There's a whole world under our feet!

The first two days we explored our neighborhood, we frequently had the unpleasant experience of crossing crazy busy streets where pedestrians were not given any right-of-way. The saying here is, " You're not a good driver if you can't make four lanes out of three."  Day three we discovered that all the stairways heading down were not all subway entrances but actually a way to pass under those wild intersections.  Not only that but once beneath downtown Kiev, pathways headed off in every direction, littered with countless little shops.  Add to this picture full two story underground malls!  The attached photo is where we had lunch two floors beneath the street.  Good Ukrainian food!  Also attached is a photo of where we did not eat!

Kiev Update

Well we arrived in Kiev a couple days ago after a very long but smooth trip.  It's been quite an adjustment to the language and culture of downtown Kiev but we're getting the hang of things.

The weather has been cold and rainy but we've ventured out each day to wander around and find food!  Today we walked for four hours and while my hip is sore, it kept me going and I'm so thankful.  We are actually quite thankful for so many little things...  We enjoyed some good borscht and vareniky for lunch today.  Then we picked up orange/lemon pastries to have in our apartment with tea this evening.  

We had our DAP appointment today and will be taking the train to Donetsk on Wednesday to meet our  little girl!  We are all looking forward to meeting her very much.  We are praying that when she meets us, she will just know that we are her family and that she will have peace with becoming our daughter / sister.

So much to be thankful for.

On Our Way

One flight down, two to go.  It's going to be a long day / night but we're very happy to be travelling at last.  Next post should be from Kiev, Ukraine!!!!

ONE WEEK!

We leave in one week and we are very busy tying up loose ends and figuring out what to pack.  It is quite a challenge to pack three suitcases for 3.5 people for two months.  Our packing includes a large variety of activities to do at the orphanage and in our apartment, some food items, toilet paper and hand sanitizer,  all kinds of meds including eight weeks of diabetic supplies, paperwork, cosmetics, iPads, umbrella, face cloths, clothesline...  Oh yeah, we need to fit clothing in too!

We are excited and nervous.  Sometimes we just can't wait to meet our girl and other times we wonder " What are we doing?!!"   Inner peace comes and goes.   We are thankful that we do not walk alone.  

Just last week we learned that passports have to have at least six months left on them to travel internationally.  Shye's has five months :(  The Service Centre here told us we could get one in 24 hrs. If we drove to the big city (5 hr. drive each way).  We made arrangements, travelled down there and were told that they could not do it in 24 hrs.  We would have to make another trip to pick it up the following week!  This was so discouraging but we are very, very thankful that we learned about this with just enough time to take care of it.  Hopefully we can pick the passport up next week with no further difficulties.  It will be good to have it in our hands.

We greatly appreciate your prayers for preparation, for peace (for Shye too!), for protection of our new little one and of us as we travel.

Flights are Booked!

We have purchased plane tickets!  We leave early on September 20 and arrive in Kyiv  19 hours later!  We are busy making preparations and starting to pack.  It's countdown time :)

We Have Dates!!!

It's been a very long wait but we finally have dates.  We need to be in Ukraine for our appointment on September 23.  It is SO good to know when we're actually going to go after months of guessing.

Now we gather necessary items, pack, book plane tickets, get haircuts, etc...   Just three weeks, I think it's going to fly by :)

We would appreciate prayer for continued healing of my concussion (it is much better) , good plane tickets, preparation of stuff and our hearts,  and most of all that the little girl we long to meet will still be waiting when we get there!  Also, please pray for protection and preparation of her heart.  We hope she will soon be our daughter.

Bumps Along The Way

Okay, we actually have a submission date for this Thursday, June 20, which is our Wednesday night.  Praying that our dossier will be accepted!

In other news, many of you know I received a knock on the head a few weeks ago.  I now have a concussion that is greatly limiting my activities.  My physiotherapist says to expect it to take months to heal.  You see the problem?  We are hoping to travel in a couple months and I should be preparing and learning Russian.  Instead, I am mostly resting.  I am so thankful for prayers for healing, patience, and rest.  Friends, please know that if you haven't heard from me for a while, that I am thinking of you and missing you and hoping to be back to my regular activities, including visiting and church, before long!