Chernobyl

Stanley wanted to go to Chernobyl while we were here in Ukraine and we were able to get a tour organized for us and 3 other couples. When we finished with the tour we all had to go through this check point to be checked for radiation. We checked out o.k. The explosion took place in 1986, they never did say how many people died because they tried to keep it a secret for a couple of days. There were about 50,000 people whom they evacuated in one day with 1500 buses.
This was a circus that they had just finished putting up but never was able to use it before they had to leave. It is bumper cars.
People can tolerate 50 micro rams and hour. This was taken behind the reactor
This is a picture of number 4 reactor that blew up. They put a cover over it and are still working to put a permanent cover over that and the water is the cooling pond for the reactors. There are huge catfish that live in this water, we asked, " how do they survive" and they said that they were just used to it and they are so big because of course know one can fish here.
These are barges that used to get materials in and out but everything was left the way it was. Even in the houses they left everything and was told not to take anything with them except the clothes on there backs.

Irina Klyuba and Alex Wedding

Irina and Alex. What a beautiful day for them and they make such a wonderful couple. They met while she was going to school in Germany then she fulfilled a mission for the church and he waited for her. They both speak English and German so they will do well. He doesn't speak Ukranian however. This took place on July 30th.
Her gown was beautiful and everything was perfect
This is their wedding bread, it was very fancy
This is where they were married in Ivano Frankivski which is the Government building and these people came to wish them well. After the wedding we went to a restaurant (below in video) we had a dinner for all that was there and they asked Elder Williams to say a few words which he did with a translator. Then everyone enjoyed dancing. We left in a taxi and her parents came running out with some cakes in a carton to give to us, her Mother is in blue, they were so sweet. There are a lot of traditions here that are interesting.

The important thing is they left the next day to go to Frieburg Germany to be sealed in the Temple.

Missionaries in Chernivtsi @ Lviv

Elder Higgins was transferred here in Lviv his last transfer. He was such a good missionary and a great person. "That's what I'm here for" was what he always told me after he did something for me. He came back about 3 weeks later to Ukraine with his brother, Tanner who they adopted when he was a baby from India, and his parents. This is him and Tanner who just turned 17 this day that we had dinner together at Dynamo Blues.
First one on the left is Elder Higgins then his family. We sure grow to love these missionaries.
These are our missionaries in Lviv. We finally got our Sisters back after about 3 weeks then Elder Allen our District Leader that does an awesome job his companion that I love to hear play the piano Elder Prawitt then our zone leaders Elder Fulton and Elder Ward. We sure don't know what we would do without them.
In Chernivtsi we have our right hand man Elder Gregoire, our District Leader Elder Horne, then Elder Betenson and our mini missionary Sasha. He isn't an Elder yet but he is getting ready to go on a mission.
Elder Gregoire baked a BETTY CROCKER cake so we could thank Sasha for his service before he left and went home. He was here for 3 weeks. Boy that cake tasted good, I had forgotten what they tasted like.