Sam comes home, Sunrises & haircuts , Elder Madill & Elder Lyman

      Sam has been in the Philippines for about 3 weeks, we really miss him when he is gone, and the Nett Branch reeeeeeeeeeeealy misses him when he is gone, Welcome Home, Sam, even if it is only for 1 week.
       We did haircuts today for some of the Elders, Elder Eyre, Elder Cook, Elder Madill & Elder Lyman. Only Elder Lyman & Elder Madill let us take pictures. Also,Elder Madill had some amazing Sunrise pictures from other parts of the Island. Enjoy !!!!11

Welcome Home,
Sam

Elder Shakespere, Elder Lyman, & Elder Madill
We couldn't talk Elder Shakespere into a hair cut.

15 Baptisms in one week

       In the past the Holidays, Thanksgiving & Christmas have been really slow times for missionary  work here. but, this year, Pres. Mecham, our mission President, gave us all a challenge to not let down, but to work even harder during the Holidays. So all the missionaries have been working really hard and this week alone on our Island we had 15 baptisms. Once we get the totals for the whole month, I think we may break the old record of 15 baptisms for a month. We did not get pictures of all the new members, simply because we couldn't get to all the baptisms, but we got more then half.

   

         The Mand Branch has struggled for years, they have not had a lot of Baptisms for years, but they got a new Branch Pres., Pres. Redes, and he has done miracles for this little branch, and Elder Cole and Elder Ashcraft have also done miracles for this branch. Today, they had 7 baptisms, they were suppose to have 10, but one young mans, mom would not give permission, and the other 2 still needed to work on a few things. So here are the Mand Baptisms.

O.K., lets see if I get all the names right
Michelle James ( a new Young Adult), Elder Cole, Jesse Sailas, Jordan Sailas, Keven Delosantos, Kmiko Delosantos
Merlyn Andon, Johnson Sailas, & Elder Ashcraft

Merlyn Andon and her 2 children, Kmiko & Kevin

Jesse, Johnson & Jordan Sailas
Hopefully, their Mom will be baptized in the next week or so

Michelle James
She is one of our Young Adults, she was coming to activities before she was baptised

Have you ever seen 2 more Happy Missionaries?
Elder Ashcraft & Elder Cole

A Helping hand into the waters of Baptism

Our Truck Load of Nett Branch

            Then we had baptisms in Sapwalap & Uh Branches, They had 5 total, Sapwalap had 2 convert baptisms and 2, 8 year olds and Uh had 1 convert baptism. We were not able to attend those Baptisms because we also had baptisms for Nett & Sekerra at about the same time and these 4 branches are on opposite sides of the Island and we had to get home to get Sam's truck(Sam is off Island) so we could pick up the Nett Branch and baptismal candidates and get them to the Baptism, so we went straight from Mand to Nett. 

Elder Eyre with his baptisms

All the Baptismal Candidates from Nett & Sekerra and there friends and family

It's a great day for White Clothing

We were able to get pictures of the Uh Baptism. Take a look below.

The Uh Baptism, Elder Madill, Marsha, her family & Elder Lyman

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us on the Island of Pohnpei, in the Micronesia Guam Mission

     Our Thanksgiving is just ending and yours is just beginning, So right now I am thinking of 3 places I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. My Home in Heaven, My home in Utah & my home in Micronesia.
     I want to let all you parents, sons & daughters, brothers & sisters, grandparents, friends, etc. all who follow this blog because you have a loved one serving on the Island of Pohnpei, in the Micronesia Guam Mission, That your loved ones had a wonderful Thanksgiving, They miss you, and all are a little homesick right now, as we start through this special time of year. But all are also strong, and working hard to brings Gods children back to Him.
    So I am going to get sentimental for a moment,( o.k. kids, you can stop reading and go straight to the pictures now if you want to.) I want to say the things that I am Thankful for this Thanksgiving, my first, so far away from the people I love and miss.
     First, I am Thankful and will ever be indebted to my Father in Heaven, His patience, kindness, forgiveness & love, that He gives me, even when I don't deserve it.
     Second, I am grateful for His Son, My Eldest Brother, my Savior, My King, and the only way I can ever go home again. Jesus Christ, for His atoning sacrifice for me, I hope one day that He will say to me "Well done"
     Third, His Gospel, and His Church, of which I have the opportunity to bear witness to its truthfulness each day.
     4th,   My Testimony
     5th,    My sweet, amazing, eternal companion, Alan, he is so patient with me and has always and will always be my example, on earth, of the things I should be doing.
     6.  My wonderful children, all 8 of them, whether my birth, or marriage, I love you all as my own. thank You for loving me.
      7. My 6 little grandchildren, how I love them and how my heart misses them. ( not that I don't miss my kids, but hey, these are my grand kids and grandma is allowed to love and miss them) They are the light of my life.
      8 Both Alan's and my parents and brothers & sisters. Thank You for being patient with us and forgiving us when we need forgiving.
      9. I am thankful for the amazing missionaries I have the privilege of serving with. To you Moms and Dads of these Elders & Sisters. WOW, what a great job you have done. Your sons and daughters continue to amaze me each day. they are strong, they are true, they love the Lord and His children here on Pohnpei. They are the best of the best. You can be very proud of them. Thank you for raising such fine men and women.
   10. I am grateful for everything, all the things I can't name, my whole life, trials, triumphs. I continue to learn each day.

Getting ready to serve dinner

Yes, we did make pies, about 10 different kinds

Ready, Set, Eat

Sisters First

Every Man or Women for herself

Elder Eyre

Elder Ashcraft

Elder Cole

Elder Bunn

Sister Fatongia

Sister Varea

Sister Beautler

Sister Varea

Elder Peterson

Elder Bourne

Elder Madill

Elder Gasu

Elder Davis

Sister Kjar

Elder Kjar

Sister Vincent

Elder Vincent

Elder Hansen

Elder Lyman

Elder Petersen

Elder Lyman

Elder Petersen

 So enjoy the pictures of our Thanksgiving Dinner, and please know that your sons & daughters, Moms & Dads love all of you, and Thank You for supporting us.

                                     HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE