Mormon Youth invade Tinian!

Terri and I had the pleasure of having a large group of young men and women from the Mormon church on Saipan come to the island of Tinian for a few days. There were eleven in total (seven girls and four boys) that descended on the island on Friday afternoon. Most came by ferry, but two (the married couple that was chaperoning the group) came by plane.

Terri and I helped them get settled in the Fleming Hotel, and ended up having dinner at the Fleming Restaurant as a group.

The next morning they came over to the LoriLynne where we have our little studio apartment to eat breakfast. We used our kitchen and the 'communal' kitchen to cook pancakes, eggs, bacon, etc.

After breakfast, we were scheduled to go on a hike. However, the weather was rather wet, so we decided to ride part way up Marpo hill, and then walk the rest of the way up to the Shinto shrine located there. We traveled up the hill stuffed in a car, and using all four of our scooters! As soon as we arrived where we would begin our short walk, it started to rain. Everyone but me had come prepared-- they were going swimming afterwards, so they had shorts or swim suits on! I just got wet...

Here is the group in front of the Shinto Shrine.



After reaching our goal, the group heads back down the mountain to go swimming at Taga beach.

They stuffed so many people in their car, they were coming out the sides!

They even had to double-up on our scooters! After the hike, old man that I am, I went back to shower and rest while the rest of the group went swimming, and whatever other things young people do these days...

Sunday morning they came back to our little apartment for breakfast, and to hold Sacrament meeting together.

They had asked Terri and I to give a short talk after the sacrament service, which we were happy to do. Terri talked about how she and I ended up coming to Tinian-- a result of the providence of God, blessings that came, in our opinion, as a result of our faith and faithfulness over the years.

There is an important principle that Joseph Smith taught, as revealed to him in the Doctrine and Covenants: every blessing we recieve is a result of a specific commandment we obey. This is how it reads:

There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of the world, upon which all blessings are predictated--and when we obtain any blessings from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated (D&C 130:20-21)

Terri has always wanted to expand her medical knowledge, and to work in a small clinic, in a secluded area, where she could get to know the people she was serving. Just as Abraham and Sarah were never too old to have children (God found a way), Terri was not too old to have her dream come true (God found a way). Even though many colleges turned Terri down due to her age (yes, this really happened), but doors were opened, and she received her Masters Degree as a Physician Assistant.

We then had to choose where in the world we would travel so Terri could work (I could go anywhere, as I would be writing). More inspiration came, and the rest is history: we are living out our dream on Tinian island.

The principle we shared with these young men and women is very simple: if you keep the commandments of God, and do your best to faithfully serve Him, God will bless you. Sometimes those blessings may be delayed longer than you might like them to be (in Terri's case, they were delayed thirty years), but they will come--and the waiting just makes the blessings all the more precious.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. Besides, having a house full of people singing hymns, instead of just the three of us (Terri, me and Ramon), was a wonderful experience. We hope they will return again. The only dissappointing thing was that the group was supposed to be larger--a group from Guam was going to join us also, but for some reason they could not come. Perhaps next time!