Our dear friend and mentor, Roger Hamon, passed away several days ago. He had found out that he had cancer right about the time we moved down to Hamilton last fall and the doctors had given him until Christmas, but then he responded to treatment which kept the cancer at a standstill for several months and was able to have some much appreciated additional time with his family. He was a much loved man by not only his family but many friends here and around the world. Even though this is officially Camp Tuhikaramea, most people still refer to it as Hamon's Bush. He rescued the bush which was dying out due to pests, noxious weeds and cattle and restored and enhanced it for over 40 years, doing most of the work on a volunteer basis. Without his foresight, there would be no Camp Tuhikaramea to bless the lives of the youth and families here in NZ. We loved Roger and felt blessed to have come here at a time to be able to associate with and learn from him. He adored his wife, Karyn, and their daughter Deizharn and they, in turn, adored him.
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| Roger's wood casket with his brother Ralph dedicating the grave |
We were all happy that he is free of earthy ailments; he had too many things to do to be sick.
Funerals here, especially Maori, are more simple and less expensive in general, which is good. They are buried in a nice wood box, which is put directly in the ground without a vault. The viewing was at their home for a couple of days prior to the funeral and then the service and a luncheon were held in our chapel. It was a beautiful funeral and a big turnout. Karyn asked if we would make corsages with ferns and plants from the bush for the speakers and pallbearers.
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Don White printed a big poster with a photo of Roger that read "Roger, Thanks for the Legacy." We hung it beside the roadside leading into the bush so the family could see it as they drove through the bush in the hearse and other cars following as a tribute to Roger on the way to the church. The family who own the farm next to Hamon's played their accordions at the cemetery. They were a colorful lot. We invited them to the church afterwards to eat and we were surprised they actually came. The one guy remarked to us, "Well, Roger will be smiling. He's been trying to get me inside this church for years." Wow, the kai or luncheon they served afterwards was amazing, not the traditional funeral luncheon we have. Roger was a talented man and a good humble man who will be missed. Karyn said we should watch for him in the Bush cause he'll probably be hanging out their once in a while. Maybe we'll hear him playing his harmonica or his beautiful voice in song.
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| Karen, Roger's wife wearing his favorite hat |
What else has been going on the last couple of weeks? Well, we are kind of glad to not be speaking in church today, as we spoke in our ward last week and another ward the week before. We had already spoken a few weeks prior about the campground in our ward, so we spoke mainly about our missionary experiences in the first part of our mission and reaching out and helping those who are struggling.
We are having a couple of sister missionaries who serve at the Visitor's Center for dinner right after church today. One of them is Sister Freeman, who was one of the first sister missionaries we worked with in Raglan. She has been having stomach problems and they have been trying to figure out what the problem is, so they have kept her close by for a while. We're doing meatloaf (which is not something they do here) and apple crisp. Hopefully, they will enjoy a traditional American Sunday dinner.
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| Sister Freeman and Thalman for Sunday Dinner |
Last weekend a young man, Sam Toa, whose family is Samoan, was baptized. Lydia heard him bear his testimony while she was here. It is a great story of conversion. He plays rugby and his coach is a local stake president, and he became good friends with our Bishop's son, as well as other young men who were members. Through their influence and a visit to the Visitor's Center, he wanted to learn more about the church. His father is a good man but not active in any church; his mom, however, is active Methodist and was dead set against him investigating the Mormon Church. After meeting both the younger missionaries and the Monson's, our friends who serve at the VC, he wanted to receive the lessons. He was so touched by the spirit and wanted to be baptized, but his mom would not agree. He came to church and the activities and his leaders encouraged him to continue to love and respect his parents and let them see how the gospel was changing and blessing him. A few weeks went by in which time the Monson's & Elders were able to meet his parents and they invited them to come hear Sam speak during a Sacrament meeting and the whole family came, grandma and siblings included. After hearing Sam bear his testimony, his mom said to the Monson's,
"Sam's gone to the Methodist church for 17 years and never been asked to speak. And after hearing him, I give my permission for his baptism. So last weekend he was baptized. His whole family and lots of friends were there to support him as our Bishop's son baptized him. What good preparation for his up-coming mission. We went to his confirmation and his ordination to the Priesthood last Sunday and during church he helped officiate at the Sacrament table. He is so excited and there is always a smile on his face and a gleam in his eyes. He is planning on a mission but hopes to baptize his little sister who is turning 8 and his dad, who bore his testimony at the baptism. He has hopes for his mom and older brother and sister as well. I wouldn't be surprised.
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| The Monson's, Samual Toa and Isiah Cowley who baptized Sam |
What's going on at the camp? Arrangements are being made for a couple, the Witts, from England who will replace us to be able to come 5 days earlier than their MTC date so they can spend some time here with us at the camp, as we will be on our way by the time they finish the MTC. We have e-mailed back and forth several times and they are excited and we will be excited to have good replacements. We have finally finished re-potting the 7000 plants we had for this year but still have 1000 trees to plant, but have planted about 1100. The cabins are being finished up (the bunkbeds installed and the porches added) and we are responsible for curtains (48 windows). We have old curtains from the Church College dorms that have been torn down recently; so hopefully we can have those remodeled to fit. I refuse to sew any more drapes or curtains after having to alter the ones at the camp house, so I'm looking to the RS sisters to help with that. Don is always busy with various projects around the camp, including helping to keep all the acres of grass mown. He quit likes riding around on that tractor.
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Bishop Solomon cutting up 4 large windfall trees in the heart of the camp--we were really thankful no one was around when they came down.
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Bishop Solomon is a spiritual giant as well as a man of steel. He and the priests of his ward have done more at the camp than any other group over this past 8 months. When we had a storm bringing down several large trees in the heart of the camp he wanted to cut them and have his priests come after and hall the pieces out. Last Saturday when he began the task we could hear what we thought was yelling and wondered if he needed help, but as we got closer we could hear him chanting in reverence for the fallen trees, we just smiled at each other.
A couple of fun stories to share: An elderly stake high counselor spoke in our ward a few weeks ago and told of some of the trials he and his family has endured. They one that I'll always remember was about the night they had their first baby. They were really struggling financially and did not have a car nor a phone, nor did their close neighbors. His wife went into labor in the middle of the night and they didn't know who to turn to for help, so he used some duct tape to sort of make a seat between the handlebar of his bicycle for his wife to sit on and they rode his bike a number of miles to the hospital in the dark of the night. Wow, that beats most maternity stories I've heard.
We just got home from a fireside about temples, which was held in the Visitor's Center facing the Temple and it was wonderful. I'm going to save the other fun story for next time and let Don put in some photos. Our friends, the Porters, are planning to come for a visit on the 12th, so we are looking forward to that and hopefully Dyan and Jesse Harris are going to make it before we come home.
Happy Birthday Torry!
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