Members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout Brazil have been collecting donations, gathering supplies and praying for those affected by the flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Elder Joni L. Koch, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Brazil Area, thanked the members of the Church for their goodness and for their efforts.
“These actions, they bless not only the recipients but also who is donating. Both are strengthened in this process,” he said.
He and his first counselor, Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela, also a General Authority Seventy, shared their thoughts in a video posted on social media while monitoring the loading of a flight of supplies on May 10.
Elder Valenzuela said, “Our hearts change when we are doing service for others.”
And he sent a message to the people of Rio Grande do Sul: “Our hearts are with you.”
Flooding that began earlier this month in the southern state has now killed 149 people, with 124 still missing and some 2.1 million residents affected.
‘Hope that things can improve’
The Church has been providing immediate assistance to those in need — opening 21 meetinghouses to be used as shelters, sending bottled water, baskets of food, mattresses, blankets, clothes, hygiene kits and more. Family Services is providing access to volunteer psychologists to offer emotional support and psychological first aid.
On Friday, May 11, Elder Koch visited 120 people taking shelter in one of the meetinghouses in Porto Alegre — including a mother who gave birth during her stay, said a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Latter-day Saints such as Adriana Freitas Cardoso, a counselor in the Lindóia Ward Relief Society presidency, have been taking turns volunteering in the meetinghouses and serving their neighbors.
“If someone asks me at what moment I started serving as a volunteer in the church shelter, I wouldn’t know how to answer,” Cardoso said. “When I realized it, I was already at the meetinghouse, with paper and pen in hand, receiving the first donations to organize the places where we would receive people.”
A Latter-day Saint friend invited Dânia Pereira Zardim to take shelter in one of the Church’s meetinghouses. Zardim shared how she has received food, clothes and spiritual support — and has tried to then serve those around her as well.
“I have always given of myself, and today I am helped,” she said. “I am feeling more secure and have a grateful heart for all the support I am receiving here, without dwelling on what happened and with hope that things can improve.”
‘The greatest good that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer’
In Santa Maria — one of the cities affected by flood waters — Latter-day Saints are distributing meals to those in need. In Camaçari and Feira de Santana, Church members working in partnership with Correios are collecting hygiene and cleaning items, clothing, and animal feed for Rio Grande do Sul. Several news reports have focused particuarly on all the animal rescues from the flood waters.
In the neigbhoring state of Santa Catarina, volunteers in the city of Joinville are making quilts for those in need. In São Paulo, Helping Hands volunteers from the Church sorted donations for the State Civil Defense and the Social Solidarity Fund to be sent to flood victims. In Jundiaí, members and full-time missionaries in the Brazil Campinas Mission have been organizing and loading donations at the airport bound for Rio Grande do Sul.
Brazilian leaders have expressed gratitude for all of these donations, service and support, said the news release.
While in Porto Alegre, Elder Koch counseled Latter-day Saint leaders to continue to serve even after news reporters leave.
“Our commitment to people goes far beyond emergency or temporary assistance,” Elder Koch said. “We will need to continue to see the needy when this moment of public commotion passes. When the waters recede and things begin to return to normal — for the next few years — people will need help, and we cannot fail to notice that. As the scripture says, it is an ongoing effort.
“And our greatest mission as a Church is to connect people with eternity. And that is the greatest good that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer.”
