EPHESUS, TURKEY--LAND OF PAUL AND JOHN THE APOSTLES

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NOVODEVICHY CEMETERY

If you want to be immortalized then come to Russia and be entombed in the Novodevichy Cemetery located adjacent to the Novodevichy Convent.  Within the walls of this cemetery lie important people in Russian politics, entertainment, literary and military heroes, etc. 

Grave site of a famous Russian circus clown

Famous Russian writer and his dog take time for a brief interlude among the flowers and in the shade of the trees

Lovers lost??

The wall of urns lines all four 15 foot walls of the cemetery

Shady walkways between grave sites make for easy navigation.  Each plot is individualized and separated by bricks or other barriers between each grave site.

Miniature tank to remember a war hero

This statue was beautiful, feminine, and peaceful to honor a former ballerina

Nikita Khruschchev's memorial

Walkway down the center of the cemetary

A famous literary figure immortalized in bronze and forever thinking up new and exciting plots!

Typical wreths of flowers on a grave site of a military figure

A cosmonaut forever captured in bronze

A wooden memorial

NOVODEVICHY CONVENT

Novodevichy  Convent was built in the 1500's and miraculously survived the Soviet period where thousands of churches and other religious sites were destroyed.  This is one of the corner towers.

Procession that was held after the convent was restored following Soviet days and reopened to the public

One of the original towers that has not yet been restored

The golden "onion" domes of the Cathedralof our Lady of Smolensk located inside the walls of the convent.

Another view of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk.

Some kind of prayer wall located inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk cathedral. It is VERY gold with pictures of different saints and other religious icons.

The top of the bell tower located inside the convent.

Bottom of the bell tower that has largely not been restored.

Gate Church of the Intercession located inside the convent walls.  There are two main churches on the grounds.

Paintings inside the Gate Church of the Interecession that is still being restored.

 

This white building is where the nuns who work in the convent reside.

Old picture of nuns standing by an old wooden church located nearby

The backside view of a small prayer chapen inside the convent

Looking inside the small prayer chapel where you can light a candle and pray for the "repose of the souls of the departed."

Door and window located in the walls of the convent

Place inside the convent where nobility resided when banished to the convent.  The fortress like walls surrounding the convent reflect the purpose of sequestering daughters, sisters, and wayward wives of the nobility.  Peter the Great banished his sister and first wife to this convent.

School for female students in the 17-1800's.  There was also an orphanage located on the grounds at one time.

Hospital that was once a part of the convent

The grounds of the convent are well cared for, serene, and peaceful.  Beautiful flowers and grass with benches to sit and meditate dot the grounds.  Some people were buried right on the grounds of the convent.

NRT IN KYRGASTAN AND KAZAKHSTAN JUNE/JULY 2011

Walking through the park on our way home from a long day of NRT training in Kyrgastan.

 Statue in the park on our way to and from the hospital in Kyrgastan.

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Sister Bennett (short-term specialist), Sister Maxwell (humanitarian missionary in Kazakhstan, and Sis Patterson sharing a brief break in the action.

Dinner with the Merrill family who live in Kyrgastan with their 3 boys.  Native dishes whetted our appetites.

 Jyldez, Kyrgie member of the church (one of only 6), E/S Maxwell, and E/S Patterson

Jyldez is a dynamite person to have on your team.









 

 Our NRT graduating class!  About 50 doctors were trained in this session alone.  We met in the basement of a hospital.

 Statue outside of the hospital where NRT training was held in Kazakstan.

 View of the Caspian Sea from our hotel in Aktau, Kazakhstan.  Very desert climate with no green and lots of sand.

Getting the training tables ready for NRT in Atarau, Kazakstan.  The weather was hot, hot, and humid.  No air conditioning.

Picture hanging in the hotel foyer in Kazakhstan.  We wanted to take it home to our daughter, Alesa.  She would like it!

 Dinner at a Turkish Restaurnt in Kazakhstan.  The food was fab, the company superb, and the atmosphere delightful.

View out of the window of our hotel room in Kazakhstan.  They had lots of round-abouts in Kazakhstan.

 This was the beach along the river in Atarau, Kazakhstan.  The river divides the city in half--one side is the Asian side; the other the European side.  It was a hot hot day and people were enjoying a cool respite from the heat.

Elder Patterson basking in the heat of NRT training in Kazakhstan.  Someone must have tempted him with a cool drink of water

Sister Patterson and Sister Maxwell enjoying a "sister" moment.  The Maxwell's are from California, sold their home before coming on their mission, and will move to Alaska to live by their only daughter when they finish their mission.  She is full Chinese but grew up in Tahiti.  She speaks French, Chinese (understands better than she speaks), and English.  Everyone thought she was a native and kept trying to talk to her in the natiave language.  Eld Maxwell served his mission to Tahiti where they met.

OUR TRIP TO UKRAINE

Food production Project - Pilot Program in Ukraine - Chickens and Ducks as part of the project

Little ducklings in Oleg's yard



Oleg, the Food Project Manager (garden in the background).  Ukraine is a soil rich country but the farming methods are old and the yield is not as good as it should be.  This country has 25% of the world's top soil; some top soil going as much as 25 feet deep with no rocks!



Oleg's little daughter and her kitten

Curious local residents wanting to see what these "feriners" were up to!!  They followed us clear out into the fields that we were looking at.

Plowing the food production garden

Interesting Russian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Monument to the Jews killed in Kharkiv - 1941

Another view of this interesting church building

Sis Patterson and E/S Burr looking at the local art fair

Sis Patterson and E/S Burr from Orem

Interesting Church. . .again.  You'd think I'd get the pictures in a more proper order!

Going into the church with our heads covered

Inside the church; many altars of different types inside the church

War memorial to mothers who lost family members in WW II.

Inscription at the Holocost Memorial

Our Jewish taxi driver, Anton.  A wonderful man.  This memorial was very personal for him.

Member Lena and 2 of her children.  The church will dig a well on her property and also provide some fruit trees for her.

Elder and Sister Patterson resting in the Kyiv city center park

The Ukraine Kyiv Temple - absolutely beautiful

Elder and Sister Patterson, Sasha (our translator) and Vika (Sasha's fiance)

Ukraine Kyiv Temple situated on a hill overlooking a very busy street.  The grounds are beautiful and the local people are fascinated by them because it is so different from the grounds surrounding their local buildings.