LDS Charities

ldscharities.org

Go to ldscharities.org and get a feel for our assignments - they are varied, exciting, heart warming, needed and so inspiring.  

The District

The man on my right is Elder Walker.  He is the new director for humanitarian services in the Pacific so we will work a lot with him over the next two years.  The man on my left is going to Vietnam and he and his wife are really nervous about being in a communist country.

This is our District at the MTC
The two Elders on each side are our trainers - they were great.  Elder Colby on the right, Elder Davis on the left.  I'm standing next to Elder John Edwards - his wife Debbie, then Elder Curtis and his wife in the purple sweater.  Sister Murary in the white sweater.  The Edwards are going to our old mission in Samoa.  We are excited for them.

Jessica & kids joined us on Sunday at the MTC

Sunday morning at the MTC

Super Tuesday

Today, May 21, 2019 - our oldest grandson Carson Scott had his missionary papers sent to Salt Lake for a mission call.  We all wait in great anticipation to see where he will be called to serve.  We are very excited and proud of this fine young man.  All 16 of his cousins are making their guess as to where he will go serve.  We shall all know soon.
Carson is the oldest of the Great Grandchildren on the Saunders side of the family and he is the oldest of the Grandchildren so he has carried a heavy load of responsibility in being a good example and leading out.  We are grateful that he is up to the task.
As Wendy and I are in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) now getting trained before we leave for Fiji we see over 1200 young missionaries each day as they go to their classes, studying the language they will use in amazing language labs, at the cafeteria, and visiting together in all areas of the MTC grounds.  We can't help but think of our grandchildren that are approaching the age of mission application.  We see all these young boys and girls and we are inspired by how happy and excited they are to be on a mission.  They are excited about where they are going and are just so pleasant and nice to visit with.
We have nieces and nephews also that are coming of the age to go on missions and we are happy and excited for them.

On our Way - To MTC.

Had to get some Fijian money before we left.  They have beautiful money, Wendy said "I don't want to spend any of this cause it's too pretty".  The Fijian dollar is $1.61 for every Canadian dollar.   We are hoping the Fijian dollar goes a long way - it will be interesting to see how items and food compare in Fiji.

 We spent the morning finalizing every little thing before we leave and then had time to say good bye to our friends Ray & Sally Pyne ( they are renting our place while we are gone, we love them). Chuck and Sandra then took us to the Airport in Victoria to head to Provo Utah for the start of our training and adventure in Fiji.

Randy & Julie Keyes going to Fiji - they are from our Ward in Victoria - they will serve in self reliance while we will be in Humanitarian Services.

We took a stroll to the BYU bookstore and met up with a famous Cougar so we just had to get a picture together, hehe.  It was good to go for a nice long walk.  BYU of course has a beautiful campus and it's nice to stroll around and see the campus and the great buildings and feel the nice feeling of the wonderful institution of learning the Church has built over the years. 

 Our home away from home for the next two weeks here at the MTC.  They have very nice apartments for the Senior Couples and all your needs are taken care of.  We have a very busy schedule starting tomorrow morning with Church, District meetings, Devotionals, Films and of course Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.  Monday is our official check-in day at 10am and from that point on the week is very busy. 

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve taught:
 “Going on a mission teaches you to live the law of consecration. It may be the only time in your life when you can give to the Lord all your time, talents, and resources. In return, the Lord will bless you with HisSpirit to be with you. He will be close to you and strengthen you”

This is a picture of my first mission in 1970-71.  My mission President was Wm. L. Nicholes and his wife Honey Nicholes.  I served in the California East Mission with some of the best missionaries and today we still spend time together because our hearts were knit together thru the service we gave as young missionaries.  





















Wendy and I then served in Samoa 2014-15 for our first Sr. Couples mission.
Our Mission President was Reid Tolman and his wife Deb Tolman and they are dear friends of ours forever.  We had the best time together serving the people of Samoa.



Now we are off to Fiji on a Humanitarian Services Mission.  
2019-2021  We are very excited and we have potentially 5 grandchildren that could leave while we are gone.  Carson Scott, Spencer Saunders, Audrey Saunders, Eli Burton, Cole Saunders - That is very exciting for our family.

Last Minute Details - hehe

 Monday May 6th - Wendy, Chuck and I played the Bear Mountain Championship course before we left on our mission.  It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day and we had a great time.  We played with Len Barrie Sr.  - his son the hockey player developed the Bear Mountain resort - long story. 

Quote of the Day :

When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and fellow-beings and fellow-servants. The ancient prophets who died were those who came to visit their fellow creatures upon the earth … In like manner our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.

Joseph F. Smith