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.
No comments:
Post a Comment