Post trip to DNP

As you know we took a 11 day trip through the DNEP mission, in Southern Ukraine, with Pres. and Sister Abraham and the APs. We took the train to DNEP and then made a car excursion with them. Right outside of the city the first thing we started to see was fields of sunflowers. So natuarally we asked them to stop and get a picture. We stopped in the best field of the whole trip. These sunflowers are as tall as we are. So we all took pictures among the flowers. They use the sunflowers in Ukraine for cooking oil. Haven't ever seen this many sunflowers before even in the state of Kansas. They were beautiful - took a couple of pictures for Julie.


Besides taking in a few attractions we mainly went to access and prioritize the medical clinic and hospitals in the area. We also visited a few dental clinics. We go through LIC, an insurance referring company, here in Kiev because they can talk the language. They have contracted with clinics to see the patients but it is amazing some of the clinics they contract we. We wonder if they have ever done an onsite visit with them. We also gave a few power point presentations at Zone Conferences. Hope the missionaries are getting the message - have TB skin test done on return home and to watch what they eat - and bleach their food. Three out of the 4 missionaries in our district now report they are bleaching. We tease the 4th and tell him he is just waiting to happen. Since we have been back have been teaching English again, had a going home meal for the District last evening, Elder Weissburg, our Lamanite missionary, will be heading home next Tuesday. He has been a great missionary working hard till the end, but Elder Jacobs has been trying to make him trunky this past month. Will have the MP's three sons over today. They are becoming "bored" as they have not received their household good from the states and they have been here for a month. There is a river near us with a small recreation park; slides, paddle boats, trampoline, etc. so Dad volunteered to watch them. We will see how that goes. Trying to give them a break from the city life of sidewalks, metros, and rentinks.

On this trip I found that Sister Abraham like to also take pictures of the local life so see pointed out a lot of new sites to me. The following is a picture of a wedding car. They decorate the cars and travel to the cival authorities to get married. Once married they then travel to a lot of the city's points of interest to take wedding pictures at the different sites.




The following pictures are to give you just a little bit of the local color of the country of Ukraine. The first picture is in Kherson and is one of a local open market "rentink". This one was interesting to me as it was all under one roof and a large area. In Obalone our rentinks are not as large as this one.


This is a picture of the women milking the cows for the evening - and it is all done right out in the open fields. Just had to get this picture!


The following is a picture of the "goat lady". She is taking the goats out for the day and this was in a pretty big city.


These young men were not to excited about us trying to get a picture of them - they really had scows on their faces but we thought their mode of transportation on the highway was interesting.

And as always, where ever we go they are just piles of trash. No one seems to think of putting it in the bins or to clean up that which is just littering the land.


We saw several old Greek Cities that started about 600 BC. Just a few pictures of the ruins, will have to tell more about them once we get home and I sort out where we were for sure. The names of these towns become very confusing, to me at least.











These last pictures are from the Yalta area. The palace is where Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt signed the Yalta treaty. Roosevelt stayed in the palace that was one of the living places for the Romanoff family before they were all killed about 1918.




This is the table they sat around to sign the treaty - was not actually in this room as they still use this as a meeting place and they needed a larger table.

This was the headboard to Roosevelt's bed - he liked this room so much that he wanted to recreate it in the White House. However, he soon died after making this trip.


This is the palace - they used it to accomadate Roosevelt's health problems.


Must close for now. Need to get ready for the MP'S children. We are both doing well, just getting a little older - John's BD was yesterday and mine will be soon. Hope all is going well in Pocatello. We did get to visit the Orr's from Poky will on our trip to DNEP. Had the Lee's over - it is good to visit with them when we start to feel lonely. Have a senior gathering tomorrow night that should be fun. Will leave for the Donestk mission about the 14th for a nother tour. Want to show you one more picture of the doorway to a clinic we visited - and we wonder about the health care.


Sorry failed to rotate it before I wanted to post. And then above the reception desk to the surgical center.



Only in Ukraine is our response. Luv you all, M&D, GM&GP, J&J

Leaving for Crimea

The hot water is back on. This is the condition of the water for about two hours after it came on. This is after cleaning the pipes!










The new Mission President and his family arrived the first of July. They have 3 sons that they brought with them. Jordan 17, Morgan 14and Slade 9. It will be a real challenge for them to keep the kids busy and to get all the mission work done. Sister S. will probably not travel as much as Sister Davis did. But this first week they have been gone. The Pres. left last Sat. and are traveling with the family throughout the mission field, so the boys will get some idea of the area and meet the missionaries. The Davis traveled almost 3000 miles every six weeks to hold interviews, zone conf, etc., don't think the Stin. will do that much together.



The normal metro cars are these plain blue and yellow ones. But every once in a while you can see a colorful one. This white one is decorated with computers. We have also seen one for Snickers and another for Rochen product, mainly cakes. Will have to see if I can catch their pictures. They come in and leave so fast one has to be ready for the snap!



We will be going by train back to the Southern end of Ukraine. Will be gone for almost two weeks. Will be giving our health presentations and visiting hospitals and clinic. It should be a busy few days. The last day will be in Yalta Crimea. That is where the WWII treaty was signed so will be doing a little historical touring for one day. We will then fly back into Kiev. We pray that you are all doing well. We know that a lot is going on - but stay in contact with each other.




This is a KBAC truck. They are all over the city. They dispense a drink made out of bread, water, sugar (maybe some barley seeds) and yeast. They start appearing the first of the summer and the liquid is just added to as it is depleted. I can only imagine what you are drinking by the end of the summer. It probably really ferments good from all the heat. Some of the missionaries I hear are drinking this stuff! Sounds almost like a beer receipe to me. Sometimes I wonder if missionaries really don't do STUPID things. We tell them no --- but!



Thought this was a interesting fountain.

We went to the Lee's for a fourth of July celebration. The Senior couples met at their home for a potluck dinner. We then played a game and then just sat around telling about our most embarrassing experiences and then one of our most spiritual. It was a good time together - there are some great senior couples here. Give the kids hugs and kisses for us. Luv, M&D

It Has Finally Happened!

We have finally hit the day where there is no hot water! For some reason in Ukraine they turn the hot water off for two weeks for maintenance, at least that is what I was told. They turn it off so that they can clean the pipes. Now how that is done is a mystery to me as last week they put chemicals in the water and told us not to use it from midnight to 7AM. Now they have turned the water off to clean the pipes - how do they do that? It is also a way that they have to catch up on the charges. Oh, well no matter what - it is no hot water for two weeks!



This picture was taken this past Sunday at one of my favorite gardens on our walk to the Church. It has a variety of flowers that have been blooming at different times so far all spring/summer. You can see the snowball plants now. The smells and variety are really impressive and it is just a calm feeling here.


This trip I was noticing all of the different balconies that were on the buildiings so thought I would send you a few.











It has been amazing to me how many little outside cafes have sprung up every where once the warm weather has hit. They just add awnings, sometimes a floor and there is a cafe.

After the trip to the St. Sophia Church we decided to go downtown where there was an international folk presentation. The fountain area is just the main square of town and this is a typical place to hang out on Saturdays. They even close down part of the main street to car traffic.

The festival was held at the "Friendship Arch". This is again a monument built during the Soviet time to honor the relationship Ukraine and Russia had. At night there are different color lights on the arch like a rainbow.



Was going to send a few more pictures but John needs me to type some letters for him. We were in a huge rain storm last Thursday and were wet from the waist down even with umbrellas. We have learned to take them with us as even Saturday it rained while we were at the Internation dance Festival. Love you all. MOM and DAD

Big Mama

This is a monument that the Soviet Government built and gave to the Ukrainian people to commererate the help they gave during WWII. It is called "Mother Land" but the missionaries call it "big mamma". Dad took my picture with her so there are now two big mammas pictured here. And just for the record I had someone cut my hair that day and it was the fastest haircut I have ever had - a 15 minute cut! You will notice in the close up picture that the sword looks a little out of portion. Well, after the monument was made it was discovered that the sword was taller than the church's tower so it was cut off to be lower. The sword alone weighs 12 tons.





Underneath the monument there is a WWII museum and as you walk to the monument there are several large bronze relief cuttings depicting the local peoples involvment in the war.








This is the last week for Pres. and Sister Davis to be in Ukraine. So last Wednesday all the Senior couples came in and we had a farewell dinner for them. We have some really neat senior couples here. The Lees will have spent almost 28 months here by the time they leave in Dec. and the Hinkles have extended for another 11 months so they will be here 29 months before they go home. It is good to be with them all and feel of the love and dedication they have in serving the Lord. The new mission Pres. comes in Saturday and we will have a luncheon on Monday to meet him and his wife. They are bringing three children with them so she will be busy taking care of them plus doing whatever she can to help with the comings and goings of the missionaries. I am sure she will be fairly busy.They are still looking for a new mission home so they won't get to settled in until they find a new place. The mission office will also be moved in September. We still feed the missionaries weekly and try to have a family in from the branch. We now, for how long, is anyone's guess --- have another missionary living with us. She has had some medical issues and we are seeing if she can get over them or she may have to go back to Armenia.

We also went to visit St. Sophia Church. It was buit in 1050. It is remarkably still in good shape. They have redone some of the fresco paintings. It is a huge facility and remarkable for that time period.

This is the bell tower that admits you into the grounds of the church.
At one time this was an all brick looking church, but during remodeling in the 1800 they covered the building with a layer of motar and then painted it white. All of the churches in the area are this white looking.
This is a picture of the fesco painting and the mosiac tile work. The picture of Christ is the tile work. Sometimes they leave part of the paintings untouched so you can see how they have aged and are refurbished. As many of the building were destroyed during WWII I wondered how this Church survived. Apparently there was some type of war agreement that prohibited the destruction of certain buildings.

Hope you had a fun and safe time together this past week end. Send me some pictures so we can see our grandchildren that we love and miss very much. LUV M&D, GM&GP,J&J

The Rest of The Story - The Haircut

While in Armenia we meet Pres. and Sister Dunn. President Dunn is retired military and as his hair was really short I just assumed he was still wearing a military style hair cut. However, John had noticed that in his mission picture his hair was longer and that he even commented that the short haircut made him look 10 yrs. younger.

One day we were driving with the President Dunn and the Patriarch Rogers who was visiting Armenia from America giving Patriarchal blessing and he asked Pres. Dunn if there was a place he could get a haircut? Pres. Dunn replied only if you want an Armenian haircut as they only know how to cut hair one way - SHORT. Bro. Rodgers stated that he would pass on that.

Well we get back to Ukraine and John decides that he needs a hair cut. As he has had his hair cut previously here he thought nothing about it. So when he walks in after his haircut we start laughing as he has received an "Armenian haircut" in Ukraine. This is how short it was when he got home.





We have decide that they all must go to the same hairstyling school. He commented this morning that he doesn't know if Marin will ever get his hair back to normal. He has now had that haircut for over two months and he only needs a trim around the neck line. So John, there is a story with that haircut.

As most of you will be in Pocatello this weekend we just want you all to know that we love you very much. Be kind to each other, have fun and be safe. Luv M&D

I give Up

I have a page in my drafts that I saved so I could work on later and now I can't get it out of drafts. So I just give up! If you want to see that blog someone will have to explain to me how I proceed in doing that process. We have been mainly at home these past two weeks. Did go to center so we could send things out, as our fax was not receiving until this past Friday. The fax is working now after four months of frustration and you now how that is with your dad, every day asking me if it works or if I am going to get it fixed, how and when . The biggest frustration with him is that he can not seem to remember where he puts anything? We are always looking for his papers, etc. Maybe I should say he is always looking as I have allowed him to solve his own crisises. Actually life is not so bad with him at home all the time. He waits on me more, he does the dishes, cleans the house, vacuums, dusts and even the toilets and he will even take a nap with me.

This week we will have overnight company as all the Senior couples are coming in for a Farwell Dinner for the Davis. This is their last month in Ukraine, Kiev. Sister Davis said that she is in mouring but after being here for 3 years I am sure they will be excited to go home. They have done alot of good things here and the missionaries really like them. I think I was requested to make Sarah's Salad for 20. Hope I can find all of the ingredients.

Wanted to show you a few more pictures of the Dnipropetrovsk Mission (DNP) that we toured last month. We went by train, a 6hour ride per express. Otherwise, it would of been a 10hour overnight trip. As we rode along we saw all these fields of golden flowers. I finally asked a fellow train rider what kind of fields they were. I was told "рапс" which is prounced raps. When I got home I found that the raps are used for oil and biofuel. The fields can only be planted once every six years with raps. Then other crops have to be planted as this crops brings certain bacteria, bugs and will kill the soil if planted every year. Thought that was interesting. The second time we went tthe fields were already changing color so we went at the right time for the color.

Also all along the way whenever we came near a town you could see the babushkas (grandmothers) out tending their gardens.
We had a dicussion with another passenger on our second trip (he spoke English some) about how much of a pension we received in America and how much they received in Ukraine. Did not one to shock them to much so I only used the amout of my mother's pension as an example. Here they receive less than $150 per month but they also have no housing expenses. So alot of the babushkas have a garden where they grow most of the family winter foods or the extra they may take to market or just sale on the side of the road. Another interesting thing was that each home seemed to have a bench behind it so that the older members can sit out and rest or visit.


The hotel was more worn than the Marriot in Armenia. In fact Dad and I had this disussion about the sheets. There was a sheet (white) under the bedspread on the bed then a striped sheet. We just went to bed on top of the striped sheet but we thought it was strange that there was not a mattress cover. The second trip showed us that we had slept on the mattress cover. I'm sure that the maids wondered why the bed was so messed up every night. On the second trip they had the devay (sp) covers on the bed with the bedspread on top of that. There were devay covers the first time but it was so warm that we did not get them out. Should of just taken those blankets out and used the double sheet as the top sheet. Don't know why everyone in Europe like those heavy devay covers on top of them. Just to heavy for us. The second trip to DNK we stayed at the same hotel but the room we got only had twin beds and not upgrades so it was really old. Another thing I have trouble with is the bathtubs. To get in and out of them one needs to be really careful to prevent falling. The tubs are about 2 feet off of the ground so you have to step up into them and when you get out you have to step down as far that one needs to be careful especially since your feet are wet. I don't know how the invalid or elderly make it into these modern conviences. View outside the Hotel DNP.


Our main reason for going to DNK was to check out the medical facilities in the area. Sometimes we were rather surprised about what we saw. Alot of the buildings were built in the 1970's but most of the time they look much older as the upkeep has been very minimal. The stair wells are really dirty as well as some of the insides. Most of the hospital have big (huge) hallways that meander into lots of mass confusion. Even the person showing us around got lost. Sometimes we were surprised that when we opened a door there was a really modern, clean facility with lots of modern equipment. There was an item on the news channel about the ability to buy a educational license here so sometimes one may question the education of their doctors. (Natasha told me this.)



Here is a big wasted area going to the elevator. Not very lighted either. They prefer to keep the light off.
Yet, here you have a really nice modern, clean, new emergency room. It has three new surgical rooms and new triage area.

We also got to see the BYU dance show that came two weeks ago. They were really good and the Ukrainians really liked the performance. We continue to deal with the missionaries medical probles: GB attacks, appendectomies, nausea and diarrhea, allergies, etc.. We can get it all, but it makes the days go really fast. We hope you all are doing good. Keeping in touch with each other. Staying close to your Heavenly Father. May He bless you in all your needs and problems. We love you all and are so thankful that you are part of our family and friends. LUV MOM and DAD, GM and GP, J&J