Week 8

July 17, 2012

Dear Family,

We hope this email finds you happy and well. We had a nice week, went to Kiev for a few days (Wed - Saturday, a 6+ hour drive), did some sight-seeing, and attend the Kiev Temple.

The temple, undoubtedly, was the highlight of the trip. Benj was here for the dedication in 2010 - but this was both of our first times actually attending a session - and it was a very special experience. The sisters from Idaho (Summer and Amira) who are here with us were able to attend the baptistry while we played in REAL GRASS outside with the girls. Ella, Anne and Mary truly thought they were in heaven - lush green grass, no stray dogs (or dog mess), space to run, and play ... for them it couldn't have been better. And it was a great reminder to us of how much we look forward to a yard of our own for the kids to run and play in someday. Uncle Dick and Aunt Lynn live right there on the temple grounds as they fulfill their temple mission - and it was lovely being able to see them too. In true grandma fashion, Aunt Lynn even used her American imported brown sugar to make cookies with the girls. I posted more about the Temple and the wheat design touches, as well as the 1932-1933 famine here in Ukraine ... but since this is a family email, I will share that while we were in the temple, we both had an overwhelming feeling (the kind that motivates you in a good way) about the work The Church has undertaken to bring the gospel to ALL people (past, present, and future) and the singular role this temple has in serving a vast geographical area that has been in a devastating famine for the truth for centuries. It is a work centered in love, and we were overwhelmed with the amount of love that has been given, and will yet need to be given to move the work of the spreading of the gospel forward in this area. The Kiev Temple, as are all temples, really is a beacon of hope in a land that has been starved for hope. One of the saints' favorite songs here (we sing it everyweek either in Sacrament meeting or Relief Society - or both!) is "Be Still My Soul" - but the translation says, "My Soul Has Hope" - and the temple is a monument to that hope, and the future of this area. The Temple was wonderful and we look forward to returning soon.

The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine, and last year I searched and searched for a sunflower field - I'm not exactly sure why ... perhaps it's that image that Willa Cather creates in My Antonia about sunflower lined roads to freedom and Mormon pioneers (also shared on the family blog:)), or a picture of Benj I love when he was a missionary here where he's standing in an endless sunflower field holding a book of Mormon ... but I really wanted to find a sunflower field. Well, it didn't happen last year - but this summer, on our drive to Kiev, we passed many sunflower fields ... so my wish came true. I can now check that one off the Ukrainian Bucket List....

Of course, we were able to do some sightseeing as well. Somehow Benj really knows his way around Kiev, all the highlights, monuments, and history, better than any tour guide I'm sure ... which is really kind of surprising (not that I'm really surprised, he always seems to know where we are, where we're going and how to get there no matter the continent or country) since he's not really spent a ton of time in the city. We did the longest escalator down to the deepest subway in the world, various church's, monuments, statues, the miniature museum (my favorite), where the LDS church was dedicated by President Packer, etc. It was really fun ... and as long as we kept the ice-cream dangling as the treat if everyone behaved, the girls were excellent sports - particularly since we did a lot of walking and it was hot! (pictures forth coming on the family blog).

The dolphin show was another exciting activity. Anne loves Sharks (and consequently so do Ella and Mary) so we thought this would be something they'd enjoy - since there is a resemblance between sharks and dolphins ... dolphins are just far more friendly for humans:) I'm not sure what the SeaWorld costs are these days, or the spectacularness of the shows, so I can't accurately compare - but for $12 usd a pop we had front row seats on a "not at all crowded" show, and it really was magical! Ella, Anne, and Mary were captivated - and then we got to pet and take a picture as a family (another $12) with the dolphins at the end. It was fun - impressive, entertaining, and inspiring (if a dolphin trainer can get a dolphin to do all those commands, we can certainly potty train!)

In short, Kiev was great. We were both shocked at the number of nice cars, not just BMW, or Audi nice, but we're talking Aston Martin, Ferrari, Bentley, nice and all dis-proportionally represented with show rooms and dealerships down town ... plus restaurants of all flavors ... high-end retail, American companies, large international representation mix of people ... Kiev was shockingly great. We actually felt like we were headed back to the sticks as we made our way "home" to Lviv. From a business sense, it was helpful too ... since the city basically has everything - except a laundromat! So we are excited about Bubble's debut into Kiev in 2013 - though I think we'd have to open 10 stores before anyone even noticed, there's just that much going on in Kiev!

I think that's about all for now. We did go to a neat museum in Lviv last week (used to be a Count's home) - but that seems so long ago at this point that it's hardly worth mentioning. We love and miss you. Hope all is well. You are in our thoughts and prayers - and we sincerely thank you for your prayers and support.

Love,

 Meagan+