Feeling radioactive?

Organizing, filing and color-coding potential classes in various excel documents for 5 hours is not fun. I am a little stiff but this slightly painful experience has made me realize, my time here is really running short and it is almost time to go back to reality. Counting down has been my enemy. Five weeks to go. Woah. The last few weeks have been my most  difficult...minus that time I got my appendix out a while back. I cannot deny that I love it here because I really do. So far this experience has been so humbling. It literally has brought me to my knees everyday. I have been faced with the biggest trials of my life here. In light of the Easter weekend,  I have a pretty amazing friend who shared this quote with me;

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

Joseph B Wirthlin. October 2006 General Conference "Sunday Will Come"

Easter came, went and another week is gone. One week closer to home. More importantly, one week closer to sun and sand in Crimea:]

Five weeks to go. Post every week, I promise. 

Бабин Яр

[Babi Yar]

September 29th, 1941. 

33,771 Jews. 

5 minuets from home. 

I can't believe I have been living in Ukraine for three months and had no idea such a notorious, horrific event took place only a few miles from where I teach. 

Kikes of the city of Kiev and vicinity! On Monday, September 29, you are to appear by 08:00 a.m. with your possessions, money, documents, valuables, and warm clothing at Dorogozhitskaya Street, next to the Jewish cemetery. Failure to appear is punishable by death.'

– Order posted in Kiev in Russian and Ukrainian, on or around September 26, 1941.^[4

This massacre was considered to be the largest single massacre in the history of the holocaust. It is estimated that between 100,000- 150,000 MORE lives were taken at Babi Yar.  

Last weekend we had the opportunity to do a service project. Our branch was assigned to Babi Yar. I had honestly NO idea what happened there until a few days before we went. I am not sure what I was expecting. I dont normally jump at the idea to go see a graveyard or old catacombs.. I had no idea if I was going to be able to handle this. 

To my surprise, it was nothing like I thought it was going to be. Service is funny like that. What happened there was tragic, but we got to see a slightly lighter side of things in a very dark place.  The site had been turned into a beautiful park. It was one of the sweetest experiences I have had while in Ukraine. I cannot really explain it. Being there, seeing these wonderful people serve each other was touching. It made it very hard to fathom what really happened there. I could not believe what hallow ground I was standing on. It really makes me feel very fortunate to live in the time and place that I do. Life gets hard here for all of us. Half of the time we really want to stuff our kids into the closet and run for the airport, but it is bittersweet moments like this one, that really puts it all into perspective.  

I encourage all who have not, read up on this. It is very interesting but sad event in our worlds history. 

Helping Hands- Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints

"They were brought into the ravine and made to lie down on top of Jews who had already been shot …Ten by ten, they never stopped. "