We’ve mentioned before how well our landlords have treated us over the past two-and-a-half weeks, and words really cannot do justice their generous hospitality. A prime example of this is the offer they made to us while they had us up to their home for dinner on Wednesday evening after our court appointment: they offered to take us to the Black Sea today. We were all very much looking forward to seeing the Black Sea, which would be yet another unexpected treat on this trip. After all, we are here to adopt Mikaela, not to tour Ukraine and engage in some sight-seeing. Perhaps if we had Mikaela in our custody right now we would do some more typically tourist activities, but the set-up here, coupled with the fact that we have our two bios with us as well, means that we can’t do much traveling around this area. So, our excitement at getting to see the Black Sea has been growing over the past few days, and we have been looking forward to seeing this part of God’s creation. This morning, however, our plans changed.

Several of us have not been feeling well over the past couple of days, so we knew that our tip to the Sea might be in jeopardy, though we still woke up this morning and began to get ready for a day at the sea shore. That is, until Meghan checked her temperature. She was running a fever of 100.9 F (thankfully that has come down a bit after a dose of acetaminophen), so we have had to cancel our trip. If they offer to take us again next weekend, we will probably accept. It would be wonderful to see the Black Sea, and while we are disappointed in not getting to go today, we have to keep in mind that we are here to finish Mikaela’s adoption and take her home. Moreover, if not for God’s gracious and miraculous provision, we wouldn’t even be here right now, so our day in—including a viewing of “Sherlock Holmes”—is still sweet in its own right.