Senior Zone Conference

 Talofa Lava Aiga! ( A big hello Family!)

Another busy week here in Samoa!  We like to stay busy because it makes the time go faster and there's never a dull moment. The week started out with Elder Godderidge setting up a couple more bunkbeds, and a few other leftover jobs that he didn't get to over the weekend.  I think everyone's finally settled into their new mission quarters now after the big shake up with transfers last week. Tuesday our zone came to the temple so they held their district meeting at the mission home which was nice because we didn't have to drive across the island to attend it.  We have a new district leader and four other new Elders in our zone after the transfers.  New blood is good I guess.  But we will miss some of the Elders who moved out of our zone. Wednesday we worked all day instead of taking time off because we needed to be caught up with things so we could attend our Senior zone conference that was held on Thursday and Friday.  The conference started at 1:00 pm on Thursday and we had instruction from some of our fellow senior missionaries. The theme of the conference was "Seek Christlike Attributes".  We heard messages from Elder Tagg, Elder Martinez, Elder Bott, Sister Lunt,  Elder Bell ,and Elder Schroeder.  We did an exercise where we were supposed to choose one or two attributes of Christ that we felt we'd like to work on to help us become more like him. and set some goals to help us achieve these attributes.  

We went to a temple session on Friday evening and they did the session in English because the whole session was reserved for the senior missionaries. It was nice not to have to wear the headphones for translation.  After the temple session, we ate dinner together.  On Friday we were to wear p-day clothes and take a bus to Saniatu for the remainder of the conference, but of course, Elder G. had to repair a broken water pipe because Sisters had no water and I had an Elder that cut his hand late Thursday night, so I had to meet up with him to clean it up good put a couple of steri-strips on it so we didn't get to ride the bus and we just drove up after we got the missionaries fixed up.  We were late and didn't get to hear most of the program for Friday morning.  But we listened to Sister Reid and President Reid and then had boxed lunches,  After everyone else loaded the bus to return to the mission home, Elder G. and I stayed and explored a little trail on the Saniatu property before we headed back. 

On Saturday, we did a longer run in the morning and, took care of a few medical issues, watched the first half of the SV football game on utube and then went to a baptism.  When we got back from the baptism, we were surprised to find out that SV pulled off an upset and won the game in the second half!  Saturday evening we took a new mattress to one of the sisters that had bed bugs in her mattress, a new microwave to some Elders who had their microwave stolen because they left it outside after finding it full of maggots in their MQ because "someone" left a container of chicken in it for who knows how long.

Sometimes I wonder about these missionaries and their lack of common sense!

Sunday was an early rise to make the hour and a half drive to a 9:00 church meeting in our zone. Then we delivered needs to the whole zone after that.  Before heading back home, we stopped at a place  where we'd seen signs for a coastal walk but never had time to do it.  It was a beautiful walk along the coast where there were lava fields that we walked on and a pretty big drop-off down to the water. The force of the waves crashing into the rocks had formed big holes in the rocks. When we got home, I made Sunday dinner and Sister Schofield came and ate with us and shared her home made rolls. After that I made Elder G. his favorite raisin filled cookies so he'd have something to snack on for a few days.  But I've eaten more of them than the has!  HAHA

Here's a few things I gleaned from our zone conference last week:

-Our missionary Purpose is to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end." This is the Doctrine of Christ.

As Senior missionaries, we are kind of like a a M.A.S.H. unit, we're all working together for the same purpose.  We may not be on the front lines like the missionaries are, but we are still important and have the same purpose.

-We are here to provide strength to our young missionaries.

-Just as vital as what you do is who you are and who you are becoming.

- Ether 12:41 "And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may abide in you forever."

-D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." 

 

Hope you all have a great week!  LOVE YOU !!!

Outtake / intake craziness

 Talofa Lava aiga!

Today is Monday. I'm just getting around to my weekly email. It was a crazy weekend for Elder Godderidge trying to get all the new missionaries and transferred missionaries  settled in their new areas. We were busy putting up curtains, hauling beds to MQ's, putting up more outdoor lights, repairing, delivering things that disappeared with the missionaries that moved out, like toilet brushes, mops, brooms, garbage cans, and cleaning supplies.  Two of the transfers each lost one of their suitcases--how does that happen?   Sometimes I wonder about the maturity of some of these 18+ year-old missionaries!  

Last week started out with getting things ready for the outtake and intake that would be happening. We had one Elder going home and 7 elders and sisters who were leaving to go to their assigned missions after serving here as "visa workers". A couple of the visa workers have been in our mission for over a year!  They are finally going to Papua New Guinea where they were originally called. One of the sisters is heading to the Ogden Utah mission!  Her name is Sister Banse, so watch for her! Maybe she'll get assigned to Smithfield!   There was a dinner and testimony meeting for them at the mission home on Tuesday evening, but no big outtake meeting on Wednesday morning anymore.  So no more singing and Hakas! The new mission leaders have a different vision for outtakes.   On Wednesday, most of them flew home or to their new mission assignments.  Thursday some of our new missionaries arrived from the New Zealand MTC and Friday all of the Provo MTC arrived as well as 6 local Samoan missionaries who are starting their missions here while they wait for Visa's to their assigned missions.  So there were 17 new missionaries total.  We've got another football player in this group--Elder Manumaleuna from Salem Oregon, signed with Oregon Ducks, recruited as a quarterback.  He said his jersey number was 6, for his six sisters!  (he's the only boy in the family).  There are more sisters than Elders again, and only one white missionary this intake, a farm boy from Tropic, Utah (down by Bryce Canyon)

Because of so many new missionaries coming in, it was a big transfer!  Lots of missionaries got moved around.  Elder Christensen, the one from Nibley, is back in Upolu so we might see a little more of him now.

On Sunday, we drove to our zone and attended Church at a ward in our zone.  We got flower necklaces again and they tried to get us to sit on the stand, but we declined.  We like to just be normal members.  It was a pretty exhausting week. But we survived.

Samoa is gearing up for a huge event coming in October! It's the  "CHOGM", which stands for "Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting". It is an annual meeting of the leaders of the British Commonwealth (56 member countries) and this year it is being held in Samoa.  They.ve been preparing for it all year but lately we've been noticing how all the villages are sprucing up their streets. painting rocks and planters and poles, building decorative walls, planting more flowers and shrubs, putting up flags, etc.  Every village has their own unique designs.  I guess there will be a day when King Charles will be driving through the villages in a motorcade-- he's only going to be here for a day or two-- but many of the heads of government from different countries in the commonwealth will be here.  So it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks.  They're closing schools and shutting down roads and things. Some say there's going to be a shortage of food for the locals so we should stock up.  Anyway, it's been fun watching the creativity of the villagers in decorating their towns.  I'll have to send some pictures when it gets closer.  

So that's the assignment for the grandkids this week- look up "British Commonwealth" and learn about what it is and what countries belong to it, and what their purpose is. 

At our district meeting last Tuesday, we watched the Birthday celebration for President Nelson since it was on Tuesday for us. We took 6 pizzas to our district for lunch after the meeting and they devoured them!  Everyone was supposed to share something that they  learned or that stood out to them from the devotional.  I liked the message His Granddaughter gave about three things that stsnd out to her about her grandfather. First was his LOVE for everyone, second was his STEADFASTNESS--he show's up, educates himself, is dedicated to his family, and third was his RESPECT FOR WOMEN.  I also didn't know that he was the one who said "Gather Israel on Both Sides of the Veil"

What stood out to Elder Godderidge was President Holland's tribute and his comment that under President Nelson's leadership there has been "productive unity" in the quorum; Pastor Amos Brown's tribute that President Nelson has "Justified his existence" and called him "a brother from another mother"; and the song by his grandchildren, "I Will Be What I Believe". 

 What stood out to you?

All island conferences with pacific islands president Elder Meurrs

 Talofa!

This week was a busy one for the mission!  Elder Muers, who is the Pacific Area President and his wife were here all week for their annual "mission tour". Each year, one of the members of the Area Presidency comes to tour the mission and meet with all of the missionaries. On Monday, he met with the MLC, then Tuesday they went to Savaii and did a zone conference there for those three zones,  Thursday was back in Upolu for a conference with 3 East Island zones, Friday with 3 West Island. zones, and Saturday in American Samoa with the missionaries there.  We attended the conference on Thursday with the East Zones because that's the one our Zone that we're assigned to attended. The conferences had morning sessions, lunch, then afternoon sessions. The missionaries were taught about the importance of involving members of the ward in missionary work so that the new investigators can have a connection with friends in the wards to help them stay active after they're baptized.  lThey also taught about inviting and then following up after inviting and the importance of setting goals and better utilizing the Preach My Gospel App in keeping track of those they are teaching. Many of our missionaries aren't very good at using that and they're trying to encourage it so they'll have more accurate records. 

Other events of the week : Tuesday was quiet because the leaders were gone to Savaii for zone conference and some of the other office people were home sick. I was the only one there for part of the day and it was kinda nice!     

Wednesday was p-day for missionaries so I had a few missionaries come in for things in the morning, then went around on errands with Elder G. in the afternoon. We had language class at 5:00 and then fed Elder Amitunanai and Elder Lemalu dinner Wednesday night. 

Thursday was the conference we attended so we were there most of the day, but left the conference early to go pick up two Elders from the ferry because they were coming over from Savaii for Doctor appointments on Friday morning. Elder G. was a little late for his basketball coaching gig!   We fed the two Savaii Elders and the AP's dinner Thursday night and the Savaii Elders stayed at our place overnight. Elder Ika brought his Ukelele and sang to us.

Friday morning on our run, we saw floats lining up along the street by the harbor for the Miss Samoa parade.  There were some pretty fancy floats made of aff sorts of flowers and greenery!  I guess the Miss Samoa contest is a pretty big deal here! We were busy all morning with the Doctor appointments and then taking the Elders back to catch the ferry.  Elder G. stopped on the way back to do some wiring to put up more outdoor lights on one of the Sister MQ's.

Saturday morning we had to get up at 4:00 AM  and take Elder and Sister Meurs to catch a flight to Tutuilla for the zone conference there because something was wrong with their paperwork when they were supposed to go on Friday and they had to reschedule for Saturday morning. The Mission leaders and AP's flew there on Friday so we got to take them to the airport.  We had a nice visit with them on the early morning drive.  They are very down to earth and friendly and were not intimidating at all. They are from Australia and have pretty thick accents so it's fun listening to them talk.  They have a busy travel schedule for the next few weeks.  They were going to Tonga to do another mission tour next week and then to SLC for the week of conference and all of their General Authority meetings.  Saturday morning when we got back Elder G. started on another project for the mission leaders. This one was putting together a weight machine that President Reid had ordered before he came to the mission and it took this long for it to get here.  He also put up some balloons and posters that we made for Toa's birthday and hung them on the fence by their home.  He was in Tutuilla so we just had to send him a picture of it and text him a happy birthday.  Didn't work out as planned since he wasn't here on his birthday--oh well.

Saturday afternoon we went over to the SE zone for a baptism, and when we got back home Elder G. went to work to finish putting together the weight machine--it was more complicated than he thought it would be, but he got it done.

Highlight of the week?  The replacement mission credit card for the one that got lost with the wallet 12 weeks ago finally came after many many calls and emails to people who didn't seem to know where it was. When Elder G. got frustrated with all the excuses and threatened to move up the chain and contact the first presidency about it, someone finally decided they better track it down! And low and behold, it showed up in the mail a few days later! HAHA!  Love and miss you all!

Power out! No problem - carry on!

 

Greetings from the South Pacific. I'm sending a picture today of the lei I got when walking into the Stake Conference we attended. Beautiful pink and green fresh flowers.  The Samoan 

people are so loving and thoughtful.  I think they were made for all of the ushers, but one of the ushers took his off and put it on me.

It was a windy, rainy night last night in Samoa.  We stayed over on the Southeast side because one of the stakes (Malaela) in our zone was having their stake conference so we went to the Saturday night meeting and then the Sunday 9:00 AM session.  When we got to the stake center there was a big power pole blown over and power lines down across the entrance to the church.  People were just walking in and ducking under them like it was no big deal.  When we got seated we listened to beautiful children's primary voices singing prelude music without accompaniment. The meeting started without power, so we couldn't really hear the speaker from where we were sitting towards the back.  One of the ushers started waving at us to come forward and take a seat closer to the front that he had found. (Guess we looked like celebrities, or they're just nice to old people with missionary tags,haha) The primary choir was full of beautiful children dressed in white trimmed with yellow, and their leaders all had bright yellow dresses.  They sang "I Am a Child of God" acappella for the opening song because there was no power for the electric piano. Children in Samoa sing not with their voices, but with their 

whole souls! Everyone in the congregation could hear them clearly!  After the stake business, the children sang another song without the piano, this time where they sang two different verses simultaneously, the girls singing one part and the boys singing the other. This would be difficult with accompaniment, but without it, it would be extra hard!  They sang without a hiccup, in perfect tune, perfect timing and perfect harmony.  Shortly after they finished, we heard a big motor starting up and then purring along at the back of the chapel--a generator had been found, and extension cords hooked up, and microphones and keyboard were operational. So everyone was  able to hear the remainder of the conference.  Sister Reid spoke at the meeting.  She was so impressed with the primary that she changed her talk and shared some things she learned from the children  while they were singing today. These were some things she observed:

-The children relied on the voices of those around them to stick to their given part. This reminded her that we should surround ourselves  with people who will help us achieve our goals. 

-They focused intently on their lyrics, while the other half sang different lyrics.  This reminded her of Lehi's dream and the importance of staying focused and holding on to the iron rod.

-They looked to their leaders for guidance when they were unsure. This reminded her to look to our leaders to guide us, and to be a leader that will teach others to walk in the light.

- They continually got louder in an attempt to stay on course. This reminded her  that we should drown out the noise around us and share the Gospel with conviction.

The Primary choir closed the conference with one of my favorite primary songs when I was a child, "Give, Said the LIttle Stream". They sang with all of their might! and the electric keyboard accentuated their voices beautifully this time!

I, like Sister Reid was deeply touched by the music of these beautiful primary children! and the resilience of the Samoan people when things don't go as planned.  They didn't lament, they just  did the best they could under the circumstances and found the roses among the thorns.  I read a quote, not sure who it's from--"If we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change (us)."

  

 We had some new experiences this last week--some good, some not so good.  

-Elder Godderidge did more 'honey do's" around the mission home to spruce things up.  Hung a new big screen TV on the wall and pictures on either side of it in the conference room.

-we went on a hike Wednesday afternoonto Mount Vaivai.  Hard to find the trail and lots of overgrowth to hike through.  I scratched up my legs pretty good!

-Had another home invasion( no assault involved) incident and a peeping tom incident, so President Reid brought in the four sisters affected by that  and we had to do more shuffling and "counseling" with scared Sister missionaries.

-Blew up my blow dryer!  Had to spend a good amount on a new one here that has the wrong plug for when I get home.

-Elder G. started coaching a basketball team for a group of 12 yr. old girls and boys on Thursday evenings.  (I could't go with him, so I'll have to take pics next week) 

And then I already shared about our weekend.  

Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  Love ALL of you!