We are experiencing what all missionaries experience. We’ve
said good-bye to people who are and were an integral part of our mission. It
will be impossible for us to think of this time without thinking of Sonny and Karen
Ho-Ching, Chuk and JoAnn Fife, who were here for us when we arrived. There we other
missionary couples who have since left that gave us a sense of home and familiarity while we
adjusted to being immersed in another culture. Now we find
ourselves, out just 6 months, being there for others.
Yesterday we had the unusual opportunity of picking up the
new temple missionary couple from the Faleolo Airport. Normally this would fall
to the temple presidency or the temple recorder to do, but circumstances placed
them away on other assignments. Elder
Robert and Sister Peggy Lamoreaux from Orem, Utah, arrived at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 21st. It so happened that President and Sister Leota
of the Samoa Apia Mission were there waiting for the same plane to arrive,
bringing their daughter, Sister Rachel Leota Leulua’iali’I, home from her Utah Provo Mission. They were there with other family members holding
large posters of welcome. We had written Lamoreaux
on a piece of paper and I was holding it in front of me, standing next to reps
of several resorts with signs of their own for arriving guests. President Leota came up behind me and said, “Sister
Crowley, I don’t think the sign is necessary.Your [missionary] tags are all
you need.” Earlier we had followed him
up the stairs to a long bank of windows and looked out on the Air New Zealand
767 which held our missionaries. We watched the ground crew bring the stairs
out and place them at the front and rear exit doors of the plane. Soon the
doors rolled up and passengers began disembarking. We spotted Sister Leota. Not long after, we
saw our missionaries. They were easy to spot. Who wears a suit coat, white
shirt and tie to a tropical island? Right behind Elder Lamoreaux was his wife.
Even with my poor vision, I spotted their tags.
Elder and Sister Lamoreaux
So the Lord has provided once again. The Lamoreaux’s are
seasoned missionaries, having served two years in Romania and eighteen months
in Mongolia. Prior their missions, Elder
Lamoreaux served as a trainer in the Provo Temple. Temple service will be new
for Sister Lamoreaux. As parents of fourteen children, she had plenty to do at
home. These people are stalwart. We will
be so blessed to serve with them. The Lord hears our prayers. (That part about fourteen children? It was
not a typo.)
We love ‘our’ Pesega Lima Ward. (Lima means 5). Every Sunday
the sacrament meeting program lists families by name, who are assigned to clean
the chapel. Each area of the building is assigned to a different family, and
one family every week is in charge of the grounds. On the same page is a list of families
assigned to feed the missionaries for the next seven days. We found our name listed in last week’s
program for Monday night. We thought we
would be feeding the two assistants to President Leota. As it turned out they
were on splits. Elder Amituana’i (assistant) and Elder Fuatimau, who is staying
in the mission home for a while due to a broken collar bone from a bike
accident, were our guests.
Left, Elder Fuatimau; right, Elder Amituana'i
Such good
young men. As is their custom, after dinner, Elder Amituana’i shared a
spiritual thought and a scripture with us.
He told us his own conversion story.
He said that he was not attending church after a certain point in his
teen years. When his younger sister sent
in her papers and received her mission call, she said to him, “It makes me sad
that when I am set apart, you can’t stand in the circle and lay your hands on
my head.” Her words cut him to his
heart. He said sometime later, the sister missionaries were in his home one
evening and as they were preparing to leave, they also wanted to leave a
spiritual message with the family. One of the sisters asked, “What is the job
of a missionary?” He rather
flippantly gave the standard answer – “To bring souls to Christ, to baptize
people”.
It was probably more the way he said it, than what he
said. At this point in telling this
experience, Elder Amituana’i lowered his head and was very quiet. Finally when he
was able to speak, he said, “I can still see her face. She looked down and
finally said,’ You say it like it means nothing.’” Those words were burned into his mind and
heart. It was the beginning of change - a change of heart that resulted in him joining
his sister in the mission field. He says of his parents, “They were the most
patient people. They never forced the issue, never wavered in their love for me”. I have heard him say that if it were
possible, he would extend another two years. We don’t really know when he will
finish his mission. He doesn’t like to talk about it. He is one who will “waste and wear out his
life” serving the Lord and His cause.
There was a baptism in the ward a week ago on Saturday. We had not previously attended a baptism
here, but felt a connection to both of the candidates, so we went. We are so glad we did. Seventeen year old Dolly
Keil was the first to be baptized. The
Keil family is everywhere. There were
nine children and they are successful business owners of various businesses in
Apia. Tragically, the parents of this generation of Keils were inactive, and the
legacy continues. We are so impressed with those we have met. Dolly is a
granddaughter. Her father, Clint, is Orlando Keil’s brother. We home teach
Orlando and Rita’s daughter, Daphne. Are you with me? I’m just telling you we
care about this family.
The other candidate was Amaramo Alesana Sialaoa (he goes by Ramo). This ten year old boy comes to church alone
every week. We have substituted in his primary class a few times. He brings his
scriptures, answers correctly the questions, is attentive and
participates. His father brought him the
Sunday after his baptism, but they arrived late, as the sacrament hymn was
being sung. After the sacrament, the bishop called him up and was voice for his
confirmation. The blessing he received
spoke of education and accomplishment of his goals. It was
quite amazing. His father stayed through sacrament meeting. We taught that class again today. Fifteen kids,
about half and half boys and girls, They were engaged and participated
throughout. The Roth’s (dentist) say how
much they love this class. We understand.
Ramo
Today, Sister Caroline Kamerath, the new mission nurse,
invited the Lamoreaux’s and us to dinner. Honestly, it felt like coming
home. It was a lovely Sunday dinner, set
on a beautiful dining table of inlaid wood. There were fresh flowers on the
table, and wonderful people to share it with. Our visit in her comfortable
living room was interrupted when a phone call gave her an update of a sick
elder suffering the effects of food poisoning, which necessitated a call to Dr.
Anderson, who advised drinking a flat coke. Nothing else has stopped his
symptoms and hospitalization is being considered. Hospitalization is a last
resort. It isn’t where you want to go even when you’re well, but especially
when you’re sick. That is our nurse’s professional opinion.
Our mission nurse, Caroline Kamerath
Like the missionaries before leaving a home, I will leave with
you a spiritual thought from our sacrament meeting. The Kelemete family spoke.
The entire family speaks when the invitation is given by the bishopric.
Six speakers, an intermediate hymn, and we ended on time. The subject was LOVE.
From the youngest child, to the father, their words were taken from the
scriptures and carried by the spirit. The thought I want to share was given by the
mother, Sister Leilani Kelemete. She taught us that when we forgive all, we
qualify to be called friends of Jesus Christ. She said when we refuse to forgive, we are in
effect negating the Savior’s atonement and the gospel he preached. We are in
effect saying we never felt his influence upon us to forgive others. It is
worthy of pondering the critical importance of forgiving others, not only the
problem of not forgiving, but the purifying
power of a forgiving heart. To be called a friend by Jesus Christ is
worth striving for.
May your week be full of blessings and your heart full of
gratitude.
Alofa atu ia te oe.
Sister Crowley
Awesome! Great people; great stories; great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThanks, dear Leslie.
ReplyDelete