Jack and about 60 Priesthood holders from the 4 Bangalore Branches were involved in a large humanitarian aid project for flood victims in the middle of the country. There was a lot of monsoon rain, which was more than a dam was able to hold, the government had to let out the excess water or lose the dam. The people were warned to evacuate (stories vary on how much time they were given), the villages downstream were destroyed by water. The water level reach the roof of schools and churches. Most homes were made of mud so they just dissolved. The branches here prepared 900 sacks of food (rice, wheat, oil, etc. hygiene kits, blankets, buckets, etc). It was was hauled on a huge truck and a van of members went ahead of the buses of members to set up the distribution lines. They went from home to home and gave a ticket to each household, without the ticket you could not receive the aid. They also whitewashed a small Methodist church, gave some of the food supplies to an orphanage where the children cried because they had been eating spoilt food for a month and a half. So now you know where some of your humanitarian funds have gone :) and it was a huge project and a village of 700 people received enough to keep them going for a week.
this activity also was a "first" for the members in India. They do small 1/2 day projects in their area but this was a large scale, massive planning, involving the priesthood. This will be a major way for the future leaders to learn and grow in helping themselves and their people. I think 20-30 years from now, they will look back on this as a turning point in learning self-reliance, etc.