August 16, 2012

While waiting for grandchild #14, I decided I’d try to get the blog done before he comes and then he can be in our blog on his birthday. Dianne is in the hospital as I write waiting for little Beckham Theo Pabst to arrive. And through the miracle of the internet and SKYPE we have visited with her several times during labor.  (Three hours later)  Sure enough, adorable little Beckham came into the world at 10:24 AM and weighed in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and 21 inches long. Dianne and Beckham are both doing marvelous as you can tell from this picture. Their whole family is so happy. It is hard to believe that from 12,000 miles away we could see our new little grandson, eyes wide open and looking around at one hour old. We feel so blessed. Just looking forward to when we can be there to hold him. I’m glad I got the rest of this blog written before he arrived – as nothing seems quite as exciting as this day.

Dianne and Beckham Theo Pabst (3 hours old)

This has been an event filled week. Starting with last Thursday when Boyce Fitzgerald, Director of Temporal Affairs for Eastern Europe and his predecessor David Stapley came to talk to all the missionaries and employees at the Service Center.  They are great leaders and we so appreciate all that they do for the Eastern European Area.

Boyce Fitzgeral, David Stapley, and Alex Kikhno

On Saturday, we chose an adventure North of the Lukianivska Metro Station (the one that we leave from all the time) - a direction that we had never been before. We had heard that Nikita Khrushchev had a dacha (summer home) somewhere in the area and we were going to find it.  Well, let me tell you, not very many people even know about this historic location as it was pretty hard to uncover. Even though he was born in Ukraine, he obviously was not a revered public figure as evidenced by the disrepair of this once beautiful acreage. Even though it is overgrown, the bridges crumbling, the water in the streams gone, the gazebos falling apart, the house in horrible condition, and only a pedestal remains of his statue, we could tell that this was at one time the Camp David of Russia. Now, it would make a perfectly lovely setting for a great mystery novel. The following are pictures of an estate that I’m sure 99% of Ukraine is not even aware of. We really enjoyed meandering through the acreage on the broken up stone pathways and thinking about the grandeur that was there fifty years ago. 

Khrushchev's Dacha

Anybody home?

Dacha

One of many bridges


Another bridge


South side


Arch entry to a path down to a small dam and pond


Outdoor oven or fireplace

Within the next two hours we saw three wedding parties pass by.  Two drove by in front of our apartment.  One with a flower decorated black limo, the next was a large motorcycle with a side car with the bride’s dress blowing over the edge and the third…………the only one I got a picture of was a Mustang, yes Mustang, limousine with the bride, groom and a few attendants going down the highway at about 100 KPH.  That one I was able to capture while we stood waiting at the bus stop.

Wedding party going down the highway

Saturday evening the Temple Missionaries and Temple Presidency hosted a picnic for all of the ordinance workers on the lawn next to the church at the Temple site. It was a great party. Pork steaks were cooked in a large barbeque pit and all the rest of the fixings were made by the hostesses. They expected about 85 people and 125 came but even so, there was plenty of great food and a “lovely time was had by all.” The picture that I took of the Kyiv Temple as we arrived at the party made the front page of Meridian Magazine’s August 16 Magazine. One of the missionaries I sent it to forwarded it to Janice Kapp Perry and there it is…………….my picture. Not knowing anything about it you can imagine my surprise when I saw it less than a week after I took it. Just another wonder of the internet.

Top: pork chops cooking

Bottom: Enjoying the great food and company at party at the temple

My picture of the temple (8/11) that was in Meridian magazine

On Monday the rain started. When it rains here it really rains. The umbrella’s leak, the busses leak, the metro leaks, the malls leak and it is generally just a really wet experience. Tuesday was the beginning of the second 24 hour period of rain. As I sloshed through the mini lakes on the way to the Temple at 5:20 AM on Tuesday morning I felt very happy to be going to the temple where it would be warm, dry and not leaking. I was definitely glad not to be a fruit, vegetable or whatever sales lady working at the market this morning. They come there rain or shine with their umbrellas and large pieces of plastic to cover their wares. Yes, so much to be grateful for. I looked around in the Temple at several of the little babushkas in white and thought how blessed they were and I will always look at the ones in the market and think of them as children of our Heavenly Father with different challenges that they overcome. 

Umbrellas in vestibule of temple on Tuesday

Tuesday morning Gary’s boss from Moscow (Bob Lockhead), and the Moscow counterpart to Gary (Lary Walker) arrived for a three day stay. Lary Walker and his wife actually came for their visa renewal visit but turned it into a business trip which was great. Tuesday evening we had a dinner at the Panorama Room of the Dnipro Hotel which had a beautiful view of European Square with three major landmarks: the National Philharmonic built in 1882, the Ukrainian House (formerly the Lenin Museum but now a trade show center) and the Friendship Arch in front of the Dnipro River. Following dinner we went to a Pop’s Concert of favorite movie melodies at the Philharmonic. It was a really fun evening. Along with the Moscow people we invited Sherwood and Georgia Ricks (the Mission President’s office missionaries) President and Sister Galbraith (The Temple President and matron) and Alex and Tania Kikhno (the Service Center Director and wife). We had a wonderful evening.

Dinner at the Panorama room at the Dnipro Hotel

Gary then spent the next two days reviewing cases, meeting with attorneys etc. with the Moscow people.  Very successful days, I might add, in getting things formulated for some of the matters at hand here in Ukraine. 

Room with a view

One other picture I wanted to add is of a girl that passed by our apartment on the way to her cello lesson.  I’m not sure if they have cello backpacks in the US but we see kids with their instrument backpacks all the time on the metro.  They aren’t lucky enough to have parents chauffer them around in a car to all of their lessons. 

Girl with cello

Quote for the Week comes from Mother Teresa and helps us look at our lives from a different perspective:

            “I always say I’m a little pencil in the hands of God.  He does the thinking.  He does the writing.  He does everything—and it’s really hard—sometimes it’s a broken pencil.  He has to sharpen it a little more.  But be a broken instrument in His hands so that He can use you anytime, anywhere……We have only to say Yes to Him.”