4,000 gather in Ukraine for Pres. Hinckley
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KIEV, Ukraine — Andrey Danko has been president of his branch in Lutsk, Ukraine, most of the four years he has been a member of the Church. He spent $7 per ticket to bring to Kiev his wife, Dusha, and their two sons, Evan and Petro, on the overnight train; paying the equivalent of an average monthly income in Ukraine.
"Cost doesn't matter," he said. "It's worth the trip to hear the prophet in person. The prophet may come to Ukraine once in my life. I want to be there."
Similar sentiments were evident in the faces of the 3,200 members and investigators and missionaries who filled the Palace Ukraine Concert Hall on Sept. 9, to hear President Gordon B. Hinckley.
"I'm glad to be here, and to see you wonderful people," he said. "I came here 21 years ago. At that time, there was not a member of the Church in all this nation. I went to Moscow, to St. Petersburg . . . I went to Riga, Latvia. Not a single member of the Church in all this part of the world.
"Now look at you tonight. You wonderful people who have embraced the gospel and made it a part of your lives. How thankful I feel for you, how I pray that the Lord will bless you, that He will prosper you, that you will be happy and that the Church will grow."
While some may have hoped to hear news about the temple that was announced for Kiev in July 1998, President Hinckley spoke of gospel principles and encouraged members to live with faith.
"This is the first time that I've seen you," he said as he concluded his address. "I'm so glad that I've come. At my age I ought to stay home. But I've come to see you, to thank you for all the good that you do. . . . You look so wonderful to me, so bright and happy. I wish I could come down and put my arms around every one of you and say thank you. I'm sorry I can't do that. We would be here all night. Please know, that's how I feel," he said, reminding them that they have now personally heard the prophet bear testimony of God and His Church.
President Hinckley's visit to Ukraine was part of a five-nation, seven-day tour that included the rededication of the Freiberg Germany Temple, dedication of The Hague Netherlands Temple, a stop in France, and member meetings in Moscow and Iceland.
Olga Korolchuk, 18, with her friends Sasha Yoinevych-Yoinevska and Kamyanetshy Kostyantyn, was among the members in the congregation. President Hinckley's visit to Kiev marked her one-year anniversary since her baptism. "He is a true prophet," she said. "He is like a father for me. I trust him. I and my friends testified about Gordon B. Hinckley as a prophet to others on the train as we came in. I think it helps them to understand what we believe."
Keeping the commandments runs contrary to popular lifestyles in Kiev, which, members say, is motivation to keep the commandments more enthusiastically. Typical of member enthusiasm were the Dankos whose two sons took naps in their seats prior to the meeting after being exhausted from the late-night train ride and walking long distances. Many families filled the hall. Casual observation showed that the young men and young women in the audience outnumbered parents and grandparents.
"This is the largest assembly of members in Ukraine history," said Elder Douglas L. Callister of the Seventy and Europe East Area president. "This is a historic moment."
Anna Berezyuk, a young woman in the Brovary Branch outside Kiev, remembered a missionary saying that President Hinckley's eyes sparkle with a testimony of the gospel.
"I saw his eyes tonight," she said. "I can't express my feelings, but it's a great day to be here. We feel the Lord's love for each of us through His prophet."
