Monday, October 15, 2007
15 October 2007
Dear Everybody:
We just said goodbye to our first missionary couple, the Bowens. It seems strange to have them gone - and we'll miss them a lot! We need more couples; know anyone looking for a great experience, includes travel and lots of new friendships?
I thought you might like to hear about a recent giving experience. Our Elder Biladeau, from Quebec, has a wonderful mom who directed a Stake Relief Society enrichment meeting that included knitting dolls to be sent out to missions. We got two boxes, and divided them up for some of the AIDS orphanages and care centers our missionaries help at. Here is what happened to one batch of dolls:
Montreal Mount Royal Stake Relief Society
Donation of Handmade Dolls
11 October 2007
Dear Sister Bilodeau:
First of all we need to tell you that we have met your son on several occasions and he is very talented. We specifically enjoyed the Christmas program he was in that toured the mission.
The Drop In Center is located next door to the Nseleni Library where we hold our Seminary / Institute classes and Sunday services. The Drop In Center is where orphan children are dropped off by their siblings who are in school. They are picked up usually after 1 p.m. when schools begin to close. These orphans are provided with a couple of meals, some games and activities, and more importantly security at the Center. These children would have no supervision at home during school because their mothers and fathers are gone, either through diseases or other domestic crisis.
When we took the batch of dolls (about 36) we received from Sister Mann to the children, they were so excited that they could hardly keep their feet on the ground. The attached pictures will depict their outstretched arms and wide open eyes of anticipation. It truly is heart rending when these children receive genuine help. We made a poster that includes all of these pictures and presented it to the Drop In Center and it hangs proudly on their wall. You should be very proud of this project and hope that you can share this with the participants from your Stake. Thank you for your sensitivity to a very worthwhile cause.
We have been here almost a year and a half and we will be going home with a much larger spirit than we brought with us. These people have a hope and a faith and a trust that is incomparable with anything we have ever observed. Again, thank you and may the Lord bless you, your family and your Stake.
Very sincerely,
Elder and Sister Ashton
Clive and Rosella
It makes us feel pretty great to belong to the same Church as the unselfish women who made all these wonderful dolls for children they don't even know. Thank you, sisters of the Montreal Mount Royal Stake!
Love to all of you - and be sure to follow the advice at conference, and get a copy of Preach My Gospel, and start carrying Article of Faith cards to give away, along with a "little" information about the Church.
Susan/Mom/Sister President Mann/Sue/Grandma/...
We just said goodbye to our first missionary couple, the Bowens. It seems strange to have them gone - and we'll miss them a lot! We need more couples; know anyone looking for a great experience, includes travel and lots of new friendships?
I thought you might like to hear about a recent giving experience. Our Elder Biladeau, from Quebec, has a wonderful mom who directed a Stake Relief Society enrichment meeting that included knitting dolls to be sent out to missions. We got two boxes, and divided them up for some of the AIDS orphanages and care centers our missionaries help at. Here is what happened to one batch of dolls:
Montreal Mount Royal Stake Relief Society
Donation of Handmade Dolls
11 October 2007
Dear Sister Bilodeau:
First of all we need to tell you that we have met your son on several occasions and he is very talented. We specifically enjoyed the Christmas program he was in that toured the mission.
The Drop In Center is located next door to the Nseleni Library where we hold our Seminary / Institute classes and Sunday services. The Drop In Center is where orphan children are dropped off by their siblings who are in school. They are picked up usually after 1 p.m. when schools begin to close. These orphans are provided with a couple of meals, some games and activities, and more importantly security at the Center. These children would have no supervision at home during school because their mothers and fathers are gone, either through diseases or other domestic crisis.
When we took the batch of dolls (about 36) we received from Sister Mann to the children, they were so excited that they could hardly keep their feet on the ground. The attached pictures will depict their outstretched arms and wide open eyes of anticipation. It truly is heart rending when these children receive genuine help. We made a poster that includes all of these pictures and presented it to the Drop In Center and it hangs proudly on their wall. You should be very proud of this project and hope that you can share this with the participants from your Stake. Thank you for your sensitivity to a very worthwhile cause.
We have been here almost a year and a half and we will be going home with a much larger spirit than we brought with us. These people have a hope and a faith and a trust that is incomparable with anything we have ever observed. Again, thank you and may the Lord bless you, your family and your Stake.
Very sincerely,
Elder and Sister Ashton
Clive and Rosella
It makes us feel pretty great to belong to the same Church as the unselfish women who made all these wonderful dolls for children they don't even know. Thank you, sisters of the Montreal Mount Royal Stake!
Love to all of you - and be sure to follow the advice at conference, and get a copy of Preach My Gospel, and start carrying Article of Faith cards to give away, along with a "little" information about the Church.
Susan/Mom/Sister President Mann/Sue/Grandma/...
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
2007 October Conference
Happy Conference Weekend, everyone! We watched the Saturday morning session live, at 6pm our time. The afternoon session didn't start until 10 pm, so we taped it (we have one of the only BYU channels, maybe the only one, in KwaZulu/Natal). Priesthood conference was at 11 am this morning, then the stake center showed the Sat pm session at 2 pm, and WE HAD INVESTIGATORS THERE! Elder Holland gave a very Bruce R. McConkie-esque talk, I thought.
Now it's 6 pm Sunday and we're watching the 10 am Sun session (along with all of you, I'm sure).
I asked Steve to describe his overall schedule for you. Here it is, in his own words:
"Missions run on 6 week cycles so over the last few months I have developed a schedule that goes something like this:
Week one: we have transfers. This transfer we have 15 new missionaries coming and 7 going home including 4 of our Zone Leaders. That means 4 new apartments to find and furnish, 4 new areas to set up, about 9 hours of interviewing, a Zone Leaders conference, and a lot of moves. It really is fun, however, to meet the new missionaries at the airport and feel their excitement and enthusiasm. It is also really nice to counsel and say farewell to our departing missionaries. They really do become like sons and daughters and sometimes it is hard to say good-by. This transfer I lose one of my assistants who taught me what to do when I got here. I love him (Elder Fish) and will really miss his testimony, smile, obedience, willingness to do anything, leadership, and sense of humor. Between last transfer and the coming one, we have 24 new missionaries. That means 24 new trainers so half the mission is either training or being trained.
Week two: we have five Zone Conferences (each about 2 hours long) with a Zone Lunch, and district leader training (about two hours long). We do one a day, first in Newcastle, northwest of here (about a 4 hour drive), then to Swaziland (about a 5 hour drive north from Newcastle, then east to Richards Bay on the coast, (about a 5 hour from Swaziland), and then south back to Durban (about 3 hours drive from Richards Bay) where we do two more conferences. I also try to spend two to four hours at each place either working with the missionaries or working with District and Branch leaders.
Weeks three, four and part of five. We go back around the loop meeting district by district. While the Assistants provide skill training I interview and then we go on exchanges when possible. I also do temple recommends, leadership changes, and training of District and Branch leadership during these visits.
Week six we gather back at the office and plan out the themes, training, travel, and transfers for the next cycle, and then start all over again. This schedule is always changing, however, due to mission tours, mission president's conferences and various other things.
In between all of this I meet with my Mission Presidency, the two Stake Presidents, High Councils, and various others. We also take care of the budgets, finances, and everything else it takes to run a mission. There are also the phone calls (insert from Susan - especially from the Sisters!) and issues that come up with 120 or so missionaries. Fortunately I have great assistants, terrific office elders, and the world’s best couples to make it all happen. It really is fun.
Since we arrived we have spent a lot of time rewriting all the mission training materials for new missionaries, new trainers, new DLs, new ZLs, and couples. We are trying to focus all the training on Preach My Gospel, hard work, obedience, and instilling a “we can do it” feeling.
Over the next three months we will be creating a district where we currently have 4 units and creating two more districts that are now part of the existing stakes. That means calling District Presidencies and Branch Presidents and developing methods to coach and train in these new areas. Our mission goal is becoming clear: To turn these three districts into Stakes and to help create a third Stake out of the existing two. This means conversion, retention, reactivation, and lots of training and coaching. It is really an exciting place to be just now.
Aside from the mechanics of the mission the real joy is working with the missionaries and the members. The biggest surprise I have had out here is the quality of the missionaries. They have great testimonies and spirits, work hard, are obedient and really know how to teach by the spirit and through the scriptures. It is a real joy to work with them.
This mission is an incredible mix of races, religions, and ethnic groups. It contains the very rich, the very poor and everyone in between. The people face enormous difficulties but are some of the most humble and spiritual people on Earth. Everyone who leaves feels they have learned far more than they taught.
If it sounds like I am having fun, I am. Some days I get home dog tired but every day is terrific. For me it is an amazing experience being a mission president. At evening prayers I try to give an accounting to the Lord of the day and almost always wake up around five with ideas and answers to problems, and directions I didn’t even know I was seeking. I am learning to follow the promptings of the spirit. I thought I would really be worried about how to do things but I am not. I have come to just expect the spirit to guide. I am grateful every day for this incredible opportunity."
Now it's 6 pm Sunday and we're watching the 10 am Sun session (along with all of you, I'm sure).
I asked Steve to describe his overall schedule for you. Here it is, in his own words:
"Missions run on 6 week cycles so over the last few months I have developed a schedule that goes something like this:
Week one: we have transfers. This transfer we have 15 new missionaries coming and 7 going home including 4 of our Zone Leaders. That means 4 new apartments to find and furnish, 4 new areas to set up, about 9 hours of interviewing, a Zone Leaders conference, and a lot of moves. It really is fun, however, to meet the new missionaries at the airport and feel their excitement and enthusiasm. It is also really nice to counsel and say farewell to our departing missionaries. They really do become like sons and daughters and sometimes it is hard to say good-by. This transfer I lose one of my assistants who taught me what to do when I got here. I love him (Elder Fish) and will really miss his testimony, smile, obedience, willingness to do anything, leadership, and sense of humor. Between last transfer and the coming one, we have 24 new missionaries. That means 24 new trainers so half the mission is either training or being trained.
Week two: we have five Zone Conferences (each about 2 hours long) with a Zone Lunch, and district leader training (about two hours long). We do one a day, first in Newcastle, northwest of here (about a 4 hour drive), then to Swaziland (about a 5 hour drive north from Newcastle, then east to Richards Bay on the coast, (about a 5 hour from Swaziland), and then south back to Durban (about 3 hours drive from Richards Bay) where we do two more conferences. I also try to spend two to four hours at each place either working with the missionaries or working with District and Branch leaders.
Weeks three, four and part of five. We go back around the loop meeting district by district. While the Assistants provide skill training I interview and then we go on exchanges when possible. I also do temple recommends, leadership changes, and training of District and Branch leadership during these visits.
Week six we gather back at the office and plan out the themes, training, travel, and transfers for the next cycle, and then start all over again. This schedule is always changing, however, due to mission tours, mission president's conferences and various other things.
In between all of this I meet with my Mission Presidency, the two Stake Presidents, High Councils, and various others. We also take care of the budgets, finances, and everything else it takes to run a mission. There are also the phone calls (insert from Susan - especially from the Sisters!) and issues that come up with 120 or so missionaries. Fortunately I have great assistants, terrific office elders, and the world’s best couples to make it all happen. It really is fun.
Since we arrived we have spent a lot of time rewriting all the mission training materials for new missionaries, new trainers, new DLs, new ZLs, and couples. We are trying to focus all the training on Preach My Gospel, hard work, obedience, and instilling a “we can do it” feeling.
Over the next three months we will be creating a district where we currently have 4 units and creating two more districts that are now part of the existing stakes. That means calling District Presidencies and Branch Presidents and developing methods to coach and train in these new areas. Our mission goal is becoming clear: To turn these three districts into Stakes and to help create a third Stake out of the existing two. This means conversion, retention, reactivation, and lots of training and coaching. It is really an exciting place to be just now.
Aside from the mechanics of the mission the real joy is working with the missionaries and the members. The biggest surprise I have had out here is the quality of the missionaries. They have great testimonies and spirits, work hard, are obedient and really know how to teach by the spirit and through the scriptures. It is a real joy to work with them.
This mission is an incredible mix of races, religions, and ethnic groups. It contains the very rich, the very poor and everyone in between. The people face enormous difficulties but are some of the most humble and spiritual people on Earth. Everyone who leaves feels they have learned far more than they taught.
If it sounds like I am having fun, I am. Some days I get home dog tired but every day is terrific. For me it is an amazing experience being a mission president. At evening prayers I try to give an accounting to the Lord of the day and almost always wake up around five with ideas and answers to problems, and directions I didn’t even know I was seeking. I am learning to follow the promptings of the spirit. I thought I would really be worried about how to do things but I am not. I have come to just expect the spirit to guide. I am grateful every day for this incredible opportunity."
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