Day-Long Mission Leadership Council-Welfare Square

On February 1, we met at Welfare Square for our monthly Mission Leadership Counsel.  I knew I was in trouble when we walked into the Bishop's Storehouse where our conference room was and I began to cry. So many memories of using the Bishop's Storehouse to help members of our ward when I served as Relief Society President over the years.

Here is my post on Facebook about Welfare Square:

"The count down to the end of our service as full-time missionaries in the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is getting serious with our release date of February 23rd. Even the calendar is highlighting the days...1 down 22 to left to go. It has been an amazing experience in hundreds and hundreds of ways.

Today though I want to share about our visit to Welfare Square in downtown Salt Lake. As leadership in the mission we met there for day long meeting which included a tour. On these 11 acres sit a grainery with 16 million pounds of wheat, a bakery making 4000+ loads of bread and bakery products daily for those in need, a Bishop Storehouse where people can get food stuff at no cost, a Deseret Industries which is known as a thrift shop but its primary responsibility is job training, an employment center, an office to provide resources and support to the homeless population, and food manufacturing plant that was making spaghetti sauce today.

These facilities are built and maintain by the Church for the specific purpose of taking care of the poor...a mandate for all followers of Christ. There is paid staff but much of the work is done by volunteers and service missionaries

The staff are the ones wearing white hairnets in the food plants.

If you are ever in Salt Lake, you must take the tour of Welfare Square.

I wept as I entered these holy places and as we learned about the work and service done for members of the Church and also those not of our faith. Food stuffs are provided to over 125 partner agencies to help in relieving the suffering of all peoples. It wasn't because I didn't know about these things....I have been in hairnets myself doing salsa or potatoes...but to see all of it on this one site was overpowering.

I stand in awe of all those who are dedicated to this work because of their love of Jesus Christ!"

The Bishop's Storehouse to provide food for those in need

Spent a few shifts making stew

This was our tour guide-Chad
who happens to also live in our stake in Syracuse and was
also Jena's manager when she served at the DI in Layton for her first mission.

Through the warehouses which stock the storehouse
and also provides food for the Utah Food Bank and 120 agencies 
through out the area

The bakery which provides bread for the storehouse and other local agencies

The silo which holds 16 million pounds of wheat to be used for bread and pasta stuffs

Examples of canned items which are produced by the Church through mostly volunteer labor.

The Harrisville Cannery is one of the big ones in the area

The Burrows had spent their welfare service
at this vineyard near their home in California to
produce raisins for the Church

New labels for the products--"loving distributed.."

Making cheese

The WHY that we all do what we do--to follow Christ's commandment to care for the poor and the needy.

The Church has a herd of milk cows to provide dairy products and milk

As we were leaving around 5:30 the sun was hitting the granary so I had to get a few more photos.

The tour was awesome as I mentioned in my post and it was a sweet backdrop for a spiritual day of training and discussion with our zone leaders, mission presidency and their wives and a special speaker, President Steve Lund, General YM president and his wife. I cried off and on through the whole day--the place, the information shared, the feelings of the Spirit, and the whole sense of leaving was all rolled up together and made for very tender feelings...and I had to give the closing prayer. I wasn't the only one in tears so I had great company.

Standing in that holy place and watching the volunteers serving in so many capacities--I am so glad that I belong to a Church who puts resources to care for the poor and needy in these direct ways and provides so many opportunities for us to serve as well.