Wow.... it has been a whole month!!!

Craziness!!! Even though it seems just days ago..... it also seems like months. One month ago we were just arriving and getting settled in. Now we are deep - up to our necks in the city, the ward, the people, and especially the temple!!!

So--- this is going to be extra long!!! You might need to take it just a bite at a time or you might get overwhelmed!!!

As many of you have heard, on Aug. 29th, Brent was call by General Authority 70 Elder Christoffel Golden to be the 2nd Counselor in the Temple Presidency. He was also set apart to be a Temple Sealer. I was set apart to be an assistant to the Temple Matron. We are very humbled and shocked at the calling and pray that we can do what is needed to support the wonderful people who attend and work at this beautiful temple.

Since that time we have been in training and working with the Rotis (amazing people whom we love dearly). They are teaching us what our new responsibilities are. It is very overwhelming, But as it says in 1 Nephi 3:7

"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men,save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

The temple closed for cleaning from Sept. 3rd until the 17th. The first week we helped clean the temple, went to lunch with some of the missionaries, Brent met with a member who is helping him get involved in the local international Rotary Club, I commissioned his wife to make me a picture of the temple, had many sessions of training with the Rotis, and did a walking tour of one section of Kyiv. And that was just the first week off.

I was so excited when I found out that Kathy Chandler had been transferred to Kyiv from Moscow. She had been in the Choir with me for over 15 years and it was good to see a friend from home. They are in our international ward and she is working in the temple one day a week, so I get to see her Sundays and Thursdays... just like old times!!

I have to add some pics here about that first week off. I probably took.... well let's just say hundreds of pictures so I will try and scale them down and give you just the basics.

We started the week with the Kyiv summer olympics, You will get a flavor of the missionary activity by reading the invitation...

You are cordially invited to participate in the Kyiv Summer Olympics in the events of

Unfair Badmitten

Boomerang Chase

Hot Wheels racing

The heats will begin at 1800, 3.09.2018 in the commons room.

This may be beneath the dignity of some of you. But since some of us have no dignity, the committee felt it appropriate to go ahead with the events.

Then the group of us went to dinner. Part of the missionaries were out of town this week, but those of us that were left were:

Dale and Liz Hoskisson

Glen and Kathy Beus

Alan and Dorothy Tomlinson

Kathy and Scott Roti

and us.

I don't know if it is just the places we go... but restaurants around here really know how to plate a meal.

I told you about Marina. Here is that beautiful woman and one of her creations. She has won numerous awards and is so talented. She started with painting, then photography, now she is working in multimedia art and I have ask her to make me one with the Kyiv temple... smaller than this one, so I can take it home.

One of our excursions on the first week off was to the museum of Gold in Kyiv. It documents the history of the region through gold and silver. Most of it has been found in burial mounds close by. We are talking a LOT of gold here. It was very interesting.

This is their main display piece. It is huge. I don't know how someone could wear it. It must way over 20 lbs.

This is a unique piece. The king was bored with all the pieces of silver cups that were being made by the silversmiths. So he created a challenge. This was the winning piece. It can be used by 2 people who can drink out of it at the same time. The king loved it. And as a prize for the contest he was given the hand of the King's daughter in marriage. The skirt of the dress and the urn are the 2 containers that rotate so that 2 people can drink out of it at the same time.

It is kind of difficult to see, but this car is painted with an arm wrestle between Jesus and satan.

We are standing in front of the Golden Gate of Kyiv. It was the original gate to the city.

Alan and Dorothy Tomlinson

Scott and Kathy Roti

Dale and Liz Hoskisson

Brent

I have been amazed at the flowers around here. There are sellers all over the place on the sidewalks, in the underground tunnels, and in stores. Lots of people are carrying bundles of them on the Metro and the marshrutkas.

Like I said.... The plating and presentation of food is stunning.... here are some more....

cabbage rolls and grilled vegetables

Grilled shrimp and vegetables

creamy chicken and Pork medallions

Napoleon for dessert

The metro and buses (called marshrutkas) are the main mode of transportation around here for the majority of people. They come in all shapes and sizes, age and cleanliness. Somehow I managed to get 5 fairly good looking ones. Some look like they might not get to the next stop they are in such bad shape.

You can see how crowded they are.... this is a pic in the
metro train... but the
marshrutkas are a lot smaller and a lot more crowded. The pic on the right is a money box. We were told when we came here to be sure and keep all valuables and money safe. Because the pic pockets are active. Which is true. But what is surprising is that when each person gets on the bus they hand up the money to the bus driver through these packed vehicles hand to hand and if change needs to come back it comes back the same way. And the drivers money sits out in the open. No problems. Most of the people are very respectful and honest. If an older woman or handicapped person or mother with a child get on... usually someone will get up and give them their seat. So sweet.

Yes there are cars and it bumper to bumper on a 4 lane highway during rush hour, but most people use mass/or rapid transit. One of the Metro stops is the longest and deepest stop in the world. You ride the escalator for 7 minutes (2 different escalators, because it is so long) down to the stop. as you can see.... you can barely see the bottom it is so far down.

We finally got a chance to ride a tram. By far our favorite. They are much less crowded and usually pretty clean. Some of them... like this one, is pretty new.

One of our favorite things in Sherbrooke were the murals on the sides of buildings.... we are finding that Kyiv also has some great murals.

This is one of the beautiful cathedrals of the city. I have lost count of how many of them they are. This is St Andrews and next to it is St Andrews decent where there is always a street full of reynoks which are kind of like kiosks.

The second week off we headed to Lviv. It is to the West and is closer to the Polish border. If you look close..... Kiev is the one with the white star. If you follow the red line to the West it will take you to Lviv (in the orange province)

We took a 6 hour train ride. We went with

Dorothy and Alan

Kathy and Glen

Dale and Liz.

The first day we did a castle tour. The first one was pretty run down and old.... but Geeze... it is from before the birth of Christ..... it gets to look old.... IT IS OLD!!!

In one of the castles there were a lot of tapestries and pictures from all over Ukraine. I always loved the stories that they told, but we learned that they did them in pictures because the the people couldn't read and in this way they could learn and understand the stories. What a great idea!!! What bible stories can you find?

Looking out of the castle... through the battlement windows you can see the beautiful villages and every one of them has a gold domed church.

On the way to the next castle we stopped by a local truck stop type diner. Had lots of local food. I had my first experience with Buckwheat, used at a side dish.

The next two castles were a little better taken care of.

Brent on the battlement mound outside the castle.... can you see the cannons?

We love driving through the countryside, breathing the fresh air, seeing the quaint villages, (with their flocks of ducks), beautiful rolling hills, wooden wheeled carts, and the babushkas walking along the road with their cows.

We got to meet with the senior missionaries (over dinner of course) One of the couples were Elder and Sister Andrus. Brent knew her from when he was in the Kaysville Rotary. Doesn't he look great in his Ukrainian Shirt!!!

Day two in Lviv was spent walking the city. We saw the place where the Jewish synagogue was before it was destroyed. This city had a huge population of Jews before WWII.

We walked to the top of High Castle. It is the highest point in the city and where a castle used to be. It was a long hot walk, but a beautiful view. This is what it used to look like.

This is what it looks like from above.

Image result for high castle park lviv image from above

Part of the pathway

the last leg

At the top

After that long trek we headed back into town, I think it was a couple of miles both ways, we did some underground tours. My favorite was the apothecary. It was very old and survived both wars and is still functioning. This is above ground.

Heading down.

Underground

We also did a lot of cathedrals, a cemetery, and parks. We took a break for a late lunch at Meat and Justice. A local restaurant that brags of the ambiance is all the iplements of torture used in ancient (and some modern) days.

Image result for meat and justice restaurant lviv

We sat in kind of a medievil type setting.... the food was EXCELLENT!!!

That night we went to the OPERA!! We saw

Don Pasquale

Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

It is a beautiful venue. It was built over a river 100 years ago. It is not huge, but it is beautiful.

Then of course, what do you do after an opera?? go out for dessert!!! and again.... so well plated.

Next day again to the streets. More cathedrals, more underground museums, and a Chocolate factory.

We finished the day at the Italian Square. A museum/restaurant. It was beautiful and the food was delicious, both in taste and sight.

On the way home we walked the streets. They have lots of night activities. families and both young and old. It was interesting that when we walked one street - every restaurant had at least one hookah pipe on every table.

giant bubble blowing... the kids loved it

Our last day we decided to take a drive to the Carpathian Mountains. Our guide Anatoly, drove us 2 hours to Tustan. We stopped on the way to buy some mushrooms at a roadside stand for his family.

sights along the way

sunflower fields.... they would have been beautiful a month ago... now the heads are all drooped over and ready for harvesting. One of their main exports... sunflower oil. That is one of the reasons that the flag is blue and yellow... sunflowers and sky.

This is what it would have looked like..... looks like the flag - eh?

Image result for ukrainian field of sunflowers

local cheese for sale

Tustan was a Medieval cliff-side fortress-city and customs site of the 9th—16th centuries. Tustan was a defence and administrative center as well as a customs site on the important salt route leading from Drohobych through Transcarpathia to Western Europe. Here is what it used to look like.

Here is what it looks like today.

We walked the boardwalk to the center of the rocks.

With our friends the Tomlinsons

Explored a cave

Hiked back down.

Played on the structures

A souvenir reynok and our bar-b-que lunch at the fortress. That is mushroom soup in the paper cup.

Our final meal in Lviv with the whole group. We have this little pizza shop in the bottom of the hotel, and it was really pretty good. look at the salmon and salad..... in an eatable bowl