Saturday, July 26

By Sherri Kirkpatrick of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, USA

You have been given the principles of generosity, rightly interpreted for a new time. …look also beyond your walls to the far-flung places where the church must go. Each disciple needs a spiritual home. You are called to build that home and care for it, but also to share equally in the outreaching ministries of the church. In that way the gospel may be sent to other souls also yearning for a spiritual resting place.

—Doctrine and Covenants 162:7c–d

Cherry Newcom challenged the Kafwa health workers in Zambia to make 1,000 string bracelets for the campers at SPECTACULAR, also known as SPEC. It is a sports and leadership camp on the Graceland University campus in Lamoni, Iowa. Cherry got her wish!

I received 1,092 bracelets of every color imaginable, ready to deliver. Some people even stayed up late on the last night to reach the last-minute quota of bracelets.

The bracelets are beautiful, and all have one or two handmade paper beads threaded into the design. When they ran out of thread, the Kafwa bought colorful yarn and kept making bracelets! It was a great example of can-do spirit! Everyone in Africa is used to substituting and making do with what they have. They give what they can.

The SPEC campers understood the efforts to thread together the Zambians across the world with the people of many cultures at the camp. It was a great way to share the spirit of peace.

We set a goal to raise $3,000 to build a cook shack for the volunteer school cooks. In true SPECTACULAR fashion, we raised nearly $5,000.

Prayer for Peace God within us, God of the far-flung places, help us accept and encourage the efforts of all those who wish to share Christ’s peace.

Spiritual Practice: The International Community Find (or imagine) a globe or map of the world. Look at all the nations, and find a country other than your own. Notice the geographic distance between your homeland and this one. Picture a person living there. Pray for this person. Sense God’s love connecting you just as the oceans connect the continents. Thank God for the spiritual connection you have with all of God’s people around the globe. Ask a blessing on the church as a community sharing Christ’s peace, drawing all into the family of God.

Peace Covenant Today, God, I will support the outreach ministries of the church.