Spring Conference and Family Fun!

While spring is springing at home, fall has arrived here in Kiwi-land. Everything is lush green with all the rainfall we’ve received, and it is more beautiful than ever. Even with fall, big bright flowers continue to bloom and the weather has not turned cold yet.

We loved watching conference even though here in New Zealand, where we are almost a day ahead of you at home, that means turning on our laptop at 4:00 a.m. Sunday and Monday to watch the morning sessions. Then we watched all through the break (great stories!) and the afternoon sessions ended at 10:00 a.m. Then we went on with our days’ activities, which included attending Fast and Testimony meeting at our 1:00 ward Sacrament meeting.

The Church practice here is to wait and watch conference the following weekend when the sessions are broadcast over the satellite system to the stake centers at the normal conference hours. But, we simply can’t wait that long and like to see the sessions “live.” Wonderful talks, inspiring and uplifting. Did you feel the love the brethren and sisters expressed? I felt it and also felt that, perhaps, I am doing okay even in my very imperfect state.

I especially appreciated Elder Holland’s words as the final conference speaker:

“First of all, if in the days ahead you not only see limitations in those around you but also find elements in your own life that don’t yet measure up to the messages you have heard this weekend, please don’t be cast down in spirit and don’t give up. The gospel, the Church, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are not intended to discourage you. Only the adversary, the enemy of us all, would try to convince us that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don’t really improve, that no one really progresses…With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.”

Doesn’t that just give you happiness and hope?! Love, love, love to hear from our Prophet and Apostles each conference. Now Barry and I are reading and discussing the conference talks for our FHE lessons so that we can hopefully remember them. (In our advanced years, that is a trick!)

By the way, if you haven’t watched conference on your laptop, try it! (You can attach it to your flat screen TV with an HDMI cable to watch full-size). The great thing is that it starts earlier than the television stations do, so you get to see the conference center fill and the brethren come in and take their seats, AND you get to watch all the sessions and the in-between sessions without commercials. It’s wonderful! Plus, you get to watch for quite some time after the session ends as the brethren leave and the conference center begins to empty. It’s sweet (or as they say here in NZ…”sweet-as!”).

We appreciated hearing from our Area Presidency as they returned from conference and their pre-meetings with the brethren. We get to hear their perspectives on their personal associations, thoughts, and inspirations which are always uplifting. This time, their message was, “The Church has never been stronger than it is now. And as the world grows darker, the Church will shine even brighter.”

We continue to teach our Temple Prep Sunday School class and look forward to that each week.

We have been very busy still writing articles for Mormon Newsroom online (check out our latest articles—mine on the Sister Missionaries conference and the Living Legends tour and Barry’s on a Helping Hands project. 

Here are some of the links:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/16502843669169701506

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/exciting-international-performing-group-coming-to-the-pacific-area

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/%C2%A0stage-is-set-for-other-large-scale-helping-hands-events-in-hamilton

We have also been preparing to host BYU’s performing group, Living Legends (formerly known as the Lamanite Generation). They arrive here next week to begin a three-week tour in New Zealand, Tonga, and Samoa.

We see this as another great way to help people here get to know Mormons, the Church, and these great young people. We are encouraging missionaries and members to invite their friends and neighbors to go to the shows with them. The group has scheduled many outreach daytime activities where they will visit hospitals, schools, care centers, etc. And Barry and I get to tag along with them and help out in any way they need.  How cool is that?!

In the meantime Barry has been using all his advanced Photoshop skills in preparing the promotional materials—posters, invitations, VIP and media materials, etc. He also went to bat to get the notices out to all the wards and branches in the area. I taped posters up all around our building, with special attention to placing them on the inside of the many toilet stall doors for more attentive reading. ;)

We have also been purchasing foods for an arrival sack brunch (“brekkie”), making our own travel arrangements to go with them to Tonga, and buying the candies (“lollies”) to assemble their welcome leis. Which, thankfully, we don’t have to make because I have no idea how, and they would probably fall apart.

We get to teach the gospel wherever we go. Barry had a wonderful opportunity last week, when he got his hair cut, to teach two women who were very attentive and sincere in wanting to learn more. We were able to talk with two other women, separately, who are each involved in their own religions and are wonderful believers in Jesus Christ. And many more, as we share with waiters and waitresses, shop clerks, taxi drivers, hotel employees, fellow tourists, etc. The gospel is wonderful and we love that our badges often invite questions.

Most fun of all, this past few weeks, was the visit of our daughter Kathy’s cute family—her husband Kyle and kids…Dylan (12), Paris (9), Tienne (turned 7 while here!), Brigg (3), and Everett (10 months). We loved that we were able to take some time to travel with them to Bay of Islands, Hamilton area, and Taupo area while they were here.

If you haven’t seen Barry’s pictures you need to find him on Facebook and take a look at the beauty of these places.

Most special was the morning we spent at the temple in Hamilton where we were able to take some 1800’s family members’ names and Dylan and Kyle performed the baptisms and confirmations and Barry, Kathy, and I joined them to complete the work. It was a very touching experience. With great thanks for the generosity of a wonderful couple there who took such special care of the littles while we were away, feeding them, dressing them, and taking them to a fun park. That’s so typical of the people here. They have to be some of the nicest in the world.

We are almost halfway through our mission! We just couldn’t have imagined beforehand what our mission would be like. Even now, we never know from day to day what the day/week/month will hold for us. We do know that it is very different from what we had expected, but very fulfilling, interesting, challenging, fun, sometimes difficult, certainly tiring!, and very humbling.

We work with wonderful people, in a beautiful part of the Lord’s kingdom, and feel very blessed to be here, doing what little part we do.

We love you and pray for your health, happiness, and Heavenly Father’s care.

Elder and Sister Preator

The Testimony of an Apostle of the Lord

“Whatever the question, the answer is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” This reassuring reality was expressed as part of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s testimony to a worldwide gathering of Young Single Adults. The event took place through the medium of a live, interactive broadcast with Elder Holland and other Church leaders when he left his concluding testimony and apostolic blessing on March 8, 2016 (#LDSFace2Face event, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwIULpPZhcQ).

Susan and I were both very impressed by the broadcast.

As stated by Elder Holland, the overarching purpose of the meeting was to help the young people (and others, I would add) know that, “God and this Church love you.” At the conclusion of the meeting, as he began his testimony, Elder Holland read from the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10: 32, 33. After doing so, he asked the rhetorical question regarding the Savior’s redemptive power in each of our lives, and referring to the words of the scripture, “Surely there must be someone in this vast international, global audience who wants to be free from sin; who wants to be without blemish again; who wants to be without spot, and made holy?”

He then continued, “That’s what the gospel of Jesus Christ does. That’s what The Church of Jesus Christ does, as the vehicle for the gospel of Christ.”

In his testimony, he provided these reassuring perspectives,

“The matters of the universe, of keeping planets in order and whether the daffodils come up in the spring, those are nice ancillary issues. What They do without sleep or slumber is try to bring happiness and health and joy to us. I bear witness of that. I testify of it. I am the recipient of that love and so are you, even on the days when it might not be as recognizable it is true, it is their nature, it is the way of Godliness. It is the promise that their grace is sufficient and they can make us holy and happy.

"Of the many titles that I love of the Savior, and there are dozens, let me close with testimony of three titles. One is that He is the bright and morning star. He is the sun and also the Son in English, that always comes up. If you are ever in the dark of the night, and if your night seems to go for more than one night and then on through the day and then for weeks at a time, I promise you in the name of the Lord that the sun will come up, the darkness will flee, the hope will return, that you will be happy again, that Christ is the bright and morning star.

"He is also the 'High Priest of Good Things to Come'. I promise you that wonderful things are in store for each one of you. If you could see your future, you would be more ecstatic than I would be able to describe or you would be able to contain. There'll be highs and lows and ups and downs, but when it's all over, when we have lived our life and kept the faith, we will be with the Gods and the Goddesses, we will be with the priests and the priestesses, and we will be among them and like them and with them, and we will be look back on the splendor of all the things that are to come-days ahead, weeks ahead, months ahead, most of which we never saw, many of which we never dreamed of, but we'll look back and realize that they came. Christ is the 'High Priest of Good Things to Come'.”

In recent days, our activity here in the mission field as public affairs missionaries has been busy with a variety of tasks and opportunities. We have covered—and in some cases personally attended—a variety of stories ranging from the re-dedication of a park in Tauranga, New Zealand to honor the name and life of Matthew Cowley; to the completion of large numbers of Mormon Helping Hands projects throughout New Zealand and other nations in the Pacific;and finally, to the re-dedication of the Fiji Temple in the midst of the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.

We have witnessed the beauty and power of the gospel in action in each of these instances. We have seen the name and works of the Church and its members grow stronger in all that has been accomplished.

And in the case of the Fiji Temple cultural celebration and re-dedication, come to understand the miraculous hand of God as He tempered the elements at just the right time and in a needed way, even though there turned out to be tremendous devastation in many parts of so many of the islands of Fiji. The reassurance and peaceful feelings of President Henry B. Eyring and Elder Quentin L. Cook that the re-dedication activities should go forward—despite the imminent approach of a category-5 cyclone headed directly toward Suva, Fiji—brought comfort to all who had worked so hard over many months to prepare.

Other stories which document the ongoing work of the Church in the Pacific have also been of interest.

In the first example, on Sunday, 28 February, His Royal Highness Viliami ʻUnuaki-ʻo-Tonga Lalaka moʻe ʻEiki Tukuʻaho of Tonga, Prince ‘Ata, and over 100 members of the Nukuʻalofa Tonga North Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), undertook an historic journey together (see: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/%C2%A0tonga-prince-and-latter-day-saints-journey-together).

They travelled 10 kilometres by boat to the beautiful island of ‘Atata, off the coast of Tongatapu, to hold the first Sunday services of the Church ever to be held there.

In a second story, which was carefully and lovingly prepared by Susan over several days, the dedication of Mormon missionaries’ efforts to help rebuild the lives of those in Fiji, many of whom have lost virtually all their worldly possessions, has been tender and full of hope (see: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/8290396549451483597). The devastating effects of the Category 5 Cyclone Winston three weeks ago are still being felt in some areas of the beautiful islands of Fiji. But senior missionary couples and young single missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are giving full-time service in the midst of the devastation.

Today is Sunday (Saturday back home), and we will enjoy again an opportunity to meet with our brothers and sisters in the Glen Innes Ward of east Auckland. Made up of mostly Tongan and Maori Saints, we have grown to love the members of our ward. And we also enjoy teaching the Temple Preparation Classes to those preparing for this great blessing.

We know that the Church is true. We know that the Savior lives, and that we have a Father in Heaven; both of whom, along with the Holy Ghost, watch over and guide every aspect of our lives. We are most grateful for this knowledge.

We hope each of you, back home, is happy and well. We pray each day for your welfare.

Fall is beginning in the South Pacific, and springtime is coming in the northern hemisphere. What a wonderful, carefully prepared world it is, in which we are all blessed to live while we sojourn through our mortal experiences.

Until next time, we send our love,

Elder Barry and Sister Susan Preator

Stay By the Tree

Here in beautiful New Zealand, regularly sprinkled into our everyday missionary responsibilities, meetings, travels, news articles, etc., we are privileged to associate with and be taught by wonderful, inspiring church leaders and teachers. One of these great leader teachers is our Pacific Area President, Elder Kevin W. Pearson. We have developed a great respect and love for him and are fortunate to be taught by him quite frequently. He is a master speaker who can, on a moment’s notice, stand and deliver powerful and knowledgeable testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Every time we hear him speak we go away inspired and strengthened. (Sister Pearson is also a wonderful speaker and I hope to emulate her skill and testimony someday.)

You might remember Elder Pearson’s talk in General Conference, April 2015, Stay By the Tree, referring to the tree of life in Lehi’s dream. It contains some great one- and two-liners that we were reminded of by our Sacrament meeting speaker last Sunday. And now that we know him and have heard him speak more times, we recognize some familiar themes. Here are some of my favorite lines from his talk:

Two of Satan’s most powerful tools are distraction and deception.

We struggle when we are caught between competing priorities. Casual obedience and lukewarm commitment weaken faith.

Eternal life with our loved ones is sweeter and more desirable that any other thing.

We can fill our lives with accomplishment and well-doing, but in the end, if we do not enter into sacred covenants to follow Christ and faithfully keep them, we will have utterly and completely missed the mark.

Let me be clear: to “hang in there” is not a principle of the gospel. Enduring to the end means constantly coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

God’s commandments are strict by not restrictive. They protect us from spiritual and physical danger and prevent us from getting lost.

Tribulation is an inevitable and indispensable part of our eternal progression. When adversity comes, don’t let something you don’t understand unravel everything you do know.

Search the Book of Mormon every day, every day, every day! It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost.

Don’t be distracted and deceived. To heed is to give careful attention. Heeding those who do not believe in Christ will not help you find Him. Search #spaciousbuilding for knowledge will not lead you to truth. It’s not posted there. Only the Savior has “the words of eternal life.”

As we yield our hearts to God, the Holy Ghost changes our very natures, we become deeply converted unto the Lord, and we no longer seek the spacious building. If we stop doing those things that bring about deepening conversion, we regress spiritually. Apostasy is the reverse of conversion.

True disciples continue to awaken unto God each day in meaningful personal prayer, earnest scripture study, personal obedience, and selfless service. Stay by the tree.

Our daily discipleship will determine our eternal destiny.

If you are struggling, confused, or spiritually lost, I urge you to do the one thing I know will get you back on track. Begin again to prayerfully study the Book of Mormon and live its teachings every day, every day, every day!

This is Nephi’s promise to you: “And I said unto them…whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.”

I would encourage you to go back and read the entire talk. It is a wonderful guide, a pattern for us to follow if we desire to have the faith and endurance, the testimony and knowledge, the sweetness of peace, joy, and hope in our lives that we are promised as covenant holders in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I add my testimony to that of Elder Pearson’s that the things he has said are true. I pray for each of you that you will recognize the great blessings available to those who are true followers of the Savior, who gave His life that we all might live eternally with Him and with our loved ones. “God bless us, every one” to endure faithfully to the end.

(BTW: Elder Pearson was also Jake Slater’s mission president in the Tacoma Washington Mission.)

Off to Fiji for the Temple Open House and Public Affairs Seminar

Susan and I have been joking with one another the last few days that it is summer here in New Zealand but we are still waiting for it to come. It rained yesterday, and with just a few exceptions, we’ve wondered where the really warm days of summer are that we’ve heard so much about. But, we won’t complain since most days are very pleasant, of course, with the daily threat of more rain always present. Our skin feels nice and smooth, however, because of the high humidity.

We have heard and seen quite a few pictures from home—in Utah, Minnesota, and New York (where members of our family live)—that winter really has arrived. So, who’s complaining! (Not to mention the frigid temperatures in those places which we’ve heard about.)

We continue to pursue our Public Affairs work here in the Pacific. We write stories for Mormon Newsroom—Pacific, gather pictures for the articles, coordinate the work of the Area Communication Committee for the Area Presidency, and assist the Public Affairs Coordinating Councils for Auckland, Wellington, and now Hamilton, New Zealand. Lots of emails and computer work is involved with all of this. We’ve both been happy that in our former lives, we’d had experience using various computer programs.

Attending the Glen Innes Ward on Sundays has become a real blessing for us. The ward is small and composed primarily of Tongan, Samoan, and Maori members. It takes us about 35 minutes each Sunday to travel from our apartment to the ward building. Our sense is that being strong in the Church is challenging for many, but we do our best to contribute in any way we can to help strengthen one another as members of the Church. We love the people, more and more as time passes. And our Gospel Doctrine teacher, Brother Couch, we think is one of the finest from whom we’ve ever been privileged to learn.

In the second week of January, we joined with our Public Affairs senior missionary couples from Australia and enjoyed a two-day “get better acquainted” retreat on the west coast of New Zealand. We stayed at a lovely complex perched high above the Tasman Sea near Waiuku. The beach there is called Karioitahi and is made of a fine-grained, black sand which feels like a mattress when you walk on it. We enjoyed good food, good learning, and increased friendship while we were together. We also planned our upcoming seminar in Suva, Fiji for all of the Directors of Public Affairs from around the Pacific.

Last week, we traveled to Fiji for six days and enjoyed the seminar and the Open House for VIP’s and Media at the Fiji Temple. The Open House for the general public began the following Monday, January 25. In the first day or two of the Open House, the Prime Minister of Fiji and his entire cabinet, the President of Fiji, and Miss Fiji World all toured the temple. The experience for each of these individuals was memorable, and the Fiji Sun newspaper featured a special section in the paper which was devoted exclusively to stories about the temple. It was particularly delightful that for the press, the Prime Minister said, “I’d love everyone to come and have a look at what you have here,” as he encouraged Fiji citizens to tour the temple.

Because our son-in-law who lives in Utah, Kyle Terry, had led the construction work to build the baptismal font in the Fiji temple in February of 2015, being present to personally see the results of his efforts was most uplifting to us. After our temple tour, we called and talked with him to share our impressions of the good he and his team had accomplished. They originally had planned to do that work in three weeks, but the reality turned into five weeks because of unforeseen circumstances. During that period, our daughter, Kathy, was expecting their fifth child and was home alone doing her best to manage and care for a very young family, which was challenging as well.

We felt like both of them consecrated their lives to complete this important project, and the witness of the Spirit while we were in the temple confirmed that this was so.

Our Fiji Director of Public Affairs Seminar was also equally satisfying. Both Elder Kevin Pearson and Elder Gifford Nielsen spoke to the group. Their remarks were inspiring and instructional. We strengthened and gained many friendships during the days we spent together, and we now feel even more prepared to try and accomplish the work here in the Pacific.

For a brief time, we were also able to visit the marketplace in downtown Suva. As we toured the outdoor shops and booths, we were particularly taken by the gorgeous flowers being sold there. We also were amazed at the many fruits and vegetables offered to the hundreds of customers who were roaming through the buying areas.

During January, we’ve been preparing for and helping with the visit of Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and his wife, Katherine. He has visited American Samoa, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and is headed for New Zealand tomorrow. He had also planned to visit the Saints in Vanuatu, but the deteriorating airport runway there prevented large commercial air carriers from landing there.

We have reached our six-month mark in our missionary service; one year remaining to serve. We have learned much and continue to learn and grow. Susan and I have enjoyed reading in the scriptures each morning and praying together to start our days. We love learning from God’s words, and the words of His servants. And we try to pray for those who we know need God’s special help.

We try also to stay in touch with family and friends back home as best we can. We know of many blessings received, for which we are so grateful, and also of many challenges faced in the lives of those for whom we love and care. We believe in the midst of both of these realities that faith and trust in our Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ is the only sure way of life. We are so grateful for the gospel and the plan of happiness which has been provided for each of us.

More Elves Visit for Christmas!

Christmas 2015 is now a Christmas Past. But it was wonderful while it lasted. We said our goodbyes to Heidi who returned to her family for Christmas and then had John to ourselves for a few days, days that were filled with the Christmas spirit.

On Sunday we attended the Young Single Adult ward then went to the “Come and See” Fireside that is a monthly gathering of all the missionaries in the Auckland area with their investigators. A young woman who has recently joined the church told of her conversion story and the great changes in her life as a result, finding true happiness and peace after a life filled with negative experiences. We enjoyed listening to several Christmas musical numbers from different groups…the islanders can really sing!

The following day we had a wonderful Family Home Evening in the home of Brother and Sister Riwai-Couch from our ward. They invited us to come so that John could sing for them and play the piano while we all sang carols within a lovely Christmas program organized by Sister Couch. We shared memories of Christmases past and enjoyed visiting with their family members and their exchange student from Russia. They served a delicious dessert buffet, and the Spirit throughout the evening was very sweet.

Then the party began when Brent and Stacey, with their three teenagers, Riley, Jamie, and Sidney, joined John and us! I think that, in all, they experienced every adventure and activity that New Zealand has to offer! At least every one that they could fit in to their packed schedule! It was very fun to follow them around and participate, at least from the sidelines.

While we continued to work at the office they all traveled to Hamilton and Hobbiton (Lord of the Rings village) and the surrounding area, returning on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve dinner was our traditional clam chowder, plus potato cheese soup and croissants, fresh fruits, and a Yule Log dessert (cake) we were all too full to enjoy! Then Barry led us in our annual reading of the nativity scriptures and accompanying carols. We opened our Christmas pajama gifts and “bedded down” for the night. This was actually quite a feat in our small flat (apartment), but we all managed to have a bed of sorts except for Riley who braved our not-so-comfortable sofa.

Christmas day was filled with the usual: many wonderful gifts, laughter, gratitude, phone calls and Facetime with dear ones at home (who were enjoying their Christmas Eve), and lots of food—ham, “funeral potatoes,” fresh fruit, homemade rolls, homemade apple and pumpkin pies…which, again, we were too full to eat! The main difference in the day was our evening visits to a few beaches an hour north of our flat. The weather was a little cool, but it was pleasant enough. (At home in Utah, we would have been looking out at the snow-covered landscape, not going to the beach!)

The following day was another national holiday…Boxing Day, which we learned (from Mr. Wikipedia) originated in Great Britain 800 or so years ago. Since the servants had to serve their masters on Christmas Day, they celebrated Christmas the day after and received a box full of gifts from their masters. (At least, that’s one version of this day that most people on the street here didn’t seem to know its origin.)

We spent the day enjoying our “hometown” of Takapuna…the shops, the beach, and the restaurants. It was a fun day, but that night we sadly had to say goodbye to John, putting him on his plane to fly home. We enjoyed his visit immensely, as well as Heidi’s.

With the Pacific Area Office pretty well deserted for the next week (it is not only their Christmas and New Year’s holiday week, but also their summer vacation), we took the opportunity to fly to the South Island for a few days with the kids. We saw breathtaking vistas, sparkling clear lakes, towering mountains and fjords, glaciers and waterfalls galore. The teenagers jumped into space from the top of cliffs on bungee cords and canyon swings. We cruised the Milford Sound and kayaked into the mouth of a glacial river. We took a backcountry jeep tour of movie “sets,” and the kids took a horseback trek through the hills.

We stayed a few nights at a delightful and serene farmhouse on a 2800 acre sheep and cattle ranch surrounded by beautiful paddocks and mountains, and another night in a house high above the vast lake spread out in front of our view.

We flew back and enjoyed a day in the Rotorua area, exploring a Maori land of geothermal geysers and hot pots, ending the day with a delightful Maori dinner and show.

Barry and I returned to the (empty) office on New Year’s Eve day to take care of some pressing business. Brent’s family continued to explore the area, returning later that evening just in time to “eat and run” to catch their plane home.  What a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime adventure they created for us by taking the time and making the effort to visit. It is a long way from home and costly to come. But Christmas would have been quiet and lonely without them, so we were so grateful they all came.

Since our return, we have been very busy at the office, arranging for upcoming events, visiting Church leaders, writing articles, and attending Public Affairs team meetings among other things. It is great to dive into the work again and look forward to a new year and all the new experiences we know we will have.

We hosted four young elders at dinner and had such a great time with them. One was from Australia, one from Utah, one from Tahiti, and one from New Zealand (waiting for his visa allowing him to go to his Utah/Wyoming mission). We were able to encourage them in their work, express our admiration for their willingness to serve, and remind them that they need to prepare to keep the faith and serve, not only while on their missions, but lifelong.

We showed them our family picture and told them that the decisions they make do not just affect them, but have a lasting impact on their families, future wives (one each!) and children they might have, and on all those whose lives they will touch. It was sweet.

We love the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are so grateful to enjoy all the blessings our membership in His Church on earth brings. We desire to do our best to serve Him and His children well while on our mission and for the rest of our lives. We fall short too often, but we recommit ourselves to do better.

We give our thanks to all you dear family and friends for your gifts, your letters, your cards, your thoughts of love and Christmas. We were abundantly blessed and loved hearing about you and yours.

May each of you seek and enjoy these same blessings. We love you and pray for your welfare and happiness. All our love, Susan and Barry