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Pandemic has focused missionaries in California, around the world on service

By Genelle Pugmire special To The Standard-Examiner - | Mar 6, 2021
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Latter-day Saint missionaries in the California San Jose Mission fill food box orders at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley in San Jose, California, in February. Their participation helps serve more than 500,000 people a month suffering from the effects of a COVID-caused lockdown. Elders and Sisters have pitched in at the food bank to serve more than 13,000 hours in the past 10 months.

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Missionaries in the California San Jose Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints help box food at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley in February 2021. Elders and Sisters worked to distribute food to more than 500,000 people each month during the COVID-caused statewide lockdown. In 10 months, missionaries have donated more than 13,000 hours at Second Harvest to help fill those needs.

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In this February photo, Latter-day Saint missionaries from the California San Jose Mission join other volunteers to distribute food to those in need at the Portuguese Community Center during the COVID-prompted lockdown in San Jose, California.

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In this February photo, Spanish-speaking missionaries in the California San Jose Mission tutor students and assist parents who struggle to help with their children's homework because English is their second language. The Edward "Boss" Prado Foundation hosts the program that also provides free internet, computer access and meals in Morgan Hill, California, during a COVID-prompted statewide lockdown.

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One of the many thousands of boxes of food being filled by LDS Missionary volunteers from the California San Jose Mission.

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In this February photo, Spanish-speaking missionaries in the California San Jose Mission tutor students and assist parents who struggle to help with their children's homework because English is their second language. The Edward "Boss" Prado Foundation hosts the program that also provides free internet, computer access and meals in Morgan Hill, California, during a COVID-prompted statewide lockdown.

With the onset of COVID-19, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have learned that serving a mission is more than just knocking on doors.

They have opened their hands and hearts and have found ways to serve their neighbors in the areas they are assigned to, while engaging in projects that promote the common good.

One area that is a shining example of what can be done in spite of a pandemic is in the Bay Area of California, according to LDS Church information.

Take, for example, the food bank Second Harvest of Silicon Valley and the missionaries that serve there. It has fed some 500,000 hungry Californians every month — double the demand it had prior to the pandemic.

“It is an absolutely Herculean task to serve our community with this high need,” said Cat Cvengros, the food bank’s vice president of development and marketing. “There’s no way we could have doubled our business in that short amount of time had we not had everyone pitch in. Our volunteers make up about 40 percent of our workforce. When shelter-in-place went into effect (in March 2020), we lost that. And we had double the folks that needed us. So how (were) we going to navigate that?”

Cvengros said that ability came thanks to consistent support from helpers such as missionaries in the California San Jose Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The mission is one of more than 300 partners Second Harvest of Silicon Valley works with to help feed the hungry.

In the past 10 months at Second Harvest, these young ambassadors of the faith have spent more than 13,000 hours boxing and distributing 3.8 million pounds of food, according to Second Harvest.

With other service opportunities in the area added to these numbers, the California San Jose Mission has put in a total of 25,000 hours, or 3,100 working days, of service.

“We love the spirit of the volunteers who have stepped up,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. He thanked the mission for its consistent service and ongoing dedication. “That has made all the difference for our community.”

This service has given these missionaries the opportunity to experience the truth in Jesus’ teaching that “whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39, New International Version).

One example is the experience of Elder Rumble of New Jersey. Rumble said the service at Second Harvest was an important outlet during the early days of the pandemic. The opportunity to volunteer allowed him and his missionary colleagues to spend more time outside of their apartments during a difficult lockdown and experience the deep joy of helping those in need.

“It’s really cool because I get to see people telling me, ‘Thank you for doing all this.’ And I’m just like, ‘Yeah, I’m just helping out,’ ” Rumble said. “And then I go out into the community and I see people with those same boxes. I’m just like, ‘Wow, you know, I probably made that box for that family.’ It really makes you feel good.”

A missionary colleague of Rumble’s, Elder Van Der Watt, of Utah, also found happiness in the service of others.

“There’s a lot of sadness and hardship going through the world,” added Van Der Watt. “And service brings people closer together. It creates a unity … with people, and it helps bring peace and joy into your life because you’re taking time out of your day to serve someone else who may be struggling more than you. And it makes you humbled and grateful for what you have.”

Missionaries are also helping at the Portuguese Community Center (PCC) in San Jose. This is one of 1,000 locations where food packed at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is distributed directly to those who need it, according to the church.

“(I’m here for) the first time today,” said one recipient in early February. “I (felt) very good when I got the support.”

A woman named Carla said the free food alleviates her worries as a mother. “I have a little son, just 2 years old, and it helps a lot,” she said.

In addition to passing out provisions, these young elders and sisters also share the soul-lifting sustenance of smiles and conversation.

“We’re also just communicating with them, giving them a little conversation here and there, trying to just brighten up their day, spread some positivity when they need it because it’s hard out there,” said Sister Sika of Utah.

Eighty-six-year-old Decio Oliveira, who has volunteered at the PCC for more than a decade, said serving alongside missionaries has lightened and brightened his life.

“I love it. I feel younger,” he said. When each missionary leaves (they serve for only 18 to 24 months), life becomes a little dimmer.

“We work here like a family, and it gets to a point that there is a big attachment … among us,” he said in February. “It so happens that last week we lost five — three went to Utah; one went to Boise, Idaho; the other one to Los Angeles. And, let me tell you, we miss them. We really miss them. Fortunately, we have Facebook that we (use) to get in touch.”

In Morgan Hill, a city 30 miles southeast of San Jose, missionaries have been volunteering for six years with the Edward “Boss” Prado Foundation. This organization was created in 2013 by Gary and Cecelia Ponzini in honor of her son, Edward, who died at age 29.

After the onset of the pandemic, Cecelia started a program called Para Los Niños (For the Children). It offers free internet, computer access and tutoring for children who do not have technology at home and whose parents struggle to help with homework because English is their second language, according to church information.

The missionaries, who speak Spanish and volunteer in all 15 of the foundation’s programs, are helping children better understand their schoolwork.

“They jumped right in, and they all speak Spanish. That is the beauty of it,” Cecelia said.

While these examples are from the California area, LDS missionaries are serving throughout the world. In areas with natural disasters and just helping in whatever way they can.

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