I thought at the time this happened that I would keep this entry private..but based on my feelings currently, and events I would have never dreamed, I felt I should share. I wrote this in my apartment immediately after attending church in Odessa the first time last August. There are probably references that people won’t understand…but I wanted to be true to the moment.
“I didn’t think this warranted an entry in my public blog, but I wanted to tell you of my experience attending church today in Odessa.
The meeting house is a small room in a building about a block from the opera house. It is a temporary setting (folding chairs, a small podium and piano, etc.)
Upon entering, I met the LDS missionaries, who said hello to me in Russian and I said hello back. Then in English I said “where are you from?” They looked at each other and said “your English is very good.” I replied “It should be, I’m American.” One Elder was from Utah, and the other from Florida. Then I went and sat down in the back. Soon, the senior missionary couple came in and introduced themselves as well. They are also from Utah. They just arrived 3 weeks ago, and their Russian is not very good. I was privileged to act as translator for them through parts of the meeting.
In all, there are about 30-45 people who attend each Sunday. There is only one branch here in Odessa (a major city in Ukraine). There are 3 other branches that make up this mission, all about 45 minutes away from each other, and of similar size.
The three talks grew in Spirit as the meeting progressed. The first talk was by an elderly woman who told a story almost word for word from a church magazine (I did not catch which one) about a boy who was lost and people taking him in as their own. She related it to having the love of The Savior. She was very nervous to be speaking…the magazine she was reading shaking in her hands, but she delivered a good message.
The second was from a woman whom I later learned was a recent return missionary. Her talk was on repentance, and she mostly told the story of Alma the younger and his change, and later success in baptizing entire cities. She quoted President Romney about missionary work…it was a clear message to repent and spread the gospel. I should have guessed she was a return missionary!
The last talk was extraordinary. A man in his 30’s gave such a great public speaking performance alone. But the message in his talk was so amazing. He spoke about the Lamanites burying their weapons of war. He spoke about how, as a people of The Lord, if they trust in God and stay together as a people (even a small group as was in the building), they would be blessed. He directly related conflicts from The Book of Mormon to what is happening to their country right now. It was so powerful. But he even had jovial moments, as when he said “Other men, from other churches, look at us and say ‘But you have to stay sober! That is silly!’ We shall see who looks foolish at the judgment day.” This brought out a huge round of laughter from the congregation.
About 2/3 of the congregation were women. A man told me that economics are so difficult for them now (3 years ago their UAH exchange rate to US $ was 8/1. Now it is 26/1) that many men do not come, and that they have a big challenge with getting priesthood leadership.
I think the most powerful part of the meeting was, as I was leaving, a woman walked up to me and said “I want you to know, we value our freedom. We will endure anything to keep it.” I told her that I understood, that I loved Ukraine and felt for what they have endured. She said “Tell your family. Tell your people. We are good people. We value our freedom.” I cried a little. She smiled and walked away.
After today, I am really happy I own my cat. Because everything in me did not want to ever leave that room. I do not know if I would come home if not for him. But he’s a good cat, and I guess keeps me anchored. Rarely have I ever felt The Spirit so strongly as I did today. I promised them I would be back next Sunday, after visiting the Temple in Kiev this week.
Much love to you all,
Dazvidanye.
Jeff. Aug 21st, 2016.”
jeffinukraine2016 
Thanks for sharing. When I got home from Ukraine I told Jim and (by phone)
Ray (and others here at our ward since then) that attending the Odessa
branch that day was a very spiritual experience for me. I told of the last
man’s talk and that although I could not understand what he said that I
really felt the spirit so strong there. And singing the familiar hymns (or
at least listening to them) in Russian was a very emotional experience
that brought tears to my eyes. I also had an interesting conversation with
the senior missionary couple. That is one Sunday church meeting I will
always remember as one of the most spiritually filled meetings that I have
attended at church. Tom.
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