Leiema Hunt, currently serving a Mormon mission in Indonesia, recently joined with others from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to assist a community hit hard by devastating fires.
Many families in one Jakarta neighbourhood lost their homes because of recent fires. Sister Hunt and her fellow volunteers helped in the clean up, distributed food and other necessities, and played with children.
Sister Hunt has been in Indonesia only one month. Her Mormon congregation at home is the Auto Ward in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Her mission, just beginning, will continue until late 2013. After she completes her missionary service she will return home to American Samoa.
Before her mission she attended Matafao Elementary School and four years later graduated from Fagaitua High School as Valedictorian in 2008. In 2010 she graduated with Honors from the American Samoa Community College. She then accepted a scholarship to attend Brigham Young University, Hawaii campus, and in December 2011 she graduated.
Like many other BYU Hawaii students, she earned some extra money while studying by performing at the Polynesian Cultural Center. She says she looks back on that experience as a time when she was able to be an ambassador for her faith.
Now, as a full-time missionary for her church in Indonesia, she is continuing with that same attitude. She says that her aim is to serve God and help as many people as she can.