Tornado Time in Alabama and Mississippi

Tornado Time in Alabama and Mississippi – and yes, some people really do choose to live here! 

 By this time you’ve all had the opportunity to read President Hanks’ letter indicating that all missionaries were safe, notwithstanding the widespread damage that was sustained in cities, both large and small, throughout the Mission. 

Certainly, the story is about safety; certainly it’s about the wonderful protection for which we are all so very grateful. Yet, the other part of the story is still unfolding. 

Both ABM missionaries as well as members throughout the region and beyond have been engaged in the clean up and repairs – extending more and more service on behalf of others irrespective of religious traditions or affiliations. Of the thousands of hours of assistance rendered, the photography that follows is the merest sampling of the work. Naturally, the ubiquitous yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts are recognized more and more widely, especially when such service work is offered without any charge or expectation. 

 This is in direct contrast to disaster conditions in years past when so many of the “relief workers” have sought compensation for their efforts, making recipients suspicious of help offered. Many times, grateful recipients have spoken not only about the help they’ve received, but how their faith in good people, doing good things for good reasons, has been restored. 

 Your missionaries, laboring among these people, continue to make significant contributions to the communities they live in; they continue to demonstrate that the Latter-day Saints among them are people who are ready to pitch in and work long and hard on behalf of others of Our Heavenly Father’s children.