts. At ten o'clock
the car arrives with our agency coordinator, Tatiana, and our young translator
and friend, Irina. Slava is our driver this round - the trips are long
and he has a more comfortable car that Tatiana likes better. The ninety-minute
drive is filled with chatter and catching up on cute things Vanya and
Lise have done. When we pull up at the girls' orphanage, I grab the photo
equipment and declare aloud "This is it! This is what we've been
waiting for!" as we hustle inside. Two years of waiting to openly
show our affection, two years of waiting to call the girls "daughter".
I've thought a few times about the first reunion, wondering if it would
be one of those Kodak moments. Slava gets conscripted into video cameraman
duty. Instead of a Kodak moment, it turns out to be more of a mob scene.
School-aged kids are milling around us and then 11 year-old Elena emerges
from the pack and is hugging Kerry. I drop my bags and join in the embrace
with the two of them. Big smiles. The group gets swept enmasse down the
hall into the Big Room, and in the split second that I'm wondering "What
now?" Kerry and I get positioned by the children on the couch on
either side of Elena, still beaming. Okay, so-o-o-o, this is going to
be a group affair! Whip out the photo album, "Anybody here know Vanya?
Let's look at some pictures together." Peering
heads are
everywhere. About halfway through the album, Svetlana and Tamara appear
and each take a seat on our laps - not much fanfare, but with smiles and
hugs. We finish the album and hug on the girls for a minute while several
hands roll up the carpet so Elena and her friends can show us their dance
routines. I had already heard this was standard procedure for visitors
from a family that had recently adopted a girl from this orphanage. The
four girls did a couple dances to pulsating Russian tunes. Then more kids
joined in dancing - the air was beginning to remind me of a junior-high
school gym. But this is where I proved what a confident heterosexual I
am - I jumped up and started dancing in the formation, copying their hand
and body motions. This is one of the couple times today I did something
spontaneous that turned out good - everyone laughed and we were off to
a wonderful beginning.
Kerry
was sitting on the couch talking to Vera, the orphanage director, with
the little girls beside her, and I grabbed my latest gadget, borrowed
from a friend at work - a digital camera. I began taking pictures of the
kids and created a lot of excitement when they realized the picture could
be viewed immediately. I snapped away until the kids were called to lunch.
About
2:45 we headed for the local village center to attend the National Women's
Day presentation. This experience was one of the unexpected delights of
our trip. One of the kids was beckoning us up the steps and opened the
door to raucous, booming Russian pop music. We were escorted through another
set of doors by our young hosts, then enthusiastically dragged to the
front-row seats. Women in hats and fur coats sat behind us - I never did
get a good look at the back of the small auditorium. A tall stack of old
speakers stood on both sides of the raised stage. Well-worn floor planks
creaked as I walked across them, the bench we sat on had pieces of veneer
and the arm missing, and the stage drapes looked like the originals -
this place had been around for a while! The presentations were a collection
of dances, songs, and skits by the local youth and a group of women singers.
An accordion player accompanied the women from offstage while they sang
several folksongs, dressed in red and white traditional costumes. Elena
and her friends danced a couple numbers, and the older teenagers performed
a handful of lip-sync song/skits. I was entertained
by the energy and excitement on stage without understanding
a word! When the gathering began to disperse after the finale, I went
into the foyer and found Elena with her friends, bundling into their long,
dark coats and black hats. Hey, let's take some more pictures! I couldn't
tell much about what Elena was thinking, but she was smiling and seemed
to enjoy my attention. So when we emerged from the building, I handed
off my camera to Kerry and said I would walk back with Elena and her friends
instead of riding in the car. I'm glad I acted on that idea - we had a
wonderful time crunching through the snow together. I put my arm around
her and we trudged along the trail, exchanging Russian and English phrases
the girls had learned in school. "What is your name? My name is ___.
Hello, Goodbye". This walk in the dusk of the afternoon was a wonderful
hint to me of what our future might hold. I etched that scene into my
memory bank for future enjoyment.
After a friendly snack and tea in Vera's office, we applied liberal hugs
and kissed (yep, the little girls were already kissing us and calling
us Mama and Papa!), then loaded into the car for the ride home.
A couple things happened to me today. I saw what strong friendships Elena
had with her group. I saw how loved all the kids were by their caregivers.
And I found myself concerned about the boys and girls that would remain
behind after we left with our three new daughters. I had liberally put
my arm around other kids today, acknowledged them repeatedly with smiles
and winks, massaged their shoulders, and even had one of the school-aged
boys sit on my lap during the village presentation. All of the kids seem
to be sweet, normal children. The little world within this orphanage is
a family of warm, caring people and some children that need their love.
God, please continue to bless this work!
Click
here for the next episode: Another Visit and Concern About What Elena
Will Say in Court…
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