Nina Eelyenko, who was among the first to join the Church six years ago in the Ukraine, remembers holding Church meetings in rented halls that had no heat and being "kicked out" of some of those facilities by the police and other civic officials.

Now 70 years old and walking with a cane, Sister Eelyenko sat with the approximately 500 members and investigators in the chapel and overflow rooms of a new meetinghouse in Donetsk June 28 to participate in the dedication of the first Church building in the Ukraine."From the very beginning, I always wished there would be a meetinghouse like this," she said. "We have prayed for our own building, and now the Lord has brought us this."

The new meetinghouse in Donetsk is the first edifice built by the Church in this former Soviet republic since the Church was organized here in 1992.

"As I was sitting there in that meetinghouse, I saw in my mind a stake in Donetsk," said Elder Wayne M. Hancock of the Seventy and second counselor in the Europe East Area presidency who offered the dedicatory prayer.

"The Spirit is going to be poured out upon this people and they are going to prosper and be blessed spiritually, temporally, emotionally and physically."

Ground was broken for the chapel in May 1997, according to Pres. Aleksandr N. Manzhos of the Ukraine Donetsk Mission. The exterior was completed by November. The interior, including a baptismal font, was completed by May 1998.

"I think that opening this meetinghouse is a big step for the Church in the Ukraine and a blessing for all the people who live here," Pres. Manzhos said.

He quoted a friend in the government who told him, " `We've always known you were a people who will help others, but now we know you are a people with a high level of spirituality.' "

For several months prior to the dedication, members of the Kievsky Branch "worked tirelessly to clean windows and floors, haul in furniture, pull weeds and beautify the grounds for this occasion," said Vladimir Dmiterko, president of the branch that will occupy the building.

Reporters, government officials, educators and Church members from the six branches in Donetsk with their guests attended the three days of open houses and concerts.

Sister Alla Shuskevich, who has translated 44 Church hymns into Russian, organized the concerts that included solos, duets and choruses performed by adult members, Primary children, young women and missionaries. She also invited non-member friends to participate, some of whom have since asked to learn more about the Church.

"The spirit of the members is powerful," said Elder Hancock. "The building is wonderful, but it is the spirit of the people that touched us today. The meetinghouse is the means by which that happens."

The dedication was a time of heightened feelings and impressions of the Spirit for many. Irina Kalmikova Vitalivha and Sergey Nikolenko Lionidovich were baptized the day before the dedication, and were then confirmed the following day.

"It is difficult to express my feelings," said Brother Lionidovich. "I feel God's love and many blessings in my life."

"We are happy to have this beautiful building," said Alexander Diloyan who attended with his family and is president of the Central Branch. "I love, love, love my [Savior] and I am happy God listened to my prayer."

Tanya Manushina, a member and a student at the university who attended with her non-member sister explained how she saw a street meeting the first month the Church was established in Donetsk and asked the missionaries if she could attend worship services.

After attending the first hour of Church, "I asked if I could stay for the next, then the next," she said. "My sister said I was crazy to want to belong to this Church and tried to discourage me from joining. But I joined anyway. Now, after four years, her heart has softened. Now she is asking questions about the Church and is listening."

Nina Pola remembered how her 16-year-old son met the missionaries. "Martin became interested in the Church one evening while taking out the garbage," she said. "He heard someone speaking English and looked up to see the missionaries taking out their garbage. They introduced themselves, and in six months, my son was baptized. Three months after that, I was baptized. Martin has since served in the Utah Provo Mission while Elder Hancock served as mission president."

Vjacheslav and Alla Shushkevich and their daughter, Valeria, were among the first six families from Donetsk to charter a bus to Freiberg, Germany, where they were sealed in the temple in 1995.

"We have prepared for this day for a long time," said Brother Shushkevich, first counselor in the mission presidency. "The doors of this building will be open to all people who want to strengthen families."

Yuri Yurievich Martinenko found particular satisfaction in the dedication of the meetinghouse. Shortly after being baptized in August 1997 as a 16-year-old, Yuri was hired by the Turkish contractor to help construct the building.

He mixed cement all day and often became so tired he prayed for strength to endure the fatigue while working on the house of the Lord. Turkish workers nicknamed him "Little Mormon" because of his small stature and prayers on his food.

"I am really happy to be here because there are drops of my sweat and tears in this building," he said.