At this time of year our list of “to do’s” seems to grow exponentially as the holiday season rolls forward — too quickly for parents and agonizingly slow for children. Clad predominantly in red “Light the World” t-shirts, a congregation in Seguin ditched their lists in favor of what the Savior Himself would do — they went about “doing good.”
Moving larger furniture items out of storage at Rackspace for delivery
“Doing good” is probably an understatement! Youth and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Seguin spent their last Saturday before Christmas helping six Afghan families receive much needed household furnishings and supplies. Bishop Tim Bird said: “Many years of moving families in and out of wards prepared us for today. We have been on moves when it rained, been on moves where they were on the third floor of a building, been on moves where you couldn’t park close enough to the home and had to carry stuff a mile away.” They encountered all of that on Saturday, but the spirit of what they were doing propelled them on.
They had started the day with a plan to deliver to four households, but as they were moving furniture and dishes they became aware of two other families that had nothing. This group from Seguin can’t look the other way — they are too invested in their work of bringing comfort to others.
The families were living in empty apartments before the Seguin congregation showed up. The sizes of the families they helped sound a little like the song “12 Days of Christmas”. They helped a family of nine, another family of eight, two families of seven, a family of six and an apartment of five single men. Continue reading “Doing Good”
A Christmas tree was put together and decorated in record time
It was a pleasant, warm south Texas Saturday. Volunteers from the Bulverde Ward, Hill Country Stake, gathered at SJRC Texas, formerly known as St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, in Bulverde. Their goal, to decorate the campus for Christmas.
Garland and wreaths decorated the walls of the Community room
SJRC Texas cares for children and families who have been affected by trauma, abuse and neglect. These kids had to be removed from their homes by the Department of Family and Protective Services. The Bulverde ward has had a long relationship with SJRC Texas helping clean and repair the buildings and grounds. But this time the need was to convert the campus into something special for Christmas.
Hands small and large cut sheets of colored paper into strips and glued them together into paper chains
Bishop Tim Bird with his Stable project volunteers and the first family that will receive the Giving Machine donations (two of their 8 children pictured)
The Texas Giving Machine, with its crew of youth and adults clad in red “Light the World” t-shirts, is gearing up to provide the first of many full apartment furnishings this Friday evening to a family of 10.
The “Texas Giving Machine” at a parade in Seguin
The Giving Machine built by youth from @churchofjesuschristsat Seguin congregation has been showing up all over the area. From parades to Seguin City Hall meetings and other community events. The Giving Machine has pictures of 72 items displayed that people can purchase.
Boxes arriving from the gift registry being opened and categorized by Seguin youth
Culturalingua held its first annual Welcome Walk in San Antonio. The “welcome” was extended to the many refugees and immigrants recently arriving in San Antonio. Latter-day Saint Charities was one of the event sponsors. Members and missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ could be seen everywhere helping to man various stations. Also, very prominent was our Texas Giving Machine built by the @churchofjesuschristsat youth group in the Seguin congregation (@SeguinStableProject). It even caught the attention of San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and many in our community!
“Starting something new is never easy but this has been a very memorable experience for our family. We love the words of Christ in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
When Jared was laid off from his job in 2019, we were grateful that the fear and uncertainty that would normally accompany such a transition was replaced by divine peace. We felt like everything would be all right even though we weren’t sure what it would look like. Shortly after, we ignored all the rational reasons to avoid starting a new risky venture and we simply dove into starting a cookie business. We felt peaceful that this would be good for our family. We wanted to create a place that would make everything from scratch and use only the highest quality ingredients. We wanted it to taste “homemade” in the best sense.
Our kitchen became a never-ending procession of new cookies. We enlisted the help of friends and neighbors to help us compare different iterations of cookies to help us improve the recipes. For instance, in creating our Texas Ranger cookie, we experimented with nearly a dozen different mix-ins before settling on the optimal mix of 3 types of chocolate chips, oats, coconut, pecans and toffee bits for a truly unique cookie. Taste testing with neighbors was always an important and fun part of the process.
We really value family time and perhaps the best part of starting this new business is the extra family time that resulted. Creating this shop together has given our family a common goal to work on together. One son created an iOS app while another designed the website. Yet another son helped us refine recipes and have helped out at the shop. We now have a wonderful team who also works in the shop day in and day out. We strive to create a friendly and relaxed environment so that our customers know we are grateful for their support and hopefully feel the friendliness. We have really appreciated all the enthusiasm we have received from our customers.
Starting something new is never easy but this has been a very memorable experience for our family. We love the words of Christ in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
By the end of the year, members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have donated a whopping 3,000 volunteer hours in 2021 working at the Christian Cupboard, a food pantry, in Seguin, Texas!
Today, a few of those same volunteers helped unload a truckload of food for the Christian Cupboard, representing the largest single donation of food in the Cupboard’s history. The truck was sent by the Church’s humanitarian services in response to a request made by Bishop Tim Bird, of the Seguin congregation.
The Christian Cupboard of Seguin finally finished erecting a warehouse for storage, making today’s shipment possible. Bishop Bird said that often times the folks at the Christian Cupboard have had to purchase items off the shelves at HEB to keep their pantry stocked, so they are thrilled with today’s delivery, especially during this holiday season.
Members and missionaries helped unload 24 pallets of food ranging from green beans to chicken soup, applesauce, rice and other pantry staples. Of course there were two pallets of the perennial favorite of any food bank — peanut butter! Pallets of laundry and dish detergent were also donated. Want to volunteer like the youth and folks in Seguin? Find opportunities for service at JustServe
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.”
