Alina and Family Pics

Thursday, April 2 - Update to the passport day

In an attempt to keep a good and accurate record of everything that happened the last few days in Ukraine I am adding to what has already been written. My internet connection in Odessa was sometimes less than ideal. That, and the presence of a small child, made blogging difficult at times.

Thursday was to be our big passport day. If Alina's passport came in today (from Kyiv) then we would be on the midnight train to Kyiv with the hopes of finishing our visa on Friday and leaving over the weekend. If it didn't come in, we were looking at leaving next Tuesday at the earliest.

The passports usually come in around 2:00pm. Irina, Alina and I decided to head into the city for the morning with the intent of just hanging out until then in the hopes that we would be able to pick up the passport and be on our way. It was a beautiful spring day, sunny and cool. Alina and I went to a park where she played on the playground. She loved the slide and the teeter-totter. She found some friends and played for quite a while. Actually, her favorite was chasing the pigeons, something she has in common with Caleb. After lunch we walked around a mall until 2:00pm, when Irina called the passport office. Now, Irina was very, very confident that the passport would be in. Unfortunately, she was told to "call back later."

Our hopes having taken a hit, we boarded a bus back to the apartment. Alina slept on the way, as she nearly always did on the bus. I was nervous, but Irina said the courier often doesn't arrive right on time. She decided to call back at 4:00pm. We played and passed the time in eager anticipation. At 4:00pm Irina made the fateful phone call. The passports "definitely would not be in today."

I was crushed. The two day difference from leaving on Sunday to leaving on Tuesday doesn't seem like much, but in my mind it seemed like an eternity. I had not struggled with the trip, or being away from home for the most part, but with the end so near it really hurt. Irina was quite upset, too, as she had been away from her family for longer than she had anticipated. She sat in silence. I played with Alina but mentally I kept struggling with the thought of staying through the weekend. I kept praying over and over, telling God that I know it was his plan and there was a reason for us to be in Ukraine a few more days, but I was really struggling with it. I couldn't find the peace that I wanted or needed. I made my mind up to go for a walk to blow off some steam. What else was there to do? After some stalling I took Alina to the bathroom in preparation for the walk. Just then Irina started pounding on the door. "It's in. The passport is in!"

Had I left just five minutes earlier for my walk I don't know how Irina would have found me. I would not have taken my phone. So there I was, wondering why God was making me stay, when really he was making me stall so that I wouldn't be gone to miss the news. This all happened in the span of about twenty minutes. From very low to very, very high.

We jumped back on the bus (#150) and heading back into the city. We met Meghan at the passport office. Five minutes later we had Alina's passport and things were good. A quick stop at the train station and back to the apartment. Dinner at the cafeteria restaurant, where Alina ate more than I thought a little girl could, and then back to the apartment to pack.

Alina did great staying up late. Our train didn't leave until 11:00pm. Her bed time is 8:00pm. By the time the cab showed up at 10:15 she was really dragging, but never fussed or cried.

Alina slept pretty well on the train. I did not. I had to sleep on the edge of the bunk so that Alina wouldn't roll off. Not the greatest position. Still, we were getting closer to Kyiv, and that was the key.

Saturday, April 4 - Alina comes home!

I will edit this blog later, but here's a quick update.

After confirming a flight for Sunday Anne called back and said that Eldon at Golden Rule Travel had found me a 5:35am flight on Saturday. This is all happening at about 7pm Friday. So, I called Irina to call Anatoly to find me a driver for 3:30am to the airport. That done, I put Alina to bed and then packed. A fairly sleepless night because of worries that I would oversleep and I got up at 3:00am. To the airport, to Frankfurt, to Denver, and then to Chicago. Saw my beautiful bride and let her hold her daughter. Three hours in a car and I was in my house, and so was Alina. About 30 hours of travelling. Well worth it.

Visa is in! We're coming home.

Sitting in an internet cafe with a three year old can be a little tough. So, this will be very short.

Alina did great on the train.

The Embassy went well this morning.

Medical exam went well.

Quick nap and back to the Embassy.

Visa is in. Thank you very much Mr. Hollis and congratulations.

We fly out Sunday at 5:35am.

PAKKA!!!

PASSPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, after hitting a bit of a low with the news that the passport wasn't in at 4:00pm and "definitely wouldn't be in today" (the passport agency's words), Irina got a call at 4:25 that it had just arrived. I went from pretty low to very high in about five seconds. We hopped a bus and picked it up, then stopped to get train tickets. We're off to Kiev at 11:00pm, arriving at 7:30am. Anatoly picks us up at the train station, then it's off to the Embassy, then the medical clinic for Alina's exam, then back to the Embassy in the afternoon. Our travel fate now rests in the hands of the United States Government!

I must take a moment to thank Nate and Tiffany at Congresman Schock's office. They have gone way out of their way to make contacts with the Embassy on our behalf. Anne and I are very thankful of their efforts and the interest the Congresman has taken in our journey.

No passport.

Got some bad news at 4:00pm today. Alina's passport did not come in. Hopefully it will come in on Friday. Had it come in today I had hoped to fly out on Sunday if everything went well at the Embassy. Now it looks like Tuesday at the earliest.

I'm bummed. I miss my (other) kids and my wife.

Odessa pics

The Odessa Opera House, recognized as second only in beauty to Vienna.
Statue of Russian queen Katarina who helped to re-establish Odessa. The modern version of the city started with her.
The next three pictures are of an indoor mall. Irina and I were walking down the street and she said "let's take a shortcut and I'll show you something beautiful." We walked threw a little gateway and it opened up into this amazing scene. Not very big (20 shops or so), but beautiful. If you didn't know where to look you would never find it.
Alina and I on the famous Potemkin Steps. From the top you can't see the steps, only the landings. From the bottom only the steps.
DJ and Reece, the Dickinsons, and Alina and I overlooking the Black Sea.
Alina before the monument to the Unknown Sailor. Very similar to our tomb of the unknown soldier. There is an eternal flame at the base of the monument.

April Fool's Day

Odessa is a pretty amazing city. It dates back to around 1500BC, a time in which Greeks lived here. Their name for the city relates fairly closely to the current name of Odessa. It changed name when Turkish invaders conquered the city. In the Russo-Turkish War Russia pushed out the Turks. The name Odessa became the Ukrainian name of the city.

This area is a major shipping port for Ukraine. It sits in a very large natural bay on the Black Sea. Millions of years ago the city itself was under water. After the ocean receded, the leftover sand eventually compressed and turned to rock. The city is built from that rock. People literally dug down to build up. The city is built on a series of catacombs that were constructed as the city was built. The system was carefully built so as to prevent the ground from caving in. The result is 200km of catacombs built under the city, some as many as three levels deep.

During WWII when Nazi Germany invaded and controlled this area for some time freedom fighters lived in the catacombs. For four years they lived underground, only coming to the surface to help with the resistance. Yesterday Alina and I visited the Odessa Literature Museum. On part was dedicated to the efforts of local writers during the war to help with moral. They wrote many short books that were distributed to the troops. As Irina said, the Ukrainian army did not have the strength, numbers, or guns of the Germans, but they won the war because they had writing and songs to keep their spirit up. Amazing.

Also in the WWII part of the museum were original flyers and letters from the Nazis to Odessa citizens concerning Jews living in the city. On pamphlet showed a Star of David with a rat in the middle. Irina said it translated to say "The Jews are like rats eating your country." A letter on Nazi letterhead was sent to each house detailing how all Jewish men were to report to the ghetto (prison within the city) with "all required paperwork" and that if anyone were to be hiding a Jew they would be forced to do the same. It is terrifying how much hate is in the world. Fortunately good triumphed over htis evil. Unfortunately, it still goes on in other places to other people.

So, on to April Fool's Day. Odessa is recognized as the cultural capital of Ukraine. If a joke is to be told, it is to be told here. Irina says it is a funny city. It was the Hollywoood of the Soviet Union, with many major movie lots and companies. Anyway, people come from all over Ukraine on April Fool's Day to celebrate. There is a big parade, concerts, and partying into the night. Irina invited me to go, but the idea of being in a very crowded place with a little girl in a backpack didn't appeal to me. I respectfully declined. She said she was going to the parade because it will probably be the only chance in her life she gets to be here on this day. She was very excited. I'm interested to hear how it was.

Things I wish I had: sweat pants, a computer that would play the movies I brought rather than just the sound, the ability to turn on the faucet and drink the water straight from the tap, Anne's cooking (any of it).

Thing's I like: bacon flavored peanuts - we need these in the US, borscht is still really good, drying laundry by clothes line isn't so bad (on a nice day), when you don't speak the language and you go for a walk or shopping all of the conversations are just white noise - it is almost like the people aren't there.

Things I'm looking forward to: Noah, Caleb, and Meg's reaction to seeing Alina, seeing Anne, seeing Anne see Alina, four kids climbing into bed to watch Scooby Doo/Blues Clues/etc., gardening/yard work, school, getting back to normal.

Pictures are still an issue right now. I'll try to post whenever possible.