Stories: Donetsk History and comments
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| Donetsk History and comments | 28 Nov 2004 |
| Donetsk Region Eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region has long been recognized for its natural and industrial resources. Rich in coal and other minerals, the region developed rapidly as a center for mining and steel production, as well as machine manufacturing. Donetsk is the most densely populated region of Ukraine: its population of 5.3 million resides within an area of 26,540 square kilometers. It borders to the east with Russia's Rostov region; in the south, the Sea of Azov, which flows into the Black Sea, provides the region with abundant shipping, fishing and tourism opportunities. The city of Donetsk, Ukraine's fourth largest city, has a population of nearly 1.5 million; its nickname is the City of Roses, referring to lush rose gardens that color many of its parks. Zaporizzhia Cossacks, who inhabited the region since the 17th century, are the first-known settlers of the region. Even then, Donetsk region was valued for its natural resources. The Cossacks took advantage of coal deposits, calling this plentiful mineral the burning stone. The first industrial coal mines appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. As industrial development continued to progress, the region soon became recognized internationally as an industrial hub -- this reputation is still enjoyed by Donetsk today. The Donetsk region also bears a strong tradition of foreign involvement in business and industry. When the government commissioned the construction of a metallurgy plant in 1869, it was the British manager John Hughes who was invited to manage the factory. Hughes' favorable imprint on the local surroundings is evidenced by the fact that one of the first industrial towns created during this era was called Yuzovka, or little Hughes. Vestiges of pre-Soviet foreign influence in Donetsk remain. For example, the geometrically squared streets of Donetsk defy the more random pattern of Soviet city planning; in addition, older citizens still refer to the city's main streets as the first line and the second line" instead of Artema Street or Lenina Street. Donetsk Ukraine Our Home Away From Home (here are some initial thoughts, we will add to these city stories as we remember events). The day we arrived in Donetsk was hot and humid. We had just completed a very long but memorable train ride from Kiev. We wanted every missionary to experience that train ride so even though the Kiev Service Center tried to get us to fly the missionaries to Donetsk we resisted. We found the train ride to be a great introduction to the next two or three years. We lived in a wonderful apartment and we wanted missionaries and members and local leaders to enjoy it also. We had numerous gatherings in our apartment. The people below us were not very enthusiastic however, particularly after a water pipe broke and we flooded their very expensive apartment. We did repair the damage but they still complained about having too many people too often in the apartment. During the Christmas season of 1999, we held a separate missionary and member party in our apartment. The missionary party was a classic with skits, scriptures, stories, and good food. The member party was to thank all the leadership in both the districts in Donetsk for their faithful service. Zone leader conferences in our home were simply the best meeting of the month. We loved getting together and talking about the nuts and bolts of the mission. We loved the free flow of information and how serious every one took their callings as leaders in the mission. It was a sad moment in the Donbass when we were asked to “disinvite” the branch presidents from this forum. Some of our best thinkers were the branch presidents and we valued their input during this meeting. The area presidency was not happy that we had the branch presidents attending a Zone leader meeting so they asked us to stop which we did. Sister McQueen prepared food for two days prior to each zone leader conference and if anyone left the apartment hungry it was their own fault. We were amazed at how much food missionaries could consume in one sitting. We enjoyed walking around the lake in back of our apartment complex. When we were in town we would get up early and walk down towards the soccer stadium and back to our home. It was really fun when it was very cold and icy. We didn’t spend a great deal of time in our apartment because we traveled so much, but we did call Donetsk home. The office in the Kievsky Chapel was really nice. Air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Our favorite part of the office was the mystical TRANSFER BOARD. Everyone wanted inside information as to who was going where and when. We found out very early that we needed to demystify this process. After the first six months of trying to keep a lid on the transfers, we basically let the information out as soon as possible. Transfers were simple: X number of missionaries leaving, X number of missionaries arriving and Y number of slots that needed to be filled and Z number of missionaries needing to be called as senior companions or trainers. When new assistants were called everyone wanted to know who they were and why they were called and what the President was looking for in an assistant. We loved studying with the office Elders and taking them on weekends trips to the branches around Donetsk. We loved traveling with the assistants. We were confined in the VW for so many hours together that we knew almost too much about each other. We had friends at the center Renok. The meat man would save us his best cuts of meat. The vegetable lady and her husband would make sure we only got the best stuff. We made sure we made our rounds and bought something from almost every vendor. When the meat man saw us coming he knew he was going to make a monetary killing that day. These people all treated us very nicely. The guys in the computer shop were also great with us. We loved the interaction with the leadership in Donetsk and Makeyevka. President Deloyn (Donetsk District) and President Peredereev (Makeyevka District) were outstanding leaders who tried their best to lead the church forward in these cities. They spent hours working on church issues. Other leaders I loved were President Shushkevech and President Yudin – these two men helped me more than any others in understanding the Ukrainian mind set. I loved their insights. I really liked President Shushkevech’s sense of humor. At the end of our mission, the people we really worked well with were brother Oleg and Sister Maross and Aleksey. These people held my hand through a variety of experiences – some really good and others really bad. But the main thing that held every thing together was the focus on one important purpose and that was growing the church. I really felt a spiritual presence in Donetsk. That part of the Ukraine is special. I didn’t have the same feelings in other parts of the Ukraine or Russia. The Donbass was special. I thought President Shushkevech made a wonderful plea to one of the counselors in the area presidency about Donetsk being the location the church should build the first temple in the Ukraine. He talked about the availability of land, the pro-LDS minister of religion in Donetsk, and the solid membership. I was impressed with his presentation but it didn’t get very far. The members in all the branches in the area were wonderful. When Sister Smoot, Relief Society President, came for a visit, the ladies in all the branches were able to show her all their crafts. They also hug and kissed her and made her feel at home. I can’t remember a day when I was more proud of a group of people. The Ukrainian members and the Donetsk Women’s league made her feel comfortable in their city. We loved the hours we would spend answering missionary questions over the phone. During morning study time we would often get a call asking us about gospel questions. We would often do a little research for the answer and then call the missionary back and discuss the answer. If we didn’t know the answer we would say so and leave it at that – “just hasn’t been revealed yet.” We would get a little annoyed at some of the “how do you construct a universe questions” and we would voice our displeasure by stating “first learn about faith and when you can move a mountain then maybe we can discuss the universe building issues.” This approach worked well with all but the most stubborn missionaries. Zone conferences in Donetsk were the best. We would sometimes meet with just one zone and other times we would meet together with two or more zones. Some of our best talks started in Donetsk. Testimony concerning the M1 Tank, Planning - Military style, testifying about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (a truly remarkable moment in missionary history – for us as well as for those in attendance). We met sometimes in our house and other times in the Kievsky Chapel. We were equally comfortable in either place. We think some missionaries preferred our apartment because they could sit on our comfortable couch and Sister McQueen usually had something to eat at these conferences. As always, the highlight of any conference for us was hearing the missionaries bear testimony about their experiences. You lifted our spirits, we felt humbled being in your presence, and we were warmed by the spirit. All feelings we miss. We had Elders Eyring, Oaks, and Holland visit Donetsk. Sisters Menlove and Smoot also visited us. We were excited to have them but also sad that all the missionaries were unable to be in attendance at the missionary meetings we had with them. Elder Eyring told us that he thought we should smile more and be more involved in getting our paperwork correct. Other than those comments he was pleased with the mission. We told him the smiling problem was President McQueen’s problem and that the missionaries were just following his lead. We also mentioned that President McQueen did not like paperwork and would do almost anything to be out of the office and with the missionaries. Elders Oaks and Holland had nothing but good things to say about the mission. Sisters Menlove and Smoot were also pleased with everything. We were never worried to have anyone visit our mission because we knew they would see only missionaries who were interested in the work and in doing their best. There were only a few times when we had some differing views with the area presidency about how the mission should be run. We don’t think the Donetsk Ukraine Mission is on the list anymore for general authority visits which is too bad. We loved to show off the members and missionaries. | |
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