Local Latter-day Saint missionaries offering free service to community
By Melody Cook
Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are typically known for their door-to-door proselyting, but when COVID-19 hit and restricted in-home visitations, Independence-area missionaries took to social media, offering free manual labor — no strings attached. The local volunteers run a Facebook group with more than 300 members, where residents can request service from the missionaries.
“Service is something Christ did during his time here on the Earth,” said 18-year-old missionary Stevie Canfield.
The young California native said he and his mission partner, Goose Noble, do all sorts of work from raking leaves to loading moving vans. Noble said the missionaries don’t expect anything in return for their service — not even a chance to share a message about their church.
“It’s not supposed to be like a ‘bait and switch,’” Noble said. But he said they are happy to give more information if asked.
Canon Toki, a missionary serving in Kansas City, Missouri, said his most memorable project was assembling furniture for a woman with stage-four cancer. The woman was delighted, Canon said, when she learned he was a missionary.
“She loved it — that we were following the example of our savior, Jesus Christ, and serving and loving other people,” he said.
Noble and Toki are nearing the end of their two-year terms as missionaries. Noble said he has enjoyed “every single second” of his mission where he has completed almost 100 service projects. Both young men said they hope to spread the love of God through their work.
“God can use any of us to bless the lives of other people,” Toki said. “And I continue to pray that God will use all of us to bless someone in our lives and our realm of influence.”