Temple Blessings

We spent Thanksgiving day going to Hamilton to spend time in the Temple with our dear friends, the Ormonds. When we begin to count all the things we have to be thankful for at this special season of gratitude, we are very mindful of the atonement of Jesus Christ and for His teachings.  There is no place we feel closer to the Savior than in the temple

                                

For the past several years we have made a tradition of going to the temple for our anniversary, which is Nov 28th.  Being in the temple either on or very near our anniversary each year helps us recommit to the holy promise of our forever marriage.  Having a "for time and all eternity" bond is no magic guarantee, but rather a sacred opportunity which we need to live up to.  Frequent temple attendance helps us to remember why it is so important to include the Lord in all that we do.

When we first were sealed in the Washington DC temple back in 1983 we talked about one day getting to go to all the temples we could.  At that time there were only 7 temples in the US and not many more throughout the world.   Now there are over 150 temples world wide either in operation or under construction, with more being announced every year.  There is no longer much chance at all that we will ever see even half of all the temples, and that's ok.  We are excited that on this mission, however, we get to add several new ones to the list of those we have been in.

World Wide Temple Map Found HERE

Ormonds Come to Visit

On Tuesday, Dave and Gayle Ormond arrived from the United States to spend a couple weeks with us.  Dave was the Ward Mission Leader in Shamrock Ward back in Boise during the time that Larry and I were serving a Ward Mission.  We very much enjoyed working together and built a special friendship through our service together.  

As they get closer to retirement the Ormonds are considering whether or not a full time mission might be something they would consider.  So they decided to take a vacation here to shadow us for a while and get a better view of exactly what a full time mission entails.   We look forward to showing them some of the beauty of New Zealand and sharing with them the excitement we feel for what we are doing.  

Everybody's situation in different.  Health, finances, family concerns and decisions about what to do with your home are all things that seniors have to consider when deciding whether they are ready to serve full time.  For us, it was absolutely the right thing to do, even though it did require some big sacrifices.   We have no idea whether Dave and Gayle will choose to serve full time or not.  That is between them and the Lord.  But what we do know is that there are MANY different kinds of missions, some in far away lands and some that can be served right from home.  Hopefully they will enjoy their time here with us and perhaps it will help them get a clearer idea of some of the different ways available to serve.  

They will get to meet lots of different missionaries who work with us in the Pacific Area Office, each with very different assignments.  It just may be that this trip will give them a better feel for what their future may hold.

Dave & Gayle Ormond at Lake Pupuke

Parrot we saw at the park in Davenport

Parrots in flight

View of downtown Auckland from Mt. Victoria in Devonport

Devonport Harbor

Choosing Gratitude

Every Monday morning we have a brief devotional in the Pacific Area Office before starting a new work week. We have been SO blessed by the thoughtful messages that have been presented in these meetings. Today we got a great reminder about Choosing to be POSITIVE and focus on GRATITUDE no matter what!

The speaker began with a question to ponder - "What is your response to terrible things?"  He then told the story of a District President in New Caledonia who was persecuted for bringing religion to the villages there.  One of the village leaders beat the man with a stick and called him many insulting names.

The man did not fight back.  He did not show any outward sign of anger or resentment for the treatment he received.  He actually expressed gratitude for his absolute knowledge that the Gospel of Christ was true.

We were then challenged to consider our own opportunity to fully experience and express gratitude in all circumstances.  With Thanksgiving coming up I've been thinking a lot about all that I have to be grateful for.  Truly, I DO have many blessings to give thanks for.  However, I have not been inclined to turn first to gratitude when things go terribly wrong.   Today's message was a good reminder that I can make the choice to be thankful in ALL circumstances.

These weekly devotionals have totally reformatted the way we view Monday mornings. Instead of "UGH - weekend is over...gotta go back to the grind of work" we get up perky and ready to be spritually fed. LOVING this mission!

Three Sisters

The drive back to Auckland from New Plymouth is 5+ hours so we decided to stop along the way to get out and stretch our legs. It was low tide, so we had an opportunity to explore the caves around Three Sisters.  An amazing place!

From Wikipedia: Tongaporutu is a settlement in northern Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 at the mouth of the Tongaporutu River, 15 kilometres south of Mokau.Tongaporutu is well known in New Zealand for its 'Three Sisters' rock formations and its Maori petroglyphs carved into cave rock walls. However,both the Maori rock carvings and the 'Three Sisters formations are constantly being eroded by the Tasman sea.

When we got to Hamilton we stopped again to do a session at the Temple.  It felt good to quiet our minds and reflect on all we have been learning and experiencing these past few months.  Whenever we get an opportunity to spend time  in the temple we feel closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior.  Feeling very blessed.

Blue Suede Shoes and then some!

One of the fun things we do while traveling to various places on this mission is to do a bit of geocaching.   (For more info on what that is, check out Geocaching.com).  We've been playing the game since 2006 and have enjoyed it immensely.   Today we logged our #300 find at a place we never would have expected to find in New Zealand - an ELVIS PRESELY museum.

It is actually a private collection of memorabelia in a guy's garage.   But he has things set up to display for anyone who is interested to see it, so we took some time to check it out.

Kevin Wasley of Hāwera, Taranaki, began collecting Elvis Presley records and memorabilia in 1959. His collection grew so large that he turned his garage into a museum, which is open to the public by appointment.

Return to the Taranaki

We had the opportunity to make a second trip to the Taranaki district to do a Family History training in Waitara Branch.   This time we stayed in New Plymouth.   The training went really well, particularly the connection we made with the Young Women's president and the Branch Mission Leader.  We got some beautiful views of the mountain and had a bit of time to explore again in Pukekura Park.  It's a long drive down there, but we really like the area and love working with the saints there.

We had a positive meeting with the Director of the Family History Center in New Plymouth.  Many FHC staff feel somewhat isolated and disconnected from the stake or district leadership.  It's important to us to get to know as many of the directors as we can and let them know how much their efforts truly are appreciated.  Often times we find that with just a little bit of validation these faithful men and women begin to blossom.

As we draw closer to the end of the year we are pushing really hard to meet our goals for the My Family 15 in 15 program.  The monthly reports we get tell us  that more people than ever before throughout the Pacific Area are getting engaged in Family History work.  We certainly can't take credit for that, but we do know that as we plant seeds where ever we go and try our best to lift people up through instruction and encouragement, amazing things are happening all over.  It is such a privilege to be part of this great work.

Brother Arana Kipa-Dakin - Waitara Branch Clerk  

Ilona Ruru signed on to FamilySearch for the first time ever and now had all but one of the names for her "Family 15 in 15".  She was very excited to submit her mother's name for temple ordianances.

Peter Patuwairua, Branch Mission Leader submitted is great-grandparents for
temple ordinances to work toward completing his 15 in 15

Lehi's Vision in Today's World

One of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon is Lehi's Vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi Chapter 8).  In this vision Lehi sees many symbols that represent the importance of staying close to the gospel.  Over in chapter 11 we read about when his son, Nephi, is allowed to see the vision for himself and is given the interpretation to the things that he saw.

Lehi sees a tree "whose fruit was desirable to make one happy" (representing the love of God). Or, as Elder Bednar said in the October 2011 conference, "The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of the Atonement. Partaking of the fruit of the tree represents the receiving of ordinances and covenants whereby the Atonement can become fully efficacious in our lives."

Photo of stained glass depiction of Lehi's vision from LDS Conference Center taken from
Shannon Brown's blog, Find Joy in the Journey Here

Lehi also sees a rod of iron that extended along the bank of the river, leading to the tree.  (This, we are told, represents the word of God.)  There is  straight and narrow path along this rod of iron.  Some of the people in the vision, including Nephi and Sam and Sariah,  take hold of the iron rod, follow the path and go directly to the tree where they partake of the fruit.  Others, including his older sons Laman and Lemuel, do not follow the path.   They go a different direction.  Lehi sees other people who start out on the path, holding to the rod.  But somewhere along the way they become distracted, falling away, getting lost in the mists of darkness.

Lehi goes on to describe seeing a large and spacious building (representing the pride of the world) in which there are many people in fine apparel who are in an attitude of mocking, pointing fingers and laughing at the people who are on the path to the tree.  Some of those who managed to make it all the way to the tree and eat the fruit afterward were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing them.  Because of this, some fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.   Still others were making their way to join the great and spacious building.

"Lehi's Dream" By: Damir Krivenko of Russia found on Pinterest Here

Recently there has been a great deal of controversy in social media and in various blogs about a change in the LDS handbook of instruction for leaders regarding how to respond to those in same-sex relationships and council about their children.

Currently there is a huge furor among some, claiming the leaders of the church are promoting unreasonable discrimination.   More than ever before I have felt that the "large and spacious building" is luring people away from the tree.

The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that marriage between same sex partners will be legal in all states.  Regardless of the laws of the land, the Church maintains that marriage is ordained of God to be between a man and a woman.  In the recently updated Handbook 1 the Church defined homosexual relationships to be apostasy requiring church disciplinary court and stated that the children of same-sex couples should not be baptized or advanced in the priesthood until they are of legal age.  Although the Church made efforts to clarify this position as one intended to protect young people from being put in the difficult position of conflict between loyalty to their parents and loyalty to the gospel (see Elder Christstopherson's statement HERE ) many people reacted to the news of the policy change with hurt, anger, and in some cases have chosen to leave the Church over this issue.

While it is not unusual to hear attacks on Church policy or practice from people outside the church, this case brought a tremendous amount of wavering from people who were long time members.  People I know and love were questioning whether or not they could support this and some were seeing it as reason to doubt whether our leaders were truly prophets at all.

As the world increasingly moves further and further away from the teachings of Jesus Christ and the revealed word of Heavenly Father, it will become harder and harder for many to stay true to the covenants they have made.   Now more than ever it is critical that we follow the council of Elder Kevin W. Pearson, President of the Pacific Area from his April 2015 conference talk:





I don't always fully understand or feel comfortable with every statement or rule the Church comes out with.  But this I know for sure - The Book of Mormon in true.  Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in that famous vision in Palmyra, New York in 1820. The Atonement of Christ is real.  The covenants we make in temples are essential to our eternal progression.  We are led by true prophets today.  I believe these things with all my heart.

So, whenever there is some new statement that I may feel uncertain about,  I can go back to the talk by Dieter Uchtdorf who made very clear that doubts and questions are key ways that lead to truth.  "Inquiry is the birthplace of testimony".



I have a firm testimony of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  But that does not mean I understand every piece.

One of my favorite scriptures is Mosiah 4:9 which says:
"Believe in God;  believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend."    (Emphasis added).

I feel sad for those who will allow their doubts to carry them away from what they once knew to be true.  My goal  in life is to ALWAYS stay by the tree.

I love the words of Jeffrey Holland, who also spoke of Lehi's Vision as it applies to the world today:

I know there will indeed be "Mists of Darkness" that will make it difficult to discern what path to follow.  I know that the pride and opinions of the world will ridicule those who choose to stand firmly on the path that leads to Christ.  But I also know that by holding firmly to the word of  God by continued intentional prayer and scripture study, I can find peace - no matter how disruptive and chaotic the world around me may be.

Meeting the Calderwoods

On Saturday we went over to Manukau to meet with Elder and Sister Calderwood who are new Member and Leadership Support (MLS) Missionaries in the Auckland Mission.  They are from Idaho and are the parents of one of the ladies in our home ward.  I talked with Sister Calderwood (Debbie) quite a bit on the phone as they were preparing to come out, sharing some information about what to expect here and making suggestions about what things to bring or not bring.  It was great to finally meet them in person.

(We didn't take photos during our visit that day, but did take some later on at various gatherings).

We had a delightful time visiting with them and a delicious meat loaf meal.  Elder Bennett and Elder Calderwood found they had much in common from their professional backgrounds and interests.  Debbie and I thoroughly enjoyed getting acquainted.  We hope we will get to see more of them.  With our travel schedule we don't get a lot of time to connect with other missionaries, but when we do it is always a real treat.

After we left their place Larry and I headed to the Auckland Botanical garden.  It was a beautiful late spring day (which seems strange to say in November, but that's how it is here in the South Pacific!)  All in all it was a beautiful day.

Brisbane Beauty & Tender Mercies

After our conference was over in Tugan, Larry and I rented a car and traveled to Brisbane.  We had two main reasons for going there - we wanted to attend the temple and to visit with Jessie Lammi and his family.  "Elder Lammi" was one of our favorite missionaries who served in our ward back in Boise.  We had him and his companion, Elder Alvarez, over for dinner and often would visit with them.  Knowing Elder Lammi lived in Australia we hoped we might somehow be able to connect with him when we learned we would be going there for the conference. At first we were disappointed when we looked at a map and discovered that Bundaberg was so far away from where we would be - over a four hour drive from Brisbane.


                                               
As it turned out, his family was traveling to Brisbane at exactly the same time we would be there since Jessie's younger brother, Triston, would be leaving for his mission.   This was just one more "coincidence" of our mission that felt like a special tender mercy from the Lord. Being with them in the temple was a real highlight of our trip.

We drove up Friday evening, after dropping off the Schwenkes in Surfer's Paradise where they were going to be visiting with some family there.   As we headed on to Brisbane we were treated with a magnificent Australian sunset.

We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast, Chapel Woods B&B that we very much enjoyed.   I captured this film of the bird sounds in the back yard which were pretty amazing.




Chapelwoods Bed and Breakfast

After our time in the temple Saturday morning we went out to eat at a local restaurant with the Lammi family and had a great visit.   Once we said our good byes we headed out to return to our B&B.  However, there was one problem.   Our GPS quit working!  Larry does a great job of driving in all the different countries we go to.  But Brisbane is a BIG city of over 2 million people set within an urban area that extends even further.  We had NO idea of how to find our way back without navigation.

We both started praying really hard that we would be guided to know where to go.  We had about half an hour of white knuckle tension as we tried to figure out what to do.  We took what we THOUGHT was a turn in the right direction and ended up in the longest tunnel either one of us had ever experienced - over nine miles long.  Once we were in that tunnel there was nothing we could do but keep going till we got to the end, which was clear out by the airport. It was rather scary to be so lost in such a big city.  We figured we would go find the place where we were supposed to turn in the rental car and tell them we needed a new GPS.  However, around the airport the one we had suddenly kicked in again, so we were back on track.  What a relief!  Once our directions were pack in place we had no problem getting to the part of town where we needed to be.  We got a bit more of a tour of the beautiful city of Brisbane than we had intended.

One of my most vivid memories of Brisbane was all the many jacaranda trees that were in full bloom when we were there - the deep purple blossoms were beautiful and the scent was heavenly.

Photo from Purple Rain Gallery at http://blog.queensland.com/2013/10/28/purple-rain-gallery/ 

On Sunday we found a ward near where we were staying so we could attend church.  On Monday we did a bit of hiking and found some geocache.  We saw some huge white cockatoos along with other interesting birds along the way.

Ibis

Australian Magpie

Cockatoo photo from redbubble

We got to walk around the lovely Botanical Gardens but discovered there I had lost the battery to my camera.  Oh no!  When I fell and broke my hand in Fiji my camera had gone skittering across the sidewalk.  The clip that holds the battery in was broken so ever since I've been holding it closed with a piece of tape.  Apparently the tape had come loose and the battery dropped out somewhere.  We searched all over the car and the area we were walking there, but no luck.  We probably lost it in the woods when we were geocaching.   I was very disappointed to not be able to capture any more photos of our trip.  But we did the best we could to stay positive.

So my lesson learned from this was that this trip, like life had some GOOD things (meeting with the Lammis and the wonderful B&B where we stayed) and some not so good things (getting lost with no GPS and losing my camera battery).  I could stay stuck in being upset about the things that went wrong or I could focus on my gratitude for the blessings and beauty we had enjoyed.  The choice was  mine.  Sometimes it's really hard to stay optimistic when things are not going the way we want or when serious adversity comes our way.  But in good times or hard times, there is ALWAYS plenty to be grateful for.  Learning to keep that perspective is the journey of a lifetime.