Extra! Extra! Read all about it....

Alas, the chickens are no more. Okay, I know this is not about the happenings with the DeYoungs in the Ukraine, but I had to post about it anyway. Hey, I have my blog-o-sphere faithful to answer to!

I spoke with Michele and the kids yesterday and the sad news of the day was that the last of our chickens (the 4 remaining), met their early demise on Saturday. Apparently, a wily fox (I know coyotes are "wily", not sure about foxes), grabbed three of the four for a nice meal after the coop door was accidentally closed without the chickens inside.

I know you're all wondering about the fourth. Apparently, in a classic "fight-or-flight" response, she realized she was no match for the fox, and ran out the side gate into the street. There, on a street where we have maybe 20 cars pass per day, she met her early fricassee under the wheel of a passing auto. So sad.

Michele's final word on chickens? I am the "chicken whisperer"...and we may only have chickens if I'm around. Hmmm....maybe Natasha and Pasha will be my little "chicken wranglers" with me.

Life here in Ukraine carries on 1 day at a time. The weekend was actually quite beautiful.

I spent a good bit of Saturday morning with Natasha and Pasha and my new-found friends at the orphanage. I asked if they needed anything from "outside" to which they replied "fruit, candy and socks". So, mid-day I headed to the outdoor market and spent all of about $8 to buy bunches of bananas, bags of apples and oranges, some chocolate bars and, of course, 7 pairs of socks. They were thrilled.

I went to church on Sunday and sat in the congregation repeatedly saying to myself, "'Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am also' means that God is indeed here...I just don't understand a word he is saying right now." That's alright though, I know from the overhead slides the pastor was talking about лущаофжвл, йзлсоащулвоф, and аофзсдаурлы. (I may have misspelled some of that.... :) )

Sunday afternoon I went back to visit at the orphanage again. Natasha said she had not felt well in the morning, but Jana had brought her some medicine (maybe vitamin I or T?) and she felt better. Pasha seemed fine, just still coughing all over anyone and everything. We played UNO, looked at pictures, and I took pictures of several friends who said they also wanted to have a family.

This morning I received a call from Tanya. She had heard from the orphanage that 50+ kids now are sick with the flu. She wasn't sure what flu it is (I suspect they really do not even know if it really is the flu), but suggested I not go by today. I may just pop in for a quick "hello" later today. The bummer about so many kids being sick is that their "isolation" area is not nearly large enough to handle that number. So, it means that kids who may be sick will be hanging out in their normal rooms around the rest of the kids, which is a recipe for more spreading. Hopefully, they can keep it under control.

Well, that's it for now. In addition to my exciting adventures, work is keeping me busy, so I better get some of that done while I have the chance.

Final court papers will be ready Thursday. Pray then that ID re-issuing, birth certificates and passports will go speedily along!

Thanks,

Bruce