Work, Shop, and Beach.

In the first verse of Hebrews 12, the Apostle Paul shares these thoughts, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, . . . "

This was the theme of today’s Sunday School lesson in the Glen Innes Ward where we attend Church. It caused us to think about our lives, our missionary service, and the week we have just concluded here in New Zealand. The sentiment of Paul’s message is worth considering each day. It’s been a good but busy week, as is usually the case.

We began the week with a Monday morning Devotional at the Pacific Area Offices of the Church where we work. The gathering was a special occasion as we heard from the Young Men’s General President of the Church, Stephen W. Owen, and the Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, Brian K. Ashton, who replaced John S. Tanner last June. Interestingly, Brother Tanner was inaugurated president of Brigham Young University–Hawaii just last week. Brother Owen was sustained in his presidency at last April’s General Conference. These two brothers had also participated in a six-stake Priesthood Fireside on Sunday evening at the stake center near the New Zealand Missionary Training Center in south Auckland. I attended that meeting and was charged with taking photographs for a news story about the meeting. The story has since been published in Mormon Newsroom-Pacific. You can see the article online at:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/church-leaders-address-new-zealand-young-men

Each of these men spoke about changes taking place in various Church programs, including a complete rewrite of the Church’s teaching curriculum which is currently being evaluated by the Church. These two leaders had just concluded a several-day visit to New Zealand and were on their way to stops in Tonga and Vanuatu. Undoubtedly, their time in these three countries will give them contrasting perspectives to consider in their callings.

It was fun for us to say “hello” to Brother Owen again since we have known him personally for many years when we lived in the Provo Utah Edgemont Stake. In fact, I served on the Stake High Council with Brother Owen during the mid-1990s. He was surprised to see us but seemed happy about it.

Much of this past week was taken up trying to serve the needs of the Area Communication Committee, a group commissioned in each Area of the Church by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We were called as Coordinators of the Pacific Area Communication Committee by Elder S. Gifford Nielsen several weeks ago. The purpose of these committees is to facilitate the spreading of messages from the Brethren to members of the Church. In this part of the world, we are trying to meet the needs of the Church in three stages of Church-maturity. These are known as the Emerging Church, the Growing Church, and the Mature Church. We are happy to serve, but our tasks of coordination can be a bit daunting, and so we sometimes find ourselves very busy with this part of our missionary service.

One week ago, we invited Elder and Sister Jeff and Linda Champlin to travel with us to Matakana, New Zealand. There we had fun at the farmer’s market, which is held each Saturday morning. We enjoyed ourselves very much. The Champlins replaced Elder and Sister Guy and Paula Fugal who returned home to Pleasant Grove, Utah. The Champlins are from Cache Valley, Utah. We have tried to be as much help to the Champlins as the Fugals were to us when we first arrived last summer. Being new missionaries can be quite challenging; and being Public Affairs missionaries has its own set of challenges, as we’ve learned in our first months here in the South Pacific.

At the end of this week on Saturday, we decided to stay close to home (our apartment), doing cleaning, washing, grocery shopping, and so forth. We also took time in the afternoon to walk to the beach at Takapuna, where we live. It was a beautiful day, and many people were out and about enjoying the sunshine. After our walk, we had a very fun dinner at a beach-side restaurant.

On different occasions during the week, we enjoyed talking and texting with members of our family back home who are spread from Utah to New York, Minnesota, Texas, and California. For us, an important part of serving as senior missionaries is our desire that the Lord will watch over and care for our loved ones; and we are convinced that He is doing just that!

Have a wonderful week, and we will be in touch in another few days. In the meantime, it is our prayer that Heavenly Father will bless you in your daily walk; or as said by the Apostle Paul, “. . . let us run with patience the race that is set before us, . . .

Elder Barry and Sister Susan Preator

Hello, Samoa!

What a great experience to be sent to Samoa for some meetings with our Director of Public Affairs there, SapeleFa’alogo, and get acquainted with one of the countries we support in our work.

Samoa is a beautiful island with so much color everywhere, from the abundant green foliage to the brilliant blue waters; from the houses painted in all the bright colors—sometimes three or four per house—to the crazy-colored, open-air public buses that look like they rolled out of a cartoon; from the colorful island clothing to the beautiful white of the temple and the many chapels that ring the island. It is all eye-candy.

I think they must have thousands and thousands of coconut trees on the island! Everyone has some in their yards, and they grow along the roadsides and beaches. And they use those coconut shells for every purpose imaginable…road markers, fences, jewelry, clothing, wall coverings, furniture, etc. It’s pretty crazy!

The people, as in all the island nations we’ve visited, are warm and friendly, gracious and giving. We had just finished eating a scrumptious dinner an hour or two earlier when we were invited to join the stake leadership in a traditional Samoan “feast”—at least, that’s how I would describe it. Maybe for them it was just a typical potluck dinner. Believe me, we were REALLY stuffed when we finished that meal!

We had luckily arrived on the island earlier that day, when, after our dinner together, we went with Sapele and his wife, Fiona,  to observe from the gym (seated behind the cameras and monitors), a local television station film an hour-long devotional service to air the following Sunday evening. The saints filling the chapel were dressed in lovely white with green palm print fabric, their Samoan songs lifted the roof, and though we couldn’t understand a word of the Samoan speakers, the Spirit filled the building. It was a wonderful experience to be there.

The next few days we were privileged to meet with various government officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Attorney General, the Minister of Women, Community, and Social Development, and the Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Diplomatic Office, talking with each one about the influence of the church in their communities, the need to preserve religious freedom for their citizens, ways we could work together, and invitations to participate in upcoming church-sponsored events. In each instance, we were welcomed with kindness, interest, and gratitude. It was lovely.

We also met with church leaders on public affairs matters, Elder Fata, President Te’o, Sapele, who is a former stake president, and Brother Tuise, in addition to a meeting with their committee planning a Christmas Event for Apia.

Our morning temple session was also beautiful. The temple must be one of the loveliest in the church, inside and out, and though the session was in Samoan, we again, felt the Spirit of the Lord and the goodness of the people.

Sitting at the airport waiting for our plane, Barry had the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart with Joseph Parker, a young man who is the current Heavyweight New Zealand Champion boxer. He is a church member, though he hasn’t been active of late, but is hopefully on his way back. They had a great visit and have been corresponding since then about opportunities for him to speak to our youth. 

All in all, add another beautiful memory stamp to our passports and our hearts!

Waterfalls, Craters and a Trout!

The English navigator Captain James Cook first sighted the land of New Zealand on 6 October 1769, and landed at Poverty Bay two days later. He drew detailed and accurate maps of the country, and wrote about the Māori people.

Nestled next to Poverty Bay is the city of Gisborne where Susan and I traveled on assignment last week to cover an event sponsored by the Te Ha 1769 Sestercentennial Trust and the Tairawhiti Interfaith Groups.

“Te Ha” means “the breath of life.”

On Gisborne’s Waikanae Beach early Saturday morning, these two groups marked the beginning of a Week of Prayer for World Peace, which also launched four years of celebrations, culminating in 2019 when the 250^th anniversary of Captain Cook’s landing will occur.

Participants of Saturday’s activities included members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ringatu, Presbyterian, Buddhist, Muslim, Filipino, Baha’i, and Anglican groups.

We enjoyed this assignment very much and submitted this article for Mormon Newsroom–Pacific (Watch for the fourth article on the main carousel, Gisborne Interfaith Group Celebrates Maori, European, and Polynesian Beginnings):

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/gisborne-interfaith-group-celebrates-maori-european-and-polynesian-beginnings

During our trip, we learned once again how beautiful New Zealand is. We were particularly excited to visit the town of Taupo and the huge, gorgeous Lake Taupo on the shores of which the town is located.

Susan and I were amazed by Huka Falls on the Waikato River that flows out of Lake Taupo. The river and the falls have a lovely turquoise color, very much like that of Utah’s Bear Lake. We were amazed to learn that the thundering falls could fill five Olympic swimming pools in one minute. That’s impressive!

Nearby, we also walked through a spectacular thermal plane called Craters of the Moon. This geologic area is somewhat reminiscent of Yellowstone National Park, covered with hot pots, thermal steam vents, rising plumes of steam, and pools of scalding water. Because this area is quite large, the New Zealand Geothermal Association has developed extensive energy facilities that provide power for residents in many locations.

Of course, I also had to visit the local fish hatchery, when I found out there was one, just 30 minutes south of Taupo near the town of Turangi. The fish there were beautifully colored Rainbow Trout, and they were huge!

During the week, Susan was also able to finish her research and write a nice story about the genealogical efforts over many years of a local Latter-day Saint from Tahiti, Raymond Maire. Raymond takes care of several buildings in the Auckland, New Zealand area. To find the story, use this link:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/9843895336261813187

I end this week with thoughts inspired by messages from Elder Kevin W. Pearson and Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the Pacific Area Presidency.

After they returned from approximately two weeks in Salt Lake City for General Conference activities, Elders Pearson and Nielsen shared their thoughts and testimonies of time spent with the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other members of the Seventy. In Monday morning’s Devotional and then again in Monday’s Home Evening for senior missionaries, the Spirit was strong and the sentiments poignant.

Really, the testimonies borne were sacred, and they brought a reconfirmation of the gospel’s efficacy in each of our lives. We learned about the genuine concern of our Heavenly Father and His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ—for each of us, every day, in all of our efforts and struggles. I remembered, once more, why Susan and I are serving this mission; why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists on the earth today; why we have living prophets and apostles, who are literally called by God; and why families being raised in love and harmony matter so much.

Joseph really did see and experience what he said he saw in the Sacred Grove. This I know, and am so grateful for. Until next time . . . may the Lord be with each of you, I pray,

Elder Barry Preator

5:00 AM General Conference!!

Arriving at work in Auckland

This past week brought new experiences as we settled down for our first session of Saturday’s General Conference at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning in New Zealand! We had the same marathon day, with morning, afternoon, and Priesthood sessions all streaming into our little flat at the exact same moments everyone in Utah and around the world watched them. (Just a little strange to have Priesthood Session over by 3:00 in the afternoon!) And we kept the channel open between sessions, watching the church’s World News Reports, also most interesting and inspiring. We were up again early Monday morning to watch both Sunday sessions. Isn’t that just amazing!! Here we are 7,000 miles away and we get to sit and watch all the conferences sessions live. How truly wonderful!

As a young child growing up in Oregon, I remember getting dressed in our Sunday clothes and going to our chapel where we would sit and listen to one session of conference, brought to us courtesy of our local radio station. Either that or we would drive twelve hours through the night to reach our grandparents’ home in Salt Lake City so we could hear or attend all the sessions there.

Even so, I developed an early love affair with General Conference and look forward to it each time with eager anticipation and am sorry when it is over. And the messages were so inspired…so targeted to the challenges we face today, individually and as a whole. I loved that many explained the how and why of the gospel and church. I took many notes on all the improvements I need to and can make in my behavior and thoughts. The overriding message to me was to LOVE more fully and well and demonstrate that love, and to trust in the Lord completely, believing on Him and making operative in my life His Atonement.

I also took away from Conference profound gratitude for all the blessings and joy provided through our membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Because our conference weekend didn’t start until our Sunday morning, we were able to spend Saturday exploring again, this beautiful island nation. We drove north three hours to Paihia on the northernmost Pacific coast. It was lovely!

All the islands, bays, inlets, and greenery make everything so interesting and stunning. We note that the trees, bushes, flowers, and birds seem to be very different from those we know at home—something that makes this place seem somewhat fanciful. I can see why they like to film other-worldly movies here.

We wandered around the quaint village of Russell, a most charming place with the distinction of being the country’s first European settlement and port. Some very old buildings there along with really wonderful little cafes made for an interesting day. Plus…loved the ferry ride over and back.

Paihia, New Zealand

Russell Harbor

Rusell, New Zealand

Haururu Falls

Kerikeri Mission Station

Old Russell Church

Olga Joyce Bissett Who Fell Asleep on March 21, 1915

Barry wrote a great little article for our Mormon Newsroom this week. Check it out.  It’s the story of a stake youth trek unlike any other trek!

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/tongan-youth-honour-their-ancestral-heritage

Liahona Stake Trek Youth

Over three hundred youth from theLiahona Stake in Tonga had to “carry their ancestors” in a very unique, and island appropriate, literal way, to the temple. Wonderful example of bringing the importance of family history and temple work alive!

We love this work! We have our moments of struggle, homesickness, and fatigue, of course. But it is a tremendous opportunity for us to be here, doing what we are doing, learning, stretching, and serving. Our deep love to all of you and fervent prayers that you will continue on in faith, hope, endurance, and love. And if we do, we wholeheartedly agree with Sister Marriott’s family motto: “It will all work out.”

We love the Proclamation, The Stables, and Impromptu Speaking Opportunities

Although we didn’t travel to any exotic places—which, of course, is not the norm—the week was filled with memorable experiences. As is always the case, each experience proved helpful in teaching us about our mission, ourselves, our family, and our dependence upon our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Early in the week, we were reminded that The Proclamation on the Family is twenty years old. That was significant. This inspired document has provided insight and understanding to our family and to countless families in the twenty years since it was issued. On the Church’s Newsroom website, we viewed an article and video clip about the Proclamation with President Gordon B. Hinckley speaking at Women's Conference. He spoke in behalf of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve to issue this scriptural proclamation.

As each of you know, the Proclamation has become historic in many ways. It is no surprise in our modern day that Satan's assault on families is in full thrust. And, in retrospect, I know it was not coincidental that they chose to first announce the Proclamation to the women of the Church. As I watched and listened to the video clip and President Hinckley's remarks, I was very touched by his words. So much so, that I thought of my own daughters and daughters-in-law, and of the tremendous role they play in the center of their families’ lives. No doubt there are probably many, many times when these young mothers wonder if they can continue to carry on, because the challenges before them are so formidable.

To me, President Hinckley's words to the mothers in Zion and to fathers in Zion are particularly moving, insightful, and comforting. Indeed, he was a prophet of God in every respect. By remembering this important day, I believe President Hinckley’s words can be reassuring once again to each of us. 

So, if you are interested—and I hope you will be—here is the link:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/family-proclamation-20-year-anniversary

Then we learned that Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve had passed beyond the veil of life. Although not a total surprise, because he has reportedly been experiencing declining health, nevertheless his departure brought sadness and reflection. It is likely that every person who has ever listened to or been counseled by him has been blessed because of his sensitivity to the Spirit and his testimony of the Savior. Many of his exhortations about life’s challenges remind us of a scripture we studied in Sunday School yesterday that seems particularly appropriate:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10

On a happier note, after work one evening, Susan and I decided to drive into downtown Auckland from our apartment in Takapuna, which is only a fifteen-minute journey.  We did so because the stores were open just a little longer than their normal 5:30 p.m. closing time. When we are at the office each day until 4:30-5:00 p.m., it is basically impossible to shop for needed items, other than Saturday. We were hungry after shopping and learned about a unique restaurant called The Stables. Actually, it’s a consortium of small restaurants that surround a large central eating area in what was reputed to be horse stables in days gone by. (Think upscale, old-world food court.) All kinds of foods were offered, ranging from Indian to Italian, French to Spanish, and so forth. Susan chose a New Zealand seafood offering and I couldn’t resist the German bratwurst. The atmosphere was festive and the packed eating area interesting to watch the people and the progress of the evening. We liked it very much and decided when family or friends come, we would like to take them there to experience it for themselves.

The Stables

Once outside in the evening air (wasn’t raining, for once!), we looked up in the sky and noticed the Auckland Spire towering above our heads; it was lit in a beautiful blue color, and it was quite striking from that perspective. It was interesting to be so close, since we see it in the distance every day from our apartment windows.

The Auckland Tower

Sunday morning we arose early—because Daylight Savings Time started—and drove across the Bay to Glen Innes where we attend church.  We have missed several Sundays there because of Public Affairs assignments of one kind or another, so it was nice to be in our “home ward” once again.

I got a little surprise when I entered Priesthood meeting. At the beginning of the High Priests Quorum, the leader who is Samoan said, “Now we will turn the time over to Elder Preator who will give our lesson.” Say what?! Lesson, what lesson? Elder Preator was running the question frantically through his mind!

Not knowing anything about such an assignment, I simply gulped hard and said, “Oh, fine; let’s begin.” It’s called impromptu! Or perhaps, think fast! And what subject, what scriptures, what points to make, etc.? Well, how fast can one make such decisions with a group of contemporary, Pacific area brethren from several nations looking on expectantly, like, “Go ahead, Elder Preator . . .” Well, I got it done.

We were also very happy to hear this week from our dear friends, the Fords, who are serving a Public Affairs mission in Uganda, Africa. They were in our Public Affairs training group in Salt Lake City at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in late July. They also experienced the Missionary Training Center week with us in early August. In those two weeks, we became close friends. And Michael Ford and Barry were bishops together in the BYU 2^nd stake about 30 years ago.

Their Public Affairs missionary labor sounds a lot like ours, perhaps even more challenging. Just a sample, “ . . . We were able to travel about 2 hours out of Kampala to Jinja a District which is on its way to becoming a Stake and train the District PA Council there. This weekend we are helping with an Open House in Kalooga Hills (4 hrs away) on Saturday also trying to get in some training while we are there, then back to Nairobi for a Stake fireside “Meet the Mormons” video screening and some social media training. Honestly, we drop in bed each night and before we know it we are up again and running for yet another day.“ And so it goes . . .

On the weekend, we drove to Raglan, New Zealand on the west coast. The day was clear and the countryside beautiful as we traveled to yet another part of this incredibly gorgeous country. A few pictures included will tell the story better than words can describe.

The town of Raglan

A Raglan Farm

The hills above Raglan

The mountain adjacent to Raglan

Caught a rainbow near Raglan!

Tasman Sea near Raglan

 Tonight we enjoyed our bi-weekly Family Home Evening and dinner with the senior missionary couples from the Auckland New Zealand Mission. President and Sister Balli spoke to us about being in the pattern of learning of the Savior by asking questions, just as Joseph Smith did during his life and ministry, as did Jesus also while he walked the dusty paths of the Holy Land, teaching by parables and the metaphors of tangible things in the world around Him.

“Teaching is not talking—it’s asking good questions.” He and Sister Balli had been taught these principles by Elder and Sister Bednar when they attended mission president training in the MTC the summer of 2014. It made a lot of sense, and the Spirit confirmed that we should do more of this in our teaching of and interactions with those around us.

Finally, we look forward to General Conference this coming weekend to be renewed and refreshed in the words of the servants of the Lord. Being in the mission field will make it particularly sweet for us. And we hope it will also be sweet for each of you! None of us could better spend our time than to listen to a prophet’s voice. Until next time, we love you.

Elder and Sister Preator

Our Fiji Adventure

Our Fiji adventure last weekend was one of those life changing experiences we get every once-in-a-while. We will never forget the friendly people, the humbling spirit, or the panorama of pictures. We were on assignment to attend the first planning meeting of the Suva Fiji Temple Re-dedication Committee. And WHAT a planning meeting it was!!

We arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) Friday around noon, rented a car, and drove east along the southern coast of this small island nation (approx. 7,000 sq. miles compared to Utah’s approx. 85,000). We passed through many of the island villages (as they call them) where you see small houses tucked among the tropical foliage. They are made of a variety of materials…wood, corrugated tin, plastic tarps, and concrete blocks…sometimes all on one house. Some have electricity, some do not. Some have piped-in water, some do not. Most of the cooking is done outside over a fire, the smoke wafting through the air as you drive by. Life is definitely simpler, without all the “necessities” we are accustomed to.

 After three hours of driving we found ourselves in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, with modern buildings, hotels, and houses and all the hustle and bustle of 74,400 people.The open market stalls were colorful and crazy. Our Holiday Inn oceanfront accommodations were lovely, but it was the friendliness of the staff that was truly remarkable. Everyone greeted us with big smiles and hellos (bulavinaka in Fijian), offers to help, taking every opportunity to make our stay enjoyable. (They don’t have tipping, either!) They are just generally happy, friendly, helpful people (at least all that we met). Some even commented on how that is especially interesting given their cannibalistic history (yikes!). ;)

Early Saturday morning we could hear children singing and walked out on our patio to hear them. A group of about 12 middle-schoolers were standing by the pool singing a cappella (as is the custom) and sounding so sweet. As we were finishing breakfast and getting acquainted with our cute waitress she pointed outside and said, “There is our Prime Minister [of Fiji] coming in to speak at the education conference here this morning.” Of course, that caught our interest so we slipped in behind his contingent and were ushered to our seats as if we were expected and welcome! (We later learned that church LDS Charities has been helpful in various causes and our missionary tags “made us VIPs”!) It was a fairly small audience of educators and government leaders with a nice buffet (of which we didn’t partake).

The meeting was the formal ceremony for the “Launch of the National Framework of Digital Literacy for Fijian Schools Programme”. It is a partnership with Reach 4 Your Future Foundation (Intel, HP, and Microsoft) that donates all the technology. After the “Garlanding of Chief Guest” (the PM) we got to hear the children’s choir again and a few speakers talking about this great initiative to bring their kids into the 21^st century. It only lasted an hour and then we had a chance to visit with the HP (Hewlett Packard) Global Director and of course introduce him to Imagine Learning. (Still selling!)

We then drove to the Suva Temple to see how it was progressing. It is still four months from completion date, and we were fortunate to arrive just in time to join the planning committee on a hardhat tour. It was heartwarming to see the fruits of our son-in-law Kyle’s labors as we viewed the baptismal font which he and his team built last spring. It is just now being tiled so we could still see his concrete foundation! We could also see that the temple is going to be beautiful.

That evening we joined our Fiji Public Affairs Director in a small group for dinner. The conversion stories we hear over dinner are simply amazing and faith-building. We then met with her committee where they received instructions from Salt Lake regarding their part in the upcoming temple activities. We were very impressed with both the quality of instruction and the humble willingness and skills present in the committee members called to be photographer, social media, opinion leaders or interfaith outreach, finance, etc. Pretty eye-opening to see what goes into these events.

Sunday was The Day To Remember. We were invited to join Elder Adolph Johansson, Area Seventy, (Tongan) and President Qaqa (say Gonga) of the Suva Fiji North Stake, along with members of the temple committee from Salt Lake to travel “into the bush” to attend church there. We jumped at the opportunity, though with some trepidation, not knowing what we would encounter. Words really can’t convey the many feelings, impressions, sights, and sounds of this very spiritual and sacred experience. But we will do our best to describe what we can.

We set off in three four-wheel drive vehicles. Our journey took us close to two hours, with the last hour on dirt/gravel roads through scenic tropical forests up into the mountains of Fiji. We saw many rivers and waterfalls, crops being cultivated, animals grazing without fences, and waving villagers as we passed by. When we reached our destination we were greeted warmly by a few local saints and a pair of young elderswho led us down a narrow red dirt path to what at first appeared to be an animal shelter of corrugated metal, but became to us like the humble stable where the Christ child lay. Truly, it was a sacred place.

 We left our shoes outside the door and were invited to sit on the large woven mats that covered the floor. There were no inner walls in this home, only a light fabric curtain hung in one corner to conceal the family’s belongings.

A priesthood brother was quietly preparing the sacrament on a small tabledraped with a white cloth. There were a few sisters sitting against the back wall with several children surrounding them.

They didn’t seem to speak English, but I imagine they were the home’s occupants. The little children surrounded us, sitting cross-legged on the mats, a few eager to share their hymnbooks with us as we began to sing. We arrived half an hour early, so we filled the time singing the songs we love, in common. I noticed that the vigor and volume of this “choir” was larger than our whole congregations at home. Only the language was different and we did our best to sing out in Fijian!

 Other Saints filtered in until there was a congregation of forty to fifty filling the room. The meeting was conducted in Fijian but two of the Salt Lake visitors were invited to speak with the aid of a translator. Elder Johansson also spoke in English with a translator. The spirit was so strong throughout the meeting, and at times we wept. The messages delivered were inspired and tailored specifically for those saints in that far-removed, humble setting. How can they have a sense of belonging to this world-wide, fast-moving, modern-day church? How can they reconcile their traditions with the principles of the gospel? How can they participate in missionary work, genealogy, and temple ordinances? Those who spoke to these sweet saints answered those questions in profound and moving ways.

Later that night we met a young mother (now an accountant) who told us she had grown up near there. At the time, they didn’t have a unit (what they call this smaller-than-a-branch group) and her father was the bishop of the ward they attended. It was a three hour walk each way to church every Sunday. (THREE HOURS!!) She recalled, as a child, walking sometimes just with her brother as her father had gone ahead for meetings and her pregnant mother stayed home with the younger children. Can you even imagine that kind of courage, faith and dedication?! Are we so spoiled, or what?! We complain when we have to go a few blocks to church in the rain or snow. It was indeed a humbling experience.

 As we were leaving, the youth surrounded us, and we women dug through our purses to find any treats we could leave with them…gum, candies, the small lotions, shampoos, and soaps we had snatched from our hotel room, anticipating this. We so wished we would have known the day before and been better prepared to share. But they seemed thrilled with everything we handed out and loved posing for pictures. We left there richly blessed and changed forever.

That night we met with the Temple Re-dedication Committee for four hours to discuss every small detail that goes into making each of the events the super-special events they are. Each member has a specific assignment: parking, security, food, cultural event, ushers, historian, music, dedication service, tickets, finance, etc.

 It was impressive to see the organization, level of detail, and order in all the planning. More impressive was to see the strength, faith, and willingness of each committee member as they were instructed on the very large responsibility that will be theirs over the next five months. Our small part is to help our Public Affairs committee member with the VIP and interfaith invitations and open houses, which take place the first three days before the public open houses.

Most touching was the tone of those from the temple committee who have done this so many times. They spoke of the care, tenderness, and courtesy each member was to show in all their interactions and manner of speaking as they share their temple with the guests, never speaking sharply, even if children begin climbing over the altar!

Monday, we returned to our now luxurious-appearing flat in Auckland, having experienced one of the most special weekends of our lives. We hope to never forget what we felt and our love for the good people we met.