Just trying to catch up

Our zone in the MTC.  Left to right: John and Melanie Tappen, Brent and Karen Bingham, teacher Brielle Peterson, Craig and Debbie Ames

Zone Leaders, Craig and Debbie Ames

Yeah, we can be silly, too.

This is where we're going. (C'mon, everybody has to do it!)

We had a lovely little courtyard outside our apartment that we didn't use very much.

After our long flight, meeting our mission president and his wife, President Kenneth Boyd and Sister Cari Packer.

We replaced Jeff and Kathy Anderson.  They were very happy to be going home.

Our first picture in front of the Kiev, Ukraine temple.

The view outside our three bedroom apartment

It was so cold for so long.  This is me working in the office mid-day.

I got domestic.

Brent had to escort a missionary home soon within a month of our arrival.  He got to see family.

St. Volodymyr's cathedral, the oldest church in Kiev, Ukraine.  It has survived all the wars and uprisings.

They were having a high mass.

A couple of sisters got sick and had to stay with us for a while.  Sis. Chernigev, Sis. Stepaiko and Sis. Jones

Sis. Stepaiko was also waiting for her visa to serve in Edmonton, Canada.

It finally got warm enough to get out for a little touring.  This is St. Michael's cathedral

St. Michael's has some beautiful murals on the walls outside

Easter is a big deal in Ukraine.  At one end of the street, the plaza in front of St. Michael's is filled with large decorated eggs.  At the other end of the street, there is another egg-filled plaza in front of St. Sophia's

This double decker carousel is actually from Italy.

This is a traditionally decorated egg.  The legend goes that Mary had a basket of eggs with her as she waited at the cross, and when the soldier pierced Christ's side, some of the blood fell on the eggs.  That is why we color Easter eggs.

Some of them are pretty big!

This was one of my favorites.

Their idea of fair food is wood roasted meats and vegetables.  Much healthier than the U.S.!

Elder Holland visited us and had a picture taken with all the missionaries.  Brent and I are on the right side.

The senior missionaries visiting from Odessa stayed another day, and we went sight-seeing.  Left to right, Eld and Marsha Gibbons, Brent and me, Joyce and Elder Palache, Barbara Voglesberg.  Elder Voglesberg was taking the picture.  In the back ground is the statue of Vlaldimir the Wise, where which Elder Boyd K. Packer and Eld. Dallin H. Oakes dedicated the land of Ukraine for the preaching of the gospel 25 years ago.

The Dnieper river, and green, green, green.  There is a lot of forested land in Ukraine.

Look, Ma!  No coat!  It finally got warm enough to do a long sight-see out of doors, so we went to the Museum of Folk and Architectural Life of Ukraine.

It was pretty empty there.  Too early in the year for a lot of tourists.  We got into only only house, and the docent there showed us all they kept in the house, including their beehives.