Stories: Cumi
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| Cumi | 20 Nov 2004 |
| Cumi or Sumy (Spelling on internet) Historical Information about Sumy: “Sumy, city in northeastern Ukraine, capital of Sumy Oblast, on the Ps’ol river, about 90 miles northwest of Karkiv. A cultural and industrial center in a rich agricultural region growing grain and sugar beets. It was founded in 1652 by the settlers from Bila Tserkwa (White Church) regiment as a fort. In 1658 – 1765 the Slobids’kyi Regiment was located in Sumy. The regiment distinguished itself in battles with the Turks in 1677-78. Sumy became a town in 1780. The legend has it that Hetman Doroshenko lost his bag here. It is also believed that the name of the city comes from three bags, which were found here. On the city coat of arms there are three bags on a silver background. During the 18 and 19 centuries trade and industrial enterprises flourished here. When regimental rule was abolished in 1765 the Sumy Cossack regiment became Hussar light cavalry regiment. The abolishing of serfdom in 1861 helped to spur industrial development of the city. Before WWI there were over forty enterprises in Sumy. In the present day Sumy they produce machinery for the chemical industry, electron microscopes, pumps, and fertilizers. Light industries include sugar refining and other food processing. The city is known for production of clothing and footwear. In Sumy are Bio and Porcelain Plants”. Another article states: “Sumy was founded in 1652 by the Cossacks who had migrated here from the areas on the right bank of the Dnipro river. The town grew rapidly and in 1658 it acquired the status of a Cossack headquarters. In the very early years of its existence Sumy turned out to be a bulwark against the Tartar inroads. The town bravely withstood all the attempts to storm and destroy it. The siege by the enemies was almost a daily routine, The chronicles say that life was nothing but << wounds, blood, suffering, death and siege.>> But the town survived even the worst of times and grew in size. There were approximately 300,000 people living in Sumy in 1998. Personal views of Cumi: When we arrived in the Ukraine June 1999, there were four missionaries in Cumi – two Americans and two Ukrainians. They asked for and received permission to begin English classes on a large scale. They wanted to put posters around the city and get as many people attending English classes as possible. Late one night Elder Bradford called me and told me that “we have a problem.” The results of the advertising had paid off big time. Elder Bradford stated that they had 1,200 people signed up for the English classes. Thus began one of the most interesting situations in the mission – the best English classes in the world. Cumi quickly became known as the place to go if you wanted to participate in theatre. The English classes turned into interesting classes culminating in the Saturday night Cumi drama. Throughout our three years we saw many productions that were worthy of academy awards. Missionaries spent numerous hours planning, producing, costume making, and acting in outstanding shows. In December of 1999, we had a play in our house and while doing a off take of the show “Top Gun” Cumi was identified as the “Top Gun” location in the mission. I never tried to stop this mystic about Cumi. During this time Cumi was the farthest point away from the mission home. I had to put individuals in Cumi I could trust because they were truly on their own for the majority of the time. When we decided to put Sisters in Cumi, they added a great deal to the growth of the church and they were “Top Gun” material just like the Elders. We remember meeting with the members during tithing settlement in the winter of 1999. At that time we were meeting in the old airport building; a very cold building with no toilet. If nature called, you went outside and made your way through the fence and into the bushes; not such a difficult task for males, but Sister McQueen was not pleased with the out-door-fresh-air facilities. I conducted the tithing settlement in a small room with candles and my mag-light. The city had not paid its power bill to Russia and we were in the middle of a rolling black-out with only one section of the city receiving power at a time. Most of the time we had no light. Best interviews I ever held. Powerful members showed up to declare that they were full tithe payers and tell me how blessed they had been for joining the church. We moved to a new rental in the center of the city a while later. This place had a large room with a stage and some individual classrooms. The stage made the English productions more elaborate and dramatic. Edith Head would have been proud of some of the costume designs. We have fond memories of meeting with members in their homes, at church, and during open houses. One member stands out in some respects. He used to ride his bike to church – 3 hours one way and 6 hours on the return trip. It took him longer to get home because of the stiff winds in his face. So on a normal Sunday he spent 9 hours riding to and from church and 3 hours attending meetings. He was deaf so he had to have one of the teenagers write notes about the subject being discussed in church. I asked him why he made such an effort and he replied, “because I feel the spirit while I’m here”. When I put one of our Russian signing missionaries in Cumi he was overjoyed. Cumi was an eight hour drive from Donetsk and a little longer from the Crimea. The nice part of driving to Cumi was passing through all the little villages. You truly saw the Ukrainian country side at its best. We stayed at the Khimik Hotel in Cumi. The rooms were not heated very well. The beds were way too soft and the hot water was sporadic but the hotel had the only good place to eat in the city other then McDonalds. I believe some missionaries ate every meal at this McDonalds. On a regular Saturday night between English-class run to McDonalds, we would probably give them the biggest order of the day. Ate a lot of meals in that McDonalds. I think every missionary in Cumi had a run in with the minister of religion. This man was really a difficult individual to deal with but I think we have finally made friends with him. I remember when we gave the hospital a blood gas monitoring machine and numerous people in the city came to thank us for this machine. | |
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