The title of this post is one that I chose after participating in the Relief Society lesson today. It, to me, expresses the need for each of us to magnify our ability to assist our fellow beings while on this journey through mortal life.
Sister Laurie Erickson presented a wonderful lesson today based on the personal experiences of her friends, Reeve Nield, Rachel Nield-Geranios and Hilary Mazura, among others. Laurie receives email communication from these sisters on a regular basis. All these sisters are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A native of Zimbabwe, Reeve is a professional golfer on the Ladies European Tour and Rachel is her sister. They do much more than take part in golf tournaments, however, because much of their personal time is spent supporting the non-profit charity organization Reeve established in 1996 called Eyes4Zimbabwe. They help in raising funds, collecting clothing and supplies and distributing them to people living in dire poverty in the outback regions of Zimbabwe. The charity also hosts medical clinics throughout the region where volunteer doctors help restore sight each year, to thousands of children and adults suffering from cataracts.
Laurie and members of the class read portions of some of the emails Laurie has received that tell of the much needed and appreciated service they provide through this organization. These stories are all very touching and truly share the spirit of the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ. They bring to mind exactly how much help is needed in the world for those who literally have nothing. They point out how very blessed we are to be living in a country where we have so much, readily and at hand.
In the first instance, Reeve wrote of a trip to distribute clothing, food and supplies deep in the bush of Zimbabwe. She wrote "We had the most incredible experience yesterday . . . we couldn't understand the simple car problem . . . but as we drove last night . . . everything became clear!" She tells that they were in the middle of nowhere after a day of distributing food and supplies, trying to keep careful watch on a very bad road (in the dark) she spotted 3 "very dusty, very tattered little kids." Then as they stopped the car, the children ran. The women jumped out and called to them (in their language) that everything was ok. As she stood in front of the car with the lights shining. one little child came towards her and she was astounded at the poor state he was in. She continued to talk to them saying she was there to help and to not be afraid. She asked her two helpers to find everything they had left in the vehicle and as they began to pull the boxes out, more and more children came running out - "filthy, ashen, malnourished, sick and all dressed literally in rags . . not a single shoe in sight . ."
Reeve says that never in many places she had been for many years had she felt a roadside distribution affect her in such a way. The children were all gentle and eager for attention; they were all without parents or guardians - so many, so late at night in the middle of nowhere. They all lined up, very quiet and gentle, no pushing or shoving or fighting over any of the items. They all "dipped, clapped and said thank you every time we walked down the line to hand something. It was sacred and reverent, quiet and respectful . . . honestly, as I distributed in that forgotten place in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, I felt closer to the temple than I have ever felt in another place!"
They had had nothing left to give even before they stopped, just scraps left from their long trip, but, she says, "as always you pray and start to give, and the miracle is given . . not only do you have enough, but you have a few extra . . . " The loaves and fishes.
After they had said a prayer and promised to return soon with clothes, the car would not start. As she turned to look around, Reeve saw another 4 people standing in the dark at the side of the road. She and her companions jumped out again to give whatever they had left. As soon as they had given away all their things, they got back into the car and it started perfectly. Driving away, they remarked that it was too bad it was so late because they would have loved to see the clinic for this region since they supposed it must be in desperate need, also.
They then saw a man walking, so they stopped to give him a lift and found that he was the nurse for the clinic. He took them to the nurse in charge and they had a special midnight meeting in the clinic by solar light!
Reeve takes no credit for this amazing service. She thanks the countless people who make the (supply) containers possible, the people who always cover their expenses, her dad who loans his truck and all those who help her get these distributions accomplished. She expresses gratitude that they listen when the Lord sends them, because for some of the recipients, a day later may have resulted in death. Being in the right place, with the right people at the right time helps to make miracles happen and they all play a large part in making it possible.
Reeve's sister, Rachel, told of conducting a soup kitchen in winter for street kids in the middle of town. As she dished up the soup and bread for the kids in line, she saw a little boy, maybe 4 years old, sitting on the curb. He just sat and watched, seeming not to have the strength to jostle with the others for a place in line. After a while when things had calmed down and most children had been fed, she poured some soup into a cup and offered it to him with some bread. She says, "I was still in a focused and rather busy state of mind - just trying to get everything sorted. Then he taught me one of the greatest lessons of my life . . ." He didn't reach for the food as she expected, instead he quietly said to her "I am SO cold". She had assumed what his need was and was so busy "being magnanimous and handing out food and doing good things and helping, that I actually forgot the most important aspect of service - the humanity! After she gave him something warm to wrap up in she then sat with him and talked. She found that he had much to say and it helped her to realize that what abandoned and orphaned children need more than anything else is someone to really "see" them and to care about what they see.
A third story from Sister Hillary Mazura spoke of the Young Women of her ward. After returning from YW Camp, the leaders wanted the Young Women to be able to give something back, to say thank-you, but the girls themselves are mainly destitute and living below the poverty line. They came up with the idea of using donated material, fabric scraps, batting and thread to sew over 200 quilts. As they tried to find a place to distribute the quilts to people who might be poorer than the Young Women, they decided to travel to the city dump where over 300 people live trying to provide a living for their families from the trash that others discard. The people at the dump were astonished at these offerings and they asked who these girls were. They were told that this was the Young Women's group from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One lady said that she had heard of that church and the next Sunday, 23 people - men, women, youth and children - walked all the way from the dump to attend church. Sister Mazura said, We feel blessed to have the resources for people to be able to help others and themselves."
Lastly, we read and discussed the situation of a young man, Tanner Tupou, from Australia, who as he prepared to receive a mission call, was sure he would be called to his home country of Australia since he had lived there all his life, was proficient in his local knowledge and love for the people. Upon opening his call letter he was filled with disappointment when he read that his calling was to "The Fiji Suva Mission with assignment to Vanuatu". While Tanner's friends and family were cheering and congratulating him, Tanner just couldn't relate because he never wanted to serve anywhere but Australia. He said, "I couldn't imagine anything worse than mosquito ridden survival treks and third world living in the blistering sun."
Despite his lack of enthusiasm, he accepted the call and arrived in Vanuatu just after Cyclone Yasi, and was sent to a small island called Tanna which contained just 6 missionaries who looked after 4 branches.
Shortly after arriving, there was a knock at the door and standing there was a "tall, shoeless, Ni Vanuatu (local) man. He introduced himself as Isaac, the unit leader for Green Point He had just walked twelve miles to ask them for some relief aid to help alleviate the cyclone damage to Green Point. The missionaries had heard vaguely of Green Point and knew that no one had been there to visit for probably five years. It was a good two-hour drive over "a mountainous and rugged dirt road. . .
The missionaries called the office couple in Vanuatu who told them to go out to Green Point and assess the situation.
So, they drove off on Sunday in an off-road vehicle to go to the village where they were amazed at what they saw. Isaac greeted them and lead them to church where they expected to see maybe three or four people. As they approached a bamboo structure with a palm leaf roof, they were greeted by a congregation of ninety persons made up of a few baptized members and many investigators. Elder Tupou said, "It was totally surreal, I couldn't figure out how they'd grown to this extent without missionaries".
As Sacrament Meeting started, Elder Tupou found himself worrying that perhaps this service might stray from church guidelines or that there might be some false doctrine preached or strange practices take place, since the village had not had contact with church leaders for at least five years. Isaac announced the Sacrament service and the only five people present with white shirts stood up to take their places. Elder Tupou says, "It was humbling to see these men in worn, off-white shirts, clearly given to them by former missionaries, the reverence in that shelter was unmistakable." As Isaac then reached into his pocket, he pulled out a well-worn piece of paper neatly folded in four which he handed to the brethren in white shirts. This was the sacramental prayers hand written by the missionaries more than five years before. Elder Tupou said, "When I saw that piece of paper, I felt the spirit confirm how special these people were to God."
Isaac, because he could not ask these people for tithes, had set up home and visiting teaching programs for members to provide watch care by visiting each other regularly across the region so they could assess needs, teach lessons, collect and distribute food donations for widows and struggling families. He had created a 'Bishop's storehouse' and made sure that everyone visited someone, whether member or non-member every week.
When the young missionaries left the village they were overwhelmed by their experience. They returned to the village with needed food and shelter supplies and started to teach members of the congregation who had been faithfully attending church for years while they waited for missionaries to come to baptize them. In less than a month, Elder Tupou baptized over forty people whom he described as "some of the most prepared, well-taught people I'd ever met. I will never forget those baptismal services".
Eventually, Isaac received training and became their first Branch President. The Branch now has members holding callings in every branch auxiliary and Isaac's son recently left as the Branch's first, full-time missionary.
Elder Tupou expressed his feeling that though some missionaries think when they leave an area everything is going to crumble without their support, this was not the case with Green Point. He says that "Most missionaries won't see the impact they make straight away, but imagine those Elders who donated a few white shirts and wrote the sacrament prayer on a piece of paper. Their impact will be felt for generations".
What are some of the lessons to be learned from these stories/experiences? My thoughts are if we have faith and do what we can to help give service in any given situation, our God is a God of miracles and we will see them in the work we do for others. One Scripture mentioned in our discussion is from Moroni 7:29 "And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men". We can be the ministering angels to those in need no matter where we happen to be in the world. We can be the hands of Jesus Christ to lift up the downtrodden, the poor and those in desperate circumstances. We can share the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are 'starving' for knowledge of salvation.
We must learn to trust in the Lord, for His plan is better than ours, even if we cannot yet see the outcome. One of the best ways to show our gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy daily is to strive to do the most good we can in the places where need is great.
Hoping to bloom well,
Your bloggess,
Karen
If you are interested in the charity organization mentioned, you can learn more at http://eyes4zimbabwe.org/
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