Employees and missionaries from the Pacific Area Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent three days last week volunteering at the Auckland City Mission (ACM).
Jobs included packing emergency food parcels, sorting donated clothing, assembling hygiene kits, packing paper bag lunches, and food preparation.
- Maria-and-Naomi-from-the-Pacific-Area-Office-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-assemble-paper-bag-lunches-for-people-in-need-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission.--New-Zealand,-2021
- Volunteers-from-the-Pacific-Area-Office-help-out-with-preparing-food-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission-as-part-of-a-service-project-there-on-16-18-June,-2021.-New-Zealand
- Eseta-and-Agnes-helped-out-with-food-preparation-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission-as-part-of-a-service-project-by-the-Pacific-Area-Office.-New-Zealand,-June-2021
- Sister-Romney,-a-missionary-for-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-organises-boxes-of-donated-items-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission.--New-Zealand,-June-2021
- Volunteers-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission-spend-an-afternoon-repackaging-laundry-soap-for-the-hygiene-kits.-New-Zealand,-June-2021
- A-group-of-employees-and-missionaries-from-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-spent-time-volunteering-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission.--New-Zealand,-June-2021
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The Auckland City Mission has helped Aucklanders in need for over one hundred years. Their services include help for individuals experiencing homelessness, elderly persons, and those afflicted with addictions. Every day the ACM serves a hot breakfast to those who come to its facility on Union Street.
On the first day, a team of 13 went to the Mission’s Auburn Street location to put together food parcels for families and individuals.
The second day, a group of seven volunteers assembled 140 paper bag takeaway lunches that guests could take with them after breakfast. The rest of the group peeled 40 kilos of potatoes and cut up 15 kilos of onions and other vegetables that would be ingredients for the next day’s shepherd’s pie. On average, the Mission serves 150 hot meals per day, with some days almost double that number.
Day three engaged another group of ten at the Auburn Street location where they organised boxes of donated items on shelves, while another group divided donated powdered laundry soap into separate bags for easier distribution. Joined by an Auckland man who volunteers every Friday, they assembled over 200 hygiene kits, consisting of toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and hand sanitiser.
Hygiene-kits-being-made-by-volunteers-at-the-Auckland-City-Mission.--New-Zealand,-June2021
Hygiene kits being made by volunteers at the Auckland City Mission. New Zealand, June20212021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Sheila Reynolds was one of the volunteers. She said, “I felt grateful for the dedication of the mission's workers and the volunteer efforts that happen day after day. I am thankful to have been a small part of it!”
“We felt like we were part of the wider Auckland community, pulling together as a team to help those in need,” said Naomi Malaeulu, another volunteer. “We helped prepare vegetables and packed lunch bags, a job that is normally carried out by one person, but our team of seven really lightened that load. It was a humbling experience that made me feel gratitude for all that I have been blessed with daily.”
Eseta Auapaau also helped out. “One of our family scriptures growing up was, ‘when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.’ (Mosiah 2:17-19; Book of Mormon),” she said. “I love serving, I love the feeling of satisfaction that comes with it. I personally came home with a heart filled with gratitude, not only for the opportunity to serve for just a couple of hours, but for all that I’ve been blessed with.”
The Pacific Area Office has responsibility for the operations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South Pacific. This includes American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
There are over 570,000 Latter-day Saints in the Pacific Area (Oceania). In addition to many congregations across the region, the Church operates schools and supports regular charitable and humanitarian projects.