Last Few Weeks

                             Marissa and Nolan
                                             Ollie
                                              Ava


                                 Dave, Lucy, and Rune












                                 Hamilton Gardens
 We’re nearing the end of our mission here in Hamilton, New Zealand.  Elder and Sister Atkins have replaced us in the mission office.  We have been working to organize and clean our supply warehouse where missionary furnishings and household supplies are stored.  It looks great!!  We’re so glad we were able to get this task accomplished before leaving!  We’ve closed quite a few missionary houses in the past few months, and all the furnishings and supplies have to be stored.  Elder Folland has worked hard to reorganize the warehouse space to accommodate this influx of items.  So proud of him!!

It is quite an emotional time for us.  We have been blessed to work with some of the finest people.  We will miss that association in the mission office.  We hope for a renewed association in the future as we all return to the USA.  Coming from a variety of backgrounds, we have learned to work together as a team for the same cause.  We are amazed to see what can be done as we each do our part with the skills, talents, and help from above.  We truly have been blessed in our labors—some of the most challenging work we’ve ever done!

We will soon begin a different phase of our lives.  We have plans to construct a home in New Harmony, Utah—just south of Cedar City.  We have loved living in West Bountiful for many years, and think of our friends there as an extension of our family.  We welcome all to come visit!!  We’ll let you know when we have a house.😀

We just received a phone call from Evan who has been on his naval ship the Nimitz for over seven months.  He is over the midpoint in his deployment!  The days can be a bit monotonous, as you might imagine.  He keeps his sanity by working out at the ship’s gym each day.  Here is his address:

Evan Folland

USS NIMITZ (CVN-68)

Unit 100103 Box 4788

FPO AP 96620


Evan.folland@cvn68.navy.mil—-(preferred while on the ship)

Follandtwin2@gmail.com

Evan would love to receive mail!!  It brightens his “Groundhog Day” existence.😀

On a recent walk, I was thinking about how different people through different times on this earth have tried to precipitate change—-more peace in the world, more unity, more equality...ETC.  The realization came to me very distinctly that when an individual comes to the unselfish decision to incorporate needed changes for the betterment of all rather than seeking for the betterment of one(the individual—himself/herself), that is when the change becomes easier and more meaningful.  

As we near the end of our formal missionary service, we declare that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the light that dispels darkness.  Through Him and through the Holy Ghost, we can be led to know TRUTH.  We can be quick to observe and have the spirit of discernment in a world racked with discord and confusion.  It is an amazing blessing to follow Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful and humbled to bear witness of His divinity and love that extends to every child of God.  We look forward to celebrating Him this Christmas season.  We pray for peace and increased unity in our nation and in the nations of the world.

                        Karl, Maddy, Christine, and Dave

                         Liz, Matt, and puppy Ollie
                              Aunt Katie and Rachael 


Love to all!!

Elder and Sister Folland


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Signing Off

Image
It's hard to believe our mission to New Zealand is essentially over.  We left Hamilton on November 20 and flew to Christchurch in the South Island.  Everyone told us we needed to see the South Island before leaving New Zealand so we are taking that opportunity now.  More on that later. Our last few weeks in Hamilton were unlike any of the previous 18 months.  Because our replacement office couple arrived in the mission over a month before our release, we had plenty of time to train them.  After 2 1/2 weeks of training there was really not much we could do to help them further- they just has to jump in and start doing the job.  Sharon and I found many odd jobs to do, tying up loose ends and completing tasks we wanted to do but never had time to do.  We tried to leave everything in good shape for the Atkins, our replacements. The last week was rewarding as we received many expressions of gratitude from our associates but also very hard to say good bye to...
Read more

Read the Book of Mormon!

Image
                                                 Nature paints the best pictures!                             Elder Clayton is worn out at the end of transfer week! We've had some special times during the holidays the past month.  We missed the tradition of being with family and the special things we do around the holidays, but we have enjoyed being here in New Zealand.  It is a special time in our lives that has given us so many opportunities---to concentrate on service to our missionaries, to meet and mingle with people who have a distinct culture, to live in and get to know quite intimately a different country and its traditions and customs. We had another missionary go home this past week who became very dear to us.  He was an assistant to the president of the...
Read more

Another Transition Begins

 Well,  it's hard to believe but we are down to 1 month until our mission in New Zealand will come to a close.  Our release date is November 20.  Although we have been thinking about that date for the past few months, the fact that we do not have a home to return to and needing to make some plans as to what will happen when we return, we need to think about it.  It is a bit different for senior missionaries due to the number of things that have to be organized in order for our lives to continue  after the mission.   It really hit home this past week when we began the process of training the couple who will be taking over our responsibilities.  The couple, Elder and Sister Atkins, are New Zealand natives who live in the Hamilton area.  For the past few months we were  wondering who would take over for us since it had become obvious the couple called from the States was not going to make it to New Zealand any time soon.  Then the...
Read more