Out on the Town

Dear Friends and Family,
We have had a great weekend. We got up Saturday and decided to head out for a little sightseeing. Of course, we didn't have any directions, so it was rough going at first. After stopping and asking directions (Paula had to ask, of course), and then getting more directions, we finally found the Lavra- a church built above catacombs (caves) that monks lived in around 1050 AD. It was quite an interesting field trip. There are some beautiful buildings filled with many lovely works of art, particularly Madonnas and others from the Medieval period. But it is an incredibly depressing place. Walking into the area, you are accosted by begging kids. There is lots of construction going on, as they continue to build more buildings, stores, and museums on the site. It is very sad to see all the wealth and such great need in the same place. And there is everything from candles, icons and religious trading cards (as the boys call them) for sale. It is so sad to see such a depressing, empty religion. I guess it could all be summed up with a question Noah asked me, "Mom, if this is a church, why are all the people so unhappy? Everyone at Brook Hills is always smiling and happy." It was a great opportunity to share with the kids why our beliefs are so different from Russian Orthodox. Then we went through the creepy catacombs where all the people were going through kissing the tombs of dead saints. The kids couldn't wait to get out of there!

We decided that was enough culture for one day. We headed back to the flat to try again the next day.

Today was a great day. Our group of 9- Ande, me, our 3 bio kids, Andrey, his friend Oleg, and 2 orphan graduates from Andrey's orphanage (Katia and Sonya) -headed to the left bank to the Terminal. This is a mall with bowling, iceskating, movie theater, go-carts, etc. A kid's paradise!! Andrey had his heart set on ice skating, so we ended up ice skating, bowling, and having pizza! And to top it all off, we met up with our friends Oleg and Lena V. and kids. Yes, our group just got bigger!

We finished up the day (yes, quite exhausted) and got on the marshrutka- taxi bus. We managed to fit 30 people in a 15 passenger van for a 20 minute ride back to the metro. Ah, yes, Ukraine!!

We are looking forward to being assigned a judge tomorrow, and hopefully begin negotiations (ha, ha!) with a judge for a court date. Please pray that this will happen quickly. Also, please pray for Chris's sweet heart. He told Ande tonight that he doesn't want to go back to the orphanage any more. I know he will be devastated if we have to return to America without him. Pray for him to understand and be patient.

Love and miss you all,
Paula, Ande, and the kids