Comments should work for everyone now.

We've been here almost 4 weeks now, and the time seems to be going fast.  We haven't heard yet about our next appointment at the adoption center but may hear Monday.  Today is  Constitution Day in Ukraine, another national holiday.  My earlier postings indicated this as being on Monday.  Monday was actually  Orthodox Trinity Day -  Triytsya in Ukrainian.  You may equate it to the old Wht Monday that was known in some churches in years past as the Monday following Pentecost Sunday.  Western Protestants and Catholics observed Pentecost about 5 weeks ago,   I'm sorry for the confusion.  

We Americans celebrate Independence Day next week!   This year for us the 4th will be quite different indeed!  We may be on a train for Kerch or here in Kyiv. 

I found a setting that should make commenting easier.  The default setting allowed 'registered users' to the site or blog to comment.  If we start getting too many spam bot comments or others we may have to pull back.  

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragements along the way, we are not traveling this road alone! 

Day of Rest

We don't have anything we have to do today for the adoption. For me it is a much needed day of rest. We have good wifi so Darwin is working. For him, having a good connection and his laptop is a good day. Here is an entry from my journal.

Today in Jesus Calling it says; "Rest with me a while. You have journeyed up a steep and rugged path in recent days. The way ahead is shrouded in uncertainty. Neither look behind you nor before you. Instead focus your attention on me, your constant companion. Trust that I will equip you fully for whatever awaits you on your journey.....I am with you, watching over you wherever you go."
Gen 28:15
15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
(NLTSB)
Had we known that Anya and then Yana were going to say no to adoption I am not sure if we would have come. I feel a real sense of peace about Oleg. I think God has led us to him. All we can do on this journey is keep our eyes on God and follow Him. He will continue to give us strength and rest when we need it. Today I need rest. God hasn't necessarily promised us that we will adopt a child. He has promised to guide us when we seek Him. We will continue to seek Him and follow where He leads us.

Our Day at Bakhckysarai

We had an afternoon of sightseeing with another family from Louisville KY who is in the process of adopting a 15 year old girl.  They were permitted to bring her along for the day.  We drove from Simferopol to the old city of Bakhckysarai (Gardens Palace  in Crimean Tartar).  The city is between Simferopol and Sevastopol on the Black Sea coast. 

 The Tartar's are one of 3 people groups in the Crimean.  Ethnic Russians are the largest, Ethnic Ukrainians are second, and  the Tartar's are the smallest in number but large enough to be seen.  Many small mosques are there. We walked around the palace built by the Khan's (Girey's not Ghengas),  from the 14th to 16th Centuries.  There is a fountain inside the palace which was made famous by an Alexander Pushkin poem called the Fountain of Bakhckysarai, this fountain was named the Fountain of Tears by the ruling Khan at the time after the death of one in his harem.  The pictures above are of the palace.  We did not go inside. 

We saw a Russian Orthodox monastery and church building, very ornately designed. Being it was a national holiday, many people walked through the building. Normally they enforce a stringent dress code. On this day the women still were required to wear scarves and the men to remove their hats (see 1 Corinthians 11 for the reasons).  Below the church was a large compound in the valley where the monks lived and make their livelihood, roosters could be heard in the background. 

We hiked up about a mile into the mountain and went into the Chufut-Kale (Jewish Fortress in Crimean Tartar).  During the time that the Khan's were in power the Jewish settlers lived in the cliffs in dug out caves. They were tolerated and allowed to remain.  Archaeologists disagree whether the settlement began in the 6th or 10th Century.

The hill maybe 800 feet up. 

Here we are, this is about half way up the climb. I went ahead and took the pictures of the caves and sumit. 

Entrance to the Chufut-Kale, Jewish Fortress

Some of the caves dug out by the Jews as they hid here from persecution by the Khan's. 

Roger from Kentucky trying out a bed

The table is one of the few non stone artifacts up there. 

Small School used in the 1800's, plaques dedicated to the Tsars are on one wall. 

A tomb

A cellar used by the Karaite people, now nearly gone from the earth. 

Inside the Karaite cellar. Even without windows it was 10 degrees cooler inside. 

View from half way up. 

A few scenes from the top.

Back in Kiev

After a 17 hour train ride we are back in Kiev. We boarded the train at 8 pm yesterday and discovered that there was no AC. It has been hot here. We did have a window in our compartment that should have been able go down. This was an old Soviet era train car. Darwin was able to get the window down a couple inches. The bathroom on this car was very interesting. There was an old metal toilet with a lever at the bottom for flushing, using your foot. The interesting part for me was the hole in the floor of the bathroom. You could see the ground whoshing by. Really, the trip wasn't too bad. With the window open a little we even got a little cool. We were able to sleep off and on.

When we got to Kiev we got to a taxi as soon as we could so we could go to the adoption center. Our facilitator had to submit our petition to visit Oleg in Kerch. The office would be closing at 1pm for lunch and we had 30 minutes to get there. Our taxi driver wove his way through the traffic in Kiev. I told him I needed him to give me driving lessons! We made it with a couple minutes to spare!

Our hope is that we can have the appointment at the adoption center next Tuesday and go to Kerch, by train again, Wednesday night. For now we are in Kiev and are looking forward to a couple days rest.

We had a great day sightseeing the day before we left Simferopol. Darwin will post pictures. It was very interesting and beautiful.

We appreciate each of you that are following our adventures. Please keep praying, especially for the time when we meet with Oleg. Thanks!

All in a Day

Good morning! It is 8 am here, 1 am Florida time. I've been awake longer than I would like. It is amazing to me that the sun comes up at 4:30 am and most people have very sheer drapes on the windows. Yesterday we stayed around our apartment. It was a good day of rest after the busy day before. We took a walk to the grocery store so I could make soup for dinner. I make soup fairly often at home. It is interesting choosing spices here. I looked for one that had a picture of a chicken on the packet. It is hard to figure out what spices I am getting since I can't read Russian.

The apartment we are in has a clothes washer, though very small. No one has dryers. The landlord has clothes lines rigged up outside the balcony window. It was so strange for me to try to put the clothes on that line with my short arms. I was afraid that I would drop the clean clothes from our forth story window. It all worked out OK though.

The kitchen at the apartment is very small and has a very small fridge. There is a freezer, so I have ice cubes. I even let Darwin have some! The top shelf of the fridge freezes stuff. Salads are not good frozen!

Out hot water heater is a kalunka. It is a gas powered tankless water heater. It works great! When you turn on the hot water you hear the clicking and then the pilot lights. Sometimes it doesn't light right away. When it does I say "the kalunk is kalunking!"

Today we are going sightseeing. Tomorrow we get on the slow train to Kiev. It will take 17 hours to get there, in unairconditioned comfort! Thank God for battery operated fans.

Holiday Weekend in Simferopol

We have had WI-FI issues at this apartment, many other blogs wrote about this that the service is offered but  unreliable.  I'm posting this via our Ukraine MTS Android phone hotspot.  Our friend Eric in Poltava had arranged phones for us and they've been critical at times. Not sure how people did this without them!

We've had 2 setbacks but are not discouraged, only a little disappointment.  The 2nd one seemed more certain, but we come away less impacted than the first time.  God's plans are perfect and He alone knows the future of all of us. Our faith and past experiences with God tell us that all will be for the best in the end of this. We have one more referral left here, and must travel back to Kiev to petition for an appointment, have the appointment, and then receive our referral to go visit the child - Pat wrote about Oleg who was mentioned by the official in Kiev at our last referral appointment, if we needed a third one.  She'll be delighted when we ask her to visit him!   We may be in Kiev over a week.

Monday is Constitution Day in Ukraine (ours is Sept 17 in the US) and as a holiday we'll wait for Tuesday.  Our Crimea facilitator has been busy as another family from Louisville KY is here to adopt a child they met previously.  They had 8 of their own, and are adopting their 2nd - this will make 10 for them!  On Monday we will have an excursion somewhere with them. No details of yet, this being Sunday morning here.


 The local Crimea facilitator has been very helpful to us.  Both ours from Kiev and her here are wonderful to work with, they have real passion for seeing kids adopted from Ukraine.  Our facilitator needed to go back to Kiev to help a Kentucky mission team come down to Simferopol.  She'll do 3 overnight train trips in 6 days!

Everyone we've met with and worked with here - aside from the school director in Kremenchuk has been so helpful!

Now for some pictures!:

The Crimean is also known for its vineyards, the climate is a bit like that of California with its seaside and mountain ranges nearby. 

Mountain roads, the speeds are in Kph here. 

The seacoast near the summer camp.  Ukrainian families as well as  Crimean orphans spend the summers here. 

Scene nearing the sea

Queen Catherine's Head, (Catherine the Great, a German who ruled Russia and Ukraine,  2nd queen of Ukraine. 

Approaching the coast requires a passage through a low mountain range. 

Black Sea boardwalk

Front side of an old Russian Oven, the restaurant was firing it up for a lamb roast later on. 

A Russian Oven with  "Ivan the Fool" from the Leo Tolstoy short story.  A famous tale in Russia and Ukraine

Here We Go Again!

We just got back from visiting Yana. We took her to lunch over looking the Black Sea. It is beautiful. The beach there is rocky. People were laying on the rocks getting sun tanned. We had a good time telling her about our journey and how the Lord led us to adopt from Ukraine. I showed her more pictures, etc. After lunch we noticed Yana talking quietly to our facilitator. She does not want to be adopted! We don't know the whole story, some of the reasons she gave aren't even true. It seems that she is giving in to peer pressure from the other girls.

Another disappointment. I can understand her hesitation. She is 15. Going to America  is scary. I feel sorry for her because she would have a loving home and more opportunities. Now what? We know of a boy named Oleg. He is 14 years old. We heard about him at the adoption center. He keeps asking for a family to adopt him. The facilitator who works in this area is going to go visit him to make sure he really wants to be adopted. 

This has been quite a time! Ups and downs! We do know that God is with us. We don't know what He is doing but we do know that He has good plans for us. His plan might involve Leg, or it might not. We will trust God and walk with Him through it.

Thanks for going on this journey with us.

A Few Hours at the Camp

Our wifi just came on! We didn't think we would be able to post tonight. We arrived in Simferopol at 9:30 am on the train and went right to the inspectors office. After a good meeting with her we went to the orphanage and met with the director. She was very nice and wants to see Yana adopted. From there we rode a little more than an hour to get to the camp where the kids are right now. The scenery is beautiful! Mountains and the Black Sea. We talked to Yana for a couple of hours. We found out she loves photography and art. 

Even thought we are anxious to hear that she wants to be adopted by us, we haven't heard that yet. She had no idea we were coming and wasn't ready for a decision like that. We are going back tomorrow to take her to lunch and spend more time with her. She is a very pretty and likable girl. She was unusually shy today. As we spend more time with her hopefully she will open up more.

Keep praying! We will keep you posted! :-) 

Leaving for Simferopol Tomorrow

Our appointment at the Adoption Center went very well. We have a referral to go to an orphanage in Simferopol to visit a 15 year old girl named Yana. We know that people say she is a good girl and she wants to be adopted. We are praying that God leads us as we meet her and that both Darwin and I come to the same conclusion.

We will take a train tomorrow evening. Darwin and I and our facilitator will have a compartment on the train. It leaves at 8 pm and arrives at 9 am the next morning. We will stay in an apartment in Simferopal. That will be cheaper than a hotel and we will be able to cook our own meals. We will be around 90 minutes from the Black Sea. I hope we will be able to go to the sea. If things go as we hope, we will be there for quite a while so we can spend time with Yana, go to court, and do whatever else has to be done for the adoption.

We would appreciate your prayers as we go through this. Thanks!

Back in Kiev

We had a great day yesterday in Poltava. We started off at Calvary Chapel of Poltava. It was good to fellowship with the people of that church. At the end of the service Eric called us forward to pray for us as we go through the adoption process. We had lunch at Eric and Tanya's. The borscht was very good, and the special garlic bread. I can't remember what it was called. We also had cake for Father's Day for Eric and for the father to be, Darwin. It was fun being with Eric and Tanya and their kids.

Today we took a bus back to Kiev. The trip was over 5 hours and there was no AC on the bus. It has been quite hot here. The bus had only one small open window and a vent on the top of the bus. I was ready for a shower when we got to our facilitator's apartment!

We have an appointment at the Adoption Center at 2 pm tomorrow. We hope to get a referral for another girl and then travel to her orphanage on Thursday. We will keep you posted!

One of my favorite things about Ukraine when we were here 2 years ago, was the fields of sunflowers. Today I saw 3 sunflowers. They are coming! I hope wherever we go next will have sunflower fields. :-)

Poltava Pictures

Today was another day of hanging out with the Bougie family in Poltava. Our time here has gone rapidly and we always enjoy visiting with them.   Here are some pictures from our days here.  Tomorrow we'll attend their church Calvary Chapel, Poltava.

Monument commemorating the 1709 Battle of Poltava between the Swedes and the victorious Russian Army, Poltava was Russian territory at the time. The monument faces Sweden to remind them to never attack again. 

Scene from the city of Poltava's central park area.  There is about 2 miles of walking with scenery like this. 

Darwin getting in some 'uncle time' with the Bougie children.  

Yesterday was a full day in Poltava. We were going around town with Eric and the three older kids. They talk non-stop, especially Sabrina. It was a lot of fun. We then had a very nice lunch that Tanya prepared. Their new apartment is so pretty and it has air conditioning. We enjoyed being cool as we had lunch.

Tanya and I went to the women's Bible study in the evening. I shared my testimony and about what God has been doing with the adoption. I told them the story of Anya and where we are now. They were very encouraging and ended with a time of prayer for Me and Darwin and the child we will adopt.

Monday we go back to Kiev. I hope there will be lots more to write about!

We took a mini bus to Poltava to spend a long weekend with Eric and Tanya Bougie and family. The bus ride was 4 1/2 hours. The bus ride was uneventful, almost. Most of the road was smooth, it seems improved from when we were here 2 years ago. The last 30 miles were rough. My suitcase fell off of the storage shelf and hit Darwin on the head. He's got a bruise and little bump but is ok. He was able to teach a lesson for the men's group at Calvary Chapel Poltava.

We don't have an appointment yet at the adoption center. Hopefully that will be on Tuesday and then we can move ahead.

Back to the Adoption Center

After a good night sleep and time to pray , everything looks better. We had our hearts set on Anya for two years, so it was hard to hear she doesn't want to be adopted. God is faithful and we are moving ahead.

We went into the city again today. Darwin and I got the bus by ourselves to meet our facilitator. We didn't even get lost in the big city. We had to get something notarized, only lawyers do this in Ukraine, and then went to the adoption center to petition for another referral. Our facilitator knows of another girl that might be a possibility. She has worked with this orphanage before . It will be much easier. Please pray for direction from God.

After dropping off the papers we went to a fancy mall for lunch at McDonald's. That was fun. We will post pictures soon.

Unexpected

Today did not turn out at all what we expected. We got to Kremenchuk around 10 am and were at the orphanage at around 11:30 am. As we were sitting waiting to meet with the director, Anya came walking down the stairs. She was totally surprised to see us. She came and gave us a big hug.

We went into the directors office. He was a very hard person to talk to. He is not in favor of adoption. When Anya came in they explained why we were there. They asked her if she wanted to be adopted. She said no. She only has one more year of school and is a very good student. She has a good chance to go to a university. She also has relatives that come visit her and she doesn't want to leave them.

We are so disappointed! I understand why she wants to stay there and finish her education where she started. We are now back in Kiev. Tomorrow we will go back to the adoption center and petition for another referral. We have decided to try for one girl. Our facilitator knows of some possibilities.

Please pray that God leads us to the right child.

Another Interesting Outing

We went shopping with our facilitator today. One shops we went in was so crowded with stuff that we could barely get around. We were looking for a gift to take to Kremenchuk tomorrow. I wanted to take a picture but thought it would be rude. We also walked through an outdoor market. Darwin and I were standing off to the side waiting and a man in a black robe and black hat came up to me and flicked water in my face. I was so surprised! He went from there flicking water in the shops and at people. I asked our facilitator about it. He is an orthodox priest and he flicks holy water and hopes people will give him money.

We leave at 5 tomorrow morning. If we don't post it means we don't have internet access. We will try!

One More Try

Darwin and I walked to the grocery store again. We are realizing that people go to the store often because they are all on foot and have to carry the groceries back home. Darwin is getting good at figuring out the money and can calculate the exchange to dollars in his head. We got a few things at the bigger store and the got bottled water at the little store closer to the apartment. It is really interesting. It seems that everyone is intent on getting where they want to go. They don't look others in the eye. It is rare to see smiles as you walk here and there.

To get into the apartment we have an i-disc (that's what we call it where I work) to get in the main door. We go up one flight of stairs to the elevator. It is very small and I would hate to ever be stuck in it. We go up to the 6th floor and unlock another door with another key. The third key is for the apartment door. We almost have it figured out. Our facilitator was inside coaching Darwin as he struggled. Finally we got in!

This has been a low key day. I am glad. I didn't sleep well because I was thinking about when we see Anya on Monday. This is an exciting time and we are depending on the Lord as we move forward. Sleep would be a good idea though. :-)

The hot water is back!

We arrived here on Tuesday and some time on Wednesday the Kyiv (Kiev) Public Works Dept. shut off our hot water for repairing a problem somewhere in the system.  Perhaps it was the building's water heater.  Each room has a 1 1/2 inch hot water pipe running down one wall.  You want to feel warmth from it before turning on your shower.  The COLD is on the LEFT here!  So for the first 4 days here we coped with warming water and washing the way people did 100 years ago.  It happens, just expect it now and then!   When we arrive at our apartment in Kremenchuk next week, I'll do a posting showing the mundane stuff like this that differs from what we are accustomed to in North America.
Our weather is trending toward the warm side, mid 80's coming.
Kyiv is at 50'45" North Latitude, this would put it about 350 miles North of Ottawa, Ontario  or Minneapolis, MN.  Kremenchuk where we are going is at the same latitude as is International Falls.  49' North.
Daybreak comes at 4AM, sorry to say that I know this.  The sun rises about 4:50AM.  It's dark at about 10:30, our family and  friends in Minnesota will relate well to this.
Today we'll sort out what we need to bring for our stay in Kremenchuk, we don't know how long we'll be there, it's on the order of a few weeks for sure. We're both getting eager to meet Anya and can't wait to see her expressions.  There will be officials around for the first part so ti'll be interesting for sure!  We thank you for praying and now ask for God's wisdom as we begin!

A couple more pictures:

An '''accordian bus' We have not ridden one yet, wouldn't want to be sitting in that center part!!

The B terminal in Frankfurt is named after  the Bayer family, you probably have some in your medicine cabinet 

Darwin and I walked by ourselves to the grocery store. It is hard to know where you are going when you can't read the signs. One thing we wanted to get is bottled water. We wanted still water, not sparkling (no gas instead of with gas). I think we ended up with the right thing. I was so proud of us because we made it back to the apartment without getting lost. I said to Darwin ,"don't you feel like an adult now?" When we got up to the right apartment we couldn't get the key to work in the lock. Our facilitator rescued us and we all laughed.

The crazy cabbie of Kiev

The city of Kiev is like any major world city. There are high-rises everywhere, we are staying in an area with many of them.  Yesterday as we went to pick up our adoption referral, we needed a document notarized. In Ukraine one must be a lawyer to notarize anything. After our visit to the lawyer's office to obtain a power of attorney for our facilitator we needed a ride home.  The choices: by bus and Metro, or by cab.  A cabbie was right outside the door so we hired him to take us home.  Rain fell intermittently and he used an Android tablet with Google's navigator to show him the way.  As traffic crept along he received and ANSWERED  texts and emails.  We had 45 minutes of bumper to bumper traffic with much weaving and ducking for cover.  We made it home nonetheless.  Ukraine has not banned texting while driving.  Here are some pictures.  

View from where we are staying

Across from us in the courtyard.

The Adoption Center, Ministry of Family Policy

Saint Andrew's Church, next to the Adoption Center

St. Andrew's Church

It is 11 am here and 4 am Florida time. Darwin is working. It is wonderful that he can get some hours in while we have high speed internet. Yesterday we were free in the morning and had to go to the adoption center to pick up our referral to go to Kremenchuk, where the orphanage is. Once again we hopped on a bus, subway, and stair train. Darwin is learning his way around and he led us to the adoption center. The woman at the adoption center handed me our dossier that has been translated into Ukrainian. It felt like I was holding the last two years of our lives in my hand. I quickly gave it to our facilitator for safe keeping. The next stop was a lawyers office to get a power of attorney. So far all of the officials that we have encountered have been very helpful. They seem happy that we are trying to adopt an older child.

When we went into town the busses and subway were very crowded. I always try to find a seat because I am not very good at holding on for dear life. I am too short for the overhead bars. I can reach them , but just barely. I think our facilitator is worried about me and she always directs me to a seat when someone gets up. It is really amazing watching the experts on busses. Some don't even hold on. They position their feet in a certain way and stay upright. To me it looks like surfing. When it is time for us to get off our facilitator tells us to push our way through the crowd. I'm not very good at that yet either. My desire to not be left behind is pretty strong, so I do my best.

This weekend we are relaxing. Our facilitator is leaving to visit her father tomorrow. We will be on our own at her apartment. We are going to explore the area. Early Monday morning we head out to Kremenchuk to see what God is going to do.

Stay tuned for pictures!

This has been a busy day! I think we took almost every mode of public transportation. We took a bus, subway, stair train, and taxi.

We had our appointment at the adoption center at noon. It was very interesting. Usually families have to go through many notebooks with pictures and information about orphans. We know who we want To adopt, so we didn't do that. We were able to get information that we didn't know about Anya. Next Monday we go to the city that the orphanage is in. We will meet with the inspector and then go to the orphanage to see Anya. We haven't seen her for almost two years. We were hoping to go on Friday but we can't meet with the inspector until Monday.

We also went to the American Embassy to be fingerprinted. Our fingerprints and background check that we had done before were expired. The people were very friendly and helpful. While we were there we met a who an from Georgia who is adopting two boys. The adoption is final and they hope to leave in two days. It was encouraging hearing a little of their story.

For lunch we went to a shopping mall. There were several floors. The restaurant was on the upper floor. We enjoy Ukrainian food. I hope with all the walking we are doing it will prevent too much weight gain! For dinner our facilitator made borscht. It was wonderful!

Tomorrow we will post some pictures. If you read this blog please make a comment so we know it is being read. :-)

We made it to Kiev at around 2 am this morning. There were no problems with customs and our facilatator was there waiting for us. We will be staying with her at her apartment. At 4am it was wonderful to finally lay down and sleep! Our facilatator will be with us through the whole process. It will be fun getting to know her better.

We met a friend, Eric Bougie, in Kiev for lunch today. It was great to spend time with him. To get into the city we took a bus and then went on the subway. For someone used to driving everywhere, it takes some getting used to. Tomorrow  have an appointment at the adoption center. Friday we will leave Kiev at 3am to get to Kremenchuk by 8am. Kremenchuk is the town that the orphanage in.

This is all for now. Jet lag is setting in and it is hard to put two intelligent words together. :-)

We made it to the Frankfurt airport. When checking in at the Orlando airport we were happy to find out that the charge for our extra bag was 1/2 of what we expected. It was the exact amount that Darwin found in his money belt he used when we went to Ukraine 2 years ago on a mission trip. Plus, the guy at the Lufthansa desk let us rearrange out carry-on luggage so we wouldn't have to pay extra for overweight carry on luggage. God is faithful! We are tired after a night of no sleep and ready to get to Kiev.