A Dream Come True

A highlight of the summer was the marriage of this wonderful Latter-Day Saint couple.  One of the great challenges of the youth here is finding their eternal companion. The numbers of strong active LDS youth is small in each city. Most have grown up with these youth from kindergarten. They are the best of friends but they don't choose each other as marriage partners. One of the goals of the mission and the CES is to provide opportunities for youth to gather and have opportunities to find that special someone. Actually this couple found each other on their own. The young man is from Kharkov and the young lady is from Rustov, Russia. They now reside in Kharkov and are a delight to know. The rug that they are stepping on is part of a Ukrainian tradition. It is said that whoever steps on the rug first will rule the household. So they look at each other and count to three and each take a step together to show they are one and united together as a couple. The government here doesn't recognize a temple marriage as a legal marriage, so the youth are required to get married in a marriage establishment and then they make the trip to the temple to be sealed. The temple is a most charished opportunity for each endowed member and the youth. They make regular trips to do baptisms for the dead. It is a night train ride for them and then a whole day at the temple and then a night ride for them to return. They love their temple.