When last we saw our expectant couple they were in a van, hurtling through the Russian countryside, feeling sick from all the swerving to avoid potholes and trying desperately to take it all in so they would never forget.

After traveling about 15 minutes through birch forests and past ponds, we came to the village of Somovo. This was most fascinating to us. It was the middle of the day and there seemed to be sort-of farmer's market going on. The town was basically one street with some shops and some tables where people were selling various items. We saw several trucks filled with melons.

Then we were through the town (we didn't blink so we didn't miss it), and drove up and over a railroad track and then onto a street with a few houses and then we saw the orphanage.

The orphanage had four buildings: a squat grey one to the left, a two-story grey one to the right, and a low grey one to the far right beyond a little playground. In the center of all these grey cinderblock buildings was a beautiful old house, accented in Cyrillic blue, that must have been some rich person's dacha at one time.

Ludmila (our translator) told us that the house had been donated to the children of Voronezh so it could be used as a baby home.

We entered the house, which houses the administrative offices, and stood in the hallway while the social worker and the other administrative types talked to some American people who had come to donate things to the orphanage. I think they were on some kind of Christian mission or something, but I never really understood who they were or why they were there - just that they were from Texas.

Finally, after waiting what seemed like for ever, we went into the office. We were welcomed, told that Little J (then named Yuri) was sick and in quarantine but that we'd be able to see him. Then we left the offices and went into the 2-story grey building and were taken upstairs.

They put us in a room that must have been a playroom. It had balls and some equipment for physical education, but decorated in that ubiquitous Russian-orphanage decor: oriental carpets, lace curtains, plants at the window.

We sat and waited...then the door opened!

Part 1 of our story is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 3 is here.
Part 4 is here.
Part 5 is here.
Part 6 is here.
Part 7 is here. "The Train to Voronezh"
Part 8 is here.
Part 9 is here. "The Orphanage"

The next part of Our Story (part #11) can be found here.