Report 1 | April 29, 2010
Report #1—Wednesday, April 28, 2010 from John Kachelman
I have arrived in Donetsk, Ukraine—road weary and jet-lagging BUT excited to be back! The trip went about as well as can be expected. The plane from Amsterdam to Kyiv was an hour late because some passenger did not show up on time. The gate was closed but his luggage had to be removed from the aircraft before we left. So we were one hour late in departing Amsterdam. The trip over Atlantic was uneventful. So far as I can tell, there was no problem with the volcanic ash in Iceland. I have talked with several whose trips were interrupted because of flight cancellations over the past 2-3 weeks.
I met Larry Jackson and Tim Alsup in Kyiv’s airport where Larry was filling out documents for a bag that never made it to Kyiv—it is somewhere. Larry and Tim are going to Krasnoarmeisk and Mezhevaya and were going to accompany me from Kyiv to Donetsk where they went on to Lidia’s in Krasnoarmeisk. Larry and Tim had arrived from Paris, France just minutes before I arrived from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They live in Memphis but were routed from Memphis to Atlanta to Paris and then to Kyiv. I began in Little Rock and went to Memphis for a direct flight to Amsterdam and then to Kyiv. That is how crazy the scheduling goes—those living in Memphis cannot get connections to Amsterdam but must go to Paris!
This morning began early for me. Arising from the stupor of a night’s “rest” was a challenge. My plane touched down at midnight in Donetsk and we did not get to our lodging and in bed until 1:30 a.m. and then the alarm sounded at 6:00 but no one stirred until 7:00! After Larry & Tim left I began a series of meetings that will continue in Donetsk city and oblast for the next few days.
If you read Ivan’s last report, you will recall that he spoke of Ukraine having elections. The result is that a President was elected that is pro-Russia. Many are wondering what impact this will have on the political/military positioning of Ukraine. This morning I talked with a lady whose son was recently appointed to the government structure and will be in the Crimea. I am not sure exactly what position the son is receiving but I thought she said he would be the Mayor of Crimea but Tanya (the non-jet-lagging one) said that she mentioned it was a high position but did not say mayor. Last fall I met with this lady who was then a part of the opposition party. She had asked about our shipping humanitarian aid into Mariupol. Jim Akridge later met with her as well. (We have sent 2 containers to Mariupol and I should visit those distributions at some point while I am in Donetsk.) In this meeting the lady asked if I would meet with her son and discuss the possibility of sending some containers into the Crimea. We have not yet been into south Ukraine but have been asked by some to help ship containers into the Black Sea areas. The contact today was exciting because this provides us with a good source to work with in south Ukraine. David & Galina Brinkley are supported by the Dalraida congregation (Montgomery, AL) and work in Nicholaev. David has been trying to locate a reputable contact to help get benevolent commodities into southern Ukraine.
Well this is about all the steam left. It’s not even 8:00 p.m. and I am dragging! Tomorrow is another early day as I have appointments in Kramatorsk and will need to be at the bus station to catch a bus for there at 7:30 a.m. I will be meeting with a number of people and will meet Vlad & Oksana and enjoy some time with them.
Weather is fine here. The Chestnut trees have not yet bloomed so it looks like I will get to enjoy the pollen season all over again!
Thanks to all that are interested in this trip and are encouraging me in so many ways!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Donetsk, Ukraine
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