One Peach at a Time

By Sister Sharon Eubank

First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

From an interview with Amber Healey

When I was a little girl, my parents took my sister and me to an orchard owned by the Church. We were there to help pick peaches. We climbed up on tall ladders and reached through thick leaves to pick the peaches off the trees.

At first, we were excited. But soon the fuzz on the fruit made our arms all itchy! We told our mom, “We don’t want to do this anymore. We want to stop.”

My mom asked us if we knew where all the peaches went. When we said no, she explained it to us.

“Each of these peaches is taken to a building where volunteers put them in cans. Then those cans are given to people who need food. Each year the Church donates thousands of cans of food.”

All of a sudden, my sister and I stopped worrying about our itchy arms. We were helping people who needed food! After that, we had fun climbing up the ladders and picking the fuzzy orange fruit.

This year we have asked you to participate in a Helping Hands invitation (see the January 2021 Friend). Serving others the way Christ served is one of the most important things you can do. Children have a special way of noticing those in need and volunteering their help. One little act of service might not seem like very much at first. But if all the children around the world look for ways to serve, they will add up to amazing things!