Day 15 (Monday 21st) - Dnepropetrovsk - Visit Ira

We made our 10:30 bus this morning.  That was nice not to have to wait in the freezing bus station for an hour.  This bus had heat that was actually turned on, which was also nice.  The only problem was when we were about 15 or 20 minutes out of the village and he bus broke down.  We sat there freezing for about 40 minutes while the driver worked on it.  I was very impressed that no one was complaining about the hold up.  It was nice and the driver was doing the very best he could to fix it.

We finally got there and the walk to the orphanage was long.  It was colder than before and...yeah, very cold.  We did get to buy our return tickets this time though.

Our visit with Ira was really nice this time.  She was happy and talkative, at least as much as such a language barrier will let her.  She was also trying to communicate with us on her own more.  Masha stepped out for a bit too, which helped that, but before she just would have been quiet or left too and today she tried to talk.

I worked on the socks I'm knitting her and Husband and Little One played UNO with her.  The director showed us some dressed Ira had crocheted for some dolls.  Ira hadn't wanted to show us so I'm glad the director did. Lol. I need to find out her name so I can quit calling her "the director."

The dresses Ira crocheted

Ira came and showed me her English vocabulary book from school.  That was very fun.

The whole village has been out of water for three days now.  No wonder the toilets didn't flush.  They had a store saved up but that only lasts so long.  I guess they send the boys out to get some from a well and bring it back by wagon.

The director got us a ride back to the bus station that didn't cost us so much.  In fact, he insisted on no payment.  I hope we can talk him into letting us pay him so we can use him again.

The bus on the way back actually had heat on as well.  Not that it was super warm but at least it wasn't freezing.  A warm shower upon returning to the apartment was perfect though.  Not only that, but we came back to a clean apartment.  We'd asked to have it cleaned today since they do it once a week.  Boy was that nice! :^)

Day 14 (Sunday the 20th) - Dnepro - Church

Sorry!  We were pretty beat after yesterday and between skyping at night and such, it doesn't leave me much time to blog.  I have written not only about today, but also yesterday so check the next post down as well.

Today was a good day.  It's nice having church at 11. :)  We got up and had plenty of time to get ready without too much time.  We live right down the street from the mission president and his wife and they came to pick us up at 25 'till.  It was so nice to finally meet them!  What sweet people they are!  I said hello from Elder Faber and his family. :^)

The church is on the 3rd floor of a fairly nice building not far away from where we're staying.  If it weren't so cold it would be a pleasant walk.  We will have to next week so I hope it's a bit warmer! LOL

For sacrament we had Elder Belnap interpret the talks.  He's just about ready to go home.  He was very nice and very helpful.  We also met a sister from close by where we live that just got here 2 days ago and still has a bit of jet lag.  There was another missionary about an hour from where we live.  Elder and Sister Hardy are from Colorado.  They are the office missionaries.  Then there is Elder Hammon from the same city we're from!  He actually went to high school with some of the kids in our neighborhood. :^)  He asked for us to call his mom when we get home and tell her hi from her son.  Husband will do that as soon as he gets home.

Husband went to Sunday School and Priesthood but I went with Little One to primary.  It was pretty boring at first because she couldn't understand.  She kept saying this wasn't like what she thought. LOL  A big part of it was that there were only 2 other kids.  A boy about her age and a girl around 9 or 10.  The little boy looked like he was having as much fun as Little One.  It was really only the girl that was being taught, though I don't know the situation.  For the second hour they were making a card for their mothers.  Little One decided I didn't need one and made it for Ira instead.  Such a nice daughter I have.  She at least enjoyed that part of it.

After church Pres. and Sis. Nielson invited us over to their apartment for dinner.  Masha came for that as well, which was super nice.  We had a very nice couple of hours with them.  They have a very large, VERY gorgeous apartment.

Sis. Nielsen made a very yummy dinner.  We had twice baked potatoes and some kind of meatballs that I actually liked.  We had some canned corn and some canned green beans with sauteed  onions.  I was surprised that I really liked that too.  We got advice on what milk to get and found some that Little One liked. We very much enjoyed our visit.  Sis. Nielsen gave us some powered milk to try.  She also snuck in the leftovers and some bags.  She is so sweet!

We just relaxed the rest of the day.  It was very nice.  I hope I get to take Ira with me once before we head back to Kiev.

Here are some pictures of the view out Pres. and Sis. Nielsen's apartment.

Crazy, crazy ice fishers on the Dnepro River.  Not exactly thick ice on that.

Day 13 (Saturday the 19th) - Dnepro - Visit to the Orphanage

Yesterday we got up at 8 in order to be on the 10:30 bus to the village.  It was nice not to feel rushed getting ready to the bus, but next time we need to rush just a bit more.  We missed the bus by 5 minutes and had to wait for the 11:20 one.  This bus was still a real bus though (not a mini bus) and it was actually warm-ish. LOL  Little One watched a movie the whole way over and killed the battery on the nano.  I enjoyed some music and it was actually a nice ride.

We thought the weather was going to be similar to the day before when we walked to the museum but not so.  It was very cold as we walked from the bus station to the orphanage.  It's about a 20 minute walk.  Little One didn't do quite as well, but all in all it wasn't too bad.

They were very strict with the rules this time.  Ira was supposed to close the door when she went in or out.  She did this quite a bit, as a matter of fact. LOL  She seemed pretty uncomfortable around us and was fairly happy at any chance to run out for a minute.  It made for an interesting visit.

We tried to buy return bus tickets when we got there so we didn't run into the same problems as we did last time.  There wasn't anyone in the booth though.  We waited for awhile and then decided to just go ahead and go and then call while we were at the orphanage.  At 4pm Masha called a taxi to come get us to take us to the bus station at 4:30 and then called to make sure we could get tickets on that 4:50 bus back.  It's a good thing because we found out that actually the last bus was at 4:20.  We called the taxi guy back (who charged an arm and a leg to go maybe a mile) and ran over there right away.  We made the bus, but not with much time to spare.  Hopefully we'll get this thing figured out before long.  It was quite the cold ride home though!  They don't heat the buses and with the sun having gone down it was VERY cold.  I might have to figure out how to carry a blanket with me the whole day.  Little One was, as usual, just fine and not at all cold.

After we got home and went to the store, Little One and I showered and then Skyped with both families.  By the time we finished, it was bed time! :^)  Not a very exciting day.  I did, however, take a few pictures of our apartment the night before.  Here's where we're at now.

There is our front door with the bathroom door to the left.  That bed that Little One is on turns into a chair during the day.

Bathroom

Bathroom

Bathroom door again with the kitchen/dining room.  Yes, that is a washing machine and the fridge is really that small.  No oven either. :^)

This also turns into a bed for Masha

Our bedroom

Our bedroom.  Behind the curtain is a balcony

Here you can see the door to the balcony, but it's freezing so we don't go out there.

Day 12 (Fri Feb 18th) - Dnepro - Another Relaxing Day

Today we took the day off again.  It was nice.  Little One woke up much earlier today, thereby waking Husband and me up as well.  Masha woke up for a bit too, but then went back to sleep.  We finally got up around 10am. LOL

Most of the day we just hung out at the apartment.  We did venture out and go to a museum up the street.  On the way we stopped at a paper/art store.  It was pretty cool. :^)  I liked it in there.  In the museum there were a lot of little things made with beads, which the kids at the orphanage would have loved to see!  It was pretty good.  There were also a bunch of handmade things you could guess what they were, but we had no idea so we didn't even try.  There were also a few super old video cameras and still cameras.  That part was kinda neat.  I hate how they charge to take pictures.  It hasn't been worth it to me yet.  There have been a couple of things but nothing I've just really been dying to take a picture of.  Except for the miniature things there at Lavra, but you couldn't have photographed them well anyway.  Not with my camera. LOL

We watched Ever After last night and we might watch something again tonight.  Masha is going to a concert tonight, but we're in for the day.  We did call Sis. Nielsen and she and Pres. Nielsen are going to pick us up for church on Sunday.  We live super close to them and we're only maybe a 5-10 minute walk from where the branch meets.  They're going to drive us though.  I'm excited to finally meet them.  Tomorrow we head back over to the orphanage for a couple of hours.

Here are a few pictures I took as we walked to the museum today.

This isn't the best picture, but the street we live by is actually quite pretty.

A pretty building

The museum

Masha by the museum

Of course, Little One wanted to be in one with her too. :^)

I love these sidewalks!

A pretty apartment building

Day 11 (Thurs Feb 17th) - Dnepro - A rest day

Wow!  Three posts in one day!  That's a record. :^)  Not too much to report today.  It was SO nice to sleep in this morning until 10:30 and then Little One even had a nap 2 or 3 hours later on top of that. LOL

We got the apartment cleaned up a bit (the floor gets dirty pretty fast with our yucky shoes from outside.)  I also finally got unpacked!  We still haven't found our USB splitter.  We must have left it in Kiev.  Maybe we can ask Natasha to call that landlady there to ask if she ever saw it.  I also got caught up on computer stuff.

We called Ira today around 4:30 or so and she was in English classes.  We called back awhile later and she was eating.  She was good by the time we called the third time.  She sounded happy and excited.  She even asked us questions about America of her own accord.  She wanted to know if she would be a dual citizen and if, when she grows up, she can go visit Ukraine.  She said when she grows up maybe she will go get some kids out of the orphanage. :^)  She was taking a shower earlier and the water got cold so she ran out. LOL

We went down to the store and got a few things.  Exciting stuff, I know.

Now it's time for me to shower and then we're going to watch a movie together.  It's been a good day. :^)

Day 10 (Wed Feb 16th)- Dnepro - Court Date Received

We were up at 5 yesterday morning and on our way to the village to turn in our documents to the court.  Lana needed some extra copies of things so we went to the orphanage while she did that as well as went to the court. We visited again for a little bit and then I got out our drawing book I got in Disney World and Karissa and Ira drew pictures for a little while.

We brought our computer with us so we checked out our English program with Masha and then decided to watch a movie on it together while we waited for Lana.  We tried to watch Princess and the Frog but it didn't rip right so we did Mulan instead.  One of Masha's very favorites. :^)

The director was very sweet and had worried about us not eating anything yesterday so she fed us lunch.  We had to eat by ourselves, but still.  It was very nice of her.  The drink was apricot juice and the bread was the best tasting I've had here.  Super yummy.

Once the movie was done a few of the girls came in and played UNO again with Husband and Little One while Masha and I watched.

All our waiting paid off because we did get a court date today.  It's a bit later than we'd hoped, but not too bad.  We might be able to get it moved up as well depending on when we get our paper from the SDA.  Husband just really needs to get home and get back to work or we don't have anything to pay our bills for March with! LOL

We told Ira when our date is and she started crying again.  It seemed different this time though.  More sad and having it feel more real now, but not "I don't know...I will miss my friends, etc...."  Hopefully it continues to go okay because until then we'd had a great day with her with no tears up until that point.  Part of what's bothering her too is that she's getting a lot of attention from all the kids now because she's going to America and she's not liking being in the middle of things. :^)  What is this girl going to do the first time she's asked to give a talk?!?! LOL

And, I finally have a second to get you pictures of our first apartment here in Dnepro.  I haven't taken any yet of the one we're in now.  Soon, now that can actually unpack. :^)

The entry way

Bathroom

Shower/washer in the bathroom

Kitchen

Kitchen 

Living Room

Computer desk in the living room

Bedroom - view 1

Bedroom 2, you can see our room for drying clothes there behind the drapes

A room for drying clothes...this was really nice!

Day 9 (Tues Feb 15th) - Dnepro - Letter Written

Tuesday we were up very early and in the village by 8:30am to do some stuff at the inspector's office.  Ira was at the hospital getting her medical conclusion done.  We figured that was a good sign.  We went to a different cafe (this one seemed better than the last one...although that doesn't take much) to get something to drink while we waited.  At 10:30 we went to the orphanage and met in the director's office.  Lana, the director and the inspectors all talked about paperwork.

Once Ira got back we went into our room and visited.  It was actually a nice visit.  We talked about things she likes (dancing, drawing, singing, history, PE, etc...) and what we will do when we get to America.

Lana came in and told Ira it was time to write her letter.  She went back (I had been hoping to take a picture of her doing so, but it was good I wasn't there I think) and after a long time the inspectors came in to say she had just sat there crying.  She kept saying she wanted to go, but she was afraid and would miss her friends.  They didn't want to pressure her so they told her she could write it anytime in the next two days and they would continue to move forward with the paperwork.  She said she would write it, but wanted to do it later.

She came back in and we visited for a bit again (she was making little beaded things) and then Lana came in.  She told Ira she really needed those letters (she had to write two copies) today.  Ira kept saying later.  Lana left and it wasn't long before Ira said she wanted to talk to the director.  It was a LONG time before she came back.  When she did though, she'd been crying but had written her letters.  She decided on a name as well, which I'm not going to put on here right now. :^)  Lana was pretty frantically getting paperwork done and even tried to get the documents turned into the court, but missed them by 10 minutes.  While we waited for her some of the other kids wondered in and we played UNO and some game where you guess who has a ring.

We finally left the orphanage at about 6:30 and got back to Dnepro at about 8:30.  By the time we got dinner, lost our power and got it fixed, got ready for bed and talked to family, it was after midnight!  What a long day!