The Disappearing Cheesecake

We have a new grandbaby! Sarah and Cody added a little girl to their family on January 2nd (Sarah's birthday) making #13. We talked by phone about 20 minutes after she was born and could hear her cute cry. A couple of hours later we were able to Skype and get a bird's eye view; she is darling. She looks like Lily, but has lots of dark hair like Jack. Her name is Nora Grace Olsen! Lily and Jack are quite taken with her. Lilly is a good helper and Jack thinks it's hilarious when she cries. When Shannon took them to the hospital to see her after she was born, Jack was not so sure about her and wouldn't come close nor answer when his parents asked if he liked his new baby sister. However, when they got ready to leave he finally mosied over to Nora, poked his finger at her and announced, "I like her," after mulling it over for a bit, We try not to think about the fact that she will be over 9 months old by the time we get to actually hold her (if she will let us); but again, thank heavens for SKYPE!

It's Sunday evening and I'm rewriting the blog; I had it halfway done and suddenly it was gone. Ahhh! I woke up with the flu so didn't go to church. I thought I would get the blog done while Don was at church, but spent the day in bed. About the time Elder Olsen was due home, someone knocked on the door. I got up to answer it, thinking it was Don and that I had locked the door.  It was the YM President and his little girl; he had came by to ask about bringing the YM out to work at the camp.  I was talking to him and writing his info down, when all of a sudden I was looking up at him from the floor. That is only the second time I have fainted; it's really a weird feeling.  It was scary for him and embarrassing for me.  Our neighbors, the Stuarts from Idaho, went to church in Raglan with Don.  This has been the 4th time they have been to NZ; they come during the winter months at home and volunteer at the Church History Center here.  They have been on 2 missions and are turning their papers in for a 3rd when they get back home.  I'll have to have Elder Olsen tell you about their fun experience on the way home.

All 201 missionaries at the camp

Kitchen staff at the church who prepared our feast

New Year's Eve day we had a mission wide conference at a grove in the campground that we had to set up for.  There were over 200 missionaries; I'm not sure whether that counts the 7 senior couples.There were 2 large buses of missionaries from the outlying areas, plus lots of cars. There was so much excitement as the missionaries rushed around making contact with their former companions, etc.  It was a beautiful setting and an inspiring conference.  Afterwards we gathered at the stake.center for a late lunch or early dinner (linner) and I've never seen so much food disappear so fast.  We then had a musical program in the chapel. The missionaries all sang Called to Serve"  and later our mission song, Kia Kaha. to the tune of Hark All Ye Nations.  I love to hear the missionaries sing together; you can feel the spirit so strong   At the end the President announced that the missionaries could stay up and welcome the New Year in (in their own apartments)  He had to remind them that they were in the chapel, they were so excited, and that no way did he want the Auckland mission to know about it, as Pres. Lekias is much more strict.  He then added that he realized the announcement did not hold the same excitement for the Senior missionaries.  Indeed!  We try to start the New Year with a good night's sleep, but were kept awake by the neighborhood fireworks until 1.

Dinner in the cultural hall

Evening program in the Chapel

local choir entertained us

On New Years Day we went for a picnic and drive with the Stuarts. It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time.  We drove down to some beautiful falls (Mokau) and then to "Natural Bridge, which was way cool, as you can see from the photos. That evening our neighbors, Koro and Virginia King, invited us for a BBQ.

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Unusual scenery--natural arch

Mokau Falls

Saturday, Elder Olsen finally got to go FISHING. He and Elder Goodman drove to Rotorua where they met up with a guide and they fished for several hours on the river that runs into Rotorua Lake. It wasn't as good of fishing as Elder Olsen had dreamed of, but they did have a fun time. Sister Goodman and I went to a wedding/baptism up in Huntley. A set of Sister missionaries were blessed with finding a whole family, which doesn't happen that often. They were a couple with 5 or 6 children. At the end of the first lesson, the Dad said his first prayer and was amazed at the feelings he had and cried throughout.. They were not married so they had the wedding first, in the chapel, with talks and songs about baptism and were then baptized, along with their 3 oldest children. There were lots of non-member friends there, so potential for more investigators. Pres. and Sister Rudd were there and I was hoping they would ask where Elder Olsen and Elder Goodman were. I was ready to say that they were out being fishers of men - minus the "of,"

Flyfishing on Lake Rotorua

One evening last week while we were in Raglan we took the Sister missionaries out to dinner as a little Christmas gift.  We took them to a nice restaurant and told them they could order whatever they wanted and they both chose hamburgers and fries, because they never get them here and they've been cravin them. They are really cute girls and we have really enjoyed working with them.  Transfers are coming up in a couple of weeks and at least one of them will be transferred, most likely.  We now have 11 Sisters in our district and 9 Elders.  Speaking of the Sisters being cute, after we ate with them, they asked if we would go to an appointment with them.  They were teaching a guy who is about 30 at the church, since they can't go in his house.  He told them that he knew the Book of Mormon was true, but he just wasn't sure if he was ready to change his lifestyle.  They had taught him all the lessons and had the feeling that maybe he just enjoyed visiting with them and was kind of flirty.  So we went with them and they told him that they were going to have us take over, because we could visit him at his home, etc.  He was very nice to us, but since then he hasn't came out to church nor returned any phone calls; the Sisters were apparently right - he was more interested in them than the gospel.

New Years Day with Bro and Sis Stuart

Speaking of Raglan, Barry is still coming out to church and we have been teaching him a couple of times a week, emphasizing the Word of Wisdom.  They started a new LDS Addictions class last Tuesday evening. We brought him over to Temple View and stayed in the class with him, along with about 5 other members and the leaders.  Elder Olsen and another man from the branch had given Barry a Priesthood blessing at church that previous Sunday.  (Afterwards we found out that he thought he had been baptized because he could remember us teaching him about getting the Holy Ghost )  He brought a towel with him because his face was perspiring so much because he said he was detoxing.  They went around the room and had everyone take a turn reading and when it was Barry's turn, he said,"You'll have to excuse my reading, but I didn't go to school to learn to read, I went to school to eat some other kid's lunch."  That is probably true; he had a terrible childhood.  We were feeling hopeful for him as he had gone to the class and had been sober for a few days; however, when we went back on Thursday he had been drinking.  When we said that we thought he was going through detox, he said, "Well, I was, but just because I was broke and couldn't buy any booze."  We also invited him to come and work at the campground so he would have something to do that would make him tired so he could sleep without drinking  and give some purpose to his life, but he wasn't on the bus when Elder Olsen went to pick him up. It's sad because he has such an empty life and he prays, but he doesn't understand the concept of pleading with the Lord for his help in making these difficult changes.  At least he is coming out to church and enjoys that and we'll still encourage him.

A couple of Sundays ago we had Roger Hamon, is wife Karyn and daughter Daizhon come to dinner. Roger is the 83 year old fellow we have grown to love, along with his family, who cared for and expanded the bush for 40 years on his own and made this camp possible.  As we were eating he was telling us a story about when he was a boy, second to the youngest of 14 kids who lived in the bush in a tiny house.  The boys all slept out in tents all year long.  In those days the missionaries didn't have apartments, but traveled from town to town and stayed with members.  Someone had given up their beds for them, and just before they got in Roger and his brother put a lobster in the greenie's bed, who had only been out a day or two.  He came flying out of that bed screaming his head off.  He demanded to know what was in his bed and the boys threw the covers back and said, "Oh it's just a little Maori flea, nothing to be afraid of!"

I had made strawberry cheesecake for dessert because Roger loves strawberries and is getting so thin as his cancer progresses.  We were all enjoying our dessert when a young man whose family is friends with Rogers's family walked by.  We all yelled "hi" to him through the screen door and Marlow looked in and said, 'M-m-m-m, that looks good, can I have some."  We invited him in and I told him to sit down and I would cut him a piece.  He said, "Oh, I can cut my own," and cut a piece that equaled 3 pieces.  He enjoyed every bite and then proceeded to clean up Diazhon's leftovers.  Then as he prepared to leave, he asked if he could take a piece to his mother.  I thought that was nice of him to think of her, but then made him promise that it would make it home to her.  The next day his mom called me and thanked me for the cheesecake, or the couple of small bites she actually got.  She said that he gave it to her and then asked if she was going to eat the whole thing.  She said that she was going to share a couple of bites with her nephew who was there and so Marlow said, "Well, if you share with him, you should share with me."  Someone came to the door, and as his mother was talking, Marlow walks out of the house with the remaining cheesecake.  His mom says, "Where are you going with my cheesecake?"  Marlow replies, "Oh, I'm going across the street to share it with my brother."  Yeah, right!  It was good cheesecake, but not that good!  He is just a growing 15 year old I guess.

Lots of things are happening out at the campground, and as they were mowing the earth around they cut the phone line and internet to our office, which we had only had for about 3 weeks or so.  We decided not to have them fix it because they are tearing our office down in a couple of weeks because that is where one of the pavillions will go.  There is a farmhouse on the edge of the camp that was just vacated but needs some remodeling, but we were thinking of moving our office into the living room there, except the workers also cut the water line to the house.  It's quite a fiasco.  The idea was for us to live in the house when we moved down, but we're not sure we want to move again.  It would be more room and quieter (or not, with construction and remodeling) but we have gotten used to where we are and like having neighbors.

Well, that's what we've been up to lately.  We would love to hear what's going on in your life.  We are so blessed with the gospel, a great family and good friends and pretty good health