Sunday

Today we went to church at the local Church of Christ – can you believe it? It was all in Russian, of course, but it was still familiar, and nice to meet some people. The service lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. About 70 people were there! We met the missionary couple there, and spent time with them this afternoon (Brandon and Katie). They have been here about 9 months, and they are so sweet. We went to their apartment (from where I posted yesterday’s blog entry) and they showed us tons of great pictures of Mariupol during other times of the year. It’s actually really beautiful in the spring and summer! We spent some time walking around the town afterwards, and I think it’s starting to grow on me a little. There is a beautiful Orthodox church nearby that we’d like to visit tomorrow. We also found a great little outdoor marker nearby that sells everything from fish to shampoo to clothing.

We squeezed in a visit with Halle Grace today before church, and then we visited her again in the late afternoon. We are able to communicate better each day, and she is really starting to bond with us. Her other caretaker talked with us a little today. She told us that she loves to “help” clean and cook, and that she is a very good girl. This seems to be the consensus! She is so sweet – we brought her the usual banana today, along with a cupcake that Katie sent with us. She asked if next time we could bring something she could share with her whole group. (She has about 10 in her group, and enjoys telling us about them). Also, today we asked her if she knows Leeza (just adopted by Kathy and Matt at johnsonsadoption.blogspot.com) and she said YES, that Leeza was her friend. So sweet.

Tomorrow (Monday), we have paperwork to get done in the morning and may only get to visit Halle Grace in the afternoon. We are REALLY hoping for a Friday court date. Please pray!

We finally got to read your blog comments yesterday, and they were so sweet! Thank you for all the encouragement. Keep it coming – we love hearing from home.