The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
The past several weeks for Ukrainian Latter-day Saint Irina Rudenko have been defined largely by fear, displacement and separation from loved ones. Those emotions are not likely to go away anytime soon.
But Sunday, April 10, offered a few hours of light and hope for Rudenko, her family and dozens of other Latter-day Saint refugees from Ukraine. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and himself a two-time refugee, presided over a devotional for Ukrainian refugees who have found temporary refuge in Poland.
Spending the Sabbath day with Elder Uchtdorf, and his wife, Sister Harriet R. Uchtdorf, made for an unforgettable day of rest for many of the Ukrainian Latter-day Saints.
“I feel today like God loves us,” Rudenko told the Church News following the devotional. “Today I felt like God opened his windows to bless us, the Ukrainian people. We were in Church, and we didn’t feel sad.”
Her fellow Latter-day Saint, Irina Kolivatyh, added: “This day has been beautiful for us. It has helped my soul.”
Elder Uchtdorf’s counsel Sunday to the Ukrainians was imbued with kindness and love.
“We admire you and pray for you every day,” he said.
The Europe Area leadership, he assured them, is doing all they can to effectively minister to the refugees while helping to care for their emotional, temporal and spiritual needs.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
