All Boys Love Futbol

1 April 2011

Our appointment at the orphanage today was at 3pm.  Roman saw us from the playground came running to us.  We both hugged him and his face lit up.  Maxim hid when he knew we were there.  His caregiver made him come out to say Hello and he said he was not coming with us to the park unless Kirill (his friend) could come.  That was fine with us.  We walked to the park.  By the way, Kirill is a really great boy!  We liked him a lot and would highly recommend him for adoption to anyone that would like a sweet, 12-year-old boy.  He is obedient, friendly, cute and loves futbol!!  He really wishes we could adopt him because he so badly wants a family.  Believe me, if it were possible, we'd adopt Kirill!

Tim had brought his soccer ball (futbol) to play with the boys.  Roman and Kirill jumped right in to play.  Maxim refused, arms crossed.  Tim was in his element playing futbol.  He would much rather be bonding by playing futbol than sitting around a table inside making awkward small talk while Roma (our translator) translates.

Eventually Maxim joined in with the futbol and had a great time.  We brought oranges, cookies, fruit snacks and sprite for the boys.  Thankfully we had brought enough for the friends that later joined in the game with Tim, Roman and Kirill.

After they were done playing we had to go back inside for a talk with Svetlana, their caregiver.  Maxim again said he did not want to be adopted unless we took him and Kirill back.  The boys were excused a little while later.

This is when Svetlana, the teachers, etc. all recommended that we only adopt Roman.  All of them described Maxim as being hard, stubborn and lazy.  He does not want a family and he and Roman are not close at all.  Roman would probably love to be close to Maxim, but Maxim pushes him away like an inconvenience.  They strongly believe Maxim would run away if we adopted him or at best, make our lives miserable until he turned 18 and would want to return to Ukraine.

While the idea of our love being rejected by Maxim hurts tremendously, we somehow have a peace about this.  We feel God's leading in this entire process and we trust He knows what is best for our family.  We are so happy to adopt just Roman.  He is a precious boy.  We need your prayer because even though we would love to adopt just Roman and the caregivers support this decision, the final decision is up to the court and the court date is still weeks away.

So, although all boys love futbol, unfortunately, futbol does not soften the heart of a stubborn 12-year-old boy.