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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment