Conference in Yalta

Last week we met with the mission president and the other senior missionary couples in our mission for a couples conference in Yalta.  Yalta is a gorgeous town on the coast of the Black Sea.  Very many tourists during the summer - in fact we've seen pictures in National Geographic showing wall to wall bodies on the beach in the summer.  It is also very historic as this is the location of meetings between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin in 1945 to decide the fate of war-torn Europe.  

We traveled six hours by train and then one and one-half hours by bus to get there. We got to talk a lot with Paige from Va, who has been in Ukraine for two years with the Peace Corps.  She asked many questions, so I think we gave her all of the discussions during our ride :)  Her father is a Presbyterian minister.  

Compartment mates - one Ukrainian lady and a Peach Corps Volunteer .

Our train compartment.

More Ukrainian countryside viewed from train window.

Ukrainian countryside viewed from train window

We had conference meetings in the morning - always very inspiring, and went sightseeing in the afternoons, followed by a group get-together in the evenings.  

Conference Room

First a couple of thoughts from President van Bruggen during the conference:  

Often missionaries say something like, "The Lord sent me here or there on a mission."  In reality, the Lord didn't "send" us, He brought us here, and He is still here.

"The position you're in right now, where you have more time to study the scriptures and more time to devote to serving, you're walking very closely to the Lord - you're in a place right now to receive revelation more than any other time in your life."

From the area presidency:  "The Lord is hastening His work here."

Afternoon Adventures:

On Monday, after a long day of travel, we walked along the boardwalk.

Have you ever seen a fancier McDonald's?  They also have a "walk-up (not drive-up) take-out" window.

Every city has a Lenin statue.

Plenty of things for kids to do along the boardwalk.

Notice the fake pirates in these two photos?

On Tuesday, we all toured the Livatia Palace where the talks mentioned above took place.

Livatia Palace

The "Big Three"

Churchill - England, Roosevelt - USA, Stalin-USSR

Us

View from Livatia Palace and interesting entertainer on the grounds.

Evening stroll...

Famous restaurant

McDonalds "Express" (can you read the sign?) as mentioned before.  No, we're not eating there; we're just buying ice cream cones.   (That's not me in the black and white - I'm taking the picture.)

Boats on the Black Sea

On Wednesday afternoon we had lunch in a fabulous place and then some of us took a cable car ride to the top of a 1900 foot mountain.  Beautiful!

On the way up.

At the top.

What a view!

Handsome guy I found up there!

Swallows Nest Castle - Symbol of Crimea

President and Sister van Bruggen at the restaurant.  Notice the cool server uniform  in the background.

View from the restaurant

Views from our balcony...

Interesting roadside stand on the way home - selling Yalta onions, honey and bottled goods.

View of Black Sea from car window on a cloudy morning.

Yalta purple onions hanging.

I loved the light shining through all the jars.

Arriving back in Kherson after a great trip.

They have very long, and very full trains here.