First things first. I cannot remember if I have blogged about this. So sorry if it is a repeat! Sometime while we were in Poltava, we were in a bus and Linda and Anya were talking. She told Linda to tell me she has decided to change her name to Annette! So once we get home and get their US birth certificates she will be officially Annette Grace Kapp.
Sunday morning we all get up. The girls are grumpy. I believe because they are in Kiev, not Poltava, one step closer to leaving Ukraine! It hurts to see their pain, anxiety and frustration. Anya wanted so badly to have a family. Reality is setting in and it's a very scary thing to the both of them. I wish I knew their thoughts and understood their emotions more. I also wish they knew how much we love them and we care about them!
We started getting ready for church. I was not about to make a fuss on what they chose to wear. Tanya picked out her fairly new shorts and shirt we bought her. I noticed she had a big rip in the bottom, so I showed it to her. She was upset they were ripped. She changed and appeared in a cute dress we bought her! I complimented how nice she looked and I got a smile! Anya dressed in nice jeans and a new t shirt we bought as well. They primped a bit longer than usual.
We meet Dara and she gets us to a taxi bus. We arrive at church. It's a very small congregation and very young. We meet two ladies from Austin Texas! There were two other American families as well. The service was very much like home. The music was nice and they played Wonderful Maker! It's nice to recognize something from home! All was in Russian. When the sermon started a young man sat behind us and the ladies from Texas and translated for us. It was a great sermon. He was teaching on the importance of a church family. I totally agree!! It was great to hear and to know what an awesome church family we have back home! We cannot endure this process without the love and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ!
As I sat there I realized this was the first time all four of us have been in church as an official
family! Very special day!
After the service was over we hung out a bit and met all of Dara and Katia's friends. Katia translated many phone calls for us. Sometimes when we called she was at church band practice. All the people at church knew about us from the phone calls! It was nice to put a face with the names! They invited us to hang out with them and have lunch and then tour a historical church.
We went home to change and met at the restaurant. The girls were excited because their were cute guys! Oh Boy! (We need a big baseball bat when we get home!) After lunch we walk to the Metro aka subway.
That was a neat experience! You get on an escalator that descends into the earth. Very steep and very fast. You cannot see the bottom from the top. If I had to guess, we descended at least 1/2 a mile or more. Then we wait on the subway. As it approaches it is going so fast. Katia warns us that as soon as the door opens you had better hop on quickly. All are on safely! It takes off like a speeding bullet!!! All I could think is were all gonna die!!!! AAAHHH! In a blink of an eye we are at our stop. Again we quickly exit.
We walk a good two miles to the church. This church was destroyed by the Russians who used it to store their artillary in it during WWII. It has been rebuilt. Inside the main church is part of the original church. The area is probably 10 acres in all and houses a monestary and catacomes as well. It over looks the left bank of the river and has an amazing rose garden. It was very
beautiful. Lots of steep hills covered with cobble stone. We spent a good two hours there.
Time to walk back. We pass a beautiful park with angel statues that are at the entrance. Ukraine has the most beautiful parks! The girls are super grumpy at this point because they are tired. We get back home and rest a bit then go out for dinner at McDonald's!!! It was a good day but we are soooo exhausted. We all go to bed early. (Before 11pm!)
Sunday morning we all get up. The girls are grumpy. I believe because they are in Kiev, not Poltava, one step closer to leaving Ukraine! It hurts to see their pain, anxiety and frustration. Anya wanted so badly to have a family. Reality is setting in and it's a very scary thing to the both of them. I wish I knew their thoughts and understood their emotions more. I also wish they knew how much we love them and we care about them!We started getting ready for church. I was not about to make a fuss on what they chose to wear. Tanya picked out her fairly new shorts and shirt we bought her. I noticed she had a big rip in the bottom, so I showed it to her. She was upset they were ripped. She changed and appeared in a cute dress we bought her! I complimented how nice she looked and I got a smile! Anya dressed in nice jeans and a new t shirt we bought as well. They primped a bit longer than usual.
We meet Dara and she gets us to a taxi bus. We arrive at church. It's a very small congregation and very young. We meet two ladies from Austin Texas! There were two other American families as well. The service was very much like home. The music was nice and they played Wonderful Maker! It's nice to recognize something from home! All was in Russian. When the sermon started a young man sat behind us and the ladies from Texas and translated for us. It was a great sermon. He was teaching on the importance of a church family. I totally agree!! It was great to hear and to know what an awesome church family we have back home! We cannot endure this process without the love and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ!
As I sat there I realized this was the first time all four of us have been in church as an official
family! Very special day!After the service was over we hung out a bit and met all of Dara and Katia's friends. Katia translated many phone calls for us. Sometimes when we called she was at church band practice. All the people at church knew about us from the phone calls! It was nice to put a face with the names! They invited us to hang out with them and have lunch and then tour a historical church.
We went home to change and met at the restaurant. The girls were excited because their were cute guys! Oh Boy! (We need a big baseball bat when we get home!) After lunch we walk to the Metro aka subway.
That was a neat experience! You get on an escalator that descends into the earth. Very steep and very fast. You cannot see the bottom from the top. If I had to guess, we descended at least 1/2 a mile or more. Then we wait on the subway. As it approaches it is going so fast. Katia warns us that as soon as the door opens you had better hop on quickly. All are on safely! It takes off like a speeding bullet!!! All I could think is were all gonna die!!!! AAAHHH! In a blink of an eye we are at our stop. Again we quickly exit.We walk a good two miles to the church. This church was destroyed by the Russians who used it to store their artillary in it during WWII. It has been rebuilt. Inside the main church is part of the original church. The area is probably 10 acres in all and houses a monestary and catacomes as well. It over looks the left bank of the river and has an amazing rose garden. It was very
beautiful. Lots of steep hills covered with cobble stone. We spent a good two hours there.Time to walk back. We pass a beautiful park with angel statues that are at the entrance. Ukraine has the most beautiful parks! The girls are super grumpy at this point because they are tired. We get back home and rest a bit then go out for dinner at McDonald's!!! It was a good day but we are soooo exhausted. We all go to bed early. (Before 11pm!)
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