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.

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.

All is well that ends well

In which is told and shown the tale of the purchase of 3 cars, explosions and tear gas and the trip to Bourail

At our last posting, we were learning how to purchase cars and feeling like the more we learned the more was yet to go. As of today we have completed the registration with the local government authorities. It turns out that mere volume of paper was the trick. In that world, 10 sheets of 'information' is better than one. Magically over last weekend, all was well.  The purchase orders sent us from Fiji drew chuckles from the dealers, but we have proceeded anyway with their interest. duh, they are selling cars after all. So on Wednesday, when we could get time to get there, we brought the bleu clair Renault home. A picture of Sister Mautz with Heavenly Father's new car is adjacent. She thought bleu clair was much nicer that battleship gris, the color of the last car. What we didn't know until we got it was the double sun roofs and the automatic transmission which allows Sister Mautz to drive now. As soon as she gets up courage to navigate a 'rond point' or I dent the car. Whichever comes first.

The second and third cars are Berlingos also pictured adjacent with Elders Livingston and Manning, both of machete fame. These are utilitarian cars with firm springs, modest creature comforts although with ac, and designed to handle much of what a missionary can give them. They are reasonably economical and are good for the bush country up north. A couple of them were pretty well worn out by the time we got here. The two we have just purchased were due in February when we were to have originally arrived. So the missionaries are glad to have them. We had to replace the old ones traded in with newer ones that lived nearby so that we could get them to the dealer without stopping the work. that meant that some sisters inherited cars driven by elders. 'Humph, smelled like elders' from one of the sisters. 'That car was so dirty we tried not to touch anything,' from another. We will have to learn to do better. 

We are now helping Fiji get through international money transfers. I can always cut a check if  I have to. (Not from our funds!)

So, on Thursday morning we are on the way to a doctor for a 7a appointment. (And no, I don't know who makes appointments for that hour of the morning or another doctor that takes them) We have picked up the missionaries needing to go to the doctor and are about 15 minutes away from our destination when our cell phone beeps, 'elder Mautz, we just heard some explosions and there is a lot of smoke rising from the airport near the mission office. We went outside to see what was going on and there were bonfires in the street and tear gas.' 'Well, Elder, go back inside your apartment and close the windows and door and stay there until we can get you out of there. And thanks for keeping us up to date. A call to the zone leaders got us help in evacuating the Elders and on getting a radio report as to what was going on.

This will be very familiar to those who have lived in France. Seems that the local airport workers of one of the unions was unhappy so they tried to take control of the local airport. Our office and one of the chapels is just across the street. ( and yes, it does make Sunday meetings a little noisy from time to time) so the professional military were out in force. there was some concern that one of the planes, perhaps with passengers aboard, might be the target of a potential high jacking so the gendarmes did a tour de force setting off explosives and tear gas. Hence the noise and odor our elders were encountering who live just a block away. Roads were barricaded and there were several truck loads of military in the area. The rest of Noumea was quite calm. We saw no evidence of anything until we tired to get to our offices a couple hours later and encountered blockades.  The zone leaders drove as close as they could get, walked in the rest of the way, got our two elders out of there and off to work elsewhere. So by the time we were done at the doctor, we had elders safely out of the way.  A quick call to the mission president kept him informed earned us instructions to keep the missionaries safe and away from trying to take pictures. By mid-afternoon, it was all cleared away. All that was left was the slight aroma of tear gas and the black stains of ash on the pavement where several bonfires had been built. Vive la Republique!  There are mornings, once in a while, when the day looks pretty clear. We always wonder what might happen.  Always does! Later that day we retrieved the aforementioned Berlingos. A happy ending to the day. The bed felt great that night!

Last Sunday we traveled north 2 hours to the northern most point in which we have missionaries, Bourail. The small branch is held together by two very faithful families with returned missionaries as parents and both fluent English speaking natives. And with two great missionaries, one of whom arrived with us.  The meeting location, also shown adjacent, reminds me of some of the small rented meeting places we had 40 years ago in the France Paris Mission.  The plan for the day was to attend church in the morning starting at 9a, dinner with the Branch president and his family and then a reactivation activity.

The President's wife is a returned missionary who lived in the US for 12+ years and only returned home when her job was terminated. She came home single and worried how she would ever marry. Reactivated her husband as part of a biking group, fell in love, he launched a successful business and here we are. She teaches English locally and is a delightful as is her husband. Faithful souls doing whatever it takes to bless their children with the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We ate outside in the shade of a covered veranda while the breeze blew through and an occasional rain shower blew by. Very comfortable but certainly a long way from what she might have gotten used to in the US.   The second family is headed by a returned missionary.  A handsome native fellow with completely western features and skin as black as you could imagine. A striking man also a fluent English speaker who met his wife, from southern Utah, at BYU Hawaii. She moved to Bourail sight unseen with her new husband and has adapted.

After the meetings and dinner, we visited the family of the RS president. Very humble circumstances. She is a dear soul. Sister Mautz found the RS meeting, albeit small with 3 other sisters, had a great spirit about it with a well prepare lesson. (And she would know!) Her husband, also a member, has had trouble leaving his cigarettes behind to the point of virtually giving up. The effect on her grown children, some of whom are still at home, has been to be disrespectful of  their mother's Church and their father. So the two Elders, we, and the Branch President went for a visit. I felt strongly impressed to push hard on obeying the Word of Wisdom. All that is keeping him from the Temple and binding his family together forever. I am grateful for that guidance. He responded well. I offered him a Priesthood blessing from his Branch President which he accepted. We got a report 3 days after from the elders, who came down to take care of visa registration issues, that he was excited to be through the first 3 days, was already feeling better, and was anxious to move forward. I came to understand our Heavenly Father's love for each of his children a little better and to know that the worth of a souls is great.  It is humbling to know that He will respond to each, as they show love by keeping his commandments. We sat under a thatched roof next to a tin building with a plywood door and a mud floor. Warm embraces as we left. We are grateful to be here.

And as a side note, at dinner during conversation, we learned that one of the elders is the grandson of friends from our Bloomfield Hills, Michigan days, a great grandson of George and Lenore Romney. We enjoyed reminiscing just a little. His grandmother still lives in that ward.

By the time we inspected the elders' apartment, which was clean, and learned they need a stove with a working oven, it was later than we would have liked. We arrived home 2 1/2 hours later pretty tired from the day that started at 5a. Righteous weariness is a blessing.

And P-day news to end this entry. When we arrived here, we knew that part of the country's history was tied closely to the Allies'  war effort in the Pacific. I was curious to see just what might be left. A little more than I had thought. As the slide show adjacent shows, atop the highest hill in the City are some remnants of the Allied artillery that protected the harbor here. Apparently Noumea itself was hardly on the map before the war. The Allies drained swamps, built roads, airport and  11 hospitals on the island including one clinic still in use that is just down the street along the beach from where we are living. The island was apparently used as an r&r and recovery area for the troops in the Pacific. The artillery you see in the pictures covered the harbor and islands below. There are also remains of foundations for other guns with circle foundations 25 feet across with a steel rail running around the edge and a concrete/brick center which look like they might have been the base of a large gun that could rotate through 360 degrees. Only the foundation remains now.

The small clinic which by today' standards looks quite primitive is a series of several small metal-walled and roofed buildings. Still used as a clinic today. The allies built the hospitals, provided free medical care to the inhabitants of the island during the war and then left it all operational for them after the war.  Two of my uncles fought in the Pacific, and a 3rd, a doctor, was actually stationed here. 

Here are some random pictures taken of the missionaries on P-day giving each other haircuts.  There are also some pictures of island from the hillside where the cannons were.  If you are still reading, we hope you enjoy this update 

Shirley in New Caledonia and other minor points

You really have to be here to see this. But I am hopeful the accompanying pictures and the added verbiage will give you the idea. I also wanted to add just a little about our day to day living here. 

Our arrival here plunged Shirley into  language isolation. Just as her sons had predicted, the French she had been studying seemed far removed from the language she was hearing day to day. But she is undaunted and progressing. While I am out in the evenings for meetings with the District Presidency or the High Council, she digs in to her language study hard for several hours. I usually return 3 hours later and find her with head phones on repeating phrases. She is beginning to understand the native speakers picking up words or a phrase. Last Sunday, one of the speakers was particularly strong in his enunciation of each word. She got a great deal of it. So the vocabulary is coming also. Usually there is a good member eager to sit with her and help with translation. During Sunday School I can be with her also. She does find it a little frustrating when I turn from one of the members to her, continuing my French as if she should understand!

But even better is how she reaches out to the members with the French she has. Already we knows the universal greeting, particularly between sisters, is a kiss on each cheek. Ca va bien? and she is off as if a native. Love really does transcend everything else. 

She has fallen in love with the little children. And they all speak French so well! 

The missionaries already know not to mess with Sister Mautz. But also that she is their best ally. One of our responsibilities is to regularly inspect the apartments where they live. Young men are generally NOT known for their housekeeping abilities or cleanliness. So we visit the living quarters unannounced. (By the way, this is a long process taking us all over the island for the better part of a couple days) We have been pleasantly surprised generally with only one visit that was unacceptable. However, when she discovered a refrigerator with a door with broken hinges such that it simply fell open into your unsuspecting arms, she was on the phone to Fiji that very day. After researching the lease, we are off to buy a new one this week. The same with a front loading washing machine whose hinges had given way. Now she is the heroine. These elders have been living with this for some time. The result of not having a senior couple on the island for almost a year. 

For those of you who know her well, the shedding of hose and shoes for sandals might be just a little surprising. But practicality and comfort prevail in the end.

And finally, the question of cars. Upon arriving, we found that we were to purchase 3 new cars. These had been requisitioned since February when we were supposed to have arrived. Two are basic 5 passenger small repair truck like vehicles that the missionaries drive who are assigned to areas with vast walking distances.The 3rd was to replace a 4 year old vehicle that we drive to pick up missionaries arriving at the airport or departing. As well as the Mission President. The process of expending sacred, contributed funds of the church is the topic of another posting. Suffice it to say I don't have quite the authority I might have been used to in a prior career responsibility. The process starts with the authorization from the Church already completed with an expected price and trade in value for the used car. Perhaps a predecessor did this for us. In any case, it is interesting to take such a document to a dealer and then try to understand just how the bargaining process might work. We don't change brands here easily since dealers don't take any other brand but their own in trade and aren't expected to. And as soon as we have Church approval for purchase of the vehicles we start the labyrinthian process of getting them registered with the government. That process starts with the presentation to the dealer with a utility bill showing the address of the mission office since the Church is the owner. Only difficult since all those bills are paid in Tahiti! But we are learning and hope to finish all of this next week. Best of all is the color of the new vehicle we will drive. We are graduating from gun metal gray to robin's egg blue at the choice of the senior sister missionary on the island.

A few of you have asked of our living conditions. We are quite comfortable. Our apartment is on the 10th floor of a 16-story hotel-apartment residence. It has AC in the 2 bedrooms and a great view of the bay at the far south end of the island. Since the senior couples bear their own costs we have elected to have a little more space/comfort and be able to entertain groups of missionaries such as the sisters on the island during zone conference with our Mission President's wife. We have a washing machine in the apartment so laundry is reasonably easy to do. The kitchen is reasonable although we have supplemented with a few pots and pans etc.

Most important is the patisserie that is just around the corner so that we can have fresh croissants, pain au raisin or pain au chocolat each morning that we care to for breakfast. The French bread is almost as good as Paris. And the cheeses are wonderful. A piece of cheese, some fruit and some French bread and you have a great casse croute any time. 

Morning exercise frequently finds us walking along the beach sidewalk just a few steps away from our apartment with a fresh ocean breeze blowing in our faces either going out or returning home.

And we have found a hair dresser for Shirley. You can note the new do in the pictures.  I was a bit distressed over the cost of a haricut for me, almost double the US prices and was sharing this with one of the zone leaders as I inquired just where they got their haircuts. Some do it themselves, others by a companion. Neither an option here. However, Elder Huuti whom you met in an earlier posting took up the challenge immediately and said, 'Elder Mautz, tu peux leur dire que tu veux une coupe de cheveux, mais parce que tu n'as pas de cheveux, tu ne dois payer que la moitie.'   (Translation:  Elder Mautz, you can tell them you want a haircut, but since you don't have any hair,  you should only have to pay half.)  Good laughs all around.

We have two departing sister missionaries this next week.  A third left a week and a half ago.  At the last district meeting she wanted to record with her camera the mission song.  Shirley thought that was a good idea as well so we have added that to the posting as well.  The lighting didn't show up well, but it is the song we want you to hear.  

The translation goes like this:

Song of the Fiji Mission

We march in the service of our Lord

Endowed with power from on high

Armed with faith, let us preach His word

The Lord is near

We are working in the service of our God

with heart, strength, and might.

Always the extra mile, faithfully holding the rod

Let's go the extra mile, we are serving our God.

Faith is the power, and obedience the price.

Serve the Savior faithfully.

Love is the motive.  

The Spirit is the key for eternity.

We are working in the service of our God

with heart, strength, and might.

Always the extra mile, faithfully holding the rod.

Let's go the extra mile.

We are serving our God.

The following video is a view from our apartment on a Saturday afternoon. Note the speed of the sailboarder. The wind makes for quite the ride.

Here are some pictures from our visit to the Mont Dore Branch for Church today.  We hope you enjoy this weeks blog.

Since the last blog-zone conference and more

While we have been in New Caledonia these last few days, much has happened.  We have now attended three sacrament meetings having attended two in one day the first Sunday after our arrival and our first Fast Sunday just days ago.  We have learned how to go to the post office in the center of Noumea, how to add time on our cell phone, where to buy bus tickets and where to go to get permission to stay in New Caledonia for more than three months.  (After waiting all that time for a visa, we learned it was only good for three months and that if we didn't visit the police before a week we could be out on our ear).  Our mission President and his wife were here this past weekend for Zone Conference which we will write about later in the blog.  We took them to the airport this morning.  

We are loving our mission here.  Not sure if we mentioned that Carl has been called to be President Ostler's counselor so he is learning his duties here.  This will help the members and the mission president since he only comes every six weeks and since Carl can take care of temple recommends, setting apart and releasing missionaries from NC, it will free up time with the missionaries for the President.

We love the missionaries.  Great young men and women.  We are losing three of our sister missionaries this month.  One left with her parents this morning and the other two leave on the 18th.  We will miss them.  

I am going to let Carl finish the blog now.  He wants to tell you about the Zone leaders and Zone Conference.  I loved zone conference.  Elder Winget interpreted for me so I was able to understand the whole thing.  I really appreciated his service because I would have missed great training.  

Four Zone leaders teach and oversee the missionaries here in New Caledonia as part of the Fiji Suva Mission. These leaders are missionaries themselves who are quite experienced. They have already served over half of their missions so we will send them home in a few months. Among their responsibilities are to see to the safety of all the missionaries, assure that the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the missionaries is complete so that new members understand their covenants with their Heavenly Father, interviewing all who wish to become part of the Church here. They keep in contact at least daily by phone with each missionary team, exchange partners with the various teams regularly to train the missionaries and to help them with language and teaching techniques and to plan and conduct zone conferences when the Mission President comes every 6 weeks. We note that they have also spent quite a bit of time with us the first few days we were here helping us find our way around, teaching us all the things that we need to be doing with apartments, cars, incoming mail and supplies. They are delightful young men whose faith in their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ burn brightly in their countenances.

Elder Aiho (pronounced I-sho) and Elder Amundsen are the senior zone leaders. Elder Aiho comes from Tahiti. His mother is a members as are a little brother and sister quite a bit younger. His plans after his mission are to become an accountant. You can imagine we have a few things to talk about! Elder Aiho is a great teacher and leads by example working hard. He recently had the privilege of helping an estranged son return to his family and be baptized. We admire his gentle yet powerful manner. Elder Amundsen is from Sandy, Utah. Played football in high school and come from strong family. He recently saw some great progress in speaking French s he taught a lesson at zone conference. These two have had our responsibilities since our predecessors left 9 months ago.

 

Elder Johnston and Elder Huuti both come from Tahiti. Elder Johnston's father is currently serving as a bishop in the Church there and his next younger sister has just been called to serve in the Temple Square Mission. He and Elder Aiho both finish in October. 

Elder Huuti is the only member in his family. He left behind a budding opportunity as a member of a company-sponsored rowing team to serve. He is a great teacher and leader. And you don't want to be on the other side of a volley ball net from him. 

We have just finished our first zone conference. President and Sister Ostler arrived Saturday morning and stayed for 5 days. We together attended a branch north of here. A delightful Fast and Testimony Service, Sunday School taught by an young elder in very credible French and then I left Sister Mautz and Sister Ostler without translators in Relief Society. They emerged proudly having shared their testimony (Shirley) and a spiritual thought in French. (Correction, Sister Ostler had her spiritual thought interpreted into French).

We enjoyed a meal en pleine aire after meetings before sending the Ostlers back to Noumea while we proceeded to the airport to receive a new missionary whose visa took longer than ours and who arrived from Chicago via LA and Auckland all in 36 hours.

Monday the President interviewed all of the missionaries in preparation for teaching them the next day. Tuesday we met together for a day of teaching and study led in part by our Mission President and his wife and in part by the Zone leaders who were well prepared. 

I sat in on one of these. Elders Johnston and Huuti compared medical doctors to the spiritual doctors that the missionaries are. To develop the theme they compared how one identifies a medical doctor and reminded the missionaries that they too must be identifiable by how they dress and act as well as by their badges! That discussion then moved into the healing that comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and obeying his commandments in prayer, scripture study, and obedience which bring peace, hope, and joy. The tools of a spiritual doctor.

But the best part was watching these young missionaries interact with Sister Mautz, who is adopting them all as fast as she can. And they love having a warm embrace for the sisters and a great handshake for the Elders.. We feel their gratitude that we are here.

We also celebrated President Ostler's birthday with a surprise cake since it was that very day.

A most delightful, edifying experience for all of us.  Sorry for the length but we hope you will enjoy reading about our adventure.