Can Someone Help Me; Ft Worth Missionaries Answer Call

Thousands were without power and water for several days after a brutal winter storm slammed into Oklahoma and Texas in February 2021. In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as relief trucks filled with bottled water and nonperishable goods arrived from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, area charities and non-profits lined up, grateful for the much-needed supplies, as their own had been severely depleted.

I Can Still Shine (ICSS) is a women’s shelter in Richland Hills (a suburb of Fort Worth) that the Hurst Texas Stake* of The Church of Jesus Christ has partnered with for many years. Their mission is to provide assistance for battered and abused women and their children in the DFW area through support, faith, and love. When the calls went out to the stakes regarding charities and non-profits that needed help after the storm, ICSS was at the top of my list to receive assistance. On the day of the water distribution, ICSS sent Jerry, one of their long-time volunteers, to pick up a pallet. Jerry arrived at the site in a suburban towing a low-profile trailer. Fearful that it wouldn’t be able to hold a pallet of 48 cases of water, local missionaries quickly jumped into action and took the cases off the pallet and arranged them evenly in the back of the trailer.  All the while, Jerry stood watching at the back of the suburban, saying nothing. 

Can someone help me?

When the trailer was loaded and ready to go, two of us walked over to talk to Jerry. We could tell he did not feel well and asked if there was anything we could do for him. He very quietly asked, “Can someone help me?” as he held on to the truck to steady himself. He went on to share that he had suffered a heart attack four weeks prior and still had not regained most of the use on the left side of his body and that he had no idea how he was going to unload the water once he got it back to the warehouse as he could barely walk without holding on to something. I immediately sought out The Church of Jesus Christ missionary leaders and explained the situation. Without hesitation, they offered to follow him back to the warehouse and unload the water for him. Two other missionaries joined them, and the job was quickly finished.

The next day, when the food was being distributed, Jerry and his trailer were back to pick up. This time, the missionaries sought me out and let me know that they had already made arrangements with Jerry and gotten permission from mission leaders, to follow him back again to unload the food. They had anticipated the need and already had it taken care of. ICSS Director, Brenda Jackson, later said: “The [missionaries] asked if they could come back to the warehouse and help us unload the food too. What great young men! This will be a huge blessing for us and our moms and kids who are so hungry right now. We love you.”

And that’s what it’s about for the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Love.

*In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a stake is a group of local Church congregations. A stake generally consists of about 3,000 to 5,000 members in five to ten congregations.