Sister activity/cookie exchangeSome of the sister missionaries.With Valda after a caroling activity with our ward.With Sister Acarapi who came through the MTC in Peru when we served there.
Dear Whanau, We hit our year mark on the 18th! 6 more months to go!!
Valda has been coming to church on a regular basis. I am beginning to see that we were sent to attend the Auckland ward just for her. I’m pretty sure we were assigned to this ward because the executive secretary knew about Ashton and Elder Magalogo was in this ward who served with Ashton in Fiji. It was really nice to get to know him and his cute family. They moved away though a few months after we got here and then we were assigned to visit Valda. She saw our name tags and we were instant friends. She wrote this in her Christmas card to us, “Thank you for helping me rediscover the things that are REALLY important in our lives.” We are taking her to lunch this Tuesday for her Christmas present. She’s a fun lady with a good sense of humor. She is teaching us some Maori.
We got to go to the Auckland mission Christmas party this past week. It was a real treat to be surrounded by young missionaries again. We got some pictures with missionaries who have served in our ward and who Carter has worked with managing their medical care.
The senior sisters have an activity every Friday and this past Friday we learned how to post a memory on Family Search. I wrote a Christmas memory on my Grandma Nora’s page. We also had a cookie exchange. There’s not very many of us now so we are getting close with the few that are left.
Today was our Christmas program in Sacrament meeting. We sang in the choir and Carter & I were asked to sing the song Starbright. Luckily we had just sung that with a group for our Monday night Christmas activity, so we didn’t need much practice. Those Tongan & Samoan men in the choir sound amazing. They can really sing!
We went to a devotional tonight for Spanish speakers. They are going to start a Spanish branch in our stake. We met a sister who was a missionary in the MTC in Peru when we were there. Super small world. She was the only missionary with a New Zealand accent so she was easy to remember.
Arohanui, (Much Love)
Faye
Aroha= love Nui= Big Whanau= Family (pronounced Fawnoo, with the accent on the first syllable)
Written by Faye. I had a learning experience this week that I need to record. The head of the legal department approached me in the middle of November asking me to help him choose some music to sing at our area Christmas devotional on December 11th. The legal department is super busy and with COVID, their work is overwhelming. He’s a good musician and singer and was asked to head up a senior missionary choir. I was happy to delve into the music of Christmas so I chose a few pieces for him to look at. We chose one we thought would be easy to work up with a few practices.
One problem I saw was that we don’t have the strong senior missionary choir we used to have. Three couples just went home and two of those couples were very strong singers. I wanted to have a small group so it would sound good and he wanted to have all the senior missionaries sing. I said to him once on the phone, “Do we want an all senior missionary choir or do we want it to sound good.” He was in charge of this so I just went with it… worried.
During the practices, we struggled. It was frustrating for me. It’s always been important to me to make sure a piece is sung well because, I think (in my music-snob brain) it’s distracting and detracts from the Spirit if the music is not sung right.
I’ve learned that is not the case at all if the Lord is involved. He works with our best efforts and I have been chastened, lovingly, carefully and kindly about this very thing.
Yesterday, December 11th, we sang our number at the area office devotional that was recorded and will be sent out to all the Pacific Area church members. I had been doing lots of praying about this performance…”Please bless us beyond our natural capabilities”…”Please let the Spirit be there in spite our our weakness.”
I saw people getting teary and smiling. We got lots of compliments afterward.
The head of the legal department guy knew of my worry during the practices and he approached me afterward and told me, “The reason all of us needed to sing was because these people in the Pacific remember all those senior missionaries who have come and taught and loved them. When we walk in a room with our badges on, we bring a presence with us that we don’t realize we have. They feel that presence. When we come together like we did in this choir, we are powerful. They needed to see and hear all of us.” I knew that was true then and I thanked him for his vision.
It wasn’t about the music. It was about our calling here. It was about who we represent. I saw and felt that reverence too when the area presidency and their wives came in right before the devotional started. Everyone was quiet and we felt the power of their calling.
I’m grateful for this experience. I feel so ordinary here. I’m just a person living in New Zealand right now who’s been called to wear this badge. It’s so ordinary and every day for me. I don’t feel special at all. But Christ is the one Who’s special. I loved being reminded that Who I represent is what’s important. We are around the area presidency and their wives quite often that it is just a normal day with them. But, again, I felt the power of their calling during this meeting. I needed that experience.
Here are some quotes from Elder Ardern at the devotional:
This is not some mundane work we are doing here. (Speaking of the work done by everyone in the area office) Cumulatively, we are building the kingdom of God.
Christ deserves more than our passing thought. He deserves all we can muster.
The best exercise of the day is to fall on your knees (speaking about “O Holy Night” that was just sung) and then act on what you have received.
It is a sweet blessing to end this 2020 year celebrating our Savior. It is just so fitting.
Christ is the real gift of Christmas.
Here’s the link to an article written about the Christmas devotional. There’s a picture of our choir.
Carter with some men at our ward Christmas party at Long Bay Beach. They are making Samoan Cocoa, made with real crushed cocoa beans. It’s a little bitter with some chunks of the beans. They add a little bit of sugar. The one in the reddish hat is razzing the man stirring the cocoa. A Facetime call with little Jacob Antonio! He doesn’t say much but he’s really cute!
First section written by Faye: We had a sweet Sunday today. We got up earlier than usual because Bishop asked us to attend their ward council meeting, which started at 7, to help with the ward emergency plan. It was good to see how they worked together and hear and feel the bishops mantel for the ward. He’s a good man. Those people can laugh and joke around. They are fun!
Our friend Valda came to church today! We are wondering if we were sent to this ward just for her, to bring her back to Christ. She seems to respond well to couples from the US who wear the missionary name tags. I think it’s because she used to work with Elder Loren C Dunn when he lived here. She talks about him and his wife ALL THE TIME. The other members couldn’t get anywhere with her, but we have always felt welcome whenever we visit her. She is 83 and is trying to get her life in order for when she dies. She stayed for both meetings & choir practice. She said she felt really good being at church and taking the sacrament again. She wants to come back next Sunday. I sure love her. She is trying to show her love for God by the little things she can do. I had a good conversation with her about that a few weeks ago. God will know she is willing and doing her best with all the struggles she has had in her life.
There’s a Spanish speaking sister that moved into our ward this week and she attended our ward for the first time today. She just joined the church 4 months ago. Her name is Susana Jimenez. We took her and her 10 year old son to the ward Christmas party at Long Bay beach yesterday. She has been in NZ for 2 years now. She’s from Monterey, Mexico. Her English is about like my Spanish, we can understand better than we speak. She is trying to learn English so she can get a job in her field which is accounting. She’s a great lady and the ward members have embraced her. The way they introduced her was, “We have a new member of our ward that speaks Spanish!”
That’s one thing about NZ that I really love. There are so many languages spoken here. The NZ people are so welcoming to everyone. There are 2 Brazilian families in our ward, some Filipino families, Asian, tons of Polynesian and of course Maori. There are lots of Indian people here too.
It’s starting to get hot here. It’s hot when it gets in the 70’s. We got the fans our of our storage unit. The Christmas season is under way. I attended a stake Christmas concert Sunday night. The music of Christmas makes it Christmas for me. There are some talented musicians here. The sisters and I got together and made angels out of shells. I also made a miniature nativity. It was fun! I felt like an Activity Day girl! So fun to do some crafting.
Second section written by Carter:
We had some nice video conversations this week with our children & grandchildren. I sure do love them!
Several people recently have commented on how their lives have been blessed because of the pandemic. One older man said this: “I’m grateful for being in a pandemic lockdown with my wife. We have had a lot of fun together!” A young wife and mother also commented on how she and her husband had gotten closer than ever as they spent time together during the lockdown. A sister bore her testimony today, mentioning that she has returned to Church activity largely because of the pandemic, which allowed her to choose to “settle down” and re-evaluate her priorities.
This week, I fell in love with President Oaks’ talk, Love Your Enemies. I especially love this thought: It is possible to obey and seek to improve our nation’s laws and also to love my adversaries and my enemies. While not easy, it is possible with the help of my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Yesterday I called a 90-year-old widow from our church congregation St. David, AZ. I was getting Facebook messages from her that made me concerned that her account had been hacked…and it had; she had taken care of that when I called her, but we then had a nice conversation. She’s still quite physically active: walking outside when weather permits and riding her stationary bicycle inside the other days. Good for her! She’s one of my heroes!
For some reason, I was struck by the scriptures that clarify that my cleansing is made possible by the Atonement of Christ, but the actual cleansing and refining is done by the Holy Ghost…as I allow Him into my heart to do that. I knew that…but that concept especially resonated with me this week. I love it when the Holy Ghost teaches me like that! As I was reading 3 Nephi 18:10, which says, “…and this [partaking the sacrament] doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you,” I had this thought: That small act of eating a small piece of bread and drinking a small cup of water is symbolic of my willingness to keep Christ’s commandments. My willingness can start small and then grow. Paraphrasing: “I am willing; Lord, help Thou my unwillingness.”
Our bishop is from Tonga, where he taught high school. When he immigrated to New Zealand, he did not have the English skills nor NZ teaching credentials to continue that same job here. He learned how to weld and now owns a fabrication business. He shared this experience in ward council today as an example of striving to be flexible in our career paths. The context was a discussion about a sister from Mexico who was an accountant there, but cannot find that kind of work here because she lacks adequate English proficiency. The ward leaders want to help her find work, but it may not be in the same field as when she lived in Mexico. Right now, she is cleaning a gym because her husband lost his IT job during the pandemic.
As I have accepted President Nelson’s invitation to search the scriptures for what the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel, this scripture in Jeremiah 24:7 touched me: “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” How does this apply to me personally? One thought is that God will work upon me so that I will want to return to Him (repent) after I have sinned — as all mortals have and do and will. I love that thought! I would also love to hear some of your favorite promises from the Lord to His covenant Israel.
I humbly testify that Christ’s New Testament Church was restored in 1830 through the Prophet, Joseph Smith. As a young man prior to this restoration, Joseph had searched for the truth; like many of us today, he wanted to know God’s will and his standing before his Creator. His searching led him to the Bible, which encouraged him to ask of God. When Joseph did kneel in humble prayer, God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ did in reality visit him and speak to him. They called Joseph to be Their instrument in the promised latter-day restoration of all things. Once again, there was a prophet upon the earth who could authoritatively speak in the name of God because he was called personally by God. Other heavenly messengers also personally visited Joseph and restored Christ’s ancient priesthood, which was necessary to organize Christ’s Church again upon the earth. That same priesthood authority is possessed today in a living prophet named Russell M. Nelson. The main purpose of this priesthood and this Church is to prepare the world for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
View from our 6:00 am sunrise testimony meeting on a pavillion overlooking the Hamilton templeWatching the camp cook while making Polynesion chop suey.We stopped at the Matthey Cowley Pacific Church History Center on the way home from campMission presidents seminar with most participating virtually from the islands and Australia (mentioned in a post several weeks ago).
Written by Carter. Faye and I attended a 3-day ward Relief Society camp at Camp Tuhikaramea, adjacent to the Hamilton Temple grounds. It is a beautiful, spacious area owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and managed by a volunteer senior missionary couple who have served there for 4 years now. We stayed in cabins and had some very fun activities: a sunrise testimony meeting overlooking the temple; an obstacle course; amazing food prepared by men from the ward; the new Mulan movie; sitting around a firepit to warm up in the cool night air; stopping at Pokeno on the way home for ice cream — the latter apparently a tradition for trips to the temple for many years. The first night, everyone took turns singing karaoke. Grandma Amy would’ve been proud as I sang Mac Davis’s song (with minor editing), It’s Hard to Be Humble! The most impressive activity was a water slide that is built on the side of a hill: water is sprayed on a tarp that lines the bottom and sides of a half-pipe-shaped ditch in the ground and then slicked with liquid detergent. There’s even a curve in the track, with the further edge banked up to help keep sliders on the track. However, many of the sisters were going so fast that they went over the bank and landed in the grass on the other side! Then they got back up laughing — and many did it again and again! These sisters know how to have fun! One of my purposes for being at the camp was in case someone needed medical attention; with some of those landings, I thought my assistance might be necessary…but fortunately, everyone came out without major injury. These ladies are also tough!
Yesterday, we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with the other senior missionaries…and some other people in the area who are from the US. The food was delicious! I also had a wonderful time getting to know several of the other attendees better. We went around the table expressing what we were grateful for. One of the senior missionaries said this: “The social aspect of a senior mission is well-kept secret!” I agree! We have made some dear friends on our missions!
Last week, I met one of the first converts to the Church in the South Pacific island country of Niue (pronounced “new-way”). He’s in his seventies. His daughter-in-law is going to loan me a history of his conversion story. I love stories of the Church’s pioneers in any location and era. They help blaze the way for the rest of us to follow. I’m grateful for their sacrifices in the face of sometimes-overwhelming opposition.
I’m listening to the recordings from a recent webinar sponsored by the Arizona Suicide Prevention Coalition’s “Hope Conference.” One of the speakers entitled his remarks, “Remember the Dash.” On most grave headstones, there is a birth date, then a “dash,” followed by the death date. His point was to focus on the person’s life — and not on the manner of their death. That was a good reminder for me.
Every week, I fall in love with a new general conference talk. This week, it was Elder Rasband’s talk, “Recommended to the Lord.” I am grateful for a living prophet, who encourages us to prepare for and live worthy of a temple recommend. In my experience, doing so has been a great protection and strength. After Ashton’s suicide, the temple was one of the few places I could find peace. I’m also grateful for my parents’ examples of maintaining a current temple recommend. Dad loved to deer hunt, so always made sure he had a current hunting license in his wallet. Only half-joking, he sometimes said, “My temple recommend is so important that I keep it in my wallet — right next to my hunting license!” Those who knew Dad also know how important that temple recommend must have been to him!
I solemnly testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. When He lived on the earth as a mortal Being, He restored and taught the same gospel that had been taught to prophets before Him. He performed many miracles. He called Apostles and gave them priesthood authority to preach the gospel and perform saving ordinances such as baptism. He established His Church. After His crucifixion, His Apostles were rejected and killed. Without Divine Leadership and revelation through a prophet, the people collectively fell (and individually fall today) into spiritual darkness, or apostasy. With the death of Christ’s ancient Apostles, His priesthood authority was taken from the earth for a period. This is known as the “Great Apostasy,” which was foretold by ancient prophets and apostles. (Stay tuned next week for some “good news” in this ongoing story of God and His people!)
With love, I humbly invite all to choose to stay by God’s “Tree of Life.”
