I couldn't find it in my heart to write this article for a very long time. But now, I think, it's time. Right this very minute. All the more so, because it's a good thing to write about.

In November 2013 three more children from Kalinovka found their families. I am saying «three more», because before that there were Sasha and Lyosha.

We stay in touch with Lyosha's family, and Sasha's family is the family that took in two more children from the same orphanage last November.

I will not make anything up. I haven't seen Sasha who was adopted two years ago, but, to tell you the truth, I have no reasons not to believe his father, who is a pastor. So, when two years ago American doctors saw Sasha who had just arrived from Ukraine for the first time, they told the parents he only had two weeks left to live. They were wrong. Or else they saved his life. Now Sasha can eat with a spoon, can walk around with a walker, and is trying to learn his first words in English. For the Russian word he remembered very well for a long time was «Nyet» («No»), and he would say it loudly any time his new parents made him do things.

Sasha

Now Sasha has two brothers from Ukraine — another Sasha and Bohdan. So far the parents are saying that their complexion became healthier. That they enjoy going places with their new family. That Sasha plays with toys now, not only with threads.

Bohdan and two Sashas from Kalinovka in a new family

I am sure that these three kids have nice lives with their new family ahead of them, and they will forget their Ukrainian childhood. Because Bohdan was often nourished only on semolina porridge, though he had anemia. Because all the time he wanted to go outside, even when it was raining, and walks were time-limited.

Bohdan

Because the only thing Sasha was interested in at the orphanage were threads. He could pull apart any piece of clothing just to make sure he had enough of his favorite toys. Because I received a letter once from Sasha's sister. She asked me if I knew where her brother was, so I showed her his profile on our website. She asked me not to tell Sasha about her asking. That's so silly, even if I did, he would not understand anything. But now all this does not matter, because he became a real brother to other boys and girls in a family with only two natural children and six adopted children from different countries.

Sasha

The new family of Sasha, Sasha and Bohdan tells us that God showed them their children. The same thing we hear from the family that adopted Nikita from Kalinovka last November.

A year ago I helped the Kalinovka doctor to take Nikita to see the cardiologist at the regional children's hospital. The doctors made jokes about the possibility of a child with a cardiac defect being adopted. Nobody could tell how long he would live, and nobody would operate him because he would not survive the surgery.

Nikita

To tell you the truth, I did not dare to write about Nikita all this time because I was afraid for him. The doctor from Zaporozhye strongly recommended to acquire an oxygen mask for the flight to the USA. We started looking for an oxygen concentrator, and found out that the price was over 60,000 hryvnas ($6,593). Nikita went on board without even a simple oxygen mask. He felt perfectly well.

Nikita on arrival to the Unites States with his new siblings

American doctors have already examined Nikita and came to a conclusion that his condition is much better than described in his medical history sheet, and that he is operable. His heart problems are typical for all the «sunny kids».

I talk to Nikita's mother almost every day. She is only two years older than me, and there are four natural children in the family. They say that Nikita fits in perfectly. It was a great shock for me to hear Nikita pronounce his first sounds only when his new parents were taking him from the orphanage to Kiev to complete the departure documents. For me Nikita always was the quiet one. He also had excessive salivation, and they often put tights on his arms in order to prevent him from putting his hands into his mouth. Now his mobility is practically unrestricted.

Nikita

I am not expecting children from Kalinovka to graduate from universities in the USA. And I am not expecting them to write letters to their orphanage. But I know for sure, that whatever it was — either God or mercy, it saved these children's lives and gave them a chance to feel themselves People. Without grandiloquence or exaggeration I want to thank those who gave them this chance. To thank those who helped find these children their families. To thank those who believe in them, and those, who support children who still live in orphanages. Thank you!

P.S.: As I am writing this article, there are two more children from Kalinovka that were adopted by an American family. Their story will be published on our website shortly.