May 13, 2013

The Monday after Easter is called Holy Monday and is another holiday in Ukraine. On this holiday we first went to the Botanical Garden which is right now filled with the scent of lilacs because there are endless lilac bushes in bloom. Every color of lilac you have ever seen, dark purple, light lavender, white, pink, and even yellow. Some of the bushes are so old but are still blooming. It was absolutely picturesque and I loved it. There were also azaleas and magnolias that were spectacular.

Also we walked on down to the Vydubytksy Monastery which I have recently been looking for. This cluster of buildings and the beautifully manicured gardens are an evidence of Ukraine’s history and religious life.

 

Making dandelion chains

After spending the morning at the botanical garden and the monastery we left for our appointed meeting with Alyona. Alyona is the HR person at the office and recently moved into a new apartment that they have been finishing for a while. She invited us and the Stuarts to her family’s traditional Easter feast and to see her apartment. We were so excited to go to Irpin which is just outside of Kyiv and is located on the Irpin River. She and her husband Dima and son Aloysha had obviously worked all day preparing the dinner. We did the traditional egg breaking at the beginning of the meal and then were served many courses including Paska bread, potatoes with chives, pork stuffed with carrots and garlic cloves, vegetable salad, a mushroom chicken egg pancake, tortes filled with a little corn salad and for desert delicious Nalysnyky (crepes rolled up with cottage cheese and topped with sour cream). It was all so very delicious and such a thoughtful gesture on her part to provide for us a meal that we will probably never have the opportunity to partake of again.  After dinner we enjoyed a family slide show and then Alyona took us on a little tour of the parks, university and her city. Her apartment and the area where she lives are very beautiful.

Alyona, Aloshya, and Dima

Breaking the eggs

The cooks

University and Park

Tuesday and Wednesday were the only working days of this week. Gary went to work and I, of course was at the temple. The flowers and trees there are absolutely gorgeous. The blooming horse chestnut trees that line the streets make every area of town beautiful. The Donetsk Mission was there again and it was good seeing a lot of acquaintances. One of their members always gives me a chance to pause and appreciate my blessings. He has cerebral palsy and has had his legs amputated but always has a smile on his face. On Wednesday as I was leaving the temple, several of the primary age children that had come with their parents were standing outside in front of the doors singing “I Love to See the Temple” to all the people that were exiting. It was the sweetest thing and they loved having me tape their singing.

Streets lined with horse chestnuts

Primary children singing in front of temple

Cousin Marcia

Thursday was another holiday. Victory Day, which marks the defeat of Nazi forces at the hands of the Red Army, is celebrated by many former soviet states on May 9, honoring those who fought against Nazi Germany. World War II is known here as "The Great Patriotic War". As one of the main battlegrounds, Ukraine suffered the deepest wounds to its cities, industry, farmland and humanity of all of the soviet countries. About seven million Soviet Union soldiers and civilians died in Ukraine in the four-year war which began in 1941. Technically for Ukraine it was a not much of a victory as there were five more decades of communist dictatorship, which did not end until 1991. But there was major celebrating in Kyiv. We have often noticed memorials to World War II throughout Ukraine.  This war is not to be forgotten in this country.

We went down to Independence Square for breakfast at McDonald's before the parade, not expecting to see many people. We had heard a lot of people at the office say they were going to their dacha’s to plant their potatoes so we were thinking everyone would be out of town but not so. Everyone was in town. The parade had about 20 military bands and several other units, like a group of Red Cross girls, cadets, veterans, etc. The bands played and performed, there were 21 gun salutes and it was really an exciting event. The festivities continued throughout the day with people going to the various World War II monuments and leaving flowers, visiting the graves of those that died in World War II, attending the patriotic programs at Independence Square, enjoying the activities on Khreschatyk and ending with a huge fireworks show – a very common thing here in Kyiv. I met some very interesting people including a three star general whose father was one of the key players in the German defeat. 

Fireworks on Victory Day

 Although Friday was another day off, we worked in the morning. On the walk to the office we saw a cadet graduation rehearsal at St. Sophia’s Square. We also enjoyed the beauties of a spring morning as we walked down Volodimirska.

Getting lined up for cadet graduation practice at St. Sophia's

Horse chestnuts in front of St. Sophia

Spring morning

Saturday morning while Gary worked I went to the temple again.  A lot of people from Kyiv were there including Alex and Tania Kikhno who will be leaving for Salt Lake City soon.  Alex has been the President of the NRA here in Ukraine and is going to do some training for a year in Salt Lake. Knowing how much I will miss Ukraine, I could empathize with how Tania must be feeling about leaving here. I felt the same way about leaving America a year ago but found so many things to enjoy here that I will really miss living here. And I am sure she will feel the same about America in a year when she gets ready to leave there.  This world is filled with wonderful people and places everywhere. 

Sasha and Tania

This is a country of double holidays and Mother’s Day is no exception. On May 8^th they honor their mothers and women here on International Women’s Day. Today was indeed Mother’s Day and I am filled with gratitude for all of the wonderful mothers in my life.  Their examples of kindness, love, service and joy fill my heart with gratitude for the opportunities that being a mother brings. I spent a little more time in the botanical garden enjoying the beauties of nature and thanking the Lord for all the blessings of life.

Mother's Day at Botanical Garden

Don't smell the roses or you get yellow noses!

Mother's Day

Quote for the Week by President Thomas S. Monson:

“I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives.”

“We too can experience…..miracles when we, with hand and heart, as did the Savior, lift and love our neighbor to a newness of life.  May we succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”

Temple 5-11-2013