15 December 2019 Christmas Conference

It's December already!

December in New Zealand is different than December in Utah/Colorado, that's for sure!

Grandkids...

Ready for Skiing!

A Rare photo of all 3 at the same time!

First snow!

Big sister to Help!

Meanwhile, down on this side of the world...

Our Ward Christmas Party!

The start..

Sometimes too much speed!

Whoops!

Linda and I get to hike around and we find great spots...

Nothing says Hello as well as Large Corrugated Buildings!

Beautiful Falls!

And crazy people! Can you imagine people actually pay to do this at the same Beautiful Falls!

Going...

going...

gone!

recovered...

Advertisement is pretty accurate don't you think!

Our Mission Conference was a lot of work, but it was a success!

Some in Tents...

Some in Cabins...

Altogether...

Some must be related to one of our daughters, because when they see a camera, they pose...

!

Notice the repeat? Sister Fonua!

This is the 2nd Tanner Cousin!

Found 2 Tanner Cousins...

They had a lot of fun too...

Group Activity...

AP's giving instructions...

Chaos!

Even the President and his Daughter...

Traditional Spoort!

AP Showing how it is done...

Catching up...

Cleaning up...

President's grandson...

And who can have a camp without visitors!

A few accidents (That's why we have a Nurse!)

Linda was BUSY!

And some strong Spiritual Moments...

Definitely a warmer Christmas than what we are used to...

Love you All!

Nikolaus & Linda...

Dec 6, 2019 Mental Health and Marae visit

Root canals, CT scans, gastroenterology, and Mental Health.
That pretty much sums it up .... A lot more mental health issues which is not my forte.  I do love these missionaries and the stress is real.   There are some phenomenal websites and apps to help with many issues. 

A GREAT starting point:   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/mentalhealth?lang=eng

Which happens to be a link from: https://caps.byu.edu/apps-and-websites

These are ones I want to try:

https://caps.byu.edu/relaxation-recordings

https://caps.byu.edu/relaxation-and-meditation

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/smiling-mind-app

Thank goodness for great counselors who know how to work with these missionaries.  And great doctors who I'm forever grateful for getting missionaries treated for bug bites and rashes.

We spent a couple days in Gisborne and visited Nuhaka and Mahia where so many Maori originally converted to the church.   We entered their sacred Marae and were given a tour of the symbolism and history.  Some of which is here: https://www.visitwairoa.co.nz/see-and-do/attractions/kahungunu-marae

KAHUNGUNU MARAE. Kahungunu meeting house at Nūhaka has some magnificent Māori and carving portraying the history and stories of the early people, in the many carvings, scroll patterns and panel weaving.

Mahia is a sweet little town where our missionaries meet a couple times a week for "fight club" with a group of kids that are learning good values and life application along with some boxing skills.  We loved their devotion and caring for one another.  

We had a 3 day Early Christmas mission conference at Camp Tuhikaramea.   It was a great diversion from the day to day routine and so fun to watch the missionaries bond with each other and sing, and play sports and have fun.

We have a LOT of photos to catch up on. 

Mostly, we're grateful for the Savior and this season in which we celebrate his birth.   We see reminders of him in our lives and feel his love.

As we ponder his birth, our daughter gave birth to her own 6th child today and we are so grateful for their good health and celebration of life and love.  Not to mention our elation at another sweet grandchild to hug.

 We pause to acknowledge everything good and are grateful for examples of kindness, charity and giving all around us, as we seek to lift others and improve our own lives.  

Nov 26, 2019 Hamilton Gardens and COME AND SEE

Did you know there are people who NEVER use medicine?   1/3 of our missionaries come from surrounding Islands!
We have so many islander missionaries.   I've been asked to treat them with pressure point massage for headaches, tree leaves for boils, and all kinds of other foreign practices.   But using medication is just as foreign to them.   I have an Elder with a pretty bad infection.   He just can't grasp taking the pill every 8 hours.   If he forgets, then he thinks, I'll just wait and take the next scheduled one.   It will be a miracle to get this infection out of him!

Linda is pretty tired this week.   Being on call 24/7 and never getting it out of my head is a new challenge.  I think I need to trade someone and be on call 1/2 time.   We are short nurses in the mission field, and I see it is more demanding than I anticipated. 

We love these islander missionaries.  They have a love of simple pleasures of life.   Fishing, climbing trees to get coconut and pineapples and fruit, and walking everywhere are their normal daily activities.   One sweet sister here is learning to ride a bike for the first time.  She has so many knee scrapes from tumbling.   She said they had bikes on her island, but she was always scared to use one and now she's a missionary and has to learn!   I love her!   Our daily challenges are all so different.

We visited Hamilton Gardens again on Pday.   It's a beautiful garden full of treasures and changing flora.  75% of the flora on this Island are only found in NZ.   Everyday is a new surprise.  There are trees budding out covered in red that they call Christmas trees, because they bloom this time of year.   How did they know?   They are so profound, I'll never appreciate the poinsettia quite as much now.

I made Elder Despain stand by this Straw man in the "Kitchen garden" which was full of veggies and herbs.   He made me stand by this cute doorway that really is pretty cool.  If you come visit, I'll take you there!







There are so many cute things in this garden in addition to beautiful flora.  Doorways and hidden gems everywhere.   These are some of the ones we found and loved.:

We love the work of the Lord.  We love the inspiring stories from early missionaries here and current missionaries who are striving and struggling to serve him.   That is our desire.  We yearn to be more like him, live as he lived and invite others to Come and See, Come and Help, Come and Stay.

Love this address by Elder Bednar:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBzKAFF4Sdc

Nov 20 2019 Life is full of extremes!

Last Pday Elder Despain finally got to explore a few fishing holes.   I can see more in our future.  NZ is full of good fishing and he is going to keep talking and enjoying the finding.

Medical:   About once a transfer there's a major event/surgery.  This time an overnight stay.  We were on the same floor with the same nurses we had with Elder Rojas.  They asked about him.  He's progressing.  Such a great example to the Hamilton Mission!

Things are good.  Missionaries work a lot, there are going to be more injuries when they're out working, biking, driving, and Plenty of "Sport" on Mondays.
Thank goodness for Ibuprofen and Ice cream!

We really enjoy the wards we attend.  The people here are a lot of fun.  They take good care of each other and are a good example of service and ministering.  There are so many people on the membership rolls who can't attend.

Lemons are still in abundance everywhere and I must say we LOVE the fresh squeezed lemonade and homemade lemon bread. 

This week was full of extremes.
Helping missionaries gain weight/helping missionaries lose weight.
Cleaning and spraying flats for bugs and mold/ rewarding missionaries with Clean Flats!
Giving missionaries rides/ walking to get groceries and supplies.
Coordinating with doctors and sending missionaries to the pharmacist... I have a new love for pharmacists.   When missionaries need suggestions ... I send them there.   One pharmacist called me personally and made a valuable recommendation.

While we are enjoying our work and the people and surroundings here, we miss our friends and family more than expected.   Before we collapse in bed at night usually exhausted, we pour our hearts out in thanks for our children and their families and our parents and extended family.   We are blessed and more grateful each day for your influence and example.  We pray for you and ask protection and strength for individual trials.   We love you and feel we are carried by the Saviors atoning love daily.

November 10, 2019 Niks Pics .... Taranaki

2019 Nov 4 - Nov 10

Here are some Pictures Linda mentioned last week…

Sometimes we hike through farms!

Lots of foliage

Notice the Warning signs!

Stairs!

Remote Waterfalls - We were the only ones there!

More Stairs!

Even MORE Stairs!

More Farmland...

Small Tunnels everywhere...

Mt Taranaki - 2518 M (8261 ft)

Some Tunnels are just plants!

Mt Taranaki Visitor Center (It snows here!)

Goblin Forrest Trail!

Suspension bridges!

Waterfalls!

Us and Waterfalls!

More Waterfalls!

Looks Cold!

If there is a tree in the way - go both ways!

One fun thing we get to do while here in New Zealand is to learn the local traditions and customs…

So, back in 1605, a person named Guy Fawkes (and 11 others) tried to blow up the British Parliament (Also known as the Gunpowder Plot) – Well, they failed and bonfires were lit that night to celebrate the safety of the King.  Since then, the night has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks – fireworks can only be bought during a few days prior to the day, but they can be set off whenever (so we have been hearing fire works for the last week!).

Guy Fawkes Night in Auckland

Last week included a few trips up the South Auckland and our favorite stop on the way back – Pokeno’s!  There is a short little street with several “Take-Aways” (These are the local form of a Deli/Fast Food – Although most McDonalds [Maccas] are open 24/7 with constant lines of people!) – Also, there is Pokeno’s Bacon – We found really good seasoned sausages and Brats! So, we picked up some more while there…

Great Brats!

We have been visiting a very small ward called Pukete, here in Hamilton.  While it is one of the smallest wards around, it has some really inspirational speakers and teachers!  A couple of notes I have made from this ward are:

“I have a really simple Testimony – “I know the Church is True, and I am Happy!””

“I wasn’t coming to Church because I was looking around and wondering what others were thinking – Then I realized, instead of looking around, I should be looking Up!”

It is wonderful to see these members express sincere belief and testimonies!

We love what we are doing and are glad to be here!

_________________________________________________________________________ 

Nothing like a Sunday Afternoon burst of nearly horizontal rain!

 

High Winds and Rain - Outside our Kitchen

Heavy Rain!