February 25, 2007
We have visited with Askar everyday. He smiles the minute he walks into the visiting room. The reality of his life is sad. We found out that he has been here his entire life. We are taking this situation very seriously. He is very special and you can tell he likes being with us, even though he might not completely understand what is happening. He most likely has never left these buildings that the children all live in. We believe when he is visiting us he can break away from all the rules of the orphanage. We have a really nice translator “Maria”. She is very loving and is trying to help us with our communication. There are so many emotions going through us right now. Askar desperately needs a Mom and Dad. The orphanage is nice and clean. We believe they are doing the best to take care of all these children. But you can only imagine how difficult it must be to take care of so many. The children are not treated as individuals, but more as a group. You can tell that Askar’s caregiver really likes him. We saw her give him a great “motherly” hug the other day.
When we bring him home we will have to work with him to help him become an individual, not just “one” of many.
We know that we can’t change the world for all the children here, but we can change the world for this one child.
We are happy that Parker has been allowed to visit with Askar. They seem to get along, even though they can’t communicate. We are learning some Russian words. Our translator is so nice at repeating the words over and over for us.