July 3- Day 2 - WE ARE FINALLY HERE IN L'VIV

Dear Family and Friends,
We did a TON of sight seeing today in Kiev and saw many historically significant places. We ate breakfast at the hotel, which was a tasty variety of eggs, potatoes, fruits, big bacon, and pastries. Our first destination upon sightseeing was the wall that used to be the entrance to the city of Kiev. It looked like it was made of Lincoln Logs! After that we went through this incredibly beautiful gold and blue entrance way to the Santa Sophia chapel that was built in the 11th century A.D.! The walls were painted with incredible paintings of saints, but the many years ago the Soviets tried to take over and they painted white over all of the wall paintings and mosaics. The chapel has since been restored and acid was used to remove the white paint and uncover the beautiful artwork underneath. In this chapel, services are held once a year on the Ukrainian Independence day. There is an Iconostasis wall with golden leaf pillars and paintings of saints separating the sanctuary from the place that the holy people (priests, etc.) go behind to prepare the Eucharist for communion. It was awesome seeing ground, mosaics, and paintings that were so ancient! Next, in the chapel, we went into a room and got to see an enormous mosaic that a woman, Oksana Mas and 70 others made of the Virgin Mary out of Pysanky (Ukrainian  Easter Eggs)...over 15,000 eggs were used to create the final masterpiece!
Next- we went to a monastery in Kiev. We went down into the Lavre Cave of the monks from the 11th century, where monks lived in small rooms in the caves throughout their entire lives- the nuns would bring them food and dump their chamberpots! After their life of prayer had ended, the monks' bodies were not removed from their rooms, locks were simply secured on the doors and never opened again. Other bodies of monks from this time period were placed in coffins made entirely out of glass and you could view them as you walked by; the bodies were covered with holy cloths, however. The bodies are removed during each holiday and the cloths are changed. Many of the Ukrainian women kissed the coffins as they walked passed out of respect for the deceased monks. The women of our mission team got a taste of Ukrainian culture as they were required to cover their heads while in the caves with scarves; the team also held candles to light the way. At the end of the caves we were able to leave our candles burning as a blessing upon someone we had prayed for.
After the monastery some of us experienced public Ukrainian restrooms! These toilets cost one ghreivan (one-eighth of a U.S. dollar) to use and they even give you a receipt! The toilet is basically a hole in the ground that you squat over...you even have to supply your own Toilet paper! (Thank you Hannah Nixon for keeping tissues on-hand!) Walking to our next destination we were able to look at all of the artwork sold by street vendors.
After the Monastery we went to the Ukrainian WWII memorial. Many statues of soldiers were present there as well as tanks, cannons, and helicopters from the war.
We ate a tasty lunch/dinner at the same place we had dinner yesterday, and headed back to the hotel to get our luggage and use the "WC" or Water-Closet (a restroom) and changed into comfy clothes for our 7 hour train ride we were preparing to embark upon.
We got to the train station 45 minutes early so we stayed in a really fancy waiting room that cost 10 Ghreivan per person, which is just over a dollar. It was worth paying for, however, as it was quiet and comfy and air conditioned! We boarded the train next, which was not air-conditioned however was comfortable and had tables that turned into beds and overhead bunks.
We arrived in L'viv at 12:00ish and took exciting and cramped (Kjersti and Julie shared a backseat with three LARGE suitcases) taxi rides to the Kosmonaut Hostel just below the student center.
Everything is going well & now, at 1:53 am, we are exhausted and GOING TO BED!
Much Love,
The Ukraine Mission Team