Yet another party, training, and transfers

A week ago Friday we posted to the blog and thought we would have another two weeks before we would have anything to report. We were wrong.

Saturday night we attended the last of the celebrations for Mother's and Father's Day for the year here on the island. This one was held at the Noumea Un (one) Branch. Carl got a very nice printed and laminated invitation to this soiree so we put it on our calendar. We have been in the branch a lot this past month so we are getting to know them pretty well. We were delighted to see a sister that we had visited with the missionaries earlier in the week and to meet some 'friends of the Church' who sat at our table. Like the party in Tontouta, the young people were our servers. This time it included young men, young women and the young adults of which there are lots! The dinner was great complete with appetizers, soup, main dish, and dessert. They feed us too well here.

Of course a party isn't a party without entertainment, right? It was dancing again but this time it was the young men in the branch who entertained us. This was a Maori war dance that was used to scare off the white men when they landed on New Zealand. They performed two such dances and performed with gusto. We loved watching and we hope you do to.

A few weeks ago we were contacted by the office in Tahiti to inform us that Sister Christine Hunter was going to come and give us some training. Sister Hunter is the person that all my emails and reports go through. She is the guru of finances in the region. We wondered what training she could possibly train us in since we had been here doing what we do in the office for some time and no one was sending us word back that we were doing it wrong. I did notice on one of the reports that I do weekly something that didn't make sense to me and I inquired about it but no one responded so I just continued doing what I was taught by the Elders. Well, it turned out that I was right about something not being right with the form so I had to go back and correct a few weeks of reports. I did an audit of the records and knew that all the checks had cleared except one so I only went back three weeks. Anyway, it turned out that the training was very much needed and probably was needed about eighteen months ago when the other senior couple left and the missionaries took over. The training helped and now we know who Sister Hunter is and feel like we have a friend in Tahiti. And she can make our bills get paid and understands the French banking system here.

When President Ostler was here for Zone Conference he had a meeting with the Senior Zone leaders about transfers. We thought that since they were planned to happen at zone conference then there probably would not be any. We were wrong about that and things really got shaken up on Friday. Elder Aiho and Elder Johnson, who used to be Elder Huuti's companion were made the Assistants to the President on New Caledonia. Elder Huuti is now companion with Elder Livingston and they are the zone leaders for the north part of the island. Elder Amundson is now Elder Troutman's companion and they are the zone leaders for the south part of the island.

Feelings were a little tender on Friday morning. Some of these companionships have been together for quite some time and the bond between them was more like brothers than companions. We went over to the Riviere Salee building where the transfers were taking place to say goodbye to some of the Elders that we saw weekly on P-day and to welcome their replacement. I felt like I was sending off my sons on their missions again. We have grown to love these fine young men and young women. (No transfers for the sisters since that took place when the new sisters arrive at the end of May). Carl loves to take pictures and you will notice in one of them an empty plate. Last week, these Elders came in and brought Elder Mautz a Father's day cake. We missed the photo op with the cake itself. Chocolate is a delicacy here for the missionaries so the cake disappeared quickly. Those in the picture are the ones who got to enjoy it. We had to re-create the photo before everyone left for their new assignments. That companionship is one that got split and I think it was hard for both of them. Several companionships were like two peas in a pod and splitting them up was tough, but each will grow from the experience and they will continue to do the work and be blessed for their obedience and hard work.

We don't have much coming up these next couple of weeks so we may not have much to report on. Carl is continuing his help with training the District and Branch leaders. We will meet with the District Primary President this next week and hopefully help answer some of her questions about training in the Branches.

We admire the faithfulness of the Saints here. They sacrifice significantly for the really important things. Sunday after meetings one of the branches had a dinner together and then we started the process of temple recommends for all the members as they prepare for a trip to New Zealand later in the year.

Thank you all for reading our blog. We enjoy doing it and have heard from many that you enjoy reading it. We are grateful to be here with these great people. We see in them the results of faithful obedience to the Savior's commandments as happiness fills their lives, sometimes in very humble circumstances.

A baptism, a zone conference, Mothers' and Fathers' Day continues

We are on the other side of our second Zone conference since our last posting. The weeks are full and slip by quickly.  Weekly tasks such as getting bank cards for the new missionaries so that they can access their bank accounts (try 3 different trips having had to pull the new missionaries in from their work an hour away) and monthly living allowance, getting them registered with the government, reporting on the week's financial activities to our supervising area, teaching with the missionaries when invited. All seems to fill up more time than we expect. We have taken to carrying our lunch to the office when we go as we are always there longer than we expect. But the office administration part of our assignment is bountifully interspersed with wonderful opportunities with the members, baptisms, teaching and training.

Our Mission President and his wife arrived on Wednesday a week ago. With them came Elder and Sister Bohman, who are about to complete an assignment as the Mission nurse and the finance man for the MIssion in Fiji. We enjoyed some great experiences together while they were here as reported below. But we should note how grateful we are to be in New Caledonia. They arrived eager to do some shopping for everything from sandals for the sister missionaries to tubes for bicycle tires for the Elders in Fiji. Such things are rare in Fiji. So built into the week they were here was shopping. Sister Mautz can now navigate downtown Noumea with ease in her car with automatic transmission. We are grateful for that. She would go one direction with Sister Ostler and the Bohmans, while I went another with President Ostler. 

While President and Sister Ostler were busy interviewing the missionaries we had a chance to visit with the Bohmans.  We had met them when we arrived in Fiji just before coming to New Caledonia.  We knew we would be very good friends if we had a chance.  The chance came this trip.  They shared lots of experiences from their time in Fiji.  Elder Bohman really is the do it all man in the mission for Fiji.  He takes care of whatever needs to be done with the vehicles of the mission, he delivers appliances to the flats, he deals with the missionaries who roll their truck and missionaries who think that taking a knife to the ice in the freezing compartment is the easiest way to get rid of the excess.

Sister Bohman shared experiences of the illnesses endured by the missionaries in Fiji. Untreated bug bites get infected, splinters inflame. Arms swell. We are happy to miss all of that. As for the most part, the missionaries here on New Caledonia are pretty healthy and smart.  After their visit we became even more grateful to be serving on our little island where we don't have to filter our water or worry too much about the food we eat.  Overeating is the challenge. 

Last Saturday we participated in the baptism of a sister, the wife of a -re-activated young man in one of the branches here in the city. A tender experience She is an educated woman, a school teacher. He is the recently re-activated son of a family whose parents are just finishing an assignment as the mission president in Madagascar. She shared a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was clear she had studied it and the Bible extensively before taking this step and was very happy. As she noted in her remarks after being baptized, she was grateful now for the opportunity to plan for an eternal family as she and her husband prepare to go to the Temple. 

Saturday evening, Sister Mautz hosted a 'sisters' night' with the Mission President's wife and the Mission nurse for the sister missionaries. We brethren were 'banished' to yet another 'Fetes des Mamans' in another branch.

Monday was a busy day as we attended a picnic with all of the missionaries and President and Sister Ostler. Pictures and videos accompany. One of the challenges of the missionary work here for our Mission President is that he is 1000 miles away and has broad responsibilities with other missionaries also great distances away from him. In his first year he has traveled 50K air miles. He also presides over several districts of Church members because their numbers aren't quite strong enough to be a Stake. He is just completing his first year. The goal of this conference was to allow him a little more time with these good missionaries. Hence the p-day picnic. In the planning with the zone leaders, we accepted the responsibility for food for the picnic. Ham, cheese and turkey sub sandwiches on baguettes, an apple, chips and desserts brought largely by the missionaries made a very adequate menu. Took a while to make all of that, and I was glad to have help from Elder Bohman while Sister Mautz led a shopping expedition with the visiting sisters.  The Zone Leaders planned and provided games followed by the inevitable touch football game and some volleyball. As Sister Ostler noted in greeting the missionaries in p-day clothes, 'You look like regular young people.' The contrast next day at Zone conference in white shirts and ties was striking.

Because the Bohmans were leaving the mission shortly, the zone leaders had arranged for us to join a couple families for family home evening Monday evening. We were all a bit tired and sun burned. but off we went to a delightful evening. A family with younger as well as teen age children. We sang an opening hymn, had a lesson, played a game involving tying two neckties, in simple fashion and another more complicated, while each tried not to have both ties arrive on his/her lap at the same time. Lots of yelling and screaming. And for you scouts, we learned to tie a bowline which in French is called 'un noeud de chaise.' A chair knot because it makes a fixed loop which can be sat in when hung from  a branch. And we are half way around the world. Family Home Evening is for everybody! The highlight of the evening, however, was the testimonies we were invited to share. Sister Mautz's was entirely in French. She is making steady progress in spite of being an impatient student.

This Zone Conference focused on teaching techniques to help the missionaries help 'friends of the Church' better understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ as they study the Scriptures. We did some role playing as well as some specific teaching by the Zone Leaders, our Mission President and his wife. And during their time here, they also interview all of the young missionaries. Quite a busy time for them. And then suddenly they were off early Wednesday morning. An 8a flight an hour away which meant we were up at 4:30a for a ride to the airport. Time to catch up on sleep, work at the office and to begin preparing for the week ahead with leadership training, Sabbath, and yet more Fathers' Day celebration.

New Missionaries, a baptism, Mothers' Day and Gratitude

Last Saturday morning we were up early and off to the branch near the airport to attend the baptism of a young man, 11 years old. He will be joined in the Fall by his parents who are getting their life in order. In the area where he lives, local tribes are still quite strong along with their tribal customs that aren't always consistent with eternal principles like marriage and families. But he is a bright young man and has been reading the Book of Mormon and concluded he wanted to go ahead with his family's support. Both his mother and father were present. The Primary children sang (sorry that we missed getting it on 'film.' For another time) and it was delightful. The baptismal font is in the middle of the courtyard between the two wings of the building. It is a tiled hole in the ground with running water in and an electric pump to empty it. Covered when not is use. Pictures nearby will show you the setting. Carl is learning to preside at such meetings and also play the piano. The members are always grateful to have music for singing. And we all love to sing together. Rousing hymns.

That trip worked nicely with the expected arrival of our 3 new sister missionaries since the airport is just minutes away from the chapel there. However, due to some strikes (related to last week's incidents in Noumea) they were a  couple hours late. So we waited. Our reunion with all three of these good missionaries was delightful. Two of them came from the USA where we had met them in the Provo MTC. The third is from here. I had set her apart just 

weeks ago. She went to the MTC in Auckland and noted to me, 'to think I almost missed that delightful experience.' We brought them home to our apartment where we met the other sister missionaries. Shirley hosted a delightful luncheon with a pasta/chicken salad, fruit, French bread and cheeses and brownies for dessert. No small effort in our small kitchen, but she was well prepared from efforts the preceding day enhanced by salad dressing mixes sent from home. 

We got new missionaries matched up with their trainer companions and off to their assignments before the day was done. We did have one small adventure in all of this. One of my tasks is the responsibility for the car fleet of 10 autos here. As you know, I buy them, trade them in etc. Also see that they get maintained. I also test the missionaries to be sure they have reasonable abilities to drive and a clean record before they are allowed behind the wheel. Each car has one designated driver. In this case, the designated driver was to be one of the new missionaries who did not know how to drive a stick shift. 

So, after a prayer together, we took off into the hills and rond points (round abouts) of Noumea to train her a little. She actually did quite well. Her companion could drive but does not have an international driver's license. After leaving only a bit of tire on a rather steep incline and stop sign, we got along quite well. We even had a flustered moment so that I could say 'OK, just stop and let those cars by. Gather your wits, take a deep breath and then we will try again.' All in a day's work in that short hour. She left just at dusk to drive north an hour with a great calming companion, some measure of self-confidence and lots of our prayers with her. We have seen her or spoken with her twice since then, things are going well and getting better.

The week slipped away before we knew it with P-day and end-of the month reports and efforts. But all is done now. We are beginning to feel like our work is under control and we can turn some thoughts and effort to working more with the local leadership and Branches.

We can't forget the missionaries in the blog.  P-day brings many of the Elders and some Sisters that are close t0 the office to check for mail or just to visit with each other.  It is fun to listen and watch.  This week, some of the Elders found dropped coconuts on the ground.  I don't know where they found the big knife, but pretty soon they were chopping off the hard skin and enjoying coconut milk and the insides.  See the attached photos.

At the baptism earlier in the week, the local Branch President invited us to their Mothers' Day soiree to be held last night. So we drove back yesterday evening not knowing quite what to expect. Nearby pictures will tell the story better than words. We arrived to find half the parking lot decorated and set up for dinner. A deer was roasting over a slow fire on a spit. Palm fronds and pine bows created a natural barrier and feeling of enclosure from the rest of the parking lot. Dinner was prepared entirely by the brethren while the sisters visited. And it was a dinner. Home made egg rolls, soup, vegetable salad, the roasted deer, rice, poi in two creations that were delicious and filling. then cakes and fruit salad for dessert. The Aaronic Priesthood, dressed in suits, white shirts and ties served us all evening long very attentively.

But the most fun was the entertainment provided by the Young Women who performed a variety of graceful, sometimes very energetic Tahitian hulas and dances in native costume. Clearly, the local culture is surviving. We loved it. Because it was dark and we were outside with modest lighting, you will only get a flavor of some of this. But the images nearby should be fun. We enjoyed songs form the Primary. When we left at 9:30p for the hour drive home, the party was still going strong. At one point, the daughters and their mothers joined in a dance. A few selections were from individual young woman who clearly prepared quite well. How do they get their hip to move like that? A Primary child, about 4 years old, stole part of the show dancing at the same time as one of the YW.  She could mimic exactly what the old girl was doing.  It was amazing. (Note that in the accompanying pictures, those that seem darkest are short video clips to give you a flavor of local music. We regret not having brought our video camera.)

An finally, while we have been doing all of this, our family at home is greatly blessed. Donna and Chris welcomed a new son, Ean, born Thursday evening if we have our dates right, without complication. Ean and Donna are doing just fine we understand. We hope to meet this new grandson via skype tomorrow our time. Pictures have already made it half way around the world   And Dr. Alan Mautz successfully completed his 4+ hour oral examinations to be admitted by the examining Board as a certified radiologist. We pray for our children and are grateful for the Lord's blessings upon them. In addition a nephew and his wife welcomed a new daughter to their family. Quite a week for the family.

We approach zone conference in the next ten days and a week long visit from our Mission President and his wife. Will be a busy time but we enjoy their visits very much.  They will be accompanied by the mission nurse and her husband who will be returning to their home in the next few weeks.  We enjoyed meeting them on our brief visit through Fiji.