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 reaching our goal, the group heads back down the mountain to go swimming at Taga beach.
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!
3 comments:
Thanks for posting this. From what I hear, it was a big success. Thanks for all of your generosity. I hope you don't mind, but we posted a link back to your blog on the Saipan Branch blog.
I am amazed reading about the challenging and wonderful experience that you are having that little corner of the Lord's vinyard! You are wonderful. Keep the faith!
Inspiring post. I'll have to grab a couple of elders off the street and bring them up to see what you two have been up to.
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