Here At Last

We arrived yesterday around 1pm Kyiv time. Going through immigration and customs was simple and fast and the people here are so friendly. Our facilitator had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport; our driver's name was Nikolai. He spoke great English and he drove like a New Yorker. Nikolai drove us to our apartment; it looks a little shady on the outside, but after we climbed 3 flights of stairs and went into a small, unlit hallway we entered our apartment. It is actually quite nice and very clean. We were exhausted from not really being able to sleep on the plane so we slept well in the apartment.

This morning we got up and headed out to see the sights. The city is busy and there is so much to do. We walked to St. Michael's Monastery of the Golden Domes which was destroyed under Stalin and only recently rebuilt in 2001. Outside the monastary walls there is a stone and iron cross which stands as a monument to the victims of the Ukrainian famine of 1932-1933. Down the hill from St Michaels is St Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev's oldest standing church. The architecture and details on these buildings is ornate and beautful.

We spent some time in Independance Square where the "Orange Revolution" took place in 2004. Across the street is the monument of independance which was erected in 2001 in celebration of Ukraine's 10 yr anniversary of self-rule and freedom from the USSR. Near that monument is also a statue of founders of Kiev; 3 brothers and their sister. The sister, Lybid, supposedly chose the spot where Kiev was to be and named it after the oldest brother "Kyi." The younger brothers were Schek and Khoriv. And yes I am getting this from our guidebooks.

The history of this country is both sad and fascinating. We are loving our time here so far. Today we walked everywhere. Tomorrow morning at 11am (4am EST) we have our SDA apt. Pray that all goes well! Probably the next day we will take a train to Kole's region. We just can't wait to see him and hug him.