The ‘Relief Society’ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the largest and oldest women’s organizations in the world. It is for women ages 18 and over whose purpose is to provide support for the temporal and spiritual needs of all women in the Church, as well as others who are in need. Through Relief Society, women have an official role in the Church. The purpose of Relief Society, as established by the Lord, is to prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and home, and help those in need.
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Recently, Relief Society members from the three Branches (congregations) in Mombasa met together and had an “Extraordinary” experience.
The women chose “Something Extraordinary” as the theme for the day. The sisters (female members of the Church are sometimes refered to as sisters) were able to share personal experiences about how others had touched their lives, how others had served them, how others had helped them to become better disciples of Jesus Christ.
Speakers focused on chapters from “Daughters of my Kingdom” (a gospel book used in Relief Society meetings), including “Charity Never Faileth”, and “Blessings of the Priesthood”. Experiences were shared about how the women had been blessed by others offering to help them in their individual time of need. They were reminded that when Jesus was on the earth, He visited the sick and afflicted. Now they are His Hands, delivering messages of love, ministering to each other, and lifting one another.
During the break, sisters enjoyed a moment of fun taking part in an exercise activity which was shown on a DVD, they actually laughed more than they exercised.
The concluding session was a service project that all of the congregations had been working on for the last few months. Every Branch had tied a blanket for each of Nancy Kosgei’s children. Nancy (Bamburi Relief Society President) passed away last year following childbirth, leaving 5 children. On one side of each blanket, pieces of her favorite dresses were sewn in shapes of hearts or animals. Three of the five children were present and each received one of the blankets from the Relief Society Presidents. Tender moments were shared as they wrapped each child in their new blanket. The children were told, “When you feel the need of your mother’s arms around you, just wrap up in your blanket.”
The Mombasa Relief Society Sisters are all extraordinary women.