Where did November go?

It is December 1 and this is what we woke up to this morning

                                   

We had some snow a couple of weeks back, but today we received several inches and I think there is more to come.  I really am not sure that we got as much November as we are suppose to.  It seems like it was only a couple of weeks long.  But, I LOVE the Christmas season, and since there is no official Thanksgiving here....  It starts pretty early, so I think we will enjoy 6 weeks of December instead.  That will be nice I think.


November started out pretty nice.  I found someone to color and cut my hair!!  Wahoo!!!  She actually comes to our apartment and does it all here.  Granted there is no "Spa" experience with comfy chair and hair washing sink, but the convenience makes up for it.  AND SHE SPEAKS ENGLISH!!!!   

One of our temple workers makes handmade Ukrainian Doll.  They are so beautiful and so Ukrainian.  I got my first one - it is called

 Isn't she beautiful.  I am so excited to get my other ones.   The cute little lady that makes them is so short she would make Sydney Grubb look tall!!!  She is about 4'10" maybe - She can fit under my chin and I am only 5'4".

The first part of the month was a little stressful, also.  Somehow or another I got myself a kidney infection and it laid me low for a couple of days, but the great Mission Doctor - Dr. Smith got me some good meds and I was back to myself in record time.

When you are an extended visitor in Ukraine you have to register with the government and get official papers once a year.  The first time we went to get the process started we were somewhat shocked at the facility.  It is like an old apartment building in the middle of an old apartment complex.  We were not sure we were in the right place - it didn't help that the taxi driver didn't speak English.

Here we are our second time around when we went to finish the process.  We are with the Beus's who had to go for their year renewal.  As you can see...  not an updated facility.

I debated whether to tell you this funny retelling or not....  it was told to us by one of the other missionaries of their first time to the registration office. ---  I think I shall.

Going to the registration office feels like you are stepping into an old "Russian Spy Movie".  A black car driven by someone you don't know who doesn't speak your language pulls us and opens the door.  You know a taxi has been ordered for you so you get in.  It takes off at a high rate of speed swerving in and out of traffic down some back streets in a part of town you have never seen before.  You can't ask where you are going or where you are, or even if you are in the right car because he doesn't speak English.  All of a sudden he swerves onto the sidewalk and goes down a hidden driveway to the back of an old apartment building.  He opens the door and says GO...   someone else takes you by the arm and says COME and takes you up some old stairs into a building that looks like an abandoned apartment building.  You are standing in a bare hallway with with hanging light bulbs until you are taking into the office. Now you are in a 8X8 office, with 4 large desks, where non-smiling people take your picture, fingerprint you, and make you sign papers that you can't read and don't know what it says. You hope you aren't signing away your freedom and children!!

Needless to say it was a bit stressful, but every missionary young and old have to do it  - and have for years.  So, we assume and hope all is well :)

Things are not so well politically especially in the Eastern part of our dear Ukraine.  So the Stake Relief Society decided that we needed to send a bunch of quilts to the saints and friends in the war raged area. The Stake provided supplies to our branch for 5 quilts to get tied and returned by the next Sunday.  We were so happy to have a quilt frame that one our sweet missionaries had made from baseboard boards that they had bought at a local store.  We have such wonderful sister missionaries both in the Temple mission and in the Kyiv, Ukraine mission that it only took us 4 days to get all 5 quilts finished and Dorothy even donated a baby quilt that she had been working on to send to those who would very likely, not have had what they needed to keep them warm this winter.

Thanksgiving is not observed in Ukraine, so we decided to do our own little (HA-HA nothing done with this group of people is little!!  We have such a collection of wonderful cooks who don't get to do Thanksgiving at home....  so they break out their best for ours) Celebration.  It as a moderate sized group with 25 invited.  The best part is that EVERYONE brought something.  So it was indeed a FEAST.

 Turkeys are rare to find here, and if you do find one, it won't fit in our small apartment ovens. Therefore, we did the best we could do and bought 7 pre-roasted chickens.

The Ukrainian men plus Bro Beus.

Our Ukrainian sisters and some of the men.

It really was a lovely evening.  We finished off with everyone talking about something they were thankful for, and ended the evening singing Christmas Carols.  We really do a lot of singing.  This group of people are very talented and love singing together.

Well, we thought it was going to be a one and done Thanksgiving.  But the Kyiv Mission decided to do dinner for a double zone meeting and asked us to help with the food.  So the following Saturday made more food.  Then the Branch remembered that it was so much fun to have a dinner together last year (because so many of the branch are American) that they decided to do a linger longer the next day.  

This time however, one of the temple workers had been growing turkeys, and the Hollingsheads ended up with a 30 lb whopper of a turkey.  So they decided to cook it up in the patron housing for the Branch linger longer.  It was so big that they had to get someone from Facilities Management to come and saw it in half so they could get it in the oven.  Once again we had lots of food, lots of people (about 50 this time), and lots of good conversation and friendship.

Our RS Pres, Seyi Oyebanre who is also a Medical Dr. (on the right) Her husband and branch executive Sec. Emmanuel Oyebanre at the head of the table (who is a psychologist) Mercy Momodu who is studying to become a Dr and her husband Anthony - who is also a Dr.   You really want to have this table of people around if you are having a medical problem!!  They are all from Kenya and moved to the Eastern part of Ukraine about 7 years ago.  They moved to Kyiv when the conflict started there a few years back.

The Turkey

Suzanne Barney and Dorothy Tomlinson

Dorothy Tomlinson and Kathy Chandler

For those who want a change from the norm, Enchiladas and Scalloped potatoes

Kathy Chandler and Karen Kumferman (Mission Mom)

I had to make this one big so you could see us way down at the end on the left :)

Carpenters - Office couple

Stoddards - On the left (US Embassy - Elders quorum Pres and RS counselor)

Jennifer Conover - branch Primary Pres. and her family.  They teach at the international school here in Kyiv.

Left to right

Joanne Hollingshead (thanks for the turkey!!)

John Perkinson (from AZ) the IFR of the church

Bro Ringer, US Embasy

Ralph Hollingshead

As if we haven't had enough partying this week, The following day - Monday we had the gathering room and tree decorating.  The gathering room is right outside our door and is the room where we have group meetings and parties.  It was fun to watch as everyone did their part decorating the tree and room.  Then again, we did Christmas Carols.  I love this group of people

Yeah, you are right, the men did a lot of observing.

The finished product

Then came the singing

A couple of months ago, this sweet lady and her husband came to the branch, just to see what it was all about.  She was about 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time and for some reason, I fell instantly in love with her.  They lived in the apartment complex that we lived in back then and we saw them a few times in the parking lot and in the store.  She had her baby about 5 weeks ago and since then has been mostly in bed.  She has some medical problems that she had to begin with, so she calls little Gloria her miracle baby.  But shortly after Gloria was born she developed Deep vein Thrombosis and was in the hospital for about a week.  When she came home she also developed some blood clots (some of them 3-4 inches long)  and has been in bed most of the month.  We have been taking meals into them and just going and loving that sweet baby and her mom and dad.  They are such sweet and God centered people.  It is hard to see her go through such trials. She does try to keep a cheerful attitude and we all pray for her to heal quickly.

Because Gloria is their Miracle Baby, they gave her the name Gloria in hope that she would always bring praise and Glory to God.

We sure so love this family.

Yes.....  you have made it all the way to the end of the blog.  Thank you for staying in touch and drop us a line if you feel so inclined.  Ukraine is a wonderful place.  The people are so sweet and loving.  We feel their love every day in the temple.  They are trying hard to do what is right and even under trying circumstances, they are staying true to what their Savior has taught.

The current conflicts are making it difficult at the temple.  We continue to pray for resolutions to the conflicts.  We could use your prayers as well.

We pray that you will have a wonderful Season of Serving, Loving and Giving as He gave.

We are blessed.

Love and hugs

Brent and Jan

Summery of Oct 2018

Guess what?!?!?!    We have moved into our new apartment!!   This is moving day.  It is pretty easy to move when you have 4 suitcases and a few boxes.   

Early in the month we did a service project and  gave the church building it's fall cleaning. Some of the men went outside the fence and picked up garbage and pulled stray weeds and grass so that the sidewalks outside the temple grounds looked as good as the ones inside(sorry no pics of the work being done)

After, however, we had a picnic lunch on Pres. and Sr Roth's patio.  It was a bounteous potluck.

As long as we are oogling food....  here are a couple of prize winners.

This one is a Lava type cake with raspberry icecream

And this one is a Caprice salad.  I know...  it doesn't look anything like what I was expecting.  But all the components are there.

Tomamo (1/2 pealed and stood on end)

Mozzarella cheese

Basil

and a YUMMY Pesto sauce

but mine never looked this good. 

  

 We took the Kyiv Hop On Hop Off  double decker bus tour.  It was a 2 hour tour of many of the highlights of the city.  It also gave Brent a visual layout of how the city all comes together.  Since we do most of our travel on the underground metro, it is hard to get a layout of what is above us.

This is crossing the Dnieper River looking back to the city. 

Still on the bridge looking at the Motherland Statue.

After we went to a local Ukrainian Buffet.  SOOO much food.  I really didn't know what most of it was until I got to the fresh squeezed orange juice.....   can't get much fresher than that.

 On one of our shopping days we found the classic Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt -  

but Ukrainian Style!!!

I enlarged it so you can read the menu  :)

Remember all the Murals we posted from Sherbrooke?  Well....  it looks like Kyiv has some as well.

Our last outing was an Architecture tour.  We went looking at buildings.  On the way we found this poor tree that is being killed by nothing less the MISTLETOE!!!  It is a parasite that kills whatever it attached itself to.   So WHY is it the kissing plant? 

One of our main goals of the trip was to find and visit the House with Chimaeras or the house with gargoyles.  We didn't know when we were looking for it that it is in a compound that also includes the office of the President of Ukraine.  So we had to have our passports (lucky we carry them around with us always)  and go through a security check to get in.  Once we got in it was so quiet and peaceful with almost no one else there ( except a few military personnel)

I was imagining a few gargoyles by the front entrance....  NO....  This place was covered with them.  I took a few close ups so you can see how beautiful they are

Alright....  these are not gargoyles...  just friends

But ---  these are

The President's office

Military presence outside the gate

and the most peaceful and beautiful garden of many different kinds of trees and bushes.

We finally left the compound and went looking for the Weeping Lady.  The grain in the marble makes it look like she is weeping.

Mushrooms are not as abundant here as in Canada, but we have seen some monsters this month.  The bottom one was approximately 6 inches tall and growing in the middle of an evergreen ground cover.

After out excursion we decided to hit one of the local Turkish Restaurants.  Great food.

Then took a stroll down Khreshchatyk.  The main street by Independence Square.

Went to a local fresh market with fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers of every kind.

Here is the view out of our bedroom window....  such beautiful fall colors

And here is why it always looks so beautiful.  These hard working grounds men work every day at cleaning up the leaves.  The grounds look spotless when they are done.  Then the leaves fall during the night and they start all over the next day.

We had to get some papers notarized and the only place we could get an English document done was at the Embassy.  One of the members of our Branch is an FBI agent that works there over Cyber Security.  So after we paid our $50 and got our paper notarized, he gave us a tour.  Wow....  what a beautiful facility.  Brent even got to buy some Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter and Pace Picante Sauce.  HAPPY DAY.  Felt like an early Christmas.

FOOD ALERT!   why am I so fixated on the food here.  It just keeps impressing me!!

Here is the Burger Bar's version of the BLACK BURGER, and they even supply gloves to eat it with!

We have been told a lot about a local confection, called the KYIV CAKE.  We have not been able to find one in any restaurant.  They are always out of it.  Finally we found one at the local grocery store.  Kind of a wafer layered with cream.  Not very impressed, maybe it was just because it was the manufactured one and a fresh one would be better.

We end with today.  Stake Conference.   The Temple missionaries all went together in a rented 31 passenger van.  Elder Golden was there.  It is held in a large auditorium in the tax building.   

What a wonderful conference... They released Igor Verbynsky our Temple recorder as second counselor in the Stake Presidency. He bore a strong testimony of the Savior. Elder Golden spoke of all the blessings we enjoy as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He mentioned how he and other General Authorities had a great chuckle at a news article that was published the day after President Nelson was announced as the new prophet. They said that with "a guy that is 93 years old, things in the Church will remain pretty status quo" . Elder Golden said "tighten your seat belts!"  He also told Igor and he wife that there would be many great opportunities to serve in their future. He asked a trick question "where is the only Temple in the Eastern Europe?  KYIV!!!!  He also commented on the wonderful spirit of our temple.

President and Sister Kumferman spoke also ... he bore his testimony in Ukrainian,  how does a Mission President have time to learn Ukrainian?? (Oh, he was a Russian Professor at BYU Idaho - but still......) Our beloved Temple President and his wife spoke, He asked us to stand and recite with him D&C 138:56  That we have all been prepared for the great work we are doing.  

It has been a wonderful month with many sacred and humbling experience that show us that the Lord in is charge and His work will go forth.  We had a testimony meeting and fireside with the group from the Moscow Stake including Rostov on Don and Moldova.  We also were blessed to speak to the 11 year olds in the Temple and Priesthood Preview meeting.  There are 15 youth that age in the stake and we had 11 in attendance.  So it was a great evening with wonderful families from all over the stake.

We wish you a wonderful November full of Gratitude and Love.

Brent and Jan