The Journey Begins – Part 2

November 2004 (If you are just joining in, click here to read Part 1)

“Her name is Nadezhda”, the women on the other end of the phone informs me. “She is from Irkutsk, Russia (Siberia) and was born on 5/9/2002. Nadezhda translates into English as “Hope” and she is called Nadia by the people that know her.”

My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was having trouble breathing as I stared at Nadia’s face on my computer screen.


The women on the other end of the line pauses, I am having a little trouble following her thick Russian accent. “She lives in a city orphanage that is called “A Baby Home”. She is near Lake Baikal and has only recently been made available for international adoption. An agency representative was at the orphanage recently and met Nadia. She said that Nadia is so beautiful and that she just melts your heart when you look at her.” They were allowed to take pictures of her and promised the director that they would try to find a family in America for her. The director described her as a sweetheart, shy and a bit timid. Nadia was born to an HIV positive mother, but currently had no other health concerns. “Would you like to fill out the prequalifying application? I can email it to you right now. Once we have the application on hand she will be held for your family.” Yes, YES! I tell her, please send me the packet.

She tells me some other things about how even though their agency is newly formed, they have multiple years of experience doing adoptions both in Russia and the US. She continues on with the agency details as I ponder the vague information that I have been given about Nadia. I realize the women has stopped talking and I tell her that I will look for the information to be sent to my email, and I end the call.


I received the prequalifying application, filled it out and sent it back to her. Once our pre-application was approved, we were sent the full application along with several other forms. We have a few days to decide if we want to continue. During this time they will tell any other inquiring families that she is seriously being considered by a family.


During the time we have been given by the agency, I start researching. I research Irkutsk, adoptions from Russia, the agency (mixed reviews), children born to HIV mothers, but mostly I pray. I pray that we make the right decisions, I pray that she is being well taken care of and I pray that she will love us, because we are already falling in love with her.


We spent hours looking at pictures of orphans on the internet. So many that were waiting and hoping to be adopted. After looking at hundreds of these pictures Pat said that I had found the only little child that he could love, even if she isn’t biologically his own, the only one that tugged at his heart. Maybe it’s because she looks like his girls when they were little. Maybe it’s because if she was smiling and had a twinkle in her eye she would resemble Hanna. We don’t know why, but we think she looks like she belongs in our family.


If she is not adopted, she has very little chance of making it to adulthood. She could be adopted by another family, but we already have it in our hearts that we are the ones that want to bring a happy sparkle to those sad little eyes.

Click here for part three.