Almaty / Shymbulak Ski Resort

The Europe East Area Conference for Humanitarian Missionaries was held this week in Istanbul, Turkey.  Another place we never expected to visit.  However, to get there, it would require us to have a long layover in the Almaty airport.  So, we decided to go and spend a couple of days and get some projects taken care of.

As we were preparing to leave from the airport, I had a call from my brother back home.  We had a death in the family recently, my nephew Corban.  My brother was calling to tell us that several of our children had made the effort to attend the funeral and how good it was to see them.  Of course, we were sad to have to be so far away from home.  But we were happy that our children represented us well.  You know there will be life events while you're gone on a mission, but we didn't expect this one.  Our prayers go out to my sister and her family.

 

We usually see little girls practicing their figure skating at this mall near the hotel where we stay.  This time, it was the boy's turn to practice their hockey moves.

 

 

These kids were skating around the obstacles to get used to making quick turns.

 

We also got to get our shoes shined!

 



After we finished our meetings, Alibek offered to drive us up the mountain to see the skating rink.

 

This is a huge skating arena part way up the mountain to the ski resort.

 

This is what it looks like from the top of the dam.  For summer, they have set up basketball courts in the center.  It is a huge arena.

 

You have to take the tram to get to the ski resort.  We might do it next time. 

 

There was a golden eagle too.  It wears a leather cap to cover its eyes.

 

Some kids wanted their photo taken with it.

 

It was a beautiful sight and nice to get away from the heat and traffic of the city.

 

Several of the missionaries were out of town, so we got to help out at the English Club in Almaty.