Our weekend adventure...

I’m writing this from the overnight train headed back to Zaporizia (oh the wonders of the lap top computer!) We have just spent a whirwind last few days, getting papers in Kiev from the US embassy, visiting YoungLife staff and kids in Chernovsy and then Sergei’s family in Vinitzi. We packed a ton of activity into 4 days. We miss Haley Anastasia, but we are grateful we decided to go on this trip to meet such wonderful folks and see other parts of Ukraine.

Friday, we were able to get the papers we needed from the embassy, stating that Laura and Lauri are the same person. With 2 minutes to spare, we were able to get it notarized just before they closed at noon! That night, we boarded a train headed to Chernovsy to visit the YL staff there. Sergei rode part of the way with us to his hometown, Vinitzi, then left to see his family. We arrived in Chernovsy the next morning and were greeted by Alona and Sergei (very popular name here!) who are on YL staff there.
They took us to see the YL house/office, fed us a big breakfast and then let us rest a few hours before we went to a birthday party of one of the YL volunteers. We met a lot of the other YL leaders and kids. We enjoyed an outdoor picnic of kilbasa, potatoes, fresh veggies and fruit, bread. They cooked the kilbasa on skewers and put the potatoes right in the ashes. They were delicious! It was an amazing feast. We definitely noted how much healthier the food was here than the food typically served at YL events in the states (pizza, burgers, chips, cookies).

The next day, Misha (YL volunteer) drove us to Vinitzi (about 3.5 hours away). We rode in style in a red French car called a Longa, with a big YL sticker on the front. He stopped by a famous fortress so we could take some pictures. They were filming a movie outside the fortress, there were 100 horses lined up for a battle scene. We arrived in Vinitzi around 1 pm and Sergei took us to meet his family. He and his wife, Ala, and 13 month old daughter, Arina, live in a small 1 bedroom house in a cute little village. Their parents joined us for an amazing lunch Ala and her mom had prepared for us…more kilbasa, greek salad, potatoes and fresh fruit. Their house is so small, we had to eat outside b/c there was not enough room for a table and 6 chairs. We toasted many times to health and family and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with them. The next day, Sergei took us to see Hitler’s Bunker. It was a beautiful forest of pine trees with scattered slabs of concrete and rebar here and there. We later looked in a book and saw pictures of Hitler standing in the same spots we took these pictures (along the pine paths and near the wading pool). It was eerie standing in the same spot we knew Hitler had once stood. We have met many people on this trip whos family members were killed by this horrible monster. The memories of that time in history still linger prevalently throughout Ukraine. We also toured Nickolay Pirogov’s museum and mansion (complete with his embalmed body). He is prominent Russian scientist, surgeon, educator who is famous for being the first to introduce using ether as anesthesia. What a contrast this was...from visiting a place where an evil man who destroyed so many lives once stood, to seeing the great works of a true humanitarian who used his life to help others.

We took a 3 hour train to Kiev, riding in 2nd class because Sergei could not get us tickets in 1st class compartment. We’ve been used to riding in 1st class during our over-night train rides. 1st class is a small cabin with 2 small cots. There are 9 cabins in each car, so 18 people share the bathroom at the end of the hall. 2nd class cabins have 4 bunks each, and 36 people share a bathroom. The ride was only 3 hours, so this was not a problem at all. We shared a cabin with a couple and their 2 year old daughter. 3rd class is a different world completely. It’s more like a waiting room on wheels. I think they put at least 54 people in each car…and they all share one bathroom! The price difference between a 1st and 3rd class ticket is astounding, about 95% savings if you could stand the 3rd class compartment. We still opted for the 1st class over-night car so we would have the privacy and could get some sleep (and have a shot at using the bathroom!). We are excited to see Haley Anastasia tomorrow. We have really missed her and can’t wait to see how the break has affected her feelings toward us.

We moved out of our apartment on Wednesday before we left. We are storing our luggage in our Israeli friends’ apartment. Our new apartment lease starts Monday. We will be closer to some friends and can share a taxi to the orphanage. It will also be nice to be closer to them to go to dinner at night. The new place is a lot smaller, but it is also saving us a lot of money. It’s a 2 bedroom, so Sergei will have his own room when he gets back from visiting his family in Vinitzi.

The couple we hung out with when we were in Kiev at the beginning of our trip (Sara and Anthony Reynolds) have their court date tomorrow to adopt Abe, then they are coming to Zaporizia to visit! We are so excited to be able to see them again. We were hoping we would be on the same court schedule so we would have a few days together in Kiev while getting the final papers from the Embassy there. But they are a week behind us and won’t be able to go to Kiev until after we depart for the US. Their visit is a great surprise and it will be fun for them to meet Haley Anastasia too!

Blessings, HLH (Hunter, Lauri and Haley) Lambeth