Our new Best Friends

from left to right: Sis. Wooley, Sis. Seare, Sis. Erickson, Sis. & Pres. Ostler,
Sis. Larsen, Sis. Dalling, Sis. Stenlund, me, Sis. Stagg



from left to right: Elder Stenlund, Paul, Elder Dalling, Elder Seare, Pres & Sis. Ostler, Sis. Stagg, Elder Stagg, Pres. Wooley, Elder Larsen

Let me introduce you to some fabulous new friends we've met who are also serving here in the Fiji Mission. What a great group of dedicated and generous people.

First off I have to introduce you to the Mission President and his wife. They are President and Sister Ostler. They have been here for a little over a year and are doing a great job. This mission is a challenge. For one thing, it covers not only the islands of Fiji but the countries of Vanuatu and New Caledonia. There are about 140 missionaries that they are responsible for and their lives are made up of perpetual travel, meetings and challenges. They are very kind, concerned and nurturing 24/7. Paul & I are technically not under their responsibility since we are assigned to the Pacific Area but they have welcomed us with open arms!

Next are President and Sister Wooley. They are the President and Matron of the Suva Fiji Temple. They served here just a few years ago as the mission president and now they are back for another 3 years in the Temple. That is such a great example of dedication and service. There are 3 other Temple Ordinance Missionaries serving along side the Wooleys. They are the Dallings, the Hatches and the Larsens. Besides serving in the Temple every day except for Mondays and Sundays, all of these couples have been assigned to local wards or branches to support and strengthen as needed. It is fun to hear about their different experiences in these different little wards and branches. These couples have a lot to offer. I know that Elder Hatch has taken it upon himself to help add on to a family's tiny, little 8' x 8' foot home. He adding on a room about 12' x 14' and it will make a huge differenct in their lives. After he finishes this house, he has plans to keep building on to about 6 or 7 more villagers homes. He is a huge asset. I know that the Dalling have already served 2 missions. They are parents to 11 children and tons of grandchildren and they just heard about the birth of their 22 GREAT grandchild! Wow, we have a long ways to go!

There is one more couple that serve at the Temple and they are the Stanfords. They hae a very unique situation. I guess Brother Stanford resigned from his business but he isn't ready to retire yet but he has a 1 year non-compete agreement so he and Sister Stanford were looking for something meaningful to do for a year or less. They decided they would just volunteer themselves here to serve in the Temple. So they are not considered missionaries but just service volunteers. That doesn't mean they are working any less intensely than any of the other missionaries. It just means they are here at their own expense and they don't get to wear a badge! Sister Stanford is a fabulous cook and when they are not in the Temple she is cooking and feeding all of us other missionaries and all of their Ward members... especially the young men! I am so impressed with their desire to do this kind of service.

In the last post I mentioned Elder and Sister Seare. She is the mission nurse and he is the "get it done" guy! Next to the Mission President, Sister Seare has the most interaction with all the young missionaries. She gets calls day and night about stomach aches, head aches, tooth aches and homesickness. They are the parents of 4 boys so they are right at home with all the young Elders! Sister Seare has lots of brothers and Paul and I each know several of her siblings from high school and college. It is fun to make outside connections with everyone.

Another couple are the Stenlunds. They are educators and are assigned to the Church College here to help teach and train the local teachers. They have had lots of interesting travel and teaching experiences. They were actually in Beijing at the same time as Heidi's family and they remember her and her kids. They were teaching at a University in Beijing through the Kennedy Center that is associated with BYU. It was not a "missionary assignment" because missionaries are not serving in China yet but they went as volunteers at their own expenses as well. They are very competent and making a big difference here.

Sister Erickson is a Single Senior Sister Missionary and she is the office secretary. That mission office is a crazy, busy, intense environment. She keeps it calm and peaceful and running smoothly. She has been here since January. She doesn't have a companion but she does live with 2 other proselyting sister missionaries. One is a young, Fijian sister missionaries and the other one is Sister Reeves who is my age and is a proselyting missionary! She is the mother of 11 children also! She is up and out there each and every day! She makes the rest of us look like whimps! (BTW, the Church did announce back in June that they would not be calling Sisters this age for proselyting any more -- I have to say I agree!)

The other 2 couples are us and the Staggs and I have told you that the Staggs have gone home and we are their replacement. The Staggs did a wonderful job while they served here the past 18 months. Some one made the comment to us that we would not be "filling their shoes" but we would be creating our own. We agree with that.

Last night we had a Family Home Evening with all the Senior Couples. The Seares hosted the evening. They showed the new DVD called "On the Lord's Errand" which is about the life of President Thomas S. Monson, our dear Prophet. What a wonderful, spiritual experience. I would highly recommend that you find a copy of this DVD (I think you can get it at the Church Distribution Center) and treat your family to a very special presentation of the story of President Monson's life and how he has progressed through his inspirational life to get to the place he is today as our living Prophet on the earth in this the last dispensation. What a treat it was to share this evening with all these wonderful, special, dedicated servants of our Heavenly Father and what a privilegde it is to serve with them. If you are wondering if there is something important you could be doing with your life, I highly recomment that you consider sharing some of your time and talents to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world in unlimited opportunities.