Doing the Work on an ITEP Mission

I thought you might like to know what we have been doing to keep busy on our mission. What exactly do ITEP Coordinators do? ITEP stands for International Teacher Education Program. Elder Jacobsen and I are involved in coordinating, and in some cases providing, professional development for teachers, counselors and administrators in the 15 Church Schools in the South Pacific (in Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, and Fiji). As ITEP coordinators we collaborate with the College of Human Development and Dean John Bailey at BYU Hawaii. Courses taught by ITEP missionaries are the same courses provided on campus from the School of Education. All ITEP couples are considered adjunct faculty at BYUH. The past two months Elder Jacobsen and I have been busy preparing for the Principals/ITEP conference held in Auckland in March. I start this blog post with a picture of the entire group of us at the conference, which took place at the Pacific Area Office for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Pacific Area Church Schools 

Principals/ITEP Conference - March 4-8, 2013

Front Row: Elders Johnson, Osborne, Szoka. Jacobsen, Spencer, Whitehead, Budgett, Rasmussen

Second Row: Sisters Johnson, Osborne, Szoka, Jacobsen, Scott Wilde, Wayne Maurer, Sisters Spencer, Whitehead, Budgett, Rasmussen

Third Row: Jarod Hester, Debbie Brunton, Ora Ngakuru, LaveniaTaufalele, Harvalene Sekona, Etta Taumalolo, Fahi Fifita, Aloine Havea, Luti Fusikaunanga, Lita Iabeta, Sinua Fotu , Steve Mauigoa

Fourth Row: Michael Carthew, Mika Lolo, Tipo Solomone, Ngatai Smith, Vito QaQa, Folau Kioa, Bruce Yerman, Brent Chowen, Jack Taleni, Leo Leauanae, John Bailey