New Year beginnings

 

January was a great month for us. We went to Guam for several days for a Senior Couples Conference on the 14th. The Conference was very enlightening, informative, and a lot of fun. These old geezers really know how to raise the spirits. < > Our mission here is now becoming quite clear to us and we are engaged in a very important work. We have started teaching an English class and will also be teaching a Temple Preparation class. We are very excited to get these programs going. Even though English is the official language here it is not used very much among the people, so they are always trying to find ways to brush up on it. The Temple Prep class we are very excited about. One of our Branch Presidents, President Makay and his family will be taking that class and getting ready to go to the Temple. He is a very good man who lost his job some time ago and has struggled to feed his family. A couple months ago he had to send them to one of the outer islands here while he stayed behind to take care of the affairs of his branch. He just got another job and so the family has returned and they will be taking the class together. You may have heard about the General Temple Patron Assistance Fund. It is a program that assists patrons to go to the temple for the first time. Pres. Monson spoke about it last Oct. in conference. The closest temple here is in the Philippines. < > We very much appreciate all your prayers. We miss you all and wish you a Happy New Year