Darkest Hour

web image New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Mass shootings are tragic no matter where they happen.  The mass shootings here in New Zealand on Friday, March 15 in 2 mosques in Christchurch left 49 dead, both young and the old. 
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it New Zealand's "Darkest day". 
It shattered lives and a country known to the world as a safe refuge, where the police rarely even carry guns on their person .

(A dark unlit figure of the Sky Tower can be faintly seen)

Even the ever lit Sky Tower has been eerily dark in the wake of the shootings.

The loss of 49 innocent lives often brings not only darkness but questions.

In tragedy, hatred, war, and all kinds of hardships, one of those questions people ask is 

"How can a loving God allow bad things to happen to good and often innocent people?".

web photo lds.org Liz Lemon Swindle painting - Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail

Joseph Smith was not the only one to ask in a dark time, "Oh God where art thou...?" 

God is not the perpetrator of evil acts, but He does allow men to make choices. 

Those choices can inflict pain and suffering and tragedy.

Can any good thing come of  tragedy?

Go with me...

  On Saturday we finally hiked the volcanic island visible from all over Auckland...Rangitoto (means "Blood Sky").

 It is known as the most recent and largest volcanic island in New Zealand.

  (And who should be on the same ferry but our friend Alma Redd from Farmington, Utah and his friend Johanas from Germany, who had the same idea ...to explore Rangitoto.) 

One might assume with the fire and heat, and devastation of a volcano that a volcanic island would be completely desolate. 

There were certainly heaps of lava rock still in the lava flow rivers... and the only visible soil was just ground up black lava rock. 

But

 we found something pretty amazing, trees and plants that have found a way to grow and thrive in the wake of a volcano by sinking their roots deep into the lava rock.

They have found a way to make this volcanic island a very unique thing of beauty. 

We all know people who, like this island, have suffered much devastation from eruptions in their lives - of heat and fire and tragedy and pain.  But in time they have emerged stronger, firmer and even refined and beautiful.

Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 Spencer Wooley Kimball suffered boils, throat cancer, heart attacks, aortic calcification, coronary artery disease and major open heart surgery, blurred vision, osteoarthritis of the spine, 3 strokes, and a subdural hematoma.  

He tried to suffer as quietly as he could but his faint and struggling voice betrayed his silence.

 He didn't complain, he felt his challenges made him strong.

 One memorable talk he gave was entitled "Give me this Mountain" 

web images Quotefancy

Even in the darkness of his trials he saw the blessings of growth and the Lords Hand.

He took it on and kept climbing.

DARKNESS

On a very, very early morning walk when it was still very dark, I snapped a few photos of the dark world ...(starting with the beloved "star" of the breakfast table-the "organic milkman")


but I found in top of each picture something stood out, 

every picture...

had in it...

the faint light...

of a morning star...

a constant even in the dark.  

Sometimes we have to struggle to see the light. Visible or hard to see, there is always a ray of hope or light to be found coming through the dark.

And...

web photo the First Time-Warp Wife

Handling HARD Things

This little furry fluff ball has to wear dark glasses when she walks on the beach. Got scratches in her eyes from her pussy cat sister and the sand hurts her eyes.  

But even when you try to darken her world with dark glasses you don't stop her. 
She still runs with the guys who don't have dark glasses, and she plays hard on the beach.  

Ever feel like you are stuck in the dark...well, Fluffy says never fear. 
You can run and bark and jump anyway.  

Don't let the dark stop you! 

We met Marie and Adrian at the beach as they finished sailing. 
They are a competitive sailing team and do well. 
Sailing is hard they say, they encounter sharks and bad storms, and even days when there is no wind, but they keep sailing and getting more muscles and more trophies too.

(They stopped us to tell us they are headed back to church after being gone for several years, they want to grow their spiritual muscles as well-a THOTL experience)  

Here they are a week later in a sailing competition out on the ocean.  Sweating and struggling, doing hard things, but growing muscles.

Gwynee and Adi always tell us, "Girls can do hard things", and they practice what they preach.

We find our YSA amaze us with the hard things many of them do.

Many don't drive, and most of them ride the bus or train into the city to study and to come to institute.  It makes our brains hurt as we watch some of them study so hard.  But, that's the way to learn it all and grow into who you want to become.

We had a wonderful Zone Conference this week with all the Auckland New Zealand missionaries.  Some of them drove 5 hours just to attend.  They learned heaps at the feet of Elders Brent Nattress and Brent Nielson, two incredibly great teachers.  Some of them showed us another hard thing they had learned...the HAKA!.  

A photo of everyone in attendance.  

What a thrill to be a part of it!  These folks go out and do really hard things every day.

All of you are in the middle of doing some really HARD things, and even having some pretty dark days and dark hours.  But you were made for hard things, and if you look hard, up at the top of your life, you too can find little lighted stars and bits of hope.  

And after you struggle and endure big eruptions you will learn 

(if you already haven't) that you, 

and the people affected by the tragedy here in New Zealand, and hard things all over the world,

can grow and heal and blossom like Rangitoto did even after

 terrible volcanoes and fiery trials of every kind.

You were made to do hard things.

web image pinterest

God doesn't have in mind for you to fail or crumble, He knows you can do it...you can endure, and you'll learn much and grow in ways you can't imagine just now from your heartaches and trials. 

Both in this life and the next.

web images Church of Jesus Christ.org

He knows all about hard things. 

Because of Him there is a way up and out of your dark hours...You can do it.

We love you,

Elder and Sister Downs

Vance and Louenda