For a RS lesson Emily Kay was preparing, she asked me to summarize one of our mission experiences that demonstrated how as we serve others we are also fulfilling our obligation to share the Gospel and bring others unto Christ. Here is what I wrote:
BOOKS FOR FIJI
Along with all Church members, Public Affairs and Humanitarian missionaries look for ways to be good neighbors and contribute in positive ways to the communities where we live and serve. This is an important pre-step in our mission to preach the Gospel and save souls. People will not listen to our message until they know we are good and trustworthy people and that we truly have their best interests at heart.
As Public Affairs missionaries, we 'prepare and till the earth to make the soil a fertile place'. Then the Humanitarian missionaries come, 'plant the seeds and nurture the crops as they mature'. And then when the time is right, our proselyting missionaries are able to 'reap the harvest' by preaching the Gospel to those who are ready to listen and embrace.
One such experience we had on our Public Affairs mission to the South Pacific area of the Church, was a wonderful example of preparing the way, softening hearts, and demonstrating our love and good will towards all men (and women and children). This project was called Books for Fiji. Eileen, our Church Public Affairs representative in Wellington, New Zealand, was able to befriend the Fijian ambassador who was on assignment in New Zealand. In one of their conversations, Eileen said, “We have many people of our faith living in Fiji and all around the world, and one thing we do as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ is to serve others and help build up the communities where we live. Is there a special need in Fiji that our people might be able to help with?” The ambassador said that there are many very small islands in Fiji where the people are isolated because communication and transportation is very poor. She said the school children have a few text books provided by the government, but not very many and no reading or story books at all. She said that every time she makes a trip back to Fiji she tries to load her suitcases with books to send to her home island.
This marked the beginning of 'Books for Fiji'. Eileen, along with the humanitarian missionaries, organized a book drive in New Zealand. They worked tirelessly with the help of many, many members, full time missionaries, other churches who were asked to join in the cause, and even government officials and other prominent members of the community. Hundreds of posters were printed and donation boxes were set up all over a good part of the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand. At the end of the collection time, all the donated boxes of books were brought to a central Stake Center for sorting, labeling and boxing. It was humbling to know how many good people of all faiths there are who are willing to help and bless others in need. We were overwhelmed to discover that our ’small’ book drive resulted in over 51,000 books.
Eileen (long dark hair), with the Ambassador & her assistant from Fiji (back row), two members of Parliament and the Stake President (middle front row)
With the help of many hands, including members, missionaries, youth, government officials, and other volunteers, a sticker saying ‘Donated by Mormon Helping Hands’ was placed in each book, and then they were all sorted and boxed according to type of book, i.e. dictionaries, encyclopedias, picture books, primary readers, middle readers, young adult books, etc. They were all packed into groups so that each tiny island would receive a variety of books. We worked with the Minister of Education in Fiji, to organize transportation to Fiji, and to waive any duty or other taxes for our charitable donation, locate a place where the books would be stored, and a way to distribute them to all the islands.
We were then privileged to travel to Fiji with Eileen to meet the Minister of Education. The Minister of Education met with us in his office to thank us personally for our generosity on behalf of the Fijian people. Because of our project we were able to soften hearts and show ‘what manner of men we are’ as we told him the desire of our people is to serve and bless the lives of those around us. He did not seem to comprehend that people would do this for strangers with no thought of being compensated in any way. Then he authorized us to accompany one of the many parcels of books to one of the tiny islands. We boarded a tiny, rickety boat/canoe, loaded to the brim with boxes of books and headed out to a small, sacred island where very few people are allowed to visit. We were met at the dock and given instructions as to certain protocol that must be obeyed. Before we could deliver the books to the very tiny, tiny school we had to be received by the Fijian chief and receive his approval. We had to walk single file to the meeting place, with the men in front and the women behind. We could not wear hats or glasses nor have any type of shoulder strap over our shoulder, such as a purse or backpack. We sat on grass mats, men in front, women in back, men had to sit cross legged, ‘indian style’ and women were not allowed to sit that way, and our toes could not be pointed toward another person. We sat through a long ceremony of welcome all spoken in Fijian, a traditional gift was given and accepted by the chief, and eventually we were thanked and given permission to deliver the books to the school. (When we stood up after the meeting protocol was that we could not be standing taller than the chief, which was very difficult since my husband is over six feet tall and I am close to six feet tall and the chief was very short!)
Many of the villagers came to watch in wonder as the school children carried boxes and boxes of books from the boat to the school grounds. We then told the children these were presents for them and they could open the boxes. There were tears in all our eyes as we watched these children slowly and carefully open the boxes, and very slowly take out a book. As each child took out a book, he or she would look at it carefully, open the pages and would be so absorbed by the pictures and what they were looking at, that they forgot to unload any more books. They had never seen so many books, and probably many had never seen books with pictures. We noticed there was a picture of the world painted on the wall of the small school building and we took the children over to the map and pointed to where we were in Fiji and then pointed to the place in New Zealand where the people lived who had collected the books for them. They were amazed. There was a small ceremony where we were thanked again and again. The icing on the cake was when the children had prepared and sang a thank you song to us. They sang and harmonized beautifully in clear, sweet tones that sounded like angels. We then were taken to another meeting place where they served us lunch which I’m sure was a sacrifice and a feast to them. We had been warned to be careful of what and where we ate in Fiji and especially not to drink the water. We did not want to offend, and to our great relief, no one became ill.
The Fijian people we worked with were overwhelmed by the generosity of so many strangers, many of whom soon became our friends. We returned to New Zealand knowing that our efforts were greatly appreciated by the humble villagers and many in high positions in the government and community. These people now know how members of our Church strive to follow Jesus Christ, and want to serve each other as He has taught us to do. They know we are good people who are working to help build and improve our communities and country. And maybe in the future, if there is a visa problem for our missionaries going to Fiji, someone in the government will say “I know the caliber of the Mormon people, and these missionaries are teaching our people about Jesus Christ and how we can lift each other up”, or maybe when the Church needs to apply for a permit to build a new chapel, someone will say, “I know the Mormons are good people and we want them to be our neighbors”. And maybe even now, a missionary is teaching the Gospel in a humble home on a tiny, remote Fijian island because the children have picture books “Donated by Mormon Helping Hands.” Preparing the soil, planting the seeds, and reaping the harvest are all important steps in sharing the Gospel and bringing souls to Christ. We can all be a part of this grand plan in some way.
