Baptisms, birthdays and bienvenu...

A very full couple of weeks. New missionary, the last of the branch conferences and 4 baptisms last Saturday.

We welcomed Elder Maker to the New Caledonia part of the Fiji-Suva Mission. Elder Maker comes to us from Tahiti. He is a calm, mature young man and is serving with Elder Styles in Bourail in the northern part of the island. Pictures nearby show him with his district as well as with his companion.

Last Thursday brought a service day at the Noumea wildlife refuge. In tropical settings large plants grow quickly. In this case, we were removing for the 'zoo' woody-leafed plants. Their root systems were large tubers from which the upper part of the plant had to be freed, then hauled up a hill to a refuse point from which they would be hauled away. Under one of these we found a resting local peacock who didn't seem to be disturbed by our chopping. And when we removed one set of cover, this bird calmly walked over to another. The day was hot and the work heavy and dirty. But service to the community here. What a contrast to the daily routine of the work 40 years ago. Pictures nearby will show some of our elders and sisters in the middle of the work as well as a shot of our bird friend if you can find her.

Ward conferences continued in our largest branch with a 'ball' as the Saturday evening branch activity. A dance with a member DJ and a great collection of music. Sister Mautz couldn't resist

The twist and a few other foot stompers. We had a great time and could even walk the next day.

Tuesdays each week bring missionary district meetings. This week we slipped up to Tontouta to attend a district meeting. These missionaries are a little further away and don't see the rest of us very often. And it was birthday week for two of their missionaries. We also wanted to see how Elder Maker was getting along with his new companion.

In addition to the last of the branch conferences last Saturday, we had two baptismal services with 4 new members of the Church. A busy and delightful day. The first were the three daughters of Sylveste who was baptized just a few weeks ago. His daughters have now followed him . Following the service, he had quite a party along the lines of a local 'coutume' or traditional tribe/family gathering to celebrate such events. We missed the event as we had a second service to attend in a neighboring branch.

Bella Lean is a student in the local college. A pair of our sister missionaries found her walking across a park in the opposite direction enjoying music through a headset and not at all welcoming. however a quick hello opened a conversation which interested her since she is largely without family having lost her father at a young age. She is now quite at home in her new branch family.

We close our blog this week with Christmas holidays in view as well as a short zone conference with our Area President and our Mission President and their spouses. The weeks are full. We are grateful to be busy and to see the joy and peace that come into the lives of new members of Christ's Church.

Departure, branch conference and a baptism

We sent our senior missionary leader home after p-day events and transfers. Then a baptism and a branch conference to round out the past few days. And the work continues.

Elder Johnston has been the senior zone leader these last months. He and his companion are the right hand of the Mission President in moving the missionary work forward here. He is gifted in seeing talents in others, in using music and fire sides to invite others to 'come to Christ' and in administration of all the details of keeping things going. He is also a great eacher.We miss him dearly although the work seems to progress nonetheless. He left a week ago on Wednesday morning. Just before his departure, many of the missionaries gathered for a p-day picnic and kickball game. Pictures are nearby as well as a film clip of the old man in the hat running the bases.

Then it was transfer day as other missionaries moved into their new responsibilities with his leaving. Lots of tender emotions as teams that had worked hard together were sent off to take on new opportunities. we marvel at how these young men and women work together learning to help each other, take advantage of each others strengths to the mutual benefit of the companionship, and then move on when asked without missing a beat. We will see a little more of this just before Christmas as we send two of the sister missionaries home as well as another elder. We anticipate the arrival of new missionaries to replace them.

Evidence of the work's progress was another baptism, Madeleine Tui on Saturday. She is a young, educated women from Vanuatu where she was a teacher. To re-certify here is a 3-year process. With her young children she is challenged to take that time. An avid reader, she was anxious to learn about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Read everything she could find including the Book of Mormon. She was eager to be baptized and is anxious to serve her friends and family with her new faith. The newly found joy in her life is evident in the accompanying picture.

In the midst of all was another branch conference. These annual events bring the district leadership into each local congregation for training. This weekend it was the Noumea 2 branch which meets in the chapel in Magenta near our little office. Events started Friday evening with a snack provided by the branch and then teams formed between branch leaders and district leaders to visit those less active or otherwise in need. Elder Mautz was paired with Frere Bearune, a counselor in the Elders' Quorum Presidency. Also the son of the Branch President in Mare. He is a returned missionary and young father. A delightful evening getting to know each other and some of the branch members.

We rejoined the branch leaders Saturday morning with a petit dejeuner of hot chocolate, croissants, then leadership training for the morning. A sports day followed all afternoon and then a Soiree de Talent that evening. Quite a day. Pictures and film clips nearby will share presentations from each of the auxiliary organizations including the Primary and Young Women as well as the Relief Society and the Elders' Quorum. The entr'act was provided by a 'Tahitian' band which the branch president plays in also. The weekend's events were dampened by the Friday night car accident involving a branch member and his young family. A head-on. They were fortunately in a pick-up truck that protected them. The German-make sedan that hit them in their lane head-on exploded on impact killing its four occupants. Prayers for those who lost loved ones as well as gratitude for the protection of family were evident throughout the weekend.

One event from Branch Conference also stands out. Elder Mautz visited the Aaronic Priesthood young men during their hour. Inasmuch as there was no Priest present, the younger Teachers' Quorum President conducted with no advance warning. He capably stood, selected an opening hymn and someone to direct it, welcomed us all, called on another young man to share a favorite scripture as the spiritual thought. Then thanked everyone for what they had done and called on the visiting District Young Men's President to give a lesson. Delightful for a 14-year-old boy. A picture of the group is at the end of the 'Soiree' slideshow.

The weeks slip away with lots of activity. We will welcome a new missionary shortly as well as celebrate holidays and a zone conference with our Area President. One at a time Heavenly Father gathers his sheep back into the fold.

Some fun clips from the P-day picnic and a traveling Elder Morrill.

Missionary departure and Travels

Scarcely time to update the blog these last few days.

A week ago we sent Elder Blucker off on his Mission serving in Honolulu, Hawaii. We enjoyed a family home evening with his family at home, set him apart as a missionary and sent him off. Our son, Chris met him in SLC amidst a snow storm and 2 1/2 hour late flight. Elder Blucker was traveling with another missionary not from our District, also going to Hawaii who spoke no English at all. They were on a shuttle for the MTC promptly. Chris reports they were quite animated even after the long flights and layovers. And their first experiences with snow.

The Bluckers are a delightful family. Elder Blucker is the oldest of their 5 children. Another son is a year younger and then 3 daughters. The younger brother will depart in a year and before his brother returns. Their father served a mission when he was in his 30's. So he is now 66 and sending his oldest son off to serve. In the meantime, they are building, largely themselves, a new home quite large by local standards. They have moved into it although it is not yet finished. Mild climates facilitate unfinished ceilings as long as the roof is tight. Kitchen and bathrooms are moderately functional. I admire even more their clean white shirts each week!

Pictures nearby present the family and our time with them. We will have left before Elder Blucker returns from his mission, but we hope to be able to help his younger brother.

We are in the branch conference season here. The first was in Tontouta 10 days ago. The usual agenda for the conference weekend is a reactivation effort with branch leaders on Friday night

followed on Saturday morning with training by district auxiliary and Priesthood leaders with the local branch leaders. These are adapted to local needs. In the afternoon or evening the branch hosts an activity of their own planning for the branch members. We do know how to party. Nearby is a film clip of the Samoan group doing some singing as the activity begins.

There is a video clip at the bottom of the blog.

We split forces for the weekend while Elder Mautz traveled to Mare (pronounced mar-ay) and Sister Mautz attended a baptism in Noumea. the pace of the missionary work seems to be picking up a bit. These good missionaries are working quite hard. The sister who was baptized this week is a caregiver. She had been attending many different churches over the last few years trying to find the truth. One of her 'patients' is a member of the Mont Dore branch. She noted some pictures of latter-day prophets and asked about them when she visited this patient at home. Six months of study with the missionaries ensued culminating in her baptism last weekend. Her children, all young adults, attended both her baptism on Saturday afternoon and her confirmation on Sunday. Her first contacts with the Church were in the Mont Dore branch where her patient lives. However, she lives in the Riviere Salee Branch and was taught by the missionaries there. We are grateful for the co-operation between these teams of missionaries

In the meantime, Elder Mautz was off to Mare, another of the 'Loyalty Islands off the east coast of New Caledonia. Like Lifou, the island of Mare is largely flat, heavily wooded and sparsely populated. A small branch of the Church continues under the faithful leadership of President Bearune. He runs 3 small retail establishments on the island as well as a small towing business. His large family, primarily grown now, has served missions. Some of them are in Noumea, others in Mare. On his property is the small meeting room as well as his own home with an apartment for his aging parents.

He met us at the airport at 7a as we landed and spent the day visiting with us various members of the branch and friends of the Church who were desirous of learning more. His commitment and personal testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was humbling. No expectation of any reward or blessing for what he does. Just love for the people around him. True charity.

We checked into our 'hotel' just after noon and prepared for a fireside we would present that evening. The hotel was a step up from the one in Lifou with a small separate building for each room. Ours had its own bathroom and was air-conditioned if we needed it. Normal beds, although the Tahitian zone leader put his mattress on the floor! Sister Mautz would have been more than comfortable there including the nearby restaurant. We will have to return.

Our visit including the fireside, Church meetings on Sunday and then a presentation of the recently released video on President Monson, filled the days particularly when filled in with visits to homes of members and friends. We slept hard each night. Now catching up on some lost sleep.

An interesting physical characteristic of Mare is that the surround reefs are much closer to shore than either Lifou or where we live in Noumea. As a result, the surf crashes close to shore and can be heard all the time. Here in Noumea, by contrast, the reefs are many miles from shore and the breaking waves are a mere ribbon of undulating white at the horizon. We never hear it. So Noumea has large lagoons with moderate water action other than the tide. We were lulled to sleep both nights by the breakers.

We are grateful to see the work progressing and to be strengthening Heavenly Father's Kingdom in this part of the world.