Week 52

Pioneer Day and Prime Ministers

10 August 2025

Much of our week this week was working to arrange hosting for the king of Tonga going to Temple Square, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu meeting with Elder Bednar when he is in the US,  and Elder Meurs (the Pacific Area President) meeting with the new President of New Caledonia.   Our part of this process is the communication between all those involved, drafting letters, invitations, and bios and in the case of New Caledonia we track down who in the country has the best connection to the President Office's.  I believe most members of the Church have no idea the volume of dignitary visits and hosting that goes on all around the world.   For example, our department arranged for many of the ambassadors from Pacific to meet with Elder Meurs so that they can discuss how to get visa approved for missionaries.   A good portion of what we do is connecting people and building relationships that can assist the work in the Pacific.

The three photos above are a cultural anomaly.   These are children in Papua New Guinea who know nothing of pioneers in America.  In fact most of those children live in homes with no electricity.  Yet, they are members of the Church and value the teachings and our history, so what do they do, they learn about the early pioneers by making their own caps and hats.   So sweet to see the dedication to the gospel throughout the Pacific.

The Butterfields from Gilbert, AZ.  They serve in Welfare and Self-Reliance and are dedicated servants doing a job they had no idea how to do 2 months ago. Great people!

Zone Activity at the Auckland Botanical Garden. It was a photo treasure hunt. I practiced my photography skills. We were divided into groups. Each stop along the path had certain photography criteria. 3 judges determined the best photo.

Notice the bumble bee.

The criteria for this photo was "creative photo in nature". Kelly titled it "All Natural in Nature". We won!

We were invited to an 80th birthday party for a man in our ward. We have heard that Islanders go all out for birthdays so we didn't want to miss it. Crazy big deal!! Full meal provided for 200 people, speeches, and a full program with cultural talent "items" such as hulas, bagpipes, river dancing, Cook Island drummers, etc. These people really know have to express themselves with music, song, and dance. They are not timid. We really enjoyed the even. The Cook dancers brought Kelly up to dance with them. He killed it. Everyone was talking about it today at church. (A brother in Elder's Quorum said, "Don't you know to leave the room when Cook gets up to dance? They always bring people up to dance with them.") Kelly didn't get the memo.

10 ward Relief Society sisters, 50-75 years old performing a fast hula. They probably soaked in a hot tub after that number. Some have still got and some not so much.

Bishop's daughter spontaneously joined a hula and stole the show. She was adorable and did a great job. They learn young.

Nancy is in our institute class. She is very shy and will not answer any questions but she sure can express herself in dance. Tongan. Sooo beautiful.

Elder Suli from Vanuatu. He has been out on his mission for one month now and his eyes were bulging at the sights and culture. He had his phone going the whole time. He wasn't smiling during the bagpipes.:)

Breakfast Help. Area 70s come in to the Area Office 2 times a year for training. I like kitchen duty. It's my place of comfort, especially when the help is so fun.

We are coming up on one year out this week. It's hard to believe it has been a year. It's flying by. What do I love after a year of service:

1. Study time

2. Our institute class

3. My pillow

4. Fellow senior missionaries

5. A quiet evening at home

6. Our Toyota hybrid

7. Walks on the beach

8. The talented Church employees we work with.

9. The Savior Jesus Christ

Hard to believe it has been a year. Six months to go. We feel like we have just scratched the surface on what we want to accomplish while we are here. A mission is such an eye opening experience. Every where you look, you see needs. Needs to help the Church organization and the people. A mission requires you to get out of your comfort zone and the Lord stretches you in ways you didn't imagine. The longer we serve, the more amazing it is to watch the Lord's hand in everything we do and in the lives of those we work with. There is something rewarding about waking up each day and knowing that you will spend 10 to 12 hours doing only the Lord's work. The spirit of senior missionary work is hard to describe but certainly tangible.  There are some occasional hard and frustrating days, but at the end of the day, you lay your head down and you know you spent the full day doing the Lord's work full-time.  We miss all of you and we pray for you.  

With love,

Elder and Sister