VISA is in our hands!

Had a good night. It took Maia a little longer to fall asleep. We think she is starting to realize that she is not going back to the orphanage and grieving a bit. A few minutes after lying down, Maia began to rock herself. At first, I thought that maybe she was having a seizure because of the motions (she is on medication for seizures) but we determined that it was more of a self-soothing type of behavior. This breaks my heart. Every child should know the reassurance, security, and safety of parents who love them. Maia is not keen on being held or rocked so I just sat next to her bed and rubbed her back. She calmed down and eventually fell asleep.
Woke up on her own this morning (a first), had breakfast, and we got ready to head for the Embassy. Presented our copy of her medical examination and passport. We were asked if we had been informed of her medical needs and if the information that we submitted on our documents was correct (which of course it is). Waited about 45 minutes during which time we saw April and Alyona (such a beautiful girl!) again and also Jill, Debbie, and Elijah. There were 2 other families there and one of them had a little boy who looked to be about Maia's age. Wish I'd had my camera to get a picture of the little guy, Alyona, and Maia. When it was time to leave, Maia didn't want to go. She was happy to be around other kids instead of us boring adults - lol! Anyway, the most important thing is that we have the VISA! And we are set to come home tomorrow.
We had a quick lunch before coming back to the apartment. Mark is trying to get Maia to settle down for a nap right now and I am going to finish packing. We are hoping to meet up with some others for dinner this evening and get a good night's sleep before our long day!

A few prayer requests:
- First and foremost, pray for a train ticket for Olga - our wonderful facilitator. She was scheduled to leave Kyiv tonight by train. She wants to see us off at the airport and is cancelling her ticket for today, hoping that another one will be available for travel tomorrow. Problem is that this is holiday time and there are no tickets to be had. Please pray that a miracle ticket will be found for her. We've told her that she does not need to accompany us to the airport, but she feels strongly about this - she loves Maia as much as we do!
- Second, it is snowing here in Kyiv right now and snow remains in the forecast for tomorrow. Please pray that our flight is able to leave on time. We don't have a long layover in Zurich so not much room for delay. Pray that all of our flights are smooth and uneventful.
- Pray for Maia. 20 hours of travel is a lot to ask of a little girl. Pray that she will manage well, sleep during the long flight, and cope as best she can.
- Pray for Maia's parents. 20 hours of travel is a lot to ask of two old people. Pray that we will manage well, sleep during the long flight, and cope as best we can. LOL! :-)

We are so thankful for your support and encouragement over the past month! We hope you will follow along with our new adventures at home! It may be a couple days until we blog again but we'll post again soon.