Wellington, Living Legends, and Tonga

From the perspective of seasons, next week in New Zealand would be the equivalent of Thanksgiving week back home. The weather is still relatively nice, but temperatures have dropped significantly and the rains are coming more regularly.

The past weeks have passed quickly, especially since we said goodbye in early April to our daughter and son-in-law, Kathy, Kyle, and the kids. We thoroughly enjoyed spending just over a week with them here in New Zealand.

Later that month Susan and I journeyed to Wellington, New Zealand for the first time. We travelled there to meet with our Coordinating Council Director of Public Affairs in that area, Tania Torea, and members of her council. Wellington is an attractive city located on the very southern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. The downtown area surrounds a beautiful, protected ocean bay.

We traveled there by taking a train, the Kiwi Rail, from Auckland. Leaving very early in the morning of Thursday, April 21. The trip took twelve hours! We arrived after dark, having wound our way through some of New Zealand’s most beautiful country, much of which one would only see from the train.

The time was well spent in Wellington, including our meetings and brief sightseeing opportunities around the city. We flew home on Saturday evening, and of course, the trip home was much faster.

On April 27, very early in the morning, we welcomed Brigham Young University’s performing group, the Living Legends at the Auckland International Airport. They arrived for their three-week tour of New Zealand, Tonga, and Samoa. The group was welcomed by a local group dressed in traditional Māori costumes who also performed the Haka for them. The Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance, and  challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand.

We had purchased brunch items the night before and assembled 60 sack “brekkies” to tide them over until lunch while they visited Auckland sites by bus. At Mount Eden, their first stop, we were there with open trunk and they were happy to greet us and carry their brekkies up the hill, munching along the way.

Over the next few days, we toured with the group around Auckland and Hamilton where they performed to three sold-out audiences, presented two firesides, and did outreach visits to several organizations, including the Ronald McDonald House at Auckland General Hospital, an Intermediate School for disadvantaged youth, and a school for Pacific studies, Fale Pasifika, at the University of Auckland. Their activities followed a challenging schedule that demanded the best from everyone, including us, but yielded many new friends and admirers of the performing youth and of their talent and goodness.

The group then departed for Palmerston North and Wellington (toward the southern part of the North Island), while we flew to Nuku’Alofa, Tonga, our first trip there. In Tonga, we met with the very well run organizing committee led by our Tonga Director of Public Affairs, Ana Ve’ehala. We enjoyed a lovely dinner meeting with them at our charming, white Italian-like hotel overlooking the Pacific ocean. In the morning we joined them to greet the incoming students at the airport.

In Tonga, the Living Legends followed a similar pattern of performances and outreach visits, with two notable exceptions: a performance for the Queen of Tonga, Queen Nanasipau'u, and another performance for Tonga’s Crown Prince, Tupouto’a Ulukalala, his wife, Princess Sinaitakala, and their young son, Prince Taufa’ahau. The second gathering also included the general public, both Church members and others; while the first performance for the Queen included only dignitaries and leaders from around the main island of Tonga, Tongatapu. This performance had about 1,000 attending, and the larger gathering with the prince included over 5,000 people. At this show, even the aisles were  full of anxious viewers, and the railing around the balcony was also saturated with young people and children whose legs hung down over the edge.

Earlier in the day of the last performance, the BYU group visitied a center for disabled individuals. That was a touching, Spirit-filled occasion. Susan and I personally greeted each resident of the center. As we did so, it was a privilege to see their smiles and feel their loving personalities, despite the obvious handicaps with which each one must cope. As nearly as I could tell, each one absolutely loved becoming friends with Living Legends cast. The closing song from the BYU group to the residents of the center was particularly touching.

Through it all, the Living Legends were fully embraced and loved by the Tongan people. It was a stirring and heart-warming experience to be part of and to witness. We will long remember our week in Tonga, and never forget the love of the Tongan people, Latter-day Saints and others included!

While in Tonga, we also did a session in the Nuku’alofa Tonga Temple. The session was in Tongan, and we wore headphones, but we enjoyed it nevertheless. Everyone in the temple—as is always the case—was most helpful and kind. We left our session filled with warm feelings and happy to be able to help another son and daughter of our Heavenly Father who have passed beyond the veil of life.

We also had a couple of opportunities to drive around the island of Tongatapu and see how beautiful it really is. Noteable everywhere on the island are lots of dogs and pigs; kind of interesting, really! It’s part of the culture. Most importantly, we noticed the beautiful, generally happy Tongan people. They are simply wonderful!

We are back “home” now in Takapuna. We have been back at work in the Area Offices of the Church and doing our best to assist there in any ways we can. We feel privileged to be there and to have such wonderful friends and acquaintances. We continue to gather, prepare, and write news stories for the Church’s Newsroom–Pacific website. We also spend time working with the Area Communication Committee, under the direction of Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the Area Presidency. He will soon become the First Counselor in the Presidency as Elder O. Vincent Haleck becomes the new Area President in July. Elder Craig A. Cardon will be the second counselor. Elder Pearson, previous president, is returning by assignment to Utah.

As always, we miss each of you. We love you. We are thankful for you in our lives. We have been and continue to be so blessed.

We love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and are eternally thankful for His matchless gift to each of us. And we know that all of us are blessed with a living prophet of God in the form of President Thomas S. Monson. We know with certainty that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who knows and is mindful of each of us, daily, and individually. For all of this, we are most grateful!

We pray for blessings in your life each day. May you be safe, happy, and well.

With all our love,

Elder and Sister Barry and Susan Preator

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.)