How does one put into words what happened today? I mean, it was nothing out of the ordinary for Ukraine. It's just that...I really want you Americans who have never been to eastern Europe to experience this place through my words. But I can't do it. I have no way of describing the 360 degree, 5 sense reality of this place. So I'll put it to you this way, in the words of our facilitator, "This is not America. Things are not nice here. You will be comfortable here. And you will not like it here. And nobody cares." There ya' have it! He meant it in the nicest way possible, I am sure.
We spent the day in the car and were pulled over by the police twice. The first time our facilitator had to go inside the police building that was along side the road. We don't know what exactly happened in there. It didn't take long (but I have a feeling it wasn't free) and when he got back in the care I said, "friends of yours?". He laughed and said, "yeah, sorta". And we were off again @ 140 (I think that's kilometers per hour) dodging potholes (who am I kinding? they are not "pot"holes; they are HOLES!) like a pro.
We're passing enormous cows just chained up to the land. And heards of sheep, sometimes chained to the land (far enough apart so they cannot reach each other and get tangled) and sometimes walking down the side of the road with an old, old lady sheparding them. Every now and then there's a horse! Same thing; chained to the land.
I will never get used to unsightly buildings & piles of dirt & piles of rubble. All three are EVERYWHERE! Even new buildings are unsightly & haves piles of dirt & rubble. Rublle, rubble, rubble...it never ends.
We were discussing building materials and I asked our facilitator why they don't build wood framed, lapped-sided houses here. He said it's just they way they do it here. They use a pourous looking, dark yellow block. He said in America house are easy to tear down and just build another but in Ukraine houses are built to last forever and I'm thinking to myself they probably shouldn't be because they all looked abandoned & crumbling. So maybe a tear-down every 100 or so years is not such a bad thing.
Good Lord willing we're shaving the days off this trip and we'll be home in less than 7 weeks - a family complete! I am desperately homesick :(
Tonight we are in Dzhankoy where our American friends are adopting a 15-year-old girl (and several other American families with whom we are friends have adopted kids). We got to have dinner with our American friends tonight (Pizza Tet!!) and then went to the orphanage to meet their daughter. I can now say I have experienced the orphanage here. It is heartbreaking :(. There is not a single indication that a child lives in any of these buildings. There are no toys, no pictures on the walls, no games (at least not that I could see). The kids swarmed us asking for gum & candy. It's almost intimidating. But mostly it is terribly sad that children are living in these conditions. This orphanage looks like a prison (without the bars & restrictions) compared to our son's & daughter's orphanages. So, so sad :(((( Pray for these kids. It is not a nice place.
We're in a hotel tonight. I'll get say that the vanilla scented canles are lit again. And I'll leave it at that....
Each day we have to remind ourselves that God lead us here & we cannot take over now. We have to continue to follow His lead 'cause left to our own devices, we will screw it up! So...another day shaved off and a pretty good one at that. We are blessed....
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