GREAT PEOPLE AND BEAUTIFUL HOMELAND

A week ago last monday we had a multiple zone confrence in Whangarei.  President Lekias and his wife made key presentations as well as the zone leaders.  Members in the local ward provided a super lunch.  After some role playing in the afternoon we headed back to our own areas. President Lekias is an excellent teacher and his wife has an unlimited amount of energy.  We couldn't help but leave all pumped up.

On monday we visited an elderly deaf couple, Brother and Sister Cunnif, who are members of the Waihou branch.  When we left Sister Olsen and I looked at each other in amazement.  We had spent nearly an hour with them.  When it began we could hardly communicate but as we endured they talked about thier family, showed us pictures, how they had raised their children in the gospel and expressed their testimonies and love for the Savior.  The spirit was so strong and as we hugged them good bye we experienced tears of joy.

On Monday we spent our family home evening with the Snow family (picture below).  They are an elderly couple who have raised 9 children who with their families live all around the world.  What a great family.

Brother and Sister Snow with 2 grandsons and a friend

Yesterday we looked up the Relief Society President for Matauri Bay.  She lives on a secluded beach road 15 km from town.  She insisted we walk with her on a loop trail along the beach.  As you see in the pictures below there was not a defined trail across the rocks,

not easy  walking across

The RS president, Sister Williams and Sister Olsen

view along the trail

On Friday we visited the Treaty Grounds in Paihia where in 1840 the British and numeruous Mauri chiefs signed a treaty to clarify thier relationship with the non natives and to protect their rights and some of their lands.

Mauri warriors outside cermonial marae or meeting place

inside the marae, all hand carved

sea going canoe or waka that could transport 150 warriors

water falls on the way back to Keri keri

SUMMER THERE--WINTER HERE

Last Saturday we attended a baptismal service for our young contact, Tae Harris.  His family is LDS but are just returing to activity.  I think Tae set a record for the number of attempts before succeeding.  The branch member responsible for fillimg the font arrived late delaying the start of the service.  When the font was sufficently filled we turned the water off and started the program.  After the song, prayer and talk we pulled back the curtain only to find the font had been draining.  We thought there was sufficient depth so the baptism proceeded.  After four unsuccessful attempts we stopped the service and added more water.  It appears the brother doing the initial filling didn't have the drain all the way off.  The fifth attempt went forward without a hitch.  Tae surely will remember this event.

Tae is standing next to his grandfather who baptized him

Following the batism we linked up with Elder and Sister Goodman who we had met in the MTC.  Their assignment is to set up and get running the new mission office for the Hamilton mission that is to open come July.  They had a couple  free days so the President suggested they get up to the north country and do a little sight seeing. After all the northland has some of New Zealands most beautiful country.  They wanted to see the norther most tip of the country, Cape Reinga, and asked us to go with them
.  This is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific.  Unfortunately the weather was extreme that afternoon.  The clouds had set down on sea level, it was raining sideways with 100 mph wind trying to sweep us off the trail.  We hiked out to the light house that sits on a rocky point.  For just a few moments the clouds parted and we could look down and see the surf and agitated water where the two oceans colide.  We were cold and drenched when we made it back to the car, but are certain we will remember it more vividly than if it was your typical sunny day.

the light house on Cape Reinga

Where the Tasman sea meets the Pacific

Sisters Goodman and Olsen seeking protection from the wind

Getting a good start

We had a wonderful experience today as we attended Church at the branch in Matauri Bay, which is north of Kerikeri about 40 minutes. There were about 12 adults, including us, and about the same number of children.  Elder Olsen taught the Gospel Essentials class and I taught RS, as the president was not there. This branch is essentially made up of three extended families.  The branch president and counselor are brothers, the YM president is their father, their wives are the presidents of the auxiliaries, a closely knit branch.  However, we have discovered there are ample part member and less active individual and families we can work with, which is one of the primary reasons we are here.

Many of the less active members are spread out over the countryside, long distances from the meeting house, and with the price of petrol so high many stay away.  This makes fellow shipping and staying connected more difficult.

We learned there is only one other senior couple outside the mission office assigned MLS (member and leadership support).  Most couples called to New Zealand serve in the Pacific Area office in Auckland, CES, welfare, family history, and visitor center assignments.  The mission president would love to have several more couples to put around the mission to help the struggling branches.

One of the things we most enjoy doing is feeding the missionaries.  The Elders love Mexican food since its really hard to find here, so Sister Olsen cooked up a large pot of taco soup and some bread and they had a real feast.

We have two investigators with upcoming baptism commitments, this Saturday May 25th, is Tae, a young boy, and Amelia, a 52 year old widow tentatively for June or July.  We anticipate many positive teaching experiences with less actives and hope to see results in temple ordinances in the months to come.

We have been assigned to serve in two branches and we split our time attending each every other week. The town we live in, Kerikeri, is about halfway between the branches.  When we go to church it is like taking a scenic drive down a curvy narrow road, that we jokingly remind each other of the road to Hanna on the island of Maui.  The weather is quite mild.  More rain than we are accustomed to and much more humidity.  It takes a long time to dry out your laundry if you hang it on a line outside.  The countryside is like a paradise for sheep and cattle and they grow a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable.  We buy avocado, mandarin oranges, and macadamia nuts in roadside stands.

 

 

 

 

rock walls and rolling grass lands

a country lane near our flat

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sister Olsen a short distance from our flat to the bay

 

 

 

 

 

KERIKERI

WE SURVIVED OUR FLIGHT and the next couple of days with little sleep.  We stayed in Auckland (pronounced (Oakland) for a couple of days as the mission president and his wife were away.  We took the opportunity to visit the temple south in Hamilton the second day.  They only have a session every 2 hours and we just missed it, so we ate lunch at the temple and went to the Visitor's Center for a while and met
the missionaries there. The temple is small but beautiful and in a beautiful setting as you can see by the photos.

We met with Pres. & Sister Likias the following morning and liked them very much.  They confirmed that we had been assigned up North, and we were delighted.  We are in the same area the Jolleys, from our ward in Centerville served 5 or 6 years ago.  We have even red some of their writing in the fellow shipping notebooks.  We packed up and headed out. It is about a 3 or 4 hour trip, and the last part was in the dark.  Don has take quite well to driving on the wrong side of the road, but I still try to get in the wrong door each time and I'm on the edge of the seat the whole time Don is driving. The office had booked us at place that is at the edge of a rain forest and it had a nice restaurant, so we celebrated Don's birthday there.  Next morning we had been invited by the missionaries to meet them in an adjoining district for  a baptism.   We arrived a few minutes late and hurried in a side door, thinking it led into a hallway, but instead found we had walked into the family part of a viewing.  They were a Mauri family and were all gathered around the casket of their old grandmother.  We apologized, but they made us welcome and one fellow said, "Oh, we just thought you dropped by the say hello to our Mum!

After the baptism of a cute young woman we picked up the keys for our flat and started unpacking and ran to the grocery store and then in late afternoon met the elders to sit in on a 2nd discussion they were having with a non-member lady,  Amelia Rogers and her 2 children; twins Conrad and Ellie, age 15 (who were baptized a few years ago.  The father, who was active, passed away about 10 months ago and that is the main motivating factor in Amelia wanting to get baptized and sealed in the temple.

Kerikeri a picturesque little town in the north east side of the north island.  Our villa overlooks what is called the Bay of Islands.  We'll add more pictures as time goes on.  We are still in awe about how beautiful the countryside is.  The Villa Maria has three units, ours is the 3rd and is titled Dali, after the eccentric artist, Salvador Dali, hence the weird murals and paintings.

We'll add more after the internet gets installed at our dwelling.  We are at a local library this afternoon.
We miss you all, please drop us a line and let us know whats going on in the USA, Utah, and especially in your own lives.

Elder and Sister Olsen

Hamilton New Zealand Temple

Dali mural at the end or our carport

the patio outside our apartment

the artist hanging on our living room wall

The Christus in the visitor center

Sister Olsen and Amelia Rogers, our investigator

the view from our branch meeting house

looking out toward the bay from our apartment

looking back at where we live

the door to our apartment

AUCKLAND, A MODERN AND BEAUTIFUL CITY

We are here - in beautiful green New Zealand at last.  We know why it's so beautiful as it has rained most of the time we have been here so far.  That nice big umbrella and great camera our kids gave us are so appreciated and will be put to good use.  Speaking of the umbrella, I had to take it away from dad as he kept walloping people with it at the airports, mostly me. He had it
 stuck in his bag, with the ends sticking out both sides and every time he turned he would wipe someone out without even being aware and I was constantly apologizing or saying "ouch." It was pretty funny in retrospect.

Packing for 18 months was a challenge and our 4 bags were right to the limit of 50 lbs, with the check-in attendant being extra nice.  We each gave away a "pass-a-long card on our travel.  Dad gave one to a cute young Italian guy who was a trapeze artist for a circus during our lay-over in Las Angeles  and I gave one to a young girl from India On the plane) whose husband was just getting out of the military and he was going to meet her in Australia to live.  The trip was 17 or 18 hours long, counting the layover in LA.  The airline captain assured us it would only seem like 6 or 7 hours, then added "that is if you sleep."  Well, it was the bumpiest plane trip we have ever been on and we didn't sleep, even with a sleeping pill.  Sherilyn, Brady & family gave me a travel comfort bag of stuff for Mother's Day that helped, especially those slippers.

Don now typing:

A mission office couple, Elder and Sister Hunzinger met us at the airport with a new Toyota and to help with our luggage.  We had a devotional at the office and spent a few hours in orientation.  In going from the airport to the office they traditionally take all new comers to a high spot in Auckland, called "One Tree Hill".  Check out the picture.  Even though it is Autumn, every thing is just so green.  I am already loving the variety of plants and flowers.

We meet with President Lekais on Friday morning to receive our first assignment.  The mission staff however had leaked it out that we would be up north three hours in a little town called Kerikeri.  We have been told that it is a coveted place to be. We plan on being there Friday.

Today we are getting our cell service activated and that will give us GPS capability to find our way and to return home without to much worry.  Mid morning we are going south a couple hours distance to Hamiltion where the temple is.

looking at downtown Auckland from One Tree Hill

Elder and Sister Hunzinger with Dian and me.

sunrise from One Tree Hill

obelisk atop one tree hill

panorama from one tree hill

one of many ocean inlets into Auckland

our temporary apt at the end of the lane

Missionary Training Center

We finished our wonderful week at the mtc.  What a thrilling experience.  I think it is that you are among so many who are filled with the spirit and are unified in purpose.  Everyone is so loving, understanding, helpful, patient, and friendly.  The Lord's work is surely going to fill the earth.

what the new temple in provo will look like when completed

the old provo tabernacle on its way to be made a temple, got a ways to go

north wing of the refurbished BYU Academy

inside the academy

our MTC district and trainers