In the immediate aftermath of the flood that washed through Main Street and other parts of historic Ellicott City May 27, St. Paul Church, perched on the hill above the floodwaters, was able to serve folks in little ways.
According to Hawaii County Civil Defense, 36 structures, including 26 homes, already have been destroyed by lava from the newest outflow from Kilauea Volcano.
Bishop Gassis' visits came in the middle of decades of on-again, off-again fighting between the central government and several rebel movements in the South and other peripheral areas of the country.
Since civil war began to rip apart South Sudan's fragile democracy in 2013, roughly one-third of the country's 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes.