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.
4 comments:
I'd like to see you both perform those dances when you return! I certainly enjoy reading your blog--keep up the good work!
So much fun! It's so familiar it I could almost smell the humidity and food.
Wonderful letter and fabulous footage! THANK YOU!
Your blog is so much fun and we got to see our daughter Mindy Leavitt at the zone picnic and that was awesome. Keep up the great work that you are doing.
Jeff & Patty Leavitt
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