Catching up. . .

Tuan Tran

I know we missed last week for the Blog.  I actually started an entry talking about Tuan Tran and how he had decided to get baptised.

Elder Thatcher teaching Tuan

Then he decided not to get baptised and I didn't know how to finish the entry.  It was like we had been on top of a roller coaster and took that plunge to the bottom after which you walk away from the ride feeling a little sick.  Now we can recap and tell the story.

We were headed to an appointment on Saturday March 31, when we got a call from Tuan who wanted us to come and teach him.  He calls us when he gets a few minutes.  It was the first time we were happy that an appointment fell through - we headed over to the Tran residence with wings on our heels.

At the end of the lesson Elder Thatcher told Tuan we would love to help him get baptised before we leave for home.  We set a date for his baptism and he agreed.  Can you imagine our joy?  We also told him that there was a baptism that evening at the Dawson Chapel.  It would be in Samoan but he could see a baptism.  He agreed to meet us there and also asked if he could get a hymn book.  Tuan loves music.  We picked one up at the MTC.

Tuan and Elder Thatcher waiting for the baptism to begin

 The baptism was an hour late which gave us a chance to sit with Tuan in the chapel and talk.  We shared some scriptures with him and also opened his new hymnbook and quietly sang some of the songs of Zion together.

The baptism itself, as I said, was in Samoan so we didn't understand a word of the talks but Bishop Mua, the Bishop of the Tamaki 2nd Ward (who happens to have a daughter at the MTC right now), treated Tuan like a special guest.  He personally escorted Tuan back to the baptistry and got him a chair placing it right behind the group of children kneeling in front of the glass by the font.  That way he could see the baptism clearly.

We think most of the ward must have been there.  The crowd was large.  Before the person getting baptised walked down the steps into the water the ward began to sing 'The Spirit of God'.  It was spontaneous and beautiful, even the children were singing.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Tuan must have felt the Spirit too.  We opened Tuan's new Hymn book and sang the words in English with the deep rich voices of the Samoans filling the room with musical testimony.   To paraphrase Peter, it was good for us to be there.

Seated behind the children at the Samoan Baptism

That was a joyful day.  It was the next Tuesday April 3 that we again got a call from Tuan and went to teach him.  He decided that he couldn't be baptised.  He feels responsibility to his community and his family.  We know it was a hard decision.  It broke our hearts but we still have hope that Tuan will someday join this church.  He still reads the Book of Mormon and loves the new light that has enhanced his understanding.  Tuan knows we love him and Tuan loves the Lord and the truth.  We think it was just hard for him to leave his community who need him and we also worried about him being so alone in the ward.  Perhaps the timing just isn't right.  We need to have him come into the church along with his wife.  We probably won't have the time to see that happen while we are here but we know that in the timing of the Lord, things work out perfectly.


Can the Spirit lead you to a Garage Sale?

When I first saw the chandelier that hangs in the Fairy House, at the DI, I thought, "Heavenly Father wants me to have a Fairy House!"  I said that in a joking way, but deep inside I believed it.
Well . . .  we love to go for walks at night.  We look forward to this time together when even the traffic has slowed down.  Friday night March 30, on our regular route we found the following sign stuck in the lawn of a round about.

We saw this sign on our walk Friday night

It was the first Garage Sale sign we have seen. We didn't know they even had them in New Zealand.  If you know me well, I'm sure you can guess that I was at that sale bright and early the next morning.   I just wanted to look, knowing that anything I bought would have to be taken home and my suitcases will hold nothing more.   But . . . there were Legos  - two massive plastic containers of Legos.  It had to be hundreds of dollars worth.  I asked how much they were selling all of them for and the woman said $5.  I couldn't pass it up.  I took the two cases and since they were way to heavy to carry home I had to go get the car and have the young man help me lift them into it.

What would I do with all those Legos?  After deciding there was simply no way to get them home we started to think of who we could give them to here in New Zealand and it didn't take long to think of Larry and Lavon who have been such good missionaries to Ronak our Hindu investigator.  And Ronak might like the other carton.  Those boys were in Heaven.  Larry and Lavon couldn't believe their good fortune.  They had always wanted Legos but they were just too expensive.  They immediately sat down by that big plastic container of Legos and began to build.

It was even better when we arrived at the Singh home with the 2nd container of Legos for Ronak.  'Did you know it was Ronak's birthday?' asked Roy his father.

Ronak Singh's 10th birthday

Of course we had not had a clue but Heavenly Father knew and He knew just how to get me to help Him give a gift to Ronak.  All it took was a yard sale sign.  Ronak said he had always wanted Legos but never had any.  When I told him that one of the sets  in the plastic carton was of the Millennium Falcon he kind of went crazy - jumping and cheering.  Ronak is a serious boy and his delight surprised us.  He gave us treats from the party they were having for him.

We also gave his little sister Riana a Disney Elsa wand, also picked up at the yard sale.  She was more excited with her gift than Ronak was with the Legos.  The wand played, 'Let it Go' and lit up.

'Let It Go- sing it out for Riana Elsa!

Ronaks birthday party - that's Roy in the back 

Anastasia

We have been teaching Anastasia.  We stop by often and the children, Zion, Zara, and Omari come rushing out to greet us.  Anastasia wants to be a member of the church but it is hard to catch her home.  She lives with her parents and some siblings and at least one aunt and maybe a couple of cousins.  She is in charge of driving everyone where they need to go so it is tricky to catch her home.

28 March 2018
We went to our appointment with Anastasia and she wasn’t home so we waited outside and visited with the elders. Elder Allart and Elder Rich.  I showed Omari some children’s Bible videos in the car. He loved learning about Jesus.  I felt the joy of a mother who is the first to teach a child the love of Jesus.  He had a cough.  We rescheduled for this evening.

Anastasia was home at 6 but Omari was not feeling well at all.  Elder Thatcher had Elder Allart anoint and Elder Rich seal the anointing as they blessed little Omari.  When they were finished he perked up and said he felt better but his little cough still sounded bad.

We also met Anastasia’s father (Ralph) who is a mechanical engineer and an impressive man.  He told us he knew our people and that the head man for the church in the pacific had visited him at his home.  We realized he was talking about Gifford Nielsen.  We pulled up a picture of him on my phone and her father said, ‘that’s the man!’  He had come to meet him we assume the last time Anastasia was meeting with missionaries.

We skipped the lesson because Elder Thatcher felt we should leave so Anastasia could take care of Omari who wanted his mothers attention.

2 April 2018
Stopped in to make an appoinment with Anastasia.  her father Ralph Holland was in the garage drinking beer.  Elder Thatcher struck up a conversation.  Vincent and Max (Anastasia's brother) were there, Ralph was praising the Mormons to those young men.  He said they were great people ‘and I’m not just kidding!’ he emphasized his point.

3 April 2018 (Tuesday)
We left the MTC about 7:00 in order to stop in at Anastasias and see if we could catch her father.  Elder Thatcher had a good talk with him yesterday and wants to see if we can teach him and his wife.  Her mother, Caroline Magdalene Holland was there and was ill and in pain.  ‘ We asked her if she would like a blessing and she promptly said, ‘yes, please! Elder Thatcher gave her a blessing before she left for the hospital. Anastasia wasn’t there but we gave the children the tea set and the little lightning mcQueen car I had picked up at the yard sale on Saturday and they were delighted.

Middlemore Hospital - one of our most frequented places here

4 April 2018 (Wednesday)

Before meeting with Anastasia we ran to Middlemore hospital to check on Caroline.  She was doing better.  We left her a church magazine and told her we would take supper to her family that evening.

In our lesson with Anastasia we covered 3 of the commandments in PMG; prayer, scripture study and the word of wisdom.  Anastasia committed to live all three starting today.  I will text her tomorrow and see how she did.  She said she smokes but doesn’t think it has much control on her.  We shall see.  We asked her to pray privately and with her children and to read the scriptures with them.  She liked that.

She sincerely wants to become a member and shared with us that since we met her her family sees something different in her.  She wants to change her life.   We love her and the children and her parents. We would love them to have the blessings of the gospel.

5 April 2018 (Thurs)
I sent a text, as promised when I got a spare moment during intake at the MTC to see how Anastasia was doing.   She responded with excitement that she was doing well. We stopped by on our way home from the MTC to congratulate her and set up an appointment for tomorrow at 5:30.   She told us the missionaries had come with a man from the ward and she was excited that she knew two people from the ward she will attend.  She also told us that Omari said he wants to be a missionary.  As always the pajama clad children came running to give us hugs.

6 April 2018
Text from Anastasia
Good afternoon Sister Thatcher, how are you guys, just checking in to say I’m doing good today just walking to pick the kids up.  Love you guys

Response:
Good for you !!!! We will see you at 5:30.  so proud of you.

That is two days in a row without smoking. When we pulled up at her home she came out and met us in the car.  Her mother had just barely returned from the hospital so we didn’t feel like we should go inside.  We asked if we could just visit for a minute in the car.  She sat in the drivers side and Elder Thatcher in the back and we had a quick lesson on the Sabbath Day.  She has been praying and not smoking.  She hadn’t read the scriptures today so we had her read D&C 59:9-16.  she read all of that so now she has read her scriptures for today as well.  We invited her to church on Sunday to watch conference.  Her grandmother had taught her about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.  Her grandmother taught her many good things she she was a little girl.

Last night when she told us that Omari wanted to be a missionary we thought it would be good to have a missionary badge made for him.  We asked Abinadi this morning while we had gone to the MTC to interview and register the last missionaries from yesterday and he said he would make Omari a little tag.  He couldn’t make an official one but he found something online that he could print and he even picked up the little plastic holders for it.  He made him two. One for now and one for incase he loses the first.  They said:
     
                       BROTHER OMARI
FUTURE MISSIONARY FOR THE CHURCH OF
                   JESUS CHRIST 
                  OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

Brother Omari future missionary

Anastasia seemed really touched by this.  She wanted to go get Omari dressed up but he came out to the car and she put it on his inside-out pajamas.  He looked so pleased and proud.  We took some pictures.  Elders Rich and Allart had come so we got pictures of him standing by those two good missionaries.

Elder Rich, Brother Omari, and Elder Allart

Anastasia, Elder Rich Zara, Elder Thatcher, Omari, Elder Allart

when we got home I received this text from Anastasia
Sister Thatcher I appreciate you

We were sad that Anastasia didn't come to church on Sunday.  We will just keep working with her.


New Families 

Cilla and children

We had met and made an appointment while tracting last week with Cilla and her children.  We didn’t know if anyone would be there but we kind of remembered a mother who told us she had two daughters who were members of the church and there were 2 children with her when we met them.

In our planner we had written to take treats and show a video so we thought maybe we should just show them ‘The Restoration’ and pop some pop corn to take with us and make a party out of it.   It was the perfect thing to do.

It took a while before someone answered the door and then Lupe opened it with the two younger ones  smiling and waving to us around Lupe.  They remembered us.  We told Lupe we had an appointment with her mother and we brought popcorn and a video to watch.

The Spirit was there.  We felt it strongly as Cilla watched intently the story of Joseph Smith and his words were spoken.  Waitangi went out for a minute just when the first vision was coming and the Lupe went to get him. All of them listened.   Waitangi whispered to Suega when he saw the first vision and asked who 'they' were - she whispered back, 'God'.

'Thank you so much for showing us that.' Cilla thanked us. 'I have gone  a couple times to support my girls since they joined your church, but I knew nothing about this.'

We also told the story of the Angel Moroni and the gold plates and gave them a Book of Mormon to read.  We have a return appointment but it is over a week away.  We will try to find a Samoan Book of Mormon tomorrow and take it to them and also encourage them to go to church on Sunday.

Before we left we took pictures of us together.  They seemed to want one as much as we did.

It was one of those wonderful missionary times that fills you with gratitude and wonder.   Spirit filled times don’t compare to any other type of good times.  They are hard to describe but ever remembered.

Lupe (15), Suega (7), Myself, Waitangi (6), Winnie (17 what a great name!) and Cilla

Nili (or Nelly) and family

We meet the nicest people tracting.

We had an appointment tonight with this lovely family. We found them tracting but couldn’t remember them when we were planning to go tonight.  The children opened the door and we were warmly welcomed.  The home was clean and neat and felt homey and warm.  They have no TV which was impressive.  They are from Niue which must be a beautiful small island.  There were pictures of family on the wall and many medals hanging also.  They were earned mostly by Ethan who is 12 and a rugby player.  He must be fast.

Ethan (12), Nasalia (14), Otto Rose (9), Nili

They were waiting for us.  I had texted Nili this morning to remind her.  She was cooking in the kitchen but told us to start with the children.

We told them that we are all children of God and he loves us.  We played I am a child of God and then passed out the popcorn for the video, The Restoration. The kids were very respectful and reverent.   Nili came in and watched it with us.  Nasalia clapped when it was over.

Next Elder Thatcher told them the story of Moroni and the plates.  It felt like he was telling a bedtime story to the grandchildren.  His rich deep voice held them in its power as he told of the angel and plates of gold and a father who said the experience was of God.  He then gave them a copy of theBook of Mormon after telling them how to know if it is true.

Before we left and after making a return appointment Nili said to me, "I love it when they hear the stories of God.  Thank you."

Wouldn't all you grandchildren like to come with us and tell the stories of God to beautiful families - to children who never knew that they were the children of God.  Wouldn't you love to sing the primary songs you know so well to these beautiful children and share the things you know about Jesus with others.  We hope all of you get the chance to do these things someday.  Maybe you will have different companions than grandpa and I, but you will feel the same sweet feeling that we feel in these homes with these people who we love.   We might have only met them, but when we are with them we feel such love for them.  We know that Heavenly Father loves them.  We know it.

So much more. . . 

We can only tell you a few of the experiences we have as missionaries.  We know a little of how Mormon felt when he said he could only tell a fraction of the history of his people on the plates.  Our days are full of wonderful activities.

We have a new intake of missionaries at the MTC

President Thatcher is always telling new friends that they will be fine missionaries some day

We do a little shopping once in a while - Greenstone Store

President and Sister Briggs had family come for a visit their daughter Delese and family - they watched conference with all the Missionaries at the MTC  which meant that we had a deacon and a Teacher and a some Primary children who could stand and raise their hands during the Solemn Assembly

It also meant that Sister Howes had help on Easter getting treats ready for the Missionaries

We visited a different temple this week - a Buddhist one

The Senior Home Evening group met for a Cowboy evening 

It was our last meeting with them so they had us bear our testimonies
Group: Thatchers, Briggs, Smiths Woodards, Downs, Phlens, Ashbys, Kopps, Stosichs, Bartletts

General Authorities cross our path and walk our halls - Elder Cardon with President Howes

Elder and Sister Cardon discuss things with President and Sister Howes

And prayers for Samantha who at this moment is undergoing her transplant surgery.

We think of all of you at home and hope you feel our love.

Hang in there Aaron and Lorraine.  We hope this new treatment helps and you start feeling better

We are happy that Rosie gets the attention she deserves 

Easter looked delightful - such a cute little bunny Kate and her beautiful mother Sara

beautiful cousins  enjoying being together - love you Millie and Lauren

My cowboy Ty has grown
He looks ready for the range

Eric, Lauren and Grace - we love seeing you in Paradise

We hear that KJ fits in nicely  - everyone loves him - kids know, don't they!

Wonderful news this week about Will - We are so grateful! Love you Will

and how cute is little Mae?  Can't wait to get our hands on these darling babies

There is always more to say but we'd better close this one for right now.  We love you all.  We are so grateful for your good lives.  The Gospel is a great blessing in our lives.  All our blessings have meaning only because of the Lord and his great plan of happiness.  Like my father used to say, I think he was quoting Cecil B. DeMille (who made the movie The Ten Commandments), "You can't break the commandments.  You can only break yourself against them."  Like all the prophets in the Book of Mormon who gave advice to their families and people we echo their counsel to each and every one of us, keep the commandments of the Lord and you shall prosper.  

We love this Gospel, this Church and Jesus Christ who is the head of it.  We love our Heavenly Father and know that he hears and answers our prayers.  He watches over all of us in all our various circumstances and causes the things we go through to work for good in our lives.  He does this because of His Son.  Somehow, all things work for our good if we love and serve Him.  That is our testimony.  We will see you all soon.

Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Elder and Sister Thatcher

What is our culture?

Ward Cultural Night at Clover Park Ward

Tongan Twins perform a Tongan Cultural dance

It was the Ward Conference for the Clover Park Ward this past week.  They do things a little different here as far as Ward Conferences go.  There is an activity every night of the week.  

Monday - Family Home Evening.  

Tuesday - 'Trade off' Visit next door neighbors of lost ones, retrieve info and invite them to allen's     ward conference. 

Wednesday - Stake Leadership Training

Thursday - Rescue Visits 

Friday -  Ward Cultural Night 

Saturday - Ward Temple Day

Sunday - Ward Conference

Cultural Night on Friday was such fun.  I found my self wondering what our culture is.  Do you know?  These island saints all know what culture they come from.  The ward has many different cultures in it; Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Maori, Cook Island etc.  Each person knows their culture and can celebrate it.  They know how to have a good time and how to put on a 'feed' as well.
Here are a few of the dances performed.


1st video * The beautiful Vaivai women of our ward perform.  They are Samoan.  President Vaivai is the first counselor in our Stake Presidency

2nd video* Sister Picard and her son.  She is from Tahiti where they speak French and of course English.  She is a gem.

3rd video * two young women from the ward perform a Samoan dance. They are so graceful

4th video * The Lesa family.  Brother Lesa is very talented.  He was Elvis at our Christmas party and was a better Elvis than Elvis

5th video * this shows the personality of the ward.  Sister Lavea in the purple skirt starts to dance and then the bishop and many others join her on the floor.  Such fun! If you watch till the end you might even see Elder Thatcher join in

6th video * The Maori Haka - performed by a Maori family in the ward

As we watched these wonderful performances I couldn't help but wonder what our culture is.  If we had been asked to dance and demonstrate our culture what would we have done?  I really don't know. What is our music, our dance, our food (other than lots of whatever ).  Let me know what you think our culture is.  It has made me curious.  

Elder Mondejar and Elder Leao enjoyed the party

Elder Thatcher still found time to tract this week.  I believe it was the first time we went tracting in the rain.

I love to take picture of flowers while tracting
Elder Thatcher cooperates with a pose

He lists every door we knock on in his tracting book and briefly records what transpired at that address

 H

I do other important things

I must report that in one hour of tracting yesterday we scheduled 4 appointments.  We also tracted into our ward mission leader not knowing where he lived.  It was a fun surprise to find him and his wife and they seemed really interested in our message.   I usually carry candy with me and we make friends with the children on the street.

We love our days at the MTC where we are taught and inspired not only by the leaders and teachers there but also by the missionaries who live and learn there.  The Spirit is there each time we enter.  We will always treasure our days spent at the MTC.  This week we taught a devotional on Sunday Evening on Recognizing the Spirit.  We thought how much we have learned on this subject in 9 short months.

 group activity 'Learning to Recognize the Spirit'

Other happenings of the week:

A lesson with Moses, Antonina and girls about tithing
A wonderful lesson with Leai and Alofa - we love meeting with them at the church and teaching them there - we have great hopes that Leai will be baptized.
Short visits with Leitu, who has been ill and Tuan Tran who is still very, very, busy.
A wonderful Temple trip with the MTC missionaries
District meeting - a weekly joy for us

Some of our favorite times each week are when we get to FaceTime with some of you.
We loved hearing Gideon sing songs.
We loved seeing the boys of Winnemucca.
It is always fun to see your faces and hear of the happenings of your days.
It was fun to see Anna in a variety of wedding dresses and share a little in that fun.
A special thanks to Amy for helping Anna look for a wedding dress and for all the rest of you who joined in on the fun.
We especially appreciated visiting with Aaron and Lorraine.  Can't tell you what that meant to us.  Thank you for calling.

It was a big week for Murphy and Andrea who have moved into their new home.  Can't wait to see pictures.

We understand there was a fun clogging trip to St. George for Brooke.

We are sure that Sleeping Beauty at the Eccles was great and hope the flower presenters had a fragrant time.

We are thankful that Tiffanie is home from a wonderful trip.

The Bayles' have a new piano.

Rosie is learning new tricks - smart dog!

Aaron is starting a new treatment.  We mention all these fun things that others are doing and then slip in a new chemo treatment for Aaron.  Life isn't fair is it Big A.

We are sure there are many other happenings in this big wonderful family.  We love you all and pray for each of you.

A world map at the Church Museum of the Pacific - they empty it often - one of these days I'm going to add all your missions to this map - then each of your names will be recorded in the museum

We will leave you for another week with our testimony.  The following is a mix of statements from Grandpa and I, all mixed up together like our teaching is.

We've enjoyed our mission a great deal.  We've become closer together and closer to the Lord.  We've been grateful that He has helped us find so may investigators even though we feel our teaching skills are weak.
We have been proud of all of you and grateful for the way you are all raising your families.  
Our testimonies have grown while we've been in this beautiful place.  We realize more than ever how much the gospel has blessed this family'.  ( I asked dad what he thought the Lord meant in 3rd Nephi when he said  'unto you who fear my name. . .  ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall.'  He simply said, 'like our children and grandchildren who grow up in wonderful homes and are taught the gospel.' )
We are grateful to the Lord that we can repent and try to do better every day.  We hope that all of you grandchildren will follow Megan's and David's example and serve missions.
The Book of Mormon is true.  This church is the only true and living church on the face of the earth.  God lives and we are His children.  He sent His son to be our redeemer and make all things possible for us.  We have this gospel and this knowledge to guide us all the days of our lives.
How can we show the Lord our gratitude for all we have been given?  We must be true!  Thatchers are True, and so are Howell's, and Ellis', and Hadfields, and Bayles', and Pattersons!  Now as Mark and Emily's family ask after repeating the motto 'Thatchers are True', what are we true to?
We are true to God, to covenants, to parents, to the commandments, to each other, to ourselves, to the the promptings of the Spirit, to the prophet.  We are true to the Faith that our parents have cherished, true to the truth for which martyrs have perished.  To God's command, soul, heart, and hand, faithful and true we will ever stand.

Say your prayers and read the Book of Mormon.  Hold to the rod and stay on the path - the gospel path - the path of happiness.  We will be seeing you all soon.   Till then and always, we love you!

Mom and Dad
Grandpa and Grandma
Elder and Sister Thatcher

Meet some missionaries . . . a call to serve

We meet the most wonderful, interesting people here on this mission.  We want all of you to get to know them.  Meet Elder and Sister Skibbe.   They came on their mission from Australia and are going to serve in the Marshall Islands but they are both originally from East Germany. 

President and Sister Briggs, Sister and Elder Skibbe, President Thatcher

The Skibbe's grew up behind the Berlin wall.  Elder Skibbe was born in the church and when 3 years old his family secretly crossed a white line drawn on the road to go to the temple in Switzerland to be sealed.  Then they snuck back into the country.  He was very angry with his father as a youth when he realized that they could have been free like some of his friends who had left.  The Uchdorf family was one that had gotten away when they could.  They knew President Monson and all the saints of East Germany that President Monson told stories about, his father being one of the faithful.  He knew them all and can talk of them and those years of miracles when the Freiberg Germany Temple was first promised to the saints and later miraculously built.

Elder and Sister Skibbe are faithful saints who can talk of Agency and Freedom and the lack thereof with understanding and passion.  We asked him if he would write his story for us and he sent us this copy of the bullet points from his farewell talk.

My farewell talk using Elder Uchtdorfs talk “The Adventure of Mortality”

• *  born 1954 into 1 room 2mx3m (shared toilet downstairs, food stamps)
  
• *  1957 temple trip to Switzerland with parents and grandparents for sealing
  
• *  in order to get there we had to cross secretly the white line from East Berlin to West Berlin,
      and then use the train to Switzerland
  
• *  1958 Meyer family (mum Helga, 3 daughters and son Siegfried) left over night our branch
      for SLC, by also crossing the white line in Berlin. I inherited Siegfried's toy train
  
• *  1961 Berlin wall was built (to stop the East Germans from leaving the country)
  
• *  I was too young to understand but a few years later it dawned on me that I would be locked
      up for the rest of my life
  
• *  I struggled to understand my parents decision to stay when they had the chance to leave and
      by doing so “ruining” my future.
  
• *  When I turned 18 I had to serve in the army for 3 years in order to go to uni, mission not an
      option
  
• *  after uni the government assigned the jobs for all gratuates. We couldn't choose where we
      wanted to live and work but through a miracle I was able to get a job in my home town and
      to support our little branch
  
• *  1989 freedom
  
• *  1999 Australia
  
  Steve Jobs said: “You cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”
  
  Looking back today I’m grateful for:
  

• *  finding my wife and having a wonderful family in that country
  
• *  experiencing how it feels when your free agency is taken away (satan's smart plan)
  
• *  learning about the true value of family vs. “stuff”
  
• *  when the wall came down the value of “stuff” like furniture, cars, and other possession    dropped overnight down to zero and everything people had worked for for 20 or 30 years ended up on the nature strip.
  
  My experience was similar to Elder Uchtdorf's.
  
  D. Uchtdorf: “When I was your age I had no idea where my life would take me. I definitely didn’t see any dots connecting in front of me. But I did trust God. I listened to the advice of loving family and wise friends, and took small steps of faith, believing that if I did the best I could in the moment, God would take care of the big picture. He did.  He knew the end from the beginning when I did not.  I could not see the future, but He could.  Even during those times of hardship when I thought I was abandoned, He was with me. I see that now.
  
  In Proverbs, we find this great promise: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
  
  Story of Joseph of Egypt
  
  In many ways, his life was disastrous. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was cast into prison for a crime he did not commit. Despite all the terrible circumstances forced upon him, he maintained his faith. He trusted God. He made the best out of it. Year after year—even when it appeared that he had been overlooked and abandoned—he believed. Joseph always inclined his heart to God. And God showed that He is able to turn negatives into positives.
  

Your adventure may not be quite as dramatic, but it will have its ups and downs. So, remember

Joseph’s example: Remain faithful. Believe. Be honest. Don’t become bitter. Don’t be a bully.     Love God, love your fellowmen. Trust the Lord, even when things appear bleak.

You may not see it until much later, but you will look back and know that the Lord did indeed direct and guide your path. The dots did connect.”

2 Nephi 2:2, teaches that God "shall consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain."

Author unknown: 
I asked God to take away my habit.
God said, "No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up."
I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, "No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary."
I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, "No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned."
I asked God to give me happiness. God said, "No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you." I asked God to spare me pain. God said, "No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me."
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, "No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful."
I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, "No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things."
I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said, "Ahhhh...., finally you have the idea."

If it would be up to us we would avoid all hardship, challenges and trials. But God let's bad things happen to his children so we draw closer to him, to teach us important lessons, and to give us opportunities to exercise charity.

D. Uchtdorf: “We may not be able to see the entire picture just yet, but we’ll see enough to trust that there is a beautiful, grand design. And as we strive to trust God and follow His Son, Jesus Christ, one day we will see the finished product, and we will know that the very hand of God was directing and guiding our steps.” 

(Beautiful counsel from two East German Saints, Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Skibbe)



Mission Report
Enekosi and Leitu update

We have felt so sad about Enekosi and Leitu.  We both felt that we were losing them.  When we first began teaching them we had some of the most beautiful experiences of our mission.  The spirit was  strong and Enekosi ate up everything we taught, especially the Book of Mormon.  Then our meetings became more scarce, we couldn't get them to come back to church, and they wanted to be baptized but then go to another church. We have yet to get them married.  Leitu texted for us to come last Friday and we thought maybe  it would be them telling us they didn't want to meet anymore.  

But. . .  we were greeted warmly at the door just like always and our meeting was full of the Spirit as scriptures were shared and we talked.  Enekosi still reads the Book of Mormon every day and we felt that maybe his understanding is growing.  This time he had found Moroni 8, which teaches about not baptizing children.  He said he turned to the back of the book because he wanted to know about Mormon and Moroni.  He loved what he read and said his church baptizes babies, but that he  believes what Mormon taught, that it is an abomination to God.  

We taught again about the spirit world and baptism for the dead.  This time they liked the doctrine. It was as if they hadn't heard it before.  We read 1Peter 3,  and 1 Corinthians 15.  and then in answer to Enekosi's question about if Jesus visited the spirits who had been rebellious, did he ever visit the faithful spirits?. . . we had them read Doctrine and Covenants 138.  Enekosi seemed fascinated by this.  

We left with great hope rekindled for them.  Elder Thatcher made the statement that their reading the book of Mormon allows the Spirit to keep working with them.  That is the hope we have for them.  Without this reading we are sure we would not be going any more.  Leitu told me that every day Enekosi goes to a room in the house where he studies the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  We left them with a sheet full of scriptures for Enekosi to study and read to Leitu.  They are all about the importance of the Church.  He loves assignments like this.  We look forward to meeting again with them and we pray that the Lord will bring them along.

The Party Family - Aisea and Teleni

The party family has been very busy the last few weeks.  Aisea and Teleni's son Michael Angelo has been practicing hours every day for Polyfest, which is a HUGE Cultural event where Tonga, Samoa, Mauri, Cook Islands and other islands present their dances and music in a competition.  I'm telling you the crowds were worse than Disneyland on a very busy day.  (The price was much better than Disneyland however as it only cost 5$ to enter).  

St Paul's College - Michael Angelo's performance at Polyfest

The costumes were amazing and all hand made.  The costumes in this picture were made with real leaves so they had to be made just before the event.  The level of performance was great.  We could see why students at BYU Hawaii can get jobs at the Poynesian Cultural Center and perform so well.  



This group took 2nd place but should have been first (according to Aisea).  This is the Tongan stage and the drums were magnificent.  The parents of the students are also behind the dance group.  They provided the music and the singing.  

We did have a lesson with the family on Monday night and they were happy that we had gone to Polyfest.  Here are a few more pics of the event.

Cook Island Dancers

gathering ideas for the next reunion

1/2 watermelon all cut up and put back in the rind topped with ice cream and toppings

The crowd 

Antonina and Moses and girls

Samantha is doing well.  She is still waiting for a transplant but her color has improved and she feels good.  All this is great because she still needs the liver transplant but is healthy while waiting.  The family seems to be doing quite well.  Moses has a new job and they continue to work on being a forever family. 

Samantha follows along during the lesson

Antonina and Naomi learning about the Holy Ghost

Special Guests - Visitors from the Past

My long time childhood friend Kaye Dittmer Cowley Sivori and her daughter Cosette came to new Zealand and stopped in for a visit.  So far most of our chances to see a little of this beautiful Island have been when we have had company.  This time we headed to Rotorua,  famous for where the Maori culture is on display and also for its geothermic attractions.  It is much like Yellowstone with sulfur mud pots, geysers and other attractions. 

Tamaki Mauri Village 

We learned the Mauri Culture - This man taught about tattoos

Can you see the flowered white circles at the top of this canoe?  That is how they navigated the Pacific.  They kept two stars within those circles to guide them - fascinating!

Entertainment at the village

Elder Thatcher soaking his feet at a park with hot springs
 where we met a very interesting woman named Kimi

Kaye, Cosette and I on our walk among the redwoods

Yes, we got to go to Hobbiton again, and they loved it.
  Elder Thatcher even enjoyed it more this time.
 It is more than lovely, charming and magical - it is 'bucolic'

There are 44 Hobbit Holes on the property
and we saw some we hadn't seen on our first visit

This is the only Hobbit Hole with a Thatched roof
We felt it calling to us 

Thatch End

Our family would never fit in a Hobbit Hole

Old Friends with new memories

Anyone recognize this Hobbit Hole?
It's Samwise Gamgee's - you can see it at the end of The Return of the King
The flowers are lush - Samwise knows his stuff!

All good things must end - Happy Flight home dear Kaye and Cosette

Happenings far from Hobbiton and Middle Earth

David Howell's Mission Call - Merida Mexico!!!!!!

Pretty exciting David - You will be a fine Missionary

There must have been a fun group there for the opening!
Ella, Katie, Kaitlin, Anna, Evelyn

Luck of the Irish 

St. Patricks Day in Paradise was eventful
Easton, KJ, Benson, Anna, Easton

Thoughtful notes to Leprechauns from sweet children

And well laid plans to trap a few from tricky kids

So close Sam! The King left surprises in their fridge - green milk!
Pretty neat to get a letter from the King of Leprechauns himself!

Miscellaneous happenings

Fun performances - Looks like Ty loves Millie the Mermaids

Dream Shopping 

And fond remembrances. . .
Look at that gorgeous sunset as if bidding a fond farewell to Megan's beloved Lucille

Happy Birthday Ben
Send us a picture of your birthday and we will put it right here on the blog.  We love you! It was surely a happy day 7 years ago when you joined us in this great adventure on earth. 

Ben must be mighty old by the looks of that fire on his cake!
Happy Birthday Ben

That's enough for the week.  Sorry to be late in posting.  I needed Greg's help again to get my computer to let me onto the blog.  

We love you all.  We are thinking of you now especially Aaron and all he is going through.  We seem so far away and of no help when you need us.  We hope you can feel our love and that prayers count because we send many of those heavenward for you.

The gospel is true.  We know it!  We have many times each day when we feel our testimonies burning within us.  Always that burning calls us to higher ground.  We want to be better.  We want to be more like Him whose story we tell and to whom we all look for help and salvation.  May your faith grow, and your repentance be constant.  May the Spirit always be with you as you endure in faith all you face.  The Doctrine of Christ is as applicable to each of us as it is to those who we teach who are not members of this Church.  It is a doctrine of love.

Mom and Dad
Grandpa and Grandpa
Elder and Sister Thatcher