Dan and Pris Gollan

We just got back to this apartment we are renting after a long day out.

The Ukrainian Government saw fit to give us visas again.  No surprises there.  What was a surprise is that it now costs Australians about $800 for a visa.  Incredible!  This visa is good for 45 days.  :)  During that time, I must apply for temporary residency.  If we can get all the docs ready in that time and the government is not opposed, then, after paying another whack of dosh, they should give me one year of temporary residency.  Pris, happy American that she is, had to pay just $190.  It’s still not enough incentive to make me desire US citizenship.  :)

We spent the rest of the day with Priscilla’s parents, who also needed to go to the consulate.  (Without any planning, we ended up individually planning to come to Krakow on the same day!)  We did a lot of walking around the city doing visa errands and then looking at beautiful Krakow, but we definitely enjoyed this special time together. 

We just called Cheryl, who is staying with our kids while we are away.  She informed us that Elle doesn’t have a temp anymore, but she did come out in a rash all over her body.  So we’d appreciate your prayers for her.  We don’t yet know if this is a complication to the strep-throat she has.  Thanks.

We have returned! Our plane touched down on a dry Kiev tarmac at 05:20 Thursday morning. As we walked off the plane, many disapproving passengers and crew informed us that our children were not sufficiently dressed. "It is MINUS 10, not plus 10. You understand?" "Your children cold!" "Bus not warm." "Kholodno na ulitsa! Kholodno!" Yep. We were back! And it actually felt great walking out of the stuffy plane into crisp Ukrainian air. We were last through immigration and then customs... breezing through both. And then we finally left the hall to greet Cheryl and Bronwyn, Gaven and Bruce who had risen early to collect us. It felt good to be back.

The drive home was punctuated solely by a McDonalds stop - no cop stops this time - and we arrived home to a house undeniably Cherylized. She is a friend who loves to love through selflessly helping/serving and had done a beautiful job on the little touches which make a place feel welcoming.

Greetings…

As Ukraine heads into some cooler weather, we find ourselves looking at the thermometer and wondering how long we can go without turning the gas furnace on! Those thoughts put us in the same category of about 90% of people in Rzhyshchiv. And with Ukrainian workers owed over $220 million in back-pay, the IMF insisting on a doubling of gas prices, and the government pushing ahead with that goal, many people are eerily eying the winter months. We’ll probably be able to hold out until late-October before turning on the heating.

Greetings…

The longer I live, the more I appreciate Paul’s words for those he loved -

“Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

May these things be yours!

We have winter continuing to grace us with it’s presence in the form of snow and cold temps. Certainly, it is beautiful! I don’t recall any winter similar to this during my