Our Time in Court

Yesterday was the big day. I'm sorry we didn't post sooner but we didn't get home until late last night. We had to be to the courthouse at 3:30 pm. It was Darwin and I, Oleg, two facilitators, the inspector, and one of the teachers from Oleg's school. We went into a small court room and were joined by a prosecutor, two jurors, and the judge.

Everything went very well. We had to stand and introduce ourselves. The judge asked questions about us and then she talked to Oleg. She smiled when she was talking to him. It was apparent she cared about him. He said he does want to be adopted by us. After all the questions were answered the judge and jurors went into another room. We waited for about 20 minutes. They came back in and the judge read the outcome. She granted us permission to adopt Oleg! Yea!

It is a tradition in Kerch that the family, facilitators, inspector, and school representative go out for a meal after the court time. We went to one of Oleg's favorite restaurants. It was a fun time of celebrating. 

After dinner we went to see a World War II monument that overlooks Kerch. To get there we had to climb over 400 steps. It was worth it! The view was amazing! There are some archaeological excavations near there and what appears to be a small lighthouse. We might go up there again to explore more. It was a fun way to top off the day.

Now we have a 10 day waiting period. During dinner we were discussing what we would do during that time. There are so many things to see. I'm sure we will find things to keep ourselves busy. We will post pictures later today.

Thanks for going on this journey with us and thanks for your prayers!