"...because thou hast not murmured...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them...and it came to pass that when my father heard these words he was exceedingly glad..."
I Nephi 3:6-8

2 months to go!

2 months to go!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

It's Up then Down then Up Again

The last few days have convinced me that missionary work is an up and down situation.  One day you are in the clouds and the next you find yourself being smacked soundly on the ground.  We are working with some families that have proven that to be so.  Add that to the fact that I am suffering a fairly large dose of homesickness and it is a really large roller coaster ride.

There are times I can do nothing but shake my head and times that I am soaring.  This is a beautiful place with lots of gorgeous scenery but it would be a very difficult place to raise a family if you were not firmly rooted in the gospel and many here are not.  The country promotes and condones many lifestyles that are not in keeping with LDS values and it makes it very hard for people who are not strong.

It is amazing to me how tough some of these little families in our branch are in spite of having a lot of odds against them.  It is also amazing to me how little we appreciate what we have when living in Utah in the heart of "mormondom" surrounded by strength in numbers and belief.  It is so easy there and some of us make it so hard.  I guess it is like Ken always says, "The biggest battle you ever fight is the one that is between your ears."  We have everything going for us yet we still continue to fight it.

I got a beautiful e-mail of encouragement from my daughter today and another from my son.  I checked my facebook and my 13 year old grandson, Chandler, had posted a little reprimand for us all which I reposted.  Why is it soooo  hard for us to do the right things especially when surrounded by all the right things?  Why do we care more about what everyone else thinks than we care about what the Lord thinks.

We are working with an amazing Maori girl right now who is literally taking on the change of her whole lifestyle.  She is upbeat and happy.  She is enthusiastic and teachable.  She is excited about a new life coming her way in spite of the fact that she has had to change so much.  Right now she is on her 5th day of not smoking and she is excited about the possibility of a new way of living free from that habit.  Why?  For her beautiful little family for whom she wants a better life. 

Chandler, I reposted that post because I do believe.  I want to be a better person and I want that better part for my family as well.  Thanks for making me want to be better.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Surprise!

Well surprise surprise, this is Ken and not VeaLynn.....she is busy doing house things getting ready for a dinner we are hosting and then some more next week. We have learned one thing from our time here and that is FOOD followed with music is a BIG deal so I guess, like your sister said "when in Rome'. Anyway, we'll probably weigh 400 pounds when we get home.  This is a funny country.  This area has all the sheep, pigs and beef in the island but it still expensive to buy any. They feed dogs with cuts we pay extra for, they have so much. We have decided it is a good thing missionaries are not allowed to swim in the ocean because we have many slaughterhouses in Timaru and all are on the coastline and all dump straight into the ocean. You can tell when that is happening, thousands of gulls are having a field day with that. Sooooooo well stay out of the water for now. 

However yesterday, a family we have been teaching asked to be baptized.  We are thrilled about that.  Only problem is they want to be baptized in one of the main rivers here and it is still very cold.  If you read in the church news about a senior elder dying of frost bite expect your Vea Lynn home early. We also have another family getting closer too.   The other day she and I were talking and it dawned on us that just in our family we have more priesthood than the entire branch.  We feel fortunate about that and sad at the same time because these folks have been so kind and accepting to us. 

We are pushing to grow faster than i think they can stand but if they want a temple on the south island this branch needs to become a ward. It is like the wife of the branch pres. said this morning, "We need to get off our butts and do something if we want the Lord to bless us". Well said! Anyway we are doing great. Vea Lynn's health has not been better and she is loving this work so much and that pleases me. She teaches institute and after class teaches tai chi and some of the men even go so good. I am pretty busy with branch work and mission work at the same time but it has been great. We get to go to the temple in Oct. as the only stake on the south island has a stake week in the Hamilton temple. Feel bad for so many who can't go. 

This is such an expensive country and the cost is so much to get to the temple. Many members sacrifice much already that many simply can't make it happen on such low wages. We all hear in the south, and I hear many prayers that the church will grant them a small temple so they can be there often. As I heard an older Maori friend tell me he would "live in the temple" if we had one closer. Well better go, Vea Lynn will catch me writing e-mails and want to teach me more about the computor. Oh yes, we haven't been at odds too much but she is teaching me again how to wash the dishes so life goes on.
From the land of the long white cloud...............Ken and Vea Lynn love you all

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Look In Her Eyes

Sunday past, I had an experience that I will forever consider to be sacred.  It was very short but very powerful to me.  It was a very busy day as Sundays here usually are.  We normally have investigators coming to church and were watching for them.  That morning, the primary president had asked me to do a presentation of a little program we are setting up for the branch and the relief society teacher had asked me to teach part of her lesson.  One of Ken's speakers had called in sick and one had an emergency and so was going to be late.  Nothing on my mind, you know the feeling. : )

Anyway, sacrament meeting went off with few hitches and as I walked down the hall I saw one of the less actives we work with going into the branch president's office.  We have been working with her, her non-member partner and his son for a few weeks, an amazing story in itself which I may share at another time.  There was nothing unusual about this so I went on to gospel essentials as always.  We had a wonderful discussion there on prayer which I enjoyed very much.

After class, I needed to talk to Elder Jarvis about logistics and was planning to look for him when he came straight at me and said, Susan (name changed) needs to say good-bye.  I walked up to her and she grabbed me and hugged me like she would never let go.  The thoughts going through my mind were a big mix.  I thought perhaps something awful had happened but everything else seemed normal.  She was sobbing and I moved back as far as possible with someone hanging on to me like a frightened child. 

That is when I saw it, that look that I have seen multiple times here but never more profoundly than this moment.  That look in her sparkling, shining eyes that says, "Can I do this.  Will you help me.  I'm so happy but so scared!  I want so much to change but don't know if it is possible.  I want what you have."  It will be a very long time if not forever before I forget that look.  It was absolutely haunting in a positive kind of way.  I have seen it in the man who seemed like a child curled up in a chair pelting us with questions.  I have seen it in the 12 year girl in the 18 year old body that I had to have "the talk" with.  I have seen it in the man who lost his daughter and doesn't understand.  It made me want to do even more to help these brothers and sisters whom I have come to serve.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Our Mini-United Nations

Monday night, July 30, we went to "tea" with some very lovely people and I felt I needed to share these feelings. The family that we went to have dinner with is a beautiful little Argentine family. They have moved here to improve their way of life. They are from a large town in Argentina and I guess the work opportunities are limited there as well as the wages. Anyway, we found ourselves sitting at a table with a mini-united nations. We Americans were there with the Argentines, a German exchange student and her sponsor who is a Kiwi Maori lady. While we were sitting there, a call came in and a Brazilian family was quickly invited to join us.

We couldn't help but think what an opportunity this was for all of us with our language and cultural differences to take the time to get to know what we had in common. Opportunities like this have made me even more grateful that we chose to come on a mission. Most of the world is good as evidenced in these wonderful people at one table. The little German girl who is 15, is still having a time adjusting to the food here as well as the language and customs. I'm sure many things are unfamiliar to her but we remarked as we traveled to our little place what a brave young girl she is to travel half way across the world to learn new things. This is not to mention her parents who let her go. She is an only child.

The beautiful Maori lady who is all of 4'11 and 3/4", lost her husband a few months ago and took the brave step of trying to run their company by herself. It was too hard so she gave it up but invited an exchange student into her home to fill some lonely times. What a lovely thing to do. She is so cute and pretty amazing. Her great grandfather knew our great grandfather more than 100 years ago. We have a pictures of both of them in the things that we brought here with us. She is from the North Island but here we both are on the South Island connected through ancestors 100+ years ago.

The little girls of the Argentine family make me homesick for our little grandchildren. They are delightful little girls, one quiet and tentative, the other full of energy, both very sweet. Their mum and dad are wonderful, strong saints, committed to the gospel and the things it does for their family.  How wonderful it is that we have so many things in common to bring us together in learning about each other and sharing our lives and our hearts. 

I had planned to end here but we went to dinner again on Friday, this time with the Maori lady and her little exchange student and a couple who came to be a part of one another's lives when they both came here after WWII, she from England, he from Austria after serving in the German army and being held in a Russian prison camp.  His life was actually saved by being wounded and put in the hospital.  All of his other "mates" did not survive.

We watched as a 15 year old girl and a 90 year old man became united by their common language.  It was a lovely thing to behold.  The rest of us watched in amazement and then started our own little conference on genealogy.  The older couple are not members but they are really wonderful people with full lives and a great understanding of what is good and right.  We feel so fortunate to have been entrusted with this sacred opportunity. We can only hope and try to fill it well.