Three Generations of Charitable Service

Three generations of a Sydney family have combined their skills and expertise to design a course that helps people in the community learn English.

Bronwen Moir has extensive experience as a teacher, school principal, university lecturer, and vocational education writer. Her son and daughter-in-law, Daniel and Leah Moir, have backgrounds in nursing, law, career development and home education.

A grandson, Joshua Moir, is also a languages and linguistics university student with immense insight into how young people learn and how to create educational programs that appeal to the younger generation.

Each of them, as Service Missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are making an impact on the Sydney community through their English language program and teaching skills.

Bronwen explained that missionaries of the Church in Australia currently teach English in the community without a standardised mode of teaching. The new program will make teaching English consistent and will include pronunciations and spellings found in Australia.

“The plan is to create a series of video presentations with teachers facilitating the lessons,” Leah said. “As the program develops, students will potentially have access to 24-hour assistance over the phone, by video, and online.”

Their efforts began with a focus on helping Pacific Islanders, but the group being taught also included people of other ethnic backgrounds. “We need to be self-reliant in education in order to help others in Australia,” Bronwen stated.

Daniel added that the aim is to not only teach English, “but to teach skills that will allow the students to transition into the workforce or tertiary education. Missionaries also gain teaching experiences that will benefit them when they return home.”

This generational team inspire and encourage each other as they serve, using their unique skills and perspectives to contribute to the program.

Serving others as the Saviour would is a very important pillar within The Church. Whilst some missionaries serve full-time proselyting missions, Service Missionaries have specific assignments that involve charitable service both in the Church and the community.

Daniel was motivated by his mother to become a Service Missionary while he was recovering from a life-threatening stroke last year. The family circumstances as a result of this experience also led Joshua to serve a mission from home.

"I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be a Service Missionary. I can see now that it was the plan all along,” Joshua said. “Over the last few years, each one of us developed skills that lead us to this particular field."

A fourth member of the family, Bronwen's son Jordan, is also serving as a Service Missionary and assisting with the technical side of this project from Victoria. He has two sons currently serving as full time teaching missionaries for The Church.