Bonne année!

Happy New Year!

We had very different Christmas and New Years celebrations this year. Just not quite the same when you have a meeting with your assistants on New Years Eve 😄. It was wonderful having our son, Chance, here with us, though. The first of our children to visit. He helped make our house feel like a home 😊. We were also able to take a couple of vacation days and visit Moorea. What a beautiful island. We actually felt like tourists!

Looking across the pool at our hotel on Moorea...no we didn't get to stay in those little huts.

We also intertwined missionary work with touring Tahiti. We went to the south end of the island, Taravao, and had interviews with the zone of missionaries in the morning and toured the Presqu'île ("Almost Island"...that is the name of the small southern peninsula of Tahiti) in the afternoon. It is the first time we've been able to see all of that part of the island and it is beautiful.

The west side of the Presqu'île. This is where the big surfing competitions happen in the summer.

On the east side of the Presqu'île.

Found some waterfalls on the drive up the east coast of Tahiti.

Again along the east coast of Tahiti.

Another adventure we had while Chance was visiting was going on a Jeep tour across the middle of the island of Tahiti. Everyone lives along the outside of the mountain so there is only a rough road across the middle. You can only access it all with a 4x4.We saw a lot of waterfalls and beautiful foliage. It takes 7-8 hours, starting and finishing in Papeete, to traverse the island

Our jeep for the trip across Tahiti.

One of the best waterfalls we saw up close.

Having Chance here gave us the excuse to play tourist. We really enjoyed getting to know our island home more completely.

Chance has left and we are now back to doing missionary work full time. (8 hours of interviews today!) We enjoyed our holiday, learned a lot about our home here and felt the love of family and friends from afar.

We hope you have a wonderful, joyous 2018...filled with God's love.

Love you all!

Takaroa photos... and Christmas wishes

I had meant to add photos of our pension on Takaroa. It is quaint  with beautiful views. The food was very good...Tahitian Maa...which means a lot of fish (both raw and cooked), rice, and breadfruit, which is really good when made au gratin style. There are not a lot of other fruits and vegetables on the island, though. That is one down side to atoll living. Other downsides are an abundance of mosquitos, no A/C, no screens, lizards, sleeping under a mosquito net ...in other words we used lots of anti mosquito spray (all over ourselves before bed and on the bed and on the net) and that stuff you burn that puts off smoke, like incense, to repel the mosquitos. Another down side to the island is that once there you can't leave for three to four days because there are only two flights a week. And there is not a lot to do for us visitors after our meetings are finished on Sunday. And it always seems there is some issue in the mission that we can't deal with because of poor internet service. But the people are very welcoming and friendly 😊

This was our cottage.

Looking into the room.

Our dining area...breakfast.

Not a bad spot for reading the scriptures.

The couronnes were incredible!

View from our cottage.

This trip was a month ago. Since then we have kept busy with interviews, zone conferences, and keeping all the frogs (I mean missionaries) in the wheel barrow while we cross the freeway...at least that's how our friends described what being a mission president is like, and it seems pretty accurate 😂.

I am very grateful for all of you and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy a joyous Christmas. I know that Jesus Christ was born into this world to bring joy to each of us through his atoning sacrifice.

I love you all.

Merry Christmas!

(Sometime I will post pictures of Papeete so you can see how we really live...)

We found Gilligan's Island!

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip..."

We now know where Gilligan, the Skipper, the millionaire, his wife, the movie star, the professor and MaryAnn ended up...the atoll of Takaroa, French Polynesia...specifically on the south shore of the island...across the lagoon from the tiny village. 



There you will find the Palmers and their home.

Brother Palmer is third from the left. This is their kitchen/dining room

Sister Palmer is on the right. This is more of the kitchen.

The Palmers have created a real home in the middle of a coconut grove on a desert island. They have electricity, a satellite dish, running water (from rain catch cisterns) and decorations! It is truly incredible to see what they have done and how they live.

This is their living room/bedroom.

This is the guest room.

And my favorite is the bathroom. Note how she decorated it!

We took a 15 minute boat ride across the lagoon to arrive at their place, completely soaked. They provided a delicious Tahitian Maa meal. We played a bit of mini golf that they had set up on their property, soaked a bit in the lagoon, and walked from the lagoon to the ocean, which is five minutes away. (see image of island)

Golfing :)

Looking west.

Looking east.

I am continuing to create my idea of what paradise truly is, though. Takaroa is very beautiful but the realities are very harsh, including making a living, only two flights on and off the island per week, and getting supplies...fresh fruits and vegetables (except coconuts of course!),etc.

(I will post pictures of our lodgings and our welcome later.)

As I sat in the solitude of Takaroa I was struck by how unbelievable it was that I was sitting on this atoll out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean... A place I had never even know existed before. But it is harder in many ways than I ever thought it could be. I know this is what we are supposed to be doing now but I still miss my home and family.

Love to you all.

Why we are doing this mission

Today was a day that causes you to truly wonder what this life is about. A 6am call woke us...a sister missionary from Madagascar had heard her father might have died. It took Steven several calls to Mada to find out the details. He had indeed died suddenly from a stroke. This sister and her companion came up to our home (an hour drive) and spent the day with us. She was able to talk to her family and cry. We cried. We hugged. And we spent a peaceful, though sad, day together... talking about her family a bit, and about the gospel, and not talking at all. She talked about the peace she felt due to the knowledge of God's plan. She wanted to attend the Temple so we did that this evening. Everything else took a back seat to her and her needs today. The whole mission prayed for her this evening at 5. It was an emotional day. One that makes you realize what is truly important in life.

And that is:
Family, God, friends. In other words...relationships.

Why are we here on earth if not to be in families? What would be the purpose for our lives if it all ends with death?

I am so grateful that I can testify that there is more to this life than this life. I know we lived before this life. I know there is a plan put in place by Heavenly Father that allows us to live with our families after this life. I know this, and am so grateful I do.

I love you all. You are all part of what is truly important in my life.

It takes an Army!

Something I’ve been wanting to write about is what happens when there is a transfer. The work begins about 3 weeks before the actual transfers happen. Here are the key players and what they do to make a transfer happen smoothly in Tahiti. On top of the things they do they all come to the airport to see off the departing missionaries and welcome the new…which occurs between 9:30pm and midnight on Monday every six weeks. I will give a taste of their work but know that I cannot adequately express the scope of it. (I apologize in advance for the poor pictures...camera troubles)

Soeur Hoffman—passport details, carte de sejours/visas, packets for departing missionaries (with a laminated sheet for each missionary with photos of his/her companions), schedules of arriving and departing missionaries. Keeps all the details organized.

Soeur and Elder Hoffman

Elder Hoffman—bikes for each new missionary, driving tests, all-around help with baggage, transportation, right hand man to his wife and anything else that is needed.

Soeur Hunter—financial arrangements for new missionaries, travel arrangements for transfers to islands which involves multiple levels of arrangements since most islands only have flights two or three times a week and may include boats too, etc.

Assistants to the President (two young missionaries)—transfer planning, calling all missionaries regarding new companions and where to go to meet new companions and when. Pick up/drop off of missionaries going to and from various islands. Details on all the changes that we don’t think of until after the fact (where will so and so stay while waiting for his or her new comp, etc, etc, etc). We occasionally panic because we haven’t thought of something only to find out the Aps have already done it. They also do training for new missionaries and for the new trainers. Sometimes we don't get all the missionaries to their areas for a good week to ten days after the transfer due to flight schedules to the islands so the APs arrange who is going to be whose companion in the meantime, where the missionary will stay, and get them to the airport when they finally do leave/arrive.

Elders Langomazino and Crandall, the Assistants

                    

Office Elders (two young missionaries)—all things baggage for departing and arriving. Tons of transporting to the dock for fumigation of items going home with missionaries. Tons of loads of luggage to and from the airport. Lifting and hauling! Crazy busy time for them.

Elder and Soeur Lucas—making sure the houses and apartments are ready for new areas that are being open. Arranging for the meals for the incoming (Tuesday breakfast, lunch) and outgoing (Monday lunch) missionaries—at least when we have big groups. Extra hands for all sorts of things.

Elder and Soeur Lucas

Elder and Soeur Thomsen—general greeting and transporting of missionaries to their various new areas. Takes most of the day Monday and Tuesday.

Elder and Soeur Thomsen are center back. Soeur Hunter is 2nd from right on front. Picture with missionary couples and Elder Ardern and his wife.

And then there’s Steven and me—we do the transfer planning (yes, I sit in on those meetings and give my opinion and insights…though I am not the decision maker J), Steven does interviews with all departing and arriving missionaries, we have a lunch with departing missionaries that I will often do if not too many, we have a testimony meeting with the departing missionaries, training for the new ones, help with the breakfast and lunch for the new ones, etc.

The amount of man power it takes to get one missionary onto his/her mission, through it, and back home is amazing. We stand all amazed at the service rendered by this army of people—and the love they have for these missionaries.

We wish our family and old friends could meet our new friends.

We love you!

The Marquesas...Terre des Hommes

So yes, the Marquesas Islands are called the "Terre des Hommes" which means the land of men. It was traditionally the warrior islands and they are a proud people. What a gorgeous place! Several climates all on the same island...tropical, desert, rolling hills, and pine forests. We were warmly greeted with beautiful floral couronnes

View on Nuku Hiva. Couronnes made especially for us.

The view from the missionaries home on Nuku Hiva. Not bad!

We drove to the far end of Hiva Oa on a dirt road, looking over cliffs to the ocean...for a total of three and a half hours there and back.. As we would descend from the cliffs, which were desert, into tropical valleys, it felt a little like discovering the Garden of Eden.

One of the valleys on Hiva Oa

A beautiful spot to play soccer!

The largest Tiki in French Polynesia...at the end of the island of Hiva Oa. Steven made him a missionary :)

People who live out in these valleys make their living by fishing or doing copra (coconuts). There is not a lot else out there to do and you would have to be pretty self sufficient to live there.

Atuona, Hiva Oa

There are two Branches of the church in the Marquesas Islands. We went out there for District Conferences. On Nuku Hiva we had about 40 members come and at Hiva Oa we had about 50. Both Branches put on a dinner after the first evening meetings and treated us to some cultural dancing and singing.

I realize it is not feasible for many people to get to the Marquesas, called the Marquises in French, but it is definitely worth the trip if you ever have the chance.

I am always glad to get back to our house in Papeete after traveling. But when we arrived home from the Marquesas we found thousands of dead ants throughout our house. Ugh! What a welcome home! We were exhausted, hadn't eaten for hours, and had an incredibly busy schedule to look forward to the following three days. So...as I write this a week later...we are at a hotel for three days while our house is being fumigated. Hopefully we won't have such a homecoming after our next round of travel 😉

The best part of this mission is being with the missionaries and meeting new people. I wish I could speak the language better and could really get to know them well. I feel honored to be, even if very briefly, a part of their lives.

Love you all!

We Finally Got to the Beach!

Well, we got to spend about an hour and a half of our P-day (ok, P-hours) reading on the beach. Next time will be going in the water! (Who'd think you could live in Tahiti for two months and not go in the water?)

Looking out at Moorea.

Highlights of the past two weeks...

Elder Gary Stevenson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of our church, visited Tahiti. He held a special meeting just for the missionaries on Saturday, August 26. It was so wonderful to hear from an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. The spirit was strong during that meeting. (The following pictures are just from my camera that wasn't working very well. We are waiting to receive some professional ones.)

Elder Stevenson and his wife.

This past week we had Zone Conferences. We flew to the island of Raiatea for one conference. The others were here on Tahiti.

Zone Conference on the island of Raiatea. This is the view in back of the church. Gorgeous setting!

The best days are when we get to be with the missionaries. I am trying to spend some time with the Sister Training Leader companionships. There are six of them in the mission. I went to lunch with one companionship one week. Another day I had a companionship over for P-day cookie making. I just love these sisters! What amazing women they are!

Thoughts:
Paradise is not a place...it is a situation. Tahiti is not paradise in the sense that it has a lot of poverty and social issues. It is a developing country and has a ways to go to before becoming truly first world throughout. But for the missionaries here, this is paradise. This is where they have found joy bringing others to a knowledge of Christ. This is where they have served people in their homes. This is where they have learned to love others they would never have met otherwise. This is where they have learned to look upon the heart rather than the outward appearance of a person. Paradise is truly a state of  mind and not an island.

Now, if I can just get the lizard out of my bedroom I will get some sleep...

Love you all!