"Rotoites" is the name of our Rotorua missionary district. Sister Nessen will be going home this week, about which everyone is sad, including Sister Nessen, although we are sure she will change her mind and be glad once she is back in Brigham City. She has been an exceptional missionary and we have been honored to have her in our district.
It is too easy to get attached to people you are working with, teaching and loving. The young Elders and Sisters are transferred regularly to different areas, but for senior missionaries, we are in the same place the whole of our mission. We are already quite attached, and our friends don't want us to leave in July!
A nice lens flare on our drive up to Temple View in Hamilton via Collins Road
Following Easter Sunday services, the Fairy Springs Ward had a Linger Longer. Everyone brought a plate (I brought carrot cupcakes which all disappeared) and other savories. The picture above is a bag of salt. I rarely see salt on dinner tables, or napkins, for that matter (a problem for me, since I tend to make a mess of things). This salt is for the two kinds of soup in crockpots.
Elder Karaitiana, the Aussie District Leader, giving us Rotoites some training from Chapter 11 of Preach My Gospel.
We went for a return visit to Ohinemutu to see Margaret, whose husband is still in Australia. She took us on a tour of her back yard, where she is remodeling the apartment behind her house. She is thinking of using the rooms as an AirBnb. It's a perfect spot for anyone visiting Rotorua.
Elder Rooks had a run-in under his left eye with the corner of his bedside cabinet. You can see it is healing up pretty well.
Behind Margaret's house, the Utuhina Stream winds its way to Lake Rotorua. You can see the feral black and white Muscovy duck, and two black swans swimming downstream.
Homes in the Maori village of Ohinemutu often live alongside geothermal vents and boiling water, and take advantage of it by installing hot spring baths. This is the geothermal-heated water that Margaret's grandchildren have been playing in.
After visiting Margaret, we walked down the street and visited Karla, who also has a geothermal bath in her house. We made plans to attend the Hamilton Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Friday morning.
On the way out of Rotorua up State Highway 5, we followed a truck with a "GOOSEY" license plate.
Halfway to Hamilton is Tirau, which is known for its traffic bottlenecks and metal barnyard animals. I've never been able to get good pictures of them until now, of a duck and a jack-in-the-box.
Also a dog, sheep, and ram. The ram is an SPCA Op Shop, second-hand store.
Dairy cows grazing. The sight of herd animals munching always calms me down.
In front of the temple with Karla, who loves everybody wholeheartedly. We loved being with her in the temple. As you can see I got another haircut, which should grow out after awhile.
The House of the Lord against a bright blue sky, flanked by Araucaria Araucana, monkey-puzzle trees.
Cousin to the monkey-puzzle tree are Norfolk pines, Araucaria Heterophylla, often grown as house plants in the U.S. These trees are native to Norfolk Island, halfway between New Zealand and New Caledonia, and are widely planted in New Zealand.
We stopped at the mission office to pick up mail for the Rotoites. This carving in the Maori style hangs in the hallway, reflecting the beliefs of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Traditional, symbolic carving is a spiritual gift to the Maori.
A painting of the Huia bird, the sacred bird of the Maori, extinct since the early 20th century. The feathers were an indication of royalty and became quite valuable, and the birds were easy prey.
The bird on the left is a male, who with his short sharp beak would peck holes in a decaying tree, while the female's curved beak could then search for embedded insects.
The birds were painted by another Latter-day Saint artist
Heading home from Hamilton. I never tire of the scenery. Hillocks simply rise out of the landscape, making straight roads and large fields impossible. The grass lands are more suited to grazing of sheep and dairy cattle.
One of the rocky hillocks with shrubs growing on top. These often jut straight up and aren't even suited to grazing.
I was looking for cilantro (since our goodbye-dinner with Sister Nessen will involve making Costa Vida tomatillo and cilantro copycat sauce) but the lady in the grocery store didn't know what I was talking about. Then I remembered it is called coriander here. I even found tomatillo salsa verde, in the International section. No root beer (an ingredient for the Costa Vida sweet pork) anywhere in the store. I got some creme soda that was green and tasted terrible, even though it was made by the Coca Cola company. Ridiculously expensive. It ended up being dumped down the sink.
I heard a friend refer to "Janola," and fortunately I had just bought some so I knew what she was talking about. It is the New Zealand version of Clorox bleach.
Since I haven't seen either Ms. or Mr. Pukeko in the last week, I had to pull a photo out of the archives.
