He sent you: A service portrait of Elder Palmer

I dreamed a dream in which I saw the earth plagued with loneliness, hunger, fear, and sorrow. I implored,” Dear Father, we are struggling here! We need you to send help!” He replied gently, “I did send help. I sent you.”

I first heard about Elder Palmer when I started volunteering at Salvation Army. Regularly through my conversation with other volunteers, his name kept coming up. “When Elder Palmer gets back, he’ll help us solve that problem.” “Yeah, we’re a little behind because Elder Palmer usually does that job,” and “Elder Palmer is out of town right now. We really miss him.” As I asked about him, I found that Elder Palmer also serves regularly at the Mat-Su Senior Center.

Who was this mystery person?

I sat down with Elder Palmer and his mother, Megan Palmer, last week. Elder Jonathan Palmer is a tall 20- year-old with a gentle smile, kind eyes and few words. He currently serves as a service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that role, he gets up every weekday and serves in our community. He’s been doing this, without pay, for almost two years now. He cleans, sweeps, vacuums, sets up and takes down (and smiles in his friendly way) at the Mat-Su Senior center. At the Salvation Army food bank, he stocks shelves and helps to prepare food orders. He participates in mission service projects or helps wherever he can.

Throughout our interview, Jonathan seemed to be puzzled. He was just an ordinary person. Why would anyone be interested in his simple tasks? But when I talked with Oliver Maea, volunteer coordinator at the Salvation Army food pantry, I found that Elder Palmer’s service had made a big difference for them.

“Elder Palmer does a lot,” said Mr. Maea when I asked him about Elder Palmer’s activities. “He comes in to volunteer on Wednesday and Friday [afternoons], stocks the emergency food section, the commodities section and organizes the produce. He is well-loved, a helping hand.” Mr. Maea smiles. “It’s nice having a helper that I don’t have to tell what to do and how to do it. [Elder Palmer] doesn’t speak two words, but his action shows. His work is most greatly appreciated.”

The Mat-Su Senior Center has also been a grateful recipient of Elder Palmer’s service. When I spoke with Brandi Burchett, the center’s CEO, she was effusive in her praise of Elder Palmer’s work. “It has been amazing having such a young person serve in this way. Inspirational to see this young man take this [job] so seriously. He has been dependable, reliable and shown lots of dedication .” She was impressed that he even came out on a Saturday to help with a senior activity. At the center, she noted that his role was “jack-of-all-trades, facilities, maintenance, set-up. He doesn’t need a lot of instructions, and he is always willing to help.” She continued, “He really set the bar. If there are more [Elder] Palmer’s out there, we are open!”

Jonathan comes from a family that encourages and supports their children in serving missions. Jonathan has an older sister that served a mission, and he serves concurrently with his twin brother, who is serving a proselyting mission in Idaho. But for Jonathan, a service mission seemed to be the best fit.

“When I had my first interview to become a missionary, I was told about service missions,” Jonathan recalls. “I didn’t know what a service missionary was.” So he did a little research. He found that service missionaries live at home and provide service for non-profit organizations in their communities like food banks, libraries, or Meals on Wheels. They receive assignments according to their talents and interests, and typically serve for two years, beginning as early as 18 years of age. Service missionaries have a support system of local leaders that assist in finding good service locations and assessing the long-term satisfaction of the organization and the missionary. Online companions join daily for scriptures study and devotionals as well. Like all missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, service missionaries pay their own way for their living and mission-related expenses.

It is unusual for a young person, at this pivotal time of life, to take two years out for full-time service. But it can be powerful. In a video message for Youth World Day, 2018, Pope Francis called on young men and women around the world to provoke an uprising of change by serving others. Serving sufferers, he said, will bring a “a strength that can change the world.” “It is a revolution that can overturn the powerful forces at work in our world. It is the ‘revolution’ of service.” “Dear young people,” the Pope said, “take courage, enter within yourselves and ask God: ‘What do you want from me?’ Allow God to answer you. Then you will see how your life is transformed and filled with joy.”

I asked Jonathan if he liked where he served. Immediately he said yes. A quiet person, he is sometimes uncomfortable talking with people. Serving at the Senior Center, he can clean in silence. At Salvation Army, he takes satisfaction in keeping the food stores rotated and packing food boxes for those in need. He finds satisfaction in making things better without much fuss.

But his efforts are valued. Jonathan’s mother was surprised one day when a senior approached her, asking “Is that nice young man your son?” His mother was surprised that her son had been noticed. Elder Palmer protested that he doesn’t say much at all. Apparently, he doesn’t need to.

“On his mission, he really tries to keep the Spirit around him,” commented Elder Palmer’s mother. “He listens to hymns while he’s helping with the dishes, for example. I think his desire to be Christlike shows, and people respond to that.”

And how has his service changed Elder Palmer’s life? He was surprised to be offered full-time employment with the Senior Center after his mission ends. He gladly accepted the job, starting in November. His desires have changed, too. “My day feels blank or incomplete if I haven’t done service that day.” He wants to continue serving in the food bank after his mission ends as well.

Elder Palmer’s mother, Megan, commented on her son’s experience. “So many people think they need to go to Africa to serve. But they could serve where they are. They can make a difference here.”

Elder Palmer and his mother say that they are just regular people. When asked what advice he would give to others who are thinking about serving in their community, Elder Palmer smiles slowly. “Don’t worry about it. Just go out and serve. Don’t think about yourself, think about the people you are serving, and try to have as much fun as you can.”

Kristin Fry loves living and serving in her Mat-Su home community. You can find a local service opportunity at JustServe.org, where she first connected with The Salvation Army. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.