WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION (part 2)

I know this is hard to see but this is what the stage looked like at the end of the event. There were a total of about 6 women who had won in various categories on the stage with their awards ( little statues) and flowers while confetti was dropping from the ceiling. It was unbelievable. Oh, and the other strange thing, there were what looked like professional photographers there who as Sister Clark said "Kept taking the Kinghorn's pictures". I don't know if they noticed that the event was being translated for us, or just thought we looked important because of the "nametags" not to mention, Elder Kinghorn was probably one of the few men there who was not a presenter or photographer. I didn't mention that in between each presentation there was so very good entertainment. We saw Ukrainian Folk dancers, a great Children's Dance Troope, A few solo singing performances, and a wonderful number with a man singing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" in English with a Russian accent, while two women hung on beautiful scarves that came from the rafters and performed acrobatic moves. Well that just about explains it. Like I said, we don't always know what to expect but were glad we went. Valentina and her group of women seemed happy to have us and invited us to attend another performance soon. Sister Clark ask me "Why do they invite you? Is it because they hope you will help their organization? I don't really know, but as one of our friends say, "more will be revealed."

WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION (part 1)

Yesterday we were invited by a Women's Organization we have visited to attend a celebration. When Olga called to tell us she said it was a "performance" and a "Woman of the Year"ceremony. Valentina, the President of the organization invited us to bring anyone we wanted, she said she had 5 tickets. So we brought Sister Clark, the office missionary. We approached this much like most things here with an open mind. Sometimes we just know that we should go. When we approached the Cultural Palace, Valentina was waiting and quickly ushered us in. This was great except we hadn't met up with Olga yet (our interpreter) and didn't think we would be able to communicate. But not only was Valentina waving at us when we approached but there was my friend Masha from church who is one of the few people we know who speaks English. What a relief, she and her two friends joined us and she instantly became our "stand in" for Olga. We were amazed as we walked through the doors to see two lines of men dressed in white uniforms at the entrance. We were to walk between the lines as we entered. It seemed most of the women were dressed in their best attire. We were now getting the impression this was a huge thing. We felt like we were attending the Academy Awards. The hall was packed. I was worried that were were over our limit of the 5 Valentina had invited as we now had Masha and her two friends with us and Olga who had joined us. Valentina led us to a section that apparently had been reserved for her organization and there appeared to be room for all of us. I recognized some of the women we had met at the organization when we had previously visited. We were greeted with warm smiles and handshakes. It turned out this event which lasted about 2 1/2 hours was honoring women from all backgrounds. Women were nominated, called up on stage in groups of 6-8 and a winner was announced. I mean, beautiful girls in long flowing gowns came out with the awards, a platter with the "envelope" and scissors to cut it open was handed to a gentlemen who made the presentation to the winner and she gave a little "thank-you" acceptance.

MORE LESSONS LEARNED

I decided I had to take the Michael Buble song, "Home", off of my playlist. It was the first song you heard when you got to our blogsite and I didn't want you to have the wrong impression. It's true we do miss home but I am so grateful to be here. The Lord teaches us something new each day. We told you early on we were learning patience. Well we are still working on that one. Today, I believe it is gratitude. I am realizing that so much of our lives we wish away. We are like a little child when given a nice cool ice-cream cone on a hot summer day who says, "but I wanted a snow cone". When it is summer, we want it to be fall, and when the fall comes we dream of springtime. I am learning to appreciate what I do have and not focus so much on what is missing.
So for today, yes I still miss my friends and family but we have met so many wonderful people here. We have practically been carried by all of the missionaries here both young and "not so young". They have supported us in so many ways both physically and emotionally. We have met some wonderful members of our Branch as well as other Branches we have visited. They let us know how much they appreciate the work we are doing here. We have been blessed to see the people of Ukraine come to know Heavenly Father and receive his blessings by living the Gospel.

MISSIONARIES

WHY SERVE A MISSION SO FAR FROM YOUR FAMILY?

When we first started telling our friends and family that we were going to serve a mission people kept asking "aren't you going to miss your kids?" and of course, the answer was yes. But Bruce and I both were sure that we were being "called" to serve the Lord at this time in our lives. So we made the very difficult decision to leave everyone we love behind for 2 years and go where the Lord wanted us to go. As the days got closer to our departure date we both felt the tugs at our heartstrings each time we spent time with our children, our grandchildren, our siblings, and my mother. When we were asked "how can you leave your family?" my answer was "how can we not". Bruce and I both know that our lives have been blessed. We have had a wonderful rich life together. It hasn't always been easy but the Lord has blessed us with everything we have needed to deal with the challenges we have faced. We see the Lords hand in our lives and know it is from him that all our blessings come. We both know without a doubt that the Lord needs us in Ukraine right now and he will bless the lives of our family as we serve him here in Ukraine. We love our children and grandchildren very much just as we love our friends dearly. We are grateful for all of you who support us with your prayers and letters as we are away.