Serving Our Neighbors

A few years ago 345 homes were destroyed in the Waldo Canyon forest fire. Two years later, damage from the fire continued as erosion caused by the destruction of vegetation and dangerous floodwaters still provoked havoc. In response, nearly 100 young men and women from Colorado Springs reported to work for a six-hour youth conference project to revitalize the forest.

Armed with shovels, safety goggles, and hard hats, the youth prepared mulch, spread seed, and raked the ground to create a proper bed for new grass to grow. Audrie P., 14, admitted that she wasn’t excited about the project at first but soon changed her attitude. “I was surprised at how much fun it could be. Who knew spreading dirt would be so much fun?”

Jamison S., 16, remembered seeing endless piles of mulch. “We created an assembly line to fill buckets and passed them down, sometimes sprinting, to where they needed to be.” Joshua G., 17, acknowledged the power of 100 youth working together: “It could have been done without us, but it would have been a lot harder and taken a lot longer.”

By the end everyone was hot, tired, and covered in dirt. The work was difficult, but a good kind of difficult. Emily L., 16, recalled, “It was really hard but fun!” Mulch colored their faces, but they were happy, and bright smiles beamed through.

Anne B., 14, said, “The service project made me realize there is more to the world than the everyday things that we do. There are people who need our help, and serving others helps us too.” Zach A., 15, who remembers being evacuated from the fire, said, “It was really cool to see our Church directly correlated with something that affected me and my neighbors.”

In the end, a hard day’s work made a difference as the youth not only rebuilt the land but also rebuilt hope for others in their area.

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teddy bears

Photographs courtesy of Cassie Thompson

While serving on the planning committee for my stake’s Young Women camp, we decided to make stuffed bears to donate for our camp service project. After getting approval from our camp director, I contacted the local hospital about our idea, gathered all the supplies we needed to make the bears, and cut out 517 11x13 squares from donated material. We ended up making 289 bears for the hospital.

This service project gave the girls at our Young Women camp a chance to serve, and I saw how thrilled and excited they were to be able to do some good for the community. It is so amazing to see the good that service can do. This project showed me that service benefits those who do it as much as those who receive it and helped my testimony to grow. I will never forget this experience.

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collecting firewood

Photographs courtesy of Becky Jones

For many who live in central Idaho, USA, burning firewood to heat their homes is a necessity. Woodstock, a community event that takes place there each July, helps those in need. It has also built bridges of understanding and fellowship between the different congregations, the Forest Service, and smokejumpers (firefighters who parachute into wildfire areas) stationed in the area. The event helps people serve together to meet a common goal: providing wood for those who cannot do it for themselves.

Naomi P., 18, said, “There’s a certain spirit behind doing Woodstock. Where we live, wood is such a valuable resource, and seeing the reaction on everyone’s face as we show up with freshly split wood makes all of the hard work worth it. Woodstock makes me so much more aware of the people in my community and the world outside of myself. It helps me see opportunities to serve.”

Ryan H., 18, said that participating in Woodstock has helped others in the area know more about the Church as they work together. “It’s cool seeing so many peers from the community, both recipients and non-recipients, come out to help. An entire pit is filled with wood, and it’s almost miraculous seeing the huge trees chipped into usable blocks of wood. We do 100-plus cords in one day. A cord is 8 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet; we cut and deliver all those in one day.”

“The feeling of serving the needy was overpowering,” said Jessica J., 12. “When delivering the wood, we experienced a once-in-a-lifetime feeling. Many of those we visited began to cry.”

Seth J., 13, also said, “This year when we were delivering some wood, we came to a house with a widow who tries to cut her own wood but was unable to do it. We threw some wood into a woodshed but then started to stack wood alongside her house. When we finished, she had tears in her eyes and couldn’t thank us enough. She also pitched in some s’mores, but besides this treat, we received something greater: we all learned that a simple act of service can go a really long way.”

Benjamin M., 14, admitted that at first he wasn’t excited about spending a summer day splitting and delivering wood but was humbled by the experience. “Many people who were going through hard times themselves participated in the project,” he said. “This actually showed me how to serve; it was an example of seeing people putting others’ needs before theirs, which is the second great commandment according to Jesus Christ” (see Matthew 22:39).

The spirit of service is alive and well in this rugged mountain community as they look forward to the opportunity to work together, serve, and increase faith and goodwill in their area.

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youth serving

Photographs courtesy of Diego Jorgenson

When I helped my older brother, Tahoe, with his Eagle Scout project, I learned important lessons about service. Along with many other people, I helped Tahoe with various acts of service at a local elementary school. Some people helped paint over some old benches, others helped repaint some poles, and some helped build a garden shade. I helped sand and paint two rows of poles. The job took some time and was tiresome, but when we were done, I saw the positive effect it had on the school and how filled with joy the principal was when she saw the improvements. The experience reminded me that we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are constantly being reminded to live more like Christ and to serve as He did. I saw that even though I was tired, I was happy with what I had done and was glad that I could help with the work.

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youth and children

Photographs courtesy of Makaila Eddington

When my younger sister, Dania, was diagnosed with a rare disorder, I wanted to do something to help her. Turner Syndrome is a genetic disorder where a girl is missing one of her X chromosomes, and that results in short stature, possible heart problems, and other difficulties. My sister was 11 when she was diagnosed, and she sees this as a blessing in her life and a chance to help other girls who have this syndrome.

My mom and I brainstormed ideas on what I could do to help, and we decided to sponsor a run for a society to help those with Turner Syndrome. I didn’t know where to start, but I gathered a group of friends together who helped me find sponsors and to spread the word around the community.

The response from community members was great—so many people were willing to help out. The event turned out to be fun and lively, and everybody had an amazing time. There were 12 girls with Turner Syndrome at the run, as well as many Church and community members.

I met so many wonderful people and heard their stories; I saw these people through God’s eyes. I learned that we really develop a love for those whom we serve, and I know that “when [we] are in the service of [our] fellow beings [we] are only in the service of [our] God” (Mosiah 2:17).