Sharing Our Blessings

-
A favorite hymn in our hymnbook is "Because I have Been Given Much".  

"Because I have been given much, I too must give;  
because of thy great bounty Lord, each day I live 
I shall divide my gifts from thee With ev'ry brother that I see 
Who has the need of help from me."

Latter-day Saints Charities works worldwide to help those in need.  They are actively engage in helping those in need of relief due to floods, earthquakes and even pandemics.  Earlier this year, Latter-day Saints Charities supported the effort to distribute 2 billion COVID-19 vaccines around the world with a US$20 million grant to UNICEF for its role in COVAX.  The Philippines is one of many countries that have benefitted from these vaccines.  Also, as there are many natural disasters in this country, Latter-day Saints Charities has been able to help many people and help them to get back on their feet after they lose everything.  The "Helping Hands" vests are recognisable worldwide.  We have donned them ourselves as we helped with relief after the historic flood in Calgary and other nearby communities in 2013.

Many of the efforts to help and bless those in need are not so large scale.  They may not even make the news.  But they bless people, one by one.


Last week, we were invited, along with a few other local leaders, to represent the Church and attend the hand over of 9 hospital beds to a Rural Health Unit in Iguig, a small community north of Tuguegarao .  This little hospital has been in great need of beds for their patients, particularly because of the increased need due to the pandemic.  I was touched as I watched as one of the beds was put together to be used in their emergency room.  One of the nurses said to me over and over, "Thank you for sharing your blessings with us."   We were humbled.



"Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:37-40


We love the Philippines, and we are blessed to serve and be served by these wonderful, resilient people.  

Sister Sharon Eubank spoke at our General Conference last week, and reported on the work of Latter-day Saints Charities.  She reported that Latter-day Saints Charities has been involved in more then 1,500 COVID-19 projects, 933 natural disasters and refugee crises in 108 countries over the last 18 months.  She also shared 4 examples of relief given.  You can watch the whole talk here:







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alone

-
Image
Thursday was a strange kind of day.  The compound was  silent.   We were alone.   Thursday morning, we took the Warrens to the airport to travel home.  They have been here with us for most of our mission, since October of 2019.  When we first arrived in the mission, there were 3 Senior Couples. Then we had 4, and then 5.  But in March of last year, things changed overnight.  3 couples went home in the same week because of the evacuation.  At first we thought they would all go, but the Warrens and the Becks were given the option to stay, and we were so grateful they chose to continue to serve.   We had each other to rely on through the long days of lockdown, as we all lived in the same compound.  We had sacrament meeting and lunch at the mission home every Sunday.  At first there was nowhere to go, but eventually, as restrictions were eased, it seemed we were going somewhere every day, helping the missionaries....
Read more

To Kiribati with love

-
Image
April 1st of last year Sister Teweia's kabahays (roommates) with the help of her companion, Sister Taketi Reo, decided to play a prank on her.  They went onto her keypad phone and took their names off the contact list and changed it to say it was the Assistants.  They then sent a text from their number, telling Sister Teweia she was to immediately pack because I was coming to pick her up right away; she was going home that day.  Sister Teweia's scheduled departure date was April 8, but with all the craziness of evacuation due to Covid, anything was possible.  Both Sister Teweia and Sister Taketi Reo are from Kiribati, and the Church had hoped to evacuate them from the Philippines when most foreign missionaries were evacuated.  As we were amassing the missionaries to headquarters in Cauayan for evacuation, word came that missionaries from Kiribati and Samoa were not to evacuate to Manila and home because their countries had already closed their borders and their ...
Read more

Friday the 13th: a Coronavirus story

-
Image
True to the superstitions, it was a weird sort of day this past Friday the 13th.  Most of the world has held its breath as they have watched the Coronavirus turn into a pandemic.  Here in the remote northern Philippines, the pandemic has been mostly an academic exercise as we have read about it but are not really experiencing it.  The Church has, however, maintained a careful watch on the pandemic in an effort to be a good citizen and to protect its missionaries and members.  We are following precautionary measures of no shaking hands, no fist bumps or elbow bumps, no hugs, and social distancing.  This was particularly hard the first week, but now everyone understands.  Ingenuity has prevailed, and foot tapping is our new handshake!  We are washing hands regularly and using alcohol to clean our hands between washings.  The missionaries have been instructed to refrain from teaching in homes where someone is sick. "Group Hug" Initially, we wer...
Read more