to find out how the children and their prospective parents are coping. >> reporter: it was after midnight when the children from battle scarred donetsk arrived in lviv. >> translator: they were very tired and seemed to be lost. some of their friends were separated. they were scared arriving in a new city. >> reporter: a train full of children fleeing the war. >> translator: it took two days. they were stopped by shelling alerts at several stations. >> reporter: now they are relatively safe in this orphanage outside of lviv, but their journey to find permanent homes has been halted by the war. is the process slower now because of the war? >> translator: definitely yes because all their files and court decisions are still in donetsk, and all the documents have to be prepared by regional authorities. and it's impossible now. >> reporter: one of those children in limbo is mari, who american colleen holt thompson