Mountains

Last Wednesday evening, the board of directors of both Sionito Development Corporation and Zerin Development corporation met with a Toronto developer to try to move mountains. This is a little board of ordinary folks whose mission is to provide housing and services to impoverished seniors. On the night in question, the agenda is the possibility of leveraging the equity in two small apartment buildings the charity owns to build a new, more modern, efficient facility.

As the conversation with the developer begins, one of the mountains that must be moved becomes more visible: we do not speak the same language. For the developer, the conversation is about making money for his investors. For the charity, the conversation is about the chance to provide services to more people. Profit does not come into it because we are a non-profit charity and besides, there is none.

Another mountain the board must face is risk, and this is a big one. The new project will cost millions of dollars and will need to be financed through a mortgage. The budget can be drawn, the numbers checked and rechecked, the plans can be made and architects hired, but what are the unknown costs? What surprised await? There will certainly be some, but we are novices in this field and cannot know all the answers. Can the developer be persuaded to help?

Still one more mountain is fear. If the risks are so large in this new venture, why consider the project at all? The answer is because it is the board’s mission to serve impoverished seniors, and this represents a significant opportunity to serve more people in need. Put another way, it is a way that Sionito and Zerin can contribute to abolishing poverty and ending suffering.

All this brings to mind the Book of Mormon text that inspired the Zerin name so many years ago.

O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith; for the Brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove, and it was removed. – Ether 5:30

We understand the reference to be metaphorical, of course, and in that sense it is perfect. This little board gathers to attempt a project they have not done before. They lack the powerful tools of money and experience, but they gather in faith. Can they move the mountains that stand in their way? Only God knows. O Lord, thy righteous will be done.

Posted by Carman