Final Farewell

Today was our last day in New Zealand.  We went in to the office for our last Monday morning devotional.  We both shared our testimonies with the group.  Then I asked those who we had helped to find a family name to take to the temple to please stand.  My heart skipped a beat as I saw many of that group rise to their feet.

The beauty, the friendships, the good times and adventures have all been amazing.  But in the end, this is what it has been all about.  We have had the privilege of taking the message of eternal families throughout New Zealand and the Islands of the Sea.  
We have had the opportunity to assist people in learning about their family heritage and giving them the tools to take family names to the temple to perform sacred saving ordinances.

Literally hundreds of souls have been baptized vicariously by their descendants because of our mission.   Testimonies have been strengthened, among them my own.

One of the things we did in this last few weeks was to write our testimony into a whole case of copies of the Book of Mormon.  Those books will be distributed around the Auckland Mission by the young Elders and Sisters in the months to come.   I will probably never know whether any of those books will lead to specific conversions.  I doubt I will ever know in this life if the words we wrote had any impact on someone having a desire to read the book or to pray to know if it is true.

But this I know for sure - the words I wrote in those many copies of that precious book are carved deep into my heart and soul. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. We read the book all the way through five times during the course on our mission.  We finished it again just a few days ago and have already begun reading it again.  Every single time I found new insights, new answers to specific questions that I had, new layers of understanding that have deepened my love for this book.

So many times throughout this mission I saw the hand of God at work in our lives.  There were miracles galore that gave solid evidence to us that He is truly in the details of our lives.  Prayers were answered.  Comfort came when it was sorely needed.  Over and over again we were led in what to do or say far beyond our own abilities.  We cannot take credit for all the successes.  This is truly God's work.

I know that we are led today by prophets called of God.  I know that the work we do in Temples really does bind on earth and in heaven the generations of families into eternal chains.

I think I had a pretty strong testimony of the Gospel before we left on this mission.  But the experiences we have had over the past 22 months of this mission have blazed it into my life for keeps.

I do not know what the future holds for us when we return back to Boise.  We will take off our badges and no longer spend the bulk of each day teaching this work. I will find some sort of job and we will get back into a "civilian" routine.  But I hope I can always live my life in such a ways that it will be very clear that I am a representative of Jesus Christ, even when my mission is done.

I am so deeply grateful for these experiences.

Good bye New Zealand.

It's time to go home.

One Last Time

For the past week I have been sorting and packing, preparing our apartment to leave it for the very last time. We had our last walk on the beach, our last time a Lake Pupuke, many other "one last time" sort of farewells to our favorite places here.  On Friday there was a potluck gathering of Senior Missionaries at Elder and Sister Graham's home to honor those of us who will be leaving soon...us, the Olsens and the Spencers.   There was much laughter and some tender moments.  Some shared special poems, others gave a thought or a song.  Good food and dear friends made it an evening to remember.  I will always treasure these dear people we have served with here.  They have blessed my life in so many ways.

Today we attended Auckland Ward for the last time. We bore our testimonies and expressed our love the best way we knew how. I shed many tears as we drove away.

Oh how I have loved my mission life, even though at times it was difficult.   Leaving is hard. Tomorrow is the big day we get on the plan and head back to America.

Farewell Aotearoa.   Thank you for all of it.

Dinner at Bishop Kau's house

The last couple weeks have been an emotional roller coaster as we have said farewells to so many people who have been dear to us in preparation for our departure and return home to the USA.

Tonight we had dinner at our Bishop's house  The Kau family are such good people!  Oh how I will miss associating with our brothers and sisters from the islands.

We have felt so truly loved during our time here in New Zealand.  We are eager to go home to return to our home, our family and our friends.  Still, there is much about our mission life we know we will miss.  This time of getting ready to leave is bittersweet indeed.

I've been thinking a lot about what our church teaches regarding the plan of salvation.  Our doctrine says that we all lived as spirit beings in the presence of God before we were born into this earth life.  In the pre-existence we were taught many things about how to become more like our Heavenly Parents and follow their plan.  Then we had a choice to come to this mortal existence where we would gain a physical body and have experiences that would instruct and test us.  How we lived our lives here would determine our progression after we died.   Part of that plan included a veil of forgetting that would be placed on our minds when we came into mortality.  We would have no memory of our time with God or of the promises we made there.

In the past I have at times resented the veil, wishing with all my heart that I could recall even a small fraction of what it had been like in our pre-existent home.  It felt deeply unfair to me that I would be held accountable to covenants I made that I now have no memory of.

But I feel very different about all that now.  My heart is so heavy as I prepare to say goodbye to all my New Zealand friends.   I know I will miss this season of my life for many years to come.   I now recognize that the veil of forgetting over our Pre-Existence life was a loving gift from our Father in Heaven.   He knew that if we could remember the tremendous beauty and love we experienced there it would be nearly impossible for us to deal with the empty feeling of being cut off from our Heavenly home. We would be so homesick for Heaven that facing the hardships and adversity of this life would break our hearts.

So instead, we came down to this world not remembering.  Sometimes we may get a fleeting sense of deja vu when we meet someone that we are just sure we knew before.  Or, at times we get deep comfort from the Holy Ghost reminding us we are beloved children of our Heavenly Father.   But for the most part, in this life we journey through it on our own, walking by faith rather than recall.

When this life is over and I return to that place I do not now remember I suspect I will feel a lot like I do today...so excited and grateful to return to the place I truly call home, but heavy hearted for all leave behind.

I have so loved this mission experience.  I hope I will be able to hold on to the feelings and lessons forever.

Auckland Family History Expo

 Today was the Auckland Family History expo held at the Fickling Convention Center in Three Kings.  It was a great success.  There were LOTS of people in attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the event.  There was a great selection of vendors, speakers, clubs, etc all coming together to discuss various aspects of family history.   I gave a presentation on an overview of FamilySearch with Larry manning the computer to run the slides.  We had some good questions and many people said they enjoyed it and learned a lot.


Afterward we went upstairs to the computer area in the library to run a hands-on workshop to show people different skills for using the program.  We gave one-on-one help to several folks, some completely new to the program and a few with more experience who had questions.

Next we staffed a table in the main exhibition hall. It was loud and a bit chaotic with all the many people coming and going and seemingly everyone talking at once.  Still, we made some good connections with folks who came to our table with questions.  We showed several people how to build and edit trees and how to attach photos.  We answered lots of questions and generally did our best to represent FamilySearch.

We were on the go from 8AM till 4:30 PM. Doing this sort of conference is a big contrast from when we teach church members how to identify names for temple ordinances. It requires a completely different level of energy. By the time we left at the end of the day my voice was hoarse from talking and we were both simply worn out.  Nevertheless, we felt grateful for the opportunity to be part of this key community event.

Then tonight when we got home we went over to the Henderson's apartment for a celebration of Jim's 70th birthday.  It was so much fun!  The Streeters and the Lovelesses were also there, so we were surrounded by good friends.  We shared a yummy pizza and salad dinner with ice cream and homemade cookies after.  Then we played a rousing game of Rummy-O.   There was much laughter as we shared funny stories of our various experiences.  It was a wonderful way to end the day.

As we walked down the hall back to our apartment at the end of the evening I could not help but recognize that it would be times like this I would very much miss when our mission ends.  We work with such terrific people in the Pacific Area Office.  We have been richly blessed by the friendships we have gathered here.

Just 51 days left till we are on a plane back to America.  We are beginning to get excited about returning home and seeing our family again after our long absence.  Still, I want to hold on to every bit of this mission experience for as long as I can.

Packets of Light To Live By

Right across the hall from where our office is on the third floor of the Pacific Area Office are the Public Affairs missionaries. These are great folks we love associating with! Pictured here are Senior Missionaries Cheri Loveless, Barry Preator, Susan Preator,Jeff Champlin and Linda Champlin On the far right is their department manager, Rich Hunter. Together they make a formidable team indeed.

They are tasked with preparing news stories about the Church for various formats. They cover all sorts of stories ranging from visits by church dignitaries to local service projects. They publish in Pacific Mormon Newsroom and post things on Facebook.  I took the photo above at a recent gathering to celebrate the milestone of their having reached 20,000 likes on the Facebook page for Pacific Mormon Newsroom.

What do social network sites have to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Rich Hunter talked about that some in this morning's office devotional. I was very impressed by the things he had to say,  so I asked his permission to share his message. He was kind enough to grant permission for me to reprint his talk in its entirety. This is what he had to say:

Twitter is a social media platform that launched 10 years ago. A tweet is a message of 140 characters or less. So the idea is to say as much as  you can in as few words as possible  210 million people used Twitter in the month of Mrch, 2016. I was one of them, @richNZhunter.

There are serious tweets, like this one from @CNN yesterday:
"Scientists find cancer in million-year-old fossil and it could change everything." and another from @BBCWorld:  "Turkey's President Erdogan seeks to rein in spy agency after coup."

There are humorous ones, like this one by @usedwigs:  "It doesn't feel great when a co-worker asks what you had for lunch and your reply starts with "A tub of..."  and another, "@sbellelauren: "The divorce rate among my socks is astonishing."

President Thomas S. Monson uses Twitter. On Thursday he tweeted "Let us - all of us - have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle." On Friday, President Henry B. Eyring tweeted: "Never forget that a loving God is as close as a prayer." Also in the last few days, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf took to Twitter, saying: "There are opportunities to serve our fellowman. We should reach out and give one-on-one service to help and lift those in need."

In 2011 Elder Richard G. Scott said the following in a conference talk: "Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high." And, by the way, people are still tweeting and re-tweeting that particular quote.

Articles of Faith 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12 are all short enough to tweet. The others would need two or more tweets to send out. The prophet Joseph Smith wrote these short statements for a newspaper editor, and for public understanding. Little packets of light that I memorized as a Primary Boy, and which have illuminated my path on countless occasions throughout my life.

Rich Hunter

We can choose to seek packets of light (in the scriptures and in other good places), to help lighten our heart, our load and our way; and also choose to send out packets of light to bless others.

While Twitter is a great way to seek and find packets of light, and send others packets of light, we can share light and goodness in many, many ways. Most importantly, by the way we talk with each other and about each other, and in all of our communications. A great foundation for a life built upon this kind of communicating includes prayer, testimony and expressions of love and appreciation. May we strive to always share light, goodness, faith, hope and charity. In all of our words --spoken or written, Packet size, family size, and when we're communicating in bulk (Like I am here today). And when we fall short, we can say, or write: "I'm sorry, please forgive me." (Now that's short enough to tweet.)

The Lord commanded: (Matthew 5:16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

The Saviour also revealed: (D&C 84:45) "For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoeer is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father."

Missionary Sabbath Day

We had a very special day for our last Sabbath in July. The Sacrament meeting talks were all focused on Family History, which of course we thought was great.  Talks were given by Sister Debra Andrews, who teaches the Family History Class for our ward, and several of the people we have helped to find family names to take to the temple.  They each did a great job.  We loved the spirit that was present in the room as they each bore strong testimony of the importance of family history work.

However, no matter how good the talks may have been, we have learned that the REAL focus of every Sacrament meeting is the Sacrament itself.  Over the course of this mission we really have learned to consider this a personal, sacred time to reflect on our individual lives and to renew our covenants with our Heavenly Father.

Next came Sunday School
 The way the "Family History Workshop" model works, every three weeks we begin helping a different group of people. Rather than having a long class to teach in depth knowledge, the goal of this way of doing it is simply to orient as many people as possible to the basics of FamilySearch is a small group where they can get individual attention and assistance to find a family name to take to the temple. This was day one with a brand new group. As usual, it is a bit hard to get the previous class to feel ready to move on as they all seem to have a good experience with us and want to keep coming. However, we lovingly direct them back to Gospel Doctrine class, explaining again as we do at the beginning of each session that their session is finished as we are trying to give everyone in the ward a turn to rotate through. Sister Andrews then introduced the new people to what we would be covering in their sessions and had each one share a brief family story. Then we all got online and began showing them the way FamilySearch works.  I was able to help the sister I was working with find a family name to take to the temple right away which felt really special.

For the third hour Larry and I taught the combined Relief Society and Priesthood class, giving an overview of  why we do family history and the steps to take a family name to the temple.  We answered all sorts of questions that people had.  It seemed to be very well received.

Then later that evening we headed out to the Missionary Training Center that is over by the Redoubt Stake Center. We had dinner with the young missionaries and then presented an hour long devotional on ways they can use family history in teaching the investigators they will work with and how to make it a priority to see all new converts get to take a family name to the temple within the first few months of their membership.

At dinner I especially enjoyed visiting with some of the young sisters from Tonga and Samoa. When we talked about some of our experiences in those countries they got big smiles on their faces, so happy to know of our love for their homelands.

We were both really happy with how our presentation went for the devotional. Last time we taught at the MTC we had some issues with our technology (Our PowerPoint was created in a different version from that on the computer they had set up for our presentation) so none of our videos would play properly.   We know our stuff so we were able to convey our message without the videos,  but it went so much smoother this time when we had our own lap top there to run it with and all our media running properly.

New Zealand Missionary Training Center (MTC)

When we got home we did our usual nightly reading together from the Book of Mormon.  We are in Alma now and are on track to finish the book for the 5th time just as we finish our mission.  Oh how I love this book!

Afterward I spent a couple hours working on some FamilySearch for various people that have asked for assistance in identifying family names.   One of our goals has been to help 100 people or more
 find a name to take to the temple before we go home.  We've done a lot for the folks here, both those who work in the PAO and those we meet at various trainings we take part in.  In addition to that, we've helped quite a few people we know back in the USA.   I truly love being part of this work!

These last weeks seem to be going by so very fast.  This soon will all be over.  I hope I will never forget these special times, these special people.  I am so very grateful for the chance to be a family history missionary.  The love we feel in doing this work is truly priceless.

Omeru Falls with the Lovelesses

Today we took a drive up to Omeru Scenic Reserve  (on the east side of Kaipara Coast Highway, between Kaukapakapa and the Makarau River) with Scott and Cheri Loveless.  It was a bit blustery and overcast, with spitting mist looming on and off throughout the morning - but we had a good time nonetheless.  I continue to be amazed at how many gorgeous spots there are like this within just a short drive of where we live.

There are a series of three waterfalls  - Waitangi Falls, Omeru Falls and Waitangi Stream Cascade.  In the summer locals come here to swim and have picnics.  Things were pretty muddy today from all the recent rains, but it was lovely to see just the same.

We really enjoyed being with Scott and Cheri.  On the way up we stopped near Wellsford to introduce them to Geocaching and then on the way back we stopped in Helensville to have lunch in a local cafe.  We've been to their apartment on several occasions to play scrabble or Rummy-O and visit, but this was our first time to go out on a P-day adventure with them.  It is times like this that will build memories we will treasure all the days of our lives.

Pot Luck at the Grahams

Tonight we gathered with many of the Senior Missionaries from Takapuna to enjoy an evening of good food and friendship for a pot luck supper over at the Graham's apartment.  It was a wonderful evening.

Elder Morris and Sister Winnie Graham

The Grahams live in Hawaii.  Morris is a psychologist and his assignment here is Mental Health adviser for the whole Pacific.  He does phone consultations with young missionaries all over the region. Winnie assists him with the intake files and notes, but also does other projects.  They are both delightful people.

The meal at their place had a Mexican theme, so there were several different batches of enchiladas, there were tacos and Winnie had made a huge crock pot of Cafe Rio and Rice which was absolutely delicious.  There were many desserts as well.  We have some great cooks in our midst, so there was no shortage of yummy foods.

But the real feast was the fellowship. Before and during the meal there was a lot of animated visiting going on.

Elder and Sister Collins

Left to Right - Sister Crane, Sister Jackson, Sister Spencer and Sister Garth

Then after, Winnie had us all sit in a circle and go around the room with each person taking just a couple minutes to share something about themselves or tell of a mission experience.  That part was powerful.

First we heard from Elder & Sister Garth (from Australia) who had some very tender words to share.   Sister Garth is needing knee replacement surgery so they will be headed back home to take care of that.  They work in the Mission Office and are both amazing people.  I got to know a little bit more about them both when I rode with Sister Garth to the special Sister's Conference that Sister Balli organized.  I've had tremendous respect for them both ever since.

Elder Pat and Sister Judy Garth from Victoria, Australia

Elder Scott and Sister Cheri Loveless from Provo, UT.

Elder Loveless told a story that reminded me all over again about how the Lord knows each one of us personally and is mindful not only of our needs, but of our heart's desires.  When Elder Loveless was a young missionary he served in Frankfurt, Germany.  He loved the people and had many wonderful experiences there.  Throughout his life he worked hard to retain his fluency in the German language.  He was hopeful that when it came time for he and his wife, Cheri, to serve a Senior mission together they might be called back to Germany where he could use those language skills again.

He said he was happy to go anywhere the Lord wanted them to serve, but there was some disappointment when he learned he would not be using his German on this mission.

Then, when it came time for them to go, there was a delay of them getting their New Zealand visas.  So they got permission to begin their mission in Hawaii, since that would get them part of the way here and they had family living in Hawaii they could stay with while they waited for the visas to arrive. This was a special blessing for them as they had a grandchild born there during the time they were staying there.  It gave them some special bonding time with that baby and the opportunity to be of service to their family at that precious time rather than waiting for almost two years to meet the new one.

While in Hawaii they wore their badges and did what they could to be of service in that area.  On one particular day they were at the visitor center at the Laie Temple when Elder Loveless overheard a conversation between the young missionaries who were trying to answer questions of a couple who had come through.  The couple spoke some English, but it happened that their native language was German. They were struggling both to express themselves in English and to understand the things they were being told by the young missionaries who were serving at the visitor center.  So Scott Loveless stepped in and was able to relay the story of Joseph Smith's first vision, tell them about the Book of Mormon and answer the questions this couple had in their own language.  The got quite excited when they had someone to talk to that they could converse with freely and were very appreciative of his time with them. As they left, they filled out a card saying they would like to have missionaries contact them in their home area to teach them more.  Their home happened to be in Frankfurt Germany.  Scott knew then that the Lord put him in exactly the right place at the right time to use the abilities he hand to touch a life for good.

There were many other experiences shared by members of the group  - here are just a few I want to be sure I remember:

Elder Maughan spoke about the man in Tonga night fishing to help feed his neighbors. Also his wife, Anne, told a very touching experience of finding an answer to a personal concern through the scripture "Oh that I were an angel..."  from Alma 29:1.

Elder David and Sister Anne Maughn from Richland, WA

Elder Crane told a story of showing up late for a church meeting and not wanting to stay since the meeting was already going.  At the prompting of his wife he relented, deciding to go ahead and go in.  At this meeting he met a young man who was preparing for baptism.  That man asked the question later what it meant to have a dream you were going to meet a certain person and then the next day at church to meet that very person he had seen in the dream.  The person he dreamed of was Elder Crane. Elder Crane talked about still not being sure what he was to learn from the experience, but knowing that the Lord's hand was at work.  

When Larry's turn came he shared the scripture that we chose for our mission plaque: 2 Nephi 29:7 which says:  "Know ye not that there are more nations than one?  Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea..."  He talked about the special love we have felt for the island people we have met and how we have seen the Lord's hand so many times throughout our mission.

                                           

                                                                               Elder Bennett and I enjoying the evening
When my turn came I said that my main high point of the mission has been the closeness I feel to the spirit when I help people identify family names to take to the temple.  I asked for anyone in the group that night who either of us had helped with FamilySearch to get a family name to please stand up.  I was astonished when I saw how many people there were!
                                          
Standing up together with us were the Spencers, Jacksons, SisterCollins, Praetors, Champlins, Sister Maughan, Lovelesses, Hendersons and Sister Olsen - 15 people in all!

There have also been quite a few other missionaries we have helped who didn't happen to be there that evening.  Then when you add up all the Stake Presidents, Bishops, and others we have worked with during our many training trips, plus the people back home we have done through email - we are up to well over 100 people who have had temple experiences with their family because of this mission.  That's a huge blessing in our lives.

I feel so humbled and honored to be serving here in this remarkable place with these good people.

Over and over in this mission I have felt the truth of the gospel in so many ways.  I have learned to feel the love of my Heavenly Father and the Savior more personally than I ever would have dreamed possible.

Feeling so very blessed!