Another week, another e-mail (March 21, 2007)

Hello again! I actually have a lot to write about this week, so I'll try to type quickly and get it all fit in.

First of all, last Wednesday I visited this large World War II museum underneath a huge statue in downtown Kiev. The museum was really cool (except everything was in Russian...). It talked about the war from the Soviet point of view, and especially about the siege of Ukraine and the battle for Kiev. Then, outside the museum and around the giant statue, they had a lot of Soviet tanks, planes, and helicopters. It was really, really, really fun! I got to sit in a Hind helicopter, we saw a truck that they used to carry ICBMs (nicknamed "Satana," or "Satan" in English), and we saw a MiG 17, a MiG 21, and a MiG 23. The whole time I kept thinking, "Adam and I could spend a week here and still not get bored."
Then, on Monday, Elder Hanson and I went to the office to drop him off so he could go home (which was a little strange, to say the least). Since then, I've been in a threesome with two other missionaries from my district, Elder Larson and Elder Gassaway. That has been a LOT of fun. They're both really cool elders, and we get along really well. It's too bad we're not staying together for longer than three or four days.
So, I don't know if I wrote this before or not, but the past few interviews Elder Hanson and I had with President Davis, he kept hinting that I'd be staying in this area after Elder Hanson went home, and that I'd be taking over here. Well, plans changed, and tomorrow I'm going to be transfered to somewhere else in Ukraine. I won't find out until tomorrow, so I won't be able to tell you where I go for another week, but I'm excited to see where I go, and a little sad to leave here. I really like the ward and the area here. Elder Larson is getting transfered too, and he's really bummed to be leaving.
Anyways, yesterday the three of us were out contacting and we realized we'd forgotten some things we needed for our English class that night (twice a week, missionaries here give free English discussion groups to anyone who wants to come), so we headed towards our apartment building to pick it up. We turn around a corner to where we can see the only entrance to our part of the building and see a gigantic crowd standing directly in front of the door, with a group of militsia (policemen) and soldiers standing in formation nearby, and a Pravoslavnic priest chanting and waving one of those little incense-balls. As it turns out, someone in our building was a military man who passed away recently, and we just happened to walk in on his funeral! There was a militsia band that played the most mournful, melancholy, Soviet-esque funeral music, and after the priest blessed the coffin, the soldiers led a little parade through the parking lot to the large van that they were using as a hearse. There was a soldier in the lead holding a picture of the man, followed by three soldiers holding his medals on red pillows, and then a line of mourners with black or gray rags tied on their arms; then there were several soldiers carrying something that looked like a really thin coffin that had the man's sword (he must have been an officer) and some other effects, as well as a loaf of bread on a white cloth that the priest must have blessed and placed there; this was followed the coffin itself, which was carried by more soldiers, and was led and followed by two pairs of soldiers holding rifles and goose stepping in formation. All of the soldiers were wearing the really big Soviet army hats and had long, fur-lined gray overcoats. It was really impressive. I wanted to take pictures, but there are very specific rules against taking pictures of public events, especially when the militsia's involved; apparently they look for excuses to try and hassle Americans. We had to take off our missionary tags to watch.
All right, I'm running out of time, so I'll write this last part really quick. I got stuck in an elevator for the first time on Monday night. Elevators here are highly unreliable and not of good quality, and so it's only a matter of time before you get stuck. Fortunately, it was only for about twenty minutes, but it did mean that we didn't get to plan anything for Tuesday, which meant a lot of finding activities and no lessons.
All right, that's how I've been doing. I love you all, and I'll write again next week from wherever I end up!
--Elder Brett