I prepared for my talk today in the old-fashioned way – with
paper and pen. Being frugal, I pulled
out an old spiral notebook – a cast off from Seth’s middle school days. As I looked through for some blank pages, I
came across the talk I shared with 3rd ward some 18 months ago. Recognizing that you may not remember all
that I said at that time, I wanted to include a bit of it today. I am amazed at how accurate I was then as to
what our mission to Fiji would include:
“Hopefully there will be
opportunities in Fiji to assist our brothers and sisters there, in realizing
the fullness of the blessings available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ . .
. I foresee us having opportunities to share heartfelt concerns with humble
families and individuals who are seeking a better understanding of life’s
purposes. They will love the Lord and
will want to more fully understand His teachings as restored through our
Prophet Joseph Smith, and continue to be taught by our modern day
prophets. If we can extend and multiply
the kind of relationship and experience we have had with the Bohan family s
they have come sincerely seeking eternal truths, then we may not want to come
home. Perhaps we will be asked to assist
newly called branch or ward leaders who are young in the Gospel. As a lay church, we ask so much of
members. Isolated off on some little
island, maybe we can lend some support. Hopefully
some things we have experienced along the way here will help someone
there. I hope we will be able to be instruments
in the Lord’s hands to help fill whatever needs we can.”
We arrived
in Fiji with a desire to serve. Just how
we would fulfill that desire unfolded each day.
Our mission president gave us some guidelines and then left the rest up
to us. In our quest to be the Lord’s
hands to these oh-so-humble people, our lives were blessed as well. As most of you know already, as we give
service we are in turn strengthened and our conversion to gospel principles
grows. This was true for me!
Before we
had even left the United States we had a wonderful tender mercy from the Lord
in the SLC airport. We had several hours to wander and take
in the fact that we would be leaving our home, family and country for 18
months. We were emotional and unsettled with the
unknown. As we were finding our way to our gate, we noticed a woman
walking close by who also wore a missionary name tag. We were drawn
to her and asked where she might be going. She explained that she
and her husband were serving as mission president and that she had traveled
with a sick sister to return her back to her family so she could
heal. As a professional nurse she was just the right person to
comfort this ailing sister and for us she was just the right person to comfort
our worried hearts. She hugged us and reassured us that she
understood our fears but that Heavenly Father would watch over all. We shed a
few tears that came easily and know that it was a tender mercy for us.
This was such a special, personal reassurance from Heavenly Father. We knew the He knew we needed a hug – not
just a physical hug, but a spiritual one that said; “I know you and love
you. I will be at your side.” We were leaving behind our family and
friends, but we were not forgotten. This
reminds me of Elder Bednar’s insightful address on “tender mercies”:
“The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal
and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance,
loving kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive
from, and because of, and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits his mercies according
to the conditions of the children of men. We should not underestimate or
overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies.”
Throughout our mission, we could see the Lord’s
hand. We would find people with
directions that included things like: “Go towards the hill until you see a
mango tree. Turn until you get to the
coconut palm on the inside. Turn past
the cane field road and then in the village ask for her. What is the name of the person you’re looking
for?” Ulamila Bainivalu, we replied. “Oh
yea, everyone will know her. Just ask
someone in the village.” As we sought to
find the lost sheep, God guided us to them.
One of the amazing tender mercies we
would experience regularly was just running into individuals we needed to
see. They would just “happen to be”
where we would be. While we had our 5
short days of preparation in the MTC, one of the promises we were given was
that the Lord was preparing those who we would teach even before we
arrived. For us, this was realized on
our first day in Ba. [relay the story of
Tuliana]
These tender mercies were surely an
ongoing blessing then, and remain in place for us all at any time in our
life. Acknowledging and thanking
Heavenly Father is important as we grow in appreciation for the way He
personally blesses us.
As we went about getting acquainted
with the members in Fiji, we would go to their homes. Usually, that would include sitting together
on a hand-woven mat on the floor, singing some hymns, and having a prayer. We would try to learn their names and figure
out who was in the immediate family, who was extended family, and who was a
neighbor who just happened to be there to join in. As we talked and listened, we became aware of
struggles and trials they were dealing with.
One or the other of us would often feel prompted to ask if they would
like a priesthood blessing. That opened
many special opportunities to extend Heavenly Father’s hand to those humble and
faith-filled people, as well as a personal way to see faith and priesthood
power bring about miracles.
One Sunday night, when our daughter
Sara and husband Birch were visiting us, we stepped into a humble home, with
low ceilings and a dirt floor. A kerosene
lamp was burning and the family was sitting around talking. We sang some hymns
and visited with the family when we found that 15 year-old Miriama had a very
bad foot infection. Birch dressed her
wounds and he and Tom gave her a blessing.
Her mother wept and the visit contributed to their eventual interest in
learning more of the Church. By the time
we left Fiji, all were members.
Later, we would help Miriama’s
grandmother also become active again and prepare to go to the temple. Sister Mate was a special person and we felt
we were on holy ground when we visited her little tin shack where she helped us
teach Miriama the lessons.
Other tender mercies included
helping Temesi Naio; and most personally, the blessings we experienced when our
son Seth and his wife Caroline and family were in their terrible auto accident
in Africa. [share stories]
Challenges of living in Fiji tested
us to the max. It is so hot and humid,
there are bugs and geckos and mice and rates and they feel as welcome inside as
out. True, it is a tropical paradise but
it was no vacation! Our commitment to
honor the covenants we have made in the temple were put to the test. Would we be willing to give our all to the
building of His Kingdom?
In the process, I need to be honest
that we were not free from some murmuring.
Efficiency and effectiveness are pretty much non-existent in the Fijian
culture. The absence of working phones,
clocks and calendars, etc. make for big challenges as well. Resetting our expectations of what, how, and
when we could accomplish tasks and training had to be much reduced. We wish there might have been more measurable progress. But the lasting
gift of grace that came as we sought to extend the Lord’s hand to these sweet
people was felt and appreciated. Especially
as we helped them prepare to go to the temple so that they too could make
sacred covenants with the Lord. Within a
congregation, there are few who will seek these blessings so it definitely was
a privilege to be a part of it.
On our last day in Fiji, we were
able to return to our first area of service and say goodbye to our first Fijian
friends. We were happy to be able to
give away much of what we had brought (clothing, shoes, tools, etc.). One of the dear, dear families we had been to
the temple with and who we had become particularly close to, responded after
giving them some things: “If you had never given us anything, you have given us
the best gift we could have” [by helping them become active, receive the
priesthood, and be sealed in the temple].
After all is said and done, we leave dear friends who know we love them
and care about them.
As I reflect on some of these
blessings that have been in greater focus since our time in Fiji, I am most
grateful for the conviction I have of Heavenly Father’s love for all His
children. He has a perfect plan of
happiness that is extended to all. His
mercy reaches out to those in distant island lands, as well as developed and
privileged continents. All will be made
right.
It was a privilege to serve along
side my dear husband. We were pretty
much "it" when it came to local support and I could not have made it without
him. Serving, surviving, and sacrificing
together has strengthened us even more.
Thank you, thank you for embracing
our family during some real difficult times.
As we represented the Lord, we also felt like you were on our side. I know the true gospel has been restored to
the earth by the prophet Joseph Smith, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior.
Tom's Homecoming Talk – Corvallis 3rd Ward (April 28, 2013)
1) So good to be home, thanks
for all your support – mission & home
2) Nearly two years ago, in May
of 2011, Annie and I opened a large white envelope and read a letter over the
signature of the Prophet: “You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Fiji Suva
Mission . . . Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by
helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His
Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
enduring to the end. As you serve with
all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are
prepared to be baptized. The Lord will
reward you for the goodness of your life.
Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await
you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among
His children.”
There is nothing quite like receiving such a letter, it
changes you forever and soon you walk among those who wear the black badge –
who dedicate all their time, energy, and resources to magnify their callings
and work full-time in the service of their fellow beings in some divinely
chosen spot of the world. Ours was on a
little set of islands among a beautiful brown skinned and smiley people whom we
came to love with such emotion that we are scarcely able to speak of them
without tears.
Here’s a passages that
describes something of our experience and which has become fondly embedded in
our minds and hearts:
“And they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord
would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with
them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were
possible, their brethren, the [Fijians] to the knowledge of the truth. And the Lord did visit them with his Spirit,
and said unto them: Be comforted. And
they were comforted. And the Lord said
unto them also; Go forth among the [Fijians], thy brethren, and establish my
word; yet ye shall be patient in long suffering and afflictions, that ye may
show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee
in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.” (Alma17:9-11)
We
study our scriptures and see that we must
"becometh a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,
willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us],
even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19); and we think
we are just beginning to understand what that might really mean.
“Then
we go to some little home, so barren of any possession that it is startling,
and we have the sweetest sharing time. We hear an old woman, Sister Mate,
telling how she was inspired by a scripture to pray that she might just make a
dollar or two that day at the market so she could afford to go to church - and
the Lord answered her prayer. We hear the Nairoqo family telling us that
we were their "saviors," and we get a tearful kiss and grateful smile
from a little old Indian woman who speaks no English - simply because we
visited her and brought a pair of reading glasses from the dollar store (thanks
Sara & Birch). We share a lesson on the plan of salvation with a 58
year-old man who lost his wife last year and he says, "I have never heard
of these things before, but they sit right with me." And we wonder how we
could be so ungrateful as to [have felt at times that our mission was] largely
a waste of time.” (Journal Entry – 9)
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught,
“Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and
adversity than by comfort and tranquility . . . Father Lehi promised his son
Jacob that God would ‘consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain’ (2 Nephi
2:2). And the Prophet Joseph was
promised that, “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small
moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on High”
(D&C 121:7-8).
We came home with a big
mixture of feelings. It was a hard
mission, a wonderful mission, and a refining and eye-opening mission. We had moments of such difficulty and
discouragement that we wondered if we could go on, but we also had moments of
such deep and indescribable joy that we hope to never forget. Our testimonies have grown and our dependence
on, and love for the Lord have certainly become deeper. We heard one missionary share his testimony
upon departure, using an allusion to the Lord taking Peter, James, and John “a
little further” into the garden of Gethsemane from the other 8 apostles so they
could “watch” with Jesus as he suffered.
The missionary said that he felt his mission had taken him “a little
further into the Garden.” I loved that thought
and feel just the same.
Testimony
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The following weekend, we gave a more thorough account of our mission to the Corvallis community in an informal "fireside" presentation. That pretty much tidied up our mission experience as we settled back into family and community ~ forever grateful.
_________________________
The following weekend, we gave a more thorough account of our mission to the Corvallis community in an informal "fireside" presentation. That pretty much tidied up our mission experience as we settled back into family and community ~ forever grateful.
Perhaps we will close with the sentiment of other "returning missionaries" in the Book of Mormon, as they recalled the blessings of their difficult but oh so important mission: "Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice for our joy is full; yea, we will praise God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, [we] say unto you, [we] cannot say the smallest part which [we] feel" (Alma 26:16).
