It has been an interesting and full couple of weeks since my last post. KLynn and I spent a few days in Kyiv again last week. I had meetings with lawyers and accountants on Thursday afternoon relating to the legal structure for the patron housing at the Temple. KLynn flew in and joined me on Friday. (We had a visit from Galina Hyde for a few days that week, which is why KLynn didn't fly out on Thursday. Galina is originally from St. Petersburg, and we became friends at the Russian Branch in SLC. It was nice to see her here. Galina went with KLynn to the market and explained some Russian things to her, which was helpful, and we had pleasant visits in the evenings.)

Moving right along, on Friday we met with some humanitarian aid volunteers and later met Michael and Dawn Sorokine at the Temple (Michael was our Branch President in SLC). We were joined by some Ukrainians who had visited Salt Lake with Open World. "Judge Natalia" left her family vacation early in Crimea to come see us, which was very touching. She brought KLynn and Dawn some beautiful flowers. We took the Temple tour, had a catered dinner at the patron housing facility, and had a good visit. Judge Natalia has invited us to visit her at her home sometime, and we want to do that.

Saturday morning I met with more lawyers to talk about some Church legal matters, and that afternoon KLynn and I did some Christmas shopping and exploring. Kyiv is really a charming city! Saturday evening we had dinner with Steve and Lorraine Swift, who are some of our favorite people. They leave for home in a few weeks and we will miss them. Steve is a senior U.S. Tax Judge, and he will start hearing cases again when they return home. KLynn and I returned to Moscow early Sunday.

Work has been busy this week, and it feels good to relax today. This evening we will watch the televised "Cultural Event" celebration for the Kyiv Temple dedication, and Sunday we will attend a televised dedicatory session here in Moscow. We would have gone to Kyiv for the dedication, but we had already been there twice this month, and anyway we didn't want to occupy a seat in the Temple for the dedication. Those seats are for the local members.

KLynn has set up a cushioned chair in a corner of our bedroom, and from there you can look out through big picture windows at a beautiful birch forest. We live in a very pretty place, and we have much to be thankful for.

Bob