Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!

Dear Mom,

Happy Birthday!  Sorry we can’t be there with you to celebrate your 70^th birthday, but I am happy that you are doing what you love to do for your birthday.  Please know we love you and support you and are so thankful for your example and your efforts.  You are a terrific Mom.  Thank you for loving me and for giving me a firm foundation upon which to build.  Your attitude of selfless service and giving has been a great example for me.  Your desire to be obedient has helped instill that desire in me.  I am slow to learn, but am thankful for the guiding light that you have given to me.

I was obedient to your edict to not send you gifts this year, but I wanted to do something.  So I put together a few slideshows of some of your posterity for your viewing pleasure.  I hope you enjoy them.  This will have to work for both your birthday and your Christmas present from us this year.  We hope you enjoy the holidays.  I know I really loved my opportunities to spend Christmas in the full-time service of the Savior.  What better way to celebrate?

Happy Birthday Mom, and Merry Christmas to both of you!

Love,

Ryan

ASHLEY

ALLI

ZACHARY

ANNA

Winter Comes to Ukraine

Snow finally came to Kiev the first of December.  The workers at the temple block were so excited to get out their snow equipment! 
On the very first passes, they raced up and down the sidewalks with the rotary broom just throwing snow.








As the snow got deeper, they settled into
the process of removing the snow from the
sidewalks, parking lots, etc.  As we have progressed from fall to winter, temperatures
have consistently fallen to just below 30 degrees.
Those who have been here previous winters tell us we may not see bare ground again until Spring.  (That's okay.  It is beautiful!)

 

Now that we have reached the shortest days of the year, the sun doesn't come up until after  8:00 a.m. and has set before 4:00 p.m.   That means we never see it set, as we start our shift at the temple at 3:00 p.m. and don't come home until around 9:00 p.m.  Winter light conditions make it possible to get some very interesting pictures of the temple.  Sister Black took this one at first light (about 8 a.m.).

We spent an early Saturday morning (shortly before the snow came) involved

with our branch and a couple of other units, cleaning up leaves at Babi Yar.

We told you a little about Babi Yar in a previous post.  About 50-75 people showed up and put on "Helping Hands" vests.  In just a couple of hours we had raked huge piles of leaves.  It was fun to see temple workers and patrons from the Kiev Stake who showed up to help.  The Kiev Mission president and some of his family also joined us.

President and Sister Galbraith (on the right) came.  Elder and Sister Black are on the left.  We had a great time!  I also want to tell a little about the temple missionary couples serving here with us.  We'll continue some more in a future post so you can see all of them.  President and Sister Galbraith will have served in either Russia or Ukraine for almost 8 years.  It will be 8 by the time they go home next November.  They are both spiritual and do a great job of furthering the temple work in this part of the world.  Kay and Dan Black are from Sugar City, Idaho.  They have been neighbors of the Galbraiths for many years and were the ones responsible--to a certain extent--in our being asked to come here.  They have been our guides in most everything and have made our adjustment very smooth.  Kay and your mom were best friends through high school, so it has been fun to catch up on things after so many years!

The Metro (subway) here is something else.  The escalators are very, very long.  As you may be able to tell by the lights below as they stretch out of sight in the distance. This is my attempt to give you a feel for it.  Pres. and Sister Ball are first counselor and assistant matron and are from Idaho Falls.  They were also with us at Babi Yar.
She is the sweets' fairy who is always leaving wonderful cinnamon rolls, brownies, or rolls by the doors of all the couples.  Pres. Ball is a mover and accomplishes whatever needs to get done.  He's a wonderful leader.  I knew him briefly at the University of Idaho many years ago.  They were both pilots and Pres. Ball can tell some hair-raising stories about landing on dirt air strips in the primitive areas of Idaho.

We are excited to be serving in the temple during the Christmas season.  We are having such an incredible experience here.  We love the people who come and they love us back.  We know that we are all in the Lord's House and we feel the spirit so strongly.  God lives and loves us and knows our needs.  Even though the temple has only been here for 2 years, the local temple workers are very competent and dedicated to making each visit a memorable experience for everyone who comes.  We look forward to celebrating the Savior's birth and rejoice in His atonement and resurrection.  May we all follow His commandments.

Love, Mom & Dad (Grandma & Grandpa)  . 

Zach's 1st pinewood derby

Zach had a fun time and did quite well (#2 of 20) in his first pinewood derby. Pictures and video below.

 We've had some wonderful temple experiences during the last few weeks.  This first picture is of  Fatih Yilmaz Parlar.  He is from Istanbul, Turkey.  He joined the church about 7 years ago in Denmark and just came to the temple for the first time to complete his own endowments.  He does not speak Russian but does speak some English, so I was given the opportunity to be his host while he was here.  He tried to absorb everything while he was here, so paid close attention to everything and asked a lot of questions.  Sometimes we could not communicate very well, but we tried.  He had dinner with us after spending the day at the temple so we got to take his picture.  Before he left, he asked if he could pray for us.  We couldn't understand anything and we suppose that he was speaking Turkish.  He told us that there are a number of church branches in Istanbul, although none of them are large.  We asked him what church assignments he had held and he said, "Everything; in a small branch you get lots of assignments." 
A week ago, we had three couples from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, who came to spend 2 days serving at the temple.  It took a day for them to fly here and this is the closest temple.  We were surprised to learn that they have a Stake there.  Of the three couples, one is a bishop and one is the stake executive secretary.  The bishop is an area sales manager for Ford Motor in that part of the world.

Winter is coming  but before the weather got too cold, we had the opportunity to spend a sunny day in the center part of Kiev along the Dnieper River. The bank of the river on the West side has an elevation of several hundred feet above the level of the river and afforded some great views.  As we came out of the subway, there was an entrance to a tram called the Funiculer that went to the top of the hill.  It was an interesting experience to ride it.  One car was at the top when the other was at the bottom.  they were pulled by a cable and passed in the middle.  I could not figure out how the crossover worked even though I took a picture of it.

 After getting off the tram, there were several large orthodox cathedrals at the top, some nice parks, and other government buildings.  The cathedrals had large gold-covered domes as well as lots of gold inside.  Women can't go in unless they have their heads covered so Ruth covered her head with a large tissue as she had no scarf.  She received a few funny looks, but they did let us in. (She has since purchased a scarf for such occasions.)

The river is quite large as you can see from this picture and reminds me of the Mississippi River near St. Louis.  It bisects Ukraine in a north-south direction, flowing into the Black Sea.  It's possible to travel by boat from Kiev down into the Black Sea.

From near the cathedral pictured above, you can look south along the river bank and see additional monuments.  The one pictured here is about a half mile away and my telephoto lens doesn't give high resolution to this arch that is somewhat like the one in St. Louis. We didn't have time to go south but we understand there are quite a few additional monuments so in the spring we can have another outing.

 Here is one to the major Ukraine government buildings.  We didn't get to go in, but understand that it is the Parliament Building.  The statue in front is of Anna, the wife of Prince Vladimir, the ruler of Ukraine in 988 a.d.  We don't yet know much about the history of Ukraine, but were told that the 2 monks on the right were heavily involved in the development of the Slavic alphabet and in the language that is used here. 

 This is another beautiful cathedral just behind the parliament building to the north.  Anna and Vladimir played a major role in getting these buildings built and in bringing Christianity to Ukraine.  Although Christianity was greatly suppressed during the Communist rule of Ukraine, it persisted and has somewhat recovered.  This is likely one of the reasons so many people are willing to listen to the missionaries and then become strong members of the Church.of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is a close-up picture of the street that comes up the hill to the cathedrals and government buildings.  Although is has a Ukrainian name, it is also known as Tithing Street.  The street is very rough and very steep.  When wagon or cart loads of goods were brought to the top of the hill, many items fell off.  They were declared the property of the Orthodox Church and were called tithing.  Along the sides of this street little street-side vending shops called renuks have been set up and cater to the tourists.  I think you can find most any item of interest to a visitor ranging from paintings, wood carvings, clothing, fur hats, military relics, etc.  Please come and visit us and we'll take you to spend your money.

This is a p.s. from Mom.  You better come see us since your father (brother, brother-in-law, etc.) said he'd take you shopping!  That will be a wonder in and of itself since he loves shopping and spending his money so much.  Dan and Kay Black have been wonderful to take us to see the fun sites they have discovered.  There is still more to see, as was mentioned above.  I suspect we could go every week for our entire mission and not see it all.  However, that is not our main purpose for being here, so we don't want to get too carried away.

We are looking forwarding to the Dnepropetrovsk Mission and more members from Rostov this week.  Rostov was just here this past week and it was a neat experience to serve with them.  They brought about six deaf members who were so diligent and took part in everything.  It was great to serve them!  Life is wonderful.  We are blessed daily to be serving with such wonderful saints and to feel the Spirit daily in the Temple!  Be sure to take advantage of the wonderful blessings of the temple.  They are so readily available to you that you may not make as much effort as would be beneficial.  We love you all and bear our testimonies that this is the work of the Lord.  His gospel is the only way to true and lasting happiness.  In it we can find the solutions to all of the problems in our lives.  Remember, it is through difficulties and trials that we grow and are polished and refined.

Love,
Dad & Mom (Grandpa & Grandma, etc.)

October 2012 in Kiev

 October has been a beautiful autumn month in Ukraine and we are beginning to adjust to conditions here and to the language.  This post is just a wide spectrum of little things that we've found interesting.  This first picture is a sign on the side of a little shop on the sidewalk in downtown Kiev.  It is written in the Ukrainian language.  It seems that just about half of the signs are in the Ukraine language, with Russian signs coming in second, and the remainder being in English or some combination of all three languages.  I think that you can probably figure out that this sign says "3 bears."

Just down from the temple about a block is a turnout in the busy Ring Road that runs around the outer southern edge of the city.  This picture shows a car in the turnout with a sign taped on the back.  The driver comes almost everyday and sits in his car all day long so that people can see the sign as they drive along the road.  He just sits there looking at his cell phone, whether the weather is hot or cold.  When I took this picture it was a warm sunny day so the passenger-side door was open just a little way.  I can't imagine how he can endure sitting there hour after hour, day after day.  We missionaries speculate on how he makes money or what he does to pass the time while he is there.  

 There are almost no speed limit signs in the city so we asked a taxi driver about the absence of traffic signs and his response was that in the city you can drive 60 km per hour if you can go that fast.  We never see a policeman giving tickets, but we do see them taking care of traffic accidents.  Accidents on this road happen almost daily within just a few blocks of the temple.  When it's really busy drivers line up together very closely and also change lanes without warning.  We are thankful that we don't need to drive. The Metro (or subway) costs 25 cents and is a quick way to go longer distances--like downtown.

 Buses come in many sizes, shapes, and colors.  They provide the major method for getting around in the local area.  It costs between 18 and 37 cents to ride the bus and you can go as far as you like for one price, but if you change buses you pay the fare again.  The bus that you need usually comes along about every 10 to 15 minutes, so it is not necessary to consult a bus schedule to find out when the next one will arrive.  They fill the bus until no more passengers can squeeze on and if you stand back, you could be waiting for quite a few buses to come, so you just go with the flow.  The bigger buses have someone to collect the fare, but the ones this size expect you to pass your money along from person to person until it reaches the driver.  We just  send the money forward.  It always gets there safely and if you have change coming back, it does also.  Passengers are very honorable about sending along the bus fare, but, you have to watch your wallet.  Two of our missionaries had their pockets picked during October and between them lost several hundred dollars including credit cards and identification documents.

This picture was taken in a large park-like area where the Ukraine people commemorate the loss of life during World War II.  When the German soldiers arrived the first thing they did was round up the Jews and tell them they were being moved away from Kiev and that they needed to bring all of their valuable possessions and walk into the city.  As they arrived, everything was taken from them including their clothes, and they were shot.  On two days about a week apart more than 100,000 were killed with more than half of them being women and children.  Many of the local people also lost their lives when they failed to follow strict instructions.

 On a happier subject, the full-time temple missionaries have dinner together one time each month on a Monday evening.  There are three U.S. couples who serve as the temple presidency and matrons, four additional U.S. couples, one Russian couple and one Ukrainian couple. In addition, the temple recorder and his wife attend to translate for the two Russian speaking couples.  The two Russian speaking sisters are dressed in a local costume and served a very nice meal during October.

Just like all temples throughout the world, the grounds are nicely cared for.  Even though it will soon be time for snow, we have beautiful fall flowers and crab apples on the ornamental trees around the temple. 

We are really enjoying our time here and are very impressed with the local saints.  There are over 100 temple workers who come from the Kiev Stake.  Last week we attended stake conference in a large rented auditorium down town that was nearly filled with members.  As we came and went, everyone around us shook our hands or said "hi" and most of the temple workers went out of their way to greet us.

 

On Sunday evening one of the first couples to join the church here, the Chemesovs, talked to us about their conversion.  It was interesting because Brother Chemesov was the first of them to accept the gospel.  His wife was away visiting her parents with their two sons.  He met the missionaries on the street and they asked him if he would like to talk about God. He told them he would and gave them his address.  At the appointed time they failed to show up--having not copied down the apartment number in a building with 600 apartments.  He later saw them on the street and asked them why they hadn't come.  They told him and made arrangements to meet again.  He accepted what they taught, read the Book of Mormon in two weeks and decided to be baptized.  When he met his wife at the train on her return, he told her he had some news.  He was very happy and very different (according to his wife's impression when she saw him) and she was quite concerned.  He told her he was going to be baptized.  That shocked her as they had been baptized into an orthodox church when they were young.  She asked him "why and when?" and he told her in about two hours.  Needless to say, she was upset.  When the missionaries came for him, they didn't invite her to the baptism or anything.   She said she stood glaring at them with her arms folded when they came in.  She sent her older son--15 years old--to go with him in case they meant him some harm.  She was very curious why he would be gone so long.  They both came home happy and it really upset her.  She decided to go to the church with them to find out what was going on.  She was a linguist, so in order to get her to read the Book of Mormon, they suggested she could perhaps read through it and tell them what she thought.  She got out her red pencil and marked it up.  She didn't really read it for content at all.  They were quite sad when she told them she thought it was a poorly written book.  Long story short, the missionaries read to her some passages about the "pure" waters of Mormon and the baptisms of Alma.  She said when she heard the word "pure," it touched her heart and she felt something she'd never felt before.  She ended up joining the Church and being baptized by her husband.  The boys were also baptized.  Her parents basically disowned them for joining the Church but they went ahead.  It was heartbreaking for her as they had been very close, but through Chemesovs' example they eventually made up with them.  This was in 1992 and they have been stalwarts ever since. 

We feel blessed to be serving with such wonderful missionaries and with so many devoted Ukrainian members.  God lives and loves us and He blesses us in so many ways.  We need to stay close to the Spirit and heed its promptings so that we may be protected and guided.  We love you all and pray for your health and happiness.

Dad and Mom (Dale & Ruth)

Recent activities for Riverton Hansens

Our exciting news is Ashley getting her learner's permit to enable her to start driving.  Be glad you are in Ukraine!

I enjoyed attending the Washington DC temple while on a business trip to Bethesda, MD recently.  It was beautiful, and was a great experience.

We love you and are glad you are doing so well!

This past couple of weeks have been very busy.  Grandma Hansen passed away on September 25th and her funeral was in Archer, Idaho, on October 5th.  It was good to be with the family to honor her.  We will miss her and having her influence in our lives.  However, we are sure she is having an incredible reunion and we are happy for her.

We left Kyiv on September 30 and returned on October 8.  It was an arduous trip, due to the fact we had only been in Ukraine four weeks!  Our clocks are beginning to be on the current time, but it has been an adjustment.  It is good to be back on our mission!

We are posting a few photos taken when we first arrived.  We will try to add new ones in a few days.

This is a side view of the temple, taken when we first arrived.  The fall flowers were not yet in bloom, so we will take pictures soon and get them posted.  The temple is very beautiful!

 This is the side view of the building where we live.  That is the entrance we use most frequently to enter our building.  The center windows on the bottom and to the left of the arch are our living room and bedroom windows.  The temple missionaries live above and to the left of us.  The Patrons who come to the temple stay in the upstairs rooms to the right of the arched entrance.  Their cooking facilities are on the main floor beneath their dorm rooms.

This is the Church and you can see our building to the back of the Church.  As you can see, we don't have far to walk to church.  The Kyiv Ukraine Mission office is in the end of the Church nearest to our building.

This is part of our living room.  There are a loveseat and a couple of chairs to the right of this picture.












This is, obviously, the kitchen area.  It is open into the living room area.  All are Bosch appliances and are nice.  You see the end of
the refrigerator on the right. The microwave is next to it.

Dad thought you needed to see our bedroom.  It is a king-sized bed and the room is actually quite large.  There is a small table across from the foot of the bed and we have lots of space.  It is very comfortable.



We loving serving here!  We enjoy the friendship of the other couples serving here with us.  There are eight American couples (including the temple presidency), a couple from the eastern area of Ukraine and one from Russia.  We will soon be posting some pictures of them (rhe Russian-speaking couples) and a wonderful dinner we had with them on Monday evening.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing in any of our lives.  It is our VERY life and we hope all of us will strive to become like Him.  At this time in the world, we need to stay very close to the Lord and be worthy to receive the promptings of the Holy Ghost in everything we do.

Congratulations, Joseph, on your baptism.  We were sorry not to be there but we have heard that it was a wonderful baptism.  We are proud of you for wanting to join Christ's church and be a faithful member.  We love you very much!


We love you all and hope some of you will post to share your activities with all of us!

Love,
Mom & Dad (aka Sister & Elder Hansen, Ruth & Dale)