Home Evening, sister transfers, and a visit with President Hamula

Summer is in full season. Warm to hot days, balmy evenings. Since our last entry, we have welcomed a new missionary. Home evenings with member families are always a treat. In the meantime, preparations for opening the Loyalty islands has proceeded as well as the start of District Conference activities

With only eight sister missionaries in New Caledonia, the arrival of a new sister is an event. In this case, Sister Hurst was supposed to have arrived in late December as we were sending two other sisters home. However, visa problems delayed her for 6 weeks. She has arrived now and is being trained by Sister Leavitt whose arrival we remember just a few months ago. Or can it a be 8 months ago already. They are blessed with some great families to teach and prepare to make covenants with Heavenly Father through baptism. Readers will remember over the last couple entries local sisters serving 'mini-missions' that have helped train them for full time missions as well as filling the gap until Sister Hurst arrived. Pictures nearby introduce Sister Hurst, her companion and the other sisters.

The Tama family invited us for a family home evening. He is the elders' Quorum President in the Mont Dore Branch, a great leader and loving father and husband according to his wife. We began with a hymn and a prayer. A short lesson from the senior couple and then great fun playing some games. All before sitting down to a dinner bountifully provided. We find that we have to prepare these good families that we don't eat quite the quantities that the young elders consume. Otherwise they over-prepare and are disappointed at our disciplined appetites! The family was delightful. We watched a father and Priesthood holder preside in his home directing the evening. Children each had parts in the family home evening including leading the singing and giving a scriptural passage before the lesson. His young sons loved being with their Dad. His wife glowed as he carried out his responsibilities.

From earlier pictures on the blog, readers will have seen the beaches of Noumea. Shown nearby are additional sites of the local harbors for pleasure craft, sail and motor boats. These boats are large enough to take on some of the heavy water and weather coming off the ocean. Popular among them are 30 foot catamarans that allow the owner to live aboard for an extended period of time. Near these harbor is a traffic circle, or 'rond-point' with a large anchor from a ship long gone. This area of town also has a couple older homes, now refurbished, that go back to Noumea's days of shipping and exploration.

We have just started a weekend of District Conference with Elder James Hamula of the 70, also a counselor in our Area Presidency, presiding. He arrived Thursday evening. On our way home from the airport with him, we got a call from the President of new Caledonia's office telling us we would be able to see him the following morning at 10a. A pleasant surprise. We prepared over dinner with the District President that evening and had a delightful, genuine meeting the next day. he was very interested in the Church's relief efforts for disasters including the recent announcement of housing donations. New Caledonia itself had just contributed 9M CPF's for Haiti's relief. President Hamula invited him to the dedication of the Mont Dore chapel next month where he, President Gomez, will speak. A glorious experience to watch and translate these proceedings as the Lord's hand worked quietly to arrange so much to bless his Saints here.

Because of the way flights are arranged in and out of New Caledonia, President Hamula arrived an evening and a day earlier than our mission President which has given us a unique opportunity to be his hosts. President Hamula served as the mission President in the Washington D. C. South mission some fifteen years ago, but still remembered Elder Mautz, who was serving on the high council back then. We have had delightful visits with him over meals and traveling to meetings and visiting chapels. I think we have no idea the sacrifice families make when they are called to positions like President Hamula and other general authorities. When the Savior says, leave your net and follow me, we think Elder Hamula and his family did just that. It is very humbling.

More on District and Zone Conference and visits with President Gomez in coming blogs. We are blessed to be here.

A baptism and the Saints return...

The Saints have returned from their Temple trip to Auckland, we have enjoyed a baptism. Life is returning to normal?

Most of the members who traveled to Auckland for the 3-week temple trip returned last week. We started hearing short reports of the trip then attended a fireside Sunday evening whose topic was that trip. Testimonies were shared. A choir of the youth who went and did baptisms everyday for 3 weeks shared music. Four couples were sealed, 3 were recent converts also sealed to their families. During the 3 weeks, 14,000 ordinances were performed. But more important than the stats is the spirit they have brought home with them: Unity, humility and love.

After the first week, the Temple President recommended to them that they increase the hours they were spending in the Temple. The pattern for a number of years had been to the leave the Temple after lunch to spend time shopping or other activities more like a vacation. Many of the members spend their vacations on this trip. The amount of work accomplished doubled as a result of accepting the Temple Presidents invitation to work from 6:30a to 6p everyday. The blessing from the greater sacrifice overwhelmed all who were there. During the closing session tears flowed freely as they worshipped and prayed together. Abundant blessings.

Saturday afternoon brought the baptism of Brother Louis Luta, an 82-year-old Tahitian. Brother Luta speaks no French, so we were grateful to have a Tahitian speaking sister missionary to teach him and a Tahitian zone leader to interview him for baptism. The entire service was in Tahitian for him. In this part of the world, 82 is quite elderly. You will see in nearby pictures that Brother Luta looks somewhat frail, but his mind is more than sharp. Sister Mautz and I were reminded of Grandpa Mautz’s last few months when he was living with us. Tender moments.

Last week on a Tuesday morning, we drove to Tontouta to visit our missionaries there in their weekly district meeting. A fair amount of mail for them had collected over the preceding couple weeks, and the zone leaders didn't have any plans to go there in the near term. We enjoyed their discussion of their objectives as missionaries to invite the people of New Caledonia to come to Christ by helping them received the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their insights in understanding how they knew they were doing what the Lord wanted of them were great preparation for several days later with other missionaries. They were also happy to receive letters and birthday packages accompanied by some of Sister Mautz's cookies.

We have been assisting one of the missionary teams in teaching a young couple preparing for baptism. As is often the case here, they are living in concubinage. Via has children from earlier relationships and has been deserted by the children’s fathers. Our involvement has started as we help them understand the Savior’s concept of a family as revealed through his prophets. Fathers who preside and bless their families. Mothers understanding and devoted to teaching and nurturing their children. A child’s right to grow up in a home with both parents present and presided over by a worthy father. When we explained to Swani that he must always keep the commandments to have Via’s confidence and trust, the change in him was quickly evident. We have moved on to such concepts as not making fun of each other in public, working together and that success for one of them is success for both. They can enjoy each other’s successes instead of competing or feeling put down when the other succeeds. How far the world is straying and how much happiness living the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Many of these points came from a recent Ensign article. We were pleased to find it and grateful at how much of a difference these principles have made in their lives.

We no longer take quite so for granted the happiness in our home, between us and in our family. We are greatly blessed to have the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the base for living.The Saints have returned from their Temple trip to Auckland, we have enjoyed a baptism. A great blessing to teach others of Jesus Christ.