Week 55

Happy Birthday to our Family!!

31 August 2025

Hello everyone. Happy birthday to our family! I was just thinking what a great thing we started 41 years ago. Everyone of them contribute to our love and happiness. I couldn't have imagined 41 years ago the happiness my family would bring me, all 28, almost 30 of us. 

To celebrate Elder Shaw and I took a ferry to Auckland to buy "All Black" shirts.:()  We have tickets to a game in a couple of weeks and Elder Shaw really wanted a shirt. We ate dinner at a yummy Indian restaurant. After that we completed our day at "the house of the Lord". (That is what we call it now) I'm so grateful that it is close.

Flying Rickshaw

These two are our Stake YSA reps. The do a great job of running a very active YSA program in the Papatoetoe Stake. We teach institute on Wednesday night and this semester we are teaching BofM.  We have about 3 or 4 to start class and then as Polynesian time comes around, we have bout 12 to 16 to finish class. 

Deacon's Quorum in Kiribati

YW in Marshall Islands

This is what happens to senior missionaries when they need to catch a ferry on the Marshall Islands at low tide.

These are some of the best people on the planet. This is the New Zealand National Communication Council. They all have specific assignments on the council from political relationships, media relations, social media, JustServe, inter-faith, etc. We support the council and so we get to attend their meetings and help (eat)where we can.  We also sit on the Giving Machines Council for New Zealand and that is starting to get busy.  The picture below is the "Double Oinker."  One of the sisters ordered it and needless to say, the volume of food was amazing.  Please note that the only vegetables are two small potatoes and two swigs of broccoli. The bottom portion is a pork drumstick and the top portion is a huge pork-rind. 

This was the birthday celebration for the Communication Publishing Department (CPD).  That is our department although in this picture about half of the are out of town traveling on assignment.   Hatu Tiakia who is closest to the camera is the director and it was his birthday.  Such fun and talented people.   Because anything that is visual or printed for the Pacific runs through our department, we get see and work with all the departments of the Church.  (When we say visual or printed we mean any social media post, video or reel produced, flyers, brochures, PowerPoints, manuals, curriculum, translation, etc, it comes through our department). We have learned the Church is a massive and amazing operation all with the goal of sharing the message of the Savior and His gospel. So impressive.

I am filled with so much love when I look at this pictures. Let me explain so you can understand my feelings and feel some of that love too. 

The woman in the middle is Hina Garbut. She is the national communication director for French Polynesia (Tahiti). The 2 other women are her committee as social media and events specialists. Each island has faithful saints like these 3 women who serve as a very important channel for the Church to share every initiative or program or event sponsored by the Church: Light the World, Greater Love, Conference, Area Presidency's Area focus, music festivals (huge here), interfaith events, FSY &YSA conferences, and more. There are actually 3 channels: priesthood leader letters 2x a month (we write the letter and they appove), social media, and our country comms directors. All 3 channels work in a check and balance. We work on strengthen all 3 but at times, there are wholes and weaknesses. We work directly with our amazing directors and have developed such a love for them. We know there challenges, testimonies, and sometimes their family life. (I'm related to the one in Fiji, Scotland line.) This is their callings yet they give their all to proclaim the gospel in their little part of the world. For most of them, this was a huge undertaking and very overwhelming but because they were called by their Area 70 and they know where his authority comes from, they do their best. It's a privilege to get to know them, watch them serve, and occasionally visit their islands.

We are so grateful for all we have learned. This Church is amazing! I think I have said that before. You need to see it's out-reach! Missions change you and I am changed being a part of it. It is the Lord's Church.

We love you and miss you!

Elder and Sister Shaw