More missionary emails

Having multiple missionaries out at the same time is such a rewarding experience. Grandma and Grandpa Seamons flew out last Saturday for the Cook Islands. I finally got an email that they made it and were still waiting for their luggage to catch up with them.

Disclaimer: This email was titled "naked and afraid." It came from Grandma's email so I was so confused why she would title it that way. Then I read it to discover that Grandpa wrote it, but I was still confused. My kids had to tell me that it is a TV show.

This morning I really was naked and afraid.  e got here yesterday (landed on a dirt runway) and this morning I knew I had to face the music and take a cold shower.  All we need to make hot water in the shower is a couple of D batteries but there are none on the island.  I WAS afraid but I learned when I was in Chile to rub yourself hard when the water hits you and it doesn't take your breath quite so bad.

We are stuck until our luggage gets here which could be tomorrow or who knows when.  Meanwhile we walked to a store and bought a loaf of bread, some hard rolls, a pound of butter, and some dry milk powder for $59.00.  There are no eggs or Spam or anything on this island so I really need to get out the fishing pole and go catch something. There is one thing in abundance here though and that is wonderful people. The branch president and his wife picked us up at the airport and she  had made these leighs for us.  I'll bet she spent 4 hours on each one of them. They bought new sheets for the bed with their own money and cleaned the place up.  Last night she brought over a cover for the bed so we would be warm.  (It got chilly last night) Yesterday someone dropped off a bunch of bananas and someone else gave us some donuts (not like you think of) and some mango. So far we have been treated like rock stars.    
     
This place is beautiful. It is as pretty as Christmas Island was ugly.  There are only 500 people on the whole island and it is very quiet except for these obnoxious roosters that start up at 3:30 and never let up.

Before I go I need to tell you one more story. On the way to the Salt Lake airport we stopped at a Subway for one last bite. Julie didn't want anything so I went in alone. I ordered a sandwich and tried to pay for it with a 50.  The young man asked if I had anything smaller and I didn't. I offered to go get some change and he hesitated a bit and then his co-worker, a 19 or 20 year old young lady stepped in and said to him, "Don't worry.  I'll cover it."  I said to her, "you can't do that. I have more money than you. Just let me go to the car and get some money from my wife." She insisted on paying and then I had the thought that I should let her do it. So I did. I thanked her profusely and then as I opened the door I turned to thank her one more time and the tears came out of nowhere. How often do you go into Subway and come out raining tears?  The thought later occurred to me that it was the missionary nametag I was wearing  with the name Jesus Christ on it...….It happened again when I offered to pay this dear sister for the new sheets for the bed. "NO NO NO, she said, pointing to heaven. Jesus will bless me more.  What a tremendous blessing to wear a missionary nametag. Those who never go will never know what they missed out on.  Miss, would you forward this to the rest of the bunch, especially our compadre Elder Erik? I hope he is having as much fun as we are.  Erik, you are the MAN!  I love you all.

Elder Papa Bear

Mission update

Tomorrow marks one year since my parents left on their mission. One year. That went quickly.

One of the last letters my dad sent he said: I am very envious of your fall weather and the change of scenery. The sun comes up at 6:30 and it goes down at 6:30 every day. The temperature goes up to 108 every day, day after day. The only thing more consistent is either the power or the internet going out (which is did half through his letter and we received half one day and half another day).

Little did he realize that he would be home in a month to experience that fall-like weather. They came home five days shy of a year for medical reasons that we will find out more about tomorrow. Mom wanted to stay and let him come home and get things taken care of, but that wasn't allowed so they are both here. I'm sure this will test my dad's patience like none other. He has never been one to feel comfortable in other people's homes, even his own family. So the fact that they may be hanging out for a month before heading back is something to certainly test him.

We skipped out on mutual Wednesday night and headed to Angie's to visit, although I think Dad would rather just crash somewhere than chat. But he insisted I bring the kids out, so we obliged.

It was great to listen to their experiences and to be grateful for the conveniences we enjoy without much thought like hot showers, good drinking water, washers, dryers, fresh food.

This week I have been thinking and memorizing a scripture found in Isaiah 55:8-9 that says the Lord's thoughts are not our thoughts and neither are his ways are ways. Sometimes we don't always understand why things happen. I don't understand why God just wouldn't stay the medical issue my dad has so they could finish the last six months. I don't have answers for those questions, but I do have faith that one day I will. That is trusting in an all-knowing God.

And for now we will enjoy having them around.

Missionary Letter from Grandpa to Kiersten, Erik, and Nate
Let me share a fun missionary experience with you guys, since it won't be long until you're in my shoes. The guy in the first picture is drunk out of his mind, can you tell by his eyes?

The first time I met him I instantly liked him because he had a good spirit and he was very nice to me when he let me through the gate to go fishing. Then I found out he had been fired from his job for drinking and that's when he started coming around the house and knocking on the door at 11pm at night, always wasted. His breath was so bad that I talked to him with my finger under my nose. I would finally send him home (he lives just across the street) and he would disappear and then reappear the next day, always drunk. 

I decided to have him help me fill in the potholes along the main road with some gravel and pay his wife if he would help. The first day I did all the work and he would stand in the middle of the road and flag down people and tell them the LDS Church was fixing the roads and that he was the foreman. It was hilarious.  He could hardly stand up but he was very friendly with a lot of people. 

The second day he was so plastered that he went over to the side of the road and laid down under a coconut tree and went to sleep after only 25 minutes on the job. One day I told his wife that Jesus was going to fix her husband. The plan was to have the branch president (a cop) arrest him and put him in the drunk tank until he was sober. Then I went to Fanning Island for 9 days. When I returned, he was not in jail, he was in the hospital. He was so continually drunk that he was having liver failure and was about to die. I visited him in the hospital and at home and just simply befriended him. 

You have to be genuinely interested in them and sometimes go and get dirty where they are and actually care about them before you start waiving pamphlets and Books of Mormon at them. That part will come naturally. This other buddy across the street and I decided to take him fishing so yesterday we rented this boat and hauled him with us. 

The picture above is a bunch of dolphins who came racing over to play. These things are a gas. They try to show you all the tricks they can do. 

I prayed all day long that Etuati would catch some fish but it was slow. Then after 6 hours everything went crazy. The picture below is the sailfish just coming out of the water. If you think Lake Powell is fun, try this sometime.

The picture below says everything.  It's not about the sailfish.  It's about the change that happens when Christ and the Holy Ghost come into a person's life.  Notice the change of his countenance.  Isn't the change amazing between picture #1 and #4-5? He came to church last Sunday and he's coming tomorrow with his friends. 

Then in picture #5 he hooked into the biggest wahoo I have seen so far. Thirty minutes to get this thing in the boat and he was exhausted. I asked if he wanted to fish on the way back and he did. Five minutes later the water exploded again but the fight only lasted 30 or 40 seconds. This fish, whatever it was, sliced the line above the leader. My prayer was answered.  Etuati had a great time and brought home a lot of fish for the family. My buddy Timei said to me today, "We caught the big fish yesterday. Etuati was the big fish." 

I couldn't have landed in a better mission for me, even though the conditions are very very harsh. I did not fish one second yesterday although I was aching to get my hands on either of the poles. But it was worth every minute to see these guys have a good time. If you think fishing for these big fish is fun,  try fishing for men. That is the ultimate thrill.  Get ready now. You'll be fishing before you know it and having some of life's most awesome thrills and greatest rewards. I love you guys!

Grandpa

A last FHE for awhile

Last Sunday we got together with my parents at my sister's house. When you are a couple missionary I guess you can pretty much do what you'd like, within reason. They have been able to come and go from the MTC.

So we decided it would be nice to get together one last time for a family home evening where they could tell us how it's been so far.

They've been most impressed with the young missionaries and have made a point to sit with them during meal times instead of with the other couple missionaries.

And today they are who-knows-where. I can't believe they are actually gone. From Los Angeles they were flying to Fiji, a 12 hour overnight flight and then a two hour flight to the mission home in Tarawa, the capital of this group of islands.

Heck, there are islands everywhere. Christmas Island is their final destination in a week or so. When they finally arrive, they will be 2000 miles from the mission home but only 1300 from Hawaii. They are so remote that planes only fly in and out on certain days at certain times and they are pretty much located right on the equator. Even though they are located in the same time zone as Hawaii, the international date line makes a fancy jog making them an entire day ahead of Hawaii.

Can I just say, they are in for the adventure of a lifetime.

Elder and Sister

Their mission has officially begun.

I have to admit that when my mom said they were getting ready to put their papers in, I was a little surprised that they had actually made the decision. And then when she told me they were waiting for their call to arrive, it just seemed surreal.

But the day has come. A couple of weeks in the MTC and then they're off to Christmas Island which is really in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure it will be an adventure; I'm sure it will be an adjustment. Milk is rumored to cost $30 a gallon so I'm not sure how my ice-cream-loving dad is going to handle that one.

At least for a couple of weeks they will be in the MTC and can come and go as they please somewhat. We're hoping to fit in a temple trip and possibly a family home evening. I'm so excited for them but will miss them like crazy. I'm hoping time will fly. This will just get me used to when my own brood of missionaries leave the nest.

Reborn

My little brother Matt told Ashlyn yesterday, "I'm so glad you were born . . . and reborn."

We celebrated with our Ash as she made an important step in being baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Grandma and Grandpa arrived the night before with a few gifts. I let her open mine, her white dress, that she had picked out an entire year before and had forgotten all about it until a few days ago. When she asked about it, I played dumb and didn't know what she was talking about even though the dress was wrapped and sitting on the mantel. She never clued in.

Grandma Jules made her a beautiful purple quilt

and Grandma and Grandpa Leary gave her new scriptures which she and Nate have diligently been reading most mornings.

She was beautiful and glowed all day long. The service was short and simple with Ashlyn being the fastest dresser ever. Her Grandpa Sharm commented that she was like Superman because she changed so fast. We just wanted to hurry and hear the rest of Kiersten's piano solo of "Baptism" arranged by Paul Cardall.

Our new bishop took a few minutes to welcome Ashlyn into the ward. I liked what he told her about the Holy Ghost -- when we are doing right and following the commandments there is a peaceful feeling that accompanies us which is the Holy Ghost. When we are confused, then we know there are some things in our life that we must correct.

There was also a minor change to the program. Nathan was supposed to lead but ended up not feeling well and staying home, so I took over. The first verse of the closing song "I Am a Child of God" kind of hit me hard as I sang "has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me . . . " Those words touched me as I thought of my own parents sitting in the audience who have been so kind and dear and have taught me correct principles, who have shown me the way that I must go, who have led me and counseled with me. I am forever grateful to them simply for being wonderful parents, for being MY parents.

Breakfast is my most favorite meal of the day. I love it all and so we tried to have it all. There were egg casseroles with salsa and sour cream, Dutch oven potatoes, ham, bacon, cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, lots of fruit and dip, orange juice and apple juice. Oh my! I was in heaven. We ended up with more than enough, but my idea of a good hostess is that my guests leave feeling full, hopefully not wondering where they can stop on the way home to finish filling up.

I hope Ashlyn remembers the good feelings she had about her day. My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of her with Grandma Leary and Grandma and Grandpa Ellis, three of her great-grandparents. It's not usual to have great-grandparents attending such events. What a blessing to still have them around and in good health (Brian did get some pictures of them at our house, just not with Ashlyn).