Celebrating

Birthdays come no matter where one might happen to be.  I arrived at the office Thursday morning to find my desk covered with flowers surrounding a lovely Ukranian torte baked by Sister Lydia.  My amazing husband had successfully kept me unaware that he had even remembered by enlisting the aid of Sister Ward and Sister Paletta who shopped for him.  They bought sweaters for me which have a definite feel of Ukraine.  They are perky, cheerful, glittery sweaters that neither he nor I would have picked out, but wearing them will be a fun, new experience!

 Birthdays are important in Ukraine and gift-giving is observed between family and close friends.  Gifts are not extravagant as the giving is what is important.  I received flowers from Aleksey and Dima and Tatyana, from  Elder McArthur and Elder Pulsipher and from my husband.  Flowers are a big thing here, and they are a great way to show that you care.  Ladies sit along the streets selling flowers from first snow-melt until.....well, I don't know when they fold up their flower displays.    

Makeevka Branch President Vladimir and his wife Galena have been in Kiev at the temple all week,  but they called from there and both sang "Happy Birthday" in English.  (Galena knows only limited English, so it was a very extra special thing to have her sing to me in that unfamiliar language.)  When they did return to Donetsk they brought written birthday wishes from the temple presidency on the back of a large picture of the Kiev temple.  

 Sweet Sister Ludmilla from Donetsk Branch gave me necklaces, President and Sister Campero gave me a Bolivian leather purse.  The office Elders printed out a funny card for me and our zone leaders wrote really touching birthday notes and each brought a VERY long-stemmed (about 30") rose.   We celebrated by sharing Sister Lydia's torte.  I felt very remembered. 

 

We left the office at 1:00 pm and came home to meet Brat Valentine who had called and said he had to talk to us. 

He is a collector. and he brought two Soviet medals and some old Ukranian and Soviet currency and coins for me as a birthday gift.

"I was speaking with my Heavenly Father this morning," he said, "and he told me that it was your birthday."

Then, later when Valentina, our landlady, stopped by to collect the rent she surprised me with a kiss and some lovely lacy table linens, and Elder Hatch and I both began to wonder who else "He" had been talking to.

 We spent the remainder of the afternoon doing whatever I wanted -- walking and exploring.   It was really a very lovely day and by the time it was over I had concluded that since another birthday must come and go, this really was a good way to do it.