Greetings from the MTC – still! Today we began training for our specific assignment of humanitarian and welfare work. We were given a tour of Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. The tour included the Bishop’s Storehouse:
At The Bishop's Storehouse, excellent selection and quality!
Deseret Industries:
An amazing selection!
The granary:
The jam canning facility:
It was strawberry jam this time!The cheese making facility:
We tasted some - it was yummy!We learned there are 142 storehouses throughout the world, including 30 wheat-filled silos in the United States holding 13 million pounds of wheat, enough for every person in the United States to have 2 pounds!
And for an example of disaster response, for the recent typhoon in the Philippines, the Church has so far donated 500,000 pounds of supplies, 40,000 food and hygiene kits, with 25,000 hours donated by 10,000 LDS volunteers. They are also building 3200 homes. But they didn't just build the homes - they had 5 men learn how to do the trade from a master carpenter, and then they shared the labor to build each of their homes together. After those 5 were built, those men helped train others to build their homes, and on it went. Thus hundreds of people have learned a trade and skill they otherwise would not have known, became certified in carpentry, and are now employable in their own communities. The local carpentry companies are happily hiring these trained men. This is one of ways humanitarian efforts work - immediate help for the immediate needs, and then begin training and coaching toward self-reliance and independence. I love this work!
Elder and Sister Coffey
Wow! So cool that the church trained people to build their own home. I wish I could be trained in those skills too! That is just wonderful.
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