Susan and Blair dropped us off for the last time at the Missionary Training Center.
It is in the 90s in Provo so Elder Rooks' suit coat is slung over my luggage. You can see the Costco croissants we stole from Susan & Blair in my bag. In a few days' time we we leave for New Zealand, after doing much-needed laundry and taking one last tour of the BYU campus.
Having graduated from BYU too many years ago to count, the residence halls we once lived in have been torn down for new ones.
The Wilkinson Center preparing for an international student box lunch. BYU Food Services certainly knows how to feed crowds.
Our laundry done and our bags packed and repacked within ounces of 50 pounds, we hung this tag on our door and headed toward the airport shuttle.
Flying over Zion's National Park on our way to LAX
The sun setting over Los Angeles during our four-hour layover
We were able to sleep during the more-than-12-hour flight to New Zealand. Fortunately one of our three seats was empty so we were able to stretch out. I caught this view of the moon over Auckland right before we landed at 5:30 in the morning.
We were picked up at the airport by the office missionaries the Nelsons, who kindly put us up at their house overnight. No naps, though, we had to stay awake. The Nelsons take care of all mission vehicles, "flats" (apartment and house) rentals, zone conferences, meals for missionaries, scheduling the mission president, Jeffrey Nikoia, and many other duties. On the road from Auckland to Hamilton, we passed pastures of contented cattle, including this herd. New Zealand dairy products are renowned with good reason.
Another common sight on New Zealand roads, "Give Way" instead of "Yield"
These two delightfully hilarious senior missionary ladies work in the Mendenhall Library museum in the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre. Sister Williams, on the right, with her husband Elder Williams, oversee the exhibit on the history of the Pacific Islands, something worth taking in if you are in Hamilton. We told Sister Crow, on the left, that she is probably related to Elder Rooks, which she is taking under consideration. She lived for 40 years in the States and now finds it hard to drive on the left side of the road again.
President Jeffrey Nikoia has assigned us as senior missionaries in the Rotorua Stake, which takes in the Fairy Springs and Tarawera Wards in Rotorua, "a town set on its namesake lake on New Zealand's North Island, renowned for its geothermal activity and Maori culture." Additionally, we will visit the Taupō Ward and Turangi Branch around the shores of Lake Taupō, Tokoroa Ward to the west, and Murupara Branch to the east. The stake covers a large area and we will be doing a lot of driving. There have not been senior missionaries in this area for a long time, and the members there are looking forward to our arrival.
Our area on the North Island
The Hamilton LDS Temple can be seen from the Nelsons' house. It is beautiful when lit at night.
Elder Rooks, not wanting to postpone our waiting assignment in spite of jet lag, braved the left-hand driving (which he hadn't done since his long-ago youth mission to England) and we set off for Rotorua. He did splendidly. Passing from Cambridge to Tirau, I could see why the set of Hobbiton was located not far from here in the Matamata region. (Elder Rooks has not seen the movies of Middle Earth and doesn't know what the fuss is about.) We started seeing sheep as well as cattle. I am hoping Rotorua, a resort and summer-to-winter activities area, will have a thriving fiber arts community.
It took a few tries, but we found our snug brick house off Tarewa Road, behind a big beautiful AirBnB house. The Corolla hybrid drove like a champ. The Elders of the Rotorua Wards, Elder Joyce and Elder Yoder, were right ahead of us and helped unload our luggage.
Elder Joyce, a Kiwi, and Elder Yoder, from Boise, take off their shoes when entering a house, as you naturally do in New Zealand.
Shortly after the Elders arrived, four sisters came to greet us and sing beautiful songs. Elder Joyce is terrific on the guitar as well. The Maoris in particular are a musical people. The six young people were joined by our landlord's son, pregnant wife and two children, offering us any help we needed, and the Relief Society President of the Fairy Springs Ward and her husband brought us some much-appreciated groceries. We felt loved and welcomed.
While working on my blog in the office (Yes! There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an office, along with a two-car garage, kitchen and dining area in this house! Plus washer/dryer!) I could hear unnatural shrieking out in the yard. It was a pair of Pūkeko birds having a difference of opinion. Pūkekos are also known as Australasian swamp hens, and they like our yard because there is a geothermal spring running down the center of it. They are known as agricultural pests, so my dreams of a nice New Zealand garden may be in danger. This fine fellow was putting on quite a show for me, shaking out his tail feathers and throwing out his leg from time to time.
Elder Rooks has been working on making our house warm by tending to the space heaters (there is no central heating here) and making sure the insulating drapes are closed at night and open during the day to let in the warm sunshine. We head to a Kmart and The Warehouse tomorrow to get housewares, and to Countdown or Pak'nSave for groceries. Maybe to Noel Leeming for a printer and a smart monitor. Two and one-half days in New Zealand and we are settling in.
