Mikkelsen Muzings: 2016-07-10

Week of July 4-10, 2016
Well what a week. There are those times on a senior mission where you struggle to find things to do well this was not one of those weeks. What a blessing it is to serve these wonderful people! We are the ones getting the blessings. We have never been happier. The sad note is that our days are numbered. Today we are going to deregister with our landlord. When you are in country you have to register your living location and it takes a while so we are in the process of preparing to leave the country even though we still have a month left. Today we are actually talking with our replacements, Elder and Sister Gibbons from the Provo Utah area.

New couple getting ready to enter the MTC
Welcome aboard to the Gibbons

They go into the MTC on the 19th of July. We are so excited for them. They are in for a life changing blessing. So, the quick senior missionary plug. Don't let us have all the fun. Jump in, the water is great. It might be a little shock when you first jump in but before you know it you are used to it and it just feels so refreshing. Go Senior Missionaries!!!!
Now on to the adventures of the week. Last week Sister Mikkelsen shared the fact that her mother was failing. She passed away Friday evening. Her sister Karen was there and testified that there were angles there to assist her to the other side of the vail. It is a difficult thing to lose someone so dear and loved. But suffering with a frail body in this life is difficult and death of the Physical body is a blessing that releases us to move into the the spirit world.

Winifred Jennens Petersen was quite the dancer

Beloved mother and grandmother. We will miss you

What a blessing it is to understand the Plan of Salvation and the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her funeral service will be on Tuesday and we will join the service via the miracle of the Internet. Not the same as being there but it is a blessing. Last night her bother and sisters all joined together on Google Hangout and prepared the program for the funeral. We will be represented by two of our sons and three daughter-in-laws. We appreciate their help at this difficult time.
The first part of the week was spent getting ready for the last part of the week. We had a FHE at our apartment on Wednesday and had 18 people show up for the lesson and games.

FHE Night

Sister Mikkelsen made a big raspberry cake with fresh fruit on top. We had three different tables playing different games all at the same time. These kids love to spend time together and just relax. It is alway fun to be with them. It keeps us young.

4th of July dinner

Little remodeling needed but what a grand building it was.

On Thursday we had a lot of preparation to do to get ready for the overnight campout that took place on Friday and Saturday. The idea of camping in Ukraine is just a little different than we are used to. In America, we load everything in a tuck or onto a trailer and head out to your chosen spot. The process is just a little different here. First, we had to go around to the different branches an gather up the equipment they have, several tents, foam pads, sleeping bags, and one cooking pot. We decided that we should have two pots so, we went to our favorite Renok and are now the proud owners of a tripod pot stand and large cooking pot.

New yummy potatoes

The new pot not quite as shiny as it was

It took several trips to get everything to the church. That was our staging area, plus, since we didn't have an ice chest, we had to cook and pre-freeze lots of stuff. The church fridge was the only one big enough to hold it all. We packed all of our cooking supplies in one rolling suitcase and then all the cold frozen items in another suit case. The the kids called our холодильик (pronounced Hall-a-dell-nik)which means refrigerator. It worked out great and everything stayed cold until we needed it. So, late Thursday night, we had most everything at the church and ready to go at 5 AM Friday morning. Two of the youth had to stay over night with us because the buses don't run that early in the morning. This worked out well because we then had someone that could order a taxi for us and get all of our stuff up the the train station.
Friday morning arrived, we made all of our connections and got all the stuff to the train station. We had to catch the morning train to федоровка (Fiyoldervka) This is not your normal high speed express train.

All aboard!!!

Getting ready to board the train

We are talking about the Electrichka, which is also know as the commoners train. The total cost to transport 11 people 5 hours was 273 UHA which is just a little over $10. The nice thing about getting on the train in Odesa is that it is the first station so we had lots of time to load all of our stuff. The train seating is composed of bench seats they are padded, somewhat.

being cool by our refrigerator

Packing it in the train

Riding with the kids is fun. We played lots of card games and studied and the 5 hours went really fast. When we arrived, the Branch President met us with his van. It took two trips to get us and all of our stuff out to the place we were staying.
Friday afternoon the kids set up the tents as best they could. We have all borrowed tents before and realize you have a lot more poles than you have tents, but finally we got 3 to work and then the kids went swimming while we fixed lunch.

Local swimming hole

When they came back, we had a nice lunch and then they had team building games. That evening the Local Branch President gave a wonderful fireside while we were cooking the Shashlik and rice dish.

President Hilibok, yes, wearing an Aggie shirt!!!

Fireside

Sister Mikkelsen made sure there were lots of treats and that evening before bed they cooked marshmallows and made S'mores.

Wild life near our campsite
The campsite is the future home of the
branch building, hopefully in a year.

The sleeping arrangements were interesting. We slept outside. The kids couldn't believe we were not in a tent. They were also a little short on sleeping bags. It was a good thing that we brought a blanket. We used that and an extra rain fly to keep us warm.
Saturday morning was fresh milk from the local cow and cooked oatmeal. They cook their oatmeal right in the milk. It is very tasty that way. After breakfast we had a service project. They worked on a local playground that the church Humanitarian Aid funded.

Church does things right

The crew at the playground

They cleaned it up and got it ready for the grand opening that will take place on Wednesday this week. We also helped clean a yard of one of our youth that has a home in the area. It was a jungle of weeds when we started but we soon whipped it into shape. Lunch was cooked by Elder Young. It was a village Mushroom Chicken recipe over rice.

Elder Young stirring the pot

It was very good and the kids finished off their lunch hour with a closing devotional. Then we got all packed up and headed back to the train station. This time we put 13 people and all of our gear in the Presidents van and we survived the trip.

inside the van first trip with only 9 in the van

The return train is a little different. It is the same train and since you are not at the originating station, when the train pulls into the station you have two minutes to get boarded. Well, with all of our stuff, I was a little concerned about getting on in time. As we got to the station, the platform was filled with people and cases and cases of fruit to transport to Odesa. I couldn't believe how fast they got everything on that train, including me! The first step is like about 3 feet off the ground. As I was getting into the train, I got a boast from the guy behind me. He didn't want to miss the train.
Well, there is so much more I should tell but we will leave it at this and let the pictures speak a few words for us. We love all of you and are grateful for your support. Have a wonderful week.
Love Elder and Sister Mikkelsen.