Christmas in the Islands

I am sitting on our balcony with a nice cool morning sea breeze in my face.  One big cruise ship just went past and an other is coming in.  Now that hurricanes are past and the northern country is enjoying the cold weather of winter the cruise lines are entering their big season.  The local economy enjoys having the visitors come in and spend their money so this is happy time.  It is also happy time because it is entering the Christmas season.

Decorations for Christmas are not a big deal here.  There are a few trees available for more than $100, and they will be lucky to get home without all the needles falling off.  There are more artificial trees than real ones and they are modestly decorated with strings of lights that are half not working.  I like it.  Gaye bought a small tree for our apartment.  I will post it next week.   She also bought a string of lights and put them up in the apartment.  The strand of lights has segments that flash on and off in random order and timing.  I really dislike that kind of random flashing, as most of you know.  So I arrange myself with my back to the lights to I don’t have to try to mentally deal with the random arhythmia.

Early this week we had a visit from President Zayas from PR.  He is in the mission presidency and the area CES coordinator . He came to visit our seminary class.  We spent the day with him and were quite tired at the end of the day.  He is like the Everready Bunny.  He speaks English well, but Spanish is obviously his home language. We learned a lot about teaching and how to get the message of the doctrine from the scriptures from him in his inservice lesson.  Then at the end of the day we took him back out to the airport to fly back home.  He had a little trouble with his ticket so he spent a lot of time talking to the agent at the gate.  She mentioned that his birthdate is the same as her twin daughters (she saw it on his passport).  I wandered over to see how things were going and he immediately engaged me into the conversation with Alice, the agent.  he pointed out that her twins were born on November 12, the same as his birthday.  Well, that got me right into the conversation because that is also my birthday.  So I mentioned that Gaye’s birthday is also in November and is 12 reversed (21 for any of you having difficulty with this story).  He got more excited and said that his wife was also born on November 21!  We talk about blessings or coincidences.  This one is a coincidence. We obtained a copy of the Church Christmas video and took it out to Alice the next evening.  We had a nice conversation with her and her co-worker and wished them Merry Christmas.  They are both from Guyana.  These are nice people here!

Nakisha, member for 6 weeks, keen piano student

Yesterday Gaye taught more piano lessons (she has been teaching every afternoon all week) and I went with the YFTM’s to see about buying another car.  The area offices of the Church are in Dominican Republic, where Spanish is the language.  The message I received was in Spanish, translated by one of our mission office elders. It said the area fleet manager was trying to conclude the purchase of a vehicle in Tortola but he didn’t know the name of the Suzuki dealer.  There is only one in Tortola, so i went there to see if I could get them to fill out the paperwork so they could be paid for the car and we would then have to drive around.  I’ll shorten this story.  The dealership didn’t know what I was talking about, but some heavenly interventions took place and now the dealer and the area office are communicating directly with each other.  It is always nice when parties can talk directly to each other rather than go through a middle man, especially when I am the middle man.  When this is concluded we will have two 2008 Toyota Tacoma’s to sell and two new vehicles.  The office said that the new vehicle is for the couple, not the YFTM’s.  But since we already have a brand new Tacoma I will press hard for us to keep the truck and the YFTM will drive the SUV.  I’m not sure the Suzuki can make it up the hills!

They take their speed bumps seriously here

For Hire!  Any takers?

Ready for the Branch Christmas Social

I’ll post a few photos of the church here and other things in the area and call this one good.  Enjoy your day, and Merry Christmas!

Prayers

December 3, 2012

I do not think it is not just missionaries who have prayers answered, but let me tell you about last night and today.  We had supper with the YFTM last night and had a nice conversation with them.  (They love mom’s cooking, as well they should.  It was the best roast beef I have ever had.)  They are good boys, excellent missionaries.  Elder Ivie coached me on how to approach people about the Gospel.  My mission 100 years ago was in a completely different era and I am finding it necessary to unlearn a lot of things and learn some new ones.  So after our visit Elder Ivie said to pray every day for a missionary experience and you will have some.  This morning I prayed specifically that we would have a missionary experience.

We first met with the YFTM for our weekly business meeting.  Our district leader led a very good discussion about teaching for understanding and how to ask the right questions.  We will try to apply those teachings and we will be better missionaries as we do it.  The meeting lasted about an hour.  Then we let the elders use our computers at the church to write their emails home.  The church has wi-fi so it all works out great.  We gave them until noon to do what they needed to do.  Meanwhile, last night I received a phone call from Elder Hansen.  He and his wife are living on a 40 foot long catamaran and they are on a mission down here.  They go to different islands to photograph church records for the Church Family History Department.  They set up a contract with the different churches, then set up the very sophisticated photographic equipment, make the digital photos and send them to the Family History Department of the Church, and give the churches a copy of their records.  They are from New Jersey but they have a daughter living on St Thomas so they call that their home port and they have been living on their boat for about 10 years.  They have a really interesting story to tell.  Anyway, Elder Hansen called me to tell me that they would be in Tortola today and wondered if we could help them with some transportation issues.  Of course we want to do all we can.

Before our district meeting we took the old truck in to have the oil changed.  It is parked outside our apartment for now so we are responsible for the maintenance. There are unfulfilled promises that it will be sold, but bureaucrats move slowly, even in the Church.  The oil change was scheduled a while ago.  I drove the old 2008 truck to town and mom drove the new one.  We took it to the car store for the service and then had our business meeting.  We had to be in town until the truck was serviced anyway, so we went to immigration and became official residents of BVI, expiring May 1, 2013.  Then we picked up the electric bill that I paid last week (another long story) and went back to the chapel to eat the lunch we packed because we knew we would be staying a long time.  In walked some interesting looking characters with name tags like ours, but they were dressed very casually, like they had been living on a boat or something.  Elder Hansen was wearing a Spanish missionary tag and Sister Hansen wore an English Family History tag. We visited for a few minutes while they told us what they are doing and what they needed help with.  They wanted to take us to lunch because we would be driving them around, so we gave our lunch to the elders and we left with the Hansen’s.

They took us to an Indian place that serves roti. Really it comes from Guyana, where many of the BVI inhabitants, and even members of the Church, originally come from.  It is sort of like a big tortilla with curried meat or potatoes or other veggies and very good chutney, a green salad, and a Sprite.  I had the chicken, mom had the duck, Br Hansen had the shrimp, and Sister Hansen had a veggie.  We will definitely be going back there to eat again.  Then we drove around to get a new motor for their dingy, drove them to the place where they anchored their boat for the next couple of days, and they took us out to their boat.  Mom almost fell into the ocean getting into the boat (another story) but we made it safe and sound. We sat on the boat for an hour or so just visiting about what they are doing, their history, our families, etc.   It was interesting.  The boat is quite wide because of the dual hulls of the catamaran, but it is still sort of like living in a small RV. They have everything they need, but it is rather Spartan in many ways.  They brought us back to the dock and we went to pick up the truck and drove home.

The interesting missionary moments came in the most natural way, but it was not a coincidence.  When we were leaving the lunch place I gave a smile and warm greeting to a lady sitting at one of the tables we passed.  She smiled and said her daughter is a member of the Church.  The daughter lives in Guyana but when she came to visit in October she went to church at our building.  Then she pulled out her phone and in a moment had her daughter on the line.  I spoke with her, she asked about some of the members of the branch, I told her I wanted to invite her mom to come to church, and we said good-by.  I invited the lady to come to the Christmas social on Saturday and to services on Sunday. She said she would try to come, and I think she will try.

When we went with the Hansen’s to pick up the new dingy motor we also went looking for a hat for my bald pate.  Elder Hansen said if I were in the Dominican Republic the medical advisor person there would insist that I wear a hat any time I go outside.  I would love to comply with that, and Kim is sending a couple of baseball hats to us, but I can’t find one that feels good and looks acceptable with my uniform.  So the three of us, minus Elder Hansen, went to some shops looking for hats.  We did not find a suitable one, but in the process we went into a bakery to ask directions.  The fellow there was very friendly and told us where to look for some hats.  Then he introduced himself as Tyler Dawson.  I perked right up.  I have been wanting to meet him because he is a member of the branch and comes from South Africa.  I figured we would have a lot to talk about to get it rolling.  He told me he is a member of the branch, served a mission in South Africa, and is planning on coming to the social on Saturday afternoon.  Was that random?  This is happening too many times to be random.  We will now be stopping in at his bakery a couple of times per week just to maintain contact with him, and to purchase some baked goods.  He has a few kids, too, but I don’t know anything about his wife.

Then on the way home I passed a familiar face on the sidewalk who called out my name.  It was Orlando, baptized in October and one of our piano students.  He is planning on going on a mission as soon as he can, but he has to be in the Church at least one year.  So I pulled over and Orlando and another boy his age hopped in.  They told me where to go and where to turn and we reached the mountain goat trail where I would get into 4WD, but then he said he would walk the last bit.  I said, “I will see you on...” and the other boy answered, “Wednesday”.  Who is he, I asked myself, and then asked Orlando?  This is Shamiel.  He was also baptized about a month ago and has been really keen on being involved in the Church but his mother’s pastor told her this is the church of the devil and we baptize dead people and other nonsense, so she has forbidden him to come.  I think he still has the warmth of testimony in his heart and when he is able to get on his own some oxygen will start the fire going again.  

So I testify that prayers are heard and responded to.  This was not just coincidental or accidental today, just as the “chance” meeting we had with the member on Virgin Gorda last Thursday was not random.  I don’t have all the answers to questions related to prayers, but I do to this one.

PS  This is a photo of our #1 water filter, the brown one, changed every other month, and the #2 filter, changed every 4 months.  It is a really good system that the Church uses for missionaries all over the world.  

A Fasting Feast

Today we attended one of the most powerful, spiritually uplifting testimony meetings of my life.  These people are so humble and sweet.  The EQ president does not have a car, so we pick him and his family up in our truck on the way to church.  They could walk but it is a mile or two and they have some very little kids.  There are usually a few more people that need a ride, too, so we are happy to help. Three of the families in the branch just returned from the temple in Dominican Republic and they can’t stop talking about the trip and how it has changed their lives.

Faith Glasgow

Sister Glasgow is a wonderful example.  Her husband is the counsellor to Frank Kalama in the branch presidency.  There is only one counsellor and no clerk.  They have at least four kids ranging from 18 to 1.  The little girl is named Faith.  Here is why.  During the pregnancy Sister Glasgow found out that she had breast cancer.  She needed surgery and chemo, and the doctors were quite insistent that she terminate the pregnancy.  She refused.  She said today in our meeting that “I am happy.  I have no job, I have no money, but I have the message of Jesus Christ, a son on a mission, I have been to the temple, I have a healthy daughter, I feel good and healthy, and I know God loves me.  I am happy!”  I could not hold back the tears.  In fact, they have another son working on his mission application papers.  She is just one example of several who bore simple and powerful testimony today.  It is an honor to be around them

I never knew non-white skin could come in so many beautiful color combinations.  They are all beautiful. White is rather boring.  Really, they are physically beautiful people, but the glow that comes from their souls lights the place up.  The EQ president is as dark-skinned as people come, but his spirit shines with the Gospel glow.  We pale-faces are accepted without any reservation.  We are just part of the same family. To the young gneration skin color is nothing.  To us of the old generation, June 8, 1978, is one of the most significant days in our lives.  At least it sure is for me.

EQ President Pollard and Daughter

I offered to get a little choir together and President Kalama, the president of the branch, said to go for it.  We will sing Silent Night, just as it comes from the Hymn Book.  It is a simple melody with lovely harmonies and everybody knows the tune.  I thought it would be quite simple to put it together.  There is one 50+ year old lady who has a very deep voice.  She was sitting behind me and singing as low as I sing.  I don’t sing low for a guy, but she was right there with me.  So when I asked who would like to sing in the choir she was a little hesitant but joined in.  It turns out that she can’t read music and she can’t match pitch.  She sings almost an octave and a minor third below the soprano melody line.  Sort of.  I thought she could sing the tenor line but she can’t find that line, either.  So I stand by her and sing the tenor and she sings the diminished parallel third harmony, and it is wonderful.  Most of the other ladies in the branch do fine with the soprano and alto parts.  The men don't want to sing, but the kids do. One of the young missionaries sings the bass.  We will sing next Sunday and it will be heavenly.  Gaye and I only have four months here before we will be transferred and we want to do as much as we can while we are here.

Orlando playing There Is a Green Hill

The piano lessons have taken fire. We have two lessons every day this week and I think most of them will keep going.  This is really exciting.

The kids are getting all juiced up about the Christmas social coming up next Saturday afternoon.  Last week the teens made snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.  Yesterday the primary kids made snowmen and decorated them with glitter.  The sparkles will probably never come completely out of the carpet, but that’s okay.  We are having turkey dinner, playing some games, and then everybody will sit down and watch the Christmas devotional that is being broadcast tonight, but it is too late for us to watch it here (it starts at 6 pm in Salt Lake but we are three hours east of Mountain Time) so we will catch it next Saturday.

Frosty Wearing Big Boots!

Primary Activity Making Snowmen

Cruise Ship in the Rain

Cruise Ship at Night

We had a heavy rain this morning.  It woke us up.  The view out our deck window is never the same twice.  What a place.

Virgin Gorda

President's Personal Vehicle.  : ^ )

November 29, 2012

Our boys

We met the YFTM at the church, drove to the ferry terminal, and rode the boat to Virgin Gorda, another island of the BVI and much smaller than Tortola.  There was a family group over there until a couple of years ago.  The missionaries were not getting much support from the members and then the group leader decided to step out on his wife and family.  So the mission president (before President Alvarado arrived as mission president but while he was the Area Seventy) suddenly pulled out the missionaries and sold or gave all the Church things away and closed the group.  The locals were not consulted or even warned.  The Church was there one day and gone the next.  I am sure there are two sides to the story, though.

On the ferry

That left some bitter feelings with the members.  They are still in the Tortola branch, but now they must ride the ferry over here to attend Sunday meetings.  It is $30 RT per person.  That is prohibitive for the families there.

Our trip was to find as many of those members as we could and invite them to come to Tortola to church.  If they will demonstrate a willingness to make the sacrifice, then we might be able to organize a group on VG again and come over monthly to have a sacrament meeting.  We made connection with four of the families.

The former group leader has run off with another woman and left his wife and two young children to fend for themselves.  He goes to Guyana, where they came from, but when he returns he stays in the same apartment with his wife and kids.  It is awkward for her.  If she leaves the marriage then she will not get any support because she abandoned the marriage, and he will not go ahead with a divorce.  He just tells her to move on with it.  She has a job teaching very young children at a church school there.  I am sure it doesn’t pay enough to provide the stability the family needs.  It is sad.

Sail boats at Virgin Gorda

We rented a car so we could get around, so we drove around the island just to see what is there.  It is a beautiful place with gorgeous beaches and bays and reefs.  Gaye loves to snorkel and she is already making plans to return after we get our hands on some snorkeling gear.  we are accumulating stuff and we are already over the weight limit, so when something comes in something else needs to go out. Anyway, it is very similar to Tortola but much smaller.

We made a couple of appointments to return and visit some of the members, so we had some empty time to fill.  We drove onto an beautifully maintained area that is part of an exclusive hotel.  We found some shade and parked the car and got out for a few minutes.  A maintenance truck drove past and the driver got out and started talking to the elders.  It was one of the members we were trying to contact!  What are the chances of that randomly happening?  We had a good visit for several minutes until his boss drove past and told him to get to work.  Anthony said he misses the Church very much.  He has gone to other churches but they have nothing to offer him.  He is still a member of The Church and knows that this is his church.  I think he holds the Aaronic Priesthood. he was glad to see us and we exchanged email addresses so we can keep in touch with him better.

Savannah Beach.  We need to go snorkeling there.

I did not bring a hat and my head is being exposed to more sunlight than it would like to have.  I put sun screen on to prevent getting too burned and it seemed to help, but I am asking Kim to send me a couple of caps from home.  We will be going to San Juan on December 15 for the annual mission Christmas gathering so we can pick things up there and bring them back with us.  One in and one out, though.

A follow-up note on the piano lessons.  Kryssie, the lovely 14-year-old daughter of President Kalama, has been practicing and is almost ready to play a hymn in sacrament meeting.  The first one the lessons teach and have the students play is “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” because it is played without moving the hands around on the keyboard.  She is really enthused, so we need to teach her and praise her and get her firmly into the program.  If we do nothing else, this will have been worth coming to Tortola.

I am writing this on November 30 early in the morning.  I just looked up and there is a big cruise ship slowly moving through the calm water about 1/4 mile from our apartment.  This is unreal!

One Week In

We are settled into our apartment, our truck, and our branch.  It is time to get to work, but first I’ll tell a little about our living arrangements and events of the past week.  Gaye and I are still sort of dazed.  Are we really doing this?  What have we got ourselves into?  Now what?

2013 Toyota Tacoma 4WD

We departed Salt Lake on Monday morning (November 19, 2012, for the record).  We were almost late, but almost doesn’t count.  The flight to Atlanta was about 3 hours, we had about 50 minutes to get from the A terminal to the E terminal and down a very long hall to our gate to board for San Juan.  Then we sat on the tarmac for another hour+ as mechanics replaced a leaking oil seal in one of the engines on our 757, which made our arrival in San Juan one hour later than planned.  We were met at the airport by Elder and Sister Tower from the mission office in two cars.  There was also one YTFM (young full-time missionary) on our flight.  We did not see him on the plane or in the Salt Lake airport, but he popped out and asked us if we were headed the same place he was.  Name tags have already proven helpful.

Elder Tower drove our vehicle, Sister Tower drove the Peterson’s, who are assigned to the same mission and have become our friends from the first encounter at the MTC, and we wove our way through the streets of San Juan to the Mission Home, only getting lost twice.  There we met Sister Alvarado and President Alvarado, our new mission parents.  They are both native to Puerto Rico and fluently bilingual.  He has been an area 70, stake president, and CES coordinator in his 39 years.  He was also a consultant for Franklin/Covey, so I am sure we will be focused on organization and plans, etc.  That is good.  We had a nice bowl of soup and fell into our bunk beds.  The mission home is a beautiful large home in a gated community (with locked gates and an armed guard) where the Alvarado family lives and President has an office. There are three beautiful children in the family, two girls and a boy.  Kerrianne, the oldest, is learning the ‘cello and when I mentioned that I play the violin she asked me if I could help her tune her instrument. Happily I assisted her.

Tuesday morning we were up and fed a nice breakfast of something traditional, then off to the mission office.  There we met most of the staff and had a few hours of training from Elder Tower.  Hs is an interesting guy, a former attorney for 18 years and a judge for 20.  He is a counsellor in the mission presidency and travels with his wife every weekend to a different island to visit the branches, check with and interview the missionaries, and be the eyes and ears for President for that part of the mission.  He talks like a judge, sort of rambling and exploring every corner of a discussion.  Bless his heart, he took about 3 hours to discuss what I think I would have done in 30 minutes. We had a nice light lunch, learned how to submit vouchers for expenses we would be reimbursed for, and were taken to the airport for our flight to our assigned island.

From inside our apartment

Tortola.  We are going to the British Virgin Island’s main island of Tortola.  It is about 3 miles wide and 15 miles long, a 30 minute flight from San Juan, very close to the USVI island of St Thomas.  The Peterson’s are going to St Thomas.  The flight was to leave at 1640 in the afternoon (that is 4:40 pm to most Americans, but I like to use the military 24 hour clock designations, so get used to it).  We were there plenty early to get checked in, but I was a little concerned because we were a couple of pounds overweight but winked through at Salt Lake.  The airline rep said the scale was not working, hefted our bags by hand, and said we were fine.  Whew!  There is about $100 charge for a bag that is 51-70 pounds, which one of ours surely was.  Then we went directly to gate 17 to board and fly.  

Schedules are sort of relative here, according to the “old-timers” so I was not concerned that there was nobody at the gate but us.  Time passed, we made a few last-chance phone calls because we would be outside the reach of our AT&T phone zone, 1620 passed, then 1630, and then there was an announcement on the PA: “Will Peterson party of two check into Gate 16 and make your identity known.  We are in the final stages of boarding.  Peterson party of two.”  I thought that was interesting that the Peterson’s were late.  Then I felt that I should go over there and make sure they meant Peterson and not Patterson.  (I am learning to recognize those little feelings better.  I am very grateful for those promptings from The Holy Ghost.)  The gate attendant looked at me, asked for identification, and responded to my query, “Oh, I meant Patterson.  I announced the gate change some time ago.”  I thought, “Not since 1600 you didn’t.” but I said nothing.  We were the last ones on the plane, for the third time.

The story goes on and on.  We enjoyed the hop to Beef Island where the  airport is located, next to Tortola.  Head for the customs gate, (No photos allowed!  Put that camera away!), get in a line, pass through customs, how long will you be staying here, what is your purpose for coming to BVI, what will you be doing here, where will you be staying--any traveller to another land knows the routine.  No problem with most of the questions, but I had no idea where we would be staying, except in an apartment somewhere on the island.  The official at the window was not about to let us through until we told her where we would be staying.  She called her supervisor over for a conference.  She told us and the official we lived at some place called Rocky Point.  OK, fine.  We passed through, met our new branch president and Elder Bob and Sister Terri Bonilla, who will be headed back to Southern California in two days.  It was a warm welcome and we are anxious to get to know these people and other members of the branch.  We have since learned that nobody on the island has real street addresses.  We will live at Whelks Point, Denise Stoutt’s apartment building, #3.  Everybody knows Denise Stoutt, our landlord.

The apartment is beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  I was sort of expecting something between the campout experience of Peru and the resort of IRTRA in Guatemala where we stayed on some of our dental humanitarian visits, but more on the primitive side of the scale.  It is a two-bedroom with a commanding view of the ocean and several islands a couple of miles away.  Right below us is Paraqueet Bay, a designated safe harbor for boats to come into when there is a hurricane.  We have air conditioning in every room, cable TV (which I think is a waste adn a distraction but Gaye needs her Fox News fix every night), a modern kitchen and bathroom, and internet access thanks to a neighbor’s wireless zone.  He doesn’t mind us using it, but it is rather slow.  I think we need to upgrade that if we can.

Looking South

Since our arrival we have been taken on a tour of the island by the Bonilla’s and participated in Mutual at the church.  We have met and worked with the YFTM's who are assigned here.  They are good boys and act like they do not get enough to eat but are very well-mannered and gracious.  They also drive a 4WD Toyota Tacoma, but ours is brand new and theirs is a few years old.  In fact ours has only 160 miles on it!  Really brand new.  More about driving on the island later.  There are some strong members here, like Frank and Tau Kalama and their two teenage kids. Frank has been the branch president for almost 10 years and there is nobody to take his place.  They came from Laiea Hawaii 13 years ago and stayed.  Tau has a very good job working in an off-shore banking operation.  Frank is a RM and very strong in his testimony and commitment to the Church here.  We also met a few of the youth and some of the other adult leaders.  Three families went to the temple in Dominican Republic last month and the branch has two missionaries out with one more about ready to go.  We will need to help him get clothing and things he will need for his mission.  The general state of the people is not abject poverty but not much extra, either.  

So here we are.  The Bonilla’s have departed and we are on our own.  The truck is an American model but traffic drives on the left side of the road, so the driver is over the left edge of the very narrow highway. There is a road along the edge of the beach that goes around the island but most of the terrain is almost straight up and down.  Streets are barely wide enough for one-way traffic but it goes both ways.  The climbs up and down the streets are like driving the jeeps at Moab, but with dense foliage and very sharp turns and lots of traffic.

Stay tuned.  There is lots more to come.

Simple Blessings or Tender Mercies

Young Elders to assist the Old Elders

My Brother Lloyd cares for the beautiful grounds

The World Map

639 Missionaries Arrived Wednesday

Missions of the World

George and Sharon Peterson going to San Juan with us

We have had some simple blessings take place this week that have confirmed to me that God is real, he is alive, and he cares about me.  I have also learned, however, that this mission is not about me.  I’ll explain that first.  We have been trained by some really sharp young trainers.  These young men and women are returned missionaries who have been hired to train us to be effective missionaries.  I am sure they have guidance in setting up their lesson plans and in getting us to respond to their instructions and challenges.  However, they all demonstrate a love of life and a love of God that is infectious.  They are confident but not overbearing.  They are serious but also fun to  be around.  They have demonstrated wisdom beyond their years as they have encouraged us older citizens to scrape away the cobwebs and rise to levels we have not been at for a long time.  The MTC experience has been beyond amazing.  I am really left without the ability to describe it.

Our District

We left home early Monday morning.  I could not find my wallet, but we had to go to the airport to catch the flight to Salt Lake.  We had our passports so getting on the flight was not a problem.  However, not knowing the location of my wallet was really bugging me.  We arrived at the MTC where some young missionaries helped us get our bags up to our room.  I was thinking about how I was going to get my documents replaced because the wallet was missing.  Gaye and I knelt and expressed thanks for the safe journey and simply asked that we could find the wallet.  We had a small block of time so we began to unpack the bags.  It was not in the big bag.  I opened up the carry-on I brought with me and there it was in plain sight.  Now most people would have a simple explanation for that, and I am not saying it was left in Twin Falls and miraculously showed up here, but I am sure I looked inside that bag at least twice before we left home.  No matter, it was found.  And I felt an answer to my prayer.  It was lost and then it was found.

We are taking laptops with us to wherever we are going.  I have an Apple MacBook and Gaye has a nice PC.  Well, she tried to get into her PC and could not open it up.  We took it to the tech support people here at the MTC.  They are like Geek Squad assigned to this one facility.  They said it could not be opened without some sophisticated software manipulations.  I felt like the computer Gaye said was hers was really heavy, but I had no reason to think it was a wrong unit.  We finally called Tom and asked him for the password.  This computer is the one he got at dental school but decided to replace with an Apple unit.  His password did not help.  So we called Lindsay and asked her to come get it and take it to the tech people at Tom’s school so they could open it.  She drove down here and we made the transfer outside the gate of the MTC.  There is actually a gate that is manned 24/7 and missionaries are expected to sign out and in so we can all be accounted for.  Anyway, Lindsay took the heavy Dell unit back to Tom.  Gaye and I were at our room so we knelt and prayed that we would find that computer.

Not long after that Tom called and said that the computer Lindsay had brought to him was not the one he had received when he started school.  What!  How could it be!  Surely the TSA people at Twin Falls airport didn’t switch it.  Could it have been inadvertently confused and switched when it went through the scanners?  Tom had a location device on it and was able to track it down.  There had been a switch when it was scanned.  Gaye was pulled to the side and hand scanned because her new bionic hip was setting off the metal detectors.  I watched the trays of our belongings as they came down the ramp and took the computers and shoes and belt and watch, quickly crammed them into our bags and marched out to board the plane.  Neither we nor the guy who had our computer by mistake had any idea of the mixup.  So we haver now made arrangements to get his back to him and Ashlee will be bringing ours down from Twin Falls when she and Trevor return to their home on Sunday.  Coincidence?  maybe, but I choose to believe that our prayer was answered.  The computer was lost and now it is found.

I have learned that this mission is not about me.  It is about God’s love for his children.  It is about selfless and faithful service as we go out to our area of assignment.  I have no idea where we will be assigned specifically, and I have no specific idea who we will be working with, but we have been called of God through the actions of one of the Apostles and President Monson to our specific mission.  When we reach San Juan we will be assigned, under inspiration to our mission president, to a specific branch on an island in the mission.  That is a sobering realization.  We did not choose where we would serve.  We go willingly to where we have been called.  Great adventures await us, and we are ready to go.

Farewell Talk

The Lord is My Shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil,

For Thou are with me

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We have met to take the sacrament.  I do not want to detract from that high point.  However, Elder Oaks said at important occasions we should teach important doctrine.  That is what I desire to do.

The words to the song the choir just sang are inspired by Psalm 23.

1.  The Lord is my ^ashepherd; I shall not ^bwant.

I believe in God the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.  I believe they are separate beings physically, but in every other way they are one.  It is much simpler to explain how they are one than how they are not one.  They are one in everything except physical bodies. 

This is the most important doctrine.  Truth is independent in the sphere in which God has placed it, but truth rarely stands alone. Truth is part of a hierarchical system. Not all truth is of the same importance. Satan knows that the most important doctrines are the ones at the foundation of the Gospel. Whether Jesus was 6 feet tall or 5’10” and was right handed or left handed is trivial, but having a correct understanding of the true nature of God is essential to our worshiping him correctly.  Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the Gospel, and is in fact the first principle of truth and reality.  Truth is knowledge of things as they really are. Paul taught that we are children of God, and children have the potential to become like their parents, because they are of the same family. There are more things common with us and God our Father than there are things different.  True, there are differences just as there are differences between me and my youngest grandchild, but children become grownups (sometimes the parents wonder about that one, but it is the nature of how things work).

Jesus is my shepherd, and I am one of his sheep.  My Shepherd will supply my needs.  Jehovah is his name.  From the very beginning Jesus has been the one to step forward with the plan of redemption.  When Lucifer tried to sabotage the Father’s plan, Jesus, also known as Jehovah, stepped forward to fulfill the will of our Father and voluntarily be the One to put his life up as ransom for our lives.  He is my shepherd, and I am his lamb. 

I have learned that I am on this earth to be tested and to learn and grow.  Life is a school, and this is not recess.  Therefore, the challenges we now face, have faced, and will yet face are real, and they are worthy tests of the reward that awaits our successful passing of the test.  In the process of enduring to the end, however, I have been given the promise that my shepherd is there for me.  He secures the ninety-nine who are at the moment secure and not wandering, although we know that sheep love to wander and that each will wander a little, sooner or later, and will need to be rescued.  With the 99 safely in the fold, watched and protected and led by the undershepherds, Jesus comes looking for me.  And I want to be found.  I must listen for his voice as he calls me.  I must move towards that voice with resolution, motivated by love.  

My Shepherd will supply my needs, and because of Him I shall not want.  The word “want” has many meanings, but the one that applies in a Gospel sense is “need”.   http://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/want?lang=eng&query=want

Want

see also Lack; Need.

1. in want of all things, Deut. 28:48
2. place where there is no want of any thing, Judg. 18:10
3. Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want, Ps. 23:1
4. they that seek the Lord shall not want, Ps. 34:10
5. fools die for want of wisdom, Prov. 10:21
6. she of her want did cast in all that she had, Mark 12:44
7. famine … he began to be in want, Luke 15:14
8. when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, John 2:3
9. your abundance may be a supply for their want, 2 Cor. 8:14
10. Not that I speak in respect of want, Philip. 4:11
11. set in order the things that are wanting, Titus 1:5
12. suffer much for the want of food, 1 Ne. 16:19 (3 Ne. 4:3).
13. administering to their relief … according to their wants, Mosiah 4:26 (Mosiah 18:29).
14. every man … receive according to his wants, D&C 42:33
15. every man equal according to … his wants, D&C 51:3 (D&C 82:17).
16. searching after the poor to administer to their wants, D&C 84:112

I am one of the undershepherds.  Actually, we all are.  We are called to assist the Shepherd in finding, leading, and saving the sheep who have wandered.  Dear to the Heart of The Shepherd expresses this beautifully. I am capable of assisting in the shepherdly duties, but because of the nature of my humanity my capability fluctuates.  As President Don Smith said, we are expected to give our all and do our best, but sometimes that best is not very good. We need to cut each other some slack.  But the goal is to get better at it, to learn from our experiences to distinguish good from evil, and to move along the path as we hold to the rod.  

If we hold to the rod we are sliding our hands along while maintaining contact as we move forward.  We thus maintain contact with the rod as we progress toward the Tree of Life and its glorious fruit.  It is interesting to me that those who cling to the rod are the ones described as short-lived in their visit to the Tree of Life.  They see the world and are embarrassed and ashamed by their unworldly position by the Tree, so they leave.  I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he ^aleadeth me beside the still waters.

As my shepherd, Jesus leads me to where there is food and water.  In fact, Jesus is the Bread of Life, and he is the fountain of Living Water.  He is the Light, the Resurrection, and the Life. He leads me and makes it available.  He does not force me to go where he wants me to go.  I have been blessed with the power and responsibility to choose.  

The Mormon definition of Agency is the opportunity to choose what I want to do.  But the meaning of Agency in the 1830 dictionary, which tells us something of what Joseph Smith meant when he used the term, has more to do with acting and being a representative.  It relates to being an agent.  An agent is given the right to act in behalf of the one who gives the agency, so as long as the agent behaves and obeys the terms of the contractual arrangement, his actions are recognized and accepted by the granter of the agency.  However, when the agent decides to ignore or violate the terms of his contract, he loses his agency and is no longer filling the role of agent.  Repentance gives us, the intern agents, the opportunity and ability to regain our agency, but it remains that agents are bound to act in the terms of the agreement.  Agents do not have the right to act outside the terms of their agreement of agency.  When they do thus act, they have lost their agency, and it is because they gave it up, not because someone took it away. 

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of ^arighteousness for his ^bname’s sake.

The process of repenting is strengthening.  It is the greatest of the gifts of God, for it gives us the opportunity and the method to continually adjust our course to the path that leads beside the stream leads to the Tree of Life.  Indeed, Eternal Life is the greatest of all the gifts of God.  

We can gain Eternal Life by obedience and repentance, made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We are judged according to our acts, and we know it is by grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved after all we can do.

4 Yea, though I ^awalk through the ^bvalley of the ^cshadow of ^ddeath, I will fear no ^eevil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they ^fcomfort me.

There is ample opportunity for us to experience the depravity of a world that frequently chooses to follow Satan, or at least chooses to dawdle in Babylon, the counterfeit of Zion.  President Packer has said that we are living in the great and spacious building.  It is no longer separated from us physically.  We must learn to recognize the difference between Zion and Babylon, for knowing the difference is paramount to leaving Babylon and coming to Zion.  

This world is a dark, disturbing, enticing, momentarily gratifying, confused, dangerous place and more importantly, lifestyle.  The reward that lies at the end of the path leading to the world is misery and unhappiness, for Satan desires to make all men miserable like unto himself.  

We, on the other hand, are free to choose life and joy according to the product of obedience made possible through the redemption of Jesus Christ.  Although the world is a scary place, we do not need to be afraid of evil.  In fact the final score is already known and the winning team is already known.  As Elder Holland put it, the only thing left undetermined is which team jersey I will wear.  I choose to be on the Jesus team, for that is the one that will win in the end.  So as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death and destruction and misery, we can do so with joy and rejoicing, for Jesus is our guide and his love will ward off the attacks of evil if we will only allow it. 

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou ^aanointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

The sacrament is an opportunity to refreshen our covenants with the Lord.  More than that, it is a renewal of those covenants.  We get to make them again every time we partake of the emblems of the Atonement.  We renew every covenant we have made, including baptism, the accepting of the commandment to receive the Holy Ghost, the oath and covenant of the Priesthood, and every covenant we make by sacred signal in the Temple, including when we kneel at the alter.  

Truly, Jesus has prepared a table for us.  The sacrament table is a place of feasting.  Feasting is not the same as gorging or banqueting.  A feast in the Old Testament was a time of renewal of covenant and refreshing of awareness of the requirements of the journey we are on.  It is a celebration of God’s love for us, his children, his sheep.  The Feast of the Passover became the Feast of the Lord’s Supper.  The transition was seamless, for the unleavened bread and cup of the vine of the Passover was the bread that Jesus broke and the cup of wine he blessed to be the emblems of his divine Atonement.  Thus, the cup of our blessedness is overflowing.  All we must do is sit down and partake.  It is available to all without money and without price.

6 Surely ^agoodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

When we realize the safety and security that is available to us when we make and keep the covenants, our hearts rejoice.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

The two verbs “shall” and “will” are not accidentally put in here.  Shall is a declaration of actions whose fulfillment are not in any doubt.  It portends the future in certain terms.  There is no uncertainty or waffeling connected to “shall”.  Look it up.  "My words shall all be fulfilled" said the Lord.

“Will” is an expression of desire.  What wilt thou have me do? was the question Paul asked.  The sacrament prayer speaks of those willing to take upon them the name of Jesus. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life--a declaration of certainty, intent, or expectation.  I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever--a declaration of desire, resolve, and decision.  I want to be there.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth, said John.  I want to be there.  Yea Lord, wash my feet and my whole body, said Peter.  What I want to hear most of all is the Lord himself saying to me: Well done, thou good and faithful servant.  Come in.  Sit down.  Enter into my rest. Let me put my arms around you and allow you to feel the fulness of my love for you.  You have proven faithful over many things, I will make you a recipient of all things that my Father has.

Testimony.

I have looked forward to serving this mission for most of my life.  As a young man it was my goal to serve a mission.  My patriarchal blessing says I shall bear my testimony in distant places.  My first mission was to South Africa.  Two weeks after I arrived there in April 1966 I participated in a testimony meeting in Port Elizabeth in Cape Province.  There is no place on teh planet more distant from my home in Rexburg Idaho.  Since Gaye and I formed our family it has been my desire to go with her out into the world somewhere to preach and teach and work as missionaries do.  We decided we will “go where you want us to go dear Lord” and we are excited to be on our way.  I am confident that the Lord’s work will go on with or without me, and I want to be on the field with the team, not on the sidelines.  I am a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army, but in this army and in this battle, I want to be a foot soldier in the front line if that is where the Lord needs me.  It may not be at the battle’s front, but after all, someone needs to be the leader of the first charge, going on as a Christian soldier, sounding the war cry “Watch and Pray”, wearing the whole armor of God including the shield of faith and the sword of virtue.  For it is true that the only way to secure our life, to save it, is to give it or surrender it to God.

The words to the song we just sang:     My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

My shepherd will supply my need; Jehovah is his name.

In pastures fresh he makes me feed beside the Living Stream

He brings my wand’ring spirit back when I forsake his ways,

And leads me for his mercy’s sake, in paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death, Thy presence is my stay;

One word of thy supporting breath drives all my fears away.

Thy hand in sight of all my foes doth still my table spread;

My cup with blessings overflows, Thine oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;

O may thy house be mine abode and all thy work be praise!

There would I find a settled rest while others go and come,

No more a stranger, nor a guest; but like a child at home.