Service to others can bring joy, peace and relief to those served, but it is also a key to experiencing joy in your own life, according to Ariel Pearse, a Miss World New Zealand 2016 finalist.
Helping others along their way in the world is something the 24-year old tries to make a priority in her life.
“I believe God is the designer of our happiness,” she said. “He wants us to be happy and to serve one another.”
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she works to put her belief into action. For example, beginning at age 21 she served at her own expense as a full-time missionary for her church in Australia for eighteen months.
This desire to help others lends itself perfectly to the service projects undertaken by the Miss World New Zealand finalists leading up to the pageant competition in June.
Their most recent activity was cooking and serving a Mexican-themed meal for the residents of the Ronald McDonald House in Auckland last Monday.
The finalists were dressed in their finery as they prepared the ingredients, cooked over a hot stove, served the residents and cleaned up the kitchen.
The scene delighted the families who are boarding at the house while their child is undergoing medical treatment, and intrigued local television news crews which covered the event.