White Shirts, Brown Sugar, and Lots of Love

April 2026

Before we left, we wanted to find a way to serve the Saints in West Africa. Ang mentioned that some missionaries begin their missions with only two or three white shirts to last the entire two years, so we thought a white-shirt drive would be the perfect project.

We shared invitations with friends and family, and so many people stepped up to help. In the end, we collected more than 80 white shirts, which were distributed to missionaries in both the Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission and the Ghana Accra East Mission.

Many friends from the Odessa 1st Ward and several Gwilliam and Vore family members participated. In addition, a few families from our stake and some of Parker's friends donated shirts as well. Most purchased shirts through Amazon. Others donated shirts they no longer needed, although men's small and medium sizes can be hard to come by in a typical U.S. closet.

A friend in our ward, Cathy Bonifay, generously offered to alter the long-sleeved shirts, converting them into short-sleeved shirts. It truly was a group effort, and Chris and Ang were very grateful for everyone's kindness and generosity.

Grandpa Vore also took on a little service project of his own for the mission leaders. He sent them a suitcase filled with all sorts of goodies—pistachios, yoga pants, medicine, socks, brown sugar, granola bars and other favorite items—to help them feel loved and supported. 

Between the white shirts for the missionaries and the care package for Chris and Angelique, it felt a bit like Christmas morning. They are working so hard to spread the gospel and love their missionaries. I am glad they were able to feel some love and support from home.