Day 4

Yesterday we started out the day going to the Lavra where there are catacombs underneath part of the city and where monks sealed themselves in small caverns with one opeing to let food in and there they lived till they died. Also Christians hid there in the 9th century from the Pagans who wanted to kill them from what I am told. It was a different experience. We also saw a museum at the same place and some old orthodox churches with very fancy architecture. We also bought some honey there which are made from the bees that the church clergy raise. It is the best honey. At 4pm we had our second appointment with the SDA to get our approval papers. Oleg our facilitator and lawyer took us there a half hour early so we could be first in line. It was a good thing he did because soon after there was a very long line of others coming for the same reason. After that we went to a shopping mall (it was small compared to what we are used to) in Kiev before driving to Sumy to get something to eat at the food court which was not much of a food court. We got Asian food and it was horrible. Eating out does not seem to be any cheaper that at home. Afterwards we had a wild 4.5 hour ride to Sumy. We arrived at 10:30 pm to a hotel. The hotel is at least clean but the shower is not the best. Saturday we will have an apartment to move into that will be much cheaper. When we finally went to bed there was a lot of noise like some kind of partying which lasted till about 1am. Oh well. It is part of the experience.

Today were started out our day picking up the Inspector to go to the Sumy orphanage. She had to witness us signing a bunch of documents and ask us a bunch of questions such as why we are adopting, if we own our home, what I do for a living, and if we knew the boys. While there Vlad and Roman were brought to the office and it was a really joyous renuion. The boys were so exited and ran into our arms. It was so nice. Oleg said he had never seen any of the kids so emotional when they first were met with their adoptive parents. Vlad wanted to show off his combination break dancing and fighting moves and his karate and a few other acrobats. Roman was just happy to be here and just followed along. Vlad decided his American middle name will be Joseph because he likes the initials VJ and Roman decided his American middle name will be James. The boys had fun with their new middle names. We spent abuot 2 hours with the boys and then we had to go to a notary and sign and norarize some additional documents. Later we came back to the orphanage and were able to see Vlad again. He took us a tour of the area. We also learned that Vlad is quite the business man. This past summer he would buy old cell phones for cheap, fix them and also hire another kid to help fix them and Roman was the salesman to sell the phones for a profit. Also Vlad would fix bikes to earn some money. He used the money to buy his own clothes. I really like his independant spirit and wanting to improve himself by being self sufficient. Romand is quite the linguist as he knows Ukranian, Russian, Italian, and English. He has had opportunities so spend time in Italy for summer and Christmas.

Oleg had to leave with the Director to discuss the adoption and work on additional paperwork so we took a mini bus part way to the hotel and then walked the rest of the way with Maria our translator. It was a nice walk. Today was actually sunny and nice but still cold. The other days we have been here were cloudy. Griselda crashed and took a nap and then afterwards we went for a walk and got a snack. Later Oleg saw us walding as he was driving by and we went to a nice little restaurant for some hot soup and bread. We are tired and are going to go crash now. We are 9 hours later than Utah. Hope all is well with everyone at home and thanks so much for all your love and support and prayers.