TO EVERY
THING THERE IS A SEASON
What a
blessing the past summer has been. Being
with the Young Single Adults in Sunday school classes, temple trips, beach
parties, dances, service projects, and the 2015 YSA National Conference made
for a busy summer. Young Single Adult
activities never seem to end when you are involved with 12 stakes and 83 wards. (Summer =
no school = no institute classes = more activities.)
“To everything there is a season…” The stake institute classes started again February 10th and the Universities started back March 2nd.
PICTURE ABOVE: A picture at sunset taken from the balcony of our apartment. The end of summer. School is back.
Sister
Perron baked some cinnamon rolls for the students to have as they wandered in
and out of the institute building throughout orientation week (February 23-27). Institute classes at the Universities started
on Monday March 2nd. Elder
and Sister Perron are teaching 6 institute classes this semester. Elder Perron teaches Missionary Preparation, The Gospel and the Productive Life, and Introduction to Family History. Sister Perron teaches Eternal Marriage, Institute Choir /Hymn Appreciation, and of course
her famous Cooking Class. Our schedule is pretty much as follows. Since the weekends are very busy for us
attending YSA activities and attending multiple wards on Sunday – to be with
the YSA in church – we do not teach any classes on Monday. Monday morning on our way into the Institute building
we go by the grocery store and buy 10 quarts of milk, 5 loaves of bread, 10 packets
of instant noodles, milo (a form of hot chocolate almost), peanut-butter, and jelly.
We place this in the snack room for the students to use during the week. We then teach our classes on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. Sister Perron
holds her cooking class on Thursday so we make another trip to the grocery
store Wednesday night following our evening institute visits to the stakes to
buy the necessary ingredients for her class.
Friday there is no institute classes but we are in the institute
building all day supervising the institute, hanging out with the students, and
usually we have some kind of activity going on for those who wish to
attend. The Institute building is a
social center, good place for the university students to study, and a place for
gospel learning. We usually leave the
building between 6:00 / 6:30 PM. Since
we attend stake institutes every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night getting
home between 9:30 and 10:30 PM. Our
apartment is basically just a place to sleep.
We eat out most of the time except for breakfast and snacks when we
return home late at night.
“To everything there is a
season…” Welcome back!! The first week of March at the institute building was a festival of
activities. Monday, Sister Perron Baked Cinnamon rolls again. Tuesday,
Elder Perron cooked pancakes all day to go with the ice cream and toppings (the
only way to eat pancakes is with ice cream!
(A new-found-truth revealed
because of faithful missionary service!)
Lest we forget Tuesday was Elder Perron’s birthday. That morning Sister Elly Edwards, institute
director and teacher made him a cake.
Elder Perron stepped out of the office for a minute and we gathered all
the students into the office. When Elder
Perron stepped back in the room was full of students singing “Happy Birthday!” Sister Edwards walking in with the birthday
cake with candles burning. It was fun to
see the surprise on his face. Most the
students signed a birthday card for him with sweet sentiments. And sweet Loni brought him a container full
of Rocher’s chocolates and a card. Then
again that evening we shared 100 cupcakes with the institute students from the
Papatoetoe, Tamaki and Otara stakes. I
was trying to be sneaky and plan a surprise party for Elder Perron following
institute but he saw an email that was sent to me regarding the baking of cupcakes. It was still a great celebration. 100 students sang “Happy Birthday” again, as
he stood up and led them like a chorister.
It was funny! He has another
birthday cards signed by most the students from Papatoetoe, Tamaki and Otara. It was a sweet and memorable day for all of
us. The students were too kind to him. Wednesday,
Sister Perron served Sloppy Joes for
two hours mid-day. Oh yes! It was Elder
Perron’s birthday back in the states so there was another day of “happy
birthday” messages flooding in from family and friends. Elder Perron celebrated his birthday for two
days. Elder Perron “highly recommends
this extra-ordinary celebration and suggests any and all readers might want to
consider getting into the mission field as soon as possible – DO NOT MISS OUT
ON THE EXCITEMENT!” Thursday, Sister Perron baked about seven-dozen chocolate chip
cookies. Today was my mother’s funeral
back in the states (Wednesday - March 4th in Gooding, Idaho). The day was full of calls from our children
followed with Facebook pictures of family members that had been at the funeral. I was able to talk to my sister and my dad! It was a very touching day even though I was thousands
of miles away. My heart and prayers are
especially with my Dad at this time of sorrow as he journeys the rest of life
without his beloved wife at his side. I
was told it was a particularly rough day for him.
Friday, the
students attended a devotional followed
with a Pizza party. This week of
excitement was simply the exclamation marks to punctuate the 16 different
Institute classes that had been taught throughout the week and will be
continuing through the semester: Doctrines of the Gospel; Book of Mormon 1;
Book of Mormon 2; Doctrine & Covenants 1; Doctrine & Covenants 2;
Music; Mission Preparation; Eternal Marriage; Devotional Series; The Pearl of
Great Price; Teachings of The Living Prophets; The Gospel and The Productive
Life; Old Testament 2, New Testament 2, Cooking Class; and Introduction To Family History.
PICTURE ABOVE: Sister Perron in our apartment preparing one of her institute classes.
PICTURE ABOVE: Elder Perron and his birthday cake in the office of the institute building. Sister Perron is behind the camera taking the picture. Such a sweet loving companion.
PICTURE ABOVE: Another birthday celebration following institute at the Papatoetoe, Tamaki and Otara stakes. Elder Perron says after you reach a certain age they celebrate your birthday twice a day just so you can remember it is your birthday. A new procedure to improve short term memory.
PICTURE ABOVE: Debbie’s father - Bob Rogers - getting a hug from his granddaughter Kendra with his great grandson Dean looking on. This was at the funeral in Gooding, Idaho. It was a tough time for Dad. In the background is Bob's sister Darlene Rogers Bartlome.
Since our nephew – Elder Perron the younger – has been transferred from the northland (Dargaville) down into the Auckland area (Epsom) we bump into him once in a while when we are out and about. We called him the other day and offered to take him and his companion to dinner. He wanted to know if he could bring his Zone Leaders to dinner also; seems four elders were housed in the same apartment. One of his Zone Leaders – Elder Jorgenson – had previously spent quite a bit of time serving in downtown Auckland so he and his companion used a room at the Institute building to teach four different investigators; three of which were baptized. Elder Perron and I got to sit in on a lot of those discussions and take part so we became very close to him and his companion. It was great to have dinner with him and Tyler. They of course chose an upscale Mongolian Buffet Restaurant. It was very good! Those young men can put away the food! I’m sure we got our money’s worth.
Friday, March 6th
– Sister Balli – the Mission President’s wife – put on a women’s conference for
all sister missionaries – young and old – serving in the Auckland area. The
theme was, “What Manner of Woman Ought Ye to be?” President and Sister Balli
spoke to us in the morning and presented a slide show. It was a lot of fun! Each district put on skits teaching some
gospel principle. They were fun,
humorous, and taught a lesson. While the
skits were going on, President Balli, Elder Tibbitts, and Elder Smith –
Assistants to the President – were busy in the kitchen helping the caterer chop
up fruit, vegetables and chicken and fixing salads for the sisters. I went back there and they were working their
little hearts out helping prepare the meal.
I was really impressed! We had
chicken wraps, salads, fresh cut up fruit, and dessert. Elder Tibbitts is also related – the nephew
of our daughters husband. After lunch
the sisters were doing a craft so Sister Wallace, Sister Fugal, and I – senior
missionaries - left early making a quick stop to buy a few things at the
American Food Store on our way back to our mission assignments. Sister Wallace drove us to the conference so
she drove through downtown Auckland for the first time as she dropped me off at
the Institute. It was quite nerve
wracking for her. When we got to the
Institute Building she said, “Just get out!
Get out!” Later we laughed about
that so hard, because it came out way different than what she meant.
On Saturday (March 7th)
we had a Regional YSA Devotional with Elder Allan F.Packer of the First Quorum
of the Seventy who is visiting the Pacific Area. One of Elder Packer’s responsibilities at
church headquarters is over the Family History Department. The theme of the devotional was “Igniting
Interest in Family History.” The challenge to those in attendance was to
finish their “15 in 15”. Which is to
finish their four generation group sheet this year and take family names to the
temple. We have been blessed with visits
from General Authorities all of a sudden.
ABOVE PICTURE: Elder Allan F. Packer shaking hands with some of the YSA at the Mt. Roskill Stake Center just prior to the devotional.
That day we also visited
with Billa, the young single adult from Tonga that had served his mission in Idaho
Boise Mission. We have mentioned him in
previous blogs. He was very happy to see
us but seemed extremely stressed. Elder
Perron took him aside and asked him what was wrong. He was worried because the family he was
living with did not want him to continue in his education. Remember he has just received a
scholarship! In addition the family (his
extended grandfather) would only allowed him to attend one church meeting a
week. He had received one hiding because he had disobeyed. This limit on church attendance meant no more
Institute or YSA activities. He is the
Stake YSA male rep and so this was limiting his ability to fulfil his
calling. He was quite upset. Said he needed to find a new place to
live. Elder Perron asked him if he had
talked to his Bishop. “No, I am too shy
and embarrassed!” Elder Perron saw his
stake president at the meeting and told him of the situation and followed up
with the stake president by email giving the stake president a quick summary of
the situation along with Billa’s name and ward. The stake president emailed
back that he had forwarded the information to his bishop and told him to meet
with him during the week. Next time we
saw Billa – a few weeks later – he was bright, enthusiastic, and cheerful. The bishop had helped him find a new place to
stay. He is a testimony to us that when
you are obedient to God’s commandments and diligent in serving in every way you
can, the Lord is aware of your needs and blesses you. We have seen miracle after miracle in Billa’s
life. He is so faithful and diligent!
Monday 9th Was
at the institute building as usual but in the evening we attended Family Home
Evening with the senior missionaries at the Area Office.
March 13th Friday . Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane and is likely the
most destructive disasters in Vanuatu's
history. Vanuatu is an
archipelago nation consisting of 83 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean,
north of New Zealand and east of Australia. More than 6,000 Latter-day Saints and 31
congregations live in Vanuatu, spread among the 65 inhabited islands. There are 250,000 people who
live in Vanuatu. The first reports out
of Vanuatu were of total disaster.
Early reports from Church leaders in Fiji and Tuvalu confirmed that all missionaries
in the Fiji Suva Mission were accounted for and safe. All the missionaries in the Solomon Islands
and New Caledonia areas were also safe.
In the Vanuatu Port Vila Mission – which took the direct hit from the
cyclone – all missionaries were accounted for and safe except for 11 elders serving on the island of Tanna with which no
contact had yet been made. President
Brewer – mission president indicated that all missionaries were notified before
the cyclone arrived and moved to the safest location in each respective island.
Let me here paraphrase a report that I heard from some of the senior missionaries serving in the area office discussing a report from President Brewer, mission president in Vanuatu:
Initially all the cell towers
were down and out all through Vanuatu so there was no communication. We did have a satellite phone in the mission
office but it was tough getting through at times. After about two days we were able to talk
more easily and account for all missionaries on the island of Elfate; where the
mission home is located. Soon there after we had accounted for all the
missionaries except for 11 missionaries located on the island of Tanna. After about four days we were very concerned
about those elders. There were no
communications of any kind coming from Tanna and we could not fly in yet.. President
Brewer would try calling the elders cell phone several times a day but no answer
there was no answer. You can imagine the
anxiety of the mission president and the church leaders.
On the fourth day the
president called the zone leaders cell phone again. The zone leaders answered and reported that
the missionaries were safe and accounted for.
The phone call lasted about 15 seconds.
President Brewer was in
town – Port Vila the capital city – so he stopped by the stopped by the cell
phone company to thank them for getting the cell phone towers up in Tanna. They said, “We have not been able to
communicate with Tanna and we have no cell phone towers up in Tanna. We have not been able to get any of our
people out to Tanna. President Brewer
told them he had just communicated with his Elders on Tanna via cell
phone. They said, “there is no way.” President said, “I know the Elders phone
number, it was their cell phone that I called.”
No one could explain what had happened.
Then someone noticed President Brewer’s black name badge and
commented. “You can call it whatever you
would like, insinuating a miracle.”
Several days
later the Church chartered a small plane and flew from Port Vila to Tanna. There were two missionaries on board with
food and other supplies to give much needed relief to those suffering from the
effects of Cyclone Pam. The plane was also be used to bring the 11 missionaries
on Tanna back to Port Vila.
A NOTE OF
INTREST: Several weeks after the Cyclone
passed through Vanuatu I had a young single adult who is a regular attendee at
institute come into our office. He
introduced another university student to us.
The student was from Vanuatu, member of the church, studying at the
University here in Auckland as an exchange student. He did not know there was an institute
building. I asked him if he had been in
Vanuatu when the cyclone hit. “No I was
here in Auckland” but he said, “all of the people – member and non-member –
sought shelter in our church buildings because they were virtually the only
buildings of concrete construction. My
family is all safe!” Many Church members
and others lost their homes and are sheltering in Latter-day Saint
meetinghouses.
PICTURE ABOVE: Computer enhanced image of Cyclone Pam passing over Vanuatu with Fiji and New Caledonia being sweep by the outer edged of the storm. Australia is off to the left and the North Island of New Zealand is in the bottom center of the of the picture.
PICTURE ABOVE AND BELOW: Some of the first images coming in from Vanuatu
PICTURE ABOVE: Young Single Adults and missionaries in New Zealand assembling emergency relief packets to be shipped to Vanuatu. Elder Tyler Perron is in the middle of this picture at the far end of the table. You will notice him by his red hair.
On Sunday the 15th
Elder Perron and I attended a Sunday evening cottage meeting for the Young
Single Adults in the Waterview Stake. The
evening consisted of a general opening session; the attendees were then divided
into four groups; the groups then rotated through four different presentations
located at different rooms in the building; presentations lasted twenty minutes
each; there was a closing session and then a light supper in the cultural
hall. The four area of focus was
self-reliance, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Elder Perron and I were located in the
chapel; our presentation was on “Spiritual Well Being.” To make a difference in twenty minutes we
focused on a statement of President Gordon B. Hinckley: “
“I have had
the feeling that if we could just encourage our people to live by three or four
covenants everything else would take care
of itself. …
“The
first of these is the covenant of the sacrament, in which we take upon ourselves
the name of the Savior and agree to keep His commandments with the promise in
His covenant that He will bless us with His spirit. …
“Second,
the covenant of tithing. … The promise … is that He will
stay the destroyer and open the windows of heaven and pour down blessings that
there will not be room enough to receive them. …
“Three,
the covenants of the temple:
Sacrifice, the willingness to sacrifice for this the Lord’s work—and inherent
in that law of sacrifice is the very essence of the Atonement. … Consecration,
which is associated with it, a willingness to give everything, if need be, to
help in the on-rolling of this great work. And a covenant of love and loyalty
one to another in the bonds of marriage, fidelity, chastity, morality.
“If our people could only learn to live by
these covenants, everything else would take care of itself, I am
satisfied.”
The quarterly Young Single
Adult Regional activity – involving the twelve stakes in Auckland – was held Saturday
and Sunday March 21st and 22nd Saturday was a sports day involving track and
field competitions. Once again Elder
Perron and I were asked to bring our first-aid-kit
and skills. We only had one injury. Irae – a young single adult from the
Henderson Stake pulled a hamstring in the 100 meter dash. Elder Perron had ice on it and wrapped before
you could bat an eye. He looked like he
knew what he was doing. Quite
impressive! Who ever thought that first
aid would be even a portion of our mission?
It was a fun day hanging out with and watching the YSA compete in all
sorts of events from the high jump, touch rugby, 100, 200 and 400 meter
sprints, gunnysack races and a tug of war. And only one accident! Whoo hoo!
It was a beautiful day weather wise also – no rain and not too hot.
PICTURE ABOVE: Elder and Sister Perron manning their "first aid" station at the Regional YSA activity. Nice day sitting under a canopy with a gentle breeze keeping us comfortable. We got their early - just waiting for SOMETHING to happen.
On Sunday at the Regional YSA Devotional, Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Pacific Area President spoke. Elder Pearson announced that they will be creating two YSA Wards in Auckland. One in the South Auckland and one in North Auckland. YSA from the Papakura, Manurewa, Redoubt, Manukau, Papatoetoe, Otara and Tamaki stake will combine to create the Auckland YSA 1st Ward and be a unit in the Manukau Stake. The YSA from the Harbour, Waterview, Henderson, Mt. Roskill, and Panmure stakes will combine to create the Auckland YSA 2nd Ward and be a unit in the Harbour Stake. The YSA are free to choose if they want to move their records to the YSA wards or remain in their existing conventional wards. There is quite a bit of excitement and a lot of mixed emotions among the YSA. Many have callings they love in their home wards and do not want to leave. Others are worried about the travel and cost because it will take them 35 to 40 minutes one way to get to their new ward. I think it is wonderful and I hope the YSA will give it a chance. The YSA Wards will be organized Sunday May 3, 2015.
Earlier that day we
attended a meeting called by Elder Coward, our Area Seventy, to discuss weekday
parking problems at the Scotia Place Chapel.
Attending the meeting was the Waterview Stake President, the agent
bishop of the Scotia Place Chapel, the director of the Family Services Center –
which is located beside the chapel – and the regional physical facilities
representative and Elder Perron and I were representing the Institute which is
located about four blocks from the building.
Since the Scotia Place chapel in a two story structure with VERY limited
parking with hotels and apartments all around it – everyone is trying to park
there. Not just members but hotel
guests, apartment dwellers, anyone needed a parking place and seeing an open
space, church members working downtown, university students, institute
students. Parking is very tough to find
in downtown Auckland. The local church
authorities in consultation with the regional physical facilities
representative put a vehicle towing policy in place. As a result some YSA iuniversity/institute
students had their cars towed and it cost them $300 to get their cars out of
impound. The Area Seventy did not like
the towing policy so he called the meeting.
It is a difficult problem but I am sure there will be a solution.
Most exciting – the
weekend of March 21st seemed to be the weekend of proposals, engagements,
and announcements. It was so fun because
I received a Facebook private message from Tom that he was going to ask his
girlfriend to marry him that weekend.
Then his twin brother, Dave, passed through our office and told us he
was going to ask Emma to marry him on Saturday.
I was so excited!! I see Emma
every day and visit with her and it was all I could do to contain my excitement! Sure enough they came through with fabulous,
exciting, proposals and I got to hear first-hand from Emma. When we walked through the institute doors on
Monday she was waiting in our office for us to tell us exactly how it had
happened and show us her beautiful diamond clad finger! Then later on Monday, Michael Vea announced
his engagement however he had told me the week before that he was going to ask
his girlfriend when we were in our New Testament institute class. He shared with me a spiritual experience that
had just happened and he had the strong impression that she was the one and he
was not to waste any more time but was to ask her to marry him. And then Wednesday at Manukau Institute Manu
came up and said, “I asked Hannah to marry me this past Monday and she said,
Yes!” We could not be happier for these
couples. We have been watching them and
hoping this would transpire! We are like
two of the happiest “Grand-Perron’s” there are!!
Monday 23rd. Sister Perron and Sister Wallace drove up to
their hairdresser together. She lives
about 45 minutes north along the Hibiscus coast. Her shop is in her home. The Sisters only got part of the day off - they were both back at their assigned posts in the afternoon.
PICTURE ABOVE: Sister Perron is preparing an evening meal in our apartment. Elder Perron is just relaxing - but he bears testimony that having a great companion is one of the best parts of a mission.
PICTURE ABOVE: Sister Perron is working on a project. Elder Perron is still relaxing - however he says taking these pictures does contribute to our Family History.
On Friday the 27th we travelled to Hamilton to attend the temple with Kaiwhia – a YSA from the Tamaki Stake – as she was taking out her endowments. Her father died a few years ago and Friday would have been his birthday and so she took out her endowments on his birthday. What a sweet sentimental thing to do. It was a special day for us to be there with her.
Friday evening after
returning from the temple we went to the Saineha ward – a Tongan speaking ward
– where they were celebrating the wards 30th year anniversary. This was the first Tongan Ward in New Zealand. The Young Single Adults – and many others – were
preforming cultural dances. Thus our
invitation. What a celebration!! When the Tongans put on an event they go all
out! Loni invited us because she wanted
us to be there and to watch her perform.
The colourful costumes, the decorations, the hospitality, the
feast. I have never seen such a
celebration! What a delightful
experience. We were sitting on the chairs
along the sides of the cultural hall happily taking it all in, when they came
and invited us to sit at the head table that was all decorated, and piled high
with food and four or five roasted pigs lining the table. We tried to decline but I could tell we were
upsetting them and so we sat at the table like a king and queen. I cannot tell you how much I love these
cultural events and celebrations. They
are truly a delight. The people are not
inhibited, they dance, they sing, they laugh, they perform, and they are
cheerful and happy as can be! They are
beautiful!
PICTURES ABOVE AND BELOW: Saineha 1st Ward (Tongan Ward) birthday celebration!
PICTURES ABOVE AND BELOW: There was - and always is - plenty of food at a Tongan celebration.
PICTURE ABOVE: Elder and Sister Perron were treated with great respect and shown an abundance of love from these great saints!
PICTURES ABOVE AND BELOW: Everyone participated in the celebration.
PICTURE ABOVE: Loni - third from the left - invited us to come watch her group preform. Loni is a member of our student council at the university institute.
Sunday we went to a YSA cottage
evening at the Papatoetoe Stake. The YSA had
spent the weekend doing service work at the Auckland Botanical Gardens. We were not at their service project. However the culmination of the weekend was a
nice devotional with get to know you games and great spiritual talks by Bishop
Leuluai of the Papatoetoe 1st ward and two returned missionaries.
Aroha Nui,
Elder & Sister Perron
No comments:
Post a Comment