Mission Center Launches Peacemaking Effort
Greetings! Thank you for visiting this page. Please consider the following, and please watch this space for more announcements in the next couple of months.
The Lamoni Heartland Mission Center (LHMC) is in the process of developing a menu of options for engaging in international Peacemaking that is focused on one-to-one relationships. The menu of options taking shape will likely (i) offer farmers the chance to serve short stints in a developing nation assisting farmers there to improve their farming practices; (ii) offer volunteers the opportunity to assist a small Maya farming village, in Yucatan, Mexico, improve their capacity to host tourists visiting Maya ruins in their community—thereby creating jobs and economic development; (iii) offer volunteers the prospect of helping villages on the African continent enhance their household income through new skills in small-scale culinary/catering services and small-scale sewing/tailoring services, etc.; (iv) offer interested persons the opportunity to host an international visitor for a meal or a homestay; and so on.
Iowa’s Amazing History. Why would we do such things? It turns out that Iowa has an amazing history of Peacemaking based upon person-to-person contact between citizens of different nations. Iowa PBS debuted a documentary on this entitled “Citizen Diplomacy” in November 2023, featuring some of the highlights of this history: (i) the Roswell Garst (Iowa farmer)-Nikita Khrushchev (USSR leader) relationship in the late 1950s at the height of the Cold War; (ii) the Xi Jinping (China’s leader) Muscatine, Iowa, relationship at a difficult time in the US-China relationship; and (iii) the Iowa Hog Lift to Japan not long after the end of WWII. These highlights of Iowa Peacemaking history demonstrate the surprising ability of individuals, and small groups of individuals, to impact international understanding and peace. For more details, see the Iowa PBS documentary at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzyJDF3D5dY
The story of the “American French Fry Brother” is an example of what a single person can do to advance international understanding by simply being generous and caring while visiting another nation. See the following article for more details: https://www.ibtimes.com/french-fry-brother-jason-loose goes-viral-china-random-act-kindness-photos-701321
Community of Christ Peacemakers. Iowans, indeed Midwesterners in general, have a reputation for being particularly good at bridging gaps in international understanding. We believe Community of Christ is also gifted at this form of Peacemaking. See the linked podcast hosted by Apostle Robin Linkhart for a discussion of this: https://www.projectzionpodcast.org/podcast/670-grounds-for-peace-citizen-diplomacy/
Our Goal. We are striving to provide LHMC with Peacemaking activities that are based on the “magic” that occurs when two people of different nations/cultures spend time together and come to recognize how much they have in common, and how much they aspire for the same things. We believe this helps create “pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate” as we are called to do in in Section 163.3 (a) & (b), of the Doctrine and Covenants, as follows:
3 a. You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness. (emphasis added)
b. Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural, political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace. (emphasis added)
Please reach out if you have questions, or if you wish to volunteer for this work.
Chuck Montgomery
515-777-0340 (Cell & Text)
[email protected]