Today not only provided a written show of love, but a physical outpouring through service
Service opportunities are as varied as the people who perform them. Over the past week, thousands of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from around San Antonio have metaphorically come together to help feed the more vulnerable in our city.
More potatoes than Idaho?
The word went out just over a week ago that Catholic Charities needed help filling their Thanksgiving boxes. They had turkeys but they needed side items. Members went into action with different congregations assigned different items to donate —from apples and oranges to potatoes, stuffing, corn, sweet potatoes, marshmallows and other items needed to round out a Thanksgiving meal.
A fraction of the apples and oranges. A few stakes participated in donating apples and oranges.
By Leisa Parsons and Ken Jarvis, Area Media Specialists
Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban
Most of us are familiar with the saying “Think Globally, Act Locally”. The plight of the Afghan refugees is a global story that has inspired many to get involved. This particular story starts in Germany, ends in San Antonio by way of St. George, Utah. It is the epitome of acting locally to alleviate the suffering of others across the globe.
Cots for Afghan refugees at Ramstein Air Base
“As soon as I heard about the Afghan evacuees flying to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, just an hour from where we are living, I hoped there would be an opportunity for me to help.” said Valarie Olson, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Germany, where her husband is stationed with the military.
Members of the Kaiserslautern Stake helping with clothing. Valarie Olson is in the middle
Members of the Kaiserslautern Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ mobilized quickly and emails were sent requesting volunteers. “Count me in” Olson responded, “I remember standing in the hangar on Ramstein Air Base, surrounded by carts full of donated clothes. Afghan refugees urgently needed clothing, as many had arrived with only the clothes they were wearing, some even barefoot. I was one of the many volunteers that morning sorting items into packets to distribute.” Continue reading ““Be a Helper””
Another Saturday rolls around and one more refugee family arrives in San Antonio, homeless and with little more than the clothes on their backs. Just as predictably, another Latter-day Saint ward is ready to meet their needs.
Heather Haskin, left, and Kristen Holmes, right, go over last minute packing details before their collected items are taken to help an Afghan family
This time it’s the Alamo Ranch Ward, San Antonio Texas Stake. Heather Haskin, Ward Relief Society First Counselor said, “We got an email from our Stake Relief Society telling us about the opportunity and I just jumped on it. I’ve been reading about all these people from Afghanistan and wanted to do something, even if it was just a little. I thought back to all the talks that our Church leaders have given in the past couple of years about refugees and how we should reach out and my heart was ready to do that.”
Kristen Holmes, the ward Relief Society Compassionate Service Leader said, “We got lists from the Refugee Center, sent them out to our members and the response has been phenomenal; clothes, toys, everything that they should need to get them started.”
Some items are a lot heavier and a lot more difficult to move…
One item on the list was a carafe to put tea in. Serving hot tea is extremely important in the Muslim culture, but for Latter-day Saints…not so much. Holmes couldn’t find anyone who had one so they went on-line. “We found one and it was perfect!”
But a lot more comfortable to sit on than other
Haskin added that it wasn’t just adults that helped. “Our Primary boys put together some tables from Ikea. They also drew some pictures for the family.” She added, “Everything was about ready to go but, of all things, we didn’t have kitchen knives. So a young boy took his own money and bought them for the new family.”
Bryanna Holmes not only shares her toys with her new friend but provides some orientation all without words
So a family arrives in their new home and some local residents have the experience of a lifetime helping them get settled. But who puts all this together?
That enormous task is the responsibility of the Center for Refugee Services in San Antonio. Joann Franck is one of two Donations Coordinators. “I’ve been doing this for about six years,” she said. “We bring household goods and furniture, piece by piece, to brand new families.” When the number of refugees arriving is very low someone would donate an item and “…We would coordinate a pickup and get it delivered directly to the recipient.”
Joann Franck, Donations Coordinator, Center for Refugee Services, smiles as she surveys the progress of the morning
But then came the Afghan refugees. “Based on initial projections we’re anticipating about 500 Afghans, total, to arrive in San Antonio. We’ve had about 100 arrive so far,” Franck said. To collect and distribute enough household goods to meet the needs of all these people would overwhelm this small organization. She said that what is making this program work now, “…is that your wards are doing all the collecting and all the distribution in one big event. So the families are being serviced much more efficiently because when they arrive in their apartment they are given everything, or nearly everything and sometimes much more.” She added that if one family receives more than they need they share.
Joann Franck helps get the last items out of a truck and into an apartment
There is still the question of what we can do to help the families feel settled? “The next step for them,” Franck replied, “is to get a job and to enroll their children in school. Some women will enroll in English classes, some will not. Building relationships will be a slower process. The father will probably work every single day.”
This young Afghan girl casts a wary eye on the activities surrounding her new home
In the Muslim culture if the husband is gone it is acceptable for women to visit the home but not men. The best thing to do would be to touch base with the families that we’ve helped. Check in every week or couple of weeks in the beginning just to keep tabs and say “hello”. “And for families without a job and without food stamps their need for food will be great,” said Franck.
Joann Franck, left, Donations Coordinator, Center for Refugee Services, consults with Sisters Haskin, center, and Holmes, right, about moving the items from the trucks to the apartment
A volunteer herself, Franck said, “What your Latter-day Saint wards are doing right now has not only eased the burden for myself and my partner, you have also met the needs of these families so beautifully.”
By Giles Lambertson, Eagle Pass District Communications Director
Today’s southern border issues are primarily about people. Across the region, organizations are stepping up to cooperatively help hungry, unsheltered and scared border-crossers while policymakers sort out the rest of it. Two recent tractor-truck deliveries illustrate how church and humanitarian organizations are partnering to help the transient immigrant population and local residents in need of assistance.
Containers of peanut butter and strawberry jam were among donated foodstuffs.
Last week, food, blankets, water, hygiene kits and other goods were transported some 1,200 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah, to four partners in Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Crystal City. The goods were contributed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in response to local appeals for assistance.
Volunteers helping at Mission Border Hope, an Eagle Pass non-profit service organization, were thanked by Ross Davidson for their assistance in unloading pallets of goods at the service organization’s warehouse.
One of the receiving organizations, Mission Border Hope, is an Eagle Pass non-profit service organization closely affiliated with the Methodist Church. At its Bibb Street facility, the organization offers food, overnight shelter, hygiene kits and orientation to people crossing into Maverick County. In September, some 7,300 immigrants processed through the facility after being screened by the Border Patrol and ICE. The month before, 8,100 were assisted. Eleven pallets of diapers, wipes, bottled water, hygiene kits and cleaning supplies were unloaded at the organization’s warehouse.
Forty-five miles east in the Zavala County seat town of Crystal City, the Home of Living Faith Church oversees another distribution effort. Under the leadership of Pastors Eloy and Laura Vera, the church helps as many as 600 people each month in Crystal City, Batesville and LaPryor, Twice-monthly distributions of food, clothing and other supplies primarily target local residents needing help.
Thirteen pallets of canned fruits and vegetables, blankets, sanitary supplies and other items were unloaded at the Crystal City church and trundled into a storage area for timely distribution. “We exist to help the heart of our town and that is the people,” said Pastor Eloy Vera, who extended his “heartfelt thanks for this and future contributions to our church and pantry.”
In Del Rio, two pallets of bottled water were unloaded at the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition facility on Las Vacas Street. This non-profit organization, like others, serves immigrating individuals and families after they have been screened by Border Patrol and ICE and before being sent on to sponsoring families or organizations to await judicial consideration of their asylum requests.
In July, some 1,700 people were helped at the Coalition’s facility. In August, the number more than doubled to 3,600. Among many organizations that support the coalition is a Del Rio congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It regularly assembles peanut butter and jam sandwiches for immigrants to eat during their typically long trips to their sponsors.
Volunteers helping handle the 19 pallets of goods delivered to Val Verde Loaves & Fishes in Del Rio included church missionaries, facility operations director Margie Carroll (turquoise blouse), Val Verde County employee and forklift operator Mario Cervantes (white long-sleeved shirt) and Ross Davidson (white short-sleeved shirt), president of the Eagle Pass District of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The fourth recipient of the donated goods was Del Rio’s Loaves & Fishes organization, which distributes bags of food three days a week to local residents in need of assistance. The same day the truckload of food from Salt Lake City arrived, the center received boxes of sandwiches left over from Del Rio City Church’s emergency feeding of Haitian immigrants under the city’s international bridge. Associate Pastor Shon Young and his wife Janeene repacked the sandwiches for placement in a cooler at Loaves & Fishes.
Operations Director Margie Carroll supervised the truck unloading at Loaves & Fishes, which received 19 pallets of such staples as bottled water, canned fruits and vegetables, rice and sanitary supplies. She was assisted byMario Cervantes, a Val Verde County employee who moved the pallets to the building with a forklift.
A Loaves & Fishes volunteer with a pallet jack pulled the plastic-wrapped loaded pallets deeper into the warehouse. Elsewhere at the facility, four young people serving missions in a Del Rio congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints muscled pallets in the truck trailer or stacked and sorted boxed food items.
“This has been a trying year for us all, with the Covid pandemic and the people crossing our Del Rio-Acuna border,” Carroll said. “With this donation, we’re able to help many, many more needy families in our community.”
Pallets of goods were unloaded at Home of Living Faith Church in Crystal City for eventual distribution to residents in several communities.
In all, 48 pallets of goods were distributed from the two trailer-trucks. Such deliveries are ongoing. Besides the four partners assisted this time, local officials in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also have working relationships with seven other county agencies, nursing homes and child welfare centers in Del Rio, Uvalde, Carrizo Springs and Cotulla.
The partnerships were initiated by Ross Davidson, president of the church’s Eagle Pass District, which covers 10 counties in southwestern Texas. “None of these organizations were aware that our church was able to help support their missions until we reached out and offered the help,” he said.
Davidson works closely with Steve Stotts, who manages the Houston/San Antonio/South Texas region of the church’s welfare and self-reliance service organization. Stotts was on hand in Del Rio to help oversee unloading of the truck.
The Utah-headquartered church’s distribution of food through community partnerships—religious and otherwise—was summed up by Davidson this way: “The church has for many years assisted individuals, families and communities, teaching them how to build self-reliance and to recover from unforeseen emergencies. To leverage our resources, we partner with local churches, charities and agencies—coming together with like-minded people to show the Savior’s love and care through selfless service.”
On August 29th Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana as a deadly and destructive Category 4 Atlantic storm. It was the second most damaging and intense hurricane on record to make landfall in Louisiana behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Ida’s maximum sustained winds at landfall were 150 mph. She tied last year’s Hurricane Laura and the 1856 Last Island Hurricane as the strongest on record in the state. Ida is also the sixth-costliest tropical cyclone on record, having caused at least $50.684 billion in damages, of which $18 billion was in insured losses in Louisiana.
As dawn breaks over the Louisiana marsh lands, Helping Hands Volunteers were in here helping with cleanup
Five hundred miles away in San Antonio we were well aware of this storm but unaffected by it. However, five weeks later, carloads of local Latter-day Saint volunteers were on their way with every intention of getting deeply involved countering the destruction of this terrible storm. They were joined by members from other parts of Texas, as well as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle of Florida.
Destruction was evident everywhere as volunteers approached the clean up sites
President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, emphasized that same weekend in the Church’s General Conference, “ Most humanitarian and charitable efforts need to be accomplished by pooling and managing individual resources on a large scale.” Although we don’t know the total number of volunteers who worked there, the people at the designated camp site numbered approximately 1,550. Members from all of the eight stakes in the San Antonio area were represented.
Approximately 1,550 people camped on these grounds for two nights
The Latter-day Saint representative to the Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (TXVOAD), Gene Jensen,(read more about VOAD) said this was the fifth weekend in a row that large teams had been sent into the disaster area to work. “We were assigned remote areas deep in very swampy regions,” Brother Jensen said. “We saw a tremendous amount of storm damage.” Because the work was performed outside Texas, Brother Jensen was not there in his official position but as a member of the Pecan Valley Stake.
Volunteers from the East Stake clear away fallen debris
An example of the size of the projects assigned to the volunteers was the large project of helping the St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Paradis, Louisiana. This site had been worked on for several weeks by multiple teams but with little progress on clearing the large trees blown down on their 12 acre lot.
Some homes had to be stripped to the studs. It was hot, sweaty work!
Fortunately there were washing and showering facilities available to the volunteers.
President Frank Freeman, Texas Hill Country Stake 2nd Counselor said, “We did another project early that Sunday morning and then headed down to Paradis, arriving right about 9 a.m., just as their first Mass was getting over. A second Mass was scheduled for 10 a.m. and we were concerned the noise of our sawing trees and operating equipment would disturb them.” Apparently they were unfazed. President Freeman went on to say that their Parrish Priest, Father Joseph Duc Dzien, who evacuated from Vietnam in 1975, was there to meet them. “He was a very humble man serving in a very humble parish.”
Many youth volunteers, like these from Schertz and Cibolo, worked hard
The Parrish owns 12 acres with large trees interspersed throughout. The Parrish property was home to local fairs and other community activities. Well over half of the large trees were down due to the 150 mph winds experienced during Hurricane Ida. A good number of these trees had been cut up by prior teams but were still in their original locations due to the size of the logs.
President Freeman said, “A member of our Stake not only donated his time, he donated the use of his skid steer (pictured above). With that we were able to not only cut up all the rest of the largest trees, we got all the downed trees from the acreage piled up in a single location to be removed.”
They were assisted throughout the project by the Catholic church property manager and were presented at the end of project with lunch provided by the property manager’s wife. “We learned that this was the first week since the hurricane that the congregation had been able to use their building and it was a great service to them to get the debris cut up and moved.”
Helping Hands volunteers cut and stack trees for removal on the property of a Catholic Parrish in Paradis, LA.
The work was not without its share of interesting experiences. President Freeman said that while working on the Parrish property a passerby volunteered to help. “We were pretty much finished at that point, but we found out he was actually looking for employment and did not have money for gas or food. He was catholic so I committed him to attend the Parrish we were working on the next week. We then helped him with his stated needs so that he could get an unexpected blessing.” President Freeman confirmed that this was, indeed, the first time he’d ever committed someone to attend Catholic services.
Members from the Cibolo and Schertz area clearing away a tree stump
Not everyone was thrilled to have the volunteer workers in their neighborhoods, however. One was a neighbor of a project that the Hill Country Stake volunteers were working on. His cable went out during the work on the adjacent lot and he felt the workers were somehow the cause. He was not happy that he could not sit at home and watch the upcoming LSU football game. “He confronted us wanting to know which company we worked for as he wanted compensation for not being able to watch the game. We told him we were just volunteers to which he responded quite heatedly that no one volunteers today. He insisted that we were being paid by someone and he wanted to talk with them before we left.” President Freeman assured him that “No one was paying us except the Lord and in fact everyone he saw was donating considerable time and expense of their own to be spending the weekend there.” President Freeman said the man resumed hiding in his house.
“Jonah and the Whale!”
The weather was very humid and the ground was wet and muddy. “Truthfully,” said President Freeman, “Most places where we worked had high grass, a lot of brush, and many marshy areas. Snakes and alligators were a constant concern but we just moved in to do what was needed.” Fortunately most teams did not actually encounter any of the above mentioned critters.
Members from the East Stake grab food fixed by additional volunteers
Josh Ragsdale is a member of the Bulverde Ward, Texas Hill Country Stake. For him the biggest obstacle was overcoming the trepidation of actually going. “First of all it’s a major hassle for the common American guy to make this work; getting off work early, buying supplies, getting the kid (son, Dillon) out of school early, making arrangements, and paying for the gas to go.” He continued, “Then you have the physical toll that it takes on your ‘Dad bod.’ Now back in the day chopping and hauling wood all day like a lumberjack is great. But now… not so much.”
It seems like one common denominator of all weather disasters is the pile of trash that was once something beautiful only a few days before
All joking aside Brother Ragsdale shared a personal miracle. “A few days before going I twisted my knee and had a noticeable limp, but I had already committed to going. I was genuinely worried that I would be useless hobbling around the worksite after the first hour. Even while driving the eight hours over to Louisiana my knee was stiff and hurt. I was really worried. Then when we arrived and I stepped out of the truck I had no more doubts. The next morning I got up and my knee was just fine and over the two days of hard work it didn’t bother me at all. In fact, physically I worked well above my normal ‘Dad bod’ abilities. Heavenly Father definitely blessed me.”
A team of volunteers from the LaCantera Stake
President Freeman was particularly impressed by the youth who volunteered to serve. He said that each team had at least one if not several youth. “I saw enormous growth in their perspectives as well as an appreciation for their own blessings.”
A team of volunteers from the Cibolo and Schertz congregations
Brother Ragsdale noted that his son really stepped up to the plate. “Without a peep of discomfort and with supreme selflessness he delivered in ways I have never in my life witnessed. I watched him make countless trips with wheelbarrows full of debris, never asking for a break, or even showing signs of discomfort.” As Brother Ragsdale watched his son interact with local residents he realized his son was ready for a mission.
President Freeman said that the hardest obstacle to overcome was having to ask people to serve without being able to tell them what they were to do and where they were to go. “The Church coordinators did a great job briefing the priesthood leaders both late Tuesday evening and then again late Wednesday evening.” He added, “It was miraculous the number who volunteered by Tuesday afternoon without anything other than ‘we need your help and we will let you know later what you are to do.’”
Mike Chatterton, a Cibolo Valley Stake Team Lead, said his teams worked a total of 14 hours over the 2 days (238 man hours) and closed out a total of 7 work orders. “We had some really great opportunities to help others not only with our service, but by reminding them that their Heavenly Father will help them when they need it.”
“…Even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles.” D & C 105:14
By Leisa Parsons and Ken Jarvis, Area Media Specialists
“Through your ministry, donations, time and love, you have been the answer to so many prayers. And yet there is so much more to do.” said Sister Sharon Eubank during her address at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ General Conference Saturday evening .
She went on to say “As baptized members of the Church, we are under covenant to care for those in need. Our individual efforts don’t necessarily require money or faraway locations; but they do require the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willing heart to say to the Lord: ‘Here am I, send me.’”
This afternoon, members of the Valencia Branch answered the invitation to help those in need. They brought household goods to a new family of refugees from Afghanistan. The Valencia Branch, from the San Antonio East Stake, has been gathering the furniture and items for a few weeks awaiting the call that came last night — a family was ready to move in.
Elisa Rangel, the Branch Relief Society President said when she first heard about the opportunity to gather items for refugees she was thrilled to put her religion into practice. She said: “The mission of our Church is to help our fellowmen. And I wanted to put charity, the pure love of Christ, into action.”
In Sunday afternoon’s session of General Conference, Bishop Todd L. Budge of the Church’s Presiding Bishopric was asked to speak of the Church’s many humanitarian efforts around the globe. He said: when “viewed from the perspective of ‘giving to’ the Lord, our sacrifices on behalf of others become gifts, and the joy of generously giving becomes its own reward.”
The branch brought so many items for this family of five, that Joann Franck, from the Center for Refugee Services, said that she could bring some of the items to other families. She said that the Afghan families are so good to share any excess items with newly arrived families. She said there were approximately 1,000 Afghans in the area, with more arriving. Many refugees that will arrive here are currently being held up with paperwork and in trying to insure everyone is healthy and vaccinated.
Member of the Valencia Branch with the father of the family in the middle in the black.
Bishop Budge said: “Yes, each of us is small, but together as we hasten to give to God and our fellowmen, wherever we go, lives are enriched and blessed.”
Two events that would seem dichotomous are under way this weekend for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Antonio. It is the Church’s worldwide semi-annual General Conference where members get to sit and listen to Church leaders. However, for many San Antonio members they are doing anything but sitting! They are participating in clean up efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana.
Young men from the LaCantera Stake
They are literally putting into action the teachings that were given today. In this morning’s session, Elder Ulisses S. Soares, a member of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve apostles said: “The compassionate attitude of Jesus is rooted in charity, namely in His pure and perfect love, which is the essence of His atoning sacrifice. Compassion is a fundamental characteristic of those who strive for sanctification, and this divine quality intertwines with other Christian traits, such as mourning with those who mourn and having empathy, mercy and kindness.”
Member of the LaCantera Stake
Members from the area left yesterday to head to the clean up sites in Louisiana. They will work all day today, camp and then continue their cleanup efforts again tomorrow. The accommodations are pretty primitive for the workers, who had to bring all of their own food, clothing and shelter. It is truly a compassionate and wholly Christian effort they are undertaking.
Member from La Cantera cleaning up in Louisiana
President Dallin H. Oaks, of the Church’s First Presidency cited the need for churches and gathering during his address this morning. As members in San Antonio are clearing debris, he said: “Most humanitarian and charitable efforts need to be accomplished by pooling and managing individual resources on a large scale”. He then cited the Church’s “Helping Hands” efforts in connection with disaster relief.
Members of the Hill Country Stake during Hurricane Ida clean up
Bishop Greg Hulon loads a rug into the back of an SUV that’s headed to help an Afghan family
The day started out hot and muggy, a typical San Antonio late summer day. But what was about to happen in the San Antonio East Stake Center parking lot was not typical. Members of the Converse Ward , San Antonio East Stake, were preparing to take collected clothing, furniture and love to an Afghan family that just arrived in San Antonio. The vehicles were loaded down with clothes and furniture. In addition to that, on the bumper of a trailer was a small white board with a welcoming message for the new family and wishing them well in their new home.
The cars, trucks and trailers are loaded and it’s time to head out to meet the new family
Sister Cheri Robison, who was the Converse Ward Relief Society President at the time, said that as soon as she read the email telling her what was wanted she knew this was what they needed. “This is how we put our ministering into action. We’re going to walk the walk instead of just talk the talk. And I just couldn’t say no.”
A ward member signs the whiteboard with a message of love for the new family
Sister Stephanie Merrell, Converse Ward Relief Society Service Coordinator, got the assignment to gather the items. She had a spreadsheet with all the items on it that the family would need. “Three days ago we found out the family would be ready to receive it today, so we put the plan into action and got everything together.” She added that they gathered almost everything they needed. “What we don’t deliver today we can deliver later.”
A very heartfelt message of love from one family to another
Converse Ward Bishop, Gregg Hulon, was grateful for the assignment. “It helps bring our ward back together.” He said that this ward, like so many others, struggled with the social impact of COVID and being ask to stay home. “To have an activity like this, as a ward, joined us together for a unified cause to help a family.” He added, “We were able to help a family that we knew absolutely nothing about. I think it’s a great experience for everybody.”
A Church member helps unload furniture into the apartment of a newly arrived Afghan family
Pat Tapmeyer is the Donations Coordinator for the Center for Refugee Services and a volunteer herself. She said of the groups like the Latter-day Saints who are helping with donations, “The opportunities to get involved are endless. But even better, the blessings received are often greater than the blessings given.”
Mission accomplished. The apartment is now full with clothing, furniture, and supplies. One family has been helped. But there will be more
San Antonio will receive many more Afghan families over the next month or so. So see how you can help go to JustServe.org
From time to time most of us have received an invitation to travel to a near-by town to help clean up after a flood, tornado or hurricane. Many have responded to those invitations. But how many of us know how the decision is made to send a particular stake to a certain area, for how long and to do what?
Gene Jensen (far right), LDS representative on the Texas VOAD, shows the Bexar County Emergency Operations Center to Elder Jorge Contreras and other Area leaders, (L to R; Don Larson, San Antonio Area Communications Director; Matt Compton San Antonio Area Executive Secretary; Chad Richardson Church service missionary working with immigrants; Elder Contreras
The answer is fairly straightforward. The decision comes through Priesthood channels; that is to say, the local Area Authority counsels with his Stake Presidents and the decisions are made. But who helps them coordinate with local government leaders and other volunteer organizations so that we show up at the right place, at the right time with the right tools and skills?
Gene Jensen, in his former roll as Chairman of the San Antonio VOAD, is seen here coordinating their monthly conference call
In the United States each state has an organization called Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). VOAD is made up of representatives from different churches and service organizations. It was formed over 50 years ago in response to the challenges many individual organizations experienced following Hurricane Camille, a category five storm that hit the Gulf Coast in August 1969.
A team of volunteers from the then East Stake working the costal bend area following Hurricane Harvey. Gene Jensen is in the center. He said: “This was a touching moment. After an extensive clean up of storm debris in the large yard of a handicapped veteran (he was unable to come outside), he asked that we try to find his flag pole that had been ripped out in the storm. We found the pole, and set it up again. We had used the tractor loader to install a new lanyard and flag that had been found among the volunteers possession’s. The owner was very grateful for the work cleaning up, but moved to tears that now he could see the flag through the glass storm door of his residence. Reaching out to spiritual and emotional needs is the major part of disaster recovery, one can photograph the physical assistance, but only the heart forever feels the real assistance.”
Up until that time, the numerous government, private sector and nonprofit organizations assisted disaster survivors without any coordination. As a result, help came to the survivors haphazardly. In some areas there were too many volunteers while in other places not enough. Very often they showed up without proper equipment or information. It was obvious that we needed to be better organized.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a national member of VOAD for many years,” said Gene Jensen, the Latter-day Saint representative on the Texas state VOAD Council. “My job is to be an ambassador for the Church in the world of disaster response. It’s to build relationships with our VOAD partners and to help them understand what our Church is able to do as well as find out who they are and what their particular interests and capabilities are.”
Brother Jensen has been in this calling for over a decade. “Originally there were no other LDS VOAD leaders in the state of Texas to work with me. But over time I have helped set up local and county VOADs.” He is also the Church representative on the San Antonio VOAD where he was just released as Chairman.
When asked how he stays informed of disasters he replied, “I have to keep my ear to the ground and be listening and watching. I’m a newshound. I track hurricanes, thunderstorms that look like they might develop tornadoes. I’m interested in the fires and major disasters like the explosion in West.” Brother Jensen added, “Sometimes it starts with me finding out or sometimes I get a call. For example, in 2015, I was enjoying Christmas in Europe when I got a call that there were multiple tornadoes in the Dallas area. So I got on the phone and started checking with Stake Presidents and the Area Seventy. I asked, ‘What are you doing, what have you got, what do you need, how can I help?’” As soon as he hit the ground in Texas he was able to work with them in person.
Brother Jensen made it clear that, “I don’t manage or direct anything. I’m there as a subject matter expert on how to respond. I look at what the need is and I look at what the resources are and I say, ‘You may want to think about doing this’ or ‘I’d be careful not to do that.’ For example with the West explosion a few years ago my only job was to tell people to stay away. Sometimes the best response is no response.”
Gene Jensen suggests that the best way to help others is to be prepared ourselves
He pointed out that when the leaders come up with a plan one of the key things that needs to be done is to set an end date. “Because if you don’t you’ll get a lot of activity on the first weekend and then people think they are done. You need to spread the load out.” He also addressed the need to measure the size of the disaster. “Typically on a major storm I’ll recommend maybe eight weekends.” He also takes into consideration location and tries to match the area in need with units that are able to respond. “If the disaster is in the Rio Grande Valley you may want to consider inviting the people from the San Antonio Coordinating Council to send volunteers.”
Gene Jensen is third from the left
In response to the question how to best prepare for disasters Brother Jensen replied, “Don’t prepare for a tornado or a hurricane or a fire. You may never have one. The way to prepare is to pick different needs; the need for communication, the need for transportation, for food, for water, medication and many other things.”
As an example he said he has copies of all his critical documents on his cell phone with copies sent to his family members. “Many times I’ve seen people who have evacuated who can’t show where they live. Be prepared yourself! Then know what you can offer to somebody else.”
A much younger Gene Jensen in a picture taken a couple of years after he delivered emergency supplies to California
Brother Jensen retired as a Colonel from the United States Air Force having flown a number of large aircraft. He claims that his first disaster response was during Christmas of 1964 when he flew emergency relief supplies to flooded areas of California. “We were flying old C-119s nicknamed ‘Boxcars’ and hauling mail, cattle feed, blankets, anything you can think of. I guess that introduced me to what was needed in disaster relief.”
Gene Jensen’s first experience with disaster relief was piloting a C-119 (Flying Boxcar) delivering emergency supplies to California in 1964
He concluded by emphasizing, “The greatest thing we can do as members of the Church is to be well prepared ourselves. And that’s not just physical preparation. It’s spiritual, it’s emotional, it’s economic, it’s all kinds of things. I couldn’t do this if my family was hungry at home. The self-reliance arm of the Church is a powerful tool.” Resources on the Church of Jesus Christ’s website to help include: Temporal Preparedness and Self Reliance .
Brother Jensen stressed that the best disaster preparedness begins with spiritual and emotional preparedness. “The self-reliance arm of the Church is a powerful tool.”
September is National Preparedness Month. Along with the Church’s preparedness sites, you can also access the government’s site: National Preparedness. This site has a week by week plan to help you and your family become better prepared.
On a hot August morning a large semi-truck rolled into Eagle Pass, Texas, loaded with pallet after pallet of vitally needed food and hygiene supplies for asylum seekers and refugees in Eagle Pass, Texas. The truckload of supplies was a welcome blessing for Mission: Border Hope, a non-profit organization serving the growing needs of God’s children passing through this Texas border town.
This donation, from the Bishop’s Storehouse in Salt Lake City, is part of the global humanitarian and welfare services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was organized by President Ross Davidson, Eagle Pass District President. Missionaries, assigned to the area, have been offering service at Mission: Border Hope on an ongoing basis for several years.
Valeria Wheeler, Director of Mission: Border Hope, gratefully acknowledged the generous donation of 28 pallets with 1,500 cases of food, hygiene kits, and other supplies. On the day the truck arrived, some 400-500 people were fed a hot meal, offered showers and clean clothing. Assistance was also give to arrange safe travel to their final destination. Six of the agency’s clients helped unload the giant truck into an empty warehouse nearby.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, throughout the world, endeavor to follow the Savior’s admonition to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked and visit the sick and those in prison (see Matthew 25:35-36). Millions of people have benefited from temporal and spiritual assistance through humanitarian and welfare donations.
