Friday, July 30, 2010

Ukraine in Photos

Getting our boarding passes. First flight en route to Ukraine!


The following pics were taken in Kyiv...

Motherland statue











Beautiful!



Us with the Trumps, another American family adopting.




And now on to Ochtyrka, the town close to Sergei's orphanage...




Our first day reunited with Sergei


Brad challenging Sergei to pull-ups



The school at the orphanage


This is what many of the buildings in Ochtyrka looked like.


The scenery we enjoyed on our trip to the orphanage each day.








Pronounced "Ochtyrka"




Swimming in the river


Giving tattoos to the boys



Brad with Sergei and his best friend Sergei



Old churches in Ochtyrka







The favorite pastime.



Our taxi driver, Sergei.



Spent alot of time doing this



The older boys were constantly challenging Brad to physical competitions.



Ivan - a great, funny kid!



Sergei took this photo. Thought the angle was artsy. Like it so I posted it. :)






Bacon anyone?



They grow the crayfish big in Ukraine!



We were SOOOO excited to find Lay's potato chips!



Saw a lot of this - boys running around in their undies.



Lunch with some of the mission team members.



Dancing with Vica at the carnival we had.



Yes, that is Brad. :)



Andriy - for sure a cutie!



Brad with Natasha, my favorite little girl there.



Painting faces



Brad with some of the mission team members.



Bible lesson time



Ukrainian cookout. They cook bread dough on sticks over an open fire. It was quite yummy.






This is seriously how they get baths. In the river.




Me with Nastya



Denis - What an awesome boy!



Natasha again - I could always count on her for some snuggling and kisses! Such a sweetie!



Team pictures




Me and another Vica




Brad with some of the older boys he befriended


Last few minutes at the orphanage - Sergei with some of his friends.


The two Sergei's


Sumy bound...

Sunflowers everywhere!!







Bumper cars in Sumy


Relaxing by the pool at our lovely hotel.






What a happy face! Love it!















McDonald's in Sumy. Tasted great after 3 1/2 weeks of barely eating anything!

Back to Kyiv to finish it up...

Breakdancing in Kyiv


Cheryl Trump and I. We were so blessed to be in Kyiv with them again for the end of our trips. We even got to fly out of Ukraine together.


Me, Sergei, Tatiana, and Cheryl






Souvenir Lane









Dinner at an authentic Ukranian restaurant. REALLY yummy food!

Hope you all enjoyed the pics. I know there were a ton of them, but these weren't even the tip of the iceburg. We took over 1000 pics! Crazy! Can't wait to get them made into photobooks. I'm making one for our family and one for Sergei to have.

3 comments:

Pam said...

Enjoyed all the pictures. What a great overview. Looked like an amazing trip. Congratulations and many blessings to you and your family
Much love,
Pam

pioneerbeauty said...

What a lovely post...We had hosted two Russian girls during a homestay program..Unfortunately at that time we were unable to afford the expense for the adoption process..but the Lord wonderfully provided each girl with a wonderful Christian family...and The Lord has obviously placed another child in a Loving Christian Family..He knows those who are His..praise the Lord he Saves.

Many Blessings on the begining of a new chapter in your families life.
In Christ,
Angelina

Simple said...

Loved all the photos...What an amazing trip you had!
Blessings!