See this link: Practicing the Church’s New Fourth-Fold Mission
As we near the year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Latter-day Saints are still deeply involved in trying to lend a hand.
The Church News covers a growing branch in south central Florida with a thriving Young Men’s program:
When Mariama Kallon was fleeing the rebels in Sierra Leone, she grabbed her scriptures and the plastic bag with her hygiene kit in it.
She still has parts of the kit.
“It blessed the lives of over 25 women in three weeks,” Kallon said of their time in the refugee camp. The women would line up and she would give them each a pinch of toothpaste. They used the bars of soap sparingly to make them last.
They didn’t use the shampoo — it wasn’t labeled and they didn’t know what it was.
Kallon had lost family members during the civil war and ended up with friends who were members of the church. For some of the missionary discussions, she walked three miles to the chapel.
She later served a mission at Temple Square. She brought her scriptures, both changes of clothes that she had and the hygiene kit when she entered the MTC.
Later she was reunited with her little sister and nephew when a Lehi family brought them to the United States, she said during her at-times-emotional presentation of her conversion and the promises that were fulfilled to her.
“Heavenly Father loves each and every one of his children,” Kallon said.
See this article on Ghana reunion of returned missionaries in Mormon Times, October 1, 2010
WEST JORDAN, Utah — If you happen to meet someone from Ghana, ask them about the handshake. “You go like this, and then you go like this, and then you go like this, and then you slide down, and you click on my finger and I’ll click on yours,” says Sally Murray as she teaches a child at the Africa Accra Ghana mission reunion. Murray is a former senior missionary to Ghana and the organizer of the reunion held at the Welby Stake center in West Jordan, Utah. …
See this story in Mormon Times, Sept 16, 2010
AMERICAN FORK, Utah — Most of the people in Ryan Wilcox’s life already knew he is a devoted father and caring pediatrician.
What they didn’t know about is his work as a humanitarian missionary for the LDS Church. …
See this article in The Church News Sept 18, 2010
A Mighty Change
ACCRA, GHANA
More than 10,000 young men and women, ages 12 to 18, from seven countries in western Africa, representing seven stakes and 32 districts, came together to celebrate the 180th anniversary of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and to hear a special message from President Thomas S. Monson. …
Jesus Christ and His gospel help a man find direction amid adversity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foz1eaHRXjE
Also read Elder L. Tom Perry’s talk, “Let Him Do It with Simplicity” http://new.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/let-him-do-it-with-simplicity?lang=eng
By Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray
We believe that there must and will be a significant future for those of African descent in the Church, and far greater prominence in the leadership than we see today. But it won’t come without full acknowledgment of the complexities that always attend race issues, and some bold approaches to the challenges before us. …
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Earthquake survivor Daniel Delva looks past his humble circumstances in Port-Au-Prince and instead chooses to dream about his future. Delva will be studying mechanical engineering this week at Weber State University in Ogden thanks to a foundation of anonymous California- and Utah-based donors who will cover his school expenses.
See http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700059604/LDS-Haitian-man-gets-a-2nd-chance-at-education.html
