Comments on: Request from Zimbabwean Saints

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:40:41 +0000

Oh, and have you gotten any of the emails I sent you? I haven’t gotten a response, which I assumed was because you were busy.

I didn’t realize AOL sometimes had issues.

Julia
poetrysansonions.blogspot.com

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:38:36 +0000

I will stick to praying for them. I am glad you were able to help while you had a contact.

Julia
poetrysansonions.blogspot.com

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:26:58 +0000

No, our ward’s Zimbabwean contacts are now working with refugees in Canada, so I haven’t heard anything for a long time. As a ward Relief Society we were able to transfer some funds to one sister, who was able to cross a border and bring back supplies for the short term. They sent us a photo showing all the women in their village, LDS or not, holding the food which had been distributed.

By: Julia

Julia — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:20:29 +0000

Ardis,

With new elections likely this year, this thread still seems topical. Do you still hear from those RS sisters? Besides prayers are there any needs we could help with?

My heart always hurts when there are church members subject to conditions where surviving is barely possible.

Julia
poetrysansonions.blogspot.com

By: Ronan

Ronan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:03:15 +0000

We cannot invade Zimbabwe and sanctions will only hurt the poor, so I think it’s time to dangle a carrot: offer Mugabe immunity from prosecution and allow him asylum in another country with $100 million in his pocket and an unlimited supply of cigars and whiskey.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:09:09 +0000

Thanks for your concern, all. I know of nothing we can do but pray — the government will not allow humanitarian aid to enter the country from any source, even the church, and it seems futile to send money when there is nothing to buy. Even water is so strictly rationed that the sisters in the area where we have ties have had to give up cultivation of their tiny gardens (and I mean tiny — measured in square inches, not square feet).

Because of personal connections, our Relief Society has been able to offer personal assistance to one small group of Zimbabwean Relief Society sisters (who, bless their hearts, shared the little they received with everyone, LDS or not). What we did was completely legal, by both US and Zimbabwean standards, but it may not be wise to draw attention to anyone by offering details.

Just know that the sisters there are concerned enough about what may be coming that one of them made an international phone call to ask that we remember them.

By: Sally

Sally — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:52:35 +0000

Is there anything that we can do to help the Saints there besides prayer?

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:43:47 +0000

There is so much we take for granted.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:23:15 +0000

Ardis, if you can work it, I’d love to hear more of their ordeal. I can’t imagine dealing with rampant inflation (80,000%, I heard) and a wacko dictator who uses violence to win elections, like they have dealt with.

Unfortunately, the elections Friday don’t sound like they will be the end of their ordeals, given that Mugabe seems to have successfully out-maneuvered the opposition. At best this means that they will have a respite from the violence. But it also means economic impossibility for the foreseeable future!

[BTW, I sent you a note Monday night and again this evening. Did you get it? Or is AOL yet again causing me trouble?]