Party in Nett

     Boy, can these kids dance !!!!!!
     The Nett branch had a party on Friday night and we went.  We brought brownies, coconut bars, cookies, banana bread and they made soup and brought coconuts, banana's, and the most amazing fruit salad made up of fresh off the tree Mangoes, Papaya, Pineapple, and Banana's.
    We had a stick pull contest, and that was great to watch as each man tried to out do the other one in strength, but in the end NO ONE could beat Elder Gasu, he is one strong Samoan.
    Then everyone from newborn to old folks danced for a present.  Kammie, they loved the stuff you sent. So each    child or person would have to do a dance to get a gift. Man, all of these kids were amazing, even the 2 year olds.
  It was great fun and a great branch activitie to help the branch members bond.

Lily Ann and Sis. LeFevre

Opening Presents

The Ladies Dance

Even the dogs were invited

Glow Braclets for everyone, they were a hit.

Everyone loved their braclets

3 beartiful girls, Liliannd, Jayna, & Michelle

What a great tie clip

Let there be light

Stick Pull

Elder Gasu & Sam

 Elder Vance against Elder Gasu,

   All had fun.

Faith, the Israelites and me

     We had an experience that reminded us of an Old Testament Story,  It is found in Joshua 3, pay special attention to verses 13 & 15. Now you all remember about Joshua, he was the prophet following Moses. Well he had a little problem with the children of Israel not believing he had the same power as Moses, so the Lord gave him a little hand.  They had to cross the river Jordan, so the Lord told Joshua to have the holders of the Ark of the Covenant, go first and the Lord would part the Jordan, just as He had the Red Sea for Moses.  Here is where it gets interesting,  The Lord wanted a show of Faith from the children of Israel, so His instructions to Joshua were that they had to walk out into the River before He would part the waters.  They had to show they had the Faith that the Lord would do what He said, through Joshua, before the miracle happened. Once their feet were wet up to their ankles, the Lord parted the waters and they walked through on dry ground.
       This morning Elder LeFevre and I went for our 3.20 mile walk, as usual. We were at the half-way point when it started to pour rain. So we ran to the Airport and waited there until the rain stopped. Well, the rain did not stop like it usually does. It just kept raining. So I said a little prayer and told Heavenly Father that we really needed to get home, because we had a lot to get done today. I ask Him to please calm the rain enough so we could walk home safely ( sometimes when it rains hard it is really slippery to walk ), or if it really needed to rain, to please send a good Samaritan to give us a ride home. I said Amen and waited. It kept raining hard and no one came. So after another 15 minutes we decided we were suppose to just walk in the rain as fast as we could. We stepped out in the rain and had not walked 100 yards and the rain stopped. There were clouds all around us and we could see the rain ahead of us, but the whole way home it did not rain where we were. As we walked, I said a silent prayer of Thanks and felt the spirit whisper to me, Well sometimes you just have to get your feet wet, like the Israelites, before I will bless you. WOW, was I humbled.
    How many times do we pray for help, and then just sit back and expect the Lord to do everything. There is a saying that says " Pray as if it all depends on the Lord and work as if it all depends on You". We have to do our part, if we expect the Lord to bless us with the help we need. We have to show that we have Faith, by taking that step into the Jordan, out in the pouring rain, or even into the darkness. Then when we show we have the Faith, the Lord helps us. Miracles don't come until AFTER the trial of our Faith.
    Now maybe to you this was not a miracle, but anyone who has ever seen the pouring rain out here, knows that usually it does not just stop and around one little area. I know the Lord answered my prayers this morning and I am grateful. I will not wait so long next time I ask for help to show I have the Faith that The Lord will answer my prayers.

Janice

Let me tell you about an amazing women here on Pohnpei. Her name is Janice Smith. She is an American and   a lawyer. She works for the state of Pohnpei with the Judges.  She is AMAZING.
     She is always helping and serving others. She works in the young women in one of our branches and the young women love her. She just got back from Girls Camp. It was held on an outer island, so to get there they had to take a boat.  She was there with 26 young women from the branch. It is our biggest group of young women on the island. She taught camp songs, taught certification, slept in a tent, which ended up being a floating tent when the tide came in. She is a real trooper, because camping out here is not like any kind of camping you would ever do back in Utah.  Rough camp is exactly that, ROUGH.
      Her faith is amazing, her testimony inspiring, and her love for everyone is the best thing about her.
      Recently, I have been having some skin problems,  weird rashes, so because her mother works for a dermatologist back home, she took some pictures of the sores on my arms and hands and sent them off to her mother, who showed them to the Dr. she works with and they sent me some samples of medicine, that hopefully will clear it up. It itches like crazy and the medicine is helping. So I also have to say what a great Mom she has too and Dr. her mom works for.  Thank You from Sis. LeFevre on Pohnpei.
      Now, I don't know to many people who would be so concerned about a Sr. Missionary that they have only known for 7 months, as to go the extra mile to help see if they could find a cure for a rash.
     Not just that, Janice has battled strep throat almost from the 1st day she arrived on the Island, she had to have her appendix out here (not something  I would recommend), and she has had several other health issues. Yet she never complains, she always is looking out for others, and she is always happy.
   She is a great example for all of us here. And for all you guys out there from our old singles ward, She is still single ( sorry Janice,  I couldn't help myself) and quite a catch, I think.
     If I can get her to stay still long enough while I have a camera, I will get a picture of her and you can see what a beautiful lady she is, both inside and out.
     We love you Janice, don't know what we will do when you go home.

The things we learn about ourselves

     We have spent the last week in Guam, at couples conference. All of the Sr. Couples in our mission gathered to be taught how to be better missionaries.  We got some great ideas and some new perspective.
      We have had a few struggles these last several months, one of those things where no matter what you do, or how hard you try, it is wrong. It has been weighing us down and we have not been as good at focusing on the missionary work we were sent here to do. We have felt pretty alone and like we were in the way, and even with as much prayer, fasting, scripture reading, etc., you know all those things we all have been taught all our lives to do when we are struggling, we just couldn't seem to get past it.
     Well we went to the conference, and we had decided to get to know some of the other couples on the other islands and see if that would help. It did.  We found the most amazing missionaries, I believe, on the planet. We listened as they told us of some of there struggles on each of there Islands. We listened to how they were dealing with them and we learned.
     You know what we learned?  THIS IS THE LORDS WORK, NOT OURS!!!!!!!!!, The things that have been getting us down, are just things.  It really doesn't matter. We just have to do our best and ask the Lord, what He would have us do. And His opinion of us, is the only one that matters. So we have come home with a new determination to put our focus on what the Lord sent us here to do and not let the other things get in the way of that.
     We love the Lord, and even more importantly, He loves us. That is why we left our family behind and went half-way around the world, to tell people how much they are loved by the Lord. You see when you get off your "pity party" and you start thinking about how much you are loved by the Lord, all the sudden, it does not matter, if others don't like you, all the sudden, you want everyone to know how much the Lord loves them. Loves us all, so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ. Who came to this earth and suffered immensely, so He would understand what each of us goes through each day. And then He died for us, so each of us, if we choose, could repent  and be forgiven of our sins and transgressions. Died for us, so one day we can all go Home, to that God who gave us life, our Heavenly Father. I don't know if I will ever really be able to fathom how much we are loved by the Lord, but I do know, that in spite of my imperfections, He still loves me.
       I learned that I have to let things go and move forward with the Lords work. That is what He wants me to do and we are here to please Him and no one else.  
       He lives, I know this, He loves us, I know this. His  Gospel is true, I know this. 

Sis. Simram, one of our Young Adults from Pohnpei,
She is getting ready to go to BYU Hawaii, We saw her in Guam
at church, just before she left.

Sis. Hadley( another one of our young adults and a new Missionary),
 Sis. Hadley(her mom), Sis Mecham ( our mission mom),
 and me.  Young Sis. Hadley just left our island to go on her mission
to the Phillipines, We got to see her off in Guam.

Some of the Sister Missionaries in Guam

Our mission Pres.. Pres. Mecham and Sis. Mecham, Sis. Hadley (mom),
Sis. Hadley (missionary), Sis. Hadleys companion in Guam, Sis. Obenhour ( our
mission nurse) and me

Elder Cook, our newest missionary on Pohnpei, just before he
flew away to Pohnpei, we got to meet him in the mission home
just before he left.

Yes, our Mission President can do many things.

And his wife, is just as amazing, We love them both.and
 our mission nurse

Look Mom. I am still alive and now in Guam.
Elder Davis was on Pohnpei, but because of kidney
problems, is now serving on Guam. We miss him. He is a great missionary.

Some of our arriving fellow missionaries, we were the first ones on Guam, so we
got to greet everyone as they arrived. 

Patriarch Gittens and his wife. The Stake patriarch on Guam.

Dinner with all the Sr. Couples in the "Ruins of Zarahemla"
 what remains of a home that was destroyed in a Typhoon.

Our tallest missionary and his sweet wife, Elder Eakins and Sis Eakins, and yes
he did play in the NBA for about 10 years.

Getting ready for dinner in the "Ruins of Zarahemla"

The Nortons and the Eakins

The Tiffanys

The Best Missionaries on the Planet, how did Elder LeFevre and I
get to be so blessed, wow we get to serve with them.

Our Mission Mom, Sis. Mecham

We may have a lot of grey and white hair or no hair, but we can still work for the Lord, the best Boss

We love all the missionaries we work with

Just another Potty break, our bladders aren't what they use to be.

Who knew,  trail mix, chex mix, and preztals could taste so good

Table cloths work just fine when it is to cold from the Air conditioning, I
guess we are getting use to the climate.

Elder and Sister Kjar, teaching us

View of our Hotel, we think, not really sure

Just to prove, Elder Lefevre was on Guam too.

Dinner at the Jamaican Grill, in the Chammerron village

Wow, real fresh fruit

Who knew veggies could taste so good

Real meat

Dancers in the Chammerron Village

Frozen Yogurt, only 6 more months and we can have it again

Some members in the Barrigada Ward

Elder and Sister Nortan, serving on Guam.  Kindred spirits

    The Best mission in the Church and the Best missionaries to serve with, We love you all. It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the week.