LDS Teen Wins Adam Levine’s Praise On ‘The Voice’; Missionaries In Peru Safe After Flooding; And More!
All Missionaries Safe During Severe Flooding In Peru
April showers have brought death and destruction to many regions of Peru. Torrential downpours in this South American country have lead to massive flooding and mudslides over the course of the rainy season.
“I am grateful for this assistance from the Mormon Church in this difficult time for Peruvians,” Peruvian First Lady Nancy Lange said as severe flooding continues in Peru. “Not only has Piura been affected by the rains, but also other regions such as Lambayeque, La Libertad, Tumbes, and Ancash.”
Around 200 bridges and more than 2,000 kilometers of highway have been washed away in the relentless rainfall. The estimated cost of reconstruction is more than $6 billion, about 3% of Peru’s total GDP, reported Reuters.
The flooding has claimed over 100 lives and left an estimated 700,000 people homeless in Peru. Displaced families are still in need of canned food, tents, toilet paper, medicine, and other basic necessities to survive the coming months.
Around 1,400 Latter-day Saint families have been impacted by the downpour, according to the Church’s humanitarian emergency response director, Bruce Muir.
All missionaries are safe and performing community service in their areas.
Read more at LDS Living.
New LDS Program Brings Education To Island Nations
Vanuatu, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea are reaping the benefits of a new education pilot program launched by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The three programs are the result of the LDS Church Board of Education’s new policy statement released in 2015:
“The Church Educational System will seek to provide opportunities for education to the members of the Church wherever the Church is organized.”
Stephanie Allen Egbert, associate director of the new Global Education Initiative, says the programs goal is to strengthen members both temporally and spiritually.
“Illiterate members struggle to learn the gospel and participate,” she told Deseret News. “Church members with poor education struggle with self-reliance.”
The Vanuatu pilot program, referred to by students as “extra class,” provides help with homework and tutoring sessions for students grades 7 through 10. Missionaries help to provide English lessons. The program, launched in August, currently serves 45 students.
Pilot programs in New Guinea and Samoa started up last month.
Novice-level English language learning is provided in Samoa to 33 students ranging from 12 to 60 years old. Classes are held twice a week for an hour; students are asked to study an extra 10 hours on their own.
In New Guinea, the effort is focused on aiding 33 teenage dropouts in their return to school. Classes in math, English, study skills, and religion are provided five days a week. Twenty-two of the 33 students are from a single LDS congregation.
The pilot tests have encountered logistical and personal roadblocks. Scheduling time in the meeting houses and securing transportation, technology and material storage have all proved troublesome.
Read more at Deseret News.
LDS Teen Hanna Eyre Continues Advancing on NBC’s The Voice
Musician and Latter-day Saint, Hanna Eyre has won yet another round on NBC’s The Voice.
15-year-old Hanna Eyre is now headed to live playoffs, after winning the knockout round, in which singers pick a song to sing against another member of their coach’s team, on Monday April 3rd. Hanna sang Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” against Autumn Turner, who sang “Respect” by Aretha Franklin.
Going into the performance, Hanna was nervous about competing against someone as talented as Turner.
“One of the things that makes me the most nervous about singing against Autumn is what a powerful presence she has when performing,” she said on the show. “She’s amazing. I really need to bring my best.”
“Hanna, you’re 15, and we say this all the time, but it’s miraculous that a 15-year-old girl gets up there and does that,” Levine said, before selecting Hanna to win.
Hannah brought her best and came out on top, earning praises from coach Adam Levine.
“I had to go with Hanna just because she’s so young and has so much potential,” he said. “Watch out. That girl is just going to continue to get better in front of our eyes. If she keeps improving and she keeps getting better, the sky’s the limit.”
Eyre shared her excitement on Twitter:
Read more at Deseret News.