“This is a great time to serve the Lord and our communities through missionary service, despite the current challenges in the world,” said Elder K. Brett Nattress of the Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this week.
“We are seeing Australian, New Zealander and Pacific Islander missionaries coming home from their mission assignments due to the pandemic, to their homelands. And they are thriving in their new missionary assignments among their fellow countrymen and women.”
Missionaries load furniture onto a shipping container, part of a Latter-day Saint Charities/Pacific Assist project to help Papua New Guinean school communities. July 2020.
Missionaries load furniture onto a shipping container, part of a Latter-day Saint Charities/Pacific Assist project to help Papua New Guinean school communities. July 2020.© 2020 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Elder Nattress said that missionaries who have been reassigned to a mission in their homeland are bringing experience and knowledge they gained in the first parts of their missions in Brazil, the Philippines, or wherever they were initially assigned.
“Coming back,” he said, “has been an opportunity for our wonderful young people to serve individuals, families and communities closer to their own homes.”
Added to this opportunity, many missionaries in the South Pacific are finding ways to communicate with those who have questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, especially using technology and social media.
“We hope that many young people will respond to the invitation to come and serve, to love and lift, and to bless lives across the South Pacific,” Elder Nattress said.
“Young and more mature missionaries will be blessed as they engage in the Lord’s work.”
Watch a video featuring Latter-day Saint apostle, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, talking about sharing the gospel in challenging times.