Elder Lopez

We had an interesting email from one of the "old guys" from the mission Elder Lopez. Elder Lopez was in Kharkov when we arrived in the mission. He was one of the first missionaries I ever went tracking with while in Ukraine. As I remember it, we entered the stairwell of a four or five story apartment building and Elder Lopez explained to me that he always started at the top of the stairway and worked his way down. He asked if this would be a problem for me. I replied that it would not. He then started running up the stairs and did not stop until we reached the top of the stairs. I was still in fairly good shape and I stayed up with him and was trying to catch my breath when he asked me to say the prayer before we knocked on the first door and between deep breaths I said the prayer. He walked with a purpose, had a daily schedule that was programed down to the minute, and had a no nonsense approach to missionary work. He was less than thrilled when I called him to be my secretary in the office. He did not want to leave the "field". In the office, we worked through the crisis of missionaries getting kicked out to Kharkov, the Ministry of State Security guy telling us we had to get a law firm to take over our registration of missionaries in each city, and our first mission tour. I really felt I let him down because I had told him and his companion that they could sleep in one morning after they had been up late with us getting new missionaries on the late train to Kharkov. The missionaries were asked during the mission tour if they had gotten up at 0630 in the morning during the past week and he had to reply with a no. He looked at me as if he had let me down and I could only whisper to him from the stand to not worry about it. The fun thing about working with the office elders was Sue and I got to know them very well. They usually helped us eat the leftovers from the missionary arrival and leaving meals and every once in a while we had them for breakfast when we were in town. He also helped us with numerous Christmas functions in 1999. Elder Lopez quickly came to the understanding that he was privy to lots of confidential information, that he was given a great deal of latitude in making decisions, and that when we were away he as the defacto leader of the mission. I had full faith and trust in his abilities as I did with all of my secretaries. Along with his leadership abilities, was a deep sense of humility for being able to serve in Ukraine. He expressed his love for the mission, the church, the prophet, the scriptures and most importantly the Book of Mormon during every zone conference testimony meeting. Those of us who were privileged to hear his final testimony before getting on the train to come home will never forget the tender way he touched his worn Book of Mormon and testified about what a wonderful missionary tool it was and how much he loved it. I think we all started crying at about three o'clock that afternoon and didn't stop until the train had pulled out of the station in Donetsk. His most current email touched on the same firm testimony about the church, the prophet and his local leaders. It was our honor to serve a season with him.

That's It

That is about all of the writings I have concerning the mission. If some one has a favorite subject that they would like me to write about I would consider it.

Arriving

We arrived in Kiev on the 29th of June 1999. Going through customs was an experience. The customs officials were not the most pleasant people to deal with but we made it and finally made contact with the people from the Kiev Service Center, who got us to the train station for the over night trip to Donetsk. It was so hot and humid that day, that we were perspiring profusely when we finally got all our bags on the train. We sat down and started to wonder how we were going to smell in the morning when we met the missionaries and President and Sister Manzhos. Being military people we are always prepared and with the help of some baby wipes and deodorant, we decided we smelled just fine. Once the train started moving the compartment cooled off and we had a pleasant trip watching the country side pass by. We discussed at length what was going to happen to us in the morning. We wondered what the next three years would bring. Thinking about this was both wonderful and scary. We prayed that we would be able to do all that was asked of us. We went to sleep with the clickety clack of the train tracks and the faint smell of the bathroom. Our train was supposed to be in Donetsk at 0930 but it didn’t arrive until 1230. The office Elders, the assistants, and President and Sister Manzhos were there waiting for us. We got into the van and quickly drove to our new apartment. When I say quickly, I really mean fast. I couldn’t believe how fast and furious the driving habits were in the Ukraine. We tailgated, sped around, and held on as we watched the semi-controlled chaos of Ukrainian driving. We were taken to our brand new apartment. The apartment was nice and we had two bathrooms and three bedrooms and a great living room and a nice office and a great kitchen-all the comforts of home. The place even had a room heater/air-conditioner in each room. We had a Ukrainian lunch and then unpacked a little. We both love cabbage and potatoes and almost any fruit or vegetable along with all meats. The meal was great. We talked with the Manzhos’ about the apartment, the garage, the old mission home, and other housekeeping issues. We didn’t talk much about the mission or the missionaries. We went to the office and prepared to take the Manzhos’ to the train station for the ride back to Kiev. We met a lot of missionaries and members that night at the station. They wanted to say good bye to the Manzhos family. Once they boarded the train and left, we went back to the apartment, finished unpacking, and tried to calm our nerves. We were now on our own. We were responsible for about 130 missionaries in a country where we couldn’t communicate. Exactly the type of experience we had been praying for. At about 10:00 we received a call that some missionaries had been in a fight with some local boys. Nothing really serious but enough to give us a reality check. It seems to me that those first few months missionaries were getting in fights on a weekly basis. Either the beatings slowed down or we got used to the situation because after a while it just didn’t bother us as much as it did that first night. We had written the assistants and asked them to schedule a mission tour as quickly as possible. We wanted first and foremost to meet all the missionaries and as many members as possible. When we arrived home from the tour, we were convinced that we had the best missionaries in the world. Because of the missionaries, we knew the next three years were going to have great spiritual experiences.

Bird and Bug

We were getting ready for our District conference in Donetsk. This time the conference was going to be held in a room that looked much like an old chemistry lab. You know, the tiered seating and high ceiling. We arrived early because I liked to get used to the environment and make sure things were going well. It’s not that I get nervous about details – yes it is, I get nervous about details. We entered the hall and things looked just fine. After a few minutes I realized that there was a bird flying around in the hall. I knew the bird would be a distraction but I couldn’t figure out what to do. The ceilings were really high and the bird was flying near the top. I decided to pray that the Lord would take care of the bird, quickly adding that the bird need not die. I then got involved in a discussion and forgot about the bird until I saw it being carried out of the hall. After the conference I asked what had happened and someone mentioned the bird landed on a window seal and a member had caught it in his hands and taken it out and released it. It flew away. This moment really hit me because I could see an almost immediate cause and effect relationship between asking for and receiving answer to a prayer. I tried all types of ways to rationalize what had happened and could only come to one conclusion. My prayer had been answered. Shortly after this incident took place we were up in Kharkov to a zone conference. We held the conference in the National Hotel. We rented a conference room on the ground floor of the hotel. The room had some black leather chairs which were very comfortable and some regular chairs which left lots to be desired. We had the windows open because it was very hot and humid. I had just related the bird incident to the missionaries and we were getting ready to start the testimony meeting when a huge bug flew into the room. I could tell by the expression on the faces of the missionaries that a challenge was being made: Ok, McQueen, you said you could, with the Lord’s help, pray away a bird. Now, let’s see what can be done with this bug! I was extremely nervous because I did not want my actions to cause some missionary to lose his or her testimony. I started to pray that the Lord would take care of the bug, and I remember thinking these specific terms – Lord please park this bug some place where it will not interfere with our testimony meeting. I watched it fly North along the East wall and turn West onto the North wall. It was coming close to me and I almost reached out to squash it, but held back. The bug changed direction and flew back towards the East wall and then it went South along the East wall towards a vent and “parked” near the vent for the entire testimony meeting. It did not move during the meeting. Again, a very specific prayer was answered in a very specific way.

Blessing

It was one of the blessings in our mission to have so many leaders from the church visit Donetsk – Elder Eyring, Elder Oaks, Elder Holland, Sister Menlov, and Sister Smoot. We enjoyed meeting with all of them. The only thing I disliked about them coming to the mission was that all missionaries could not see them. I tried my hardest to make it happen but was finally asked to cease and desist with my wanting all missionaries to see the authorities. Elder Eyring came to our apartment and after lunch he asked me to find some one “who would be blessed by blessing an apostle”. He went on to tell us he was a little under the weather and had numerous things he had to do and he just felt he needed a blessing. I told him Elder Nelson, the mission doctor, would be happy to bless him. He replied that he wanted a Ukrainian member to perform the blessing. He went on to say to me - “just pray for inspiration and if you don’t get any it will be all right.” Talk about a little ecclesiastical pressure. It was hours before our meeting with the priesthood members but I started praying for the necessary guidance. We went to the concert hall in Donetsk for our meeting and as I sat on the stand I looked out into the audience and started going row by row looking at all the men I knew. I kept looking until I noticed the Branch President from Lygansk sitting in the congregation. President Letvidov was the man. I could feel it and taste it. The minute I saw him I knew he was the person to bless Elder Eyring. I turned to Elder Schutze and told him I knew the person who should bless Elder Eyring. I asked Elder Schutze if I could ask President Letvidov at the intermission. He said it would be OK. I took one of the assistants down into the audience to ask President Letvidov and he said he would be honored to bless Elder Eyring. After the meeting, we went to my office were an assistant and President Letvidov blessed Elder Eyring. President Letvidov thought this experience was so special and sacred that he never talked about it. I’m not sure he has even told his wife about it. He is such a good man. All of us who were involved with this incident were very blessed and had our testimonies strengthened.

Christmas in Crimea

We were in Simferopol during the Christmas of 2001. We were planning on doing a regular zone conference with the missionaries in the area. When we woke up on the morning of the 25th, Sister McQueen and I started a discussion about what we should do during the zone conference. Both of us wanted to do something different, we didn’t want to make this just another day in the life of a missionary. We didn’t want a regular zone conference with just training and talks and testimonies. So we decided to just sit down at the table in our room in the Moscow Hotel and search the scriptures about the birth of the savior. There was a neat view out of our hotel window. The ridge line just out of the window had snow on it. It was cold outside but we were warm and comfortable in the hotel room. We had nothing to worry about and no time constraints. We all sat down and started with Luke Chapter two and moved on to the Book of Mormon and all the passages surrounding the birth of the savior. If I remember right, we had a question and answer period. If we couldn’t answer the question quickly we spent time looking it up and eventually finding an answer that satisfied all of us. It was a very quick four hours of Bible study. It was also one of the most spiritual experiences of our mission. The feeling in that room was intense. The spirit was undoubtedly there. I don’t remember much about our discussion but I can remember the feeling of love, peace, and joy that was in the room. I think the main reason for this feeling was the single focus we all had to make ourselves into better missionaries and people. Some missionaries only had a short time left on their missions and they wanted to finish strong. The younger missionaries could see what they could accomplish on their missions and were glad they didn’t have to worry about going home. Sister McQueen and I were filled with huge emotions – six months left and how were we going to close out our mission. We knew this was our last Christmas in the Ukraine - our final Christmas celebration with missionaries. It was a tough time for us. I don’t think any missionary who was at that zone conference will ever forget the room, the conversation, the meal or the spirit. What a choice moment, our Christmas in the Crimea.

Eating

The best meals in the Ukraine were in our apartment. You would not believe the tender care that was taken to make sure you had good, clean, and lots of food. The first meal each missionary received was an authentic Ukrainian meal. It was interesting to watch those new missionaries who wouldn’t try some of the food. Some of the salads were not touched, borsch wasn’t a favorite, and the egg plant carrot appetizers went untouched by many. The potatoes, meat, and bread were usually all gone and everyone loved the juices. Remember the juices? We loved the white grape and cherry Dar or J Seven. Actually, any of the juices were good even the crazy vitamin stuff. We also liked the Fantas but we got tired of them. We didn’t drink coke although when we first got there the missionaries tried to convince us that coke was consumed to kill worms. Doctor Nelson confirmed that coke had nothing to do with keeping the worm count down. The only time we drank coke was at a meeting with the Minister of Religion in Kharkov. He brought us in some coke and said, “I know you don’t drink coffee or tea so I got some coke for you to drink.” I just told every one present to drink the coke. It was the first time I had consumed a caffeine coke in ten years and it tasted wonderful. Our favorite restaurant was the Arizona in Donetsk. It was open for the first year and then closed. It was in the bank building down by the lake. Our next favorite was Norma’s in Kharkov. We ate there every time we were in Kharkov. We ate there almost every night it was so good. I would rate it as one of our favorite restaurants in the entire world. Good food and really good service. Next was the Irish Pub in Zap. Great schnitzels and lots of food. Good room to sit in also. A favorite place was the Chinese place in Dneper, it had the best sweet and sour chicken in the world. Seriously, some of the best meals we had were at this place. We also liked the Melrose and the McDonalds throughout the city. We ate at the one by Pobeyda a lot. Often three times a day. The McDonald’s in Sumy made a killing off of the missionaries. The missionaries would take bananas to the McDonalds and order a salad. They would dump the salads out and have the guys at McDonalds make a banana split in the salad carton. The manager or one of the workers was from New Jersey or some place like that and he really liked us coming in. On a Saturday, during or after English classes, we would spend a lot of money at the McDonalds in Sumy. Our favorite waiter was at the Moscow Hotel in Simferopol. He always called Sister McQueen “My lady” and he always brought us fresh bread with real butter. The food was OK but the service was great. The restaurants in Kherson were medium. The hotel’s restaurant was awful but there was one place where they had a fish aquarium that was kind of nice. The hotel in Zap was good and eventually Zap got a couple of good places to eat - the pizza place and the Irish Pub. At the end of the mission, we actually drove through Zap on purpose just to eat there. Zap used to have a real good Chinese place but it closed. We like the food at Tequila Boom and the Three Fats Guys but we didn’t like what was on the TVs. The Red Dragon and a few other places in Donetsk were good but I think we have covered most of the places there. There was a good Chinese place in Poltava where you could get a huge salad with lots of garlic. We did have a couple of good meals at the Kiev Hotel in Poltava. The memorable meals in Poltava were at the University. Elder Roberts taught the lady that ran the cafeteria how to cook hamburgers and fires. Gee, we had some good times there including a Thanksgiving meal that was great – she even made good dressing. When we could eat at members homes, we had a great meal at Brat Valodia’s house in Golovach. Sister Nadezda made a wonderful meal out of the things grown in their garden. Isn’t it interesting how food was a form of entertainment and relaxation in the Ukraine.