{"id":1381,"date":"2008-01-09T19:38:01","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T19:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=1381"},"modified":"2010-12-22T12:47:01","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T17:47:01","slug":"6047","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/01\/09\/6047\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Friends Reunited Through Ukrainian Adoptions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stan Friedman<\/p>\n

OMAHA, NE (January 9, 2007) – Lena Van Putten recalls remaining behind at Internot, an orphanage in Odessa, Ukraine, as she watched her best friend, Lienna, leave with new parents Larry and Cathy Hanson.
\n
\n\"Girls\"\u201cI was really sad,\u201d she says of that day in September 2004. Lena asked her friend to pray that she, too, would be adopted.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jeff and Amy Van Putten – who attend First Covenant Church with the Hansons – heard God calling them to adopt from the same orphanage. When Lienna learned of the plans, she pushed for the Van Puttens to choose Lena. In August 2005, Lena arrived in the United States and was reunited with her best friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw Lienna, I ran to her. I was really excited,\u201d says Lena, breaking out in a large grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun because we can hang out together. We can speak Russian.\u201d Lena, 17, and Lienna, 16, now even work together at the same movie theater. (Accompanying photo shows Lienna at left with Lena).<\/p>\n

Since the Van Puttens returned to Omaha, three other families at First Covenant Church have adopted from the Odessa orphanage. The five families have adopted seven orphans.<\/p>\n

Yuri Berger, 15, and Cole Lennard, 14, were classmates in Odessa. The teens now are constant companions, which is easy – they live around the corner from each other. Accompanying photo shows Cole (left) and Yuri.<\/p>\n

\"Boys\"Cole arrived in the United States with Kyle and Susie Lennard in April 2005. Yuri was adopted by Paul and Renee Berger in April 2007. After being apart for two years, \u201cIt was a lot of fun to see Yuri,\u201d says Cole.<\/p>\n

The friends help each other make the many difficult transitions. The teens have moved to a foreign country as family members of people they barely know. They also must learn a new language as well as social customs while catching up academically to others their age in school. \u201cIt was really scary at first, but now it is all good,\u201d says Lienna.<\/p>\n

Most also want to hold on to their identity as Ukrainians, which includes speaking their native language. \u201cI don\u2019t want to forget Russian,\u201d Lena says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYuri will watch YouTube just so he can listen to Russian,\u201d says Paul Berger.<\/p>\n

Although some of the teenagers hope to return to visit Ukraine, all say they are glad to be living in the United States with their friends.<\/p>\n

To read the first two installments, select from the following:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Call to Adopt \u2013 An Incredible Journey<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adoption Not for Faint of Heart<\/a><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Stan Friedman spent a weekend with the families in preparation for this series of reports, which began Monday and concludes today.<\/em><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OMAHA, NE (January 9, 2007) – Lena Van Putten recalls remaining behind at Internot, an orphanage in Odessa, Ukraine, as she watched her best friend, Lienna, leave with new parents Larry and Cathy Hanson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBest Friends Reunited Through Ukrainian Adoptions - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/01\/09\/6047\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Friends Reunited Through Ukrainian Adoptions - 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