Day 4

We needed to be out of our apartment and our luggage to one of the other apartments by 9 am. So we were up early and headed out. All the couples luggage was stored at one apartment so we could share the cost for the day seeing that we would be heading out of Kiev tonight on the train. After dropping off our stuff, we headed out early to go do a session at the Kiev Temple. That was a wonderful experience. Hubby and I were asked to participate, if you know what I mean, and that was even more special. It was a temple experience from a whole different perspective seeing that we were the ones who spoke a different language. What a beautiful temple.

We were supposed to make it back by 1 pm for a tour but we left the temple by 1. We realized we didn’t have a ride back from the temple but managed, with the help of an English speaking temple worker, to get two cabs to take us back. We were all, meaning four couples and two children, hanging out in the one apartment until we went out for a short tour. We needed to get back to the SDA to pick up our referral letters. So, we took a short tour. Today was much colder. The sun was out but misleading, because when the wind blew it was very cold. We stopped off at the Pizza place across the road from the SDA and ordered a quick bite. It has become a hang out for us. We had to wait for an hour or so at the SDA but finally got our letter. We dashed back to the apartment to get our things together and head for the train station.

I have to say a bit about our cab experiences. The drive to the temple was pretty good. But remember, the driver speaks Russian and we speak English and then he gets lost. Apparently cabs have a hard time getting to the temple. It is on the outskirts of Kiev. He said something, one of the men said something, it sounded like they understood each other, but they didn’t. A phone call fixed the problem. We went to fish for our seatbelts when we first got in and realized that the buckle part was way down in the crack of the seat and one of the women and I looked at each other and realized that taking our chances without a seat belt beat fishing out that buckle!

I watched several times as we were in traffic that people walking on the street were beating us everywhere we went. It is so stop and go that you literally could walk faster than you can drive. Our driver on the way home from the temple was really nice. We couldn’t understand him either but he was really a nice man. Everyone we have come across has been great.

I am actually writing this on Word with the laptop as we are traveling on the night train and will post it the next time we have internet. The train station looks like Grand Central. It was big, beautiful but incredibly filled with people. So, we have two large suitcases, one large duffle bag and three carry on bags, Another couple had two large suitcases, one smaller one and carry on sizes. Another couple had at least that and last but not least I heard my friend tell her son, count our bags, there should be twelve of them. So, picture us herding our way through a very busy train station, up a huge escalator, across the building, past a train platform, down three flights of stairs and onto the platform we needed to be at. Think about it! It was slightly nerve racking but at the same time fun.

We made it to our platform and to our two cars. Now, this is not the kind of train you see in the movies today. This is the kind of train you see in old, old, black and white movies. This was a real, oh my goodness, choo-choo train! We had to buy in first class because tickets were out for the four sleeper compartments. There were two compartments in one car and one couple would have to have a compartment in a separate car. We drew for it and Hubby and I ended up in our own car away from the others. It really doesn’t matter though. We spent the first hour or so sitting with the lights off and watching everything go by outside. We sat there and said to each other “Did you ever in a million years think we would be on the other side of the world riding a train in the middle of the night!” No we didn’t but the train is actually really fun. I have made an oath not to use the bathroom though. I can wait.

It has been a fun and successful day and we know more than ever that we are in the right place at the right time being led by the right guide in our life! So, goodnight to all our friends and family as we ride across the countryside of this beautiful world we live in. Life is good! We love you all! Thanks for your comments, prayers and messages they mean everything to us!

Day 3

Well, I couldn't sleep again last night. Fell asleep close to 5 am. I thought the night would never end. We skyped our kids before going to bed but our oldest wasn't home so I promised to skype her at our time 8 am. Then, I couldn't get skype to load. It took about an hour and then we were able to talk to her, that was nice. We were scheduled to be picked up for our appointment at 11:45. Our appointment was at 12:00. We made it there. It seems that office has been a revolving door for our group for the last two days. We met one of our friends coming out. The appointment took all of five minutes and we were done. It was only for our older boy because we get one appointment, have to take the overnight train to visit him with witnesses, take the overnight train back, go to another appointment, wait a day to pick up the letter, take the overnight train back again and visit the second boy. Then we should be able to stay there for a while. We will probably be the only family here when we come back. It should be fine. We really didn't learn anything new from our appointment but they did show us the kids pictures when they were younger and that was great. They were so cute!
We all met at a pizza place accross from the office two different times today. We had pizza at lunch time and hot chocolate (which is chocolate syrup in a cup) and shared a strawberry filled crepe (or pancake as they say). It was a great place to eat.
Between the two times at the pizza place we drove to the notary. Can I just say that driving here is an experience all in itself. The streets are filled with very nice cars...audi's, bmw's, etc...but the driving is CRAZY! We couldn't find the seatbelts in the taxi. That guy could really drive though. I felt safer with him than I did with a woman who drove us. There are no lanes...there are no speed limits....the horn is used very, very often. It really isn't necessary to use it either. The light turns green and the cab driver immediately hits the horn. Now I know whose honking all those horns every night. We did make it safely to our destination. But, we are taking a cab to the temple tomorrow and it is farther away...that should be an experience.
We went to the notary office. It is a hole in the wall place very interesting decor I must say. There were several small offices, some with kind of a quilted vinyl on the doors. Very old inside. We signed where we were supposed to. Then all of a sudden the doors opened and all these people came in. I have no idea why they were there. There really were not the nicely dressed people I have seen on the streets. I am sure they were nice enough, they just looked different. One woman sat next to me and I was overcome with an interesting smell. Couldn't quite place it but I had to turn my head and try to get fresh air. Still can't place the smell but I was grateful when it was her time to leave.
It really was a pleasant day. We enjoyed being with the other couples here and there will be more tomorrow. We are going to watch a movie and hopefully be able to fall asleep tonight because we are meeting earlier tomorrow morning.
Please continue to pray for us because we do have issues with our second (younger) boy and we will need prayers to make it all work out. We miss home, family and friends!

Day 2

This is the living room of the aparment. It is my favorite room. The ceilings in the apartment are 12 ft and very cool.

This little table is in the kitchen. It is very quaint.

This is the kitchen. It is very funcitonal.

The bathroom....Obviously!

Again, the bathroom.

Our bedroom. 12 ft ceilings. The windows in the living room and the bedroom face the street. It is quite a busy street. The living room has the balcony that you can go out. We have sometimes stood out there talking to one of the other couples until they find us.

This is a picture of the front door from the inside of the apartment. It has a massive amount of locks on it.

This is the hallway that leads to our door. We are on the right hand side.

I thought this was a cool picture. It kind of gives you a feel for the streets that we walked down all day. People are everywhere.

This is a cool looking building. It is apartments on the upper floors and retail on the bottom floor. There are many like that.

This is the side of the Golden Gate and this is a statue of a famous man. I heard about many today and couldn't keep them straight. Obviously, he had something to do with the Golden Gate.

Very busy street. You do have to be careful crossing the street. There does not appear to be any speed laws and you hear a lot of horns honking.

This is the Great Golden Gate which was the city gate into Kiev.

We thought this was a neat looking cafe.

Another cool building.

This is a picture of a famous founder of Kiev. His name is Bogdon. I took this picture for a special friend who knows someone even more special with that name!

Again, they park on the sidewalk. Really don't know how they get out though. I really don't want to know. I do know that if you want to total out your car for insurance money....bring it to Kiev!

Department of Foreign affairs. This is a HUGE building.

This is Andrew and I in front of St. Michaels which is to our left.

This is St. Michael's. It is very ornate and beautiful.

Yesterday, well really Saturday and Sunday, felt like one very, very long day and not two days. It was very hard to go to sleep last night. Especially since we skyped our kids before going to bed. We miss them so much. We finally went to bed sometime after midnight and woke up at 3am Hubby was able to go back to sleep but I couldn't. I didn't fall back to sleep until after 5 am. Then we were startled away by an unfamiliar sound. It was the sound of our doorbell. I looked at the time and it was after 1 pm in the afternoon. We couldn't believe it! To top it off, I did not feel rested at all today. I felt like I walked around in a fog all day.

We were taken on the tour by an interpreter named Andrew. Very nice young man. Very polite. He is going to two Universities to study linguistics and film producing. We walked around the city for three hours. It really was great exercise! The city is very beautiful. It is filled with all buildings and a lot of history.

The woman are all dressed up. Most of them wear skirts and at least dress pants. I saw very few woman wearing jeans. They all wear high heel shoes or black books and very nice coats too. I felt very under dressed in my jeans and sweater. The men dress nicely too. Usually we saw them in nice slacks and black jackets. Black is definately the choice of color for most everyone. There were a few people who wore animal print clothes and others that I really just don't know how to describe. Everyone seems quite pleasant. They don't walk around saying hi or anything, they just seem fairly pleasant. There was one mother who was on her knees holding a sign and her young son, probably 6-8 followed us asking for money. We were also approached later on in the day by a teenager asking for money. The waiters and waitresses we have seen have been very, very nice.

The city is very busy with people walking everywhere. People are everywhere. It kind of reminded me of San Francisco. The buildings here are shorter but some of the architecture is the same. We came back to our apartment to rest and then met everyone for dinner. We walked several blocks to dinner which was really great. The whole group of us were there and it was really nice. We ate at an italian place and the food was great.

Our appointment is tomorrow noon. We are looking forward to that. Everyone's appointments went well today. We finished dinner kind of late. There seems to be no rush at mealtime. It seems to be a nightlong event we have been told. You are seated right away but the whole process takes about two hours. It is supposed to be a time to get together and enjoy an evening, not just a meal. It worked out great for us tonight. It was a nice walk back to the apartment. We are all scattered here and there within several blocks, but we know where everyone is.

Here are some pics we took today.

I made a little mistake on that post. The five hour layover was in Minnesota and that was a great mall. Amersterdam was just about one and a half to two hours and it was nothing to write home about. I really can't think straight yet. We will post pics tomorrow.

Day 1

We made it!!! Three planes and 26 hours later. We had a great day of travel, though. All the airports were really nice. I mean REALLY nice. The one in Amsterdam was like being in a mall. I almost forgot where we were except for the very heavy bag on my shoulder. We had a five hour or so layover there and that went by a little slow. Our first flight we were not seated together but the flight attendant was able to move us so we sat at the bulk head and it was very spacious. The second and longest flight was somewhere between eight and ten hours long. We were sitting in the middle two seats of a row of four but it turned out to be very comfortable. It was hard to sleep. The last flight to Ukraine was nice again but everything around us started to be very foreign. We definately weren't in Kansas anymore. I would say that 80+ percent of that flight was Ukrainians. We were not seated together on that flight but hubby sat in the seat in front of me and we each had a window seat...that was nice.

We were met at the airport and went to the store to get some food and a sim card. My phone from home works with the sim so that worked out nicely.

We are in our apartment now and were able to get a hold of one of the other families. He came by and we will be meeting them for dinner soon. Hopefully we will get to see the others soon.

By the time we were heading to the apartment it was getting dark so we couldn't see a lot. We will see more tomorrow though. I think we will be on our own to tour the city.

Our apartment is on the main street through the downtown area and busy with people walking and cars driving by. We have a balcony that we can go out on and watch, its pretty cool.

I will post again soon!

Bought our Tickets... Yikes!!!

We had to buy our tickets so close to traveling because we needed to see the signed letter with our date for sure. It was a two hour event on the phone with the airline. She was amazingly helpful trying to help us use our skymiles but it didn't work. Oh well. I watched the price of plane tickets change before my eyes. They went up over fifty dollars just while we were trying to book them. Delta is great though, she managed to give me the price I first saw online and that was helpful.

I am soooooooo excited! I cannot wait to see the kids! My husband is more excited than me and has an amazing attitude about the whole trip. He says its going to be a great vacation. I am going to keep thinking like him... well I'm trying... I am way excited!

Now to lists and packing. My kids will be well taken care of by family. Just don't know how my house will survive... and the laundry too! There is another list I have to make. I thought it would be a good idea to have a sealed envelope to the kids for every day I am gone that will have a special message for them every day. I suppose it will be good to include those motherly words like "turn the lights off in the basement before you go to school" and "make sure the dog's water isn't frozen".

Ukraine...here we come!

Okay, I'm going to try this blogging thing again! We just received confirmation that our SDA appointment date is March 15th. We finally get to buy our plane tickets. We are soooo excited!

I will keep you all, all three of you, posted!!!