Day 3 and 4

We were going to go to the LDS temple yesterday morning, but due to mixup in translation we ended up visiting the Greek Orthodox Church, oops. The lavra was amazing. Spent the morning walking the grounds and then the afternoon touring Kiev, well the tour was a long and as far as our feet could carry us. I seriously believe we walked a good 15 miles yesterday. Our final SDA appointment was scheduled for 4pm and after a car ride we will not soon forget we finally arrived. While were waiting the Hales arrived and it was so nice to see them, they are a wonderful couple and all seems to be going great for them also. Afterwards, we headed to the train station, which again was an experience in and of itself, seriously everything is quite the adventure here, even a simple train ride. George picked us up at the station and brought us here to Constantines' apartment, it was about 12 am when we arrived, so it was very difficult to see the city so when we woke this morning I was anxious to see where we would be living for the next little while. Our apartment consists of two bedrooms, one bathroom, living room and kitchen and Dnipro seems like a sad, cold city. No one smiles. Wendy warned me of the potholes, our potholes back home our nothing compared to what we drove around and over today, pure craziness.
After a quick breakfast this morning we went to the social service office and was it ever cold inside. These poor women are wearing layers of clothing and trying to keep themselves warm, Oksana, our translator, mentioned that the government "decides" when the heat will be turned on and this year the day will be October 11th, but the schools and hospitals will have there heat turned on October 4th, so in the meantime everyone tries to stay warm. Unbelievable. Anyway, after signing more paperwork we then went to the Orphanage, YAY!! Apparently the boys are both in the sanatorium, which is actually a good thing for us, they are more lenient there and will let us visit the boys more often and even let us take them for a few hours after their studies and lunch are over. No words can describe our reunion, just know that it will be an experience that both David and I will NEVER forget. They look good. Just a little scraggly and a little smelly, but oh, they look good to us. They took us to a small room where we are were able to finally talk and hold each other. Ruslan would not leave my side, he was constantly holding my arm he had to always be touching me. Bogdan was the same with David. After just a few minutes it was as if we had never been apart.
(James and Winnie they asked how you both were and they mentioned how they were excited to see you both again. Ruslan told the orphange director that his big bother was cool and this little sister was fun. They have really missed you both over the past year. Oh, and they also asked about Oliver.)
After our visit we needed to get more documents signed so we headed out AGAIN avoiding more potholes along the way.
Oh, the names the boys chose for themselves are Bogdan Joshua Moore and Ruslan Edward Moore. Ruslan didn't like any of the names we suggested, they were too difficlut for him to pronounce and the ones he suggested I did not like either, they were the names of WWF wrestlers. He wanted his name to be Ruslan "BIG" Moore and I quickly shot that one down also. Finally, he decided upon Edward, which was a name we had not suggested, but ironically it is David's father's middle name and NO he is NOT named for Edward Cullen, but he will still go by the name Ruslan and Bogdan will now be Joshua or Josh and trust me it is the cutest thing ever to hear Bogdan say his new name. These were the names they wanted and we felt that they should have the opportunity to choose, except I had to take away their freedom of choice when it came to the WWF names.
Anyway, we are excited for a new day tomorrow and spending time with the boys. We love you all and are still completely amazed and honored that we are able to take this journey together.