As the state government starts to ease COVID-19 social distancing restrictions due to the flattening of the curve of COVID cases in Western Australia, members of the Perth Australia Southern River Stake (diocese) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were asked to review and reflect upon blessings gained through this time.
Whilst the tragedies and hardships of the pandemic have not yet ceased and are not being forgotten, individuals and families reported sweet, simple and spiritual blessings gained through adherence to the social distancing restrictions and finding alternative ways of doing things.
- Sandra Dunn and her mum by their decorated letterbox, Anzac Day, April 2020.
- Julie Ismail's Anzac Day Candle for "Driveway at Dawn" initiative, Perth, Australia, April 2020.
- Desrae Marsh looking at photos of her father and great, great uncle during COVID-19 restrictions, Perth, Australia, April 2020.
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Many individuals and families have enjoyed the slower pace that has come through isolating themselves at home. Saffron Jose is a busy wife and mother. She works as a dental receptionist and is Primary President for the children in her congregation. It has “allowed me to slow down and get back in touch with who I am and to develop my interests again.”
Her daughter Savannah, a young adult, described how she and her friends found creative ways to celebrate a friend’s 19th birthday whilst still adhering to COVID-19 restrictions. “We all wrote her cards and got her gifts and then we did a drive by her house singing 'Happy Birthday' and beeping our horns. Just because we can’t go out, doesn’t mean we should abandon our closest friends in the time they need us the most.”
Celebrating ANZAC Day this year was another adjustment that had to made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the Perth Australia Southern River Stake were encouraged to follow the recent admonition of the Church's First Presidency “to faithfully exhibit our commitment to being good citizens and good neighbours.”
One suggestion was to support the "Driveway at Dawn" initiative and to participate in and invite their neighbours to join them at the end of their driveways to observe a minute’s silence for our ANZACS. Many felt the blessings from this.
Sandra Dunn and her mother from Cloverdale Ward (congregation) decorated their driveway and felt happy as they shared the dawn service with six households on their street.
Julie Ismail, Stake Primary President, received blessings from following the counsel to "let your light shine" (Matthew 5:16). “I didn’t invite my neighbours, but they came and joined me on the drive as I had the candle, so we shared. It was very uniting.”
Quiet and personal time during her family’s isolation also richly blessed Desrae Marsh from Jandakot Ward this week.
“It has given me the opportunity to reflect on my life and my biological family line. I felt for a moment, a time of loneliness. Prayerfully I asked Heavenly Father for a direct connection to my late grandfather Kenneth Bruce Souta, whom I wanted to know more about, and to feel a sense of connection and peace with. It was within the week that I had received a message through the Find My Family app saying they had a finding, which needed to be verified. Then a day later my great, great uncle Thomas Sabin Lory came to the surface as well. I was overwhelmed with love not just for my Granddad, but my uncle who came forward also.”
Newsroom Contributor: Barbara Sherriff, Perth Australia Southern River Stake Communication Director