President Dieter F. Uchtdorf recently posted about his visit to the Rome, Italy temple. We published a picture of him climbing the scaffolding of the Rome temple. While he was in Europe, he also visited some refugees at the Piraeus refugee camp in Athens and made a significant ($3 million) donation in behalf of donations from members of the Church.
He said in his post:
Last week I had the opportunity to visit several refugee sites in Greece. These sites are filled with fellow children of God who are in need of our help. As I visited with the people there, I was reminded of my own childhood experience.
As a child, I came to Germany as a refugee. I was four years old and it was in the middle of a world war. We had nothing. We had to rely on the help of others.
In Zwickau, Germany, we found the Church. Even though we were all Germans, we were still refugees. This happens in countries even today—some are refugees in their own country because of war and tragic circumstances.
I remember that some people helped us and others looked down on us. Some thought we were joining the Church only because we expected temporal help. I think that these types of thoughts are possible for everyone. We just have to learn that often there is more behind people than we know. And above all, we are all brothers and sisters in God’s plan.
I pray we can be mindful of the needs of those who cannot help themselves. They may be from other countries, or they may be in our own nations, congregations, neighborhoods, or even families. Always be willing to give Christlike help and support. May we reach out to those in need and help them become self-reliant and able to help themselves.
Learn more about how you can get even more involved and reach out to help the refugees all over the world by visiting the Church website I Was a Stranger.
