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December 6, 2007

Ok, so my creativity is lacking a bit today. Speaking with some of our friends back in the capital city, we all feel a little like we are living the movie Groundhog Day. Have you seen it? Those coming behind us - get ready.

As I sit here in our flat, the girls are preparing gift bags for a little party we are having this afternoon for our D's friend, Y. We'll be meeting them later today for pizza. They are having a great time being girls. Can't wait for A to arrive! It is fun though to watch them interact pleasantly. Her creative skills are really impressive.

This city is such a place of contrasts. The place where we are is not appealing on the outside, but the apartments are nice on the inside. We are a short walk from the main street where you can find most modern amenities - clothes, appliances, foods, etc. The sidewalks are wide and used heavily. At night the buildings are lit up and it really is nice. I'm not sure if this is a seasonal thing or if it is always this way. We are learning that in Soviet times many references to religion were done away with - in the interest of the common good - sound familiar? For instance we saw "Father Frost" the other night in front of McD's and I said "hey, there's Santa Claus!" I was told that he cannot be referred to as Santa or Saint. So silly, yet so profound to me. This city is known for its manufacturing of steel, cars and other goods. The factories are on the outskirts of town and you can see the plumes of exhaust coming from the stacks. The City reminds me of Bham in the 70's. The air is heavy and polluted. The cultural cross section runs complete from paupers to the dude who parks is H2 outside the hotel up the street.

So we've been spending some time with our child this week. Yesterday, she and I took a little trip to town and to the market. That girl has long legs and she can out walk me easily. I found myself struggling to keep up. It was a surreal moment to take in. She helped me to navigate around the city. We went to the internet cafe and she quickly got bored with that. But alas, I had prepared wisely. I whipped out the ipod to occupy her time. That lasted about two minutes. Then she asked to call one of her friends. So I conceded. She took the phone and walked outside. I could see her the whole time. I watched her as she talked to her friend. She looked so grown up - not a little girl any more. I know there is a reason why we have had to wait. Maybe we will know one day. We have a beautiful young lady on our hands - a precious jewel.

We began to make our way back to the flat. We walked to the bus stop to try to determine which one would take us back. At the stop there were several vendor selling there things - hot dog stand, a popcorn cart, several beer vendors (mental pause: did you know that you can't buy gallon of milk here, but you can buy a 3 liter of beer). We settled on the hotdog and some popcorn. I let her pick out what she wanted - cost me less that $0.50. The lady put ketchup, mustard and yes - sour cream on it. The dog never made it back to the bus stop. It was inhaled quickly. The popcorn turned out to be kettle corn and was really good. So I felt good about this day. Its the little things that help us to bond as a family.

Please continue to pray for us all. As many of you know the blending of a family is no easy thing and each experience is unique. As the director said on our first day here as a response to the flowers that we presented to her - "this is a celebration of the birth of a new family." The old is passing and we are discovering our new identity. Similar to our walk with Christ, we are being transformed every day - Romans 12:1-2

Can't wait to hear Sonny and Cher in the morning....

Papa