Conferences

We are at the end of a two-week period of General Conference followed immediately by our District Conference and a Missionary Zone Conference.. In the middle of all this, at home our stake presidency was re-organized and our ward was divided. Life in the Church certainly moves on!

General Conference here follows by a week the conference itself. A re-broadcast on Saturday and Sunday, October 9 and 10, bring all of the sessions into one of the buildings. We start Saturday with the Saturday evening Priesthood meeting and them both Saturday sessions with one-hour breaks between them. And the Sunday sessions the next day. The building was full on Sunday. Re-broadcasts are in both French and English in separate rooms. Encouraged to study in their native tongue, the English-speaking missionaries watch conference in English unless they have 'amis de l’eglise’ who are also attending.

The universality of the Gospel message including the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, through appropriate Priesthood authority, is evident. Our members and their friends are eager to listen to living prophets.

One of the speakers, a native African, spoke of the liberation to his people by the Gospel because the very-expensive custom of dowry, which forces many in his country into co-habitation makes marriage too expensive. Temple marriage eliminates all of that. The people here understood those issues very well. Some of the tribal customs still exist in the northern part of the country.

District Conference for the Noumea District loomed much larger for us. Priesthood leadership meeting Saturday afternoon. For the Priesthood leadership session, I spent 40 minutes in front of a ‘white board’ leading a discussion on branch councils and presiding over them. Then talks Saturday evening and again Sunday morning. A deep breath when all was finished. And a delightful luncheon provided by one the branch Relief Society organizations. Pictures nearby don't begin to catch the flavors of the cold repast. Raw fish marinated in lemon juice then added to a salad of cream and raw vegetables. Perhaps one day I will learn...

But the highpoint of the entire district conference was Sister Mautz’s testimony Saturday evening. She had 5 minutes and she prepared well and worked for hours on her pronunciation. As we always do on this island, she started with 'Cher Freres et Soeurs, bonsoir' with the congregation responding likewise. And then a small child’s voice responded just enough too late to be all alone and clear. There followed complete silence during her entire talk. Nobody wanted to miss a thing. After the session, the choir of sisters also on the stand crowded around for kisses. ‘No more English for Sister Mautz' from one of the branch presidents. Still talked about a week later, and these wonderful missionaries were proud of her and grateful for her efforts.

We enjoyed a zone conference following. We move to a support role in those meetings. We were bidding farewell at the end of this conference to two of our seasoned leaders, both from Tahiti. It is interesting to watch those who remain and know that they will be asked to step up and take on leadership roles they have not had before. These new leaders will be non-native French speakers and know the challenges they face both with the language and leadership. However, they also know that with Heavenly Father's help, they will grow into these new roles and provide the great leadership the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires. One of the departing Elders, Elder Aiho, was of great help to us as we arrived a few months ago getting us settled and then learning our office duties. He was asked in the last 6 weeks of his mission to work with a branch where the missionaries aren't always well received and turned things much more positive. We have worked together, counseled together and now will likely not see each other again. Sweet associations because of the opportunity to serve Heavenly Father's children.

We did take a morning to visit a local cultural center dedicated to the memory of M. Tjibaou who has done much to preserve the local, Melanesian culture and support the political kanak movement. The architecture catches the eye with delicate symmetry of wooden rib-like trusses in the air. In the morning sun they look like metal glinting in the sun. The center includes these structures as well as a 'typical' Melanesian village with a chief's 'case' and other related buildings. Pictures below will give you flavor of the place. The political overtones are unmistakable