SDA Appointment . . . check!

Our SDA appointment is officially checked off the list of things to do!  It is almost funny (or sad, depending on how you look at it).  After our dossier was submitted in late November, we waited and waited to be notified of the date of this appointment.  Once we found out the date, everything was officially set into motion.  Plane tickets were purchased, plans for childcare were made, etc . . . With all the build up, we figured that we would go to some big government building and everything would be very formal.  Instead we went in the side door of a fairly normal looking building, and we were at the appointment for a total of 3 minutes.  So much for the build up, huh?  It is one of the steps that we needed to complete, however; and Praise God that it is done!  They told us that we would receive our referral between 4-5 PM today.  We were able to do a little shopping at some street vendors after our appointment.  We bought  "matryoshka" for the girls.  They are the Russian nesting dolls . . . These are dressed in traditional Ukrainian clothing, though.  The one set has a mama, papa, sister, brother, little sister, little brother, baby, dog, cat, and a little baby chick (see picture). We found lots of other nice things, but we only bought the dolls.  The SDA building is right beside St. Andrews Church, which is a pretty historical sight, from what we found on the internet.  There are some serious problems with the foundation of the church, so they are doing repairs to try to fix them.  Our driver, Sergei, was kind enough to take a picture of us standing in front of the church.  We just arrived back from our second trip to the SDA, where we received our referral; which is, basically, a permission letter that allows us to visit the orphanage in Krivoy Rog.  We are going to be picked up by our driver at 8:00 tonight for the overnight train ride down to Krivoy.  From what we understand, we will then meet up with Mick and Janel tomorrow, so they can show us around a little before they leave tomorrow night.  We will also go the orphanage tomorrow to "meet" Artyr!  We have heard that he has been counting down the hours until we arrive.  We're so excited to get to see him, again!  Please PRAY for our journey on the train tonight, that we would get internet hooked up tomorrow quickly, and that all would go well as we visit the orphanage for the first time.  Thank you so much!  We covet your prayers so greatly!  You are a blessing to us!