February 2018
Relentlessly local coverage of Gilbert and our neighboring communities
Flourish of fun
Suhani Mistri, 7, gets her face decorated by Deb Gary during a Kite Festival at Crossroads Park in Gilbert.
Matthew’s Crossing addresses student The Lewises look forward to a hunger in East Valley Cambodian mission BY SRIANTHI PERERA
BY SRIANTHI PERERA
Not every child in Gilbert looks forward to the weekend as a time for fun and frivolity. Some approach it with a dread because they may go hungry. That’s why Chandler-based Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank began a weekend backpack food program in area schools. “Meals to Grow” provides a backpack filled with five pounds of snacks and meals for those students and their families. The program began in fall 2015 with delivery of 80 weekly backpacks to
schools. Due to demand, the number has now increased to 300 and shows every sign of increasing. The backpacks are provided at the beginning of the school year; subsequent food donations come in grocery bags and students use the backpacks to transport the food home. About eight to 12 volunteers show up to pack, transport and organize everything, but more are necessary. “We’ve been shocked at how fast it’s see
FOOD PACKS page 8
John and LaCinda Lewis knew since November that they were probably going on a three-year mission to serve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints as a mission president and companion. They alluded to it in their Christmas card to friends and family. The question was, where were they going? In November, they had already faced an exploratory interview with a member of the Quorum of the 12 (one of the 12 Apostles of the LDS church), who had
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told them he feels “very good about the two of you serving.” A mission president is a priesthood leadership position, where the appointee oversees a mission and its missionaries, consisting mostly of 18-25-year-olds and some senior-age couples. The appointee and his spouse leave their loved ones behind for three years to spread their faith to communities in America or abroad. The former Mayor of Gilbert and see
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MISSION page 6
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