Sunday morning, we were scheduled to meet someone from the school at 8:30 who was going to walk us to the international Christian church in our neighborhood. We overslept and woke up in a panic at 8:15, and then discovered that all of the water in our apartment had been shut off. It was off most of the day and was only restored, spurting rust-colored sludge, later that evening! We completely missed our rendezvous but were able to put ourselves together enough to make it to the 11:30 service at ICA Kiev. Happily, it is an Assemblies of God church with a thriving congregation, a dedicated pastor, and inspiring worship music! We were very happy that it is within walking distance (about 15-20 minutes) and such a good fit for us.
Today, we explored Kyiv a bit more. After much searching, we found Alex’s new counselor’s office and enjoyed meeting him. His name is also Alex (shortened form of Alexey), and we’re praying that Alex is able to form a real bond with him.
After playing for hours at a couple of local parks, we made our way down to the city center again. I find these little trips are much easier to manage than one big, sightseeing tour, even though we keep going to much the same place to see something new each time. We finally saw St. Sophia’s Cathedral, but it was closing for the evening so we’ll have to come back to see the inside.
In the same square was the ivy-covered mound of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument.
We walked down a cobblestone street to see the Princess Olga Monument. Princess Olga was the first female ruler of Ukraine. She organized the country’s defenses against enemy tribes, avenged the murder of her husband, Prince Igor, and helped Christianize the country .
Princess Olga 
St. Cyril and St. Methodius 
St. Andrew 
Nearby was the glorious St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery. This is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, and we didn’t even go inside. There was a service in progress, and the sounds of the priests’ chanting drifted hauntingly on the breeze.
Because it was late and we hadn’t brought scarves to cover our heads, we also weren’t able to tour this church. But it’s easy to plan a return visit, since we live here! I would even love to attend a service one day.
