In 1998, my wife, Linda, and I left Hawai'i to preside over the Taichung Taiwan Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We experienced many wonderful and great experiences during the three years we served there. If there was one highlight of the mission, it was the devastating earthquake of Sept. 21, 1999.

That night we were awakened by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, an experience that could only be described as being in a washing machine. We woke up to a different world: More than 3,000 people died that night; thousands more were injured, and more than 100,000 homes were destroyed. People slept in tents for months while trying to pick up the pieces.

We were lucky that only one missionary was slightly injured that evening.

A few days later, I received a 10 a.m. call from the vice president of the Tzu-chi Benevolent Society of the Buddhist religion.

"I know that your church has many young men serving in Taichung," he said. "As you know, we are an organization of middle-aged to older people who volunteer to help others. We are in the process of building temporary housing for the victims of the earthquake, but we need muscles to do the job. Can you help us?"

"How many men do you need?" I asked.

"About 40."

"When do you need them?"

"The cement trucks arrive at 2:30 this afternoon."

"I will do my best to have them there."

My assistants called several zones of missionaries who lived close to the site to tell them to send the missionaries there in jeans, T-shirts and nametags. By 2:30 p.m., all 40 missionaries were receiving the cement and pouring the foundations for hundreds of temporary homes on what used to be the baseball field of a Japanese Baseball Farm Club. They worked alongside the Buddhist volunteers for several weeks.

It was helpful that many came from families where the father was in some form of construction, so these missionaries were especially helpful in building the temporary homes.

Later, the head of the Tzu-chi Benevolent Society visited the site.

"Your church is truly a church where love has no bounds," she said, and later even printed the story in a monthly magazine as an example of what can happen when people put aside their pride and prejudices and work together to better mankind.

In our church, there is a saying: "When you are in the service of your fellow men, you are only in the service of God." The earthquake taught 40 young men, ages 19 to 24, the truth of this saying.

My wife and I will always remember the light that shone through the dark days following one of the most devastating earthquakes to hit Taiwan this century. We strongly believe that God is not a "respecter of persons," and that all men are children of God.

Dennis Chai Han Kim is president of the Mililani Hawaii Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.