Ukraine Donetsk Mission

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Events in Kiev for Temple Dedication	17 Aug 2010
Two items for those who will be in Kiev for the temple dedication: --a friend of mine is planning a Kiev Church history tour on Sat. Aug. 28 in the morning. Tentatively, the tour will be led by Howard Biddulph, the first mission president in Ukraine. If you are interested please email me ASAP: cliff.blair [at] gmail. --if anyone is interested in getting together with other missionaries or members who are in town, let me know. Maybe Saturday after the tour or the previous evening. Cliff Blair
Clifford F. Blair	Send Email
More Angel Moroni Pictures	22 Sep 2009
There are more pictures of the placing of the Angel Moroni on the Kiev Temple in the Church News: http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/57917/Angel-Moroni-statue-placed-atop-the-Kyiv-Ukraine-Temple-in-eastern-Europe.html#
Clifford F. Blair	Send Email
Kyiv Temple	20 Sep 2009
Pictures of the Kyiv Temple are at www.ldschurchtemples.com/Kyiv/construction - Angel Moroni statue is now on top of the Kyiv Temple.
David McQueen	Send Email
Mini Reunions	18 Sep 2009
We continue to have missionaries call us and set up mini-reunions with other missionaires from their era. We have found this to be the most interesting form of reunion because we can focus on that perticular time in our mission. Please feel free to eamail us at davidmmcqueen@comcast.net or call me at work 801-240-8669 to set up a time and date. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
President Litvinov	08 Aug 2009
For those of you who served in Lygansk, Nastya Litvinova has posted on facebook pictures of her and her family. They all look great.
David McQueen	Send Email
Language Study	16 Apr 2009
I found an interesting site today for those of you tryig to keep up your Russian skills. Go to Lds.org - Gospel Library - Lessons - Mel. Priesthood and Relief Socity (Joseph Smith Teachings) - look for multiple media formats - Russian. You will find a PDF translation of the manual but best of all a Russian speaker you can listen to. He was way to fast for me even while I read along but it is good stuff.
David McQueen	Send Email
good news	03 Mar 2009
Hey everyone- I just wanted to share the good news with everyone - this past Sunday, I had my priesthood and temple blessings restored, and Candace, the girls, and I will be sealed in the Houston temple on Thursday, March 19. Thank you all for your love and prayers over these many years - we love you and hope all is well with each of you! Adam
Matthew Adam Mealey	Send Email
Looking for Lafe	28 Nov 2008
Anyone have current contact info for Lafe Harris?
Michael Cox	Send Email
Reunions	10 Oct 2008
Dear Missionaries, We had the few and the faithful come to our reunion in October. We think the problem is we are seeing so many missionaries throughout the year that the reunions are anticlimactic. We most likely will not have any more formal reunions but we will encourage missionaries to continue to coordinate with their contemporaries and call us for mini-reunions. We have enjoyed this format in the past because we can talk about the mission during the timeframe you were in Ukraine. Please feel free to call or stop by at anytime. We also encourage missionaries to use the mission blogspot and mission web site. President Fry, current mission president, has a blog spot and a mission couple, the Kinghorns, also have a blogspot. The Fry’s and Kinghorn’s have current pictures of the mission. It would be nice to get out your old pictures and start posting them to your blogspot. I have some on our blogspot and I will post more in the near future. Thanks for keeping up the interest in the mission. Sister Heather Morris runs the blogspot for the mission and you just need to contact her to get onto the site. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Gorlovka	28 Jul 2008
This is former elder talker, I was just wondering if anyone who is or was recently serving in gorlovka, on the 12th kvartel knew how the supryn family and chyzhko family were doing? If you do and could reply to ntalker@utah.gov that would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Natanii William Talker	Send Email
Missionary Work in Russia	15 Jul 2008
This article was in the Deseret news today. We all remember the visa problems and I was so happy when we hired Garant. We need to get Gadena (the guy who ran Garant)up to Moscow. Let's just pray this is a temporary set back. McQueens PROVO — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has stopped sending North American missionaries to Russia due to new, tougher visa laws. North American missionaries who were being prepared at the Missionary Training Center in Provo for service in Russia have been reassigned. So have church members who had received calls to Russia but who had not yet arrived at the MTC for training. North American missionaries already in Russia will remain to complete their service, which runs two years for men and 18 months for women. Last year, Russia began to require foreigners on humanitarian visas, which includes missionaries, to leave the country every three months to renew their visas. "The church is working to find an alternative solution to the 90-day renewal requirement," church spokesman Rob Howell said Monday. "Until an appropriate alternative is identified, new missionary assignments to Russia will be limited to those nationalities not needing visas. "Missionaries currently serving in Russia are not being withdrawn, and the missions are fully staffed." LDS parents have been sending their children to Russia to seek converts since 1990, when two missionaries from the church's Finland Helsinki Mission arrived in Leningrad. Later that year, the church established the first branch, or congregation, in Russia, and the government first officially recognized the church. Story continues below The church now has about 20,000 members, 121 branches and eight missions spread across the country — two in Moscow and one each in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Rostov, Vladivostok, Samara and Novosibirsk. Elder Corbin Dean of San Diego joined the Russia Samara mission in March. Two weeks ago, he traveled with several other missionaries to the Czech Republic to renew his visa. "They were in Prague for about three days," said Elder Dean's mother, Sandie Dean. "They still went tracting (door to door) in Prague with the limited language skills they had. It was not a vacation by any means." The Deans and other American families with missionaries in Russia wondered what would happen when the new Russian visa laws were announced. "In January they told us they would have to go back to their home country every three months," Sandie Dean said. "I'm glad they haven't had to do that." The law's text also requires foreigners to spend 90 days outside the country for every 90 days in Russia, a provision that hasn't been enforced, Brigham Young University Russian Professor Grant Lundberg said. Lundberg is the Russia section head in BYU's department of German and Slavic languages. The university's study abroad program designs trips to Russia to last fewer than 90 days to avoid visa issues, he said. A lot of our students are returned missionaries," Lundberg said. "The developments there probably will have a long-term effect on our program, although we don't know what the long-term decisions will be." Dean said her son and his companions flew 800 miles to Prague, a costly exercise for church leaders. "It's terribly expensive to travel to another country, wait for a visa and return," said Gary Browning, the first president of the Finland Helsinki East mission when it opened in 1990 with responsibility to begin missionary work in Russia. Now an LDS patriarch, Browning traveled to Russia this spring. He sees an opportunity in the new situation. "The church really is growing in its maturity," he said. "All of us would love to have the missionaries remain there. There could be a silver lining to this cloud, because this may give the members an additional incentive to play their roles more effectively, and to find relatives and neighbors and work associates who would be interested in the church." LDS Church statement The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released this statement Monday about the services of its missionaries in Russia: Story continues belowA recent change in Russian immigration law now requires foreigners on humanitarian visas (including missionaries) to leave Russia every three months to renew their visas. The church is working to find an alternative solution to the 90-day renewal requirement. Until an appropriate alternative is identified, new missionary assignments to Russia will be limited to those nationalities not needing visas. Missionaries currently serving in Russia are not being withdrawn, and the missions are fully staffed. Missionaries needing Russian visas who had not yet left for Russia have been reassigned.
David McQueen	Send Email
Called to Serve	28 Jun 2008
It was recently requested in my Primary that I sing "Called to Serve" in Russian. I couldn't remember all of it and cannot find a copy. Does anyone have a copy of it or a link to it? Thanks.
Daniel T Brayton	Send Email
Looking for addresses	22 Jun 2008
I do not have the contact information for Stephen L. Whitehead, a native of Canada. I was his companion for two months on Makyevka in 2004. Does anybody out there know him and have any contact information for him? I would really appreciate it.
Samuel Baugh Hislop	Send Email
A letter from President McQueen	03 Jun 2008
Dear Missionaries, I would really like to encourage the missionaries who were serving in Ukraine before July 1999, and after July 2002, to get more interested in this web site (The Mission Website). We are interested in what happened early on in the mission and how the branches in each city were formed. We are interested in what has happened after July 2002, in both the Donetsk and Dneper missions. For those missionaries getting ready to go to Ukraine, please remember that we still have an intense interest in these two missions, so keep good journals and pictures and put them on the web site when you return.I would be interested in getting an update on the political situation in Ukraine regarding the Church. We have heard that the Temple construction is continuing, but little other news about the Temple or the growth of the church. When we were interviewed by President Faust, he talked a great deal about keeping missionaries active in the church after their mission was over. We feel this web site is one way of keeping all of us thinking about the right things and about the wonderful time we had in Ukraine.We were talking about Elder Oaks and his visit to Ukraine yesterday in Sunday School. Our mission was really blessed to be on the General Authority travel itinerary and to have Elders Eyring, Oaks, and Holland visit us. We certainly had a great time with each one of them.We have often been asked “what was the single most important event during our time in Ukraine" and we can’t come up with a single event that stands out as being of supreme importance. Here are some that stand out: 1. Letting the Zone leaders decide what was to be taught to their zones during zone conferences. 2. Getting Garant to take over the registration problems we encountered. We wonder if this is even a problem any more. 3. Taking over the responsibility for the Crimea from the Kiev Mission. This was a huge opportunity to provided learning experiences for those missionaries serving in this historic area of the world. 4. Elder Callister’s mission tour. He energized the mission and challenged us to do everything better and we as a group responded. 5. Elder Pixton’s death. This event was emotionally the most difficult and helped to focus our efforts on the eternal prospective of things. The memorial services we held were very spiritual. The support Sue and I received from specific individuals was exceptional. 6. The dedication of three chapels - Mariupol, Petrovsky, and Crimea. 7. Trips to Slavanagorsk. We loved walking around this compound with the missionaries and just having fun. 8. Our first meeting with you as you arrived and our farewell meeting with you as you departed and all the spiritual experiences in between. Those are a few of the things we remember fondly. Some of the things we would like to have changed include: 1. We would have changed the Mission President’s Letter to the Mission President’s email. 2. We would have given zone leaders cell phones. 3. We would have met with the Sisters more often in our home. 4. We would have gotten the assistants drivers licenses and a car, well at least a driver’s license. 5. We loved the village of Golovach and we would have like to move the mission home to a single dwelling cottage near that beautiful bend in the river where we used to baptize people. We talk about our contact with you through zone conferences, interviews, meetings, and dinners all the time. We were blessed to be a part of the history of this mission and we want to keep the flame burning for all those who served in Ukraine Donetsk Mission. Love, McQueens
Heather Hokanson	Send Email
Mission Newsletter!	18 May 2008
Mission Newsletter time! Mainly for those who served under Prestident McQueen & President Christensen, but it's really open to anyone from the mission! I'm shaking things up this time & providing a survey for you to fill out. That way it's easier for us to get the info we all want! Obviously some of the questions may not apply. Just skip them. If you want to add any more information, please do! The survey is to help those who don't know what to write. If you have a way with words, lay 'em on me! :) Please fill out the following and return to me asap. Please attach a recent pic of you and/or your family. Make sure the pic is not too small! We want to see it! If you keep in touch with someone from the mission, please make sure they know about this & participate! Thank you for your help! QUESTIONS: 1. Name 2. Email address (the one you prefer communication with) 3. Time served 4. Areas served 5. Current Location/Address/Phone Number 6. Name of Spouse 7. Names/Ages of Children 8. Occupation 9. What's happened of note in your life this past year? 10. What are you looking forward to in the coming year? 11. What do you miss most about Ukraine? 12. If you keep in touch with anyone from the mission (Ukrainians), please give us an update. 13. Message for fellow alumni 14. Are you on Facebook? 15. Blog address Email to heather.lynne.morris@gmail.com. Don't forget to attach a recent picture! Thank you so much for your participation! I'll get this out as soon as I can! C Lyubovyu, Xezep Moppic ps...while you're on here, update your profile!!! And upload a photo! :)
Heather Hokanson	Send Email
parents serving in Donetsk	18 May 2008
I wanted to let you know that my parents are currently serving as the Humanitarian Couple in the Donetsk Mission. They have a blog that is about their mission experience. It might bring back some memories for some of you or just give you an idea what their mission is like. You can view it at:www.kinghornscalledtoserve.blogspot.com/
Karrissa Bailey	Send Email
parents serving in Donetsk	18 May 2008
I wanted to let you know that my parents are currently serving as the Humanitarian Couple in the Donetsk Mission. They have a blog that is about their mission experience. It might bring back some memories for some of you or just give you an idea what their mission is like. You can view it at:www.kinghornscalledtoserve.blogspot.com/
Karrissa Bailey	Send Email
Missionary Videos	03 May 2008
I have recently become aware of some missionary videos which were taken during our time in the mission. I'm aware that a few missionaries had video cameras and I'm also aware that some missionaries borrowed video cameras from members and made CD's of the videos they made of their companionship or with members. I would be interested in getting a copy of these videos. Please send them to me at 163 West 3100 South, Bountiful, Utah 84010. I want to add them to the video history I am making. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Dec 1999 Video	25 Apr 2008
Dear Missionaries, For those of you who arrived in the mission on the train - go to daveandsuemcqueen.blogspot.com and see if you like this video. This is the first one we took of missionaries arriving in Dec of 1999. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Videos	24 Apr 2008
Dear Missionaries, I have about 22 hours of video history of the mission and I have used adobe premiere to break it up into daily sections. I would like to put them on some site where everyone could access them. I don't want to put them on "youtube". Has anyone heard of Phanfare.com? My videos take a great deal of space so I would need some place that would let me store a lot. I think the $54.95 per year for unlimited storage is reasonable. Some of the videos have turned out very well while others are really 'white" but the sound is still good. Any suggestions? Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
New Mission President	22 Mar 2008
Timothy Lee Fry and his wife Wendy Jean Bickmore have been called to preside over the Ukraine Donetsk Mission. They will replace President and Sister Anderson. President and Sister Fry are from the St. George area. He was a missionary in the George Atlanta Mission. We hope the best for them and their family. Their pictures and bio are in the March 22, 2008 church news. McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Reunion	22 Mar 2008
Dear Missionaries. We have a family commitment at the same time as the normal reunion time in april. We will try to schedule a reunion this summer or in Oct. We are sorry if we inconvience anyone. We will be out of town and out of computer service so we will not have a virtual reunion for those of you outside of Utah. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Google Earth	24 Jan 2008
Dear Missionaires, I hope all of you have seen the numerous pictures on Google earth. You have to click on the geographic web portion in google earth and then you will see blue dots appear on the terrain map. You click on the dots and you see actual pictures of the area. These pictures show how much the areas in Ukraine have changed over the years. Enjoy. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Christmas	08 Dec 2007
Dear Missionaries, Thanksgiving and Christmas Ukraine style. We drove to the Donetsk train station in the blowing snow numerous times Thanksgiving Day 1999 hoping the train would arrive. It was cold, windy and snowy all day long and into the evening. The turkey was getting well done. When we finally got the missionaries into our apartment, around 2:00 AM, we fed everyone and just told them to sleep where they could. Elder Craw informed everyone to be up by 0630, and we went to bed to get a few hours of sleep. We had breakfast and then tried to get the transfer completed. Thanksgiving 2000 we spent in Poltava because we were in the middle of a mission tour with Elder and Sister Callister. Elders Noorda, Chernuk, Simmons, Edwards and Sisters Karchner and Phillips, killed and cleaned the turkeys at Brat Valodia’s home. The people in the University cafeteria prepared the turkeys and all the trimmings for us. They did a wonderful job and we had a great time with the missionaries from Cymi and Poltava. Thanksgiving 2001, we spent in Kharkov. Elder Logie set up the dinner at the National Hotel. We had all the missionaries from Kharkov, Poltava, and Cymi attend. The hotel did a good job with the food and some of the missionaries brought some of their own creations to eat. We ate dinner after our zone conference and testimony meeting. We were home for Christmas 1999. We had parties for the members and missionaries. We had all the missionaries in Donetsk and surrounding areas come to our apartment for a party. We had way too many people in our front room. We had a great time and the skits were excellent. The legend of “Top Gun - Cymi” was born that evening. Sisters Ard and Dahl stayed with us due to a confrontation with a guy in their stairwell. President Yudin and the Gorlavka police helped us the next day to resolve the issue. Christmas 2000, was held at the Kievsky Chapel in Donetsk. It seemed like we had half the mission in attendance. We had skits, songs, a pie eating contest, food and socializing throughout the day and evening. This was a really relaxing time because the missionaries did most of the work. A few days later, we enjoyed the Cymi English class program about the Grinch who stole Christmas staring Elders Jacobs, Reynolds, McGee, Barth, Berrett, Rampton and Sisters Tunitska and Walker. They had really taken lots of time to make some colorful costumes and a great program. Oh, how we miss Cymi English classes!!! We had a zone conference planned in the Crimea during Christmas 2001. We held the conference in our Semferopol Moscow hotel room which was large enough to hold everyone. We ate dinner in the Moscow hotel and they did a good job of preparing a good meal. We spent the zone conference looking up scriptures pertaining to the birth and life of the Savior. It was a special occasion and one in which the Spirit took a major role in testifying to all of us about the Christ Child. We have always thought it unfortunate that we couldn’t all get together during the holidays in Ukraine. I’m sure you all have some fond memories of the holidays and we would like to read about them. We have heard from a number of missionaries this year. If you are in town or want to talk call us (801-397-5525). We have taken a number of couples out to dinner and would be pleased to do more of this. We have also had gatherings with groups of friends who served during the same period. If you want to set something up please call. Please remember Elder Willardson and his family in your prayers. He is currently serving in Iraq. His email is Willardsons2002@yahoo.com – if you have time please email him. Thanks again for making our mission experience so enjoyable. Love McQueens
David McQueen	Send Email
Christmas traditions	03 Dec 2007
Hey all. I have a RS meeting tomorrow (Dec 4) at which I'm supposed to share some Ukrainian Christmas traditions. My experience with X-mas was somewhat limited, so if anyone can share what they know, please email it to me at sassy_pig@hotmail.com. Thanks!
Sarah Crane	Send Email
New mission map	29 Nov 2007
I've added an interactive Google Map on the Mission Map page. Now I need your help in getting it up to date. Google maps allows people to collaborate on a single map, this will allow all of us to benefit. If you have any information on cities, boundaries or anything else of interest that you would like to see on the map please leave me a comment and I can add you as an editor on the map. You can see the map by clicking on the 'Mission Map' link on the side of the site, or by visiting this link http://mission.net/ukraine/donetsk/page.php?pg_id=2391 Thanks!
Dan Cramer	Send Email
Saltovka Chapel Dedication	27 Nov 2007
I received a message from Aleksey Shakalov concerning the Saltovka chapel dedication. The Saltovka Chapel was completed a while ago (2005)but for some reason was never dedicated or occupied. That changed last week. Elder Bednar dedicated the chapel. I think this is the first time an Apostle has been in Kharkov. He dedicated the chapel and then presided over a district conference. I was really excited to hear about this and I'm sure the Kharkov members were thrilled. I had written to ask Aleksey if any members had been hurt in the mine disaster in Donetsk. No members were involved. I have some pictures of President Mikulin and his counselors and other members plus pictures of the chapel but I can't seem to reduce them properly to post on this site. I still need help with this. E-mail me with instructions at davidmmcqueen@comcast.net. Nice looking chapel with a blue chairs and nice interior. Love McQueens.
David McQueen	Send Email
Google Earth Sites	30 Oct 2007
Here are some Google Earth Sites I have found in Ukraine. Ukraine Donetsk Mission Google Earth Sites Donetsk Center Branch – Eye Alt 1469 Ft. 48° 00”37.43” N 37° 46” 54.91’ E Donetsk Petrosky Branch – Eye Alt 1211 Ft. 47°56”43.35” N 37° 41’25.85” E Mariupol Chapel - -Eye Alt 1192 Ft. 47°05’20.70” N 37°31’33.47” E Old Meeting Place Mariupol – Eye Alt 1136 Ft. 47°05’35.31” N 37°33’46.83” E Old Meeting Place and Zone Conference Building Zap – Eye Alt 930 Ft. 47°50’31.71” N 35°08’36.58” E Gorlavka Pharmacy Building Chapel – Eye Alt 764 Ft. 48°19’42.97” N 38°03’26.21” E Pobeda Chapel Dneper – Eye Alt 811 Ft. 48°25’02.24” N 35°03’34.25” E Old Center Branch Dneper – Eye Alt 790 Ft. 48°27’58.67” N 35°01’18.71” E Old Meeting Place Left Bank Dneper – Eye Alt 1702 48°30’33.32” N 35°05’16.38” E Semferopol Chapel – Eye Alt 908 Ft. 44°55’39.55’ N 34°06’23.24’ E Kherson Hotel, the old meeting place was on the same street as the hotel but I can’t pinpoint it. – Eye Alt 1067 46°37’47.20” N 32°37’18.38” E National Hotel Kharkov – Eye Alt 1324 50°01’11.20” N 36°13’28.30” E Alekseyvka Chapel building Kharkov – Eye Alt 1016 50°02’21.29” N 36°13’14.24” E I love the Google Earth site. As new areas open up in Ukraine I'll try and find the old sites. I can't find anything in Lygansk, Poltava or Symi. President McQueen
David McQueen	Send Email
Additional Info on Explosion	26 Oct 2007
Just received this from the branch president in center branch: Привет ! Да, у нас в городе случилась трагедия. Взорвался газ в жилом доме. 23 человека погибло. Не волнуйся. Никто из прихожан не пострадал. В Церкви все хорошо. Кстати видел фото твоей семьи... все очень симпатичные ! Пиши, не забывай про нас. Greetings! Yes, we in city had a tragedy. Gas in an apartment house has blown up. 23 persons were lost. Do not worry. Anybody from branch has not suffered. In Church all is good. By the way saw a photo of your family... All very nice! Write, do not forget about us.
Michael Cox	Send Email
Dnepr Explosion cont.	26 Oct 2007
The explosion in Dnepr was in Pobeda on Mandrykivskaya St. Dom 127. Half of the building was destroyed, but I still don't know if any members lived there or near by though.
David Berry	Send Email
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