Zone Conference

 On March 6th we had our zone conference in Porirua which is about a half hour drive north of Wellington.  We had President and Sister Kezerian and Elder and Sister Burton speak to us.  Elder Burton is a medical doctor and his calling in the mission is to enlighten the missionaries as to proper health practices.  He talked about proper exercise and eating habits (no McDonald's and Burger King on a regular basis).  Proper refrigeration was also discussed.  However, this week the missionaries behind us ate lasagna that had been sitting out on the counter for days.  Four missionaries were OK but one got a little sick.  So much for listening to the talk.

 The Samoan Branch fixed lunch for us and Samoans know how to eat.  There was so much food but it was a good thing because the young missionaries eat like they have never eaten before in their lives.  We saw many of them go back as much as 4 times.  I don't know where they put it because most of them are slender.

Afterwards we sang to our hosts to thanks them for the great meal.  We sang the primary song "Armies of Helaman."  It was a great day and a nice break from the archives.

March 6, 2012

Anthony and LaToya

This is Anthony and LaToya who recently were sealed in the Hamilton Temple.  They are going this week again to Hamilton to the temple and then they are moving to Australia for a new job.  We will miss seeing them every week at church.

March 4, 2012

Fall

 March 1st was the beginning of fall and it came in like a lion.  There was a massive weather bomb which created violent winds and massive rainfall.

As you can see Don and I are prepared for the weather with our coats and hats.  In Taranaki the storm was so bad that they had downed power lines and fallen trees.  They had a outpouring of support from the local young missionaries in helping to clean up the area.  There was also a couple from Laguna, California who came to Lake Taupo in New Zealand so he could participate in an Ironman Competition on Saturday.  However, because of the weather bomb the event was cancelled but rescheduled for Sunday.  However, he doesn't do sports on Sunday so he missed the event.  We met him and his wife at church today.

March 4, 2012

February Dinner

 Once a month the senior couples in the Wellington area get together for dinner.  This month we decided instead of going out to a restaurant we would have it at the McVey's.  They live on the top floor of the mission office building.  We also decided since they have access to the whole building that we would show the church movie called "17 Miracles" in the area on the first floor where we have Family Home Evening every Monday night.  The couples who attended were the Sheppards, Brazzeals, McVeys, Chelseys, Patchetts and Overtons.

 The Patchetts on the left are now short timers.  They will return to Arizona the middle of March.  They have been serving in Foxton for the last 18 months.  They plan on travelling to the south island for a couple of days before flying home.  The Chelseys on the right have been here for about 2 months but had to return to the states a week ago for the funeral of her father. Her father was 89 years old but it was in good health when they left so they were surprised that he passed away suddenly.   It was a quick trip and she said that she had jet lag for a couple of days after returning.

Elder Lott and Elder Armstrong

 Thursday March 1st is transfer day which is both happy and sad.  The missionaries are always glad for new experiences and new areas so they are happy but at the same time it is sad to see them leave.  Elder Armstrong is not one of the ones being transferred so as you can see he is busy at work as an office elder.  Elder Armstrong and Elder Lott also live directly behind our flat so we have gotten to become very acquainted with them.

 Elder Lott is being transferred this Thursday and as you can see he has already quit his calling.  He is being made a zone leader and he will move to another flat but he will still be in our ward.  We will miss having him for dinner every Tuesday night and will have the opportunity of meeting a new elder who will be moving into the flat behind us.

It is nice to see Elder Lott up from his nap and back to work.  Since we don't have a printer in our flat they have been a great asset to us when we need some printing done. Elder Lott is a very special elder and we are excited about his new assignment.

February 26, 2012

Mormon Helping Hands Service Project

 It was overcast on Saturday morning as we prepared to go to Newlands to do a service project for the Mormon Helping Hands group.  It started out at Papakainga (which is a historical building which will be 100 years old in June) where a group of volunteers worked on preparing this old building for a special ceremony which will be held the end of June.  It had to be sanded, patched and primed to be ready to paint.  Since New Zealand is steeped in Maori tradition the project was started with the Maori speaker (speaking in Maori) and then a special Maori song.  The opening prayer asked for good weather and just then a few drops of rain fell but the prayer was answered and by the time we arrived at our assigned projects the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.  It was indeed a beautiful day.

 Our project was at Seton Nossiter Park where we had to dig holes and then plant all different varieties of plants and scrubs.  We first dug the hole, fertilized, planted and then replace the soil around the plant.  After that we put mulch on the top and covered the area around the plants.  It was hard work but very rewarding.

 This is what it looked like at the end of the project.  Another group went to the Jay Street Reserve and they dug post holes.

 This is the view from the Papakainga building overlooking the harbor past Wellington.  It also overlooks the town of Petone.

 If you look to our right in the distance you will see Wellington.  Newlands is about a 15 minute drive north of Wellington on Motorway 1.

Brother Turner and Don are now best friends. He was born in England and then served a mission in the London Temple just about 2 years ago.  He has all of this history about England and especially about the United Brethren Church which  is special to Don because his grandfather was a minister of that church in both Illinois and in California. At church on Sunday Brother Turner brought Don brochures on the church and also some pictures of the first United Brethren Church in England.

February 25, 2012

Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Ship

 There is a new cruise ship called the Queen Elizabeth II which made its maiden voyage from Auckland to Wellington on February 22.  It is one of the large new ships which are now being manufactured.  Because of the depth of the water this ship is almost too large to enter the harbor.

It was an overcast day but we decided to follow it out of the harbor when it left at 4:00 that afternoon.  We drove out to Seatoun and watched it leave the harbor and go out into the open seas.  We are now averaging about 2 to 3 cruise ships a week.  We always feel bad when they come to Wellington and it is either raining or very windy.

February 22, 2012