During a nine-day ministry in the Europe Central Area, Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson and Sister Tracy Y. Browning, second counselor in the Primary general presidency, taught members and missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met with government and nonprofit organizations, trained local leaders and ministered to women and children in four countries.
They were joined by their husbands, Brother Douglas R. Johnson and Brother Brady Browning, and members of the Europe Central Area presidency in Milan, Italy; Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; and Zagreb, Croatia, from Sept. 14-22.
At the beginning of the assignment, President Johnson said she hoped to bring the hope and love of Jesus Christ to the Saints one by one.
At the end, she said, “I know our Heavenly Father loves all of His children, and He’s aware of the needs of our Saints and all of the people that call Central Europe home.”
Meeting and ministering to European Latter-day Saints
President Johnson and Sister Browning taught in member devotionals, broadcasts and conferences, while President Johnson also held devotionals for women, and Sister Browning participated in a meeting led by Primary children in Italy.
“We had a wonderful time singing songs, doing crafts, allowing the children to share their impressions about the gospel of Jesus Christ, how they feel about preparations for baptism,” Sister Browning said in a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the Church’s Europe Newsroom. “It is so critically important to invite children to use their gifts and talents to bless others.”
The sisters met with those in the Hungary Budapest Mission, Adriatic North Mission and Italy Milan Mission — where President Johnson’s son served a mission in 2016.
President Johnson also ministered to women in their homes, saying afterward, “My spirits are always lifted as I hear these people testify of their commitment to Jesus Christ and of the strength that they find in Him, strength to endure difficult challenges.”
Being with thousands of members of the Church in multiple meetings was inspiring for Sister Browning, who said, “I love that spirit of gathering that is found in this particular region of the world. I know the Lord will continue to bless them as they seek to center their lives on the Savior.”
During a home evening event in Prague on Monday, Sept. 16, President Johnson, Sister Browning and Elder James W. McConkie III, General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the area presidency, answered questions from Cumorah Academy students, young single adults and single adults.
President Johnson reiterated Church President Russell M. Nelson’s April 2018 general conference talk where he spoke about needing the constant influence of the Holy Ghost.
She said, “In order to have that, we have to be constant in our discipleship of Jesus Christ,” and invited them to look for answers in the right places: the scriptures, words of living prophets and personal revelation.
Sister Browning spoke to them about seasons of life and taking the long view — with President Nelson’s invitation in the October 2023 general conference to “think celestial.”
Elder McConkie said that as the single adults make the characteristics and attributes of the Beatitudes a part of who they are, they will be blessed.
“I think that means there will be a measure of joy in your life — it doesn’t mean life will be easy — but there will be joy in your life,” he said, adding “And It begins the transformative process of faith that prepares all of us to make the covenants that God will invite us to make, including the covenant associated with marriage.”
Humanitarian efforts in central Europe
In Milan, President Johnson and Sister Browning met with leaders of Progetto Arca, which provides housing and food assistance to those in need. The Church has collaborated with the organization for the past eight years.
“I was impressed that the principles that they’re employing successfully here are the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, their teachings, self-reliance. And they’re addressing the needs of the one,” President Johnson said on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
In Prague, the general officers met with a government official over humanitarian aid, visited a shelter for homeless women and saw the Ronald McDonald house where the Church provides hygiene and humanitarian kits for families.
President Johnson said in a social post, “All of this is representative of the global initiative for women and children. I see our women participating here in the Czech Republic in these glorious causes, and I hope they feel like they are a part of this global effort to lift and raise the sights of our women and children.”
In Budapest, President Johnson, Sister Browning and Elder Jack N. Gerard, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the area presidency, visited a school for children with autism where the Church has donated updated teaching materials and other student learning tools.
They then met with the Croatian Red Cross at a facility for families in need in Zagreb. The Church has donated washing machines and clothes dryers and is contributing to renovating a kitchen for displaced families.
Sister Browning said, “We love being yoked with organizations who are doing good work, and we feel really privileged to be able to participate in that work here in the Europe Central Area.”
