Members Serve Communities Worldwide

Following the counsel of Church leaders to be good neighbors, Latter-day Saints throughout the world are serving their communities.

Central Arizona

Members in central Arizona gave unexpected community service in October. After a volunteer group was not able to participate in a planned neighborhood cleanup project in Peoria, Arizona, a city official turned to the Peoria and Peoria North stakes for help. Some 600 Latter-day Saints turned out for the 21 October project, in which they worked on 47 lots in a mobile home park.

City officials were impressed that Church units could muster up 600 people so quickly, said President Lloyd Price of the Peoria North stake. Members trimmed dozens of trees and bushes and planted new foliage, repaired roofs and painted homes, spread new gravel on lots, and removed 350 tons of debris.

As members were completing their work, rain began to fall. By the following day, two inches had fallen in many parts of Arizona, causing extensive flooding in Wendon, a town of 3,000 that is part of the Peoria North stake. The flooding continued for weeks.

After the flooding abated, men of the two Peoria stakes were back at it again, this time using heavy equipment to remove mud, silt, and debris. They were joined by men of other stakes in the region. The Church meetinghouse in Wendon became the distribution point for much of the community aid. Truckloads of food from the bishops’ storehouse were delivered to the meetinghouse and distributed to the community within days of the flooding.

“It’s been gratifying to see how quickly the Church can move into action to help others in need,” President Price said.

Porto Alegre, Brazil

After heavy October flooding killed six people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes in Porto Alegre, Brazil, local Latter-day Saints assisted those displaced by the floods. Missionaries and members teamed up with others in the community to repair damaged homes and to organize food boxes for distribution. Building materials and food were purchased with Church humanitarian funds. Local fast-offering funds were used to assist some LDS families who lost their homes. No damage was reported to the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple, which was nearing dedication.

Springvale, Victoria, Australia

Missionaries of the Australia Melbourne Mission recently worked with community members to help spruce up a shopping district in Springvale, Victoria. The group painted benches, power boxes, and graffiti-covered walls; filled two large bins with garbage; planted 30 trees; and washed a pedestrian underpass.

“The project was an enormous success,” said Tim Holding, the local member of parliament. Many passers-by stopped to thank the missionaries.

“It’s been gratifying to see how quickly the Church can move into action to help others in need,” said a stake president in Peoria, Arizona, after hundreds of local members united to give service. (Photo by Terry Weinberg.)

Some of the 85 missionaries of the Australia Melbourne Mission who joined community members to spruce up a district in Victoria, Australia. (Photo by Pam Hodson.)