GREEN TO BROWN

We keep seeing changes.  When we were serving up north people told us that the countryside would remain green year round.  That may be true up north but not here in Hamilton.  We are now in the heart of the summer and much of the pastureland that depends on rain is turning brown.  The forecast is that it might be another drought period like last year.  Even the temple grounds are affected as sprinkling systems are not used here.

NZ Temple the 2nd of February

Last weekend we went to New Plymouth, two and a half hours south of here and on the west coast.  It is also at the base of Mt Taranaki, a large volcanic mountain that dominates the area.  We went with the Goodman's who serve in the mission office and had to set up a flat for a pair of Sisters assigned to New Plymouth.  We stayed in a motel on Sunday night and early the next morning  Elder Olsen arose early and went fishing on a nearby river but with little success.  Later that day the Elders went golfing and Sister Olsen and Goodman went bike riding along the beach pathway.  Sister Olsen disagrees with the saying that once you've learned how to ride a bike, you never forget.  (It didn't help that the bikes they got to choose from were all too high for her.)  She had not ridden a bike for over 20 years but fortunately she only had one accident resulting in a few bruises (sorry no pictures of the incident).

Mt Taranaki in the clouds

Sister Olsen along the beach walk at New Plymouth

Elders Olsen and Goodman being kids at the park

a frog that turned into a princess

The past 3 weeks have been very busy at Camp Tuhikaramea.  The earthworks contractor is nearly finished in contouring the land and has created a huge dust bowl when the wind blows.  He will replant all the pasture areas that have been removed in March and with some good rain should be grassed up by June.

Temporary camp sign

terracing areas for the camp loops and pavilions

camp loop with a view of the lakes and the temple in background

Since a couple large dairy farms were purchased by the church in the 1950's for the temple and church college, the unused portion has been leased to a farm management company and the church has provided a house for the manager and his family.  The camp area has now been withdrawn from the farm and the church has built another home for the farm manager, so the old house which is now part of the camp will be where the senior couple who are the camp managers will live, once it is refurbished.  So we may be moving in a few weeks.

A retired local High Priest is working at refurbishing the house.  Without asking he decided to use a chainsaw on some of the shrubs and trees in the yard much to Sister Olsen's dismay.  It is true they were in need of a hair cut but not a butch (butcher) cut.  I remind Sister Olsen, they will grow out (ya, after we leave).

a new look

We have had  volunteer groups from several wards and stakes come to the camp to provide service.  It is up to Elder and Sister Olsen to identify the tasks and to oversee their work.  This has meant several long days at the camp since many can only make it after work hours.

clearing along a trail

constructing a retaining wall with discarded tires

Being on a mission doesn't exempt us from having troubles, especially those we cause for ourselves, like Elder Olsen received his 3rd infringement (nice way for saying speeding ticket).  There is no police involved since these are camera recorded, and you receive it in the mail a week or two later.  Elder Olsen calls them a guilt free ticket, but he also adds that it is just another form of tax since it doesn't go against your driving record.  A much more serious problem, we were alerted of by our credit union, came to our attention when our debit card stopped working.  The credit union informed us they invalidated the card after seeing charges of over $1,500 of electronic equipment purchased over the internet.  They stopped payment and boy were we thankful they caught it.  We had to get a new card, but that's better than having to pay for someone else to go shopping.

To end the blog on a bright note, our 13th grandchild was born on January 2, 2014 to Sarah and Cody making their third.  She was born on Sarah's birthday.  A darling, beautiful little girl they named Nora Grace Olsen.  We so wished we could have been there, but thank goodness for the ease of transferring photographs and Skype.