Gary & Karl's Big Adventure: July 11, 2012

Ever since we have been here I have been wanting to get on the old beat up tram and see where it would take us. Just get on and ride to the end and back – what an adventure. It passes by right in back of our apartment and we can hear it going up and down the tracks day and night. Every time we have planned to do just that something comes up and we don’t have the time. Well, on Saturday we decided to go out early, while it was still somewhat cool, and do just that - ride to the end of the line in both directions. And what a lot we learned. When we headed South we passed by the Circus which is a huge round building. I have now decided that I want to attend the circus as I have heard they are great here and it reminds me of when I was little and we used to go about four blocks up to Yellowstone to watch the circus in a “Big Top”. Since it is less than 2 miles away and the tram goes right there you can bet that I will be going there before too long. Now, to get Gary to go will be the hard part. Also at the end of the line south there was a huge fabric store and a 3-story electronics store, and then of course your usual bazaar and fruit and vegetable market. We then headed back past our apartment and turned east. We ended up in “Low Town”. When we first took the tour bus of Kyiv and drove through low town we both commented on how much it was like New Orleans, old but very quaint and sits right on the river. It is also really quite artsy with an Opera House, ancient buildings, and great restaurants. As a matter of fact that is where we go for Mexican Food. We had no idea that it was 2 miles from our apartment at the end of the tram line. So now we have learned a few new things about a city whose streets are far from organized and where the people spend most of their time getting places underground and you have no idea where you are. We now know that we live at the top of one of the seven “descents” in Kyiv and walking distance from all the action in town. So, who needs the metro anymore. We live:

1. 3 miles NW of Gary’s office which is surrounded by at least 25 museums and the Tereshchenko University and the family homes of the Tereshchenko’s (sugar magnets of Ukraine)

2. 2.5 miles NW from the National Opera House

3. 2.5 miles from Independence Square (where all concerts are held – free of charge)

4. 2.0 miles West of the Bibi Yar Park

5. 3 miles SW of Low Town

6. 3 miles NW of Khreshchatyk

7. 3.5 miles W of the Larvra

8. 2 miles N of St Sophia’s Square and Church, St. Michaels and St. Andrews

9. 3 miles NW of the National Philharmonic Hall

10. A few blocks from the Monastary and St. Nicholas Church

11. 2 miles NW of the Golden Gates of Kyiv

12. 3 miles from the Olympus Stadium

This list could go on and on and I can’t even begin to list all the historic places along the way and in between. There is always an exciting adventure just waiting to happen if you have the time and desire. This is an amazing city and it is the people and the history that make it so interesting.

Last week the Saints from Bulgaria arrived at the temple. We met a darling girl named Elena Shuvalova who was from Estonia but served her mission in Bulgaria. She is now getting her master’s degree in Linguistics, speaks English, Russian, Estonian, and Bulgarian. When she finishes she hopes to become a translator. Needless to say she was very helpful at the temple being able to communicate with and assist everyone there. When we ate at the Stuart’s on Sunday she came along with three of the International Language Program students. We had the opportunity to assist her on the bus and metro on her way to the train station. She was on her way to Estonia to visit her family. A two day trip on the train. I have included a few pictures of the Kyiv Temple that were taken before the dedication. It is such a beautiful temple. I am really enjoying my new calling at the temple. It is forcing me to work harder on my Russian and it is such a wonderful humbling experience to be around such wonderful people. The Temple Missionaries are great and the patrons are such a great example of faithful people

The International Language Program is a great program for university student’s that would like to travel and to teach English to elementary students. The students come for 6 months in the fall and spring and six weeks in the summer. They live with families and teach in the immersion programs at the schools. At the end of their stay they get to travel through several countries before going back to America. They attend our International Branch and it is very delightful to get to know them. Most of them come from Utah and Idaho Schools, but also other states as well. It is a great program for those wanting to see a different culture.

I also can’t say enough about how much I love my friends at the Service Center that work so hard at improving their English while teaching me so many lessons about life in the process. The question has become “Who is learning the most?” I really think that I am.

I love this quote by George Q. Cannon: “The Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by-and-by.” I know that His promises to all of his children will come to pass. I know that the Book of Mormon is a witness of the Savior and his atoning sacrifice and that anyone who reads it will feel His great love, and know of his great sacrifice.