We lived with God

The life and times with OB1 Ka-nobe

Excited for the boat ride to the outer islands with innocent smiles and all ready for the fun to begin :) Us with Sister Obenauer aka OB1 (Zone nurse she lives in Guam)This is OB1 first trip to Chuuk she has heard so much about it, she wanted to come see for herself.

Arrival at our first island Uman it was a rough trip over, Sister OB1 and Elder Tiffany got soaked. Check out the hair.... We did a lot of laughing along the way. It is very beautiful here. The boat driver dropped us off at the dock and sent us off to find the missionary house.

Elder Tiffany sporting his sexy boatride hairdo --- He is such a good sport > love that smile. :)

Lunch time on Uman with the Elder Lapeyrouse and Elder Blaser

Small Chuukese boys up in the tree getting us a fresh coconut to drink. They climb up the tree fast like little monkeys. One rule here is; DON'T FALL OUT OF A TREE. It's kinda scary to watch them but they are smart and fast it's amazing.

Elder Blaser preparing our fresh coconuts to drink with our lunch

The group enjoying a lunch break, visiting and getting ready for the next island.

Sister OB1 is not impressed with her fresh coconut. However, the Elders peeled the entire coconut for us all to eat it after we drank them. Yummy!

Our first Elder was transferred :( we are praying him back

Our Zone leader Elder Meldrum leaving us for Siapan. The Joneses are lucky to get him. We will greatly miss his presence here.

US with one of our favorite Zone Leaders. Elder Butler will be here on Sunday.

We just love these Elders. This is Elder Johnson and Elder Meldrum. They have helped us learn the language and kept us at work and also entertained.

All our Elders, what a great bunch of good looking young men

The Elders with a crazy face always making things fun for Sister Tiffany

The Look Down Store

This little store is right over the edge of the road, it is called the Look Down Store. They are very fun people here on Weno <3 We just love them.

Senior Missionary Conference in Guam

Every 6 months all the Senior Couples in the mission meet together in Guam for training and learning from one another and also our Mission President and Sister Mecham.  

The Group hard at work. Sometimes leaving your family and going on a mission feels like a huge sacrifice, one couple said “Good people have replaced our parenting functions well since we have been out". No senior missionary finds it convenient to leave home.  The sacrifices associated with serving the Lord full time abundantly bless the couples, their families, and the people they serve.”

~ Half of the Group hard at Play ~ 

Spending a little down time with one another is another great blessing.  Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is also something we all really enjoy because we don't get much of that on our islands.  

~ The other half, still at play ~

The whole group pretending we are in our elementary school picture.

Back row - spouse in front: E/S Wright (Kosrae), E/S Hertzberg (Guam), E/S Johnsen (Palau), (in pink) mission nurse Sister Obenauer (Guam), 

E/S Jex (Guam), E/S Lefevre (Pohnpei), E/S Tiffany (Chuuk), 

Front Row - wife in front: E/S Jones (Saipan), E/S Kjar (Pohnpei), E/S Crittenton (Yap), E/S Dr. Archibald (Chuuk), E/S Anderson (office couple-Guam) President and Sister Mecham (Guam), E/S Eakins (Chuuk)  

Us in our beach attire on a Guam Beach

As missionaries among the “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world,” We declare that He is the Son of the living God, our atoning Savior and Redeemer. This is His Church, restored in these latter days to fulfill its divine destiny. His prophet today is President Thomas S. Monson

Sister Meacham, Our Mission Mom.

President Meacham, Our Father who art always on the move.

Elder and Sister Anderson, The movers and the shakers!! Want somethin done? They'll get it done, no problem.

Boot scootin Boogiers

How many Mormons does it take????

How many Mormons does it take to change a light bulb? It depends! If it is the Home Teachers, it only takes two. But you have to wait until the end of the month. If it is the Aaronic Priesthood, it only takes one. He holds the light bulb in the socket And the whole world revolves around him. If it is the Relief Society it takes four. One to fix refreshments. One to bring the tablecloth. One to design the Center Piece, And one to screw in the light bulb. If it is the Bishopric, forget it, they don’t do light bulbs. They call a Priesthood Executive Council And delegate it to the Elders. If it is the Elders it takes four. Three that don’t show up, and One to change the bulb. If it is the High Priests it takes four. Two to push the wheel chairs. One to handle the oxygen tank, And one to screw in the light bulb. We hope you enjoyed this as much as we did. It was shared with us in a talk given from a High Priest leader Sunday while we were at a District Conference. We thought it was funny and wanted to share it.

Fording Lake CPUC

Lucky for us we have experience running raging rivers!

Hello from the depths of the Pacific - - Up periscope...

First Baptism of 2012 What a beautiful day it was

Children around Chuuk

Children are highly valued in Chuuk. They are considered to be a family's source of wealth and insurance for parents in old age. For this reason, parents create a nurturing environment and indulge infant needs. Although mothers are the primary caregivers, fathers and older siblings also tend to infants. They also receive a great deal of attention from extended kin and neighbors. Because of the importance of interaction in small island communities, infants are carried facing outwards, away from the holder. Infants typically nurse on demand and may be breast-fed for a number of years. Cosleeping with parents is the norm. Explains why these children are so smart here at such an early age.

Beautiful family from the Maun Branch that live high on the hill in the jungle.

This handsome baby boy is niner he was born on Dec 12 and weight 9lbs. So they named him niner a common name for Chuuk

Elder Johnson with Joseph kids from the Maun Branch.

District Presidents children and other family members.  

How this thing happened and why we love it!!!

So we just ate Mac n'Cheese for dinner with hot dogs. Yummy! That is just one of the many small things we have taken for granted in our lives. You know you go about your life living it pretty much like everyone else, shopping, entertainment, etc., Then one day you wake up and say "Hey let's do something different" You think you’re ready for an adventure in your life, so why not. Let's do it!!! Problem is you don't know for sure what it is you want to do and where. Well that pretty much describes where we were 13 months ago this month. We decided that the Lord wanted us to serve a mission while we were young enough to do some work and enjoy it. So January 2011 we started finishing up the paper work. We officially filed our papers in April and received our call in July to report October 31st. That's right, Halloween day we entered the MTC as Missionaries. Now that was not much of an adventure but the food was really good, the teachers and lessons were wonderful. We met some really great people who have become our friends and are serving the Lord throughout various areas in the world. But then on November 11, 2011 our true adventure began. Now make sure you get this...we arrive on the main island at Eleven in the morning in the Lagoon of Chuuk in the Micronesia islands. Did you catch that. 11/11/11 at 11. It is pouring buckets of rain. BUCKETS of HEAVY rain. We are greeted by the other missionaries on the island with beautiful flower leis which they placed around our necks. Everyone smiling, laughing and happy to see us. Stop! Give us your pose, we need a picture. Soggy and all. The young Elders gather our things and we are off to see what adventure we are going to have for the next few years. Well, the roads here on Chuuk are more like dirt roads with really big pot holes in them. We call them "Chuuk holes". Before taking us to see where we will be living, they take us sightseeing. They take us shopping first thing at Ace Hardware. Well, now remember it was raining, dirt roads and we have lots and lots of mud. Ace is a big mud hole. First thing Elder Tiffany does is slip a little and now his foot is a mess. “WELCOME TO CHUUK” Oh I wish I could describe that better but I don't think I can. (Check out our pictures) This island is very pretty but it has a few interesting things about it. One, its third world > its official we have entered in our adventure, something out of National Geographic. Now back to what I was saying in the beginning, small things we take for granted. But not just small things, EVERYTHING. The young Elders here in our zone are amazing. They do such a wonderful job leaving everything behind and they stay strong. Makes me want to be a better person. Not just a spoiled American. That's right I'm just going to say it. I am both SPOILED and AMERICAN. And I don't think that's a bad thing. Matter of fact, if I weren't both of them things I would not be able to embark on this incredible adventure with my eternal companion, Elder Tiffany. So I am not going to pretend that it was easy in the beginning here because that would be a lie. But I will tell you that I have learned that life is an adventure. And every day is preparing you for something new if you will but only be open to it. We have entered into a life style you only read about or watch on television. It is just what we ordered. It’s funny because you think you know what you WANT and need but that’s not exactly what the Lord thinks. I found this quote last night on Facebook by (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, [1997]) Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…. delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. Well, that quote pretty much says it all, doesn’t it. I am very thankful to the Lord for this opportunity to serve in these humbling circumstances with my companion and look forward to serving and loving the Micronesia people. I do miss the comforts of home, family and friends along with many other things like a glass of fresh cold milk being top on my list, BUT I will go and do… God Bless each of you and God Bless AMERICA!!! Sister Tiffany

Quote by Pres. Thomas S. Monson

“I challenge [all] to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life.” President Thomas S. Monson

Elders excited

The Elders on the island of Weno are Elder Robertson, Elder Henrie, Elder Shakespear, Elder Lavides, Zone Leaders: Elder Johnson, Elder Meldrum.  They just received a Christmas package from E/S Peterson's the couple we replaced.