For Americans trying to adopt children from Ukraine, the past few weeks have been nothing short of painful and horrifying.

One upstate New York couple is among them and is urging the U.S. and Ukrainian governments to help them get the child they hope to adopt stateside.

Jennifer and Doug Rogers hosted 13-year-old Maksym last summer and again over Christmas at their home in the Finger Lakes as part of an international orphans program.

“He was part of our family that we didn’t know we were missing,” Jennifer Kelly-Rogers said. “Within three weeks, we knew that we wanted to adopt him.”

By January, as the couple worked through the adoption process, Maksym had to return to Ukraine - just as the crisis there was about to erupt.

Since Russia launched its attack, the Rogers have stayed in touch with Makysm, largely through texts.

“He says, ‘Mom, I'm scared. There's airstrikes, and we had to hide in the basement,’” she remembered. “He was scared a lot then, and he’s one of those kids that won't say that. He'll tell me, ‘Oh, everything's fine,’ because he doesn't want anyone to worry.”

The couple says his orphanage has managed to evacuate Maksym and its other children to a nearby country.

“It pretty much was a miracle that they were able to get out,” she said.

Ukraine is a popular choice for Americans trying to adopt children from overseas. According to U.S. Department of State data, Americans have adopted on average more than 200 kids a year from Ukraine over the past two decades.

As the conflict there wages on, Rochester Rep. Joseph Morelle argues the best place for these kids is with caring families like the prospective adoptive parents that have hosted them before.

He is sending a letter to the White House and the state department, urging them to make temporary visas available so orphans can stay with Americans who are in the process of adopting them.

“You just can’t imagine what it would be like for kids you already feel are part of your family … and you hear what they’re saying and they’re in crisis. Your heart would just be broken,” Morelle said.

A spokesperson for the state department noted in an email that Ukraine’s government is not approving kids to participate in host programs right now, with Ukrainian officials expressing concern about moving kids out of Europe at this time.

For the Rogers family, they say pressure should be on the Ukrainian government to reconsider. They want Maksym to have the chance to start a new life soon.

“It's an understatement to say what positive impact he's really had on us. I mean, never thought it was possible,” Doug Rogers said.