Waiting period

Greetings!

We have booked our travel and will be leaving the US again on February 10th (for our court date on February 12th) and returning again February 13th. A quick turn-a-round, for sure! I think we have weathered the jet-lag at this point and are starting to get back into our typical home routine. I want to thank you all again for your prayers and continued support during this time; The Lord has definitely gone before us. 

One idea for a blog post that I recently had was to try to thank everyone that has helped us, by giving us time, resources, or prayer. Needless to say, this would be a long list. I thought it might be particularly helpful to anyone considering adoption who feels the time and cost is too daunting to see how God has worked this out in our lives. Understand, we are not people of great means, nor we do we have much of a social network. We do have an amazing extended family and church family. Most importantly, we serve a God who desires to be a father to the fatherless, to heal the wounded, and to make whole the broken. He is acting here, for the benefit of A, not us. So if adoption has been on your heart, stay tuned; there may be something for you. 

Tonight, I thought I would share a bit more about our impressions of the country of Ukraine. I've talked a bit about the people and our time in two of the largest cities in the country. To a large degree, these cities feel modern, safe, and European or at least western. The country between the cities through which we passed was interesting as well. Here are some photographs: 

Very typical country-side for central and eastern Ukraine. The land was flat and white from snow extending into the distance. Similarly to the US, trees tended be present along property lines, either planted to create a delineation or left in place when the land was cleared. 

The country-side was largely empty, with occasional towns. If there is a town, no matter the size, you can bet there will be a McDonalds. The menu was fairly similar to those in the US. We stopped at one two or three times while in country. 

The ubiquitous bus stop. Whenever we would pass through any small community, you would see these at every strategic place. They all looked, universally, like the one pictured above. I would be surprised if any of these were constructed since Soviet times. During morning school or rush hour times, each would always have a crowd of workers or children. 

More of the country-side. Again, this was the predominant view. 

A few more of the orphanage:

This is a view of the building where A lives with the other kids in her group. 

Walking to the group house. I don't think it was ever above 10 degrees F. Old southern boys like me learn that if you wear long underwear, 4 shirts, wool socks, gloves, water-proof boots, and a wool hat, 3 degrees F isn't so bad.

The view outside A's room. 

The view inside A's room. Much better, I think. 

Have a blessed night.

Michael and Julie