Mission Life -- Earth Life

We just hit our half way mark on our mission...18 months down, 18 months to go. With that said, we just experienced having missionaries who arrived after us finish their missions. Sister missionaries serve for 18 months. It was so bittersweet to see them complete their missions. We were so proud of each one, yet so sad to see them go home.

This has really made me think of a mission as an analogy of earth life. When we come to earth we leave our heavenly parents and are welcomed by our earthly parents. While on earth we grow from an infant into an adult. We learn so many things, including how to talk, how to be independent, how to trust and have faith. We have to endure many trials, sicknesses, disabilities, disappointments, etc. Often, we are given families of our own. At the end of this life we will pass through the veil to the other side and will be welcomed back to our heavenly home by our heavenly parents.

Well, when missionaries come on a mission they leave their own parents and arrive here in the mission field, welcomed by Steven and me as their "parents" during their missions. They are given a family...companions and other missionaries in their districts and zones. Sometimes they are given missionaries to train, whom they refer to lovingly as their "son" or "daughter". They must learn how to talk again, this time in French and Tahitian. They learn how to work and survive in a new climate and country. They learn to trust the Lord by relying on His spirit to guide them each day. They learn to work with and trust their companions. They endure many trials, sicknesses, disappointments. Some come with disabilities that make a mission more difficult for them than for others. They become independent and strong as missionaries and individuals. Their growth is amazing in so many ways. And then at the end of their missions they depart, going through the "veil" (airport security) to the other side as they await their plane flights home. They are soon welcomed back home by their parents who sent them on their missions. 

I felt the reality of this analogy as we said goodbye this week to this first group of sister missionaries we had welcomed after our arrival here 18 months ago. They had learned so much. They had grown so amazingly strong in their testimonies. They had gone through some hard trials...including the death of a parent. Some had to learn how to trust others as part of their growth. They all had to deal with sicknesses and disappointments. They all had had success in seeing others come to Christ. We had grown to love them dearly during these 18 months together.

But one thing I was reminded of years ago as I left France after living there with a group of BYU exchange students...in French we don't say "adieu", which is a final farewell, but we say "au revoir", which means "until we meet again". That is the most important message we teach the world as missionaries: We will be together again one day, whether here on earth or after this life. We will see each other, give each other hugs, and talk and talk and talk. 

So, beautiful sisters who left us, "Au revoir...until we meet again. We love you! "...your mission mom and dad. 

The colors of Christmas in Tahiti

Christmas as a missionary is going to be different no matter where you serve...you are not at home with your family and friends. But when you are living in a completely different climate south of the equator it really doesn't feel like Christmas. Outside it is 89 degrees with 90% humidity. And yet the grocery store still plays Christmas songs about snow outside and fires glowing. You can see the decorations...

Yet the colors of Christmas abound here. It is summertime so the trees are in bloom. There are many red blooms to go with the green foliage.

 

Unfortunately this photo does not do this tree justice. The blooms are beautiful against the green leaves. 

And we have added our own Christmas inside.

Complete with a Tahitian print tablecloth :)

So we may not have a normal Christmas here in Tahiti. But we can still feel the true Spirit of Christmas...in fact because we are not as wrapped up in the hubbub of the season Christmas becomes simpler, more focused on Christ. We talked about this during our last Zone Conferences. We showed this video...

We talked with the missionaries about the fact that this Christmas will be either the only one or one of two that they will spend as a missionary. It is the only time in their lives that their focus will be on Christ and His gospel during the Christmas season. Let's make it special in a different way. Let's make it a CHRISTmas.

Wherever you are and whoever you are with, may you strive to feel the spirit of Christ during Christmas. He is the reason for this season.

Love and miss you all.

The Isles of the Sea

We have had some very busy weeks lately. In fact, we just had our first P-day (preparation day...meaning a day to do things outside of missionary work) last week. The first one in a month. The last one was when we were on an island called Makemo in the Tuamotus. You kind of have to take a p-day when you go to these small islands, because there are only one or two flights on and off the island each week...which means you are there for four days. We attended a District Conference...which consisted of some visits with members and amis (people learning about the church)...and a leadership meeting and a general meeting. So, the extra time was spent doing some relaxing...which is about all there is to do on these small islands 😊.

We arrived on Makemo and took an hour speed boat ride to Taenga (both these islands are in the Tuamotu archipelago). Taenga is an island of not quite 100 people, no cars, and no way of getting there except by boat. There are approximately 80 members of the church who live there, so we went to do a district conference. It was a darling little chapel...between the ocean and the lagoon.

An atoll in the Tuamotus.

The Taenga branch

The Taenga branch and chapel

Looking to the ocean side from the chapel

The Taenga Chapel

Looking down the main street on Taenga toward the dock.

The Taenga dock

Looking from the dock to a motu. We were going to be heading that direction for an hour to get to Makemo

The speedboat we took to Taenga from Makemo.

We returned to Makemo and stayed four nights there. Makemo has approximately 800 people. They do copra (coconuts) and fishing there. There is one store. We drove a half hour over a dirt road from the village to reach our pension. Beautiful views...but cold showers, lots of mosquitos, no A/C...a lot like girls camp, Polynesian style,... 😉

The road to the pension on Makemo.

Our pension on Makemo. 

Looking at the Lagoon from our pension.

Our pension.

And the sunsets and stars were amazing.

What you don't see are the hermit crabs that stand between you and the bathroom in the middle of the night😂.

Life on an atoll like Makemo is so different from anything I have ever experienced, having been raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, and having raised our children in the suburbs of Seattle. It is hard to get across what it is really like there. It is so small and everyone knows each other. They live so humbly. To go anywhere you have to take a plane or a boat. And there is so little to do. But the people were gracious and warmly welcomed us. And there are many who, having been raised in the Tuamotus and moving away to Tahiti,  want to return there after awhile. They miss the slow pace of life.

Back in Papeete, Tahiti, the mission life goes on with its 6 week transfer cycle. Because the weather is so much the same everyday/season...a little wetter during December/January/February...we sometimes say we feel like we are in "Groundhogs Day". We wake up and have the same weather and pretty much do the same things every day (training missionaries, talking with missionaries, emails, speak at meetings, conferences and councils, etc). But then we see the fruits of our labors with a missionary who finally understands why he/she is out here...to serve the Lord and help the people in French Polynesia return to Him one day; We see how much a missionary has grown by the end of their mission; We receive a message from a recently returned missionary thanking us for helping him/her so much; we see those returned missionaries moving forward with their lives in wonderful ways (education, marriages, church callings, and now even some babies arriving).

One wonderful thing we did recently was attend the Tahiti Temple with a newly arrived sister missionary from Guadeloupe who had not been able to attend the temple yet. While in the temple with this sister and five other sister missionaries I realized that each one was from a different country: Guadeloupe, Madagascar, Cape Verde, France, Tahiti and USA. The experience of meeting so many wonderful young people from so many areas of the world is a true blessing. The gospel has truly been spread throughout the world.

Our beautiful Soeur missionaries in front of the Tahiti temple! Along with Soeur Liz Hardy from home.😊 

Missionary life can be very hard. But it is rewarding as well. We know we are helping the Lord find His children and bring them home to Him.

Love you all!

City Art of Papeete

As you all are aware, we live in Papeete, Tahiti. Despite being in Tahiti...which is known through out the world as "paradise"...Papeete is a small, urban city in a developing country...which means it is not very modern and is rather rundown and weathered by the tropical environment. But there are some wonderful murals painted throughout this little city...amazing artwork by amazing artists. There is also a lot of graffiti...though some of that is quite artistic as well. So, this is just a post of various wall art found throughout Papeete. I have included some close ups of a few so you can see the details.We as humans try to bring beauty to our world wherever we are. Enjoy!

An electrical box.

Some of the more graffiti-like art work.

One of my favorites

Probably my favorite wall.

So you can see the setting for this wall.

And up close

Kind of cool yet creepy :)

You see a lot of stores with painted fronts (roll-up doors)

Notice the details in her eyes.