Six missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked Saturday to help a Sand Canyon couple recover, after flooding earlier this year washed large amounts of debris onto their property.
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The missionaries, called Elders in the church, spend two years in a foreign environment serving the church and trying to be a positive influence on the world.
Adam Herring, Jason Jarman, Waylon Chappell, Joseph Phillips, Brenden Clark and Nate Mekhaeil were the six Elders at the California San Fernando Mission who received the call after the church was contacted by the city of Santa Clarita to see if they could aid in helping the homeowners.
“We’re really encouraged to provide service to our community,” said Kathy Kellar, the director of public affairs for the church’s local chapter.
This particular home had been hit hard by the flooding, she said, creating buildups and problems at the house and around it.
“They’ve just had so many problems with their home, especially because of the rain,” Kellar said. “They were really appreciative.”
The group worked for five hours to clear mud, rocks, debris and sandbags from the property of Preston and Denise Noah.
“When we heard from the city that the LDS missionaries were coming to help us, I got very emotional and could hardly speak,” said Preston Noah. “Denise and I are so grateful and feel blessed to have them here at our home.”
The missionaries said they enjoyed the work, and serving the community.
“I love serving the people and the Lord,” said Herring.
Mekhaeil echoed the sentiment, saying the ability to help people was extremely rewarding.
“I feel a true love of community when I (go out) and serve,” he said.
Clark, another of the Elders, said the finished work looked to him like a kind of minor miracle, something out of scripture.
“For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done,” he quoted.
Had to be so hot out there! What a great group of people!
It makes me so happy to read about people being kind.
Thank you for this! One of these awesome Elders is my son and its always good to see him in action! It is so heart warming when the community appreciates them and their hard work.