Kia Ora Elder and Sister Maughan

Very early on Saturday, March 5, 2016, Elder David and Sister Anne Maughan arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. They are replacing us as the Pacific Area Welfare Specialist in the Area Office.  Elder and Sister Maughan come from Richland, Washington.  They are not new to humanitarian work.  The Maughans served in the Adriatic North Mission at the same time we served there.  Their assignment was in Serbia, while our assignment was in Bosnia and Croatia.

We took the Maughans home to their apartment (our apartment) and let them freshen up.  We then took them for a walk on Takapuna Beach.  We bought some fish and chips and went back to the apartment to eat.  

It was now late enough in the day that we could go to the hotel and check in to our room.   We went over to the hotel to checked in and told the Maughans that we would be back later.  We wanted them to have a bit of time to unpack some things and maybe relax.  We encouraged them to stay awake as that usually helps with the jet-lag.  The view from our hotel room was beautiful.  The island in the background is actually a volcano called Rangitoto.  It last erupted about 550 years ago.

Later in the day we returned to the apartment and visited with the Maughans for awhile.  We did not go out to dinner as it was Fast Sunday.  We made arrangements with them for church the next day and then went back to our hotel.

"There is so much fun in Church service... We must never forget that the wealth, the strength, the security of the Church is our ability to labor together  Let us be a righteous example of this fundamental principle in our homes, our places of employment, our neighborhoods, our communities, our states, and our nations."  L. Tom Perry, Nauvoo - A Demonstration of Faith, April 1980.