Day 11

We arrived this morning on the train from Zap to Kiev at 6 am. I really do enjoy the night train. We had first class again so we had two beds and it was almost smoke free. Every once in a while you smell someone smoking. Apparently that is better than second class though. We will also take first class back to Zap. It is worth it to pay extra for that. I don’t remember if I said it yesterday but we stayed up talking with our friends in our compartment and then we went right to sleep. The rocking of the train makes it easy to sleep but when the train stops, I always wake up. Doesn’t matter though, it’s a fun ride. We were taken right to our apartment. We are sharing an apartment with the other couple. It is a two bedroom, oh my goodness, beautiful apartment. It is all new inside. There is a washer and dryer (don’t get too excited, they don’t work at all as well as those at home), a dish washer, new windows, floors and a big tub. Of course, just because Hubby and I carry a “your bathroom has to have something wrong with it” curse, the shower head is pathetic. But, at least you feel clean after a shower. The bedrooms are on opposite sides of the large apartment so it is pretty private. We have to climb eight flights of stairs to get to the apartment and it has a heavy door with many locks. One of the facilitator’s was helping us with the locks and we couldn’t get in. She tried, hubby tried, friend’s hubby tried and finally the door was opened from the inside by two men. No one, but us American’s anyway, thought that this was odd and we were told to go inside. We were later told that these were workmen in the apartment. We really have our doubts about that, but oh well. Like I said the apartment is incredible.

Hubby and I took showers while the other couple went to bed. We then went out for a two hour walk and stopped at McDonald’s for pancakes (really crepes with strawberry jam…YUM). I was so tired when we got back. We took a short nap and then got ready for our appointments. Can I just say that Kiev is really very beautiful. I can appreciate it so much more after being in Zap. Zap is a very run down, dirty and gray city. Kiev has old buildings but is very alive with activity and it is definitely kept up better. I still feel very comfortable walking around both cities, but Kiev is really beautiful.

We are here for one night. Both of us couples had our SDA appointment today in the afternoon and they went smooth and perfect. They are very formal at the SDA. You have to wait until they are ready for you before you can go in. They couldn’t find our file at first and we had to wait on the stairway. Our facilitator said that it was normal and don’t worry. We were called in and sat down. She pulled out our younger boy’s file and there were two pictures in there of when he was younger. He is so adorable. She reviews his personal situation, siblings, health, etc, and verifies that this is the child we want to visit. The meeting is then over and we are told to come back tomorrow to get our letter. Simple as that. Before our appointment and while we waited for the second couple, we stayed at the pizza place across the street…again. It has great food. While we were there another family came in that arrived back on February 7th. They are headed home tomorrow…they are done. It was great to see her. Then another family came in. They are headed down to a more remote part of Ukraine in the very south to visit with a boy down there. We were having a reunion/party. It was fun. We were getting pretty tired so we left. We had walked to the pizza place from our apartment and decided to walk back. We didn’t have any groceries. We had gotten almost all the way back and couldn’t find a store. We knew there was one by our other apartment so we turned around and walked back there. This time I was in high heels and my feet were killing me. Hubby and I figured we had walked about 9-10 miles during that whole day. When we got back to the apartment our friends Hubby made us a wonderful dinner and we had ice cream for dessert. It was the most food I had eaten in a long time. We skyped home and our friends got to see our kids. It’s getting late and I am so tired. The day after the train ride is always hard because we just don’t sleep enough. We should sleep well tonight because we don’t have to get up for anything tomorrow.

It feels good to have crossed another milestone. We could possibly have our court date next week if we are lucky. I say lucky, but it has nothing to do with luck. We will get it when it is our time, I know who is in charge!

Coming back to Kiev was rejuvenating but I look forward to seeing the kids again. I cannot wait until we will be the ones ready to fly home. Thank you for your prayers and comments. We think about our friends and family at home all the time. It really keeps us going. We love you all. Again, things are going good, keep praying for us! Love you all!!!