Merry Christmas...С Рождеством!

Christmas Thoughts

As I pen this blog it is almost evening.  It's been dark for an hour.  Vivian is in the kitchen putting our Christmas dinner together...FAJITAS!  What did you expect...a Christmas ham!  She's making tortillas from scratch.  This is quite a feat since some ingredients she's use to having in the U.S. are not available in Ukraine.  She will have to tell you all about it.

Elder Lundquist and Elder Hatch, who live in our apartment building, will be joining us for dinner.  It will be a very low-key affair.  Their primary purpose is to come and use our computer to Skype with their families this evening.  They are limited to 90 minutes each.  If I remember correctly when our boys where on their missions they were limited to 30 minutes for their Christmas phone call...no Skype available then.  Although I do remember one long-distance Christmas call from a distant country exceeding the 30 minutes limit.  For those curious about this please feel free to contact Mrs. Jenny Foley of Benicia, California.

This Christmas has been and will be different from any of the last 45 for us.  I was feeling very blue about the whole thing yesterday but found my spirits lifted this morning as I felt the Savior's love for me and experienced one of those tender moments.  After doing my daily reading in the Book of Mormon I started to get ready for the day.  I streamed the First Presidency Christmas Fireside for 2017 as background.  As I listened to the messages and the music the wonderful Mormon Tabernacle Choir I slowly felt my heart being softened.  As I knelt by my beside I felt the tears streaming down my face as I contemplated Heavenly Father's great gift to us all - He sent His Son to earth to redeem us and to bear our burdens.  As I prayed I felt the burden of homesickness being lifted from my shoulders replaced with great joy in knowing I have a loving Brother who knows me, cares for me and understands me.  What a wonderful Christmas gift that keeps giving and giving.  I love Him and know I can never repay Him.  All I can do is serve Him by serving the people Ukraine in sharing his love and concern form them.  

Christmas in Ukraine

This is the first time Ukraine will have December 25 as a national holiday according to the Gregorian calendar.  They have now joined the majority of the Christian world, including Europe in celebrating Christmas on this date.

Ukraine has always celebrated Christmas on January 7 according to the Julian calendar and will continue to honor that as a national holiday as well.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wished the Ukrainians a Merry Christmas, saying he is going to celebrate Christmas twice, today and on January 7.

Christmas Happenings

Vivian and I have been kept very busy with a variety of activities...

• Thursday, 12/21 - Elder and Sister Bingham hosted the other three senior missionary couples and President and Sister Kumferman, in an evening of food and games.  We ate street tacos until we could eat no more (corn tortillas from U.S.).  Wonderful desserts (chocolate tort cake with ice cream).  Sang Happy Birthday to Sister Kumferman.  Played a new card game introduced to us by the Haldemans (Five Crowns).  Had a great time and then called it an evening.  
• Friday, 12/22 - Vivian and I took the Metro to Ocean Plaza Mall for dinner at the Food Court and window shopping.  Had Chinese noodles and warm Cokes (they don't serve the drinks over ice here in Ukraine).  Saw a lot of beautiful stores (high end and expensive) and a lot of beautiful people. 
• Saturday, 12/23 - participated in the Kyiv Stake Christmas Concert.  We sang with the choir - Deck the Halls (in English), a Ukrainian Christmas song (in Ukrainian) but I don't remember the name and Silent Night (also in Ukrainian).  There were a lot of others in the concert, mostly young men and women and children.  There were many talented musicians and it was a wonderful evening.
• Sunday, 12/24 - Combined Sacrament Meetings with the Kyiv Branch-English Speaking and the Borschahivskyi Ward (Ukrainian speaking).  The meeting was conducted in both Ukrainian and English, the prayers, sacrament prayers and congregational singing all done in Ukrainian.  The sacrament meeting service was reading scriptures and text about the First Christmas ( the temple senior couples did this in English).  Also to compliment the reading/scriptures were various musical numbers including from the Primary (3 girls and their teacher).  Vivian and I sang with the senior missionary choir.  I also got to sing a duet with Elder Hahn, a senior missionary working in the temple.   In the evening we called Mark and his family and enjoyed reuniting with them and sharing some of their Christmas spirit.  I had been feeling quite blue but the phone call picked up my spirits. 
• Monday 12/25 - Christmas Day.  Opened our group gift from our family - a wonderful Shutterly photo book entitled "Foley Grandkids 2017 Sweet pictures for sweet grandparents".  What an utter thrill to get this heartfelt gift.  This is a gift that will keep on giving throughout the coming year. We miss them all so much.  We then went to the Borshahivskyi Ward for a Ukrainian lunch and Christmas program.  Very nice way to spend part of Christmas.  Vivian made a tossed salad for 50 people; two other senior sisters also did so the salad was for 150 people.  We then went back to our apartment to get ready for Christmas dinner with the full-time elders who live in our building.  Vivian served fajitas with home made flour tortillas.  It was great.  The elders took turns using our laptop to Skype with their families.  It was fun to see their excitement and their parents' joy in reuniting with their sons.  They left at 10 pm then Vivian and I Skyped/Facetimed/Google Hungout with the remaining Foley sons and their families.  What a joy it was to see them all and share in their Christmas.  We finished with them about 12:45 am, the day after Christmas.  I then called my brother Craig who was enjoying Christmas with his family in California and my cousin Darlene who lives in Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island who was working at the Coupeville Inn on Christmas Day.  

Pictures for those of you who managed to hang on until the end...

A winter wonderland outside our window

The 7 days before Christmas we had three days of snow giving Kyiv a very nice White Christmas

Our apartment.  We live on the 5th Floor

Here come the Christmas trees

And the word is out...more trees for Christmas

When will the trees stop coming...

Happy Family.  Toddler getting carried and tree gets the ride on the sled.

Senior couple missionaries - tacos, Five Crowns and lots of laughs...

Elder and Sister Bingham hosted the Kyiv senior couple missionaries and the Kyiv Mission President and his wife at a Christmas party the Thursday before Christmas.  Although the pictures are not so great I believe they capture the joy of the evening...

Above are Elder and Sister Haldeman from Las Vegas.  They are dynamite Humanitarian Aid missionaries.  As you can tell they are the life of the party.  There were no lamp shades to wear but who need them?

Above, on the couch President Kumferman (Ed) with Sister Kumferman (Karen) to his right, Sister Haldeman (Joyce) on the left with back to camera, Elder Bingham (Dr. Brent)to the right with his wife Sister Bingham (Karen) partially hidden.

Above, Sister Foley (Vivian) on the right, Elder Haldeman (Steve) to her right, Elder Andrus (Rolfe) with back to camera and Sister Andrus (Merrilee) to his left.

The Kyiv Ukraine Stake Christmas Concert

Vivian with a new little friend, Yuri.  He's wearing a traditional Ukrainian shirt

Primary Children.  For my LDS friends notice the stage.  It's the stand in our chapel.  The benches are not bolted down.  They just moved all the benches to the cultural hall, brought in the light and sound system and viola!  You have a performing stage.  One of our senior missionaries was having a hard time digesting this kind of use of the chapel.  We just told her "Welcome to Ukraine."

Look at all the recorders and the director with the drum.  I particularly liked the music stands...colors of the Ukrainian flag.

 I particularly liked this picture.  Very colorful.  Very Ukrainian

 I posted this picture particularly for my good friend and vocal coach, Ron Pickett.  Quite a voice for this little girl.  Her face reminded me of my granddaughter, Maggie.

 I loved these wonderful missionaries letting their hair down and having some fun.  The elder on the right and his companion were accosted at knife point the next evening while talking to people on the street.  Too bad.  All that was lost were their missionary name tags.  Fortunately they were not hurt but pretty shaken up.  The Lord looks out for these fine young people who are selflessly giving of their time and talents and their love for the Ukrainian people.

 Christmas 2017

Bishop Gakalenko, Borschahivskyi Ward welcomes us to the Christmas Day meal and program.  I liked Ukrainian shirt he's wearing.

 A view from the back of the cultural hall.  If you look closely you can find Vivian in the crowd

 There she is with other senior missionaries...Andruses at the head of the table with Sister Bingham in the foreground, right.

 President Kumferman and his daughter, Maggie, sang a duet as part of the program.  A real treat.  He is just a great man and so willing to give everything he has to his wonderful missionaries.  Plus, he speaks impeccable Russian.  He's a professor of Russian at BYU Idaho.  Go figure.

 Elder Lundquist from Alpine, Utah
Elder Hatch from Clinton, Utah

These two elders are examples of the fine missionaries in the Ukraine Kyiv Mission.  It was a real pleasure to have them spend their Christmas evening with us.

If you look hard you can see me in the dark shadows of this Christmas tree in front of Ocean Plaza in Kyiv.  It's still the Christmas season in Ukraine until after January 7.  

 "God bless us, every one!"