June 27, 2012

Ever since we arrived in Kyiv I have been intrigued by the metro system. I’ve wondered how it was built, the technology involved, the people that built it, what it is like in all those tunnels and quite frankly, where did they put all that dirt? One of the escalators is 105 meters down (well over 300 feet) and the ride takes 4 minutes and 30 seconds. And that is just the escalator to get down to the trains.

Well, this morning on my way to the temple at 6:00 I hopped on train #4805, I had no idea of the history tour I was about to take. As soon as I got on I realized there was something different about this car than all the hundreds of other cars I had been on since we arrived. The doorways, windows and heating vents were all trimmed out in beautiful hardwood. The ceiling was decoupages of newspaper articles about the construction and the celebration at the completion of the #1 (Red) line. The walls and windows were covered with fascinating pictures and murals of the whole historical event from the planning  to the completion ceremonies. I was in history heaven for thirty minutes. It was early so there weren’t many people on board after the first three stations so I was able to walk down the length of the car and study and read about what I had wondering about for the last 3 months. There were thousands of men and women involved in the building and designing the underground maze. I was able to see pictures of inside of the tunnels and realized that trains do cross paths in some areas, probably just before or after the transfer stations. I saw the pictures of men building the tunnels, laying track, installing the technology, and more. Men, women and children were working on the beautiful stations themselves. I think I have mentioned in previous posts how beautiful and different the various stations are. It is no wonder the people here take so much pride in this system. There is never any litter on the trains or in the stations. During Euro 2012 we have had the metro ladies directing the conductors and I saw pictures of them in the beginning and they wear the same skirts, jackets, and high heels that were worn fifty years ago. Oh, and yes, once again I did not have my camera. I will spend the next year watching and waiting for car #4805, camera in hand.

 

Lto R: Friend on the metro; metro escalator; new metro being built in Kyiv

Not everyone has a landlady as unique as our landlady. Tania is from Boston but comes to Kyiv at least twice a year when she is not off traveling around the world to some other distant land.  She arrived in May of this year and we got together for a fantastic Ukrainian lunch. She introduced us to Tatar salad and it is totally different but a pretty good substitute for Buddy’s. She was a photographer for National Geographic Magazine for eighteen years and she takes fabulous photos. Her book “Simply Ukraine” is already waiting for me when I get home.  She is undoubtedly one of the most interesting people I have met. Last Friday we went to the Karania-Maria Festival together. It is a festival held every year in Kyiv with over a mile of handmade crafts, folk dancing, musicians and food. What a great time we had together. She has the ability to work her way into the heart of everyone she meets, and it was so fun watching her deal with all of the merchants. She also knows just how to take the best photographs of everything on display. (You can see some of her photography on my facebook).  

She has gone back to Boston but I look forward to her return in September.

L to R: Tania, our landlady; Tania with fans in the Fan Zone; picture taken by Tania during a game in the Fan Zone 

 

On Monday evening we went to the Ukraine Symphonic Brass Band  “Sinatra in Concert”. It was fabulous. They had a Sinatra impersonator who was really very good. They performed all of Frank’s tunes and they were sung in English which was great for us, however we would have known all the words had they not been in English. The Ukrainian accent really added to the flavor of the evening and the only time it really came through was when he sang “New Yerk, New Yerk.”

Ukrainian Frank at the "Sinatra in Concert"

My friend from Pocatello who has been in Ukraine for a month, returned this week and I was able to watch her son while she completed temple work for her family. It was fun to see her again.

Lena and Rob

The people at the temple this week are from Yekaterinburg, which is on the European – Asian border. Yekaterinburg is best known as a city where the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed in 1918. As with the people from Novosibirsk they traveled long hours to get here by train. It is very humbling to meet these people and realize their great capacity for "Hope". They save their money for months, sometimes years, to come to the temple. They choose to buy ordinance clothing with money they have probably saved from their meager food budget to use while they are here and then put away and cherish the memories of being in the temple. Most of them realize it is a onetime event in their lives. They all hope to be able to use these clothes again "but if not................" (Daniel 3:18) That is just how very faithful they are and how important the Temple Covenants are to them.

To conclude: G.K. Chesterton, a British writer with great insight, said..."How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men and women with common curiosity and pleasure...You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theatre in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, and in a street full of splendid strangers." We love the people in Ukraine.

 Clockwise L to R: Beautiful embroidery; Ukrainian Musician, Beautiful wreath, Karina-Maria Festival

Karlene with Cossacks

June 20, 2012

The Euro Cup 2012 has brought a lot of things to a standstill in this country. Many of the locals who can afford to have gone on vacation or to their dachas (summer homes). With all of the holidays in May and June plus World Cup, we are learning to be patient and wait to accomplish some of our tasks. One thing that is always open is the temple. This week a group of sixty traveled sixty hours by train (and not the Orient Express) from Novosibirsk, Russia to do work for their ancestors for the week. To quote Elder Holland, “Now,  I don’t know what it would be like to be on a train for 60 hours, but I do know that some people complain if they have to drive sixty minutes to get to the temple.” Yes, that was probably me before this mission, but never again. I won’t even complain about the hour metro/bus ride to get there. Four sisters received their temple endowments yesterday while I was there.  It was such a wonderful experience to see the joy this brought to them.

Gary and I traveled again to Lutsk this weekend. I was one of the speakers but the other speaker didn’t show up so Gary filled in and of course did a fantastic job with no preparation. I had spent all week getting ready. I did pass one milestone. I bore a very simple testimony in Russian. I kind of felt like Peter stepping out of the boat (Oh thou of little faith) and going one step on the water and sinking.   Maybe next time I will be able to take two. There are a lot of really quirky things when you learn a foreign language. Say a word with the accent on one syllable and it means one thing, on another syllable and it means another. For instance, redeemer means “to save” if you say it one way and “to kill” if you say it another. Just a little difference. It was a wonderful day and we love the branch and the missionaries. The missionaries had us for lunch and believe me, I am gaining an even greater appreciation for missionaries and the conditions in which they live. Senior missionaries get much better living conditions. I really appreciate my apartment. We had a great rice dish and then they taught me all the things I could do to save money on groceries.  Even though it is a ten hour drive, I love every minute of it.

The countryside here is totally enchanting. The drive to Lutsk makes me feel like I am walking through one of my favorite novels by L.M. Montgomery. As we pass by the little villages at 6:00 AM we are able to observe the simple lifestyle of the people in the villages in northwest Ukraine. Their cottages are simple but neat, surrounded with seasonal flowers which are now roses, hollyhocks, daisies, delphiniums and poppies.  There are trees that shade the little homes and then their gardens are amazing.  Little square plots of potatoes, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, and in the bigger gardens even wheat. There are chickens visible in the yards and even an occasional goat. A babushka is working in the garden, picking berries, or gathering eggs, always in a dress. It reminds me of the ‘50’s when our mothers wore housedresses all day, even to mop the floors.  The morning light captures the wonder of this lifestyle.

Later on you will see a single dairy cow or a small herd of cows being led to pasture. Sometimes there will be a man or a woman walking and leading with a rope, sometimes a person on a bicycle leading a cow or cows to pasture and sometimes they are led by a horse drawn wagon. Men are raking the hay in stacks by hand. Just over the hill comes a hay wagon loaded with hay. Where there is a visible stream running through the village women are washing clothes, to be dried later by hanging them on a line strung between trees. There is a distinct feeling of living close to the earth and being sustained by what God provides.  Since we are all sustained by what God provides it is sad that we get too busy to notice that in our lives.

The barns are small but picturesque. An open door into the loft reveals a supply of hay. In the fields  people are harvesting crops by hand and the new, rich, dark soil is being tilled for yet another crop with a horse drawn plow.   

There is a peaceful calm about the way they live.  It is almost like watching it in slow motion, even going 120 KPH down the road. We are in a car, but there are no cars to be seen off the main road and no roads except those made by horse and wagon in the villages. Neighbors stand visiting over fences and later in the day when all the chores are done you see them sitting on common benches that have been placed outside of their fenced yards. This is such an opposite lifestyle of what we observe in the city.  

Even though it is only the 16^th of June the potatoes are blooming and the corn is much higher than knee high. The garden plots outside of the villages look like beautiful patchwork quilts. There are the same crops as in the smaller gardens. It is a delight to drive along and observe hundreds of these patchwork quilts. Further out in the country the wheat fields stretch for miles. New crops are added. Sunflowers (just starting to bloom), canola fields which have given Ukraine their flag (canola fields against blue sky) and most magnificent of all, the bright red poppy fields.  Pictures cannot portray the beauty of these fields nor words describe. 

The mode of transportation is mostly walking, but then there are a lot of horse drawn wagons and bicycles. In the countryside there are a lot more bicycles on the road than cars. It is funny to see parents  “pumping” their children on the back fender or the “sissy” bar of their bikes.  No fancy pull along little children carriers.  

I love the willow woven fences and the picket fences. 

On the drive home in the evening we saw many cows staked randomly in the pastures and several empty wagons in the fields with their horses untethered and grazing. Where did the farmers go? Every river, every pond, and every stream you can observe fishermen enjoying their day, but I am sure expected to bring home a great catch for dinner. No catch and release in this country. Also there are people along the roadside selling whatever they have in excess, which isn’t much.  Maybe a few jars of  blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, herbs, mushrooms, whatever. They are enjoying each other’s company and happy when someone stops to make a purchase. Other people are now returning from the fields. A horse-drawn wagon with an older man and woman hurries across the highway(as fast as a horse can pull them) as cars race along at 120 kmh. I can feel the wives fear at her husband’s daring move. I really want to escape to the village and live there for about a week.

Our driver’s wife is visiting her grandparents in the country and in two weeks when we go back we will pick her up and I will get to see inside one of these quaint cottages. There are no roads but just a wagon path to their home so that will also be interesting.

Back to city life and one more interesting story from the week.  In April, Denton and Daisie sent Gary a jar of Costco Smoked Almonds for his birthday. Well, it had been two months since they sent it and we hadn’t received it. I probably would've just forgotten it, but they paid $25 to mail it so it was a $35 jar of almonds, so I decided to take the bull by the horns and see what had happened to those almonds. It took going to three post offices that were situated in a fairly close proximity to Gary’s office before we found the package. The post office was about 1200 square feet. A little counter and then a back room.  In the area where the counter was there were several large bins filled with letters. The back room was filled with similar bins and no sign of an automatic sorter. After Gary showed his passport they retrieved his package. I was feeling hopeful so in as few words possible (don’t know that much Russian) I asked if they had the two letters that we also hadn’t received. They went to the back room and started sorting through one of the bins. In about five minutes it turned the magical hour of 2:00 PM.  They kicked us out of the post office, locked the doors and all left for lunch. Later I learned that postal workers expect to be tipped and we hadn’t done that so I don’t know if I will ever see those other letters. One thing that has been amazing is that we have received letters at our apartment. The first few took about three weeks, the next one ten days, and the last one we received in 6 days. I think we have a little better service than downtown.

And to close this blog ……a quote from President Joseph F. Smith. “We are told that we should remember Him in our homes, keep His holy name fresh in our minds, and revere Him in our hearts; we should call upon Him from time to time, from day to day; and, in fact, every moment of our lives we should live so that the desires of our hearts will be a prayer unto God for righteousness, for truth, and for the salvation of the human family.”

June 12, 2012

Where to begin?   Last week was such a wonderful, exciting, event filled week that it is hard to know where to begin but I will begin with what was most important to us.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday were privileged to have several visiting General Authorities visit to conduct leadership, Stake and Mission Meetings.  Gary attended leadership training meetings all day Saturday with Elders Christofferson, Rasband, Lawrence, Stephenson, Bennett, and Schwitzer.  Sunday at Stake Conference Elder Rasband told the story of the “Miracle of Ukraine”.  I loved it so I am including it in our blog.  (It is easy to take great notes when there are pauses for translation.)

“This is an historic homecoming. In 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union, I came to Ukraine with Jon Huntsman Sr. to form a chemical company in Ukraine. The factory employed over 1000 Ukrainians.  The factory made plastic egg cartons and trays for meat. There were no organized branches at the time. President Biddoulf was the first  Mission President in Ukraine. He started a Book of Mormon Reading Group. There were zero branches in Ukraine. In 1993 we came back to dedicate this factory. President Howard W. Hunter who was president of the Quorum of the Twelve at the time was in the stake in Salt Lake where Jon Huntsman Sr. was the Stake President. We invited him to come with us to the dedication of the factory. When he came we had a meeting in a hall like this one we are in today, the October Palace. Two meetings were held. A youth meeting where a group of about 150 attended and then it was advertised that an apostle and prophet of God would be in Ukraine. This caused a lot of excitement and at the fireside there were about 1000 investigators. The church was just starting. Were any in this audience at that meeting that night? (about 12-15 people stood). It was an amazing evening. President Hunter bore his testimony that the church would grow and prosper in this land. Whoever would have thought that I would be back here again today and as a servant of God. Who would have thought that in less than 20 years you would be all grown up and Ukraine would have not only a stake, but a temple. Maybe we are too impatient, but we do have reason to rejoice. In my short life I have seen a miracle. Sometimes we cannot see progress when we are living in the present day. You are a miracle.  Having a stake and a temple is a miracle – all in 20 years. Sometimes when you are thinking there is little progress remember this story. The Lord has smiled upon you and blesses the people of Ukraine.”

On Monday we were privileged to again meet with Elders Rasband and Lawrence and their wives for a Mission Meeting. It was a historical meeting as all of the missionaries from the mission came to Kyiv for the meeting and it was wonderful. I’ll include my favorite story from that meeting at a later date.

 Gary and Karlene with Elder & Sister Rasband

Getting ready for the mission picture at the Temple

Last week we were able to attend another historic event. Roman Kofman is the most famous conductor in Ukraine and at age 78 has been ill for a while. He returned for one more concert with the Ukraine National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and we were able to attend. We also attended another concert of the National Symphony Orchestra with the famous Russian Piano Soloist Vadym Rudenko playing Tchaikovsky Piano concert No. 1 in B-flat minor. He was by far the most talented musician I have ever seen. It was wonderful!

Shortcut path to the Symphony

 Lysenko Hall of Columns-Symphony Hall

Roman Kofman

And last but not least – Euro Cup is alive and well in Kyiv. I’m sure some of you soccer fans out there are following it and sharing in the excitement in Ukraine and Poland. It is really crazy here. You learn a lot about National Pride when one of these events hits where you live. The stadium where some of the games are being played is about three miles from us but might as well be three feet. This whole city of 5 million is soccer crazy. We live on a main street in Kyiv - and Monday night Ukraine played Sweden here in Kyiv. It was honestly so noisy that there was no possible way of getting to sleep until after 2:30 AM when the busses quit running. I was so glad that Ukraine won their first match but you would have thought it was the championship game with all the singing, yelling, people running in the streets, horns constantly honking, packed busses with people singing and yelling, and fireworks. And it is just beginning. The final game will be played here in Kyiv on July 1. Gary is feeling a little Nationalist Pride so he spent a week’s grocery money for a really ugly official Soccer shirt. (see picture). There are so many fans here from other countries that on the metro you can count on a free body massage and on the buses – not only a free massage but throw in a sauna, too. I have taken to more walking and less riding on buses. 

 Gary's new diet: spend food money on clothes

L to R:  Fan Zone on Kreschatck; Fan Zone during the day--most everyone sleeping from staying up all night; Euro Cup's Country Flags; trolley bus

My quote for the week is by President Uchtdorf.  “Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us.  It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future.”

June 6, 2012

Some things are the same where ever you go.   Saturday was a children’s fun day at the park across from Gary’s office.  As I was walking though the park I heard all this hammering and then I saw all the children and parents making pre-cut birdhouses.  It was like Home Depot Saturday at the park.  One thing different, they had nice oil based paint for all the kids to paint their birdhouses after they were built.  From the pictures you will see that they went through gallons of paint and I am sure they are still drying as  it was painted on so thick.  Of course the parents were doing more than their fair share of the work, which is usually how it goes.  It was just really cute to see so I have included pictures.

 Home Depot Saturday at the park

Finished birdhouses

Sunday we had a wonderful experience.  We went to Lutsk for the branch church services.  As you have to get train reservations a least a month in advance we hired a driver and left really early in the morning.  I was so glad we did because it was so fun to see the countryside of Ukraine.  We saw so many cute little villages and all of them each had a beautiful orthodox church.  The little cottages are so cute and there are so many different styles and they all have amazing gardens.  The soil is unbelievably fertile here.  There were farmers riding in horse drawn wagons, farmers plowing their fields with horse drawn plows, and we saw one farmer taking his cows to pasture.  The cows were all tied together and he was pulling them along on a bicycle.  There are no fences in the pasture areas so the cows are tethered to the ground and spread out all across the pasture.  Chickens and turkeys are feeding along the roadside and we saw several storks sitting in their nests atop power poles.  As we drove through the various towns we saw many people going to their churches with palm branches and flowers to celebrate Trinity Day.  We even saw a college graduation.  We really enjoyed the scenery and the pictures I am including were taken at 140 km per hour so they aren’t the best. 

 Farmer taking his cow to pasture

Storks sitting in their nest atop power poles

Village with church

Cottage with garden

Gas station attendant

The branch that we are responsible for has about fifty members.  They are all the sweetest people and all speak Ukrainian.  One of the members, Lucy, served a mission so she speaks great English that she learned from her companions.  She is the heart and soul of the ward.  She has four callings and plans all the activities for the branch.  We are hoping that she finds someone to marry right there in Lutsk so she doesn’t leave.  She gave an incredible lesson in Relief Society on Visiting Teaching.  All of the people  have such strong testimonies of the gospel and such a great love for each other.  Several people attend the branch that have not been baptized but just like the spirit that the feel there.  (This branch reminds us of the Arbon Branch.)  After the church services they had a luncheon and for us.  Everyone brought something to add to the Borscht and it was delicious, served with great bread and cookies.  We are really looking forward to serving in this capacity and already just love these wonderful people. 

Lucy

Branch friends

 Branch President and Counselor

 High Priest Group

 Missionaries checking out the Borscht

Soups on!

Gary has also been called as the Branch Mission Leader in the International Branch which we attend here in Kyiv.  He is going to be really busy but that is why we are here, to serve wherever we are needed.

I am really enjoying my English classes with the people that work at the service center.  The class has grown from 5 students to about ten. We do have a lot of little weird sayings that really make no sense to people that don’t understand our language.  For instance, “What does chicken out mean?”  I was teaching practical phrases that they might use every day and  learned that “set the table” translates to “lay on the table”.  We always laugh over these funny things.  Our favorite part of the class is when we read the Book of Mormon together at the end.  If we can learn Russian as well as these people are learning English we will be happy. 

English class at Gary's office

We have started our third month and all is going well.  We appreciate all of your kind e-mails – it is so fun to hear from home.  I want to close with a quote from Elder Todd Christofferson  (who by the way is one of our conference speakers this weekend):

 “In reality, there aren’t very many things in a day that are totally without significance.  Even the mundane and repetitious can be tiny but significant building blocks that in time establish the discipline and character and order needed to realize our plans and dreams.  Therefore, as you ask in prayer for your daily bread, consider thoughtfully your needs – both what you may lack and what you must protect against.  As you retire to bed, think about the successes and failures of the day and what will make the next day a little better….Your reflections will increase your faith in Him as you see His hand helping you to endure some things and to change others.  You will be able to rejoice in one more day, one more step toward eternal life.”

Gary and Natalia, our Russian teacher

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