As we conclude 2014 we are very grateful to Heavenly Father
for giving us this call to serve our mission in Tonga. We are grateful for the tender
mercies shown us in preparing us for this mission, for helping us get through
all that we needed to do in order to be ready to accept this call. We recognize His
blessing us with good health so we could be in the south pacific and work in
Tonga at Liahona High with the gracious and loving Tongan Latter Day Saints,
who are examples of great faith. 2014 has been a marvelous year for us and we are ever so grateful for this wonderful year.
Our Christmas Table
Left –
Wise men with gifts and ‘pig’
Right –
Shepherds with staffs
Center -
Two Angels and Shepherd boy
Back –
Joseph and Mary and Baby
These Sister Missionaries came to our apartment and brought us
a Book of Mormon and asked us to find someone we could gift the book to for
Christmas. Christmas afternoon we visited the pediatric ward of the hospital
and shared some Christmas wishes with those who were there. We placed our Book of Mormon with a family who
spent the day at the hospital with their 10 year old son.
Elder
Gifford Nielson is in our South Pacific Area Presidency. He came to Tonga and meet with the young
missionaries and in a separate meeting he met with the Senior
Missionaries. He spoke to us saying we
just don’t know how much, how often, or how many times we as Senior Missionaries
are being an example and an influence on someone else. We may never know when that influence is
happening or who it is that is being influenced, but it is happening every day
and almost every moment we are in the role of senior missionary. As he bore testimony of the Savior and our
being in the Savior’s work he shared this really cool thought. When you think ordinary (about yourself)
someone else is seeing extraordinary.
Who is looking at us and seeing extraordinary? Who might be watching us and what impact might we be making? How might we influence another brother or sister or child, how might we influence another couple or even a family? Which teacher are we making a difference to? We just never know and therefore we should be the example and light that the Savior exemplified for us. We are to be Christ like; loving and charitable, accepting and embracing, reaching outward and loosing ourselves in this work, His Work, and lifting where we stand.
December Reading Camp
Sister Holbrook conducted English Reading Camp with these groups of children who live in the two near by villages. What an experience where the children were introduced to a world of new horizons and we were introduced to some very fond and lasting relationships with these children.
We are grateful for family who love and support us while we are away.
