A few days with Zhenya

We are extremely thankful for the time that we had with Zhenya this past weekend.  Spending one-on-one time with him has been such a blessing.  During this time we stayed busy walking, shopping, site seeing and of course, eating! 

Friday was a great day to sleep-in.  Even I participated :)  We finally left the apartment after lunch and spent the rest of the day with Bob and Dima, taking in some of the activities of Independence Day. 

Saturday was another great day to sleep-in.  Again, I participated :)  We spent the day visiting St. Andrews Cathedral.  The area around the cathedral is a market, with local artists selling artwork and many other souvenirs.  We were able to find a matryoshka doll (nesting doll) with a mom, dad and 3 sons.  A great souvenir in my opinion!  Zhenya really enjoyed looking at the goodies available for sale.  He wasn't afraid to talk to the vendors, asking them questions.  It's been amazing to see Zhenya "in his territory".  He is a confident and bold young man.  Nadia and I think he'll be a great salesman one day :) 

St. Andrews Cathedral

The market by St. Andrews Cathedral

Sunday was a great day as well, even though we couldn't sleep in!  We enjoyed church with Becky, Nadia and the Storm family (see Mike's post on this).  We enjoyed cafeteria style lunch, which was a wonderful option for "Big Hungry".  We then visited the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery, which was founded in the 10th century.  Everything about it is grand and beautiful.

Inside the Monastery

Lavra Monastery

Sunday was a great time of fellowship with Becky and Nadia, but also a great time for Mike and I to bond a little more with Zhenya.  Having two translators handy is a great thing!  Zhenya was able to ask Mike and I some questions that he didn't know how to ask in English.  We also opened up and talked about Zhenya #1.  We learned that he still desires to stay in Ukraine, based on a conversation between the two Zhenyas at the orphanage.  Our Zhenya also shared that he only wants us to adopt him - we are his family and he doesn't want to share us.  Talk about an answer to prayer!!  God is so good and faithful!  Becky took the time to explain to our Zhenya that God had a plan all along for the Dellers and for him.  Our journey with Zhenya #1 led us to him. 

Monday was another early morning.  After a one hour bus ride, we arrived in Boyarka to return Zhenya to the orphanage.  We hope to spend this coming weekend with him again.  In the meantime, he has to be on set to finish up a movie he's in.  (Yes, we are adopting a movie star!)  Seriously, he's the main star in this movie.  Can't wait to see it!

We ended our day by having dinner with the Storms and BOTH of their kids.  They are adopting a sibling set and the youngest has been in the hospital since we arrived.  He was discharged  yesterday and is now with them! 

Mike and I discovered a Chocolate Cafe very close to our apartment.  The chocolate is handmade in Ukraine and is quite amazing!  We ended our day here!