From Ukraine to Utah: Finding Christ’s Light in the dark

The temperature was 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Not cold enough for snowfall, but still too cold to go without a coat. It was winter in Daugavpils, Latvia, and Sister Vladlena Kocheva was stuck in her apartment.

She and her missionary companion both had COVID and were quarantined for the week. Kocheva had been working from home recently and was blissfully unaware how soon her life would change forever.

Kocheva said she and her companion awoke early on Feb. 24. They followed their typical missionary routine: praying, making the bed and planning the day. However, during their planning session, Kocheva said she received a message from her best friend in Ukraine.

“She told me, ‘Pray for us, the war has started,’” Kocheva said.

Kocheva said she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She went onto Facebook and saw posts from friends and family about the invasion of her home.

“They recorded what's going on in their cities. And there was bombs everywhere,” Kocheva said. “It's how I learned that the war started.”

Her home had been invaded, and she was across the border, watching it unfold and unable to do anything.

Faith through the fire

“I love Ukraine,” Kocheva said. “I love that Ukraine is so different. We have so many fields, and … different colors. We have mountains and we have two seas. And just in general, every single city is so different. It’s just amazing.”

But Kocheva wrestled with helplessness. This was not only a challenging time for her because of the war, but she felt trapped and unable to help her friends and family back home.

“I remember that I had (questioned God) why I'm here, why I'm in the Baltic states,” Kocheva said. “I needed (to be) there in Ukraine to help my family, to be with my family and my friends in this difficult time.”

Eventually, she said, she felt discouraged. During this time of her mission, she was serving in an area that was predominantly Russian, filled with people who spoke Russian and still considered themselves Russian.

“Unfortunately, so many Russians, even people who were born in Latvia, will still say that they're Russians,” Kocheva said. “And so many times … when I talked to people on the street or at the church, they would start to tell me trash stuff about my country and how bad Ukraine is. And they have never been in Russia, but they're watching Russian news.”

She said the things people said to her got under her skin. She said it was hard to deal with these pointed comments when she knew her family was in occupied territory.

“I saw all these stories from my friends, how their colleges were destroyed by Russia. They (didn’t) have a school because of Russia. It was really difficult for me,” Kocheva said.

She didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. How could she continue to serve the people who were responsible for the siege of her home?

“I called my brother and I told him that I can't keep (serving) my mission. I don't want to serve Russians and I don't know what I am doing (here),” Kocheva said.

Her brother had recently fled Ukraine with his wife and newborn child, and even then, they were in a tight spot. But despite his challenges, he gave her sound advice.

“He told me ‘God called you to serve Russians for a reason,’” Kocheva said. “My brother told me that if people in Russia would know the gospel, the war (would have) never happened in Ukraine because they would know how valuable every soul is in God's plan and they would try to do good.”

Kocheva took that advice to heart. She did the only thing she could do: got on her knees and prayed for patience. She said this was the turning point in her mission.

“One thing that stood out to me was just how faithful she was through it all,” Amber Glorious, one of Kocheva’s mission companions, said. “Even missionaries around us were getting discouraged by the news. But she had the most reason to be discouraged. She was always trying to buoy people up and make the most of it.”

Glorious said Kocheva was always going out of her way to serve others.

“On P-day, she would call her family. She would hear all the news and all the scary things that were going on. But then she put that aside for the rest of the week and devoted her life completely to the people we were serving,” Glorious said. “She was so good at connecting with the individual. She emanated this light and love. Even though she had so much going on in her life, she didn't really let those circumstances overcome her.”

The mission continues

Kocheva eventually did finish her mission and had to figure out her next steps. She spent some time with her family and then took a small sabbatical at Cumorah Academy, a gospel-centered leadership academy in the Czech Republic.

Kelly Shepherd, one of the academy's supervisors, said that he was impressed by Kocheva’s leadership and initiative.

“I think she's always had a great mindset of the gospel, being able to not only apply (it) to her life, but just live it right,” Shepherd said.

Despite all of the obstacles Kocheva faced, Shepherd said she refused to give up.

“One thing that I have noticed about Ukrainians, and I don't want to be too general, but they're relentless. Their mentality is, ‘I might not be succeeding now, but I will succeed,’” Shepherd said. “Most of our students are members of the church. We usually have about 10 or 15 that are from Ukraine. And Vlada was just such a rock and such a force and helping them see, ‘Yes, this is horrible. Yes, this is difficult, but there's something bigger. We can serve, we can balance, we can love.’”

After her time at Cumorah Academy, Kocheva began considering her next steps.

“I was in the Baltics and after my mission. I had a plan to move back home and help Ukrainians there, but I decided to pray and ask God what his feelings (were) for me. And it was really clear that I should move to the States,” Kocheva said.

So with the help of Shepherd and others, Kocheva obtained a visa and moved to the United States. She kept moving forward.

“She came here. She had nothing. She had no opportunities, no jobs. We took her to have a job interview. And pretty soon she started creating opportunities for herself,” Shepherd said.

Kocheva applied to work at the Provo Missionary Training Center to help Ukranian- and Russian-speaking missionaries. She also started a photography business and is now working on a book to leave as a legacy for her future children and family.

Her story

Kocheva described that she wanted this book to be centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ, while navigating her struggle to find peace when her world was at war.

“I feel like the main point is about when I was on my mission and when I hated Russians because of what they were doing to Ukraine. But it’s also about how I should love them in Christ’s way; to serve them,” Kocheva said. “I felt like every morning when I woke up, I had this battle inside of me between good and bad. It was like a war inside of me. (This book is) about stress and life and how we choose to live this life.”

She said she wanted to write down stories and scriptures that blessed her so others can learn from her experiences.

“I feel like I am not the only one who (is) living in this situation. People in different circumstances have their own challenges and they have this battle inside between God and Satan and they probably don't realize this.”

She said the book will be called “Who will win?” and she hopes to publish it later this year.

“I hope that it will help people to find light even in the darkest time in their life,” Kocheva said. “In the darkest time in our life, we can choose to find light if we want. And if we find … and follow the light, I know that God will help us."