For Such a Time as This

Howard and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude many times over the past several days – gratitude so intense that we’ve wiped tears again and again.  As we’ve explained in previous blogs, it truly is a miracle that we are here in Ukraine.  We have sacrificed much and the Lord has blessed us even more – many times more.  It has been confirmed to us that we do, indeed, have a mission to perform and that we can and are making a difference in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.  In many ways, it seems as if this is a culmination of the events of our lives, all of which have prepared us for this moment in time.  Perhaps we have been prepared for such a time as this.

Yes, we know that we are special. We are children of the Heavenly King. And so are each of you. You, too, have been prepared for such a time as this.  You are special children of the Heavenly King reserved to come forth at this time in the world’s history.  This is a time of turmoil, strife and darkness –a time when it seems sometimes that the Prince of Darkness has gained the upper hand. This is the time when our Father has sent in the ones he knows can combat darkness, hopelessness, faithlessness and despair.  We will not be victorious alone, but with His help, we will!  Covenant sons and daughters of the King can and will light the way and show others the source of true hope, peace and joy.  That source is our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  And there is no greater joy on this earth than to know that because you have suffered well with faith and hope, your life can offer an example of hope in Christ to others who are also struggling.

Yesterday we had the amazing privilege to meet in our home with three special persons who were prepared to assist in the Lord’s work at just the time they were needed.  Howard loves these three, and many others like them, to the depths of his soul.  Each of them was of great assistance in establishing a foothold for the Church in Ukraine in the early 1990s when Howard served as mission president. One of these, a brother, was somehow always able to find and procure what was needed for the mission to continue to operate when Ukraine was just gaining its independence and when commodities, such as means of transportation and fuel, were scarce to non-existent.  Another, who became the driver for the mission home, was ready to protect his precious human cargo with his own life, if necessary, when going into territory infested with the terrorists of that time.  He, too, was able to procure fuel when it seemed impossible, sometimes waiting in line for it for 3-4 days at a time, even in the winter months.  What service! What faithfulness!  No wonder Howard loves them so much.

I’ve saved until last the sister who worked in the mission office. She miraculously was able to get missionary visas and renew them when the government was denying them to foreigners.  Miracle after miracle occurred in this process.  She also remembered with Howard the time when she was able to get permission – the first ever from this region which had been dominated by 

Soviet control – for church members to leave the country for religious purposes.  They went to the Freiberg Temple for their temple ordinances and had to receive not only permission to leave Ukraine, but also permission from Germany, along with names of individual German families willing to sponsor them.  Germans invaded Ukraine during WWII and Ukrainians considered them great enemies, and yet the miracle of permissions and sponsorship occurred with the help of this good sister who was prepared to serve in such a time of need.  We surely love her too!  

We loved hearing this sister's conversion story.  She had been an atheist, but when examining the world, including especially under a microscope, she discovered such order that she knew that God must exist.  She had searched for a church with the answers she sought and had even tried Eastern religions.  When I asked her what it was that had attracted her to the LDS Church, she said, “It was their eyes.  When they taught me, I could see in their eyes that what they were saying was true.”  She was referring to Sister Gamble and Sister Vihavainen.  They radiated the light of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost carried the message into the heart of this good sister.  These sisters, and many elders and sisters like them, do just that.  They are prepared for such a time as this.

These three wonderful Latter-day Saints have, for almost 20 years, been away from the Church.  Our meeting with them was filled with the Spirit as they shared their conversion stories with us.  We know their hearts were touched as they felt the Spirit who witnessed truth to them once again.   The mission president has asked us to help the missionaries collect the conversion stories of the saints in Ukraine as part of a history of the church.  We will be publishing the resulting stories and calling them “A Cloud of Witnesses.”  We pray that as others relive their conversion stories, they too, will again feel the Holy Spirit and their lives will be greatly blessed.

Another event that filled us with gratitude occurred on Sunday evening.  We were asked to be the speakers at a stake fireside.  I told our story of how we came to Ukraine in the context of how to receive answers to prayers.  I also talked about the blessings that come when the Lord answers in ways we do not expect or initially desire.   I testified that Howard had been inspired to deliver a message from the Lord.  Howard then expressed the great love that he, and our Father in Heaven and His Son have for them (in Russian, BTW).  He pled with them to endure to the end, keeping and renewing their covenants, coming back into the gospel covenant if necessary.  His theme was “To whom shall we go?”  I cannot adequately express the power of the Spirit that was in that meeting.  Many came up afterwards to express love for the Lord and thankfulness for the message they felt was made just for them.  It was gratifying to be used in that way and the presence of the Spirit filled our souls with joy, then and now as we contemplate that evening.   

Yes, we believe we are in the right place at the right time to serve our Heavenly King and His precious children.  We pray that each of you can know that you too have been prepared to truly make a difference and feel the joy that comes from the Spirit as you serve.  Esther 4:14: “…..and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”