The Pacific Post

 Week 37 Welcome Lolly Leis and Good-bye Necklaces 27 April, 2025 Hello Everyone! First off, thank you for your calls, notes, texts, posts, and prayers. They are so thoughtful and really help us to feel connected and loved. We miss you and think of you often. This has been a busy week. (I love busy weeks). We are moving!!! We boxed up our desks on Friday and we are moving to the building next door. Our department, publishing and communication, is combining together. More to come on that next letter. It will be "interesting" for me and good for the department. I have recruited all of my friends and acquaintances to help me with my projects. Does that sound familiar? (Sometimes you don't want to be my friend because I get these ideas.)  I decided to make 55 Lolly Leis for the BYU Women's Soccer Team coming tomorrow. New Zealand's customary welcome is not a lei of flowers, but a lei of "lolly" candy. I first recruited the girls in our institute class. We ha...

 Week 36 "He is Risen!" and Hurricanes 20 April 2025 Happy Easter Everyone and welcome to the Papatoetoes Ward. Sister Burke is on the left and Sister Ali is on the right.   They serve with us in the Papatoetoe 1st ward.  This is our Easter family picture.  Sister Ali has completed her mission and goes home this Thursday and returns to Fiji.  Her story is one we hear often in New Zealand. Missionaries who faithfully serve and then return to their island to extremely difficult circumstances. She is the only member of her family.  She has two siblings and 8 step siblings.  Her step-father is Hindu and has rejected her because she joined the church.  None of her family is willing to take her in when she returns and the family moved across the island while she was gone, so she won't be going home to a ward that knows her. They also live in very humble circumstances. Your heart goes out to such faithful members willing to serve and who make such g...

 Week 35 The Hosanna Shout on Palm Sunday 13 April 2025 What an awesome week. On this Palm Sunday, we were able to stand with Elder Kearon and do the Hosannah Shout at the dedication of the New Zealand Temple. Almost 2 millennia's ago people lined the streets of Jerusalem shouting hosanna for the Savior as He entered the city on this same day. It was a wonderful way to spend the Sabbath. All the stake centers in the temple district participated in the dedication. We sat with K.C. and Judy and many other senior missionaries.  It was completely full and to hear them all sing "The Spirit of God" at the conclusion of the dedication was a spiritual highlight. We have an endowment session scheduled for this Thursday. Just a side note on the temple dedication, the full-time employees in our department handled all of the coverage, broadcast and interviews for the event.  They only allowed 100 people to attend the dedication and SLC is very prescriptive on the logistics of the eve...

Week 34 Conference and Easter Preparations 6 April 2025 We know you have seen our work cubicle before. (We usually eat our lunch here also but we are trying to go to the lunch room to be a little more social.) We have spent a little more time in our cubicle lately as our work has been more focused on preparing for upcoming events.  It seems to come and go in waves.  We will travel again in a few weeks.   In the meantime we are getting ready for Easter interfaith events and helping the communication directors in the island countries prepare for their upcoming events.  The Area leaders asked each island country to organize an interfaith dinner. They are hoping that it will become a tradition. Some islands have interfaith organizations already set up and some are struggling with relationships. The Church is perceived differently on each. We have been impressed with some of the events that are in the planning stages in Idaho and Arizona. Great Job! Isn't this amazin...