2017 Quotes

Joyce (5)

"Did you KNOW...that Uncle Dan...can make a SQUEAKING SOUND.... with GRASS???!"
-Joy is amazed at her talented Uncle Dan.

"This is a good kind of store.  I don't like stores that are too big because then I have to make hard choices."
-We live in a good place for shoppers like her and like me.

"One thing I don't like about holidays is that you forget all about school and WHERE STUFF IS."
-I followed Joyce for most of this sentence, but then the last three words took an unexpected twist.

"Can you show me some of the exercise cars?"
-Joy is curious after overhearing a conversation about sports cars.

"If Danny was here, he'd sit on the counter when he was done eating."
-Joy makes a random observation while eating dinner, obviously thinking about Danny's empty place.

"Mom, you should change your job to be a hair-doer.  You're really fast."
-Joy gives career advice one morning on the way to school.

Sage (8)

"Thank you for...."
-the way Sage ends every day.

"One of my talents is that all my teachers just LOVE me."

Joyce to Sage:  "Don't say anything like that, because then I might BELIEVE you."
-Sage's powers of reason and persuasion can be overwhelming to a younger sister.

"Mom, you're the BEST/ Mom, you're AWESOME/ Mom, you're the BEST/ Mom, you're AWESOME"  (repeated many times)
-Sage and Joyce made up a song for me that they sing almost every day on the way to school.  What it lacks in nuance is made up in feeling.

Mercy (12)

"I reckon getting 'told off' sounds more practical than 'chewed-whatever-it-was.'"
-Mercy, after she asked me what they call getting "told off" in the USA, and I answered, "getting chewed out."

Me:  "How is it going to school without the boys?"
Mercy:  "I quite like it for classes.  I miss them at handball though."
-Mercy just started at New Plymouth Girls' High School.

"How many x's are on the end of skuxx depends on how skuxx it is."

"Oosh!"

"It's like trying to be Kiwi, but failing."
-Mercy's reaction to my suggestion that she eat canned spaghetti on toast for dinner.  (Canned spaghetti on toast is a breakfast dish.)

Mercy about Oak:  "He's advanced to Roaster-in-Chief since Danny's left."
Oak:  "You just notice me more."

"You have to calm down with your clicking - I'm pretty sure it's bad for the computer."
-Oak to Mercy.  In the last couple of months, Mercy has changed from the girl who came home from school and sat down on the floor with Sage and Joyce, to the girl who comes home and checks (and clicks) the computer.

Oak (15)

"Blackberries are great.  You don't even feel them as you run through, then you come out, and your legs are bleeding, and it looks really cool."
-Oak after a rogaine.  Blackberries are much preferred to gorse.



"I went through the Farm.  It was quite a cool run.... There was cow poo, though."
-Sept 19, Oak shows up after another run with even more mud than usual splattered over his legs.

"That's funny.  I'll just leave it on for now."  
-Oak is bemused when his toenail comes off with his sock after a 2-day Hillary training

Four Peaks - Oak, Jason, Gavin

"That John and Tubare came."
-Oak's response when I asked about his favourite thing about church.  When John and Tubare don't come, he's the only YM.

"In keeping with tradition, I am going to start by telling a story about adventure racing."
-Since there aren't very many youth in our branch, Oak gets to give a lot of talks in sacrament meeting, and this has become his standard opening, good for an appreciative laugh from the congregation.

Danny (17)

Danny:  "What's my ACT score again?"
-Smart enough to score well, but not smart enough to remember that he'd done it.  He had it wrong for months before figuring it out.  (I had forgotten, too...)

"Mom picks a song and she begins the intro, 'Have I told you lately that I love you...'.  The 80's music seems foreign but strangely catchy as we all sing along."
-a couple of sentences in a first draft essay for a college application.  Mike and I must seem older to Danny than I even realised!  The song, "Have I Told You Lately," Grandma Miller's favourite song, was written in the 40's.

Me:  "What does your gut tell you?"  (about staying in UT to finish his senior year or not)
Danny:  "My gut doesn't tell me stuff."
-It was worth a try.

Noah 

Noah in Bulgaria

To receive Noah's updates by email, if you aren't already, send me a personal message.

Links to previous years:

2015 Year in Quotes

Quotes - 2014

2013 Quotes - Look for Trends - interesting to see Noah at Danny's age, Danny at Oak's age, Oak at Mercy's age, Sage at Joyce's age (approximately)

Book of the Week:

Hope and Bill are intriguing characters, but my favourite part of this book was learning about geobiology and a bit about how geobiological research is actually done.

ARC 2017

It was ARC weekend - Adventure Race Coromandel.  

3 teams from NPBHS and NPGHS entered the 18-hour school division.  This is Oak’s team as they start the race at midnight.  They randomly look more like they are in a music video than they are starting an 18-hour endurance race.  

We slept in MAVY while the team started with a 5 hour trek.  

This picture is Sage and Joyce reading once they woke up.  

5 hour trek, then 5+ hour bike, caving, short raft, then more biking and trekking.  It ended up being about 120K or about 75 miles.

North Island of New Zealand.

We got to drive up to the very top of the Coromandel Peninsula.  The last hour or two is on a gravel road that winds along the side of the coast.  Amazing scenery!

The team found the bugle helpful in locating us at transitions.  Also helpful for some laughs and a boost.  

Mr Hewlitt, the coach.

More mud than usual.

Although mostly overcast and sometimes wet, weather was hot and humid.

NPBHS/NPGHS took all three top awards in the high school division.  The finishing times were approximately 17 hours, 50 min.  I'm not sure that any of the other high school teams finished the course.  

Pot luck that night.  

After the debrief on Sunday morning, we went to church in a little renovated house around the corner from our backpacker.   

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Coromandel Town.
Gotta love the BBQ on the front porch.

Because they are such a small branch and don’t seem to get visitors often, they asked the visitors to bear their testimonies for sacrament meeting.  Oak and Dad passed the sacrament.  I played the keyboard.  Since they only had one tray for the water, which Oak used, Dad passed the sacrament by taking around a cup of water in one hand and a stack of plastic sacrament cups in the other.  It was a nice meeting.

Links to...

 ARC 2016

ARC 2015

Books

audiobook recommended to me by Mike - fascinating

Dear Missionary: 4 Tips for Working with Members Like Me

Dear Noah,

These 4 ideas may or may not apply to working in Bulgaria.  Our friends who have met with the missionaries are usually secular, educated, and skeptical.  Most have never been inside a church except for funerals or weddings, if that.  

1-CALL ME "HOLLY" 

If you are teaching or talking with my nonmember friends, refer to me in the same way that I introduced myself to you and to my friend.  A doctor named Sarah came to our house a couple of days ago to meet with the sisters and with me.  The sisters kept calling me, “Sr Jones;” and Dad, “Pres Jones."  It felt awkward, and *NOT* because strict obedience to church handbook means that the missionaries should have been calling ME “Pres Jones” too!  (because I am Primary president - but, please, NO!)  

It felt awkward when the elders did the same thing when Sue and Jamie came over.   I remember Sue looking over with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression on her face, but since we were in the middle of talking about something else, I chose not to stop and explain, even when it kept happening.

I think it’s okay for missionaries to use formal titles if they feel they should, or if they’ve been directed to do so, but at least realise when it merits an explanation and don’t be oblivious.  

2-CONSIDER BEST STUDY MATERIALS

Consider leaving something other than the missionary tracts, that look - in my mind - unappealing.  Someone who is not used to being around religious stuff may have even a stronger reaction than I.  I know that Sue was fairly turned off by her pamphlet, both the pictures and the wording, but I feel that she would have responded well to a talk from General Conference.  Not sure about J., although I know he read most or all of the BofM that the missionaries gave him.  

I felt that the “Plan of Salvation” pamphlet was not the best thing to give Sarah after our meeting on Friday night.  I could be wrong, but that was my gut feeling.

I know it’s important to send something home to study, but, depending on the person you are teaching, perhaps consider a conference talk instead of the pamphlet?  Or, in addition to the pamphlet?  Or a few chapters out of the scriptures?  Or an assignment to read something and then write something down - 3 things they would ask God if He would answer?  3 times when they felt a feeling of holiness?  Etc.

  

3-THE THREE BASIC INGREDIENTS

Just like a primary talk or a sacrament-meeting talk, I think every missionary discussion (or after-dinner spiritual thought) would be effective if it included:

1. a story
2. a scripture 
3. a testimony

On Friday night, near what seemed like the end of our conversation, the sisters offered touching testimony, but without a story or a scripture, it was hard for me or for Sarah to even know what they felt so strongly about.    

(It was obvious that they felt strong about something, though, and, that adage, “I didn’t remember anything that was said, but I do remember how I felt,” trumps any other teaching goal.  And when I asked the sisters to share a story, they did.) 

4-PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE

Our friends have never seen anyone pray, let alone someone sitting just a few feet away from them in a someone’s house.  They have no idea how it should be done or who should do it or how long it will last or ANYTHING.  

So, don't give an apologetic smile to our friends and ask, 

“Should we end with a prayer?” 

Or 

“Would you mind if we ended with a prayer?”

Or

“Who would you like to say it?”  

Our nonreligious friends have no idea how to answer any of these questions.  Sarah, for example, a couple of nights ago, had no idea how to answer these questions when the missionaries asked them.

You could say, 

“We’d like to end this important conversation with a prayer, to acknowledge and include the God of Heaven and Earth, the God that knows you and me better than we even know ourselves.  It will take about 2 minutes.  I would ask my companion to pray in all of our behalf (look for a nod from companion), and the rest of us will listen.  In order to concentrate better, it is our custom to close our eyes and bow our heads while we pray - would you please join us?”

***************

I have loved our missionary experiences.  Without exception, the missionaries who have taught our friends have brought a holy feeling into our home.  I have appreciated each one of them.  Without being perfect, they are doing a good job.  I'm not perfect, either.

Dad and I have put Clay Christensen’s hypothesis to the test.  In his book about Member Missionaries, he wrote that 1 out of 4 people who he invites to listen to the missionary discussions will say yes.  My experience is 2 out of 4.  Dad’s experience, in the last month since he started keeping track, is 2 out of 2.  Watching him is definitely motivating for me, and I feel that I am more on the look out for missionary opportunities at the moment because of him.  

Somehow it makes it easier to ask someone to hear the missionary discussions, for me, if I realise how willing I am to accept 3 “no’s” in order to get to the “yes." My friendship has deepened with every friend who has accepted the invitation to listen to the missionaries.  It gives me confidence to keep asking.

Love,

Mom

Who wouldn't want to come to church when you might sit next to Kaihiki?

Here's Mike's response:  

Hol

Love all these ideas and agree whole-heartedly with them!  

Here are 3 ideas that I believe are key in motivating me as a missionary.

1.  Teach the members to Invite People to hear the Discussions before trying to "friendship" them.

I really believe the principle taught by Clay Christensen that the best way to make a friend is to do so as they are taught by the missionaries in your home.  For most of my life I have felt awkward trying to "friendship" nonmembers with the ulterior motive of eventually inviting them to take the Discussions.  Now I invite people early and often.  If they say no, it isn't a rejection of my friendship and it often increases the chances that as I interact with that person in the future they are more open with me about spiritual things and personal beliefs. 

2.  Assume members have many interactions and relationships with nonmembers and assume they want to share the gospel with these people.

Sometimes I feel like missionaries don't remember that members of the church are just regular people. We have friends, colleagues at work, and other people who are nonmembers with whom we interact every day. If missionaries have the confidence to assume that members want to share the gospel, then I think they can be more effective in motivating and inviting  the members to do so.  

3.  Teach Members the Discussions as a way to gain their trust 

I will never forget when Elder Romney and his companion came to our home and taught a missionary discussion to our family with power and with the spirit. After they taught that discussion to our family I was extremely motivated to invite my friends to hear the discussions from those missionaries. For me one of the main concerns in inviting friends and colleagues to hear the discussions is whether I feel that the missionaries will be able to teach with love and with the spirit. There is no better way to bring the Spirit into a home and at the same time demonstrate your love and teaching skills than to teach a discussion to members. I think this is especially powerful when you are teaching in a language that is not your native tongue. When the members hear your testimony and are touched by the stories you tell while teaching they will naturally want their friends to have those same feelings.  Following such a discussion is a perfect time to invite members to take the next step in doing missionary work.  See # 1 above.

Love 

Dad 

Summer Holidays 2016-7

What a meaningful trip to the USA!  I feel very thankful.  Our summer holidays were full of people who are important to me...

Family, including many fascinating and precious kids of:  

• Dan and Megan
• Amy and Aaron
• Ani and John 
• James and Rachel 
• Ammon and Kristin 
• Dad and Mom Jones
• Noah on Skype 
• Lucinda and Neumann and their extended family
• Mom and Dad Miller
• Jon and Megan 
• Carolyn and Doug 
• Tracie and Marc  
• Savanna 
• Jen and Jeremy (briefly!)

Cherished Friends...  

• Miners 
• Jorgensens 
• Sessions 
• Osguthorpes 
• Hobsons 
• Holmsteads 
• Ebertings
• Mt Mahogany 1st Ward, including Bishop Faux and the Hills
• Hales 
• Greens 
• Beckwiths 
• Blacks 
• Addams 
• Mechams
• Sage S. 
• Irene
• Melissa, Jen and HollyS

Maybe putting you all in a list makes you imagine that you are lumped together in my mind, but it is exactly the opposite.  I felt that naming you by name is the only way I can begin to acknowledge each of you and the varying relationships that I personally have with each of you and many of your kids.  

Special thanks to Dan and Megan, Amy and Aaron, and Nana and Gramps, for letting us stay in your homes.

Also, special thanks to Steve and Michelle who have hosted Danny, Robin and Cory who hosted Oak, Rachel and James who hosted Sage and Joyce.

The last picture I took in the USA before boarding our flight back to NZ.

My holiday included some amazing books:

reads like a dystopian novel, but it's real

set in North Korea

intriguing stories of "talent clusters" and master teachers

this book never fails me

annual family read-aloud

Audiobook on the way to and from our family backpack in Tongariro

I'll never see Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go" the same way again...

Links to videos made by Mike, Oak, Mercy, Maihi about the last couple of months:

Maihi- Second New Plymouth Young Men's video 

Mike- Sledding with Nana and Gramps

Oak- Skiing at Alta

Mike- Tongariro Backpack

Mercy- Tongariro Backpack