FAITHfund: What a Day to Begin

Sunday, October 10, 2010

What a Day to Begin

Today is 10/10/10. What a great day to begin something great: the FAITH Fund. What is the FAITH fund, you ask? First of all it stands for Fly An Islander To Heaven. What does it do? It helps LDS primary children raise money to assist fellow members of the Church in the Pacific islands to travel to a temple so they can be sealed to their families, together forever.
The idea came to Carolyn Frank over a month ago. She had been racking her brain for a way to involve the primary children of the Kaysville, Flint Meadow ward in their upcoming "Ward for the Lord" temple activity, (since primary children were too young to attend the temple). On fast Sunday in September she was touched deeply by the testimonies of two different sisters in the ward, Jessica Steele, whose son is a missionary in the Marshall Islands, and Michele David, who recently moved to Kaysville from the island of Guam where here husband had been serving in the military. Both sisters mentioned the financial difficulty Pacific islanders faced when it came to going the temple.
Carolyn felt a deep desire to help them, but she knew she didn't have the entire funds either. And then an ephiphamy hit her: combine the two needs together; a temple project for the Primary children and the needs of the Pacific Islanders. The feeling was so strong it brought Carolyn to tears. The ideas started flowing. Exicitment mounted. She knew this idea would work. Why? Because it wasn't hers alone, it came from a higher source.
She presented her idea to her primary presidency, who presented it to the bishop. When the bishop turned her down, (because of tax and accounting reasons the LDS church does not sanction fund raisers), she cried again (unhappy tears this time). She had tried to do what the Lord had asked. She consoled herself with the fact that at least now she was off the hook from all the work it would entail.
Wrong!
The idea wouldn't get out her head. So she asked the bishop if she could persue the project as an individual. He said, "Sure, it's a very worthwhile endeavor, we just can't collect donations through the church. If you want to do it on your own, that would be great."
Carolyn was allowed, however, to present the idea to the children during Primary today in church. She and her daughter gave a puppet show demonstating the dilema Pacific islanders face when it comes to traveling to the temple. Michele David told about the needs of the members in Guam. She also told of the sharing spirit of these people. Her children demonstated a toy that Guam child gave her son, Jordan when they moved so that he would remember them when they got to Utah. It was the islander boy's only toy. And Jessica Steele showed some pictures of her son Taylor serving in the Marshall Islands. She then share some good news. Taylor told her that the small branch in Lae, where he had just finished serving, had been planning a temple trip for next year. Unfortuneately, he told his mom, "They are very poor, and I don't know how they are going to be able to come up with the funds they need." Jessica then told him about concept of the FAITH fund. He was speechless.

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Faith Fund Invitation

Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are blessed with the conveniences of life. With little effort we communicate, travel, and shop. Even temple attendance is relatively convenient—our temple is only 15 miles away. The close proximity of the temple makes attendance a simple matter of choice. Imagine living on a remote Pacific island where members of the church have a great desire to attend the temple but they can’t afford the expense of traveling thousands of miles to the nearest one. Yet they are worthy members of the church who want, need, and deserve the blessings of being sealed together with their families forever. We primary children are not old enough to participate in the “Ward For the Lord” temple activity. But we have come up with something that can help some Pacific islanders participate in their own temple work. We are involved in a project we have named: Fly An Islander To Heaven, or F.A.I.T.H. fund. (After all, isn’t the temple the closest thing to heaven here on earth? See President Monson’s quote on the back cover of the October Ensign) Here is how the project works. We children will do chores, donate birthday cash, or do other creative things to earn money. We have faith that if we can raise 10% of the cost to send a family (at least a husband and wife) to the temple, (approximately $1000 per person) then you as our adult and teenage neighbors will rise to the challenge and donate the other 90%. But we need your assistance. There are a few ways in which you can do this: 1. Provide us chores in which we can earn money to donate to the cause 2. Donate money (No amount is too small, or too large) 3. Tell your friends about our project (We do not have to limit the money collected from within our ward boundaries). We will be coming to your door shortly to offer you the chance to donate. *We hope to wrap up the project by the end of October, in line with the “Ward for the Lord” ward temple activity. * This project could not be orchestrated through the ward because of accounting purposes. However, on a private basis we have obtained a charitable organization status so that your contribution will be tax deductable and you can feel comfortable with your donations. *All donations will go directly to the travel and hotel expenses. *Recipients will be chosen through prayer and the help of the Marshall Islands mission president. (keep checking our blog for info on potential recipients. *The amount of money we raise will determine the number of people we send. *More infomation, and the progress of our project will be posted online at www.thefaithfund.blogspot.com *If you have any questions feel free to call Carolyn Frank, Jessica Steele, or Michelle David.