Baptisms, Zone Conference and a Fireside

We have had a very busy week complete with a visit with our Mission President, a zone conference, two baptisms and a missionary fireside for the District here. In between, we managed to finally get one of our own members off on his mission leaving for the MTC in Auckland.

President and Sister Ostler arrived Saturday morning for a 'short' visit this time meaning there would be no activity day with the missionaries like our picnic at their last visit. They arrived just in time for a baptism shown nearby. The young man was taught by one of the sister's companionships, Sisters Seiko and Manoi. He shared his testimony at the end of the service. Articulate and firm in his belief. He will stay in the area and will be a great addition to his branch here.

Monday afternoon while President and Sister Ostler were doing interviews with the missionaries, a call finally came that tickets were being booked for Elder Seiko, leaving from our District and coming here to serve. He received his call several weeks ago and was scheduled to enter the MTC in Auckland this week, but somehow the itinerary for travel never came through. I had raised the question again a couple weeks ago and finally the response which was two choices: leave the next morning at 11a or wait two days and miss the first day of training in the MTC. His enthusiastic, TOMORROW meant a setting apart that evening, quick packing and he was off. I couldn't help reflect how different things are in the US where departures are known weeks in advance and parting missionaries speak in sacrament services just before leaving. Elder Seiko will be a great Elder. His family has roots back a long way in this area. His father has been the District President and his sister is serving here already. A younger brother just received the Melchizedek Priesthood and will depart while his two older siblings are still serving.

Sunday morning we were up early for a drive to Tontouta, 45 minutes away, for Church services and another baptism. This sister has been attending Church for a long time and felt the time had arrived to join the Church. This time the ordinance was performed by the Branch President. We were delighted to see some of the training we have been doing taking effect. The Ward Mission Leader conducted the service. A great day and then we were headed back to Noumea for the Missionary Fireside.

The Fireside was a musical presentation accompanied by projections for the attendees. Depicted in music and picture was the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet, Joseph Smith, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of the Priesthood. All the music was tied together via narration. The missionaries sang a good deal of it in chorus joined by a District Choir of members. Since it took place in the chapel, we could not record it. But we asked the missionaries to re-perform two numbers just prior to lunch during zone conference the following Tuesday which are presented for you nearby. The clips are rather long and in French, of course, but we hope you enjoy them. Sister Mautz is particularly partial to the Elders' number. there is something about clean, worthy young men joining voices together in song that delivers strong testimony of the truthfulness of their message. Attendance at the evening's performance was good with many favorable comments from those visiting the Church for the first time as well as those invited to come back.

Our Zone Conference was the final event of the Ostlers' stay with us. We were instructed by them and our zone leaders. the emerging theme centered on obedience to the Savior's will that invites His Spirit to guide and direct our actions. That obedience born of gratitude for his atoning sacrifice. Some of us get to be too rule-driven, others a little relaxed. Keeping our love for our Savior at the center balances that as we serve others. We were grateful to have been there.

The Ostlers have just finished the first of a 3-year assignment as President of the Fiji-Suva Mission. The breadth of the assignment is staggering working in 3 countries, four languages and with 120 missionaries. Some can only be reached by boat. In addition he has 3 districts to oversee as well as another to run directly as the district president himself. Flew 50K miles his first year. Travel here is many times difficult with canceled or delayed flights. When that happens you wait inconveniently or get re-routed through 'nearby' places like Australia or NZ easily adding a day or two more to a busy itinerary. However, what stands out in their minds 'the Atonement is real. As I have met with investigators, members and missionaries, I have witnessed its reality.'

These last two weeks, our missionaries have been without any mail other than the internet. No packages, no letters from friends etc. We have no idea what caused the blockage, but finally things came through this week. Letters for just about everybody. We understand there are yet to be packages to be picked up, but those had also been trapped in the backlog and will take a little time yet to arrive.

We are grateful to be here serving with fine young men and women. next week we will send one of our sister missionaries home and welcome another. Many trips to the airport, good-byes and welcomes.

Some days the sun don't shine...

Last week's rain and slogging through apartment inspections gave us new appreciation for a car, dry shoes and a warm apartment. And then we went to Houailou.

After much wind, rain settled in with clouds hanging low over the higher hills all over the island. Hard steady rain for three days soaked the soil so that there was no place for the rain to go. The main north south route north of Tontouta actually flooded to the point of closing for a few hours while we were navigating (pardon the pun) through our flat inspections. We were north for the apartments there, headed back south to find the road getting deeper and deeper in water and then realized we had forgotten to retrieve information we needed. So back we went. In the 20 minutes it took us to retrace our steps, the road was 6 inches deeper in water with quite a waterfall to one side. We tried to capture the effect on a picture nearby, but the effect isn't quite the same as being in it. Was good to be passed it for the last time. When we returned Saturday afternoon on our way to Bourail and Houailu, everything was pretty well cleared away and quite passable. Great river drainage system! We are happy to report that all of our missionaries were warm and dry.

So when it rains, we adjust with rain slickers, different shoes and hats. The elders, pictured nearby, roll up their pants and walk through it. We understand they did give up porte-a-porte the second day and just kept up with their pre-arranged rendez-vous. You will note Sister Mautz's stylish shoes for the rain as well as those of Elder Mautz.

Saturday, we left home about noon, attended a baptism in a nearby branch and then took off for the north country, the bruse.

The baptism was delightful. By then, the rain had stopped. the new member is from Wallis, a French speaking island southeast of Fiji. His family lives there and he will soon return. So we want him well prepared to lead his family before he leaves.

We met the elders in Bourail for dinner and did some temple recommend interviews before calling it a night in a local inn. Up early Sunday morning, we drove the hour between Bourail and Houailu getting there in time for 9a Church and to meet the members in the small branch there. Beautiful scenery. the little inn deserves one anecdote. Posted on the wall was the offer that the chef would cook anything we shot as long as we didn't want to keep it as a trophy. We particularly liked the pink bathroom in the honey moon suite.

Nearby are a few pictures of the scenery as we crossed the island from West to east. Bourail as well as most of the towns where we have missionaries are on the west side of the island. Houailu is on the east. The road across is less well maintained, but passes through some beautiful country with breath-taking vistas across valleys with steep sides climbing up mountains whose tops were actually tree-less. Cascading waterfalls. We enjoyed the drive narrated by one of our elders who does this drive frequently. Along the way, we encountered a warning sign, 'nids-de-poulet.' Literal translation is chickens' nests. What is meant is 'potholes.' And they meant it. We all had to slow way down on a winding scarcely two lane road.

The branch in Houailou pictured nearby is small. they meet in a small, rented building that also serves as the missionaries' flat when they are in town. The presiding authority is a tribal chief who hitchhikes to Church every Sunday and leaves his suit in the meeting room until he returns the following week. After jokes about not breaking the eggs in the nids-de-poulet we talked about the needs of the young men in his little branch as well as those in his tribe. How to motivate them to work, teach them standards in their lives and provide activities that developed life skills. He shared his concerns for the young people of his tribe who need he Gospel of Jesus Christ as a standard as well as listed above. The internet reaches all over the world and brings with it the mixed blessing.

We provided the program along with Elder Hammond who arrived here in New Caledonia a few months ago. Sister Mautz spoke through a translator. All listened politely while Elder Morrill translated for her. However, when she switched into French at the end of her talk to share her testimony, the members of the congregation one at a time switched from polite quiet faces to broad smiles and sparkling eyes listening to her share the feelings of her heart. A tender moment and mercy for all attending. She does better than she believes and everybody loves her for the great efforts she is making!

On our way home we visited with our friend in the Bourail branch who has now had 8 weeks of leaving smoking behind. The change in his countenance as well as his feelings about himself were noticeable. We learned that one of the great blessings of the Word of Wisdom is being able to be obedient. When the Savior taught that if we love him we will keep his commandments, he was then merciful to us giving us commandments we could keep. The Word of Wisdom is one of those. And He blesses those who follow not only with health but with the feelings of worth born of obedient love for the Savior.

And so, even though some days the sun don't shine, things always get better.

Hiking, Wild Weather and Visiting Primary

For the record, today is Bastille Day, when Marie Antoinette got carried away and lost her head. French independence day. Pretty big here. We will see if we have fireworks tonight.

The result is that we have some time to catch up the blog from the last 10 days or so. We have had a very full 10 days with Branch Council training in two branches, a District General Priesthood Meeting where I presided and spoke, as well as a fireside for returned missionaries where I also spoke. My first ventures in speaking were talks I read having written them out word for word. I quickly realized perfect grammar is no substitute for eye contact and sincerity even if my pronunciation isn't quite perfect. I even ventured into an extemporaneous story about Chris' march to the BYU stadium in 1997 during the sesquicentennial celebration of the pioneers' entry into the Salt Lake Valley singing 'Called to Serve' after hearing a chorus of brethren here sing 'Appele a Servir.' Still brings tender memories that I felt prompted to share. I think everybody understood! The text of my talk centered around the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood calling us to action. As part of the Abrahamic Covenanted people, we must carry the Gospel of Christ to all the world starting in our own homes, families and branches doing our home teaching. Emphasis on DOING.

A week ago Monday, the zone leaders planned a bi-zone hike to a water fall not too high up the side of a 'mountain.' The day was a bit overcast so the hiking was great. Sister Mautz decided to go shopping, so I was without a companion. We had a good part of the island's missionaries with us as you will see in the accompanying photos. The path was marked largely by foot worn packed clay where not much was growing. In a jungle-like setting, that is pretty good marking. Lots of rocks to climb over and round. The foliage was dense. Took some getting use to to see large palm trees some quite tall, others right at eye level through the under growth that otherwise seemed not unlike a normal wooded setting.

I was surprised to see who the real climbers were. Sometimes those who seem a little more reserved on the flat are quite the climbers when we got to the falls. Pictures nearby will show you the hikers and the terrain. We started out about noon time everybody having already eaten lunch, and were back off the mountain in time for supper. Missionaries are quite conscious of each others needs, so I enjoyed being with them as they cared for and looked out for each other.

No real trouble keeping up except that bi-focals play nasty tricks on balance and vision when one is climbing or coming down steep paths. I was well cared for.

As noted in last week's entry, the District Primary expressed some concern about some of the Primaries in the district. We visit a different branch every week as we try to be available for temple recommend interviews and to support the local leadership. So after the sacrament service of family worship, we have been visiting Primaries where the children under 12 are taught, have activities and sing together. I am not quite sure what I expected, but I am completely captivated by these beautiful children singing in such perfect French the Primary songs I have known all my life. They must be very intelligent to speak so well. The children are eager, enthusiastic singers and participants. Just like those in my own family or in any congregation of the Church. 'If you chance to meet a frown' is sung world over with the same wonderful effect. The culture of the Church's music supported by the scriptures of the Bible and Book of Mormon are as at home in Noumea, a fairly civilized place, Tontouta which approached the 'bush country' or Bourail in the bush as they are in SLC or Oakton Virginia. Love of eternal family, being obedient to parents to be happy, and the light of the Savior's love are universal values bringing happiness to all. We hope a couple of nearby film clips, one from the Noumea 2 Branch and the others from Tontouta Branch will be as delightful to you as they were to us when we were visiting. These primaries are well organized with good teaching and fun singing. The children were well behaved. We obviously haven't yet visited the problems our District Primary President was concerned about.

Briefly, the weather was something this week. Again the wind swung around into the SW. But we had high winds of 25-30 mph and a tropical depression. Big breakers on the beach. There are no reefs in that direction to protect the shoreline. And it brought out the surfers and sail boarders. Because of the wind direction, they were right below our balcony. Sister Mautz went down and got the nearby film clip of a boarder. Essentially, these guys are flying huge crescent shaped kites, perhaps 25 feet across. These are attached to the boarder by 150-200 foot cords allowing him to 'control' the kite somewhat. He rides his board on the water going across the wind back and forth using his weight to balance against the wind. High speed. From time to time, they jump off a wave crest or to turn themselves around. I wonder how you learn to do this without dying in the process. Perhaps only the best survive. The nearby film clip will give you the idea. Turn the volume down as the wind noise is loud.

Here are the film clips. I know they are a lot of them, but we think they are worth the viewing.

Last one, I promise.

What to do on the 4th of July

So here we are in New Caledonia on the 4th of July. Scarcely any mention here of it at all! The winds switched from the predominant southeast to southwest bringing with them heavy clouds and rain showers off and on. But not to be discouraged, our team of nearby elders planned a baptism preceded by a BBQ. Made for a great day.

With a little imagination, you can make sausages seem like hotdogs, chips are chips, some soft drink and ice cream on a mild winter afternoon with temps in the 70's. The real trick was finding charcoal and a grill all of which you will note in the attached pictures where we are cooking on the front step of our mission office. Our Tahitian elders insisted we sing the National Anthem before eating. We are still grateful to be Americans.

A new chapter in our mission seems to be emerging as we are called upon to help with leadership training. A couple Sundays ago while we were visiting one of the branches, the District primary President caught us and asked for some time. That scheduled event happened this week. A great group of energetic sisters well-experienced in the Primary themselves, they hoped Sister Mautz could give them some help. Their High Council adviser also joined us at our invitation. Even Sister Mautz had to admit that she got enough of the conversation to keep up with things. I helped getting ideas back to them. Fundamental things like orienting teachers to their responsibilities came up as well as how to help an unhappy child. But when we learned that during sharing time all of the teachers go to Relief Society leaving the local branch Primary Presidencies to take care of 15-30 children, Sister Mautz was pretty helpful. As in 'You have got to be kidding me!' Which doesn't translate quite so emphatically into French. We made some plans which the high councilor can take back to the District Presidency, one of which was to have a demonstration 'Sharing Time' on a 5th Sunday so that parents can better understand how to help their child prepare for a talk or a Scripture. I will be in that meeting to reinforce things a little bit. We came home tired from the long day as well as having concentrated hard for a couple hours during this training session. We will meet again.

Today's baptism was for an 11-year-old boy, Benoit. His family isn't quite as he would like it to be, but all were there for the baptism today. He comes to Church every Sunday with his mother and older brother. A number of missionaries were present, so our chorus singing 'Appele a Servir' (Called to Serve) at our young friend's request was powerful. But the great moment of the day came when the Branch President called upon Sister Mautz impromptu to give the closing prayer. She didn't think it was perfect French, but everybody else was grateful for her efforts and understood everything she said. Learning French is giving 'eternal progression' some new meaning. Without rushing, she took time to express the feelings of her heart. Very moving for all.

In addition to month end reports, trips to doctors and and government offices to renew visas and zone leaders meetings, we watched the missionaries in their monthly service day which, as you will see in the accompanying photos, was a car wash. Did they all belong to the same Mutual? It was a busy day. Because the soil here is red, cars get pretty dirty, and a good car wash is hard to find. (In fact the local car repair shops require that a car be clean before being brought in for servicing or repairs)So a 'Free Car Wash' sign gets a fair amount of attention. While they are waiting, the drivers get a doctrinal presentation of the Restoration of Christ's Church in its fullness, or perhaps happiness in family life. A number of them are interested then to invite the missionaries for further discussion.