In the Spotlight

Homeless Line Up for Free Haircuts from Elders

When missionaries show up at an El Paso, Texas, homeless shelter each week, long lines of people are awaiting their arrival. As part of their community service program, elders serving in the El Paso 9th and 13th Wards spend two hours a week giving free haircuts to the homeless.

“Whenever a new elder transfers into one of the wards, members teach him how to cut hair,” says Linda King, a local public affairs specialist. “We’ve equipped the elders with scissors, clippers, capes, and aprons.”

The program has been a success. Several days after having his hair cut, one man came back to tell the elders he had landed a job, thanking them for their help. “It plants a lot of good seeds,” says Elder Nate Alsop. “It’s a humbling experience to see the light in their eyes when we tell them we’re helping for free.”

Shelter director Ray Tullius says he always knows when the missionaries have arrived because the atmosphere immediately changes. “They bring a different feeling when they’re here,” he says. Lanny J. Nalder, president of the Arizona Tucson Mission, agrees. “They’re doing a wonderful service, bringing a spirit to the homeless they rarely feel anywhere else.”

Sierra Leone Members Help War Victims

Members of the Freetown Sierra Leone District recently gave service at a facility for victims of civil war atrocities, patients whose hands were amputated by rebels in this northwest African country.

District members cleaned the facility and donated clothing to the patients. W. S. Thompson of the district presidency offered encouragement to the patients, telling them that the Lord was mindful of their present situation and that physical healing will come in the Resurrection.

Couple Listed as Longest Married in World

After celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary, a member couple were recently inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-living married pair in the world. Doc and Viola Colvin, members of the Pima Fourth Ward, Pima Arizona Stake, were married in 1920 and later sealed in the Mesa Arizona Temple.

When asked how they’ve maintained such a lasting, successful marriage, Sister Colvin replied, “We’ve just gotten along well—and lived a long time!” Apparently, this principle has worked well in the Colvin family: in recent years Brother and Sister Colvin have celebrated the 50th wedding anniversaries of each of their three children.

The Colvins have 14 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 16 great-great-grandchildren.

Elders in El Paso, Texas, give free haircuts in a local homeless shelter. (Photo by Linda King.)