a miracle, an absolute miracle

 

We went to Melitopol (Yana's hometown), with hopes that we would be able to find some information about at least one member of Yana's family. We had an old address where Yana lived, and we drove to that little house. It didn't look familiar to Yana, but we got out and looked around. The woman who lived next door to the house stepped outside and we asked her for help. She was very sweet and walked around, asking some of the neighbors for information about Yana's family. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anything.

 

As we were getting ready to leave, a car drove up. We decided to hold off leaving and ask these people some questions, as well. There is no way that anyone could convince me that this meeting wasn't absolutely ordained by God. Later, I learned that Oksana and Andrew (their names) were Christians, and when they drove up to their home Oksana said to Andrew, "I wonder who those people are. Maybe they're Americans, looking for relatives."

 

 

They were so eager to help us, but knew nothing. They said that they would call some more people and we left (I honestly thought that we would never hear from them again).

 

We went to a restaurant and our driver tried to look up Yana's relatives on VK (Ukrainian facebook), but couldn't find them. We felt a little defeated, but had still had a good morning at the orphanage and were happy about that. We went back to the hotel for what we thought was the remainder of the evening.

 

About an hour later, our driver came to our room. He said that Oksana and Andrew had some information for us and were coming to the hotel. When they arrived they showed us the most amazing video. Through a number of contacts, they had found Yana's brother and sister and had gone to their house to make sure the meeting would be positive. In the video, Yana's brother, Maxim, told us how they had been looking for Yana for years and how they absolutely wanted to meet her now!

Yana and I broke down in tears and, of course, agreed to meet them at a nearby restaurant. Y'all, I've never experienced anything like it. What a sweet reunion with this precious family. They were so kind and grateful to see their little sister once again. Yana's sister, Zhenya, couldn't keep her eyes off of Yana, and teared up continually throughout the evening.

 

(Right after Yana's sister and brother arrived at the restaurant.)

(Yana and her brother, Maxim.)

(Yana and her sister, Zhenya.)

(Niece, Nataliya)

(Niece, Varya)

 

We met again for breakfast the next morning. We promised to keep in close contact and help Yana visit again some day.

 

 

Just as we were getting ready to go, Yana's sister-in-law stated so sweetly, "Now we are all one family, together." Yes, we are. We most definitely are. Praise to our amazing God for the beautiful miracle of family!