BRUCE AND I JUST RETURNED FROM A TRIP BACK TO UKRAINE

I don't have access to my computer right now but you can read about it on my other blog
www.kinghornswalkingonsunshine.blogspot.com

MY BLOG BOOK ARRIVED

I am so thrilled my family kept encouraging me to make my blog into a book and so I finally did. I am so happy with it. I will cherish this forever. It will be fun to sit down and read about our mission from the very first blog entry to the last one I just wrote a few weeks ago. Thank you to all of you who have read the blog and encouraged me to keep writing. I love it.

COLLEGE, WEDDINGS, AND BABIES

The last year as the missionaries we served in Ukraine with arrived back in the USA they have been busy with College, Careers, Marriage and a few have even started their families.

Brad Pearson and Michelle Chidester both served with us in Ukraine. They got together after the mission and were soon married. Now they are expecting their first baby. We're so happy for them.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS WHO WERE MARRIED THIS PAST YEAR

Daniel Condie and his wife Whitney

Frederick Benson and his wife Jill

Jonathan Karren and his wife Tawna

Clark Harris and his bride Autumn

Travis Hunt and his wife Leanna

Sister Helelyan and her husband Ashot Symonyan

Austin Andrus is engaged to Mckenzie

Sam Crossley and his wife Shawnee

Joshua Gywnn and his wife Tricia

CALLED TO SERVE

I SPOKE TO ANYA LAST WEEK AND SHE MENTIONED THAT HER COUSIN MARINA IS CURRENTLY SERVING AS A MINI-MISSIONARY IN THE DONETSK UKRAINE MISSION. MARINA AND ANYA WERE TWO OF THE VERY SPECIAL YOUNG WOMEN I GREW TO LOVE WHILE SERVING OUR MISSION IN UKRAINE.

THE CHURCH IN UKRAINE IS GROWING

I have been following Sister Fry's blog and it has been so fun to see that so many of the Young Adults we knew while we were in Ukraine have prepared to serve a Mission and have left for the Missionary Training Center for training in Provo in the past year.

President Fry and Elder Zhdanov

President Fry, Elder Elle, and President Teekemera

Sister Tsuprova

Sister Sechov and her mother

       Sister  Vinicurova     

                                                                                                  

Sister Dyachenko and her family

Sister Trumova with Sister Fry

Sasha Trunova with her friends with her Mission Call in her hands.

LOOK OUT WORLD HERE THEY COME!!!

THE KYIV TEMPLE WILL BE DEDICATED IN AUGUST 2010

The Kyiv Ukraine Temple is the Church’s first in Eastern Europe and the 11th overall on the European continent. It will serve approximately 31,000 members of the Church living in 13 European countries. Other European temples of the Church are located in Bern, Switzerland (dedicated 1955); London, England (1958); Freiberg, Germany (1985); Stockholm, Sweden (1985); Frankfurt, Germany (1987); Preston, England (1998); Madrid, Spain (1999); The Hague, Netherlands (2002); Copenhagen, Denmark (2004); and Helsinki, Finland (2006). A temple to be built in Rome, Italy, was announced in October 2008.
It is customary for Latter-day Saints to open the doors of their temples to the public before they are dedicated. It is expected that many thousands of visitors will come to this temple open house to tour the temple and learn about the highest rites of the faith that take place there. “We are very pleased to be able to invite our friends and neighbors to tour the temple and learn more about this sacred structure,” said Elder Wolfgang H. Paul, president of the Church’s Europe East Area. “We know that many people have passed by the temple during construction and wondered about its purpose. Soon we will be able to welcome them to the temple and explain why the temple is known as the house of the Lord.” Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man. When the temple is formally dedicated, it will be open to members of the Church who are actively engaged in the faith — unlike the thousands of standard church meetinghouses that are open to everyone for regular Sunday services, regardless of religious affiliation (see Newsroom article explaining difference between chapels and temples).
Speaking to the entire Church membership in October 2009, Church President Thomas S. Monson said, “We continue to build temples. We desire that as many members as possible have an opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances. Worldwide, 83 percent of our members live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple. That percentage will continue to increase as we construct new temples around the world.” The Kyiv Ukraine Temple was announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley, former worldwide leader of the Church, 20 July 1998. Ground was broken for the temple’s construction on 23 June 2007. When completed it will be the Church’s 134th operating temple worldwide. Formal temple work will commence at the Kyiv Ukraine Temple on Monday, 30 August 2010.

TRIP TO IDAHO TO SEE THE LEE'S

Bruce and I took a trip to Pocatello Idaho  to see the Lee's. They were our Country Directors in Ukraine. They lived in Kieve, which was about a 8 hour train ride away,  but we spent a lot of time with them. We were at their home in Pocatello for a few days then we headed to Yellowstone to visit the Grand Tetons. We had such a fun trip. The Lee's are getting ready to leave for another mission to Jordan. We love them so much. They have been such good friends and such  wonderful examples to us.

UTAH REUNION

I know it's been almost a year since I posted about going to Education Week in Utah last August but I just realized people are still reading this blog and decided to update a bit. Education Week was amazing. Our trip to Utah was so fun. It was a week long mission reunion. I was able to meet Elder Woodhead's mom JaneAnn while I was attending Education Week. We even went to some classes together.
I also got to meet Elder Oldroyd's mom, Kandace, when we went to his homecoming. It was so nice to meet her and Elder Oldroyd's whole family. It was wonderful to see the town he grew up in.hen we returned to Utah we were the guest in Elder Crossley's home for several days while we attended Education week. He too has an awesome family who made us feel so welcome in their home.

We went out to lunch with some of our missionary friends and were able to catch up on what's going on in their lives. Many of the returned missionaries are attending Brigham Young University h State so we were able to see alot of them at the mission reunion. While we were attending the mission reunion Elder Rasmussen's mother, Brenda Joy, came to pick him up and I got to meet her as well.the mothers I have mentioned were moms I corresponded with while living in Ukraine.

By the way, Elder Harris, Elder Crossley, Elder Gwynn, Elder Condie, Elder Carren, and Elder Hunt all have gotten married since we've been home and some even before we returned from the mission. We are so happy for them. The Pearson's are expecting their first baby.

We finished off the trip in St George Utah where we went to meet friends we met at the Missionary Training Center who served their mission in Africa, the Hafens.  While we were there we met the Whitehead family whose son was serving his mission in Ukraine with us.

I have mentioned all of the wonderful families we met while being in Utah because it really was a special experience. For 18 months we shared a part of the lives of the young men and women we served with. While we were serving our missions our lives were focused on serving the Lord. We saw these amazing young men and women working hard to be representatives of Christ in everything they did. I know that I wrote often of how amazed I was at the strength and dedication of the young men and women we served with. Being back in America with them and seeing some of them in their homes with their families was such a gift. I found myself thinking, "Oh this is who Elder ____________ is" !!!!!" No wonder he/she is so amazing."
We met some of their siblings, their parents and friends and even visited some of their homes.

Keeping this blog gave me a small opportunity to glimpse into the home lives of some of the missionaries whose parents read the blog and posted comments. Actually being able to meet their families and see where they grew up was so special. Meeting the moms who commented on my blog was a little like getting together with an old friend but really so much more than that.I knew how hard it must have been for these mothers to say good-bye to their sons for 24 months. I also knew that when they read the blog that they were getting an assurance that their boys were alright. I think sometimes it was for them a glimpse into the life of their missionary son. They had sent off a young man who they had watched grow from a little boy into a young man. They weren't sure how their son would handle life away from home let alone life in Ukraine. The comments they left or the e-mails I received did not reflect their fears, only a deep love and devotion to their little boys who had grown into fine young men.These mothers knew that I had come to love their sons and appreciated the awesome young men that they were. I knew that when we returned to America these dear young men and women would go back to their lives as sons and daughters, students, and friends and I would only hear from them now and then. I knew I may never see some of them again.When we stood face to face, those dear moms and I more was expressed then words could ever say. When I walked into their homes it was like walking into their lives. I caught a glimpse of who they were as sons and daughters, brothers, and sisters. It was a tender moment to see who the mothers of these awesome young men were.

Our visit to Utah was interesting. It was so wonderful to see the young men and women we had come to love back in their "normal" lives. It was really nice to see President and Sister Anderson again and the Jacob's and the Clarks. We had some wonderful experiences together. But it was also like closing the last chapter of a really good book. As I got to the last page I didn't want to continue reading because I knew the magic would end. That's how I felt when I walked out the front door of Elder Oldroyd's home and when I said goodbye to JaneAnne and Dixie. It's how I felt when we got into the car after our mission reunion at the Jacob's home.

Life in Ukraine, life with these very special young people in our lives, is like closing a good book. I am left with the feeling of hope that some day I will find another interesting book to read but I know it will never be like the adventure we had in Ukraine with these amazing characters who left their imprints on my heart forever..................
Returning to America has been quite a transition
(this post was taken from my other blog and was written when we first returned home)
Today we had the opportunity to speak with the High Council at church and tell them about our mission. We sat down at a conference table that was surrounded by about 12 men in suits and were given 10 minutes to share our mission experiences.Every time we have the opportunity to talk about our mission I get so homesick for Ukraine and our dear friends there. It is impossible to sum up 18 months of missionary service in 10 minutes. I couldn't sleep last night as I thought about the most important things I should remember to share.My mind raced...... I must remember to mention the Health Fair,
and the Strengthening Families classes, oh......... and I should tell the wonderful stories some of the members of the church shared with us about how their families were using some of the skills they learned in the classes,
and oh.................... I have to mention how much we loved having the missionaries in our home for district meetings each week, and how much we learned from them,
and what a miracle it was to see Olga get baptized and to see she and Vitaly married and planning to go to the temple,and I have to mention sweet Anya, and Marina and her family and what an inspiration they were to us,and I must tell them about the faithful Saints who save all year to go to the temple in Freiberg,
and I have to mention our wonderful Mission Presidents and their wives and how much we felt loved and supported by them,and I must remember to share how much my testimony of Jesus Christ grew, and how our marriage was strengthened, and I can't leave out the wonderful experience we had at the Missionary Training Center, and finally, I must remember to mention that we thought we were going to Ukraine to serve the people of Ukraine but after serving their for 18 months we learned that we went to Ukraine for our own personal growth. Which really is the most important thing.......................
Bruce and I learned so much about ourselves, and one another, things we could have only learned through this incredible experience.

My mind raced all night........and as I sat around that table and tried to convey the feelings of my heart and how much I loved being a missionary I simply had to trust the Lord would help me to find the words that would convey the truly life changing experience UKRAINE was for us.

I remember a conversation with President Fry shortly before we left as he counseled us to share the wonderful experiences we had as missionaries and not to focus on the challenges we faced. Looking back, the challenges seem small and insignificant. There is nothing left to say.
A part of me will always be in Ukraine. I will hold a very special place in my heart for the incredible people I met in Ukraine.

EDUCATION WEEK, ANYONE WANT TO MEET AT BYU??

I am meeting with two of the mothers of missionaries Wednesday at Education Week at 11am if anyone wants to join us let me know.
melinda_kinghorn@hotmail.com

MISSION GET TOGETHER

Mission Party at the Jacob's
we are getting together with the missionaries who are in the area on August 22nd at 1pm at the Jacob's in Orem
the address is 127 West 1700 South
Orem Utah
if you can come bring a salad, or dessert, or chips, or fruit or veggie plate.

MISSION REUNION

Bruce and I are going to Education Week in Provo and will be arriving August 15th and staying for a week or so. If any of you parents of missionaries or returned missionaries in the Provo area would like to get together we would love to meet up. Just let us know and we will arrange something.

LINK TO MY NEW BLOG

http://www.kinghornswalkingonsunshine.blogspot.com/

MY LAST BLOG ENTRY

Saying good-bye to some of our dear friends in UkraineMarina, Deema, Ilia

Anya, sweet Anya

Fellow missionaries

Marina, Nastia, Olga, Vitaly, Sister Fry and President Fry

When one door closes........................................................................

another one opens...........................

 Our family greeting us at the airport in Sacramento

I'm sitting here looking at this blog thinking about updating it a bit and I just can't bring myself to change one thing about it. This blog contains more than words and pictures. I started writing the blog as a way to communicate to our friends and family what we were doing in Ukraine, but I soon found myself sitting at the computer sometimes daily pouring out my heart.Today as I sit and visit with friends here in America and they ask about Ukraine. I find myself tearing up as I speak of the people I have come to love. The girl who I initially referred to in my blog as our interpreter who we now call our Ukrainian daughter, Olga, the 16 year-old Anya who stole my heart and her cousins, Nastia, Marina, and Ilia, the women at church who I called my sisters, our amazing branch president and his counselors.My friends ask me how it was to see so much pain and suffering. They ask how we dealt with it. My answer is this blog. I just came home and wrote about it. Sometimes the feelings were too much to keep inside and I just had to get it out and this is where I went. I didn't think so much about who would be reading it I just wrote. I wrote about the adjustment to living in a foreign country. I wrote about how hard it was to leave our family and know that we would be gone for so long. I wrote about the things we saw that broke my heart, the children who lived on the streets, the babies in orphanages, the beggars who were often old ladies, the elderly people who were abandoned and left in shelters. I wrote about the appalling way that handicapped people were treated. I wrote of the shocking conditions of the hospitals and orphanages.That is how I coped with seeing so much pain. I wrote about it.

But our mission was so much more than all of that. I wrote about that too. I wrote about the amazing spiritual experiences we were having. I wrote about the wonderful young men and women we were serving with. I wrote about our Mission President's and their wives and how much we admired and loved them. I wrote about how my testimony of Jesus Christ was growing. I wrote about the things I was learning about myself and how Ukraine was transforming me. I wrote about how much I love my husband and the blessing he is to me.

Today will be my last entry in THIS blog, it is time to turn a new page, or maybe to begin a new journey. I will be starting a new blog. It may not be as fascinating or interesting as life in Ukraine but it will continue to be the place I go to pour out my heart.It will be filled with the magical moments of being a wife, mother and Nana home again in America..........................................

I want to close by thanking you, our friends and family who became followers of our blog. As I said I didn't always write with you in mind but I know that your words of encouragement helped us through the difficult times. I will be forever grateful for the love that we felt from you thoughout our journey in Ukraine. To you parents of missionaries who lifted me with your love, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your words were often the balm I needed to face another difficult situation. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for your love and support.

DREAMING OF OUR OWN HOME AGAIN

 Our dream home is still not a reality yet. Today we went by and visited our home, we even got to sit at the kitchen bar and visit with our real estate agent and the man we are buying the house from but we won't be moving our things in for awhile.As we sat in the kitchen we could hear the roosters crowing outside and birds singing in the backyard, The gentle breeze was blowing through the windows. I could imagine our grandchildren playing on the floor in the family room as we visited in the kitchen. Tonight I am dreaming of our new home and finally getting all our things out of suitcases while my husband, and our daughter and son-in-law watch Batman in the other room and the babies sleep soundly in the beds. Tomorrow I will wake up to the squeals of my dear little grandchildren who greet me each morning as if I just stepped off the plane.

NOTES FROM HOME

I have finally found a little time to spend at the computer again. I thought I should let you all know how we are doing. First of all.................
I had no idea that we would experience the same Culture Shock coming home as we did when we arrrived in Ukraine. We are so happy to be home with our family again but I have to say there are days I find myself feeling a little displaced. We still have not been able to move into our new home yet so we are living with our daughter and her husband and 4 children. We are so grateful for their kindness in allowing us to be here so long. We love spending so much time with family. We all took a trip to Santa Cruz to spend about 12 days staying in a beautiful cottage on the beach. We're back and Karrissa and Brad's now and our son Nate comes over a few times a week to join us for dinner or a movie. We are enjoying catching up with our friends at home. I have also spoken to a few of the returned missionaries who are home now. We have spoken about our mission experience during Sacrament Meeting at church and once at a fireside. We loved it. We will have another opportunity to speak again in September and probably when we move into our new ward. I haven't been able to stay in touch by e-mail with my fellow missionaries or my Ukrainian friends the way I intend to as soon as we have our own computer again. I did get to talk to Olga, our interpreter/ and dear friend on the telephone and the minute I heard her voice my eyes filled with tears. I couldn't stop crying as she quickly told us all the things she wanted us to know about life in Ukraine. Oh, how it made me miss you all. I am so grateful to have been to Ukraine and to have been a part of the Donetsk Mission. I am so grateful to President and Sister Fry for all they did for us and for all the missionaries they love so very much. I am so grateful for all of you who kept me going with prayers and wonderful encouraging comments on the blog. I promise I will write more soon and post pictures again as soon as i am able to use my own computer again. Tomorrow Bruce and I are going to Monterey again for a few days and I hope I will be able to use my computer while we are gone to post some pictures.

For now I just want all the missionaries and my friends in Ukraine to know that you are in our prayers daily.
We love you, and miss you so much.

THESE THREE ARE KEEPING ME BUSY

sorry I haven't written yet.

HOME

We have been home a few days now and this is the first time I have had to post.
Wyatt is off with Papa Bruce, Monroe went to the store with her dad, the baby is watching his mom cut Cousin Leigh's hair in the garage and Maverick is taking a nap. Wyatt and Monroe have not left my side for long yet. We have all gotten up early each morning to make waffles, we have played MEMORY (card game) many times, we have watched movies, they have helped me cook and clean the kitchen, read books, and gone to the park a few times.This Nana is exhausted but OH SO HAPPY. We won't be moving into our new house until the first of June so we are staying at Brad and Karrissa's. We don't have a phone yet, and I am using Brad's computer to post this as quickly as I can. We will be giving our talks in church tomorrow but I haven't had time to write my talk yet. Oh boy, did I forget what life is like with little children. I promise all my friends both in Ukraine and home in America that I will be better at writing you personally when I am in my own home and have more free time. I love you all and miss you so much.

CHANGE IN FLIGHT PLANS

OUR FLIGHT PLANS HAVE CHANGED.

OUR PLANE LEAVING KIEV WAS DELAYED 6 HOURS WHICH MEANS WE WILL MISS 2 CONNECTIONS . WE ARE GOING TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN NEW YORK

(WELL AT LEAST TRY TO CATCH A FEW HOURS SLEEP)

AND FLY TO SALT LAKE AND THEN SACRAMENTO.

WE LEAVE NEW YORK ON FLIGHT 1103 AT 7AM AND ARRIVE IN SALT LAKE AT 1024

WE WILL JUST HAVE A FEW MINUTES TO CATCH OUR PLANE TO SACRAMENTO AT 1115AM. WE WILL NOW BE ARRIVING IN SACRAMENTO AT 12:01 PM MAY 5TH DELTA FLIGHT 1187

SAYING GOOD-BYE

This has been a week of good-byes. A few weeks ago I started feeling sad about leaving so many people we have come to know and love. I couldn't imagine how I would feel this week. It has been difficult but I have to say that I really believe that Heavenly Father has blessed us with a wonderful peace this week. We spoke at Church on Sunday and then had a very nice gathering after church to say good-bye to everyone in our branch. It was a wonderful day. We really felt loved. Yesterday we had our last Zone Conference with our Zone it was another day of good-byes. Now it seems like everytime we do something we say to ourselves, "This will probably be the last time we do this". It is difficult, but on the other hand, we have spoken to our family alot these last few weeks and those little voices of the grandchildren are calling us home. We can hardly wait to see how they have grown and to just hold our loved ones once again.
I have to sign off. We are moving the last few things in our apartment today. We are going to be in the Mission Home until Sunday. Love to you all.