Elder Butlers Last Stand

The "Last Supper" (with Elder Butler) The Zone Leaders will be back again next week for another one of Sister Tiffany's fabulous feasts. Elder Strum was a welcome addition.

Here the Elders are conversing on all things spiritual and maybe a few other subjects that happened to come up. Always solving problems, that's what ZL's and AP's do, right?

Just prior to Elder Butler disappearing into the Airport we were able to catch him for a few parting shots. It was a sad parting but we hope that we will soon see him again.

You might notice that Elder Butler is sporting the Super Cool Shades. Yep, He's a natural!

We have still not mastered the ability of letting go of our Elders. It is a sad occasion every time one of our beloved men go home. We slump around for a few days until we almost get used to the idea, then we have a good cry and blog it. God Speed Elder Butler and give our homeland a kiss for us.

Serving on the island of Uman

"Chuukese Taxi"

This is one of the Chuukese taxi's and a way to get around here on the island. $1.00 one way. I suppose it could be a lot of fun :) We DON'T have any plans to try it out and let you know. It looks way to hot for us!

Elder Johnson had his parents riding in a taxi like this with 40 other people while they were here picking him up. I guess he wanted to give them the full Chuukese experience. Not that he ever took the taxi, he drove a truck with air conditioning when he served in Chuuk.

Clean liv'in

ET (that's what the boys call him at the electronic store) is helping do his part cleaning the apartment. Every other week he takes the rug out for a beating while I sweep and mop the floor.

All of us recognize that a certain amount of housework needs to be done to provide for the physical care of our apartment, but doing housework is something most of us—women, as well as men and children—would often gladly delegate to someone else. We commonly complain that housework is sheer drudgery, that it is unnoticed unless it is left undone.

“Who can gauge the value of that special chat between husband and wife as they clean and do laundry together? … And how do we measure the relationship togetherness and cooperating that must accompany successful working together? Perhaps the greater good is contained in the lessons of life we learn working together.

Sometimes I feel like Cinderella. While mopping I sing to ET

Cinderelly, Cinderelly

Night and day it's Cinderelly, Make the fire, fix the breakfast

Wash the dishes, do the mopping, And the sweeping and the dusting

They always keep her hopping, She goes around in circles

Till she's very, very dizzy, Still they holler

Keep a-busy Cinderelly!

We do what we can for entertainment... After all we are on the little old island of Chuuk in the middle of the Pacific

President Kimball has suggested that the process of working together to maintain our home and provide for our temporal needs can also help us put the gospel into action in our lives.

Mechitiw Branch "tearing it up"

The Mechitiw area has not had a Branch President for a while because the past president was a missionary, Elder Robertson, and he served honorably for 11 months but it was time to return home to Happy Valley, Utah. The Elders now serving in the Mechitiw Branch are Elder Jones and Obray. They have been working hard with the inactive list and have made a lot of friends.

Last month we had a youth conference here on the island and the elders made sure they got the word out to a lot of the youth. Because of the relationships they have built many of the youth attended this conference. The spirit was in attendance and touched this young group of kids, bearing witness to them. The following week the kids prayed that their branch would get worthy priesthood and become strong once again. Ordinary men are given the authority of the priesthood. Worthiness and willingness—not experience, expertise, or education—are the qualifications for priesthood ordination. The power of the priesthood is God’s power operating through men and boys and requires personal righteousness, faithfulness, obedience, and diligence.

Great news! They now have a branch president again, President Weita and he has counselors, they also have filled the auxiliary callings. With the help and strong testimonies of the missionaries they have 4 young men preparing to go on a mission, 2 have already got their papers submitted.

They have had 3 baptisms in the past 6 weeks and have 5 more scheduled for this coming weekend. We have been teaching temple prep classes there and are excited for the wonderful blessings this branch is getting. As you can tell a lot of work has been happening in this area.

This is Branch President Willy Weita and his lovely wife Sister Reiko Weita.

Bernie's One!

This place is Bernie's one store ~ they sell the BEST fresh baked cinnamon rolls. They don't stay on the shelf for long. We make a call and ask "are you baking cinnamon today" if yes, they put a couple of bags aside for Sister Tiffany until we can pick them up. I know when she has cinnamon rolls, we won't be having breakfast or dinner for a couple days. That is pretty much all she will eat when they are fresh.

This little store sells a lot of different type junk food for cheaper prices than the rest of the island. It is always busy here and they just recently put in this new parking lot. Before you would have to walk through muddy water to get to the door it was terrible but the cinnamon is worth it!

Going Postal...

Chuuk is growing up. Our new post office is open. What a wonderful day for all! They even have air conditioning and a computer that works. Those poor Post Office guys have been working so hard and sweating to death for such a long time at the old place. We hope they will feel better now and be happier. (pwa pwa)

This building has been under construction since we got here. Right after Christmas last year the post office lost the contract on the building they were in and so they moved to a temporary building. It was not well organized and their system was labor intensive. Running upstairs and down with no appreciable ventilation or Air Con so their days were long and hot and the customers were semi impatient which created an osukasuk. (confusion, problem)

Zone District meeting for September

We now get together once a month for a Zone meeting right after our Zone leaders come back from Zone Council in Guam. This is a new event that is being done in all Mission fields. Isn't great that we all do the same thing everywhere in the world?

“For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say” God will put prepared people in the way of His prepared servants who want to share the gospel.

“Prepare to share [the gospel] by filling your mind every day with the truths of the gospel.”

“The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”

There is much we can do to influence and expand the endowment of faith we receive through the Holy Spirit. When that teaching is given and received by the Holy Ghost, “the Spirit of truth” (see D&C 50:17–22), the seed of faith in Christ is planted. Paul taught this to the Romans when explaining that all may receive the gift of faith: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In other words, faith cometh by hearing the message that is the word, or gospel, of Christ.

“Lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men"

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

The Church needs you. The Lord needs you. The world needs you—yes, ten thousand more of you. There are many out there who need exactly what you have to offer. They are not easy to find, but they will not be found unless there are those who are prepared and willing to seek them out.

It is our testimony that our own faith in Christ will grow wonderfully as we seek day by day to know and to do the will of God. Faith, already a principle of action, will then become also a principle of power.

Teaching on the island Ramonum

We are not sure we are supposed to have this much fun, but we go and do as the Lord says' True it is very hot here in Micronesia and we sweat constantly (as you can see ET's towel in his back pocket for wiping his brow) and we don't get to go swimming :( This is the island of Ramonum, we teach a temple class each week here. It is one of the most beautiful islands here and yeah, it has a beach. In fact the elders house is right on the beach... This is one of the smaller islands in the Lagoon and the Church has been received here very well. The outer island people are more traditional than on the main island, Weno. They greeted us with a head flower lei > handmade and very beautiful. Usually we are greeted with a coconut to drink also. And they are very tasty in Ramonum.

Temples, ordinances, covenants, endowments, and sealings have been restored, precisely as prophesied. Ordinances of the temple provide for reconciliation with the Lord and seal families together forever. Obedience to the sacred covenants made in temples qualifies us for eternal life—one of the greatest gifts of God to man.

This is our first class but when the picture was taken there were a couple of people missing that will join us this next week. They are beautiful people with great spirits.

On the boat ride back Elder Tiffany is sporting his life jacket and flower lei, oh and let's not forget about those SuPer cool sunglasses... What a stud!!!

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"Night out for the Elders"

The Elders work hard all week so every now and then they need to treat themselves to a night out. Of course they love PIZZA, who doesn't?

Elders - Walters, Huppe, Fisher and Lina

Serving in Sapuk Village on Weno "Elders Kearl and Lina"

Serving on the island of Uman "Elder Lavides and Bowers"

Serving in Wichap Village on Weno "Elders Walters and Fisher

Serving on the island of Ramonum Elders Sofele and Johnson

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Some where over the rainbow...

Always stay positive, because after the storm comes the rainbow. Why would a person take the pot of gold when they could have the rainbow? If you want the rainbow, you must put up with the rain. If there's no pot of gold at the end of your rainbow, maybe you are at the wrong end. Never miss a rainbow because you're looking down. Rainbows are proof that God keeps his promises. It takes the rain and the sunshine to make a rainbow. The rainbows of life follow the storms.

Articles of Faith 11

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own cconscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

Our Road, Our Vehicle

Yesterday we were reading a blog about Chuuk and we realized that Chuuk is exactly the way this gentleman described it, and we loved it. Now granted we are missionaries, here to do the Lords work, but we are also us, (Dixon & RoseMary). We have learned so many things that it would be impossible to put them all down. Whether we were here on a mission or just being a resident here we would have learned these things. Chuuk is a place where you will learn from, if you choose to learn. Since we have been here some people have said things to us, such as,” you have changed and grown so much spiritually.” That is true, we have, but we would have learned and grown spiritually whether we were in Chuuk or serving somewhere else, because frankly, that’s life. Growing and learning are choices, your attitude determines whether or not you will apply it. In the past there were times when we were open to discussing Gospel principles but opportunities were missed because there might have been an uncomfortable atmosphere. So our chance to learn was given to us by other circumstances and by other people. Our quest now is to be open to all who come seeking but to also be learning. Our faith is sufficient that we can embrace differing views.

The reason we feel the need to write about this on our blog, is this, our blog reaches many people from many walks of life. People from many different faiths, and some that don't have a faith. We love all our friends and family and never want to push you away from us. So we feel that some things might need to be clarified. Although we have tried to be accommodating to all faiths, we now realize that we may not have been doing that.

As you all know, we have been teaching a temple preparation class that we have previously blogged about. We teach about 20 plus people and they are learning about covenants we make in the temple. We believe this is a very important step to be able to live together with our Father in Heaven once again. Anytime you teach you learn much more than the students and we realize that is why we are called to teach. Not only to help them but to teach us. So this is why we wanted to create this post.

We believe that the Lord's grace is immense enough that he blesses people with his Spirit even if they know nothing about it.

"Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things"

Alma taught; if all you can do is arouse yourself simply to have a desire to believe, then that will be enough to allow you to experiment upon the word of God and grow that humble openness, first into faith and then into knowledge.

Humility is something we all must learn no matter what walk we choose to walk. The key, we believe, is to understand applying what we have learned and keep walking.

We feel like we've been around the block a few times in a couple different vehicles. Our explorations has touched a few differing philosophies and ideas. We know that we have taken on a life of religious observance now that wasn't in our repertoire before but we are following the path that our footsteps led to according to the dictates of our hearts. This mission was and is in respect for the many wonderful blessings we have received along the way. It continues to teach us about great blessings we can yet receive and share. So all of the experiences that we have had before we started down this path serves us to understand what we have to offer and reflect on.

We love you all and hope we can keep you entertained and share more of our experiences with you. We are a little over our halfway point now. This mission is not for sissy's and at times it has been tough. Other times it has been completely wonderful. We testify that the Lord does know us, he gives us what WE "THINK" WE need and he has given US this wonderful opportunity to serve the Chuukese people which we have come to love very much and will miss when we leave.

Sunny day for working in Uman...

We are off to get some work done on the island of Uman. We were pretty excited to try out the new bench on the boat. It's quite comfy too.

In the past we sat on the wood planks and it can be a rough ride on our derrieres. We haven't left the dock here President and we don't have our life jackets on yet, we are only posing for a picture.

See President we have them on... Example, example, example

May we be filled with gratitude for the right of choice, accept the responsibility of choice, and ever be conscious of the results of choice.

This is the island of Uman and today we will serve with Elder Bower and Elder Lavides.

We will talk of Christ, we will rejoice in Christ, we will preach of Christ, we will prophesy of Christ … that all children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins … [and] may look forward unto that life which is in Christ

>When we arrived on the island, the elders were working on their action board for the week.

Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is our goal. Such a goal is not achieved in one glorious attempt but rather is the result of a lifetime of righteousness, an accumulation of wise choices, even a constancy of purpose. As with anything really worthwhile, the reward of eternal life requires effort.

Here the Elders wanted to show their family they now have great big machetes for working and preparing coconuts. The day was spent walking and asking the locals where one of our members was currently living. We were told just keep going a little farther. We did, and then the next person would say the same thing and so it went. Along the way we were asked to stop and talk a little here and a little there.

This sweet lady and her beautiful daughter invited us in to rest and visit with us. She had one of the nicest homes we have ever been in here.

The Elders made a appointment to return the next day to share a message of Christ.

After a good deal of walking we ended up in the village of Paratu where our good brother was reported to live. Seems he moved to Saipan some time ago.

We returned to our starting point and took refreshments (coconut water and pineapple).

After speaking with President Billy, the Branch President for awhile, we called it a day and returned to our home island via the little boat with our able boatman, Roger.

We're working on video's that we will be posting soon so that all you Moms out there can see more of the areas that your wonderful sons are serving in.