Humanitarian Missionaries Lift Burdens in Russia

Kedrik Hamblin - LDS Living

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It is a place of great contrasts, where cities are growing with new, glittering office buildings and fancy cars, yet farmers still use horses and wagons in the countryside and families still live in small apartments. It is also a place where people are in great need of help.

For Oliver and Dellene Lowry, the place - Voronezh, Russia - is incredibly foreign from their Midway, Utah home. They can only speak a little of the language, and they often use hand gestures to communicate when their interpreter isn't available, but they love it.

The Lowrys are serving as humanitarian missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Moscow West mission. They have served since February this year.

A Russian province the size of four or five counties in Utah, Voronezh is home to two branches of the Church. Elder Russell M. Nelson visited the province just last month, when he dedicated a remodeled movie theater as the meetinghouse.

In the nine months they've been in Voronezh, the Lowry couple has worked on what the mission calls "Area Initiatives."

"Instead of the big water projects or large wheelchair projects that you read about in other areas," Sister Lowry said, "we work with local non-profit governmental and non-governmental organizations such as orphanages, hospitals, children's shelters, elderly care centers."

The couple has helped supply hospital rooms with running water, organized a sewing lab in an orphanage, and is purchasing equipment for a number of facilities. One elderly care center has very little equipment to support residents.

"This project will provide these residents an electric stove, a freezer, a stove ventilation hood, a shower stall and a washing machine," Elder Lowry said. "They are using a borrowed stove at the moment and have been asked to give it back. There are twenty-five individuals that live at this facility and most of them cannot care for themselves."

The country and area directors, Elder DeVere and Sister Arva Burton, from Twin Falls, Idaho, oversee the three humanitarian couples in the Moscow West Mission and many other couples across the Europe East Area.

"The projects in Voronezh reflect what is happening throughout the Europe East Area," Elder Burton said in an e-mail interview. "The purpose of each project is to provide . . . relief from some of the effects of poverty. Nearly three-hundred projects have been initiated this year in this part of the world."

Projects, many like those in Voronezh, range from medical and education needs to donating supplies to rural villages and fulfilling immediate needs after disasters, such as flooding in Turkey.

"Each project is managed by a senior missionary couple," Elder Burton said, "whose duty it is to seek out the poor and needy and lift them up through charitable and kindly deeds."

While the Lowrys are first called to seek out the poor and needy, this happens mostly during the day when offices and other facilities are open. In the evening they continue to serve in other ways.

"We have the best of both worlds," Sister Lowry said. "With the rest of the time, we get to work with the young missionaries and the two branches in Voronezh and a small one in the city of Lipetsk, about two hours away."

Activities with the branches include helping the English Club, hosting a Book of Mormon reading group, a sports night, piano lessons and teaching several programs from LDS Social Services.

In a letter to family, Elder Lowry wrote that he and his wife sometimes feel guilty about how fun it is. However, even with the fun, the couple recognizes the amount of work to be done in and outside of Voronezh.

"We wish we could invite, convince, persuade, many more senior couples to put papers in to serve a mission," Sister Lowry said. "The church is in great need all over the world for senior couples who bring with them church experience that can be used in so many ways, especially in Russia!"

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