The following is excerpted from the Church News. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Living on the island of Maui means beautiful views, beaches, peaks, pools and waterfalls. But Hawaii is an expensive state to live in, and food costs have increased with inflation. Many of the jobs are in the lower-paying service or tourism industries — and more Church members have sought assistance to make ends meet.
Bishops’ storehouses are where those in need can go to obtain food and other supplies at the recommendation of their bishop. The storehouse is filled with food and supplies paid for by fast offerings and other donations from members of the Church.
But about 100 miles of ocean separates Maui from the nearest bishops’ storehouse, in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Because of this, the Church launched the Maui Satellite Bishops’ Storehouse in September 2022.
Members and leaders of the Church hope this service will be a tool for ministering to those in need while also helping them learn and apply principles of self-reliance.
Elder Trank Mabellos and Sister Jennifer Mabellos — the missionary couple called and set apart as managers of the storehouse — spoke to the Church News about how the process has been going.
The model utilizes the online bishop’s order system, mirroring the process at brick-and-mortar storehouses in the United States. But on Maui, the commodities are supplied by a local grocery supplier. Every other Thursday, commodities are transported to Kahului Hawaii West Stake center and then organized for pickup. As of Jan. 26, it has had 10 distribution events since the launch.
Elder Mabellos picks up a rental truck in the morning and drives to the local supplier that has agreed to provide the needed commodities. He often has two young full-time missionaries with him, and they and the supplier’s staff load the truck with the pallets of food and other household and personal care commodities that have been ordered.
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
