Days 3 & 4 in Kyiv - and more mystery food

Here is a photo of Olga and I as we waited for Mark to exchange some currency.

This is the view of St. Michael's cathedral. The SDA building is right near by.

Last night, we ate at a Ukrainian buffet. Overall, the food was quite good. The dumplings (Mark's were cheese filled and mine were filled w/ meat) with sour cream were probably the best. I had a salad with cabbage, pineapple, chicken (I think) as well as a marinated mushroom dish - think mushrooms, onions, and cucumbers marinated in dill pickle juice. Mark tried 2 salads that weren't a hit. The one next to the cup of soup at the top of the pic had crab, horseradish, cheese. The one to the right of that, well.... I couldn't even begin to tell you. We thought it was similar to my cabbage salad. Ummmm..... NO! It had a texture unlike anything I have ever tasted before or hope to taste again! We stopped at the market and bought some amaretto ice cream and a little coconut cake (similar to a Hostess snowball but not sweet) for dessert.

We were again blessed to be able to meet up with some Reeces Rainbow families who are adopting as well. Below is Jeff Hannon and his girls. They are bringing home Matthew and Michael.

 And this is us with Jeff and Debbie's girls, as well as Jill and Pat Birschbaugh (sorry, if I spelled your name wrong). They are adopting Elijah.

Right now, we are waiting for Olga to arrive at our apartment. We will travel to the SDA where we will pick up our referral (permission to enter the orphanage) and then head for our overnight train to Sevastopol.

So.... today's prayer requests:

First, pray for me (Melanie). I am not feeling well today - body aches, GI symptoms. I haven't eaten anything yet and am trying to decide if it's wise. A 15 hour train ride in a very warm berth with other people when I don't feel good does not top my list of fun things to do. ;-)

Second, that our referral will be ready and waiting for us when we arrive at the SDA.

Next, pray for safe travels overnight and while this seems very minor, pray that our next apartment will have a soft bed. While we are thankful for our current apartment, the bed is like sleeping on a box spring.

And most important, pray that our first visit to the orphanage goes well. We will be seeing our little girl for the first time and meeting with the orphanage director. Most likely, will not be able to blog again until after this visit.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we travel this journey. I wish that I had time to email everyone individually, but it just isn't possible.

Yes, Jeanne - this is a shared venture - lol!

God continues to be good to us each step of the way. He has brought us to Ukraine for a reason and we trust Him.

More as soon as we are able.

Melanie