Christmas Nativity

On December 19th we went to the Takapuna Ward Christmas Party (our ward in New Zealand).  The evening began with dancing and was followed by a nice potluck dinner.  After dinner we sang Chrismas carols and finished with a reading of the Nativity story from the Book of Luke.  It was very fitting that our ward bishop was a shepherd.  

Our ward had to use a doll as the Baby Jesus, but the next day we got a picture from one of our daughters.  It was of the nativity at their family christmas party.  They had a  "real" baby (Fitz) who played the part of Baby Jesus. The wise man on the far left, the lamb, and the shepherd on the far right are also some pretty great kids.  

We are pretty sure there was a similar re-enactment at our daughter's home in Canada as we were blessed with two new grandsons this year (Arizona and Alberta).  

This time of the year is probably one of the hardest times to be away from loved ones, but we have our ipads and "FaceTime" and know without a doubt, that this is where we need to be at this time in our life.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you;  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. " Luke 2:11 -12

We're Dreaming of a White Christmas

We are now less than two week till Christmas and you can see signs of Christmas everywhere.  Thursday afternoon we went to the Hamilton Temple.  Earlier this month a team of volunteers and missionaries worked to finish installing 280,000 colored light bulbs in trees around the temple grounds.  The lights on ceremony was Saturday night, December 12th.  

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/volunteers-prepare-to-brighten-christmas-season-of-tens-of-thousands

Friday night we went to downtown Auckland to see the Auckland Symphony Orchestra Christmas Concert.  Performing with them was the Choir from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/auckland-symphony-orchestra-and-church-choir-share-christmas-spirit 

It was great very entertaining.  We had great seats and enjoyed singing Christmas Carols.  We sang "White Christmas" and noted that in New Zealand, all we can do is - 'Dream of a White Christmas'.

On our way to the concert we passed Farmers and Smith & Caughey's (department stores).   Farmers had a large Santa and his reindeer and Smith & Caughey's had decorated their store windows with the story of 'The Night Before Christmas'.

As we stopped to look at this window, a little boy about the same age (5) as two of our grandsons turned to us and commented on the elves on Santa.  He was delighted with the display.

Saturday morning we went with two other couples to check out Mahurangi Bay Regional Park.  It certainly does not look like Christmas there.  However the Pōhutukawa Trees (New Zealand Christmas Tree) are blooming and it is warming up. 

We had our Area Office Christmas Party this past week.  It is always fun to see everyone, relax and get into the spirit of the season.  During the holidays most people take some time off and vacation, as school is out (summer vacation).  We even have an adventure planned to the South Island over Christmas.  

We have put up a few decorations in our apartment and have started to play Christmas music to try and get in the spirit of the season.  The warm weather makes it an interesting experience.  

"Christmas is what we make of it.  Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration.  If we have not already done so we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas." Thomas S Monson, Christmas Devotional 2011

  

Gratitude

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the senior couples gathered together at the Area Office and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.  We had 50 people for dinner and everyone had a good time.  They do have turkeys in New Zealand, but they are hard to come by and they are not cheap.  A 12 - 13 pound turkey can cost $65.00 to $70.00 dollars.  Some of the other things that are harder to find in New Zealand are ready-made pie crusts and canned pumpkin.  Can you tell that Susan likes to go the easy route, and not make it all from scratch.

We had four different ladies cook the turkeys, make the stuffing and the gravy.  All the others had food assignments to feed 15+ people.  Cooking a turkey is also a challenge, as most of our apartments have small ovens.  A few apartments have larger ovens, so they cooked the turkeys.

Several sisters volunteered to decorate a table.  This required them bringing dishes and tableware for 8 from their apartment.  There are some very creative people in our group.  Check the sea shell decorations out at one of the tables.  We gathered together on Saturday afternoon, so no ties allowed except the mission president who had a baptism to go to afterward.  We let him off the hook this time.

We truly have much to be thankful for.  We enjoy good health, have a comfortable apartment, and a beautiful country to live in.  We have two new grandsons and all our family are doing well.  With all these blessings, we are reminded often to be positive about the challenges we face in life.  There really is much to be thankful for.

Christmas season in New Zealand falls in the summer.  We went with some other senior missionaries to a Christmas craft fair in a neighboring town.  All the decorations and the trees are out, but the weather does not look or feel like Christmas.  After our morning adventure we came back to our apartment and decided it was time to put up some decorations.  They may be quite sparse, but it is okay - we have an adventure planned for Christmas.

  So now it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our apartment anyway.  

"Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's will never be the same again once you have celebrated them while serving a mission...The twelve or eighteen months will seem as a small moment, but the memories will last through the eternities."  Vaughan J. Featherstone, April General Conference 1992