Pink Sheep

This photo of Sheepworld is courtesy of TripAdvisor


We had a great time in the Northlands with two successful family history trainings.  While we were at that Family Fun Day in Whangarei Stake on Saturday, Toni and Cheryl took the bus trip up to Cape Reinga. They enjoyed their time, despite the bus getting stuck in the sand on 90 mile beach and having to wait nearly an hour for a farmer to come pull them out with a tractor.

Also, it started to rain pretty steady, so they didn't get to see near as much on the way as they would have otherwise.

Still, they both had a great attitude, rolling with whatever happened and finding beauty along the way nonetheless.

On our way back to Auckland today the rain continued, but we still saw plenty of  New Zealand beauty and even spotted the famous pink sheep in  Warkworth.

Tomorrow our guests will return to the USA.  We will miss them.  We have thoroughly enjoyed having Larry's sister and her friend here with us.  We have laughed much, had some good talks, and enjoyed showing them some of our favorite places.  

I remember years ago (about 1983?)  we visited Larry's Uncle Carl & Aunt Phyllis in Pensacola, Florida during their mission.  It was a great visit, but Phyllis said later that when we left she felt more homesick than ever to have to say goodbye.   I can relate.   We LOVE our mission experiences.  Still, having family here with us for these past few days has in some ways reminded us of all we are missing back home.  Still, we will treasure our memories of our time together.  We are so glad they could come.

Denby Ward Family History Night

Since we had plans to drive up to Whangarei for the scheduled Family Fun Day, we asked if any of the wards in the stake would like us to come help them do some family history.  Denby Ward took us up on it.  We love working with our Maori brothers and sisters!   After the work was done the ward provided pizza, hot corn on the cob and watermelon for all who came.  It was fun visiting with everyone and getting to know a little more about them.   We will always have a special love for the people of the northern stakes where we serve as Area Family History Advisors.

Bishop Glassie

Family Fun Day in Whangarei

Whangarei stake recently hosted a Family Fun Day.   It was a terrific event.  People of all ages came out for food, games, swimming, and more.   We were invited to join them to offer Family History as one of the many activities that were offered.   We did not get a whole lot of people, (I suppose the ice cream, bounce house and vollyball were a bit more popular), but those who came genuinely connected.   A few people, including Stake President Poutou, submitted names for temple work.  Others learned new skills.   So all in all a good time was had by all.  Here are a few scenes from the day:

Stake President Anthony Poutu

Sunset at Muriwei Beach

We took Toni & Sheryl to Muriwei Beach to show them the Gannet colony there.  Even though we have been to that spot many times, we still enjoyed this trip, made extra special because we were there in the evening so we got to watch the sunset over the water.

Also, most of the times we have been there in the past have been at high tide.  This time the tide was out so we got to walk into one of the caves that has always been under water when we were there before.  We were looking for the cave that you can walk all the way through, but were on the wrong side of the beach for that.  No matter, every spot we explored was lovely.

We love how the beaches we visit are constantly changing with the tides and seasons.

Really enjoying having Toni & Sheryl here.

Visitors from home

Toni Erling

Sheryl Harris

We have some very special guests from the USA staying with us this week.  Larry's younger sister, Toni Erling, and her good friend Sheryl Harris, have come for a visit.  We have had a delightful time showing them the sites of where we live.
While they are both genuinely fun to be with, one of the best parts of having them here is to get to look at the beauty of New Zealand through fresh eyes.


When we first came here we were in awe with the wonder of the landscape.  The many shades of green, the textures of the land, and all the year round flowers captivated us.  We felt like we were in a land of magic and stunning beauty.  

Over time, however, we've gotten so used to our new surroundings that it has sort of become our new normal.  I wouldn't say we entirely take it for granted now.  But we have lost some of the initial sense of wonder.

Watching Toni and Sheryl's reaction to the things we show them and all the places we go remind of just how very special this place truly is.

Auckland Skyline

Dock at Lake Pupuke

Lynda in front of mammoth hydrangeas in Cornwall Park

Larry and Lynda at One Tree Hill Monument

 Today we did simple things.   We took a picnic lunch to Lake Pupuke and enjoyed watching the scenery and the birds (even if at one point we could relate a bit too much to Tippy Hedron in the Alfred Hitchock movie "The Birds" when the seagulls, pigeons and sparrows all decided they wanted a share of our sandwiches.)

Swamp Hen , also known as "Pukeko"

Black Swans

The pigeon that mugged Sheryl

After lunch we headed over to Cornwall Park to show them the amazing 380 degree view from the One Tree Hill monument and explore around the park a bit.

One Tree Hill Monument

Maori figure on One Tree Hill Monument

Cornwall Park in Auckland

Later we did the very normal and mundane chore of doing a bit of grocery shopping.  But somehow even that became an adventure when we watched our guests examining strange produce, unrefrigerated eggs, unfamiliar brands of cereal and a meat counter filled with all sorts of different selections of lamb.  Things here are so very different from the USA.  Watching their reactions took me back to how strange and unsettling it all seemed for me when we first arrived here.   It made me recognize how much we truly have adapted to our temporary home here in New Zealand.

A lot of the little things that used to be a big deal to me  are now simply taken for granted as the way things are here.  Today I accept them as part of my Kiwi life.  This applies both to things I used to find intensely positive and those I considered unbearably negative.  

I remember my white knuckle fear of riding in a car on the left side of the road in what seemed early on to be horrible, extreme traffic.  For the first couple months we were in country I was truly afraid every time we got in the car to go anywhere.  The roads were too narrow, the oncoming traffic, far too close.  The round abouts were too confusing.  The signs were unfamiliar.  It all added up to emotional gridlock for me for a lot longer than I ever would have dreamed it would before I came.   I can't really say when I got over being so nervous about the traffic.  But eventually, I did.  I no longer close my eyes when we cross the harbor bridge.  I no longer grit my teeth when we change lanes in downtown Auckland.  These days, I take it in stride.  That's a good thing.

However, I've also lost some of the intense feelings I once had on the positive end.  I remember how enchanted I was by all the many flowers that bloom year round here and by the amazing dimensions of multi-hued green mountains and valleys.  Coming from the perspective of one raised in the North American west I have seen a lot of brown in my time.  Here, the land is lush with grass, trees, bush, flowers beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  My eyes would pop as I took in the cabbage trees looking like something created by Dr. Seuss, the Silver Fern trees, the majestic Norfolk Island pines and all the rest of the landscape.  I still think it is pretty.  But the wonder of it has faded considerably from the way I felt when we first arrived.  

As I reflected over this,  I was reminded of a certain passage in the scriptures in Chapter 5 of the book of Alma.  It comes from the words which Alma, the High Priest, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land.  Starting in verse 26 he says:

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"  (emphasis added).

Alma goes on to ask the people who would have been the members of the church at that time whether they were keeping the commandments, and whether their attitude toward the gospel was as strong and as committed as it had been when they first became converted.

Sadly, we forget.  Just like we tune out the constant hum our refrigerator makes, in the same way we can stop hearing train whistles in the night or the sound of Tue birds in the early morning, we can stop noticing even very important things that are around us all the time. If we are not careful, we can stop feeling how special the gospel truly is.

There are so many things I do NOT want to forget - which is one of the main reasons I write this silly little blog of mine.  I want to have it to refer back to long after this mission is over so that I can remember the special experiences and feelings I had here.

The word "Remember" occurs 497 times in the scriptures.  I think that makes it pretty clear that Heavenly Father does not want us to ever forget the things that are truly important - the sacred teachings of eternity.

I want to always remember this time, this place, the people I've come to love here.

Even more important than all of that, I want to always remember the feelings of KNOWING that Heavenly Father is real and is aware of me on a very personal basis.  I want to remember the times when we have seen very specific and personal answers to prayers.  I want to remember the sense of peace that came to us in times of struggle.  I want to remember the times we were given to know what to say when we absolutely had no idea what we were talking about.

So I'm deeply grateful to my dear Sister-in-Law and her friend for coming to pay us a visit here on our mission - not just because I genuinely like them both.  I am grateful that they have helped me remember the wonder of what it is to be here in this amazing land.

And I am grateful to them for helping me to ponder deeper what other things I may be taking for granted so I can open my eyes to them again.

Auckland Lantern Festival

This weekend we attended the Auckland Lantern Festival.  The Festival is one of the biggest and most popular cultural events in Auckland and celebrates the region’s vibrant ethnic diversity with thousands of people attending the event daily.

It is said that the holiday evolved from an ancient Chinese belief that celestial spirits could be seen flying about in the light of the first full moon of the lunar calendar.

People used torches and eventually lanterns of every shape, size and color to aid them in spotting the spirits.

The lanterns come in all shapes and sizes. Some are created in the form of animals, insects, flowers, people or even machines and buildings. Others depict scenes from popular stories teaching filial piety and traditional values. A favorite subject is the zodiac animal of the year, which in 2016 will be the monkey.

​Lanterns

Lantern Festivals have been part of Chinese New Year celebrations since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-221 AD) and are usually held on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar which marks the end of New Year festivities.

The Lantern Festival is also popularly referred to as the Chinese Valentine’s Day because in days of old it gave girls and boys a rare chance to go out in the evening without chaperons. Today Lantern Festivals are held each year in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan to mark the end of Chinese New Year celebrations.

Part of the lantern festival tradition involves a game to guess riddles attached to the lanterns. In the old days the riddles were drawn from the Chinese classics and so were mainly the preserve of the educated classes.

"Over time, the Foundation has built up a large collection of lanterns. The lanterns that appear at both festivals (here in Auckland and a similar one in Christchurch) now fill more than 20 shipping containers. Visitors to this year’s Auckland festival would be unlikely to recognize it as the same festival that was held in 2000, which was pieced together from secondhand lanterns from the Jurong Gardens in Singapore" (Asia New Zealand Foundation).

Chinese culture is full of ancient traditions, which have been used to shape the Auckland Lantern Festival over the years.

"Like most Chinese festivals, the Lantern Festival has its own special foods. including tang yuan (or yuan xiao in Northern China)— round glutinous rice dumplings with sweet or salty fillings. The shape of the dumplings symbolize both the first full moon and family unity"  (AucklandNZ.com).

This was just one of the many offering available from the LONG row of food stalls.  We sampled a few things, of course.

There were also many different performances throughout the festival, both music and dance.  I loved watching some of the traditional dances and chatting with some of the dancers as they waited for their turn to go on stage.

The whole event was fascinating for me as a once-upon-a-time Sociologist.   I enjoyed watching the people attending as much as I liked watching the performances.

However, as much as I like people watching, we left fairly early as the crowd continued to grow more and more dense as the evening wore on.  People were pouring in by the hundreds.  By the time we left around 6:00 PM we felt like salmon swimming upstream as we slowly made our way up the path to the exit against the flow of far more still entering the domain.  We were happy to get back on the bus to head home.  We were glad to have had the chance to see it all and just as glad to call it a night.

One of the things I appreciate best about living in New Zealand has been the opportunity to be in such a culturally diverse population and witness how the various groups here truly seem to appreciate each other.  I love the feeling of synergy that comes when people of many different backgrounds with different ideas, customs, beliefs and ways of living come together with mutual respect.

It isn't quite like the Zion people described in 4 Nephi:

They lived as one people and were all known as the “people of Nephi” (4 Ne. 1:10); and they ceased to recognize any distinctions among themselves, so that not only were there no Lamanites, there were no “-ites” of any kind, “but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God” (4 Ne. 1:17). 

Here, the distinctions between groups are very evident, and there are a substantial number of people who do not base their lives on the teaching of Christ.  Still, for the most part we have found there be almost no racial tension or sense of disharmony between classes.  In that way it is very different from the United States.  Living here has shown us how people of different faiths, different ethnicity, different values really can peacefully co-exist and build strong communities together.

As this last 8 months of our mission winds down we continue to savor every opportunity to participate in the cultural aspects of living in New Zealand, weaving these experiences together with the spiritual highlights we get from our Family History trainings.   Both sorts of opportunities are melding together to make this whole Mission experience something that will shape our views and values for all the rest of our days.

(The photos here are all mine.  Info about the festival from
http://asianz.org.nz/content/auckland-and-christchurch-lantern-festivals-february-2016  and http://www.aucklandnz.com/lantern/lantern-festival-chinese-new-year-traditions  ).