General Conference Weekend April 7,8, 2012

We had a pizza lunch between the Saturday sessions of General Conference.  Front left is Ben Powell, Kristina Powell, and daughter Annika behind her.  On right is some of the ILP teachers and front right is two missionary Sisters, Smith and Moore.

Sister Galbraith, Marcia, President Galbraith, President Ball.

Some of the ILP teachers ate outside.  It was a fairly warm day.

Marcia and her friend Sister Pinchuk.

Sister Bondarenko and Marcia.  Sister Bondarenko works in the Temple on Wednesday, and she also has a beautiful voice.

Elder and Sister Dance from Pocatello, Idaho.  Sister Dance (Karleen Jensen) is Marcia's cousin.

Marcia and her cousin, Karleen.  What a surprise to meet up with each other in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Maxim Trokhiminko on Marcia's lap.  He is 5 and played the trumpet on the musical program performed in our branch after the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference.

Behind Maxim is an Orchestra that performed for us.  It wasn't very large, but sounded great!

Sister Katia Serdyuk and her Ukranian Translator.  She put together the program and performed, and also announced the performers.  It lasted for an hour and a half and was so enjoyable.

I serve with Sister Gonchar (in the middle) in the Temple.  She is the sweetest lady.  When she let's her hair down it goes down to her bum.  I call her Rapunzel.

These three sisters played an original Ukranian instrument called a bandura.  Sister Serdyuk was in charge of the Celebration when the Kyiv Temple was dedicated, and continues to put on musical programs throughout Kyiv.

Independence Square in Kyiv and Sofia Bulgaria

Here we are at our apartment building as we begin our trip to Independence Square.  Our taxi drivers are on each end and in the middle from left to right:  Pres. and Sister Ball, Elder and Sister Callister, Marcia.

The Monument of Ukraine's Independence in 1991.

We were surprised to see that Mickey Mouse was visiting Kyiv!

The other side of Independence Square.  On the weekends there is a lot of activity here.

Under the square is a large Metro Station and also the underground Globus Mall.  Here you see one of the many fresh flower stands around Kyiv.  The people here love flowers.  Aren't they beautiful?

After visiting Independence square we met Elder and Sister Kempton (legal counsel missionaries) at a Ukrainian Restaurant.  Jay and Elder Kempton served together in the Central Atlantic States Mission from 1962 - 1964.  They haven't seen each other since.  What a coincidence to meet in Kyiv.  From front to back:  Marcia, Elder and Sister Kempton, Elder and Sister Callister, Pres. and Sister Ball.

One more picture like the last, but with Jay in it.

The outside of the Restaurant.

Looking through the park at Red University.

Calling a taxi.  Jay and Marcia decided to take the Metro and bus home!

The dark opening in the bottom middle of the picture is an alley that leads to the Church Service Center here in Kyiv.  This is where the legal counsel missionaries serve.

We went to Sofia, Bulgaria on April 9, 2012.  This is the little Hotel we stayed in.  It was small, but clean.

Marcia in front of the Hotel.

Across the street from the Hotel was a Military Museum.  This picture was taken from our Hotel room window.

This is the front of the Bulgarian Mission Home.  It used to be the Cuban Embassy.  It is very lovely inside.  There is a chapel inside where both branches in Sofia meet for Church.

Another picture of the Mission Home.

Walking from the Mission Home to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the center of Sofia.

One of the Main Streets in the center of Sofia.

 The back of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

The National Art Gallery in Sofia.

The side of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

The front of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

The yellow building is an Academy of the Sciences, the large statue faces the white building in the background which is their Parliament building.

Front of the statue.  The large building in the background on the left is a Radisson Hotel.

This was a monument in a park we walked past called Doctor's Garden.  The stones piled on top of each other had names on them and we assume they were those who lost their lives in a war with Ottoman in 1877-1878.

Front doors leading into the Parliament Building.

First sightseeing trip in Kiev to Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery)

Here we are as we begin our tour of the Pechersk Lavra or "Cave Monastery".  Left to right:  Marcia, Sister Graves, Brother Graves, Kristina Powell, Alan Powell holding Ben and our tour guide Helena.

Walking toward the entry.  It is a working Monastery with many monks living here.  It was built originally by Saint Anthony in 1051 A.D.  He started underground, building tunnels and sanctuaries in the caves.

There are many Cathedrals on the Monastery Grounds.  This was the first one we went in and the walls were covered with paintings of different Saints and elaborate gold work.

Looking up at the dome of the Cathedral and all the paintings.  The one in the dome depicts Christ.

Here we are looking up at the dome and trying to understand all Helena is telling us.  They don't have any benches in their cathedrals.  They stand as the service is being conducted.

 The Saint in the black robe on the left is Saint Cyril.  He was the creator of the Cyrillic Alphabet which is used in the Russian language.

Another view of the Cathedral we were just in.

We are approaching the Dormition Cathedral.  It was bombed completely during World War II.  The Russians actually bombed it but blamed it on the Germans.  It has been rebuilt and is still under construction in some areas.

This Bell Tower is very famous in Kyiv.  As you can see they are doing work on it, so we weren't able to go up inside it.  The gazebo to the right of the tower displays a large rock from the original Dormition Cathedral.

A close-up view of the only remaining piece of the original Dormition Cathedral.

The paintings and ornate gold work inside the Dormition Cathedral.

The dome of the Dormition Cathedral was very interesting to us.  Here they depict Christ on the left, the Holy Ghost is the dove, and Heavenly Father on the right.  We thought it interesting that they depicted the Godhead as three distinct personages as we believe.

The back view of the Dormition Cathedral.

Rodina Mat, or Motherland Monument constructed as a World War II Memorial.  She stands on a war museum and looks across the Dnieper River over Kyiv.  She was finished in 1981.  She is 203 feet tall and weighs 560 tons.  The ILP (international language program) girls in our Branch call her the "Big Mama".  You can see that she is very close to the Monastery.

Looking from the Monastery across the Dneiper River to the other side of Kyiv.

They figure this tree is from the 1500's.

There are chruches all over Kyiv.  This one is just outside the walls of the Monastery.  Again, left to right:  Kristina Powell, Alan Powell holding Ben, Brother Graves and Sister Graves, Marcia and Jay.

Another Cathedral near the Monastery.

We ended our trip at a Ukranian Thatched-Roof Restaurant.  The food was a little different, but good.