Many of our brothers and sisters serve in the armed forces giving a form of humanitarian service that most of us cannot fully comprehend (insert mother's fear here).
I [Kathee Nelson] received a call today from my Mom. She was reading this week's edition of the Church News and noticed an article about service in Tanzania. Then she realized she was reading about her own grandson (insert mother's pride here)! http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/61151/Fight-Poverty-Empower-People.html Tyler and America are working for the second year for HELP International - a non-profit organization that empowers impoverished nations with self-sustainable skills and funding basic healthcare projects. This year, the kids are spending their summer as country directors in one of the poorest areas of Tanzania (insert mother's fear here). They are getting dirty, working hard, and having a blast. I expect this behavior from my world traveler son who has no fear of anything whatsoever, and is a bit of an adventure junkie. Who knew my little couch potato would turn into such an energetic guy! America, however, is a different story. America was raised in the tiny rural town of Tuscola, Illinois. She's the youngest child and only girl in her family. Her parents are both converts and the only members of the church in their family. Her main goal after college graduation was to find a nice husband and start a family. When she married Tyler, America may have understood 'in theory' what he had in mind for a career (international public health -- or something like that), but she probably didn't expect to spend her honeymoon traveling through South America's poorest communities, her first anniversary in El Salvador with HELP, and her second anniversary in Tanzania! She is truly learning to be a Sister of Zion and breaking out of her comfort zone in service to her fellow men. (Plus, she gets to carry babies around.)
While reading the article, I was impressed by one quote in particular about humanitarian service. "Some young families do not have the means to go," Brother Colling said. "So they follow our blog and teach their children family home evening lessons about poverty and the things they can do to help." I love that! The HELP blog has information and pictures about some really inspirational and interesting projects (see pigs, chickens, and more) with photos that directly relate to children living in poverty - thing even the youngest members of the family can relate to.
As visiting teachers, we also have the opportunity to give service in our ward family. The Relief Society organization participates in humanitarian projects throughout the year that directly support families living in dire circumstances around the world. We are fortunate to be part of a great, worldwide organization that provides us with hands on opportunities to serve without pay or reward. Gloria Batchelor is our humanitarian leader, and always has a project that we can participate in. Chris Dinnel and Alisha Esquibel are our compassionate service leaders who help us fulfill service needs within our own organization.
There are opportunities to serve and teach our children to be part of the solution to end poverty right here in Washougal:
http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/foodbank.cgi?foodbank=420I'm a big fan of the Southwest Washington Free Clinic (medical, dental, and vision care for low to no income families in Clark County), and there are opportunities for service there as well: http://www.freeclinics.org/volunteer
Not able to leave the house to participate in service projects? Take look at this! http://vineyard.lds.org/
President Monson urges us to "Volunteer and Contribute." I hadn't been to this page in ages - it is very inspiring.
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