James is writing today's post.
Today marks one month since we departed Virginia on this journey. As I reflect on the past month, all of the highs and lows, there is one thing that stands out...the incredible support that we have received from family, friends (old and new), and coworkers. It has been simply amazing, the myriad of ways in which the people in our life have enabled this journey. Another example, perhaps small to the casual observer, but large in our hearts occurred today. A close friend sent Mary a message from the song "Oceans" by Hillsong United:
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior"
A truly beautiful reminder of faith and the blessings of the Lord.
It is hard to express the depth of gratitude that we have felt for all of these manifestations of support: thoughtful messages, countless prayers, support from leaders and coworkers at the office during the absence, help with our sons at home, a brother answering a call for help without hesitation, friends stepping in to lend a hand, and many others too numerous to list. Truly we are blessed and pray that, in some small way, we will find ways to show our gratitude to everyone supporting us and complete this journey in a way that proves worthy of that support.
We are hopeful that the next two days will bring concrete progress towards receiving permission to visit new children. Praying that tomorrow brings some much anticipated good news.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Nine
I can't believe we have been back in Kiev for nine days! We didn't really do much outside of the hotel today except go to dinner and the grocery store for tomorrow. We spent most of the day reading, writing, Skyping with family, and trying to follow up on a few adoption leads we received a few days ago. We are trying to be as prepared as possible for our second SDA appointment on Monday or Tuesday (we still do not have a firm appointment date). I am hoping the next SDA appointment will go better than our first. I feel we have learned a lot more since the first appointment. Hopefully we will be able to use our time more wisely with the experience we have gained. This quote says it all:
Friday, September 5, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Eight: Return to Maidan
James is at the keyboard for today's post.
No additional news on the adoption process. We are still hoping for an appointment with the SDA early next week. It will be nice to get this process moving forward again.
Today, Mary and I decided to go and visit Independence Square, also known as Maidan, again. It has been almost one month since our first visit, so we wanted to see how things had changed. The change was rather significant. All of the barricades and debris from the previous events at Maidan have been removed. The "Christmas Tree" has been taken down as well as the stage previously used for speeches during the protests. A series of placards depicting the protests, the fighting, and the subsequent struggle with separatists and Russia are now placed throughout the square. Other than the placards, the square bore few marks of the events of the past several months. We enjoyed listening to a Ukrainian folk choir and enjoyed the Friday night atmosphere on a stroll through downtown Kiev.
With all of the turmoil and challenges that this nation faces, it is nice to see attempts to return to a more normal environment, at least in downtown Kiev. Mary and I enjoyed a cool autumn night but are looking forward to the beginning of next week with a good deal of anticipation (and a little impatience).
No additional news on the adoption process. We are still hoping for an appointment with the SDA early next week. It will be nice to get this process moving forward again.
Today, Mary and I decided to go and visit Independence Square, also known as Maidan, again. It has been almost one month since our first visit, so we wanted to see how things had changed. The change was rather significant. All of the barricades and debris from the previous events at Maidan have been removed. The "Christmas Tree" has been taken down as well as the stage previously used for speeches during the protests. A series of placards depicting the protests, the fighting, and the subsequent struggle with separatists and Russia are now placed throughout the square. Other than the placards, the square bore few marks of the events of the past several months. We enjoyed listening to a Ukrainian folk choir and enjoyed the Friday night atmosphere on a stroll through downtown Kiev.
Monument to the Archangel Michael, considered a protector of Kiev.
Ukrainian folk choir performing at Independence Square (Maidan).
Mary in front of the Berehynia Monument (notice the placards scattered around the base of the monument) and James posing with the Cossack Mamay.
A street performer. This juggler stands frozen like a statue until a small donation causes him to start juggling. He is rather good.
With all of the turmoil and challenges that this nation faces, it is nice to see attempts to return to a more normal environment, at least in downtown Kiev. Mary and I enjoyed a cool autumn night but are looking forward to the beginning of next week with a good deal of anticipation (and a little impatience).
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Seven: We tried out the Metro.
Mary is posting today.
Still no news on our 2nd SDA appointment. Hopefully we'll here something soon. To get out of the hotel today, we decided to give the Kiev Metro a try. We decided to take it to a large open market to do some shopping. The closest metro station to us is up a decent sized hill. We walked there and went inside the station and got in line to buy tokens to ride. The tokens were 2 Hrivnya a piece, so for about 15 cents a person we were able to ride the metro! We put in our tokens at the turn style and then rode a fast moving escalator down a very steep decline. It was a long ways down. We got off and walked a little ways and then got on another escalator and did the same thing. I swear we were going to hit the earth's core! I was getting a little nervous, so James reminded me that the Metro Station was at the top of a hill so of course we would need to travel that far down. We went to our platform and got on a metro and it was pretty crowded so we had to stand. It was really loud in the car because a lot of the windows were open. We got off at our stop and switched lines and got on and then off again at our next stop. The way out of this station had just a couple of flights of stairs to reach street level. Once out of the Metro Station we started shopping in the open market. We found several DVD's to watch on our computer. James was also able to hunt down Russian language versions of the first two books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Shopping in Ukraine is very different from shopping in the States. I think Target will blow our Ukrainian kid's minds!
Still no news on our 2nd SDA appointment. Hopefully we'll here something soon. To get out of the hotel today, we decided to give the Kiev Metro a try. We decided to take it to a large open market to do some shopping. The closest metro station to us is up a decent sized hill. We walked there and went inside the station and got in line to buy tokens to ride. The tokens were 2 Hrivnya a piece, so for about 15 cents a person we were able to ride the metro! We put in our tokens at the turn style and then rode a fast moving escalator down a very steep decline. It was a long ways down. We got off and walked a little ways and then got on another escalator and did the same thing. I swear we were going to hit the earth's core! I was getting a little nervous, so James reminded me that the Metro Station was at the top of a hill so of course we would need to travel that far down. We went to our platform and got on a metro and it was pretty crowded so we had to stand. It was really loud in the car because a lot of the windows were open. We got off at our stop and switched lines and got on and then off again at our next stop. The way out of this station had just a couple of flights of stairs to reach street level. Once out of the Metro Station we started shopping in the open market. We found several DVD's to watch on our computer. James was also able to hunt down Russian language versions of the first two books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Shopping in Ukraine is very different from shopping in the States. I think Target will blow our Ukrainian kid's minds!
James on the Metro Platform
The Metro coming up to our platform. I love the Blue and Yellow! It is all over the city!
Me smiling going up the Escalator knowing that we will be out of the center of the earth soon!
While typing this, our facilitator called and said she might have a few leads for files of children she wants us to see at an appointment next week. She is still trying to get us in for our 2nd SDA appointment on Monday or Tuesday next week.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Six
James is the author for today's post.
It is challenging to find things to write about today. We have received no new information and are still waiting.
So, today we relaxed. We found some Studio C episodes on YouTube and Mary found an old movie of "Great Expectations" to watch. We had a good chat with our sons before they headed off to their second day of school. Yesterday, each of them had positive experiences on the first day back in school and seem excited for the year before them.
After chatting with our boys, we took a little walk and found a nice little Ukrainian restaurant for dinner. A nice way to balance our trip to McDonalds yesterday. We enjoyed Vareniki, Durini, and Chicken Kiev. We had the restaurant pretty much to ourselves so it was a nice chance to be out and talk with each other.
So, the wait continues. It is amazing how patient you think you are until faced with an opportunity to exercise it.
It is challenging to find things to write about today. We have received no new information and are still waiting.
So, today we relaxed. We found some Studio C episodes on YouTube and Mary found an old movie of "Great Expectations" to watch. We had a good chat with our sons before they headed off to their second day of school. Yesterday, each of them had positive experiences on the first day back in school and seem excited for the year before them.
After chatting with our boys, we took a little walk and found a nice little Ukrainian restaurant for dinner. A nice way to balance our trip to McDonalds yesterday. We enjoyed Vareniki, Durini, and Chicken Kiev. We had the restaurant pretty much to ourselves so it was a nice chance to be out and talk with each other.
So, the wait continues. It is amazing how patient you think you are until faced with an opportunity to exercise it.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Five: Trying to Make the Best of Our Wait
Mary is posting today.
We talked with our Facilitator again today and she was not able to get our second SDA appointment scheduled yet. She will check back tomorrow, but it looks like the lady who usually handles international adoption SDA appointments is on vacation this week. She should be back on Monday, so our facilitator will check in each day to try to get us on the schedule. She said most likely it will be Tuesday of next week. Not exactly what we wanted to hear, but we are trying to make the best of it. We got out of the hotel room today and went to Pecherska Lavra. It started as a Monastery made of caves in the 11th Century. It has grown into a large place where people come to visit museums and worship. It was great to walk around and see some of the museums on the grounds and enjoy the beautiful buildings. We even got to go in some of the caves where Monks were laid to rest. When we came to the entrance, a women let me borrow a head scarf and an apron to cover my pants so that I could enter the caves. It is a very holy place for them. We followed several people into the caves and watched them light candles and pray in front of the Monks bodies specially preserved and laid to rest in the caves behind glass. It was a very interesting experience. There were certain places in the caves that were set aside for people to say Orthodox prayers, that we did not go in. We tried be respectful of the sacredness of their religion to them. It was fascinating to see. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful surroundings in Pecherska Lavra:
With a long week ahead of us, we are trying to plan an outing everyday to make the most of our time here. Hopefully it will pass quickly and we will meet our kiddos soon!
We talked with our Facilitator again today and she was not able to get our second SDA appointment scheduled yet. She will check back tomorrow, but it looks like the lady who usually handles international adoption SDA appointments is on vacation this week. She should be back on Monday, so our facilitator will check in each day to try to get us on the schedule. She said most likely it will be Tuesday of next week. Not exactly what we wanted to hear, but we are trying to make the best of it. We got out of the hotel room today and went to Pecherska Lavra. It started as a Monastery made of caves in the 11th Century. It has grown into a large place where people come to visit museums and worship. It was great to walk around and see some of the museums on the grounds and enjoy the beautiful buildings. We even got to go in some of the caves where Monks were laid to rest. When we came to the entrance, a women let me borrow a head scarf and an apron to cover my pants so that I could enter the caves. It is a very holy place for them. We followed several people into the caves and watched them light candles and pray in front of the Monks bodies specially preserved and laid to rest in the caves behind glass. It was a very interesting experience. There were certain places in the caves that were set aside for people to say Orthodox prayers, that we did not go in. We tried be respectful of the sacredness of their religion to them. It was fascinating to see. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful surroundings in Pecherska Lavra:
Gate Church of the Trinity. We went through this gate to enter Pecherska Lavra.
Great Lavra Bell Tower.
A nut that fell from one of the trees inside Pecherska Lavra.
This is what it looked like from the outside.
Dormition Cathedral from the front.
Dormition Cathedral from the back.
A view of Kiev from Pecherska Lavra.
After Visiting Pecherska Lavra, we went back to the hotel to Skype with our boys in Virginia. Today was their first day of school and we wanted to catch them before they left for school. We had a good chat with them and we were able to have family prayer with them before they left. It was really hard today not being there for them in person. Today is the first day of Kindergarten for our youngest. Our next older son starts 5th grade so he will be able to help our Kindergartener find his way around. Our oldest is in 7th grade. I can't wait to hear how their first day of school went when we Skype with them tomorrow.
After our Skype session we hung out for a bit reading and I studied more Russian. For dinner we decided to try out McDonald's in Ukraine. I don't particularly like McDonald's in the states because my kiddos love to go there all of the time on road trips. I've gotten completely sick of it. We were told to give it a try at least once on our trip to see how it compares so we gave it a shot. I have to say it was pretty good and it reminded me of home. Everything tasted similar, but the sauces are a little different. They didn't have Ranch, Honey Mustard, or Barbeque Sauces, but they did have a cheese sauce that was pretty good! The fries were good, but they didn't have very much salt on them at all. Just a few changes to match local tastes here. The restaurant, which was a two story building, was very busy. It was hard to find a seat right away, but a nice young man tried hard to communicate with me to try to find us a seat while James was ordering our food. I didn't understand his Russian very well so he tried out his English. I swear he was asking me if I had a VISA. I told him no that I didn't have a VISA, but I did have a passport. He looked at me kind of funny and then showed me two seats. I guess what he was trying to ask me was if I needed two seats. It was a fun experience overall and brought us back to "America" for a bit.
With a long week ahead of us, we are trying to plan an outing everyday to make the most of our time here. Hopefully it will pass quickly and we will meet our kiddos soon!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Kiev Ukraine Round Two Day Four: Cast Not Away Your Confidence
James is at the keyboard for today's post.
Today is Labor Day back in the USA. In Ukraine it is the Day of Knowledge, or the day that all the children return to school. It is treated as a holiday of sorts with parents seeing their children off to school and enjoying special programs to start off the academic year. In my opinion, it is a pretty good idea to celebrate the start of school with parents, teachers, and students in a holiday atmosphere. A good way to start the next year of learning for the kids.
To be completely honest, today started out to be difficult for us. Yesterday, my feet did not agree with the shoes that I wore to church. Usually, this is not a big deal. However, since we walked a little over a mile each direction, my feet decided to inform me of their discomfort by creating a rather large blister which promptly burst. Needless to say that any form of walking has been rather uncomfortable for me today which kept us in the hotel room instead of heading out to visit some of the wonders of Kiev. I am very grateful to Mary for her patience with my foolish choice of footwear. The blister has healed throughout the day so tomorrow should provide more opportunities to get out and around while we have spare time waiting for paperwork.
We contacted our facilitator this morning to find out how things were going. She said the paperwork has been submitted and we are waiting for the bureaucratic machinery to do its work. Her best guess was that we would know more on Wednesday. So, more waiting.
Of course, when you have a lot of time on your hands with nowhere to go, you can only find so much distraction and your thoughts tend to reflect on what you are trying to do. With the adoption process slowed to a crawl for us and the experience of past weeks weighing on our minds, a rather somber mood hung around through much of the day. Thankfully, we also had time to review some of the messages sent by friends and family while we have been on this journey. So many times, those comments have lifted our spirits. Thank you!
Today, Mary and I read an article that my sister recommended a few days back. We had not had an opportunity to read it yet. It was a sermon given by one of the Apostles of our church many years ago entitled "Cast Not Away Your Confidence." Link ( https://www.lds.org/ensign/print/2000/03/cast-not-away-therefore-your-confidence?lang=eng&clang=eng ) Sincere gratitude to my sister for sending this link. The somber mood lifted with this timely reminder of the Lord's strength and purpose. We do not know where this adoption journey will lead. We do not know if it will end the way we expect or hope. We do know it is a journey that we must take with faith and confidence in His purpose. And so we will take it.
Today is Labor Day back in the USA. In Ukraine it is the Day of Knowledge, or the day that all the children return to school. It is treated as a holiday of sorts with parents seeing their children off to school and enjoying special programs to start off the academic year. In my opinion, it is a pretty good idea to celebrate the start of school with parents, teachers, and students in a holiday atmosphere. A good way to start the next year of learning for the kids.
To be completely honest, today started out to be difficult for us. Yesterday, my feet did not agree with the shoes that I wore to church. Usually, this is not a big deal. However, since we walked a little over a mile each direction, my feet decided to inform me of their discomfort by creating a rather large blister which promptly burst. Needless to say that any form of walking has been rather uncomfortable for me today which kept us in the hotel room instead of heading out to visit some of the wonders of Kiev. I am very grateful to Mary for her patience with my foolish choice of footwear. The blister has healed throughout the day so tomorrow should provide more opportunities to get out and around while we have spare time waiting for paperwork.
We contacted our facilitator this morning to find out how things were going. She said the paperwork has been submitted and we are waiting for the bureaucratic machinery to do its work. Her best guess was that we would know more on Wednesday. So, more waiting.
Of course, when you have a lot of time on your hands with nowhere to go, you can only find so much distraction and your thoughts tend to reflect on what you are trying to do. With the adoption process slowed to a crawl for us and the experience of past weeks weighing on our minds, a rather somber mood hung around through much of the day. Thankfully, we also had time to review some of the messages sent by friends and family while we have been on this journey. So many times, those comments have lifted our spirits. Thank you!
Today, Mary and I read an article that my sister recommended a few days back. We had not had an opportunity to read it yet. It was a sermon given by one of the Apostles of our church many years ago entitled "Cast Not Away Your Confidence." Link ( https://www.lds.org/ensign/print/2000/03/cast-not-away-therefore-your-confidence?lang=eng&clang=eng ) Sincere gratitude to my sister for sending this link. The somber mood lifted with this timely reminder of the Lord's strength and purpose. We do not know where this adoption journey will lead. We do not know if it will end the way we expect or hope. We do know it is a journey that we must take with faith and confidence in His purpose. And so we will take it.
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