Hamilton Temple Trip

On December 30, 2014, we went to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple.  We left early hoping to make the 11:00 AM session.  We were almost there when the GPS lost satellite connection and the next thing we knew we were headed back to Auckland.  After we got turned around we drove back toward the temple.  When we arrived at the Hamilton Temple, Susan realized that she did not have her temple recommend and would be unable to enter without special permission.

Prior to coming to the temple, Gary had done some family history research and had brought the family names so we could do special ordinance work for our family at the temple.  The temple placed a phone call to a member of the Area Presidency to verify that Susan had a temple recommend so she could go in.   The person Susan did the proxy work for was a sister to Gary's grandfather.  Over 25 years ago we thought we had done her temple work, but we hadn't.  We know now without a doubt that this great aunt of Gary's was delighted to have her temple work done.  She is now on the path to be sealed to her family.

pacificareamission.blogspot.com

pacificareamission.blogspot.com

After the temple session we went across the street to visit the mission president,  Charles Rudd.  President Rudd is the son of Elder Glen Rudd.  For those in our ward, President Rudd's wife is Bryant Lancaster's sister.  We had a delightful visit.

Gary, Susan, Sister Rudd, and President Rudd

After our visit with the Rudd's we drove to the Hamilton Gardens and enjoyed all the flora and trees.  Our favorite was the English Garden.

After our stroll through the gardens we put "Home" as our destination in the GPS.  The satellite connection was lost again in the same location as before, but we ignored it and followed the signs back to "Auckland".  We did make one stop at Pokeno on the way for an ice cream.  This place is the stop for everyone who returns from the temple.  When the young missionaries stop there,  we have been told that they get much more than the standard double ice cream scoop.

"When we have conscientiously done all we can to locate records of our anestors, the Lord will direct our attention to obscure records in unlikely places where ancestral information has been preserved."  David B. Haight, Personal Temple Worship, General Conference, April, 1993.

Sunday in Turangi, New Zealand

On Saturday, December 20th we packed up the mini-van and drove 4 hours south to  Lake Taupo, Turangi, and Tongariro National Park area.  Earlier in October we were able to trade our timeshare for a rustic lodge at one of the best places for fly fishing in New Zealand.  Unfortunately Gary does not have any of his gear here.  We did enjoy the countryside and took some beautiful hikes (they call them tramps in this part of the world).

Sunday we attended church at the Turangi Branch.  It was a delightful and reminded us our days in Calvert County, Maryland.  The speakers (called out of the congragation) consisted of two other brethren who had lived in Turangi and were visiting for Christmas, Elder Winters, and a brother from the stake high council.  There was no one to play the piano so we sang the songs acapella.  After church they had a farewell luncheon for one of the members who was moving and they invited us to join them.  It was at the church that we made our post last week as our Internet in this neck of the woods was a wee bit sparse.

Turangi Branch Building

We met the young elders and took pictures to send to their mothers.  One young elder is from Tonga and his mother does not have a computer to send her a picture.  He is from the isle of Ha'apii which we just so happen to be going to visit after the first of the year, so we took his picture and promised to look her up when we get there.  These young elders are serving in the Hamilton New Zealand mission.  Elder Glen Rudd's son, President Charles Rudd is their mission president.  We told them to tell him "Hi" from some of his dad's friends.

Elder Vaisingano

Elder Winters and Elder Vaisingano

Elder Pearce and Elder Winters

After church we went to visit the Tongariro National Trout Centre.  Admission was free so we had a leisurely stroll through the centre.  There was a $10.00 charge for the museum but being Sunday we passed on it.  (When we got home to Takapuna, we learned that we saved $20.00 as the museum was not that great.)  We enjoyed ourselves tremendously and took lots of pictures of the fish to send home to our grandchildren.

He was so big we only got part of him

Just a few of the many

That is the Tongariro River in the background

The Trout Centre was great and we really wished that we could share it with our grandchildren.  We learned that you could purchase food and feed the trout.  They also have special days for kids to fish and catch trout.  There is a fish hatchery and we learned how the trout eggs are hand stripped and the procedure for the trout to mature before they are released into the river. It was very educational and quite fascinating.  For more information about the Trout Centre.

We spent an enjoyable Sunday without TV, the internet, or even the use of our computers and iPads.  Good old fashion books, maps and travel literature were our mainstays.

"Proper recreation and amusement are good things."  Lorenzo Snow "The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow"

Tongariaro National Park

Monday morning as we drove toward the Tongariro National Park several cars were pulled over to the side of the road and everyone was taking pictures of the mountain.  So of course we stopped and clicked a few too.  This is an active volcano.  You can see the steam coming out of the mountain.

We drove a bit further and saw this -  if you've seen any Peter Jackson movies, it looked pretty familiar. 

Mt. Ngauruhoe

A little later we saw this mountain which is part of Whakapapa Village where they have a ski lift.  You ski on a "live" volcano.

Mt. Ruapehu

Tongariro National Park is where you find Mt. Ngauruhoe, Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Tongariro.  These are active volcanoes.  If you look at the pictures you might recognize Mt. Ngauruhoe as Mt. Doom from the movie "Lord of the Rings".  Much of the countryside was used in filming the movies and as we tramped about we could understand why this area was perfect for some of the movie scenes.

One day we went on a 6 kilometers tramp (trek) to Taranaki Falls.  It was well worth the hike as the falls were magnificent.

This was the half way mark

The sights and sounds of Taranaki Falls

Ski Lift at Whakapapa Village

Ski Rental House

On another day we went to a Thermal Hot Springs.  There are several in the area.  We also checked out the drop off and pickup point for a 19.5 kilometer hike called Tongariro Alpine Crossing.  Gary would like to do this hike, but he is going to have to find a different hiking partner as this one it is out of Susan's league.

Here are some other things we saw in this central part of New Zealand's North Island.  Both of these "pieces of art" are made out of what appears to be drift wood.  We thought our grandsons would love the Kiwi and T-Rex.

We decided to drive back to Auckland on Wednesday so we could be home for Christmas.  Since we did not have the Internet where we were staying, we knew that we would not be able to talk to our family unless we went back home for Christmas.  But we had a wonderful time.  The office building basically closes down for the holidays, so that was not much work for to do there.

"For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies, For the Love which from our birth over and around us lies."  For the Beauty of the Earth;  Text - Folliott S. Pierpoint, Music-  Conrad Kocher 

Merry Christmas

Cherry Ambition

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  Ours was a quiet one.  We waited to open our presents until December 26 so we could allign with our children on their Christmas day in America - one day (20 hours) behind us.  We celebrated with them via FaceTime.  We each received a stocking with fun gifts inside.  We had a great time visiting with each of our children.  We called our family when we got up at 6 am Dec 26, which was 10:00 am Dec 25 in the USA/Canada and our grandchildren had already opened their presents.   Christmas presents for small children are more exciting than talking on the computer to Grandma and Papa so they couldn't spend a lot of time talking.  But it was okay.

After talking with everyone we went in to town for Boxing Day in New Zealand.  We were able to get some socks and a pair of shorts for Gary and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.  Summer was late coming this year, but it is here now and we are enjoying the weather, the ocean and all the fresh produce.

The day after Christmas in America our grandson, Levi turned 4.  His mother tried to get him to stop playing long enough for a short video as he opened his birthday card from us.  But we have to remember that he is 4 and he was done "filming" about 20 seconds into her 1:17 minute video.  It was a cute video and we totally enjoyed watching it.  When we FaceTimed with him he did show us how old he was before he was off again to play with his Rescue Bots and cars.

How many of you saw this?  

Donny Osmond - Time Square - New York City

Pretty cool huh?  Just before Christmas we also received an email with a link that we found interesting.

http://cdafitformission.weebly.com/

The LDS Church and the Catholic Church have a good working relationship here in Auckland.  Social Media is a big push these days.  It is the desire that when someone googles "The Mormons" or "Church or Jesus Christ of Latter Saints" that the top ten picks will be positive ones.

"Handheld devices, such as smartphones, are a blessing, but they can also distract us from hearing the "still, small voice".  They need to be our servants, not our masters.  For example, if later tonight you share inspiring thoughts from this devotional on social media, your smartphone is a servant.  if you randomly surf the Internet, your smartphone is a master".   M. Russell Ballard, Be Still, and Know That I am God, CES Devotional for Young Adults • May 4, 2014 • San Diego, California

Samoa "Food Initiative" and Sauniatu

This week Gary had to go to Samoa alone as Susan was recovering from minor foot surgery.  The vegetation in Samoa is beautiful.  Gary said that the climate and growing season in Samoa must be much closer to the “Garden of Eden” than most other places on Earth.

There are some great artists on Samoa and some beautiful wood carvings

Gary spent the majority of his time reviewing a humanitarian “Food Initiative” project designed to help the people of Samoa to grow better gardens, providing nutritious food for families and income from the sale of excess produce.  The location where skills are taught is the “Sauniatu”  (Sunny–Ahh–Too) Farm.  People are taught soil preparation, planting, cultivation, harvesting, nutrition, food preparation and product marketing.  People “come and see – go home and do”.  Many families are now eating better and bringing a little extra income home.

People learning the basics of composting and soil preparation.

Food preparation and basic sanitation are also practiced at the Sauniatu Farm    

The skills learned at the Sauniatu demonstration farm are 
taken home and put to work in family gardens.

 Extra vegetables can be sold which helps to bring in a little extra income 

This man’s garden is so successful that some of the hotels now come to him each week to buy vegetables for their restaurants.  His family now eats better and enjoys a little extra income from the sale of the produce.

Do you remember the post we made a few weeks ago where a New Zealand school donated their furniture, school supplies and sports equipment to a Samoan school?  Well Gary was able to meet the school principal and see the furniture, supplies and sports equipment, which had arrived in Samoa last week.  School is out for the Christmas holiday, but the principal said he, the teachers and all the students were so very happy to receive these donations.  They will make a real difference for the children.

It seems like this work trip was a little too enjoyable for him.  We’ll have to
make sure that when he goes to Samoa again, he won’t be going alone.