Church leaders are encouraging the members of the Church to use social media for good purposes. A simple e-mail triggered a response from members of the Vista California Stake to reach out to do good thousands of miles away in Haiti. The devastating 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010, which decimated hundreds of thousands of homes and left more than one million people homeless, not only left people without food, water, and houses to live in, but wiped out jobs and the economy.
An e-mail sent to Garth Smith of the Vista 8th Ward was the catalyst for an enterprising project in Vista. Says Bro. Smith: “This idea came about on a request from my amazing nephew Matthew Gunn, who was so touched by the devastation of the Haitian earthquake, that he has dedicated his life to improving the situation there. Matt gave up his position as a successful Spanish teacher in the Logan, Utah area and with the support of his wife, family, and some well-to-do church members in Utah has been living two weeks on/two weeks off in Haiti to build schools and hospitals and dwellings for the Haitian people. He has personally told me of the faith of these humble people, and the desire of so many of the young men to serve as full-time missionaries for the Lord. Many of them lack the financial means to buy even a single white shirt.”
Before 1977 there were no members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Haiti, an island the size of West Virginia. But with the first branch established in October of 1980 came a rapid rise in interest in the Gospel. By 1982, twelve missionaries were sent to serve in the Port-au-Prince Mission. With political change and upheaval came an order in 2005 to withdraw all foreign missionaries, so since then only native Haitians serve as missionaries in their country. Church membership still continues to rise, and as of October, 2010, there are 16,322 members in Haiti.
After the massive earthquake, Church headquarters responded to the horrendous needs of the people of Haiti with immediate humanitarian help. Two million pounds of supplies were sent from the Church, as well as “Hurricane-resistant Housing Kits” to help the people have food and shelter. Though basic needs are now being met, infection, disease, death and injuries remain the chief focus of local government and humanitarian response. As Matthew Gunn volunteered in Haiti, he saw that missionary work now struggled because of a lack of ability to provide clothing for native Haitians to serve missions. Major funding that enabled Bro Gunn to continue the work has dried up, and now he hopes individuals will help with clothing for future missionaries.
Bro Gunn sent his mother an e-mail with this thought: “I have some Haitian friends that are saving all of their money to prepare to go on a mission. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to purchase the needed supplies such as white shirts, suit, shoes, ties, etc. with unemployment and salaries so low in Haiti and the price of these items being so high, in many cases more expensive than they would cost in the states. In other third world countries, such as where I served my mission in Ecuador, the American elders always had extra of these items and were able to pass on all of their used shirts, suits, shoes, etc. to people in their wards getting ready to serve missions. Here in Haiti, the future missionaries don't have that resource, because all of the missionaries are Haitian and most don't have extra clothes to give or pass on.
Garth Smith approached President Paul Hatch of the Vista Stake with an idea for a stake-wide service opportunity, who agreed that it would be a great project and passed the baton to Kathy Sommer, Stake Relief Society President. Sis. Sommers asked her Humanitarian Projects Coordinator, Leigh Braithwaite, to spread the news through the wards, and they set a date in February as a target.
“1000 Shirts for Haiti” became the slogan for the Vista Stake to help the elders in the Port-au-Prince area be able to serve missions. The sisters of the Vista Stake gathered together on February 19th 2011 for their annual Women’s Conference, bringing with them gently used white shirts, ties, belts, socks, pants, and shoes. Half the goal, 500 shirts, has been met.
The clothing will be sent in the suitcases of those who serve in different volunteer capacities in Haiti, “piece-meal”, and the Vista Stake project goal – 1000 shirts - will continue throughout the year. As missionaries in the stake return from their missions, those who want to contribute their used clothing to the elders in Haiti can do so. If anyone is interested in contributing to this cause or would like more information, please contact Garth Smith at smithfam548@yahoo.com or Leigh Braithwaite at leighb27@yahoo.com.
