We have landed in Ukraine!

Finally, the day arrived. On the 27th of November we embarked on our journey to become parents.

The last week at home was a bit frantic as we tried to tie up loose ends before leaving for Ukraine. John pressed in at work trying to accomplish as much as he could before leaving. I ran around the house preparing clothes, running errands and trying to get things in order before my parents would arrive to care for our two dogs and watch the house for us. Unfortunately, things did not get left as clean as I had hoped, or as organized as I had planned. But we do the best we can...

Last time I went to Ukraine, I flew Delta to Frankfurt where I got a connecting flight on Aerosvit to Kiev. I had to pick up my bags and take to my connecting flight and they were no where to be found. Almost an hour passed and as my connecting flight was soon scheduled to leave,I asked for help and discovered that my bags were sitting in the lost and found area. I gathered up my belongings and ran over to Aerosvit to check in my bags. As I was about to board, they told me I had to weigh my carry on bag. What? I didn't have to do that before?!? Well, for Ukraine Air you do....
"Oh, you are over weight, you will have to check your carry on bag."

My carry on over weight? I thought the regulations were about the size of the bag, not the weight of the bag!!

Ok, now I am really in a panic. My carry on had all the things that I needed to CARRY ON!!!!!!!!! All my camera equipment, chargers, and important items that I wanted to keep close with me.

So inorder to not miss my plane, I had to remove the most essential items and put them in a smaller bag and check in my carry on bag. I was given no other option. So, check it in I must. I was assured that even though this was the last bag to go on the plane, it would indeed be put on the plane and I would have it when I landed in Ukraine...

Despite their guarantee, I boarded the plane, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomache which was compounded when I remembered that in one of the zipperd pickets, I had 250 dollars in cash that I had forgotten about in my carry-on check-in panic.

And as you can guess, when I arrived in Kiev, my bag, money and misc. chargers and camera equipment were no where to be found. It took many phone calls and threats of international scandal to finally have my bags appear in Kharkov about 1 and a half weeks later-- less the $250.00

Somehow, that did money did not go undetected by some enterprising Aerosvit employee.

Knowing the hidden dangers of overweight carry-on with Aerosvit, we wanted to avoid problems with our carry-on at all cost. We were determined to stay within the limits as told to us by the reservation department of a measly 10 pounds. After through the trouble of trying to comply to the regulations, we witnessed person after person with huge carryon baggage and then some. It seems that the rules in Frankfurt are drastically different from elsewhere.



Our departure was delayed almost two hours so we spent that time people watching. The guy working at the watch kiosk offered the most entertainment as he seemed to come on to every female passing by, no matter the size or age. No watch sales, buy lots of ladies who enjoyed the attention of a handsome but fickle young man.

Finally we began boarding -- with something every traveler dreads, a screaming baby behind us. We boarded with apprehension as to the where the cute yet loud baby would be sitting.

Much to our relief, 0Our flight was quiet and uneventful. We flew Aerosvit, and while interior of the plane would not pass the white glove test-- I mean -- not even close. The plane had an overall coating of grunge-- seats, floor and especially the bathroom... half way into the flight-- no toilet paper.

Other than the cleanliness, things went well. The best of all there were no annoying passengers nearby-- a ingredient to start any vacation off on the wrong foot. Everyone was quiet and respectful of their neighbors-- rather unusual when traveling now a days. Food was pretty good too, and the service was pleasant.

We took off late, but arrived in Ukraine on time. Oleg and Oles from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) were waiting for us at the terminal. Wow... so far so good! Praise God!

We drove to the YWAM base and hit a bit of traffic on the way, as is common now in Kiev. Lots of friendly faces here to greet us at the base which is actually a former floating restaurant/hotel on the river that flows through Kiev.

It is very comforting to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of dedicated Christians who feel a calling to serve in Ukraine.

We have a small but efficient room facing the street, with water view with a nice new bathroom. A luxury in Ukraine.

At 5:30 this evening, our Lawyer came to the base and she briefed us on the process here and the appointments we will be having. It was a bit much for me to absorb after almost 24 hours without sleep. Hopefully John's mind was sharper than mine. Nonetheless, I feel we are in good hands and will be guided through the process. She is very confident and seems to have a heart for the children.

We have our SDA appointment tomorrow at 11am. A driver will come to the boat and take us into the Center where the SDA offices are. There we will talk about or desire to adopt and get our approval to visit the boys.

We are pretty exhausted at this moment... I can barely see to blog.

Day one -- off to a great start.
Everything going well and we are blessed to be surrounded by such fine people.
Tomorrow I hope we can see a little of Kiev after our appointment.

More to follow!

Linda