Faith in Christ is Born of the Spirit

Baptism days are such a wonderful blessing. Today we had 3 and the zone is only 10 baptisms away from reaching their yearly goal.  We are all pulling together to help meet this years goal and surpass it by many more.  Elders Obray and Rainey from the Mechitiw Branch and Elders Allen and Pita from the Tonoas Branch have been working hard sharing the gospel.   

Our faith in Christ is born of the Spirit as we hear the word of God taught by those who are His commissioned servants, both living and dead. As we build upon that foundation, our faith is strengthened by prayers of faith that have become a part of our daily life and sometimes a part of our hourly life. Our mortal existence is necessary to fulfill the plan of salvation. We must therefore live in this world, but we must also resist the worldly influences that are ever before us.

Micah (member) Elders Allen and Selander serving in Tonoas

The gift of the Holy Ghost, given to us when we are confirmed, gives us the ability to discern the difference between the giving ways of the Kingdom of God and the taking practices of the world. 

We need the Holy Ghost as our constant companion to help us make better choices in the decisions that confront us daily.

Elders Obray with his new cool sunglasses and Elder Rainey learning the Chuukese signing.

Good Job! Elder Huppe

We had our first district meeting with Elder Huppe as our district leader.  He did a good job!  We discussed how we can share the gospel with part family members and give the members the needed strength to teach and continue loving and setting a good example.  As taught by Elder Russell M. Nelson we encourage others to keep all that is good and true and then see if we can add more. We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints follow the Lord Jesus Christ and teach of Him.    

 Picture time, see we know how to have a good time and keep everything in perspective. Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self.

 This is our newest Elder Vehikite he has only been with us for one week.  He is such a sweet heart.  He is the nephew of our good friend Mele Massey from Tonga who now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.  What a small world, we are thrilled to be serving in the same mission with him.  The little "minnie me" wanted to come to our meeting so that he could share his testimony.  He already loves Elder Vehikite.

This beautiful water fall is not normally running daily in this area, but today it rained so hard all day we had water falls everywhere while we were in the Wichap Village.  It was a beautiful, wet day!

Sharing the Gospel on Uman

We had such a wonderful day working out on the island of Uman this week with Elders Bowers, Peck, and Branch President Semper Billy.  It was a sunny day, the water was still fairly smooth for the boat ride over.  Thank goodness because it can be a rough ride at times.

We met up with the elders and took a few pictures, made a plan and then we went a walking. We visited, then walked, then visited and walked some more.  Oh and let's not forget the sweating.  Yes indeed it is always a day of sweating.  It is all just part of our mission here in the beautiful islands of Chuuk, Micronesia.

 This is a picture of Elder Peck and Elder Bowers.  We wanted to show the parents the front yard of their house with the view of the ocean.  The house is located just above the church house with a beautiful view.

Elder Tiffany says; Hello Sister Peck, your son is a wonderful missionary.  See, even the children want to hang out with the missionaries.  God is preparing people to receive our testimony of the restored truth.  He requires our faith and our action to share what has become so precious to us and those we love.

 We are off with this little guy in the red.  "Rickie" really likes being with the elders.  Elder Bowers said a prayer in Chuukese and when he was finished, "Rickie", in English said, "Elder Bowers you did a good job". That surprised Elder Bowers and they both just fell in love with this kid.  Rickie is the branch President youngest grandson.  He stayed with us until the end. He walked up the hill and then back down and all over the one side of the island, about 3 hours of time.  Never complained, cried or wined and walked the entire time without shoes. Tough little guy!  All of us united as one can qualify for the guiding influence of our Heavenly Father as we choose carefully and correctly. We are engaged in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We, like those of olden times, have answered His call. We are on His errand. We shall succeed in the solemn charge.

We are hanging out taking a rest on some "old war relics"

This is the hill we climbed, we were all just happy it wasn't raining, because it is very slippery when wet.  It's a good thing we are all strong.   See Sister Peck Elder Oaks is right!  (He told us the story)  AWESOME...  

We made it to the top of the first hill, these two are just being funny and pretending they are afraid. When Sister Tiffany is around they know she has the camera out and will be taking lots of pictures.  Plus they are always working the camera to get on the repictureator. Even though these two have made it on many times already.  

This beautiful family was one we visited and the elders will be back to teach the husband lessons. It was such a pleasure to visit with them and we were warmly accepted.  Sometimes while we teach about the gospel through a less formal discussion, we are able to share testimonies by the way we live our life.  D&C 38:30 "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear".  Our life is our preparation, we go and be ourselves.  

The elders taught a lesson on tithing to this man and made an appointment to return to teach another lesson.  

Coconut time. These things were huge today and we appreciate a fresh coconut when we are given one. They are very refreshing and tasty.  

 Our day has come to an end.  It was a wonderful day and we are happy to get to know Elders Bower and Peck a little more.  They both are hard workers and wonderful young men.  We know that if we do our part we will have the sweet experiences of meeting people and sharing our testimonies, heart to heart, ours and theirs.

Our new elders have arrived

Welcome to Chuuk Elders Pita and Vehikite

 These two elders weren't to sure about Chuuk when they first arrived. . . I think it's gonna take some time to get used to this heat.  Good thing the preparation we need is in our mind and our heart. "If you are prepared ye shall not fear" and will survive the heat. D&C 38:30

Elder Jones (ZL) Mwan Branch, Elder Vehikite & Elder Huppe - serving in Wichap Branch, Elder Pita & Elder Johnson - serving in Sapuk Branch and Elder Allred (ZL) Mwan Branch.

Load'em up Elder Jones . . . We are looking forward to getting to know ALL our new elders.  We know that the Lord only sends his very best to Chuuk.  There are many opportunities where we can come to know one another and build unity within our zone.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, There is Liberty

We choose to believe that there is a God and he loves us like a father. A good father who wants us to grow and be happy. He knows that there are hardships and even bitter events that would convince us that he cares not. But his perspective is a much longer view than ours and he knows that this earthly experience is but a blink of an eye. That perspective is what he would like us to consider. We must understand that he, like a good father, is much more concerned with our growth than he is with our comfort.

Our decision making is where our attitude comes into play. Our attitudes and beliefs lead to our feelings and moods and those lead to our choices and decisions which results in our actions and words which then become our consequences, both positive and negative. How we then react to those consequences, reveals our character and integrity.

Which road will you take?

About 20000 choices a day is what we make. Most are automatic based on the choices we have made previously. Many are habit based, preference based, principle based or option based.

There are choices that we must make according to the relationships we have or the occupations we follow. Then there are choices we make according to the dictates of our tastes and desires. Finally there are the choices we are faced with that purely come down to life and death.

Happy or sad,
All of the choices we have made so far have made us who, what, where and why we are. If you are not happy with those circumstances there really is no one to blame but yourself. You might say that there are people who have been made slaves through no fault of their own and such. Much of what you say may be true. But I would direct you to read “Mans Search for Meaning”. A book written by Victor Frankl. He was a prisoner in a German Concentration Camp and he survived simply by choosing not to be overcome by the death and destruction around him. He worked hard at keeping his attitude positive even through starvation and extremely hard labor. Anyway the point is, our choices are what make us or break us.

To fully understand the gift of agency and its worth, it is imperative that we understand that God's chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long-suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation.  He acts by gentle solicitation and by sweet enticement.  He always acts with unfailing respect for the freedom and independence that we possess. He wants to help us and pleads for the chance to assist us, but he will not do so in violation of our agency.  He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to his divine character.

Regardless of a person's susceptibility or tendency, we have an obligation to exercise our agency to  to overcome our personal weaknesses.

I believe that we are the sum total of all of the circumstances, results and end products of the forces upon us and how we decided to react to them.  Our road essentially is the road we chose and our rewards or punishments are the circumstances we perpetrated on ourselves.  Our Father stands to assist us at any time we choose to engage him and at times he will engage with out our prompting.
I know that he has blessed me many times and in many ways when I was not engaging him or giving him my attention.  He blessed me anyway and I'm sure he was brokenhearted at some of my decisions. As I look back across the expanse of my life I know that he was there and at the time chose to remain anonymous.  Now I can appreciate his love and care and I can be more fruitful to him by being more attentive to the need I see around me.  I am grateful now to have the chance to serve him who has served me throughout time.  For this opportunity I thank him and I say this in the name of His beloved son, Jesus Christ.

Partying in the kids!

Children are extremely valuable.  Sister Tiffany has been working with the children in Primary. She loves helping with the kids especially when they can have a party.  They had a wonderful turnout with about 55 children.  The primary in the Mwan branch on record has 126 children, we normally get around 35 to 40 consistently coming each week.

Catch it or it splatters

The balloon tucked safely (?) between the knees

Things just getting started. . . Come on kids, lets play!

Here she is getting them set up to play the water balloon game.

Now how do I throw that ballon again?

All over the world at the end of day,
Heav’nly Father’s children kneel down and pray,
Each saying thank you in his own special way,
Saying thank you, thank you in his own special way.
“Gracias.” (grah-see-ahs) “Malo.” (mah-loh) “Wir danken dir.” (veer don-ken deer)
All over the world tender voices hear.
Some say “tak,” (tahk) others “merci,” (mare-see)
“Kansha shimasu,” (kahn-shah shee-mah-sue) we thank thee.
Our Heavenly Father hears them;
He understands each tongue.
Our Heav’nly Father knows them;
He loves them, loves them, ev’ry one.
Kinisou Chapur

Ready. ready. ready - toss it!

The rule here is you have to hold the balloon between you legs upper or lower and go to the other side, give it to a partner without using your hands.  Boy this was a fun one to watch. Some kids were very talented with the balloon.  A lot of excitement and laughs with this game.  

Lunchtime - let's "monga"

Lots of food and candy for the children.

“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4). In the Book of Mormon we read of the risen Lord teaching the Nephites that they must repent and be baptized “and become as a little child” or they could not inherit the kingdom of God.

Throw it gently. . . These children are so fun to play games with. They are very polite to one another and share with each other.  However they are loud and noisy when they get excited. 

One year out

Today marks one year for us arriving here in Chuuk State. We arrived on 11/11/11 @ 11am.
We were greeted by some of the greatest missionaries in the world,  who we have had the opportunity to serve with, get to know and love.  Our Elders have been commissioned to “bear testimony of Him”.  Missionaries are called, set apart, and empowered under apostolic keys and authority. They are therefore counted among “the chosen vessels of the Lord.” In other words, as the Lord’s authorized messengers, they, through their teaching and testifying by the power of the Holy Ghost, will introduce faith in Christ in the souls of those who hear them.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to serve with such fine Elders and also to serve the Chuukese people. One year ago we couldn't see a year out, because it seemed too far away. At first it felt like we entered "paradise hell", that is what Sister Tiffany has named it. Reasons why ~ it is true we are in the tropics and it is beautiful but also true is we are limited or should we say we have a lack of food choices and also true it is very humid and hot here, the temperature never changes. It is easy to lose track of time and we think that is why the island people are so kicked back. But then seriously, what is our hurry.
It's funny because the Chuukese are some of the most fun loving, honest, kick backed people you will ever meet.  It's normal to say "you are fat" or "you don't look good today".  They are not being mean and they would never think about being overtly rude to you.  They are just childlike honest.  
We have missed our children, our grandchildren, our families and friends a great deal. We also now miss missionaries that have gone home too.  We have learned so many wonderful things and there are many things we didn't want to learn or think we needed to learn.   

It has been said that “an ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they come from”  
We're not sure we want to cast ourselves in the image of hogs but you get the saying, we hope. 

We have some of the greatest stories now and have made some amazing friendships that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. One such thing is the names of people here, we have so much fun with them. Just the other day while working with the translation team one of the members wanted to send his daughter that lives in Minnesota an email. Her name is "Reverse". Yup, you read it right, not forward but reverse. She just had her first son recently so we asked, did she name him First Gear :) haha! Actually even though we are having fun with it, it could happen here. It's great! 

We've been jostled on the roads, splattered by the mud, choked by the dust, slipped on the trails and chased by the bugs but our tests and trials have strengthened us.  Our resolve and stickity tooity has become determined.  Our firm love of these people and these missionaries continues to grow.  It is with a heart full of gratitude that we press on.

Our faith is strengthened by our prayers that have become a part of our daily life and at times a part of our hourly life. The key to our obtaining power through faith is learning, asking, and acting according to the will of God. “Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me”
We continue on with our mission and we have grown to love "paradise hell" and the folks that live here. The Lord has revealed that we must give Him credit for our gifts and our accomplishments and be grateful for all things that He confers upon us. We are grateful to Him for the privilege of being in His service. We appreciate the opportunities that we have and hope that we can serve Him in some way and show our gratitude the rest of our life.

Articles of Faith 12

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

Learning with our hearts

This truly is the hardest part of our mission, saying goodbye to our elders. These fine young men put a lot of sweat and tears into teaching and loving the people they serve. They are forever bound together by faith in a personal God, that is, God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who facilitates prayer and also influences personally.

This is Elder Fisher and Elder Kearl. . .They leave us today to return to their families. They will be forever loved by those to whom they brought the light of truth. Their teachings will be found in their service. Their examples will be guides to follow. Their faith will prompt courage to meet life’s challenges.

Elder Kearl joined the Chuuk Zone in July and served in the Sapuk Branch. He is a wonderful Elder full of spirit. He was respected a great deal by the Zone for his dedication to the mission. We didn't get to spend a lot of time with him, but what little time we had together was very special to us. We can be grateful for his example and his work.”

Elder Fisher, what a guy, he has a huge heart and an incredible amount of talent. He has a beautiful singing voice that we all enjoy listening to and he loves everyone and is "Super" friendly. He learned the Chuukese language very well and loved sharing it whenever possible. When we went out to do missionary work with him, we would always get a entourage of children and young adults following us. They really liked being with him. His fun loving personality will surely be missed by many.

This is only part of our zone.  We are missing four, two are in Guam getting two new elders. Our missionaries are not salesmen with wares to peddle; rather, they are servants of the Most High God, with testimonies to bear, truths to teach, and souls to save.Thomas S. Monson

May we learn what we should learn, do what we should do, and be what we should be.

Saying goodbye...yet again!

We are truly going to miss this couple. They have been heaven sent, these two people have been the office couple in Guam for all missionaries in the Micronesia Guam Mission. No easy task, but they made it look easy.

Elder and Sister Anderson are leaving us and returning back to the states... They kept things running smooth and they're wonderful friends and missionaries. "Return with honor" Thou good and faithful servants.

The first annual Chuuk State HS Academic Challenge Bowl

(Sitting) LEFT TO RIGHT-  LOUIS PHILIPPE SOLTONES- 10th grade; DAWN MERDI BISALEN – 11th  Grade; FREDDY ELIAS – 9th grade; Teacher/Coach Rebecca O’Hare, Standing – far Right  
2nd Place CHS (Standing) LEFT TO RIGHT - TIARA WILLIANDER – 12th; SARAH HOPE SOS – 12th; MAJESTY HELICKIOS – 12th; 
Teacher/Coach Max Mosley, Standing – extreme Left

November 1, 2012 Weno, Chuuk held the first annual Chuuk State High School Academic Challenge Bowl is now history and it will be forever recorded that SDA Christian High School bested all the other Chuuk high schools in this event.  Congratulations to SDA . . .

The Chuuk Women’s Council organized and sponsored this Academic Challenge Bowl that took place during the week of October 23 – 26, 2012, at the Truk Stop Hotel.  All seven of Chuuk State’s public and private high schools were invited to participate, but only Chuuk High School, SDA Christian School, Berea Christian School, and Mizpah Christian School accepted the challenge.

Three separate venues were used at the Truk Stop Hotel during the three days of academic competition so the same questions could be asked of each competing team.  Competition took place on the patio of the Truk Stop, and in the Hard Wreck Conference and TV rooms with supporting spectators cheering on their favorite school and students.

Paul Hadik, former resident of Kosrae who now lives in Chuuk and works in education here, created more than 300 questions for this Challenge Bowl.   Long time local expat residents Clark Graham and Bill Stinnett asked a total of 240 questions during the elimination and championship rounds that included topics from the FSM, Literature, Education, Time, Science, Food, Flags, Famous People, Chuuk, Abbreviations, Bible, Geography, Sports, Military, Animals, Games, Fishing, Biology, Mathematics, Calendar, Weather, Astronomy, Human Body, Vocabulary, Inventions, Explorers, Art, Politics, Music, Poetry, Pacific Islands, Law, Grammar, and Medicine.

After much brain exercise and bell ringing, the 3 member teams from SDA Christian School and Chuuk High School earned the most points during the elimination rounds for correct answers and earned the right to challenge each other in the 60 question Championship Round.

These two teams were evenly matched, and consisted of Louis Soltones (10th grade), Dawn Bisalen (11th grade), and Freddy Elias (9th grade) from the SDA Christian School, and Tiara Williander (12th grade), Sarah Sos (12th grade), and Majesty Helickios (12th grade) from Chuuk High School.  As with all competitions and challenges, everyone is a winner but someone or some team comes out on top, with a few more points than the other person or team.  This event was no different.  

When the question asker was out of questions, and the score keeper added up the point tally, SDA Christian School was declared the Champion of the 1st Annual Chuuk Women’s Council Chuuk State Academic Challenge Bowl.

Expressions of appreciation were extended to the Chuuk Women’s Council for taking the initiative to continue their efforts to promote education in the State of Chuuk; to the Truk Stop Hotel for making comfortable venues available for this event; to Mr. Paul Hadik for his massive contribution to this effort; to Bill Stinnett & Clark Graham who participated as question askers, and to Ms Sunshine Ranik and Ms Carla Billy, both from the Chuuk Women’s Council, who donated their time to serve as score keepers.

Ms. Kiki Stinnett, President of the Chuuk Women’s Council, announced that this Academic Challenge Bowl has been in the works for quite awhile, and finding the right time to hold it had been a challenge.  While the time frame might change next year, the Chuuk Women’s Council will make this an annual event and expressed their hopes that all the high schools in Chuuk will participate next year.

(Source from the Kaselehlie Press)

Giving it a taste

We have found that rather than dwelling on the negative, if we will take a step back and consider the blessings in our lives, including seemingly small sometimes overlooked blessings, we can find greater happiness. We believe that the more we act upon the inspiration and impressions which come to us, the more the Lord will entrust to us His errands.

Today we had the opportunity to deliver toys to a special family that lives upon the hill. When we arrived they were cooking in the outside cook house. We have tried most Chuukese food but everyone cooks a little different so we enjoy giving it a taste. We are eating Taro with fresh squeezed coconut milk. It is not a strong flavor but it tastes pretty good.

Chuukese people are always willing to share what they have. We are grateful to have the opportunity to know them, learn from them and serve them.

“Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers”. We believe that the more we act upon the inspiration and impressions which come to us, the more the Lord will entrust to us His errands. The Lord is in all of our lives. He loves us. He wants to bless us. He wants us to seek His help. As He guides us and directs us and as He hears and answers our prayers.

We love our class

It has been about 6 months since our last class party. The class has been doing well and most of the people in the English class were also in the Temple Prep classes. We have covered a lot of English this past year and have seen them progress a lot. Because their potential for good is so great and their gifts so diverse, they may find themselves in roles that vary with their circumstances in life.

Five members of the class are also on the Translation team and one of them is the Seminary teacher and another just took a call to become the Institute teacher. One is the Relief Society President, four are endowed, and 10 are waiting to be interviewed to go to the temple. The young adults in this class know how important it is to know English and are waiting for acceptance letters for college. They are very good leaders even if they still call it "merican"

We played a couple of games of English Bingo and also the cookie game. We looked at pictures on the Ipad and enjoyed having fun all together. Everyone brought something to share for eating. We had fish, rice, cooked banana's and cake. What a party! Plenty of laughing tonight.

We teach them that they are an essential part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for eternal happiness. We teach them and help them understand they are endowed with a divine birthright. They are the real builders of their nation. It is important to build strong homes to make life sweet and to give contentment to the heart that brings salvation.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). There are no better words than His to express our testimony. Our Heavenly Father has declared to the world that by following the path of Christ, emulating His example, and obeying His revealed truths, we can obtain true happiness in this life.