This week we were privileged to go to Auckland to attend a Senior Missionary Devotional with Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints.
We also had members of the Fairy Springs Ward over to our house for dinner and viewing the Worldwide Relief Society Devotional and Testimony Meeting; a surprise district missionary council with President and Sister Nikoia; we visited a number of people, had the Mylers over for dinner, and visited more people.
A shot of the moon over Rotorua on our way home from the chapel
We had our usual Sunday group over for the Relief Society Devotional. We always have some sort of Share Kai, which among the Maori means "creating spaces of belonging where we can connect around the table, share about ourselves and learn about others." (https://www.sharekai.nz/)
The Relief Society Devotional we watched together
Monday morning, Elder and Sister Pickett picked us up for the drive to Auckland. They drove 3-1/2 hours from Gisborne and stayed in Tauranga Sunday night, then drove an hour to Rotorua, and then drove with us the three hours to Auckland. Sis. Pickett is the mission nurse, and they put many miles on their vehicles.
The day was clear and beautiful. It was so nice to have two-lane highways, even if there was a lot of traffic
The Auckland Temple under construction, from the Great South Road. Stone cladding is in place except for around the steeple, and stained glass is being installed. The temple should be completed this year. A new temple has been announced for Wellington.
The Redoubt Stake Center on Kerrs Road in Wiri, Auckland, where our devotional was to take place
There were forty or more senior missionary couples from the Auckland and Hamilton missions at the meeting. We heard several speakers and musical numbers, and then Elder Rasband, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke to us as part of his Pacific ministry to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, and Papua, New Guinea. Highlights of this trip can be read about here:
Ronald A. Rasband Pacific Ministry
Ronald A. Rasband Pacific Ministry
Since his October 2023 General Conference address "How Great Will Be Your Joy," encouraging more senior members of the Church to become missionaries, Elder Rasband said the number of senior missionaries has doubled. "But we need more!" he reminded us.
He ended by answering a number of questions from the audience, including one about the Lord's promises to families back home. "These wonderful senior missionaries are setting an example," he said. "Get ready for the blessings. The Lord is going to bless your family from generation to generation."
We all lined up to shake his hand. He was interested in knowing what part of New Zealand we were serving in. It was a meeting to remember.
In the cultural hall for refreshments following the meeting, we sat down next to Elder Todd and Sister Keely Gregory, serving in Raglan, Waikato. They look too young to me to be senior missionaries. Or maybe it is that we are just a shade too old.
Elder and Sister Gregory are from Meridian, Idaho. When I told them I had two sons living in Meridian, Elder Gregory enthusiastically admitted that Conrad Kennington and his family lived in their ward, and that they were a great family. I could only admit it was true.
Then Sister Truman from the Auckland mission found Elder Rooks, saying his profile looked exactly like the profile of one of her best friends, Aimee McClellan, who is his daughter. Aimee and her husband Tony are good friends with Dan Truman, keyboard and piano player of the country band Diamond Rio.
On the way home from Auckland. Sister Pickett and I were shouting directions at patient Elder Pickett from the maps on our cell phones, which kept giving us wrong "shortcuts," so we abandoned Google Maps and went with the road signs, Highway 1 South. This strategy got us on the right road.
We stopped at Temple View in Hamilton to pick up a car for one of the elders' companionships in Tauranga. The mission fleet needs to be kept up-to-date and is in a constant state of change.
On Tuesday, President Nikoia was giving interviews to the districts in Rotorua, Taupo and Tokoroa, so we joined them for an impromptu meeting. We roped the missionaries (especially Sister Donaldson,, since we need a soprano) to sing with us on Sunday for the Rotorua Stake Easter Musical Fireside.
We visited Eddie and Margy Barber, since Margy is recovering from strep throat. We brought dinner in the Doterra box, and Eddie is filling it back up with tomatoes and blocky green capsicums out of his garden
Thursday we invited the Myler family over for dinner. The four boys devoured the brisket and mashed potatoes. They are having a great year-long experience in Rotorua while Conrad, the father, is an anesthesiologist in the Rotorua Hospital.
While Elder Rooks was washing lots of dishes (bless him,) the boys played games while Rebekah and Conrad and I went up to the chapel to practice a Kenneth Cope song they were asked to sing for the Musical Fireside. They both have amazing voices.
On Friday, we visited Wiki, who lives off of Sunset Road with her family. She is doing pretty well in her recovery but still gets fatigued in the evenings. We invited her and Robbie Khan to lunch in the coming week.
We also visited Chris K.'s home, where Elder Rooks moved her refrigerator so she could clean behind it, and let her know that the squeak in the kitchen wasn't the linoleum floor, but the wooden table scraping the wall. He moved the table and the squeak was gone. She was extremely grateful for this help, and was glad she hadn't called someone to fix the floor.
I helped out by eating some spinach quiche she had made.
We took a walk past the aquatic center and saw several buses of students from around the area who had been at a noisy swimming meet. This bus was filling up with students from Gizzy
The afternoon clouds were beautiful
Friday night we went to another song practice with the elders and sisters. They have a Sports Night every Friday, and there was a good group playing basketball and eating pizza.
This is my darling younger sister Laurel, who was diagnosed with stage four triple negative breast cancer. It is inoperable and does not respond to most treatments, so she has decided to try alternatives to chemotherapy, including a juicing diet, water fasting, and supplements. Her husband Michael is her constant caretaker. So far her spirits are high and we are hopeful for her with prayers and fasting.
I sent her a pair of greenstone Maori Roimata earrings like the ones I wear.
This is the card that came with the earrings
I think this is Mr. Pukeko's female admirer, although I'm not sure. She looks like she is in stalking mode.
A friend was asking what the shrieking sounded like, and I was able to record quite a bit of it, although you can't see the birds. They seem to be living next to the geothermal stream on the other side of the fence in our back yard. This is my view when I sit at my computer. It is hard to concentrate when there is a lot of swamp chicken racket.
The pukekos shrieking is for you, Ross-Ann!
