Haere ra (Goodbye) and soon Kia ora (Hello)

September 7, 2014

This may be our last blog as things are going to get increasingly busy and crazy these last three
weeks with feeling like we should get this finished and that finished or in shape for the new couple whoever they may be.  Our project manager got transferred and it was his in-laws who were coming as the new camp managers; but now we don't know if they are still coming or what is in the works.  We hope they get it figured out and have someone here at least a few days before we leave so we don't have to explain everything to an in-between person and leave lots of notes.

We did take a little break from the camp last week with 3 other couples, the Monson's who serve at the Visitor's Center, the Gordon's who serve as MLS missionaries on the Coromandel Peninsula (who were celebrating their 50th anniversary and invited us all to go with them) and our friends, Rosemary and Don White who have been here for several years, with Don working with the Temple View re-construction plan.  (We did have the mission presidents OK - or at least he didn't say "no."  We all met at the train station in Hamilton on Thursday morning and took a scenic train ride (7 or 8 hours) to Wellington, the very southern tip of the North Island.  It was very relaxing and fun;and we saw some beautiful sights.  We had 2 sets of 2 chairs facing each other with a table in the middle and another across the aisle, so we were able to visit, play games and eat goodies.

the Whites, Monsons, Gordons and Olsens at the train station

Mount Ruapehu along the way

as evening approached we came along the Tasman Sea

The best surprise was that Windy Wellington was not that windy and cold.  It was actually very nice for all 3 days we were there and the locals told us that was the best weather they had had for ages. It is really a beautiful city; kind of reminded us of San Francisco as there are lots of hills and it's on the water front. We were surprised when we checked into our hotel that night (Elder Gordon had made the reservations on line) they had the smallest rooms we ever remember staying in.  It was a queen size bed with barely enough room to walk around it - no chairs or table and the bathroom - it was pretty dang small also with no where to put things.  But on the bright side, we didn't spend much time there, except for Elder Monson who must have gotten food poisoning and spent the whole next day in their room.

old church near our hotel in Wellington

We didn't rent a vehicle, as most everything was within walking distance and we did walk, walk, walk!  Friday we had a yummy breakfast across the way from the hotel and  we then walked to the Parliament building and the connecting Beehive house (seemed like a Utah thing), they were both beautiful, but totally different architecture that didn't seem to mesh. We took a tour and learned more about how the government of NZ works.  Afterwards we walked to the St. Paul's Cathedral close by and ending up staying for a concert by 2 young adults who attend the School of Arts and Music in Wellington; and they were wonderful.  The young man played the piano and the young woman play the cello.  Afterwards we had a yummy meal at the Crab Shack on the wharf and then went to the Wellington and Sea Museum. I think we all crashed at the hotel for a while then had ( ( dinner at the hotel and played Farkle (a new game we've grown fond of) in a room off the restaurant, as none of us had a room big enough for us all to fit in.

St Paul's Cathedral 

The "Beehive" part of the Parliament complex

House of Parliament 

Saturday, after a quick breakfast we walked down to the wharf again to a Saturday Market - dad and I weren't really into buying anything as we are now thinking about how much we have to fit into those suitcases and how much they can weigh.  The other women must have spent 2 hours at the hat shop and they each ended up with  cute hate and then Rosemary made me wear the one she had been wearing so we all had hats for photos.  The hats were very unique and well made by the guy's wife, who is a milliner; they were from Austria. We then took a bus to Weta Cave, which is not a cave at all, but several buildings in the middle of an outlying area and is the movie studio of  the company who produced the Lord of the Rings movie series, Avatar and a lot of other movies.  This was the most entertaining of all the things we did in Wellington.  There were lots of life or monster size depictions of various characters and of course a store and you could take photos at these places, but then they took us on a tour through their technical shops where they manufacture the props, creatures and even various weapons, etc. They showed and explained the process they go through from a computer generated picture to the actual item.  It was amazing and made you realize why they spend so much money and time in producing a film.

Entrance to the movie studio complex

At the entrance to Weta Cave

strange creatures

From the Lord of the Rings

Mid afternoon we took the Cable Car (again like SF) up a hill in the middle of the city and was able to enjoy a scenic lookout in every direction.  We then walked down the hill on the other side through a beautiful botanical garden, which took almost a couple of hours, but worth it.  We then walked to what seemed like the other side of the city to the Green Parrot for dinner (someone had recommended it) but we were only impressed with the size of the meal, not the food itself.  Well, 2 out of 8 liked their selection.  Wow, did our feet hurt by the time we got back to the hotel. A positive - all the walking worked off all the calories we ate.

Sisters White, Olsen, Monson, and Gordon at the cable car

view from the cable car back to the city

Sister Monson with a new hat along the garden walk back to town from the cable car

Elders Monson, White, Olsen, and Gordon on the garden walk

cottages along the garden walk back to the city

Sunday morning we caught a bus to church at 8:30 a.m. (I was glad it was unquestionably too far to walk). We met a couple of older sister missionaries that had gone to the MTC with us and also going home soon.  After church, a couple borrowed an extra car and gave us a ride back to the hotel, via another lookout spot.  They were both forensic investigators and said it was the gospel that helps them to stay focused on what's important in life and not get pulled down by the situations they have to deal with.  We changed and then walked to the TePapa Museum, which is one of the top museums in the world, as well as the one we went to on Friday.  You could have spent several days as it covered the history and culture of all the Polynesian Island,  but especially New Zealand and the Maori. We Then flew home in the evening (1 hour versus 7 or 8 hours by train). It was a memorable trip.  We all felt re-charged and ready to go back to work!

LDS Church in Wellington

Wellington from the high point in the city

visit to the large modern Te Papa museum

Fanciest Burger King

settled inside this stately old building

And work we have!  Taking reservations has turned out to be way more complicated and time consuming and frustrating than I had expected.  I have one Stake President mad at me, he e-mailed and made a request for a certain date but has never returned  the reservation form I sent him letting us know the numbers, etc. to expect.  In the meantime, someone else returned their reservation form for two camp loops for days that overlap one day and there are 2 smaller camp loops remaining that I thought would fill the Stake Presidents needs as he has never let us know, now he is one unhappy man.  One funny e-mail I received from a sister who had written several times in regards to making reservations and had not been able to get exactly what she wanted, started out her latest e-mail with:
"Hell Sister Olsen," but then a little while later called and apologized for having missing the "o" she had noticed when she re-read her e-mail.

In addition to reservations, I am busy getting all the information ready to send into the Central Reservation System in SLC for LDS Camps .  That will be nice if they can get the reservation part of it to work for us, even though the payment of fees won't. When I get tired of working inside, I take a break and go out to the camp and do some work to enjoy the beautiful weather, scenery and songs of the many cute birds.

The new project manager is down from Auckland every week and has everyone involved in the camp, us, contractors, etc.. Ken Williams, who is at church college and is over-seeing many items that were used by the college being transferred to the camp for use as the college is being demolished.
is a part of the group.  We have re-made drapes for the cabins from the college, we are using mattresses, sports equipment, pianos (9), equipment for the kitchens in the pavilions and on and on, including big things like the building that is going to be the office.  Yesterday we ordered a new flag (they reminded me that it was the NZ flag, not the USA) for the big flag pole that is being brought up from CC and it arrived the next morning from Auckland. I skipped what I started out to say about the new project manager - he is very effective and things are getting done at a faster rate and more efficiently - he has a list of all the projects that still need to be finished and makes assignments as to who is in charge of it and when it is to be done by.  Those responsible for the electricity and water hookups had messed up in not getting them in much earlier and it's causing some problems now.
I'm sure all of this is not very interesting to you - Sorry - but the pictures are fun)

Don has been getting the office building ready to paint, working on fences, made a trip to Taupo to pick up some plants, a lots of miscellaneous jobs.  We hope to get the cabins and communal shelters (a place to prepare and eat meals  and get out of the rain -one in each camp zone) all ready to go before we go.  We are getting a little "trunky" as they used to say - maybe still do, but we are trying to keep our minds and hands busy with the here and now, but quit often our minds are wandering back home.

Yesterday was Evan's birthday and tomorrow is Levi's baptism - Congratulations!  Gosh we will be home in time for Lily's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  How fun - and - our yard is going to seem so small to care for in comparison to this 40 acre camp ground.

This past almost year and a half has been a mixture of feelings and experiences, but it has been a wonderful experience and we feel blessed.  This is a beautiful country with beautiful people outwards and inwardly.  We are grateful that we had the opportunity of serving a proselyting mission the first third - we loved it and were able to see the gospel bless families and individuals.  In a couple of weeks we are going to be able to go through the Temple with Denise Peacock, our cute little English lady from KerkKeri.  She is so excited and what a wonderful way for us to finish our mission.

We were sad at first when we were asked to serve at the camp, but have learned to love it here as well. It has not been as spiritually oriented, but we have certainly had spiritual moments.  And we have met some wonderful people, some whom we know will be eternal friends.  It;s been a hard mission in ways and sometimes wondered whether being camp managers was keeping us in shape or wearing us out.  It is a beautiful camp and is going to bless the lives of so many people here, especially the youth by helping  them to grow in their faith and testimonies.  We've spent this last year doing missionary work for the future.  The gospel is true and we have been grateful to have had this opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father by sharing His gospel in various ways.  We're going to miss the actual opening of the camp, but we have seen it start from scratch to almost the finish.  I'm going to miss the beautiful views from every window in this house and the peaceful and beautiful walks in the bush.  Yes, there will be things we miss here, but then we wont be missing all of you at home!  We love you all so much and thank you for your support and love.  Get ready for lots of HUGS!