The latest happenings - without pictures, sorry.

OKAY, I AM FRUSTRATED - I am trying to add pictures and aftter Nicole spending a ton of time with me before we left, teaching me how to do it, and I wrote it down step-by-step, now we get here and of course it is a completely different format and nothing is the same.  Some one tried to figure it out and was unable to do so.

SO.................................... I tried to put pictures into an email and that did not work either.
SO...................................  Okay, I am sorry!!*?#*

Well, to put it in a nutshell - things are going wonderful and we are so excited about how the people are accepting our program.  They are very excited to learn this simple, but new information that will help them in preventing tooth decay.  Up to now,  we have personally taught 3800 people who will turn around and have the opportunity to teach those in their wards reaching 10,000 people.  THAT IS A "WOW" TO US!!!!

So, we will continue to teach 6 nights a week, reaching a new Stake about each week,  We are also trying to reach the government officials during the day and have been quite successful.  Their question has been "why can't we do that?"  "How do you get so many people to come that are interested in dental care?"  We have to just smile and we think to ourselves, the real reason is that your people have to have a love for their fellow man and be willing to serve them in a way that will help and to do it without pay, you have to have a love for your Heavenly Father and His plan for all of us.  But, what we do say is that we are going through the church priesthood line and then we offer to help them in anyway that we can.  So......for the last 2 weeks, Dr. Tomiki (nonmember) who is the head of the dental clinic at the hospital, has been coming to our meetings and is so excited about what is happening, he sits there and takes notes.  He is onboard now and we think that he will be able to help with the gov. now.  So we will just keep blugging.  We offered to train their Public Health Nurses who go into the villages and do new-born and well baby training and teaching.  They would be perfect to get into the families with small children.  The answer that we got back was "they said they have too much on their plate already".  ZSsurprise, surprise.

Another exciting thing is happening.  We can see that we will have the program completely implemented by the middle of Sept.  In the mean time, Karen HoChing from Am. Samoa has called us and wants to know what needs to be done to get this program over in Samoa.  So we told her what we were doing and who we were meeting with.  She hung up from talking with us and talked with those people there in Samoa, and the next thing we are getting a call from them asking for information.

Dick emailed New Zealand, Area Welfare Director, and told them what was happening and that we were available to go to Samoa for the last 5 weeks of our mission and implement it there if they want us to.  So, yesterday he had a conference call with New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga.  Samoa felt like they were doing okay with implementation.  Dick told them they are doing what we did 2 years ago and the results was very minimal - no follow up with the government in charge.  So when Dick asked a few important questions of him and it helped him realize that maybe they are not doing as well as they thought, his feelings were different.  So now it is in their hands and we will wait and see what they decide.

During this whole thing with Samoa, we were told that the South Pacific Area Pres. 1st Counselor is good friends with a Sr. Missionary that just went home and he is one that really started the dialog with Dick.  These two were together in South Africa and both felt that this program needs to go there.  Yeh............  that is what Dick visioned in the very beginning, it could go anywhere it is needed with simple translation and following the implementation model that we have developed following the steps of the Welfare Program - self reliance, participation/work, leadership and sustainability.  This will be fun to follow.

We have also recieved an email from SLC Director of Short Term Welfare Projects, Ferron Squires, and he says that they are now looking at our model to be used in other welfare and humanitarian projects.  What a thrill this is to hear.  From the very beginning we have felt the hand of the Lord leading and guilding us, and even now as we implement it, we know that He is with us.  What joy it brings to both of us to be a very small part, an instrument in the Lord's hand, in this great effort.

We love you all and I apologize for my lack of technical knowledge that eliminates pictures from this. (Where is Aaron, Trevin, Nicole, Dawn etc........... even the grandchildren could probably help us with this)

All our love,

Elder and Sister Oyler (Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma)

The start of the journey at the MTC.



this is the skyline of Auckland New Zealand



Malo...........................

Yes, we are here and all is well.  It only took us 3 weeks to get the computer and phone up and running and now we feel like we are in touch with the world again, and mostly our family. 
Yehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

So our story picks up where we left of from our last visit.  We were met at the airport by all of the Sr. Couples (which is a tradition when ever someone new arrives or someone is going home).

We have returned to the very same house that we were in when we left 2 years ago, which made us really happy, like coming home (sort of).  We are very grateful that we are here in the islands again during their cool season, which means it rains a lot, temperature is usually in the high 70's or low 80's and the humidity comes down to a tolerable reading, somewhere around 80%.  So we open all the window loovers and let the trade winds blow through - actually it is very pleasant at times.

We were in hopes that when we arrived on the island that someone would have made some appointments for us so that we could begin within a couple of days to meet with the people.  Well................. it was more than we could have hoped for.  A wonderful woman by the name of Mele Nau is over the Welfare Program on the island and she was given the assignment and boy did she do us a good job.  We started our meetings 2 days after we arrived and are scheduled every Tues. thru Sat and sometimes Sun. evenings until the 2nd week in Aug.!!!!!

Mele is Tongan, but has gone to BYU and has a palangi (whiteman's mind).  She thinks this is the best compliment we can give to her.  Her English is perfect and we have a great time with her.  And she can handle all the problems we run into, because she knows all the Stake Pres. and Bishops on the island.  We have 18 Stakes with 160 Wards.  We meet with the leadership one night then the wards, and then we are calling Trainers from each ward to actually go into the homes of the families in their wards and do the teaching - one on one.  Of course we train the Trainers and they are so excited about what they are learning.  It is a JOY to us to see their faces light up as they learn these new ideas and concepts.  At this point we have taught over 1600 people in 3 Stakes.  Dad is doing a great job teaching these beautiful people.

We traveled to one island, Eua, last week, and had a wonderful time with the members there.  Our flight was 7 minutes in a small 7 passenger plane and I found out that I can hold my breath for 7 minutes.  The plane was so small that the trade winds were blowing us to and fro like we were a little paper plane (like the grandsons make and fly in their yards).  I was a bit nervous, but we landed well and there were no chickens or pigs on the runway so that made for a smooth landing.

We have had doors (meetings) open up to us already where we have had the opportunity to meet with leaders of the church and the country to show what we are doing, and without exception they all see the need and are anxious to be involved and want to see their people helped.  We know that what we are doing is important and that the Lord in involved with us. 

Dad and I walk every morning as the sun is coming up- and the sunrise (and the sunsets) are beautiful.  We are taking pictures, but our blog is now different and I have not been able to figure it out (surprise, surpris) Nicole where are you when I need you.  Ha, ha. We have someone coming to day that knows about these things and maybe she can help while she is here.

We have not gotten killed driving on the left side of the road yet, but we have been banged into by one of our Stake Presidents.  He was very embarrassed.  The roads here are so full of holes ( about 6 inched deep) that we have to go very slow and weave all over the road to try to miss some of them.  It is really a funny site to look down the road ahead of us and see cars on both sides of the road, weaving and bouncing.  The young people ride in the back of pickups and trucks, sometimes a dozen of them and they never fall out.  We have not figured that one out yet.  Seat belts are not required.

Well I will sign off for now and hope that I can figure out the picture technique soon.

We love you all and miss you tons,  Elder and Sister Oyler (Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma)

We're back...........

We are back......................

Our story from Tonga that ended in August 2010, when we came home, now has another chapter.

In December, 2011, we received a call from the South Pacific Area President to ask if Dick would accept, if he were called as a dental specialist, a return to Tonga and implement the program that he put together while we were there before. Of course he said he would be happy to. What an exciting opportunity for him to implement, critique, and evaluate his program that was definitely given to him through divine intervention.

Since we came home from Tonga, 1 1/2 years ago, Dick has had the opportunity to present this Preventative Dental Initiative to the heads of the Welfare and Humanitarian Departments of the church, as well as the president of the International Dental Group and the LDS Dental Academy. They were all very impressed with what he had accomplished. They said many dentist had come home from different areas and had seen the same problems he had. They all had good ideas of things to do that would help, but no one had ever come home with a program, a step 1, 2, 3, etc of how to begin to teach and help the people gain knowledge of how to prevent the dental problems that they had. Dick's mind just works that way; he sees a problem, and his mind analysis it and he will soon have the solution in a very logical order. The Lord used his skills and his willingness to follow, to create a simple to follow program that will be taken into the villages and there teach the families the basic skills of dental hygiene and proper nutrition.

Dick's long range vision of this program is that it can easily be translated into any language and then taken anywhere in the world where it will help the people to better care for themselves and their families and thus become more self reliant and healthy. Interestingly, over the last few months, Dick has had continued correspondence that had led to the translation and use of the DVD into 3 more languages, Samoan, Tongan and Spanish. Lawrence Porter, who did the DVD for us in Tonga, is soon to be in Samoa to do filming for another DVD to be used there.

This is exactly what Dick envisioned would happen.

In addition to the countries that will be helped, there is more good news. The church asked the the president of the LDS Academy of Dentist, Dr. Roundy, to provide a dental segment on the church's Provident Living Web Site, that could be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Dr. Roundy has talked with Dick about using his program. Of course, Dick is very excited about this.

So...................... as we have now received our mission call and will be entering the MTC on April 23, we are very excited about this wonderful opportunity that has been given to us to continue to serve in a way that will be helpful to many people, and to us as well, as we learn from the example of the beautiful people in the South Pacific.

This could be a very interesting time to be in Tonga and experience the change of leadership, especially after the rioting of 2006, and the "election" that they held last year, 2011. There are changes happening, but not necessarily like what we are reading in the news. Is that a surprise????

This week we have heard of the death of the King of Tonga. This will be a time of great mourning on the island, and most of the family will be wearing black for 1 year to show their sadness. This will be the typical dress, and even the men will dress this way. Their funeral will be for several days and sometimes weeks. The people will gather, have the funeral and then stay for days and the family will have to feed and care for them. The men do the cooking, outside (of course), and will be cooking for hundred of people. The church is trying to get them to change this tradition, because it is such a financial drain on the family. But as we all know "tradition" or "habit" is not always easy to change.

Soon to be coming home

Well, the time is quickly arriving that we will be headed home. Seems like the 6 months has gone by really quickly. Each mission has been exciting in it's own way and different from all the rest. This time, we have been more involved with service as Dad was giving dental service and I at his side trying to keep up with his needs. I have a new appreciation for what he does and how hard of work it actually is. Yes, he is sitting down most of the day, but the physical and mental drain on him is tremendous. He said to me more than once, "didn't I retire a few years back?" "let's retire again when we get home". Of course, the older we get the harder it is on him. Kenyon, I appreciate your skills also with a new understanding now that I have been a "chairside assistant" for a few months. I know that it is "four handed dentistry" that you both practice, but Dad has been doing "3 handed dentistry" because I was just learning. It has been an emotional drain on both of us as we each day would see child after child with full mouth decay and adults with hardly any teeth, and teenagers that were loosing teeth because it was too late to safe them. Our hearts have just gone out to them.

Because of this difficult situation here in Tonga, Dad would work hard each night after being in the office all day, on creating a program that will make a dramatic change in the lives of these people within 3-4 years as it is applied. We are both very excited about the way that it is taking hold, and the dentist here are now accepting it and buying into the need. It is now THEIR PROGRAM FOR THEIR PEOPLE, and they are ready to take it and impliment it into their culture. One of the dentist said to us, "we have always wanted to help our people, but we have not known how. You have shown us how and now we can."

The final step of the program is a movie that will be taken into the villages to help teach them on proper dental cleaning and care. And this is the exciting part. Yesterday, Thursday, we picked up Lawrence Porter, from SLC, who is here to do the photographing for the movie, and then will go home and make a DVD for us to use. He has some exciting ideas that will take the needed information to the people and then add a bit of excitement that will get the children's attention and make it very inviting for them. We are so grateful that he was able to come while we are still here, so that Dad has been able to help and have some imput as the DVD is created.

Lawrence has come prepared to "pay" people that help and are photographed for the DVD and has had a hard time understanding why no one wants to take his money. We have tried to explain to him, but it is hard to believe unless you live with them for a while and see what their culture is like. We think money talks, and will solve most of our problems, but these people live a different belief and they are better off than we are in many ways. I think, they have what we say we would like to have, but are not willing to give up much of what we think is important to gain the spiritual happiness and peace that they have, the simple but beautiful way of life.

(Luke 18: 18-30)

We will in deed return home with something from the Tongan people that can not be learned from a book or bought in a store. It is an appreciation for the simple things in day to day life and the importance of family and how we are with each other. Here in Tonga there is no welfare program, no homeless, no old folks homes. That is because they take care of their own, they will feed anyone who is hungry whether they know you or not. There is probably not one home on the island that does not have extra people living there because the need was there. Their hearts are as big as the need and they do not think anything of it, it is just the way we are and it is what we are suppose to do, that is what they believe and that is what they LIVE. It does not take money to live here, because their life is so simple and basic and they desire for nothing more than they have. They are happy with what they have, no matter how little or how much. If someone need a meal, they will literally give the last food in the house to them and be very happy to do it. One of the saddest things to a Tongan is to have nothing to give to someone else, regardless of how little they have.

We have loved our time here. And we are excited and and ready to come back to our family and friends. We miss all of you and will look forward to seeing you soon.

Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Dick and Reta

Update on Dental Initiative Program - Things are happening

Well, we have been plugging along for another month now and we are entering into the last 2 weeks of our time here in Tonga. Time has really gone by fast, and I guess that is because we are so busy that we do not have time to count the days or wonder where they have gone.

After this week, we will no longer be in the clinic. Next Monday there are 6 students and 4 instructors coming from UNLV and they will be here for 2 weeks. They will need all 7 chairs so we are stepping aside and letting them have the complete clinic starting next Monday. We will spend 1/2 day orienting them to the clinic and then they will take over. We will spend our last week here in Tonga, seeing some of the sites that we want to see again and going to the temple, and just relaxing. It will be nice, because during the last 3 weeks Dad has begun to have positional pain in his shoulder from so much dentistry. He is seeing about 30 plus patients a day and that really is hopping from one to the next without any kind of a break, only to take 3 steps from one chair to the next. I am even having a hard time keeping up with him and having the patients gone, the next one ready and all the charting done. Wheeeeeehhhhhhhhh. So we are ready to take a break. He has said more than once, "didn't I retire a while back?" He says he is going home and retire again. Ha, ha.

Well, all of Dad's hard work in the evenings on the Dental Initiative Program has really taken some big steps in the last couple of weeks. He had his BIG meeting with all the Ministers here in Tonga, and they were very impressed with it, and willing to support it. Then last week he was on TV to be broadcast here in Tonga, in Tongan, about his program the effects that it will have for the people in the future. Then 2 days ago, while we were home for lunch, he was asked to come and show his presentation to the South Pacific Welfare Manager for the church, who was here in Tonga. And I guess you could say that it went quite well, because before he left to return to the office he said to Dad, would you be interested in going and taking this program to other countries as a dental specialist for 2 or 3 months? And Dad said, "sounds like something that we would be interested in if we were called to do it, we would then consider it." He told Dad that it would be the first of the year before they did it , if they did it. This man is from New Zealand where the South Pacific Area Presidency is. They are the ones who authorized the money to Tim to do the movie.

Now, about the movie. The script is done, it is being translated into Tongan here at the Liahona by church staff, who are official translators for the church. We are waiting for the information about when the filming will be done. We should hear any day now. We were hoping it would be before we leave, but maybe not. We will see.

We are headed home on the 24th (2 weeks from today) and we are anxious to see everyone and have a few hugs and kisses for the grandchildren AND their parents. Funny, funny.

Any one want a banana? Guess what? They all rippen within 2-3 day - banana bread day!

David Bingham the day we took him to the airport to return home - we enjoyed having him with us - he was VERY POPULAR WITH THE ISLAND PEOPLE.

A typical Tongan home - humble.

Love to all, Dad and Mom