After weeks of civil unrest, 67 missionaries have been taken out of Ukraine and 41 missionaries have had their mission calls reassigned to other missions, according to the Deseret News. A statement released by the church says, “Due to ongoing uncertainty in Ukraine, 67 missionaries formerly serving in the Ukraine Donetsk Mission who had previously been transferred to other areas within Ukraine will be reassigned to missions within their home countries to complete the remainder of their service. 41 missionaries who anticipated serving in Ukraine have been reassigned to other missions.”The Ukraine Donetsk Mission is the only mission to have been evacuated. Ukraine has four LDS missions, the Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk Mission, Donetsk Mission, Kiev Mission and L’viv Mission. The country is home to 11,439 members and one temple. Ukraine was dedicated for official missionary work in 1991, according to Mormon Newsroom. “The wellbeing of missionaries is always our first priority, and every effort is being made to keep them safe,” the LDS church said in a news release, according to KSL news. The announcement to evacuate missionaries came just days before a planned referendum on autonomy in Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been caught up in protests since March 1st, according to Deseret News. A referendum was conducted on March 16 with the residents of Crimea, with 95.5 percent of attendees voting to become a part of Russia, according to the BBC. According to the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to discourage the referendum in Donetsk, and insurgents pushed forward, voicing what they wanted.The Ukrainian revolution began in Independence Square in Kiev in November of 2013. Paul and Becky Jeppson’s son, Zachary, is serving a mission in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The Utah couple said their son reassures them the violence in Ukraine is not as bad as the rest of the world believes. “There are some areas by the city, that have been alarming, but the rest of the city goes about its business as usual,” said Becky Jeppson. Reading from Zachary’s letter, his father Paul said, “He loves the people and loves working over there. He just says, ‘Dad, we’re not being stupid. We’re just making sure we stay safe, so don’t worry about it.’” Becky Jeppson continued to read, saying, “Things are good, life is good. Big changes are happening in this county, but the Lord’s work is moving forward.”
Writer: Emily Halls ~ Multimedia Journalist
