It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We spent the majority of this week catching up because we were out of the office most of last week.

On Wednesday we received a package from home that had our very own Christmas tree enclosed.  We were delighted to unwrap a craft paper tree with all the ornaments and a star for the top.  The package also contained  a garland with pictures of our 9 grandchildren.  That very evening we decorated our tree with the help of a young elder from our mission.

This delightful young elder is recovering from an illness and is unable to go out to work with his companions during the day.  Until he recovers, he must spend his day in the mission office and go home each evening with one of the senior couples for dinner and rest.  When the evening is over his companions collect him from the senior couple and he goes home for the night.  This talented young missionary helped us decorate our Christmas tree.  Both he and we enjoyed the evening together.

The weather in New Zealand (the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere) doesn't seem at all like the Christmas season we are used to.   The spring-like weather just doesn't feel like Christmas will be here in less than two weeks, but we are enjoying the beautiful Pohutukawa trees (the New Zealand Christmas Tree) which is famous in this part of the world.  

When we first arrived in Auckland, the Pohutukawa trees across the street from our apartment looked like ordinary green-leafed trees.

But as the spring weather warmed, the trees started to blossom and began to decorate themselves.

But the best part is when you get up close and look at the blossoms.  They look like Christmas tree ornaments with their own tinsel.  Now that is something that helps to get all of us in the Christmas Spirit!

"Christmas is what we make of it.  Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebrations.  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

Fiji Welfare Conference

This last week we flew to Nadi, Fiji to host a Welfare Conference.  Attending were the  humanitarian missionary couples and the country welfare mangers for each country in the Pacific area.  I guess we should say, for most of our countries.  The couples from the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands were unable to attend.

All at the conference received a review of basic welfare and humanitarian principles.  The 2015 Pacific Area Focus (diabetes prevention and treatment) was discussed.  Everyone received more detailed instructions on how to use the Church database program to develop, record and monitor humanitarian projects.  We learned about the Food Initiative (gardening) pilot programs currently under development in Samoa and Kiribati.  We even learned how one couple teaches the community to save their seeds for replanting.   The evaluation forms which were completed by conference attendees gave positive reviews and a great time was had by all.

The group photo will be posted at a later date when we receive it from our photographer (Elder Roth).

Here are a few photos of those who attended, minus Elder Adolf Johansson, who snuck out before we could get his picture.

Brent and Debbie Buckner, Director of Temporal Affairs

Hans Sorensen, Area Welfare Manager

Luisa Vaifale, Administrative Assistant

Elder and Sister Winters, Area Welfare Specialists

Jackson Yee, County Welfare Manager, Fiji

Frank and Susan Stanford, Assistant County Welfare Manager, Fiji

Elder and Sister Roth, Fiji

Elder and Sister Lata, Samoa

Elder Fata, Area  Seventy and County Welfare Manager, Samoa

Brett Macdonald and Sam Williams, Garden Specialists, Samoa

Elder and Sister Waldron, Humanitarian/Self-Reliance, Kiribati

Burentia Kaiea, Country Welfare Manager, Kiribati

Eddie Alembo, Country Welfare Manager, Papua New Guinea

Ana Ika, Country Welfare Manager, Tonga

Sister and Elder Murdock, Tonga

We were priveledged to visit Port Denarau, Fiji where we met several Church members who recognized us because of our Latter-Day Saint Charities shirts.    The Port was lovely and the fish was tasty.

Flame Tree

Port Denarau

A few small boats

This just in from Elder Roth - our group photo

"Welfare services is not just a program; it is the gospel in action.  Its principles are the principles of the gospel.  It is the Christian rule in temporal affairs."  Marion G Romney

Elder Scirkovich

When we first arrived in New Zealand we were introduced to everyone at the area office.  (Of course this was on the same day as we arrived; how many names do you think we remembered?)  As we left one office Susan noticed the name on the door and had to back-track and ask if this Norman Scirkovich was any relation to Elder Scirkovich serving in the Adriatic North Mission.  He replied that he was his father.  We told him that we had just returned from that mission last November and we knew his son.  He told us that his son would be home in November.  November has now arrived and Elder Scirkovich returned home on Thursday.  Last night we were invited to the Scirkovich home for a get together.  It was great to see him and talk about places we both had served and of all our mutual friends.  It is a small world when you get church members together.

After the fact we realize that we should have taken a picture of him and his parents.  We'll try to do that next time.  The only other picture we got was of the sister missionaries who helped with the container for our needy Samoa school project.  In fact there were at least three other people at the Scirkovich home that had helped with the school project.  We are happy that Elder Scirkovich lives in the same stake as we do now.

"Missionaries in their late teens or early 20s are young in ways of the world,  but they are blessed with gifts - such as the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God and testimonies of the truth - that makes them powerful ambassadors for the Lord"  Russell M. Nelson "Ask the Missionaries"  October 2012

Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 22, 2014 was a busy day for us.  It was also the anniversary of our arrival in New Zealand.  We have already been here over 2 months.  When you look at it that way, it makes you wonder if we can accomplish all that we have come here to do.  We now have less than 15 1/2 months to do it in.

In the afternoon we went to the Area Office where we joined 44 others for a Thanksgiving dinner.  They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in New Zealand.  But most of the couples are from America, so we did it up big time.  

Susan was on the committee to help decorate, and with a little help from "Pinterest, Martha (Stewart) Egan" and our daughters things turned out pretty well.  Everyone brought their own plates and utensils, so it was more like a "homestyle dinner" rather than a paper plate and plastic utensil affair.  We had 8 tables in which different sisters volunteered to create the centerpieces.  

We had real turkeys.  Elder Haleck's wife brought cranberry jelly and pumpkin pie filling and some cute plates for the pie from the USA when she went home for General Conference.  She also brought back some fall leaf pattern napkins.  Because New Zealand is just going into summer, there were no fall leaves to use for decorations.  There was however tons of greenery, some of which we put to use.  We each paid some money for the turkeys as they are quite pricey here - Nearly $200.00 NZD for a 7 kg (15 lbs) fowl. We had three of those wonderful birds and then each couple also brought an additional dish (Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, salad) or they made a pie.  There was plenty to eat.

Thankful Tree

 
Elder and Sister Broberg (Family History) are going home the first week of December.  Four of their five children came to pick up their Mom and Dad.  The children's spouses volunteered to stay home with their children while they came to pick up their parents.  They had just arrived Saturday morning, the day of our Thanksgiving Day dinner.  Monday morning they had an extensive travel itinerary which included the Temple in Hamilton, Hobbitton, and the Coromandel - all terrific New Zealand holiday sites.

We also had some activites.  One of the couples had received some muscial chimes.  Each person was given a chime and shown how to play it.  We sang a few Thanksgiving songs.  A great time was had by all.  

"Come to God's own temple, come; Raise the song of harvest home."

Christian Kindness

On Saturday, November 22nd, we visited the Northcross Intermediate School in Brown's Bay, Auckland, New Zealand.  A group had contacted the church to help them ship a container of donated school furniture and supplies from Auckland, New Zealand to Apia, Samoa.  The Auckland Harbour Stake in partnership with the Northcross Intermediate School Board of Trustees joined together and collected school furniture, books and materials to the Tuanui School in Apia, Samoa. The goods supplied will be used by both LDS and non-LDS students in Samoa.  The day we visited we were joined by students, their parents, and six young missionaries to finish loading a 20 foot container.  

The container was shipped on Wednesday, Nov 26.  When it arrives in Samoa we will have to post some more pictures.

"There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity."  M. Russel Ballard, October 2012