Day 19

Today was an orphanage day. But, we can’t go to the orphanage until about 3 pm because the kids have classes. After a late morning at the apartment we met up with our Hubbyless friend “K” and wondered around the area. Believe it or not there are several second hand stores in Ukraine. The other day Hubby and I went in one that was close by. Okay, for those of you who think that DI smells, you haven’t smelled anything like what a second hand store smells like in Ukraine! I just about gagged when I walked in! Today we found a larger one that was really nice and didn’t smell bad. It was fun to look around. They have a section where the clothing items are not marked and they weigh them. So, you pay by weight. Other items, probably the better ones, are priced. We wondered around a bit more and went back to our apartment and made lunch. Then off to the orphanage. Today all the orphanage directors, about 45 they said (don’t know if that is really accurate), were at our orphanage for a meeting. The teacher asked us to play with the kids upstairs rather than in the cantina. Remember, upstairs smells like dirty socks. And, seeing that they were keeping most of the younger kids inside, it smelled especially bad today. The sad thing is after about 15 minutes you don’t smell it anymore….ahhh!
When we first arrived, one little boy, jshenya, (not spelled that way but sounds that way) grabbed me by the hand and took me upstairs to where our younger boy was. Before we knew it we were surrounded by kids. Every once in a while their teachers come in and make them go do something, then they come back. We played cards, made friendship bracelets and did puzzles. Of course, our younger boy and Hubby managed to escape outside for some soccer. We have got to get that kid on a team. The first questions out of both our boys today were, “When is court?” Several of the kids have already gone to court and these kids just want out of there. Well, our court is officially tomorrow, Thursday, at 10 am. I am glad it is in the morning. I just want it over with. Another family, the “H” family had court today and all went well. We spent as much time with the kids as we could and left at 5:30 pm or so to go back. We ending up meeting with the “F” family for dinner and then their Ukrainian friend, Lucy, Hubby and I walked to the train station to buy tickets. We walked so, so, so very far, stood in a line that took FOR EV VER!!! Just to find out that we had to buy first class tickets. By the time we were done it was getting very late. We walked a ways to the nearest bus stop and took the bus the rest of the way home. We walked her to her apartment and high tailed it home because it was after 10 pm. As we were walking that late I thought of how in life we are told that the path of least resistance isn’t always the right path to take in life. I realized that when you are American, staying in Ukraine, walking through the city after 10 pm, the path of least resistance to your apartment, down the dark alleys, it the path to take!!!
On our way to the train station we passed a dead rat, or should I say the size of a small dog rat, on the sidewalk. I took a picture of it but will not post it. I will have it in my album at home though. It was bigger and wider than Hubby’s size 13 shoes.
Lucy, our Ukrainian friend, has told “K” and I that she will come back next week to stay with us and be with us while we are here alone in Ukraine. We are so happy about that. She is awesome, knows her way around, speaks the language, knows the missionaries well and she LOVES to go walking!!! That makes me happy.
I may joke about a lot of things we run into here, the sights, the sounds, the smells, but it really isn’t all that bad….just different. Hubby leaves tomorrow night after court, will be in Kiev until Saturday morning when he flies out. I am grateful that he is headed home to be with our children. By the way, our youngest boy asked today if our whole family could come out here and be with him while we wait for everything to be done and he looked disappointed when I told him they couldn’t. Hopefully it was some consolation to him to know that the next time he sees Papa after tomorrow will be in America with his whole family. The boys are so excited to get this over with and so are we. Another day down. Tomorrow will be a big hurdle and the rest should be somewhat downhill, a rather long downhill. Thanks so much for your love and support. We miss you all!

These pictures were, for the most part, taken by the kids.