Monday, April 2, 2007

4/2/07 - Arrival in Kiev, Ukraine



Saturday, 3/31/07 - Well, we've finally arrived to our initial destination! We had a safe and comfortable long flight, arriving 9 am Saturday, 3/31/07. Julia met us at the airport and told us our apt with the SDA is 4 pm today. We packed our bags into a van and were taken to our apartment in Kiev, a comfortable one bedroom apartment. We met Yuri, had lunch at TGI Fridays and had a tour of Kiev. We also met Sergey, our facilitator. Sharon (Liddle, who is traveling with us) was invited to Sergey's for dinner and to spend the night with his family, which gave us the opportunity to post our our blog....only to find out the Internet cafe was closed! So we watched a movie and crashed! We slept for 9.5 hours. Would have slept longer but had to get up early (8:30) since Sharon promised to be back at that time. Finally, at 11:45, Sharon arrived and we went to church!

Sunday, 4/1/07 - Happy Palm Sunday! We went to St. Vladimir's (Greek Orthodox) for church. Unbelievable crowd, which was a pleasant surprise. Since palms are not available in this part of the world, willow branches were used instead. We had lunch at a Ukrainian restaurant, the food was excellent! The waiters and waitresses wore their native garb.
The large square (Independence Square) and main drive were blocked off to traffic to allow everyone to walk freely about. We enjoyed walking through the underground shopping mall, we visited St. Michael's church which was beautiful with gold domes and blue exterior. Inside fresco's were on the walls and ceilings throughout. We spent the evening at the Kiev opera house and saw Swan Lake. The tickets were arranged by Julia who got us special seating in the middle front of the theatre. After leaving the opera, at Independence Square, there was a fire show which was pretty to see but difficult to explain. We had a late evening snack at McDonald's, not Ukrainian, but familiar!
Thanks for your prayers. We are off to the SDA for our 4:00 Appointment today!!!!!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great update! So glad that you are there! Tell Sharon she gets a travel alarm clock for her next birthday. We are praying for your appointment today and for all to go well, and for you to come out with a referral to meet your child!
~Jean & Jim

Anonymous said...

We are praying that the perfect daughter for you is presented at your apointment and that it is perfectly clear which one is for you. We'll keep you in our prayers all day and will be excited to hear how it went today.
Rob and Laura

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. We're also praying for the perfect child for you! Looks a little warmer there than we remember.
Tim & Charlene

Gary and Beverly said...

Wonderful to hear you made it. We hope the SDA meeting went well. Can't wait to find out where you're going.
We are praying hard.

Gary & Bev

Anonymous said...

Looks like you're having good weather, and are able to relax and see the pretty sites in Kiev. By now you've had your appointment. We hope it went well! Can't wait to hear the details!!
~Nancy and Steve

Jodi said...

Looks pretty neat there dad & Deb! I hope you are taking lots of pictures. Keep writing so I know you are doing o.k. and let me know when you meet my new sister. Lisa can't wait for you to get back, she said she is stressed out keeping the house clean and grocery shopping (ha ha). I told her MARRY RICH! I love you guys.
-your #1 daughter, Jodi (in age only)

Anonymous said...

You two are having too much fun, I glad to hear it. I hope your whole journey is filled with it. We're praying for you, and you daughter that God has named just for you.
Rick and Fran