I've been meaning to come back and say that it looks like we can stay in this house, thank you for praying. There are still many details to be worked out, though.
We've already moved on to the next problem, too: there is a young couple living above us in this house. They moved in at the same time as we did. Now he's been taken by the army. Please be praying for him, for them, for us. They don't know if she can stay here now; we are trying to help, if we can.
One month ago today I wrote that we were in the process of moving. Since then, we've really been enjoying this new house. It's so nice here that sometimes I feel like we're on vacation. But now our landlord has died, and we don't know what will be next. Will wrote more....
It has been almost two years since that wonderful day when Kherson was liberated from occupation. Life there has not gotten easier, though. In fact, it has gotten worse. Artillery from across the river pounds the city all the time. Glide bombs and Shahed drones started after liberation, and in recent times little drones have really started terrorizing the people, going on "human safaris" to hunt them down. Still, our part of the city has been relatively safe. Strikes there happen, but not daily. Until recently. Now the city war administration is seriously endangering the people with plain stupidity (or worse). The leadership of our church has asked everyone to fast and pray today for safety, for the church, for the whole city. Please join us in prayer.
The verse the pastor gave today is:
We've been in this house for two weeks now, and we're loving it. The quiet and the yard and good places to walk (without crowds!) are amazing.
Also, Asya's birthday was a week ago. She actually wasn't here with us on the exact day, but before she left, we celebrated with her, and now she has returned to us. Her Kherson friend who has lived in Poland, then Zhytomyr, and now Kyiv, came to spend her own birthday with Asya. Their birthdays are only a few days apart, and they sometimes celebrated together when they were little. This year they were together again, and we actually did what Asya wanted last year: Papa cooked meat on the grill, and we had dinner outside.
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| Actual birthday in Kyiv |
The plan was that Ira would spend a few days with us, then the girls would go to Lviv together for a day, then Ira would head back to Kyiv. Asya already had a ticket to go to Kyiv on Friday, because she needs a new passport, so they would be seeing each other again soon. However they begged and begged for Asya to go earlier with Ira, and we gave in. That means Asya got to be in Kyiv for the whole week, helping our friends move to another apartment and spending time with Ira and other friends.
Will and Bogdan went to join Asya on Friday-Saturday. We had thought we would take a whole family trip to Kyiv for the passport and to see all our TCI friends, but when we found out that Asya only needed one parent with her at the embassy (little kids are required to have both with them, but big kids don't have to), I stayed back with Leo. Will, Asya, and Bogdan had a busy weekend in Kyiv, and Leo and I had a quiet time here. Mostly we just enjoyed the quiet and saw lots of rain. I also had several Zoom calls and time to think, read, and write.
Now we're back together. The travelers are tired, I'm well-rested, and the dog is overjoyed.
