A red letter day for the Pierce Family

Today is the day! We picked up both John and Sarah! 

 

The church by John's orphanage. There's a stork on top!

 

Whilst waiting for paperwork to be filled out, Michael shared his phone with John. There is a speed racing game on it. 

 

Some friends of John's. the little boy on the left is available for adoption. His name is Rusko and he has some mental delay. He is the sweetest little guy. 11 years old and just adorable! During our first trip, John reserved some cookies especially for Rusko. If anyone is interested in learning more about Rusko, let me know. 

 

 

Staff from the orphanage. 

 

 

Our Bulgarian boys! John was thrilled to leave with us today. In fact, he didn't sleep all night in anticipation. His bag was all packed and he was ready to go. He was waiting for us in the courtyard. We passed out all of the fidget spinners and the children were so excited. 

 

Driving to Lesichovo. 

 

 

 

 

 

We were greeted by the children from the orphanage who had bread and honey waiting for us, whilst wearing traditional Bulgarian clothing. 

 

 

 

The children loved the fidget spinners! 

 

 

Our Bulgarian kids, together with us at last!!

 

Tradition to throw water in front of your car before you leave. So neat!

As we predicted, Sarah broke down crying on the drive to Sofia. She has lived in her orphanage for 11 years. She is very attached to her village and the staff and the other children there. We had some time to cry together later on this evening. I think a good night of rest will help a lot. 

 

I see many flowers hanging in windows all over Bulgaria. 

 

Playing Quirkle. 

 

Look at that smile!

 

❤️❤️❤️

Bulgaria Bound

On Friday, we left D.C. for Bulgaria, with a stop in London. After 12 hours of travel, we arrived in Sofia. We picked up our rental van and drove to our first apartment that we found on Airbnb. We didn't have a GPS, so we called the owner of the apartment and her son came and we followed him to the building. Other than no air conditioning, it was a nice place. 

 

We drove around and found a grocery store. Then we stopped at a Bulgarian restaurant for dinner. We collapsed into bed around 9pm. 

  

The huge van we rented. The next size down was too small for luggage. 

Some kind of flatbread with cheese and Bulgarian spices.   

Shopska salad. 

 

Grilled chicken with mashed potatoes. 

Tyler asked the waiter what he recommended and this is what is was: pork, chicken, mushrooms, cheese, and broth. So tasty!  

I have missed the incredible dairy products from Bulgaria. It all tastes so rich and fresh. 

On Sunday, we went to the Sofia branch for church. We had a lovely time there with the Bulgarian saints. 

 

We drove all Sunday afternoon to Dobrich. We stayed in the same hotel as before and we enjoyed it very much. 

 

Our fabulous facilitator, Maggie, and me. 

 

Dinner: grilled flatbread, chicken strips, and mashed potatoes (not pictured).

 

We have been told this flower is from the Linden Tree. It smells so fantastic! I want to plant some in our yard whenever we retire!

 

We showed up around 9am to Michael's orphanage. We were so thrilled to see Michael again! He gave us big hugs and big smiles. Tyler helped him pack up his items in our suitcase and we gave him his new swimsuit and rash guard to put on (we are headed to the Black Sea today!).

We gave a Chinese silk shirt to Christopher - a man who works at the orphanage with the kids - and a gift bag to the orphanage director. 

We donated 25 fidget spinners to the kids at the orphanage. We said our goodbyes and then packed up and left the orphanage! 

 

The front of the orphanage. 

 

I have seen many lavender fields here. So lovely. 

 

We passed by this house in a nearby village and Michael said he lived here when he was 7 years old. 

Michael seems to be in a good mood. I know that all of this change will be overwhelming for him. So thankful for Maggie to help translate our love and support to Michael. Now we are off to the beach!