The Bus

As we wait and wait we are starting to notice that our money insists on being spent at the normal rate, not taking into account we need it to last longer then we originally intended. In an effort to curb unnecessary spending as you know we have started to walk different places and yesterday we all experienced our first ride on the city bus.

The bus to the internate was a relatively painless trip unless you count having to run in boots to catch it, while my endurance has increased during my many walks and flights of stairs, I have not begun to start running as of yet so the sprint to the bus was a bit stressful on my end.

Once on the bus the trip was relatively short and we arrived at the Internate. Yesterday the boys finished the outhouse next to there club house and then played various games on the field. It was a shorter day as we had to leave to get ready for church and our host wanted to take us by the University first. The bus ride back was a bit unique. Apparently it is not necessary for the doors to be shut prior to the bus leaving, nor is it necessary to pay as entering or to have a seat. We crammed in the best we could, I paid the driver and then watched him make various amounts of change for other passengers while driving. Just when we thought no one else could possibly squeeze in they would and did. We decided to get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way home.

We did take a taxi to the university and then walked from their to church, about a mile. The service was especially good, the pastor spoke mostly on how big is your God and all things considering this was a good message for us as this is our 5th Sunday in Ukraine. They also each week have a separate pastor speak for 15-20 minutes prior to the offering on the offering. Service lasts about 2 1/2 hours.

Following church we went home and made tacos. We had received a care package from home and have never been so excited over a simple meal. I can not tell you how wonderful those tacos were.

Its Monday now about 2:30 and I still wait for news on our court date. I will post again if/when we hear something.

Afternoon Tea

Today we were invited by our boys and some of their friends to a picnic lunch..
Following the meal the boys cleared the table and the kids all played UNO.The boys have become increasingly concerned with our spending money on the taxi and insist we try the bus which we will do tomorrow, today we actually walked home from the Internate which is 2.8 miles from our apartment.

We have been told that we will have a court date by Monday, we will of course post it as soon as we can. Sorry this post is so short, I am tired and ready to call it a night. Hopefull will have more to share tomorrow.

And still waiting........

Today is exactly one week from our paper filing, if what our facilitator told us is true and they are counting the weekend days as well as working days we should receive an answer on our court date today-we however have learned not to expect the court system to work on our schedule.

Yesterday we bought the boys shoes, jackets and hats at the Bazaar. We would have liked to walk around and look at things but our facilitator was on a mission to complete our task and move on. It turned out for the better as we went to lunch and then were able to take the kids to a park that had fair style rides.

We went from attraction to attraction, each one bringing more and more appreciation for the safety standards we have come to know and love back home. The girls had stayed home in the morning and met us at the park later in the day. When they arrived I tried to explain to Jessica that the ride were more intimidating then we were used to- she kept telling me that she had gone to the fair and was prepared, again I tried to explain but she kept insisting she knew what I was talking about- until she got on her first attraction and realized they did not have seat belts and the only thing keeping her from flying off the attraction was a thin piece of netting which her head repeatedly hit as the ride went round and round and up and down. We did have a wonderful time and ended our day with dinner at Mario's. We didn't find out however until we were there that the director was waiting for the boys return at the internate. We had asked if we needed to have them back by a specific time but apparently it was lost in translation, a lot of things seem to get lost in translation with us.

Still waiting

We still don't have a court date, the judge has 7 days which will be Thursday or Friday to assign the date, we then may still have several days to wait. Tomorrow is our 1 month mark in Kiev and while the people are wonderful we are anxious to come home. Please continue to pray.

Today Josh, Zac and I went to the internate. The boys rode bikes in the snow and then played a rousing game of Uno. Tomorrow we hope to take the boys out shopping for shoes and to lunch, a break from the internate.

It looks like our trip again may be extended, possible 20 more days just in the region, we are trying to juggle things the best we can, again my friends please pray for us like never before.

Hedgehogs and Bikes

Today we arrived at the internate earlier then we normally do. It was warm and sunny for about 20 minutes then started to get really cold then snow. We went inside the internate for a couple rousing games of Uno with Joseph while Richard and the girls went to get pizza and bike parts. About 10 minutes into our second Uno game Joseph got distracted and had a friend fill in for him, shortly there after a 2nd friend joined in so basically we played cards with 2 internate boys while our boys watched.

Alex was not at the internate today, we saw him briefly before he left with friends from his Awana group. While we were playing cards Kevin came back into the class room with a hedgehog. Danny was taken in by the little critter while I couldn't remember whether or not they could shoot out their quills when provoked.

Richard and the girls returned with 17 pizzas which disappeared in about 10 minutes, Richard then handed over the bike parts- a sprocket, pedals, a couple inter-tubes, a new tire and some patch kits- previously he had purchased a bike pump and another innertube- all this ran under $30.00 at the local bazaar- really the best way to shop here.

We followed the kids down to the back of the internate to a shed with a make-shift workshop where repairs were made on 2 bikes, we then proceeded to watch the kids do various tricks and stunts.

It was a good day for us but as of 7:30 pm Ukraine time we still do not have a court date, we are thinking we may once again have to change dates, we are praying that we do not. We ask for all prayer warriors to join in to help us as we near our 1 month mark in Ukraine, as those of you who have gone before so well know staying at this point is really not a choice as we could no sooner leave without Alex, Joseph and Kevin then Jessica, Randi, Josh, Zac or Danny. BTW- Alex and Joseph have decided to go by their Ukrainian names, Kevin chooses his American name- at least that is the decision this week. Will keep everyone updated.

Waiting

Our facilitator met with the new Judge today but did not receive a court date, we are hopeful that she will receive one tomorrow. What seems to be our biggest obstacle is that know one can seem to understand why a family our size wants to adopt 3 more children. It is hard to explain why- how to you explain that God put them in your heart, that you never even thought of adopting 3 teen boys until they walked right into our lives. How do explain the kind of love that God puts in your heart to people who in some ways question your motives. Please pray for us that we can somehow show the courts how much these boys mean to us along with a swift court date, favorable decision and rapid conclusion of all follow up documents.

Mountain Glory

Yesterday we went to the mountains with our friend from the FHI camps. She rented a small bus and took us to her home town and then up the mountain from there. When we arrived in town we first went to a small museum that held local Ukrainian art and trade crafts, things like jewelry, carved boxes, clothing, and much more. The items were amazing, they were final projects for trade schools used to graduate.

Then the driver took us to the base of the mountain were we walked the rest of the way, it was a difficult task for Richard and myself, we have already decided we are going to have to change our fat and lazy ways to keep up with our growing family. The walk up the mountain was probably about a mile or maybe a little more ( it seemed more like 10 to Richard and me but we may be bias). At our destination our host's ( family of our friend) had a large meal prepared, 4 courses not including bread and a meat platter, they had a 5th course but we were able to delay that one a few hours. We rolled away from the table and out to a different part of the cabin were our friends sister in law was making Ukrainian Easter eggs, this is a long and detailed process requiring dye and wax and several stages.

We then proceeded 10 feet to a small ski area were we rented snow boards, boots and acquired lift tickets for all 5 kids for around 3 hours for the equivalent of $50.oo. The biggest issue the kids had was the lift was an older style that they were not used to, it required you pulling down on a red circle tied to a cord, placing the circle between your legs and leaning back so the circle worked as a seat and pulled you up the mountain. It seemed like such a basic concept but the kids just couldn't grasp it. Josh did manage to get up the mountain after a few small tumbles, Zac was next and when we switched Danny to skis he managed to get up, the girls opted to climb up the mountain after many failed attempts.

A journalist from a local publication was there and seem to take great delight in taking pictures of our children slamming face first into the snow, our childrens 15 minutes of fame may very well be in Ukraine as the silly Americans who can't work a ski lift. We apologize to America now for not representing you well on the ski slope.

After the skiing we ate our 5th course and had tea and then walked down the mountain ( the trip down was much easier then the way up) and drove to our friends brothers house for tea ( we have never eaten so much, you would have thought they were Italian ) Tea was fruit, bread and butter, pastry, nuts, cake and tea all in very large quantities.

Our day ended with dragging ourselves up our 5 flights of stairs ( we figure the elevator will start working the day after we leave) and falling into bed. It was a very good day.

Yo quiero burrito

I got my down day-sort of. Danny and I stayed at the apartment today and cleaned. I wanted to get some laundry done and sort through the suitcases.

Richard took the kids to the Bazaar and then to the internate. They met a vendor their that actually was serving Mexican food ( well sort of, I guess California has ruined us for Mexican food anywhere else). The kids all ordered burritos and additionally took burritos to the Internate for the boys, the 2 older ones were game but Kevin declined, that was OK since they also took bananas. They hung out and played games and rode the school "Bike"- lets just say that my protective nature is having to take a back seat in the Ukraine between no seat belts, crazy cab rides, and the Internate "bike"- pretty much held together with spit and gum and well here brakes are optional. Alex took a spill and scraped his side a bit, but he got up laughing.

I made mac and cheese for dinner tonight much to the delight of my family and then we settled in for some worship time with Josh and Zac playing their guitars. Our host's dropped by to pick up some things- we were starting to worry about staying in their home since we were going past our original date by several weeks ( 3 weeks in Ukraine and still waiting for a court date) but they came by because they are going out of town for a week as of tomorrow.

Tomorrow we have been invited to attend a demonstration at the school of the local fire dept. (L.R. I will let you know how it goes).

Thanks to all for prayers and support, again keep praying:)

The place where no man has gone before.....

I'm pretty sure that the previous women who have visited the Internate may be the only ones to fully appreciate my latest accomplishment- if one could call it an accomplishment, it may be more of accepting the reality of a necessary evil.......

Today I braved the women's restroom at the Internate- I really had no choice, the cab had left to take Richard, Jessica and Zac back to the apartment and I had about 2 hours left at the school....I will leave out the visuals but know this is an experiance I wouldn't only wish on my worst enemy (OK maybe I still need a little work in that area of my heart but I probably would wish it on a few people I know). On top of the indignity of this particular lavatory (think nasty shower stall with grate removed from drain) but they have half doors on the stall to boot.

Following my bathroom drama we met with Kevin's bible class. Josh and Randi shared 4 worship songs with the class and we then opened the floor for questions......

If it is warm in the rest of the world will America be flooded?
What is the biggest earthquake you have every been in?
Can you feel a earthquake while you are on the Ocean?
Have you met any movie stars?
Do you have tsunamis in the US?
Do you have homeless people in America?
What do they wear?

We also met 2 of Kevin's teachers. We get a mixed response from everyone we meet, they either love our boys and think they are great or think they are a waste of time and don't understand why we would want them. Both of these teachers spoke very highly of Kevin.

Earlier in the day Josh, Randi and Zac also gave a worship performance for Alex's Bible class. We also signed some papers and then later that night signed them again since the originals had a typo.

Tomorrow our application is going to the court and hopefully shortly there after we will have a date for court. We have already had to change 4 tickets and still are looking for the best fare as they pricing for the 4 we needed to change was greatly more then we had hoped for.

Tomorrow I hope for a down day, the weather has be chilly that last few days and that makes it harder at the Interate because we do better outside then inside. We somehow manage to offend someone almost anytime we are inside ( I know its hard to imagine that the Barker family might step on a few toes).

Thank you all for your prayers, keep um coming...

Trodding along

As of Monday we have gather and signed what we need to send the documents to the proper places, now we wait for the response. It looks like we are all in for the long haul as Richard and the girls and Dan were scheduled to leave the 19th but without a court date that is not happening. So all tickets have been rescheduled to the 9th of April. If for some reason we need a few more days I will stay but we are hopeful we will all be heading home together then. So once again calling all prayer warriors.

Several things are working against us, the paper work delay, the new court and confusion to why a family of 7 needs more children. We have also spontaneous bouts of homesickness, we really miss our friends, family and Mexican food. That said we have been blessed more then we deserve with a wonderful apartment and the confirmation that our delay is not a problem. A welcoming church ( with the possibility to get full family translation next Sunday to English, will update you if it works) and Josh and Zac are playing praise and worship songs for several grade levels of bible time at the Internate. We are also enjoying the company of the boys, or new Ukrainian friends and even shopping with our axe wielding taxi driver.

Yesterday we took balloons to the Internate and made balloon animals. We went through about 50 balloons in 45 minutes. The kids really seemed to appreciate the small gesture and it touched our heart how something so simple made so many kids smile.

Zac is still mastering the front and back flips, today he and Joseph together did back flips off a 4 foot set of parallel bars. Joseph also did a back flip off a 7 foot bar which cause us a bit more concern but each time he lands on his feet. They even had Danny almost make a front flip, he master everything but the landing on your feet part.

We hope to have a court day soon, and even though I am repeating myself I will continue to ask you all for your prayers.

Prayer for the final countdown

Today we had a nice relaxing day. We first walked to a Bazaar/swap meet style shopping area by our apartment. We then went to the Internate to see the boys. Joseph taught Josh and Zac how to do a front flip while Alex played soccer with Jessica. We then went to Mario's Pizza for dinner and pretty much ate until we were all stuffed for about $23. Lastly we went to church again. This time the pastor introduced us as their American brothers and sisters in the Lord, briefly mentioned why we were their and ask us to share a bit about our adoption journey.

Tomorrow we sign our applications to adopt in front of a Notary. We have a few major prayer requests that we ask of you and everyone else who you can call to prayer on our behalf.

1st- We are still approaching uncharted territory with adopting 3 unrelated children, we have taken all steps that we have been instructed to, however the court can still veto the adoptions.

2ed- We are the first family to use this specific court as the districts changed since the last successful adoption. We have been told that this is not favorable towards us and our situation.

3rd- There are some concerns with the size of our family, why we would want to adopt 3 boys and if the boys will bond with our children.

So please please keep us in prayer for this last leg of our journey.

Snowday

I woke up this morning to a call from Kevin telling me that there was big snow. Sure enough our first real snow fall since we have been in Ukraine. You will notice Zac in his California shorts.

Yesterday the boys all wrote out their letters of intent to be adopted. Basically stating they met us, want to be adopted and are willing to join our family. They were told that they had a week to change their minds but all 3 adamantly stated they would not change their minds.

Monday we will go to the notary and sign 2 applications to adopt. Then one packet goes to Kiev the other stays in the region until the court day. We should find out some time next week what our court date will be.

Today we will rest a bit, enjoy the snow and go to the school after 2:00 when the boys are out of class. We heard news another family ( a veteran in the process as this will be trip 2 to the Ukraine) will be joining us in a week or so depending on their appointment. It will be nice to see a familiar face. We have been blessed with many new friends in the Ukraine but only 3 people who speak English and we are trying to be sensitive to their time so many times we work with sign language and a hope we are communicating clearly.

How to do Kiev in 16 hours

Allow me to clear up a few things regarding our last post, No- I did not have the root canal ( it would have been approx. $30.00 US on top of the Cognac, another $70.00 if they needed to replace the crown) my tooth actually started feeling a bit better that day but they had already made my appointment and I didn't want to burn bridges if my tooth didn't continue to improve. Thanks to all your prayers my tooth is better today,but rest assure that I will wait until after a root canal if needed to present payment.

Second, yes we got a 2 hour notice that we needed to be in Kiev the next day for Kevin's referral, we notified friends in the area to watch out for our kids and off we went. The train was not as gentle as the first one, Richard and I woke several time in the middle of the night almost being thrown off of our bunks with the sever rocking back and forth and the jerking to a stop and starting again. We hit Kiev with about 10 minutes to spare for our "scheduled" appointment, made it to the SDA and then proceeded to wait 2 1/2 hours for our 2 minute meeting.

We then had to entertain ourselves for then next 4 hours to find out "if" we would get our referral that day or not. At 4:00pm we still had not heard from our facilitator so we headed to the SDA to wait. at 5:30 our facilitator showed up and asked us to continue to wait, we finally received our referral at 6:00 pm just in time to miss the 6:30 train. Our Facilitator suggested we wait until then next day but not wanting to pay for an apartment for the night we asked if their was a later train. The next train was at 1:00 am, we insisted we were on it. We then had 2 hours to kill to see if we could even get tickets, we went to dinner and then basically hung out in the food court at the local mall till closing people watching. We found out at 5 minutes to 10 we actually had gotten tickets however our facilitator misunderstood and only got us 2 tickets in our 4 bed compartment ( we are really tight with our funds and have been letting him know that our money is limited so he thought he was doing us a favor, we however were ready to spend the extra $30 for privacy). We know had an additional 2 hours to wait so we went to O'Briens and slowly ordered one item, finished it, ordered it a second item, finished it and so on until our driver arrived.

Arriving at the train station we still had 30 minutes to wait until we knew what gate to take, I was not willing to let our driver go until I Knew for sure were we were going. Finally we got our gate # and had our car # so we bid our driver farewell and settled in for the night. Fortunally we did not have any company, apparently they hold certain cars for Officials and release the tickets a few hours before the train leaves- that is why we had to wait. This worked to our advantage however since the other bunks in our car were not sold.

Now in spite of all our apparent complaining and time loss I want to share God's blessing in the whole ordeal.

Blessing # 1- We were able to go to Kiev and obtain our 3rd referral

Blessing #2- We arrived safely and our kids were safe with our friends keeping watch during our absence

Blessing #3-We got our referral the same day, and got a train back the same day

Blessing #4 - We got the only gate# that did not require us to go up and down several flights of stairs and receive our own compartment yet only had to pay for 2 tickets.

Blessing # 5 My tooth is feeling much better.

Please continue to keep us in prayer, Kevin is in the hospital with a minor ear infection and a high fever, Richard has been having a few hard days with stiffness in his muscles, Praise God my toothache is gone but please pray for it not to reoccur and please pray we get back on schedule as we are well over a week behind at this point.

20 Grivna and a bottle of conac

On this excitig day in cherniscky my dear mother went to the dentist [scary isnt it?]. When they got there the dentist said he wanted to do a root canal and leave the crown off.They went to get xrays and all the technitions were smoking so of course you had to hold your own xray trays.When it came time to pay the xrays were a total of about a little less that 3 us dollars. When they had to pay the dentist he stated he wanted a cup of coffe and a bottle of conac.[makes u even more nervous dont you think?] next they met up with us at the internad and we got a call that we needed to go on another 15 hour train ride to kiev. Things get more and more fun by the minute here dont you think well were off to pack keep us in prayer. thank you.

Women's Day

Yesterday was women's day, not to be confused with mothers day which they also celebrate in Ukraine. We started the day attending church services with Svetlana and her family and Oxana our friend and translator. The church we attended was the one that provides the Awana program for the Internate. Service was about 3 hours long, our children-all of them, also attended.the sermon was on Men taking responsibility for the leadership in the church and home, this was also the main point of the church we attended last Sunday. It is serious problem in the Ukraine to find good Godly men to stand up for the truth and for their family's. Following the service the men in the church went up front and danced for us while the praise band sang. They then presented us with homemade bouquets of purple flowers. As often happens Randi found a new friend at church. An elder woman, not much older then me, nicely dressed. She spent a good portion of the service trying to read Randi's bible and checking with her to see if she got it right. She also noticed Jessica missed out on the bouquets and made sure one of the "brothers" got it for her.

After church we went to a "Super" market, it had a market on the base floor, food and shops on the second floor and shops, a small arcade and bowling on the third. We went to lunch first, half of us eating Pizza and the other half "Mexican" defined as "Ukrainian Mexican" Jessica and I shared was looked like spare ribs, a bowl of potatoes, chicken and cheese and a chicken burrito with a paper thin tortilla, tomato and soft cheese, a beef burrito the same way and a bowl of almost American style chili. We then went bowling. We had to check our coats and bags and even those none bowlers had to change shoes.

When we finished bowling we sent all the kids back to the apartment via taxi and Richard and I Went with Svetlana and her husband Sasha to Church. We stopped first at a church that had a very small book store to look for bibles, they only had 2. I am trying to locate Ukrainian bibles to donate to the bible study groups as they are currently sharing 5, the bibles- hardback were roughly $3.00 in US currency.

Richard and I were fortunate during both services we attended to have a translator for us. We would have been content to just sit and worship but it was nice to understand what the message was.

The down side for me is that for the past 4 days I have been suffering with a major toothache, I really have no choice but to see a dentist tomorrow who will be one recommended by our axe wielding taxi driver. So all- please pray, a lot.

Crazy taxi

Yesterday afternoon we experienced our first "crazy" taxi. Up to now we have mostly been in the care of Vasily "the axe wielding English speaking" cab driver. Last night we had a new driver and you would have thought that his house was on fire the way he was driving. In and out of traffic, on sidewalks, wrong way traffic and horn honking at every thing and every one.

Vasily is aggressive but will actually stop for pedistrians. Earlier in the day we went to the Bazaar with Vasily. He acts as driver and interpreter and guides us so we don't get taken along the way.

We then went to the Internate for AWANA. About 20 kids were there, first they sang a song, then said their memory verses and then had a bible story. After that they played several relay games which Josh, Zac and Danny were able to join. Only Alex participated out of our boys, it seems we will have a long way to go with the spiritual lives of our new children but at least they have some introduction to it. It is hard for them in the environment they live to survive, let alone believe that God cares about them. For all you following this blog who do not have adopted children please keep us all in prayer, it is a long journey a head to help these children learn to trust not only us but in a personal relationship with their God.

Its a hard knock life.....

I would love to try and gain everyone's sympathy with how difficult it is her in Chernivtsy but the reality is that we are double blessed. We are staying in the apartment of our new Ukrainian friends. It is a 3 bedroom apartment with a full bath, 2nd toilet and large kitchen. It is a new apartment, so new that the complex is not finished yet. It is beautiful and very comfortable with all needed amenities and many extras. One of our extras is "Lisa" a very playful kitten sharing our apartment with us. She does have a Zorro streak and has already marked Jessica with a "L" on her right hand. the kids love playing with her. All I can say and well I should is God is amazing.

Yesterday we found out that one of the documents we needed for court did not have the boys birth dates on it. We were required to pay additional funds to expedite the corrected document or wait an additional 2 weeks, needless to say the 500 grevina requested was obvious choice.

Also yesterday at noon we met with the chief of the childrens services and then on to the Internate. As before all 3 boys waited for us outside the building, we took the boys out to get their passport photos and then went for Pizza.

Today we spent the morning relaxing at the apartment, at 1:30 our cab picked us up and took us to the Internate. The director had invited us the day before to attend a production by the children in honor of women's day which is a holiday that will be celebrated this Sunday. The performance was interesting and we were able to see some of the children we met last summer. It is always difficult to see children who want a home but are not at this time being adopted.

After the performance we met in the directors office to request a "pass" for the boys to take them ice skating. The director was very hospitable serving us tea and coffee while we waited for our facilitator to return. Once the formalities were finished we took the boys to the rink. Prior to leaving they asked if a friend to come as well. We explained that we would love for him to come but we only had the pass for them and it was against the rules for us to take other children. Our host and friend along with her 2 boys and her niece met us at the rink.

The children skated for about an hour with our taxi driver and friends. After ice skating we took everyone to Marios pizza for dinner ( just a side note, upon our return to the US we will be abstaining from pizza for an undetermined period of time) we then returned the children to the Internate and went back to our apartment for the day.

Choo Choo and Chernivtsy

Tuesday was train day. We slept in late, went to a great pizza place Lynne recomended and looked around at the local malls. Then back to the apartment for one last look around and to grab our suitcases. Andre the driver is amazing, again managed to fit all 18 of our bags into 2 cars. Richard and I walked to the SDA aroung 4:15 while the luggage was still being loaded to make sure we were first in line to get our referal. We were first however once the mass frenzy started to pick up documents we were actually second to pick up our documents. At 5:05 we were ready to leave to go to the train station. We actually got their with time to spare, which was greatly appreciated since we needed to take all 18 bags up the escalator and then down again and then down the length of the train to the last car were we loaded them into our 2 compartments. There we met with our facilitator Reisa. We split the compartments boys in one girls in the other and settled in for our 15 hour train ride.

Once the train got rolling we walked the 6 cars down to the dinning car for bread, juice, water and chips. Then visited the dreaded "train toilet" It was not as bad as I expected but neither was it pleasent. Of all the nights, this was the night I needed to use the "facilities" 5 times. It was difficult for me to sleep but the boys and Richard slept fine.

We then met up with our new friends and host at the rail station in Chernivsty. We dropped off paperwork on the way to our apartment, reviewed our itinerary with Reisa and then had free time till 1:30. Our host made us a wonderful lunch, the best we have had since arriving in Ukraine and then left us to settle.

At 1:30 Vasily the english speaking cab driver came to take us to children's services, he requested a larger van to come but after 20 minutes of waiting we opted to squeeze all of us into his 5 seat cab.

The Chief we were to meet with was at another meeting so we had to reschedual it for today at 12:00. When we came out of the childrens services office we saw Vasily standing at the back of the cab with an axe. Our new name for him is Vasily the axe wielding cab driver.

We were then able to head over to the Internate for our first appointment to pave the way to visit the boys at will.

The boys were outside waiting for us when we arrived, Alex lead the way to the directors office were we took up the entire office. The first words out of the childrens officer was "Wow" upon seeing our competed clan.

We then reviewed the boys medical history with the doctor and the meeting was complete. We had to leave with Reisa to go to a notary and then the railstation to overnight documents to Konstantine in Kiev. We left the kids with the boys at the Internate. Alex, Joseph and Kevin took the kids all over the place. When we returned a couple hours later we brought pizza and juice.

Kevin told his bible teacher that he wanted to have his birthday party now because he was going to live in America in April ( note: his birthday is in August), he wanted to make sure that he didn't miss celebrating his birthday with his class. We arrived with the Pizza just in time for the party. We brought plenty and after we were all feed and the bible class had eaten Alex and Joseph took left over Pizza to their friends.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, this one was much bigger then the one we used in Kiev. We picked up a few groceries and then back to our apartment were we did laundry and called it a night.

Ukrainian Vacation explained

Just an FYI followers, we named our blog Ukrainian Vacation after the National Lampoons various vacation films. A sense of humor is greatly needed to experiance the day to day here. Yesterdays food court for example- The girls and I ( Jane ) went from booth to booth picking out differnt foods that looked interesting to try some of the local fare, some was very good, others very interesting, all of those who served us indifferent. We have gotten used to ignoring the fact that we seem to either entertain or irritate the locals who's paths we cross.

Another incident was that when we arrived we blew out one of the breakers, for the first few days we had no fridgerator or laundry. We stored our food out on the balcony to keep it cold and hand washed our clothing. Yesterday the landlord fixed the breaker and so I started a load of laundry only to have it smell worse after I washed it then it ever did before. I had it hung up in the bathroom to dry which only made it worse with steamy showers and all. I hope to rewash in Chernivtsy as there is no way we can wear the clothes the way they smell now.


Todays plan is to walk down to the street vendors by St. Andrews church for souvenir shopping and then at 4:30 will head to the SDA to pick up our referal and then to the train.

It will be a cold day in Kiev......

Before you see Richard in a suit again. We made it through our SDA appointment but did not get our referral today, we are to pick it up tomorrow at 5:00pm and then make our 6:30 train for our 15 hour trip to Chernivtsy.

After our appointment today we went out again window shopping, visited St. Andrews Cathedral and took a ride on a trolley. We met back up with Lynn and her son mid day and are now all settling into a quite evening at the apartment.

Not much more for today, please continue to pray.

Churchian Adventure

do-bry den' and do-bry ve-chir(good morning and good evening)
Hello. :)
We are on day two in the wonderful city of Kiev. Today we actually wondered outside of our comfort zone. Our comfort zone being the one and a half radius of which we can walk. We managed to actually get a taxi. Now with being such a large group, especially with Lynn and Duke, we had to take two trips. it was very interesting to see all these Christians pulling in the parking lot. We probably prayed more driving to church then everyone inside the Church.The man was very kind. We went to a church that promoted a English service. It was nice we sat with everyone in there meeting room, all 5000 of us, with head phones on, listening to translators. when we got there all of us felt refreshed to be there. They were so energetic and full of life! They were dancing and running with flags and singing with everything the had. not just the pastors and there wives, but the whole congregation. it was so refreshing to see God's love in so many people so far from home. God really is good! now when we got there we didn't know what to expect. of course it started out with worship. Followed then by missionaries talking about the need for missions in the villages. The need for prayer out here is evident. six year olds stuck in drugs and alcohol. It really does tug on our hearts. The service though was probably about 4 1/2 hours at 3 1/2 we snuck out. And by then they hadn't even started the sermon. We were very relieved to see our taxi driver waiting for us. as soon as we walked through the doors he ran and greeted us. Hopefully he got something out of the message! This has definitely been a interesting start to our adventure. Not just our church service but our whole experience. It is amazing to see all of the woman out here in stiletto heals walking around with no problem and then us walking around in flat shoes with grip and what-not slipping and sliding all over the place. Today was the first day of spring, its still very cold. My dad is actually wearing pants. First time since last Easter. If you fail to keep moving for more than thirty seconds your toes fall numb. Now Alex has not stopped calling. he calls between every class...to every single one of us. It is nice to actually be able to hold a conversation with him.the Kevin has also been calling not as much as Alex though. Its nice though to be able to talk to them. There is an underground mall here its nice. We had lunch there yesterday. We had some pizza, all of which was good... until we realized the sauce was mayonnaise. Well it was still good we just lost appreciates.


We've had a few questions about plane ride. Now going to New York the ride was fine. But as soon as we were going to the Ukraine the ride was .... intriguing. Randi got slapped on the plane. She had dropped her glasses and leaned down to get them her blanket brushed the older (irritable) lady who proceeded to turn around and show Randi her mistake. And then she continued to tell my dad (yes Richard) what she felt of his rude children, we've decided that it would probably be very bad to repeat anything she said.

This will defiantly be a adventure all of us will remember. It will be interesting to see were God takes us next and the new experiences we have yet to encounter.

Love the Barkers!