Been busy

Hello everyone. Sorry that it's taken so long to write. We won't put all the details as it would bore you.

However, we were able to pick up the girls on Tuesday the 6th. A day later than we had planned due to a new rule stating that you need to have their new birth certificates as well as the court decree. We had to drive 40min out of Sevastopol to get Nadya's birth certificate from the town where she was born (Balaklava(?)), Olya's was easier as she was born in Sevastopol. When we got both certificates we had to get them certified/notarized. Later that same day after we got back and had the girls we had to run back from the orphanage to the passport office in order to have their pictures taken so we could begin the passport process. They have a new system here where they take down all of your info attach your photo to it and then send it to Kyiv for verification. This wasn't done the last time we were here. We should have the girl's passports on Monday due to the weekend. We hope to be able to travel back to Kyiv the same day by train. That should be an adventure, it's supposed to be a 16-18 hour ride.

The last couple of days we have been running around getting a new printer and some paper for the orphanage. We also left some Ukrianian money with the Director so she could get the internet hooked up to her secretary's office computer. They just recently had a new roof installed and are in the process of installing new windows, they need all the help they can get. They are doing their best to keep the orphange nice for the children with whatever funds they get.

We met a great couple Jamiee and Andy from So-Cal who are here to help plant a church/be missionaries. They were youth pastors at Safe Harbor church in Orange County and are currently involved with a youth outreach program here. They introduced us to a pastors wife Adrienne. She and her husband have been living here for 15yrs. They are in the process of building a church/Bible school. Adrienne has been holding Bible studies in her home every Sunday even while her husband is away to the States. We had a great time of fellowship with her and the group she meets with last Sunday.

The weather has changed alot since we got here in Sevastopol. It went from sunny days to having snow flurries. It's still too warm for the snow to stick around, but it's neat to see it coming down.

Our next post will be from Kyiv :), as the cafe here will be too busy this weekend for us to get in.

Can't wait, we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We are actually looking forward to the long flight back home on the 17th. The girls are both just as excited as we are. Olya can't stop smiling whenever she thinks about getting home. Nadya is a little scared about the flight because she has never flown before, should be interesting.

We want to send Hugs and Kisses to our kids and family back home. We will be home in 8 days from today. Yippppeeeee!!!!!! Can't wait to see you all.

Love Mike and Gail