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What a blessing our new son is! Adopting a 7-year-old boy was definitely a good decision for our family.
Our adoption of Sergei began with a simple phone call of interest to Alaska International Adoptions while we were visiting in Anchorage. Natalia answered our initial call, and offered to meet us at our hotel so
we could talk face to face. From the beginning, she was warm, kind and helpful. She showed us pictures of families that had adopted from AIA, and I felt that she had a love for the children that she had helped. She was thorough with her explanations to our questions, and as we later found out, she was very experienced with the processes and paperwork that are required in a Russian international adoption.
After a family decision was reached, we decided to officially move forward with the adoption process. We began the paperwork in January 2003, and we received a court date in June. Although this doesn't seem
like a long time to wait, we felt very anxious to see our child in person. The paperwork along the way seemed endless and sometimes frustrating, but Natalia was very good about working with us and helping us move forward with explanations and official formats for the Russian court system. We talked to Natalia on the phone quite a bit, and although the written explanations were given to us, she was patient and explained things over and over until we finally understood! We met several times in Anchorage to exchange papers and a cup of coffee, always spilling out lists of questions to her, which she answered reassuringly.
When the time came for us to travel to Magadan to attend court, we were rearing to go. We felt confident that we would be taken care of when we arrived in Russia by AIA's staff, and that's exactly what happened. We flew from Anchorage to Moscow and then to Magadan. Andrei, in Moscow, handled our transfers from one airport to another smoothly, and Zoya and Vanya met us at the airport in Magadan, as planned.
I'll never forget the day that we first met Sergei in Magadan. A van stopped in front of the curb where we were waiting, and on the far side of the vehicle we could see two little feet step down to the street. We
watched those little legs walk to the backside of the van, and then he stepped out where we could see him, a smile beaming on his face. Zoya said, "There's your Papa." He quickly walked to Todd, threw his arms
around him and gave him a huge hug. I was crying, and couldn't even talk as I watched. It was a wonderful feeling, as Todd handed him to me, and I too received the long awaited hug, that we feared wouldn't come.
From this memorable experience, we went to the Russian courtroom. This was an emotional experience for us as well. Due to the fact that we cannot speak Russian, Zoya interpreted the hour-long experience. We felt overwhelmed and emotional as the realization of our wish to adopt our son came true, with the consent of the Russian judge. I'll never forget how thankful I felt when the final decision was read granting our request. We opened the door to the courtroom afterwards, with tears in our eyes, and our son jumped into our arms for another big hug. It was amazing! Every step of the adoption in Magadan went smoothly for us, even the weather! We couldn't have asked for a better situation. We stayed in a very efficient apartment in Magadan for seven days, and enjoyed the time to get to know Sergei. We felt safe in the city and walked around during the day enjoying the new culture and strolls in the parks, market and grocery store for food and water.
Our days in Russia were filled with quality time getting to know each other, with lots of hugs and kisses mixed in between. Sergei came to us showing affection and it was obvious that he had been dreaming of having a family. He immediately called us Mama and Papa, and wanted to hold our hands as we walked the streets of Magadan, smiles consistently on his face. Our fears that he would not love us, quickly disappeared as the days went by, and we felt an attachment to him very quickly. While we were in Magadan we met another family that was adopting a 13-year-old girl. We had a chance to visit with them, and found this young lady delightful. I would have taken her home in a second, given the chance. She was polite, friendly, and willing to help us communicate with our son, because she had some English speaking skills. Communicating with our son was difficult at first. We relied on Vanya and Zoya to get us started. We shared information about our home in Alaska through them, and let Sergei ask questions about the travel plans, America, and his family.
We quickly learned to use gestures, and simple words like "thank you", "no", and "please" started appearing in his vocabulary. Sergei has been with us now for about two months, and we can talk or figure out almost every conversation through gesturing and charades. He is quite an actor! It is fun to watch him as he explains scenes from his adventures throughout the day. What a joy! He has taught us a lot of Russian vocabulary, and giggles at our pronunciation. At school he has an interpreter. She travels with him throughout most of the day. We are very thankful for that. She tells us that she is amazed at how fast he is learning. He had a good base knowledge of Russian reading and writing after just one year of schooling, so he is making the transition to English well. We have had our struggles too. I don't want you to think that it is all easy. We had adjustments to make with our other three older children, in our blended family. Although they love him, it is still a change to the family structure having a little guy around. Sergei has had to learn our family rules, and soon found out that Mama and Papa do say "no" to things. We live a modest lifestyle, and don't buy every toy on the shelf for him. We have found that he wants to please us, and tries hard to do so.
Although it's taken extra energy, time, flexibility and patients to add another body to our family, we have received 100 times the amount in the blessings that we have received from him in return. What a joy he has been to us!
The biggest message that I hope this testimonial will send to you is that there are a lot of wonderful older children out there for adoption. I'm so thankful that the Lord brought Sergei to us. It is amazing when I look at a map of the world and reflect how it all came together. Adopting an older child was definitely not what we had in mind, but it turned out to be wonderful. In two short months, he has brought us immeasurable amounts of joy. I hope that if your family is considering adoption, from any agency, you'll consider the possibility of adding an older child into your family.
Our son told us, "In Magadan, I cry at night. No Mama or Papa. Now Sergei happy." There is a young girl or boy out there dreaming tonight about having a family just like yours. I hope you'll consider opening a place in your heart for them.
Please contact us if we can help in any way as you consider adopting, or as you make your adoption plans.
Todd Wegner & Sheri Beck
Valdez, Alaska
(907)835-2903
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