LDS Helping Hands in Guatemala

In conjunction with Children’s Day in Guatemala (October 10, 2009), 7,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) performed acts of service.  Children, teenagers and adults of all ages participated in hundreds of projects — including many that focused on serving children, particularly those battling illnesses or other challenges.  Members sported familiar “Mormon Helping Hands” vests as they interacted with the children.

The various children’s service projects included staging puppet shows, games and pinata parties. Mormons dressed up as clowns, painted the children’s faces and taught them songs. The fun-filled activities brought joy to the children and the many members who participated.  

In other areas, members participated in various service activities designed to assist disadvantaged youth. Some spent several hours at various youth facilities painting dormitories, cleaning outside the buildings and repairing stoves, refrigerators and play areas. Volunteers also cut grass and scrubbed hallways. Others collected diapers, gifts and hygiene kits that were presented to those who care for the children.

Church volunteers donated a total of 28,000 hours of service. Participants were following the recent general conference counsel of President Thomas S. Monson, who said: “Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and, figuratively, lose their life, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish — and, in effect, save their life.”

*LDS Church News, November 21, 2009.

LDS Church Receives Community Service Award

Kentucky’s Leaf Chronical newspaper announced the award bestowed by Mayor Dan Kemp and Pennyrile RC&D for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ volunteer service.  In April 2009, for their Annual Day of Service project, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints partnered with Pennyrile RC&D, the city of Hopkinsville and thirty additional organizations and businesses in efforts to clear debris from the Attucks High School to prepare it for future renovation and preservation of the historic building.

Over 300 Latter-day Saints from the surrounding area, including Clarksville, TN, removed over 240 cubic yards of debris using over 1500 man hours during the Church’s annual Day of Service event.  A variety of such Day of Service events were performed by over 550 Latter-day Saint congregations throughout the Southeastern United States. (The local LDS Congregations are currently accepting proposals for service from the Clarksville community for the April 24, 2010 Day of Service.)

Mormons Help Locally – All Over the World

 

“When I think of how many of these people have left home on this holiday just to be of service to others,” said Senator Alvaro Dias, “I am certain that this group has something special.” A similar continent-wide project took place in Africa earlier this year.

In El Salvador, hundreds gathered at 17 donor stations as part of a national day to replenish the country’s blood supply. More than 900 units were collected.

“The need to supply blood banks is compelling, as there is a deficit of more than 30,000 units of blood each year,” said Ana Vilma Aguilar, national coordinator. “Aid from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is invaluable and it enables us to significantly reduce the gap in our inventory.”

In Samoa volunteers helped restore both a grandmother’s home and her hope at a time of significant human loss following the recent deadly tsunami in the South Pacific.

By Uniting against Hunger, Mormons in Guatemala have responded to drought conditions that have destroyed crops.

“I brought two pounds of rice for my little friends who are without food,” said an eight-year-old girl who worked side by side with her father for two hours preparing rations.

The Church joined hands with numerous charitable and municipal organizations in collecting more than 300 tons of food.

Following September’s tropical storm, members in the Philippines continue an ongoing effort to provide food, water, clothes and other relief supplies.

In the Dominican Republic, members say they were following the admonition of their Savior when they donated 500 much-needed wheelchairs.

And on a smaller scale, women in England donated a portable machine that helps hospice patients breathe easier by clearing airways.

From LDS Newsroom.

Mormon Ward Hosts Moslem Worshippers

When a California mosque was severely damaged in an electrical fire, Mormons opened their nearby meeting house for Friday Moslem prayers for over a year.  The Moslem congregation is comprised of Ahmadi Muslims, a branch of Islam founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1889.  There are millions of Ahmadi Muslims in the world, but they are often persecuted by other Moslem sects.  The congregation in Chino, California, has some members who have fled persecution in other countries and enjoy freedom of worship in the United States.

Although much of the mosque was destroyed in the 2003 fire, the prayer rooms were left intact. For the first 3½ years, as the mosque raised the $3 million for the first phase of rebuilding and expansion, worshippers were able to pray most weeks in those rooms.

In October 2007, construction forced them to move elsewhere, to a nearby ward — congregation — of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The ward hosted the mosque’s Friday prayers for 1 ½ years.  The Mormon ward’s invitation to the Ahmadis came after years of friendship and members visiting each others’ congregations, said Ken Rasmussen, director of public affairs for the Latter-day Saints region that includes Chino.  Rasmussen said he didn’t know about the striking similarities between the two faiths’ histories of persecution and misunderstanding until a few months after members of the two congregations began holding joint dinners.

Just as some Muslims consider Ahmadis heretics, some Christians call Mormons heretics. Ahmadis believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the messiah; Mormons believe Joseph Smith was a prophet. Smith was murdered in 1844 during an era of severe anti-Mormon attacks and persecution in the United States.

Rasmussen said that after attending dozens of Ahmadi prayer services, he’s realized there are other similarities as well: Teachings to love others, honor your family and serve God.

“It’s been a wonderful blessing for us to be such good friends with them,” he said.

The newly remodeled mosque will be larger than the original.    The new 27,000-square-foot, two-floor mosque is more than twice as big as the old one. About 300 to 400 people worship there during Friday afternoon prayers, Anwer Khan said. The mosque is still raising the $1 million necessary to build a basketball court, industrial-sized kitchen and a home for Imam Nasir.

Article adapted from ThePressEnterprise.com, and MormonTimes.com.

LDS Aid in Tsunami-Stricken Samoa

In October, 2009, an 8.3 earthquake occurred in the sea southwest of Samoa and American Samoa.  Since there are a large number of Latter-day Saints on the islands, local Saints and church leaders first tried to locate every member.  Emergency response was then coordinated between the Church and local congregations.  About 150 people died in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, 26 of whom were Latter-day Saints.  All Mormon missionaries on the islands were accounted for and found to be safe.

Latter-day Saint authorities in Samoa and New Zealand have continued to devote substantial energies to organizing humanitarian relief locally for the battered islands of Samoa and American Samoa.

Latter-day Saints throughout unaffected areas in Samoa have been gathering supplies and are continually shipping these to the impacted communities. Aid is to be given to all people in need, regardless of their religious affiliation (MormonTimes.com).

In American Samoa, at the request of the government, church meeting houses have been opened to residents who lost their homes in the disaster.

In Tonga, the tsunami crushed the small northern island of Niuatoputapu, destroying most of the homes in its three villages and leaving roughly 90 percent of its 1,019 people without shelter and clothing. Survivors reported that the waves reached the boughs of the coconut trees and obliterated the island’s hospital, bank, government offices, telecommunication facilities, jail and airport buildings. Nine people died and four were critically injured.

No Latter-day Saints were killed in Tonga, although some lost their homes and all their possessions.

Church members on Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu provided relief for the people of Niuatoputapu. On Thursday, Tongatapu’s 12 stake presidents broadcast a message on local Tonga radio inviting church members to donate food, clothing, cooking equipment, pillows, blankets and other necessities.

Church members were invited to drop their donations at their local churches, where full-time missionaries helped load them into trucks. At first light Friday, dozens of trucks began transporting the goods to government warehouses. From there, military trucks transported them to the nearby wharf, where they were loaded into a French ship, which will carry them to Niuatoputapu.

Government leaders on all three islands were impressed with the speed and coordinated efforts of the LDS Church and its members and expressed gratitude for the help.  Rebuilding efforts will also receive the continuing attention of the LDS Church.  The Church is still continuing rebuilding efforts in the tsunami-stricken regions of Indonesia and Thailand, even though the disaster occurred several years ago.

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-update-on-pacific-earthquake-and-tsunami-crisis

Click here to read a personal account of the devastation in Samoa.  This article has many before and after photographs.

All Africa Service Project Mobilizes African Mormons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Europeans and Americans are used to seeing newspaper photographs of humanitarian aid workers in Africa.  The workers are invariably white, and from developed, “first world” countries, trying to lend a hand to poorer Africans.  The photographs are different, however in an article on Vanguardngr.com, a Nigerian paper reporting a major cleanup effort in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigerian members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mobilized in Lagos to clean up Ikeja General Hospital, especially clearing drains that were breeding grounds for mosquitos.  Church members were clad in the recognizable yellow aprons bearing the logo “Mormon Helping Hands.”  The aprons are the same that were apparent at the hurrican Katrina service sites in the U.S. 

Male members of the Church sand filled some failed sections of the hospital road while the females swept the hospital premises and also cleared the garbage at the back of Ayinke ward.  Mormon children also participated.  The exercise also took place in places like Ifako Health Centre, General Hospital, Ogba, Ikoyi Prison, Agege General Hospital, Ajuwon Community Health Center, Ikorodu General Hospital, Surulere Local Government Premises, Onilegogoro Bus-stop, among others.

The same sort of service was taking place all over Africa as part of the project sponsored by the Church.  

“A Ghanaian, Richard K. Ahadjie, said of the exercise: ‘I came for a leadership training meeting yesterday and I was supposed to leave for Accra this morning. I know the project is for all Africans and if I decided to leave this morning, I shall miss this project back home in Accra. So I decided to stay in Nigeria for the three hours exercise.  This exercise has been able to portray Christ’s attitude on cleanliness.’”

“Chairman, National Public Affairs Council in Nigeria, Elder Alexander Odume told Vanguard Metro, ‘We feel great for doing such a thing. Mormons means good; we are here to render service because we believe in service for humanity. This is our own contribution to assist our fellow human beings who need the service more. We have been able to fill some parts of the road with laterite; we have trash bags and we are partnering with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA who will come and evacuate the rubbish as soon as we are through with what we are doing.  Unit leaders of the Church have identified projects that would address the needs of the areas the church is located where members would render service. In some of the projects, we are partnering with organisations, other churches and leaders of other faiths to serve Nigerians.’ 

There are over 88,000 members of the Church in Nigeria.  The aim of the service project is to “sweep the street, clear the drains, paint and mark roads, clean markets and other public places, including hospitals, health centres, police stations, old people’s home, motherless babies homes, among others,” said Elder Odume.

See the full article at Vanguard Metro Nigeria.

Local Mormons Provide Food Relief in Florida

On June 25, 2009, Florida Today.com, in an article by John A. Torres, reported the following:

Starting today, hungry families struggling to provide can go to the nearest Catholic Church for a week’s supply of food.

More than 12,000 pounds of food collected and donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was picked up Wednesday by volunteers with Catholic Charities of Central Florida.  The partnership is expected to ease the economic crunch for struggling families for the next three weeks.  The food is available for anyone, regardless of faith.

It’s the first time an LDS Stake has connected with the local Catholic Church to work on this type of project.  There are a large number of Catholic Churches in Brevard County that can serve as distribution centers.  The project follows a successful fund-raising campaign called Project Hunger, aimed at providing food for the poor during the summer months.  Donations are typically lower during the summer than during the winter holiday season, so it’s difficult to keep food banks stocked.  This recent donation will help provide needed food until the Project Hunger funds are allocated.  Funding for the effort was provided by donations from Latter-day Saints (Mormons) throughout Central Florida.

To read the full article, click here.

 

Massive Service Day Benefits Thousands

SALT LAKE CITY 27 April 2009

From coast to coast, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined hands with friends and neighbors to clean up and serve their communities in a far-reaching day of service.  Hundreds of thousands of volunteers stocked shelves, constructed houses and helped families in transition get their feet back on the ground.

“Helping others is valuable to the person being served but may be of even more importance to the person serving because it causes him or her to forget their own problems for just a few minutes and experience the joy of service,” said Elder Walter F. González, who oversaw volunteer efforts by the Church in the southeast area of the United States.

In Southern California Mormons staged an organized event that summoned some 40,000 volunteers to carry out service projects throughout all of Southern California, including 11 Orange County cities.  Although service is a core value in the Mormon belief system, this is the first time members of its congregations have united statewide on the same day in such a uniform fashion.  Projects included cleaning parks in Cypress, building a park in Fullerton, donating food to the Orange County Food Bank in Huntington Beach, informing residents about proper smoke detectors in Tustin and more.  Though the movement was organized by Mormon congregations, non-church volunteers were encouraged to participate (Orange County Register). Read more

BYU Service Squad

Mormon students at Brigham Young University engage in “random acts of kindness” for an hour a week as part of their activity in BYU’s Service Squad. Whether it’s garbage bags needing a haul, or lightening a student’s load by performing a deed on their doorstep, students participating in BYUSA’s Service Squad forget themselves and go to work for others during this dedicated hour each week.

Regulars and newcomers are welcome to participate and enjoy the gratitude and rewards as unsuspecting peers respond when volunteers show up at their doors in orange shirts offering to help with simple acts of service.

According to the program director, Ashley Pearl, BYUSA’s Service Squad group meets every Wednesday night outside the student government office before splitting up into groups to visit on-and off-campus housing, looking for spontaneous ways to aid and assist others.

Vomocil, an actuarial science student from Marshfield, Wisconsin., and Lopez, Vomocil’s roommate and a pre-acting major from Honolulu, Hawaii, caught the contagion. Apparently, the Service Squad showed up on their doorstep one semester, and as a result,Vomocil decided to personally volunteer with the group.

“It was just a good time,” he said. “Even doing something simple like taking out the trash … you can make somebody a little happier.”

Kearl said Service Squad provides an easy way for students to get involved. “It’s only an hour a week,” she said. “It’s short and sweet. You just show up.” Students can volunteer when they have time, assist in planning or take specific roles within the Service Squad, she said.

This semester, the Service Squad will offer a date night, a dinner and occasional treats. Volunteers will also be working with BYU wards to identify specific needs, Kearl said. “We’re always looking for new ways to serve people,” she said.

The Service Squad meets at 7 p.m. every Wednesday outside WSC 3400 and welcomes volunteers.