Gary & Karl's Big Adventure: April 9, 2012

Our first week here was concluded with a wonderful lunch at a unique Ukranian restaurant in the park between Gary's office and Red University. After lunch we walked to the National Opera House, found that the ballet Gizelle was being preformed that evening and we were able to get tickets for $5.00 each. It was an outstanding performance accompanied by a full orchestra. The opera house is reputedly the second most ornate and beautiful in Europe. On Sunday we attended church in our branch out by the Kyiv Temple. We met a cousin of Karlene's and her husband who are serving a temple mission here and it was a surprise reunion. That evening we went back to the Church for a traditional Ukranian Palm Sunday musical program a lot of the same performers that performed for President Monson when he was here for the temple dedication. As we look back on our first week here it was filled with new sights and an education into what Ukraine is really like rather than some of the myths we had heard before we got here. Gary has been working very long hours learning about all of the cases and issues he will be dealing with on his own beginning this Thursday. We have enjoyed our week in the center of town but are looking forward to moving into our apartment on Friday morning.

At the Palm Sunday Program on Sunday we were sitting next to the Temple President, Pres. Galbraith and as he was looking around at all the people in the room watching and participating in the program he said to me, "Twenty years ago not one of these people knew of the gospel of Jesus Christ". I had been thinking that there are not many members total in Kyiv, or Eastern Europe but I realized right then that I must never forgot the "worth of a soul" in the eyes of Heavenly Father and how he must rejoice at everyone of these precious children that were denied his gospel for so long. Our blessings are many.