LDS Members Rally in Central America

Thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) have been affected by a pair of disasters in Central America  which killed hundreds, destroyed homes by the thousands and prompted a ongoing Church humanitarian response.

Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano erupted May 27, spewing lava and rocks and blanketing sections of Guatemala City — located 19 miles to the north — in ash and debris. The eruption forced the evacuation of hundreds of families living near Pacaya, including several member families. The international airport was closed because volcanic ash and debris.

Two days later, a devastating tropical storm, Agatha, made landfall at the Guatemalan border with Mexico.  As it moved south, the storm wreaked havoc not only in Guatemala, but also in Honduras and El Salvador.  The storm dumped rain, caused flooding and landslides, and even created sinkholes.  About 129,000 people were displaced.

No Church meetinghouses were harmed by the disasters and many building are being utilized to shelter LDS families who have been displaced.  Many LDS members were evacuated before the storm hit. 

“The Church provided emergency food, water, clothing and tools to victims and local priesthood leaders. The Central America Area was also working with civil authorities in the three affected Central American nations to purchase and distribute medicine, building supplies and other relief provisions.”

The Church will continue to assess the needs of church members and their neighbors to see what ongoing aid needs to be rendered.  Help rebuilding houses and planting crops is forthcoming.

Mormon Helping Hands in Slovenia

Members in all three branches in Ljubljana joined with a national effort to clean up Slovenia. Wearing their yellow Helping Hands vests, members from Ljubljana joined with members in the Maribor and Celje branches to help to clean up Slovenia in a day of service on April 17, 2010. [1]

The Church offered widespread support, including the full-time missionaries and President David H. Hill of the mission.  The service included rubbish clean-up projects in several areas, including Hill Roznik, behind the city park Tivoli and the Heracles temple in the park.  In the entire country, 250,000 people participated in the clean-up project, and the government sponsored festivities for the participants.

Mormon Church Sponsors Local Addiction Program

Mormons in Charleston, South Carolina, are sponsoring an addiction program for members of the local community of any faith or persuasion.  The program is adapted by LDS Services with permission from the Alcoholics’ Anonymous 12-step program.  Anyone from the community who suffers from an addiction, be it addiction to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, gambling, or pornography, is welcome to attend, and family members and friends who might benefit are also invited.  Those who have eating disorders or caffiene addiction would also benefit from the program.

The program is free and ongoing.  The experts managing the program are Kitty Baughan Cole, retired marriage and family therapist, and Dr. Marylou Lewis, former chief of staff for Charleston Area Medical Center.  

Lewis is now clinical ethicist and palliative care physician for CAMC Health Systems Inc. She is also affiliated with her local Mormon “stake,” which includes several Mormon congregations.

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Support groups in other locations

"Mormon Angels" in Tennessee

When several Tennessee counties flooded in early May, 2010, “Mormon Angels” pitched in to help.

The first weekend in May, after two days of relentless rainfall, the Harpeth and Cumberland Rivers that meander throughout the city and suburbs of Nashville, overflowed their banks at record-breaking heights and caused extremely serious flooding.   The flood waters reached four counties in Tennessee, causing so much damage they were deemed federal disaster areas. Over 20,000 homes were destroyed or damaged with 21 deaths across the state.

Though 42 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lost their homes and 100 members’ homes or vehicles suffered damage, no lives were lost among the members of the Mormon Church, and no church buildings were damaged. 

“On Saturday afternoon the rain continued and rivers began creeping out of their banks. Members checked on one another and then organized into small groups working tirelessly throughout neighborhoods. They moved furniture and supplies to upstairs rooms. In one subdivision the residents began to call the members the ‘Mormon Angels’ because of their selfless service. One neighbor wrote the following to the members, ‘We can’t tell you how much we appreciate all the help from all of our angels yesterday. You lifted a load in more ways than one. Please convey our UTMOST appreciation,’ Cindy Tumblin. ” [1]

“On Sunday church meetings were cancelled and members continued helping others. Many housed those that were forced to evacuate. Over 15 inches of rain had fallen by Sunday evening. In some places the rivers had risen 20 feet and totally submerged homes and vehicles. Weather forecasters said a summer’s worth of rain fell in two days.”

The Church Disaster Relief in Atlanta sent 7 semi- truck loads of clean drinking water, food, cleaning kits, generators, diapers, fans and other items into the Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County Office of Emergency Management distribution point, to the Second Harvest Food Bank (who served as a distributor for Metro) and to the Town of Lavergne.

One semi-truck full of food and supplies was taken to the Grace Works Ministries and the Empty Hands Fellowship in Franklin, TN. Seven churches belong to this ministry and serve the people throughout Williamson County.  Two semi-trucks full of water (about 7,400 gallons) were sent to Mount Pleasant, TN, because their water purification system was underwater and not working properly. Members of the Nashville stake gathered supplies for over 1200 hygiene kits that were donated to the Red Cross for distribution.

Hundreds of church volunteers gathered in flood-stricken neighborhoods cleaning up muddy debris.  Every LDS ward had work crews out daily. Members worked tirelessly side by side with people of other faiths. “Our members have been welcomed every where they have gone, wonderful associations and friendships have been established. “

Sixty members in Thompson Station met at a local Baptist church that suffered severe water damage.  The church had six inches of water fill the sanctuary and class rooms. Mormon volunteers swept, cut drywall, and cleaned mud grime off of furniture.

LDS bishops and branch presidents have assigned priesthood leaders to lead volunteer service activities and have contacted city leaders to coordinate the service activities with neighborhood needs.   The mayor of Franklin, Tennessee was grateful and called the church daily for help. Several times persons needing help would call the mayor and ask for the Mormons.

One young man preparing for his mission went to the mayor’s office daily to find out what families needed help. Members of the church assisted in any way possible such as feeding relief workers, clearing trees, removing floors, siding, air conditioners, duct work, dry wall, garages, etc.

Mormon missionaries participated fully in the clean up, and seemed to work beyond their capacities.  Many were amazed at the missionaries hard work and diligence.  They pulled up damaged wood floors and tore out soaked HVAC ducts full of mud and awful smells.

Recovering from the flood may take years for Nashville and its surrounding areas but members of the Church will always be organized and ready to serve. “We feel extremely fortunate that our members had so little damage to their homes and properties when so many others lost everything,” said Franklin Stake President William Grayson. “We consider it a blessing to be able to coordinate supplies and food to those who were affected, and we are grateful for the volunteers from our stake who have worked tirelessly to reach out and help through daily service opportunities in their communities.”   [1]

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