An abandoned church in the Ukrainian countryside


It is Tuesday morning, and we were able to find an internet location to use. We had been going to a restaurant that has internet access, and last night one of the stores in the mall had a fire, so the wi-fi was not working. Also, the wireless card on our computer is now ka-put! We are going to try to get another one at a local computer/electronics store.

Yesterday was a holiday, so all businesses were closed. We were invited by the Inspector, Tatiana, here in Terinopol, to her home in the country yesterday with the children. We took the van, picked her and her children up, and drove about 30 minutes to their weekend home. It was a nice respite from the city! The children all played in the yard, took walks, and enjoyed the day. We ate more food yesterday than we had any day since we've been here.


The feast set before us!

Tatiana's husband Pavlow enjoys fishing. He provided the fish that we had for lunch yesterday. Some of the meal she cooked at home, and some of the fish he put into a smoker that was on the fire in the back yard.

Natalya, Tatiana, Monique, & Pavlow showing off his catch.






Group Picture of our Friends


Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina enjoyed the day playing with Tatiana's children. They have a daughter who is 12 and a son who is 9. They were able to do some exploring up by the abandoned church (posted above). They picked strawberries and gooseberries out of the garden, played chase, and laughed a lot. Because we were with Natalya we were able to keep the children longer than usual. They were very tired and happy after an enjoyable day. Alina shed some tears about going back to the orphanage. We assured her that we would be back tomorrow, and gave her big hugs and kisses.

Today we will be meeting the judge to set up our court date which we will have after Valery submits our documents in Kiev. Valery will travel to Kiev tonight to begin the process. This can take up to five working days. Please pray that it doesn't take the five days in Kiev, and that the paperwork is processed quickly.