No Thanksgiving, but lots to be thankful for!

We didn’t have turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes at Rob’s with our children and grandchildren. We didn’t sit in our family room with the fireplace going and watch the snow falling.  We didn’t see the lighting of the Christmas lights on Temple Square or do the Messiah sing-in with Paul’s family.  We didn’t go to the traditional Jazz game with Brad and the gang.  But we did have….

 

and…

and…

(If you look closely you can see the cricket players out on this beautiful field at Canterbury University.)

all seen during a 45 minute walk we took one evening. 

We have perfect weather; cool enough that you want to keep a sweater handy, but not so hot that you feel sweaty and uncomfortable.

We have the ocean.  Monday, during a Skype session with Jeff, Andrew, Laurie and Mimi, we were asked if we had seen the ocean yet.  We couldn’t answer yes to that question, so the next morning at 6 a.m., we took a twenty minute ride in a south-easterly direction until we came to the water.  In a quaint little place called Sumner, we got out for a little walk. 

 

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Another evening we walked around Canterbury University which is just around the corner from us, and found it just as beautiful.

 

No, we’re not missing the cold and snow. 

We have internet and phone service at our flat.  The signal isn’t the best, but we can call Utah when we want to.  That, and a warmer blanket for our bed, were the last things we needed to really feel settled in, and just in time because I think we’re about to get really busy.

We had a “sausage sizzle”—the New Zealand word for BBQ.  The Bournes planned a “get to know the new missionaries” social before institute class this week.  They cooked sausages (not like any of our sausages, but quite delicious) and onions on the grill and served them on slices of white bread with BBQ sauce and tomato sauce (ketchup).  With full stomachs we headed in for the spiritual part of the evening—Brother Bourne’s lesson on the Pearl of Great Price.

 

Jeremy Beck—his family are transplants from Oregon.  I can understand every word he says.

Margaret and Martin Bourne—truly lovely people.  I can understand most of what they say.

We have New Zealand treats.

Tip Top has some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted and who wouldn’t love Tim Tam cookies

We have exciting and interesting work to do.  Brother Bell shared a letter with us from the Area Presidency (Elder Tad Callister and counselors) to the stake presidents and district presidents asking them to focus on enrollment for seminaries and institutes.  Each potential student is to be contacted personally and invited to attend seminary or institute.  Brother Bell printed off pages of names—hundreds of young adults—that are institute age, in and around Christchurch.  John and I are going to try and meet with the Stake President and then the bishops.  Hopefully they will accept our offer to seek out and find many of the young adults that are not participating.  With some help identifying which ones should not be on those lists (some have moved and some have married) and some addresses, I think we can really do some good.  We would love to see this institute grow and be able to offer a bigger variety of classes.

We have people to love and who love us.  The Bournes have had us over for “tea” (evening meal) twice in the short time we’ve lived here.  They are transplants from Australia.  Brother Bourne is the high councilor over the YSA.  Amy Bourne, his daughter, is the CES secretary, and Margaret (his wife) is the cutest little thing.  At their home we are always fed a delicious, warm dinner and a spiritual feast as well.  We feel as though we have known them forever and we love them.

Friday night we had a dinner for the seminary and institute graduates from the Christchurch stake. I met the most interesting woman, Nicola Petty.  She has a Phd. and has been “lecturing” in Statistics at Canterbury University for the past 20 years.  However, she is quitting and starting a new career.  She and a colleague have invented a game that is about to be launched as an app for iphones.  The game is called Rogo.  Watch for it.  She and her husband Mark have two sons.  The oldest has asbergers and is serving a mission in Auckland.  Her youngest, Jonathan, is a savant with a genius for music.  The whole family was recently on an episode of Sesame Street.  I liked Nicola right away and hope that I get many opportunities to visit with her.

Jonathan played for Seminary graduation on Saturday night and he was really amazing.  When I called him to ask if he would participate and gave him the names of the opening and closing hymns, he said he had never heard them before (this was Friday night), but by graduation the next night, he played them perfectly with wonderful introductions and a beautiful prelude of Christmas Carols.

Jonathan Petty—a truly special young man.

One more story about Jonathan.  When he was a preschooler, his mother took him to his aunt’s house where he played her piano but wasn’t able to play it as well as the one he usually played.  They discovered that his aunt’s piano was tuned 1/2 step lower and Jonathan was transposing as he went along so that the music sounded exactly as it had on a correctly tuned instrument.  He has perfect pitch. 

This weekend the Christchurch stake had a youth conference at Blue Skies Scout Camp in Kaiapoi.  I had the best time just watching this multi-ethnic group of kids. 

Kids from the Opawa ward.  This ward is full of Pacific islanders—Tongans and Samoans—very unified group.  The boy at the head of the line was an amazing athlete.

  

Youth from the Winoni ward—a Samoan speaking ward.  They were certainly the most colorful and interesting group there.

The Riccarton Ward (our ward).  The largest group by far and full of very good kids.  Bishop Clendon is the furthest on the right.

 

Matthew from one of the small branches up north.  I loved him.

 

Cashmere (Yellow) and Avonside (Purple) wards.

We have ‘Christmas in the Park’.  Amy took us to Hagley Park which is an enormous park in Christchurch—a whole golf course makes up just a small portion of it.  Massive amounts of people attend this concert where New Zealand’s talent sings and performs on a stage that seemed miles away.  There is a giant screen, and people sitting on blankets or in lawn chairs sing-along, dance, visit and munch on snacks.  They come mostly as families but also as groups of friends.  Santa makes an appearance and the evening ends with fireworks.  It is still impossible for me to feel like Christmas is just around the corner.  It can’t be, it’s much to warm.

We have a place to worship.  We live in the boundaries of the Riccarton ward, but our chapel was damaged during the earthquake (it is also the stake center).  The damage is all internal and it looks perfectly fine from the outside.  Evidently the church is waiting for the aftershocks to cease before they make any repairs.  Until then, we meet in the Cashmere ward.

    

Cashmere chapel in Christchurch, New Zealand

The bishop asked us to speak in church on Sunday.  I was grateful that I could understand the bishop’s invitation to do so.  I couldn’t help but remember Mom and Dad’s experience the first Sunday in Germany when Dad wouldn’t admit that he couldn’t understand what the Branch President was asking, and just answered, “Yah, dos ist goot”.  Mom was so surprised the next week when she was asked to sit on the stand before giving the talk she knew nothing about.  At least I have a week to think about it.  I think we’ll put in a plug for seminaries and institutes.

We have testimonies of Jesus Christ and His church.  One night this week John was bearing his testimony in his sleep—so loudly that I had to wake him up to get him to quiet down.  His response when I asked about his dream, “Darn it, she was so close.  I almost had her converted.” 

So much to be thankful for!

HOME sweet HOME

Our second week in New Zealand has been interesting…I’m searching for a better word…educational, frustrating, lovely, heart-warming, awe-inspiring, overwhelming—all of those and more.

Monday, November 15, we left Wellington for Christchurch.  We could hardly wait to see the place that we would call home for the next 18 months.  We flew in a small aircraft and with the window seat I was able to catch the first glimpses of our south island.

We were met at the airport by Brother Bell (the CES coordinator for this area and a genuinely kind and good man) who drove us to the institute building where we will be spending a good deal of time.  It is a nice building with plenty of space for classes and socializing.  He also introduced us to Amy Bourne who is the part-time secretary and has been, along with Brother Bell, an absolute God-send.  They have been taxis, interpreters, bankers, real-estate agents, guides, professional shoppers, and much, much more.  We could not have survived without them.

Amy Bourne and David Bell;  We love them!

The institute building in Riccarton, Christchurch, New Zealand.

 

The kitchen and multi-purpose room—notice the billiard table.

 

Amy’s office and one of the three or four classrooms, and…

A lovely piano—great touch and sound.

Brother Bell helped us get checked into a motel, drove us around for a look at some “flats” that we could rent, and took us to dinner.  We ate at a delicious Chinese restaurant and met Sister Bell—Winnie.  I knew I would love her when I heard her name.  She is from China, speaks at least 4 Chinese dialects and is absolutely delightful. 

I do not want to complain, but I do want to give an accurate picture of what our mission is like.  This week has been highly frustrating.  We have been without a car, without a phone, without much access to the internet, without a home, and completely dependent on very busy people to help us.  Poor Brother Bell is trying to wind up another school year (remember we’re in the southern hemisphere and schools are just getting out for the summer) and Amy has been gathering attendance records, printing programs, etc.  However, they have been so patient and helpful. 

We drove by so many flats—none of them felt right to both of us.  Wednesday morning, John and I went for an early walk (we have been unable to reset out bodies’ clocks and wake up at 4 a.m.) and came upon a flat that we had glanced at but passed up earlier in the week.  The drapes were pulled and we walked around and looked in the windows.  This flat is only about a 3 minute walk from the institute building and in a nice neighborhood.  We both liked it immediately.  With the help of Amy and Brother Bell, we were able to arrange a walk-through later that afternoon.  By the end of the day we had sealed the deal.  We did run into some trouble with money.  We had been told that it would be unnecessary to open a New Zealand bank account, that we would be able to get by with debit cards and charge cards from our US bank.  The mission office handles rent payments for missionaries and then the missionaries just make payments to them, but since we are CES missionaries, they would not help us out.  We could not pay the large bond payment and first weeks rent with our cards so we had to open a New Zealand bank account, get in touch with our credit union, and have money transferred over quickly so that we could move in.  Our only means of communication to get that done was the internet.  Thank you Jill, Laurie, Jeff, and Melysa at the credit union for helping us out in such a timely manner.   All ended well and we moved in on Thursday. 

We love our little home.  It is very clean.  It will surprise no one to discover that before I could move in, John and I had to wash down every surface with hot soapy water.  When we dumped the bucket, the water was still sparkling clean.  The carpets look like they have just been replaced and most of the walls look freshly painted.  There are a few things that will take some getting used to, but for the most part, I think we will be very comfortable and happy here.  The following pictures should give you a good idea of our home:

Front of the house.  I fell in love with all the plants.

John on front walk.

Side walk looking toward the backyard.

Backyard or as they say “garden”.  Notice the clothesline.  People told us that New Zealand would be like going back 20 years.  In some ways that is true—all good ways.  Everyone has a clothesline.  There are very few dryers.  I have already hung out sheets and towels.  I remember how much I love clothes that have been line dried. 

Back door.

Front entry.  Looking down the hall on the right you see; first doorway—bedroom, second—shower, third—bathroom, fourth—separate toilet, and at the end of the hall—the guest room. On the left; first doorway—living room, second—dining room, and third—laundry room leading to the kitchen.

Our bedroom.  The floor to ceiling windows are throughout the house and make the whole place so light and airy.

An interesting feature is this separate shower room.  The door on the left is actually a reflection on the mirrored sliding door which encloses this little room. 

Tub and sink in this partial bath.  Yes, that is a mirror over the tub and a window over the sink.  I tried using this room at first but found it impossible to put on makeup.  I’ve moved to the little on suite off our room.  By the way, there are no outlets (power points) in the bathrooms.  It is against the law.  Hair dryers and flat irons are plugged into long extension cords from nearby rooms.  Also, notice the faucets.  Remember the days when we had a hot water tap and a cold water tap.  Every sink is that way over here. 

Separate toilet room.  Dave Barry would love these toilets.  Didn’t he write an article about how he hates the “low flush” toilets?When we flush these, we push the button and run.  I’m always afraid I’ll get soaked because the water gushes out like a roaring waterfall.  It really is amazing. 

The guest room all made up and ready for company.

The living room.  Another step backwards in time—free TV.  You can get cable, but there are still about 5 channels that come free via the rabbit ears on top.  We don’t watch much TV, but we were told to keep up on the local news.

Dining room and more windows—this one is a sliding door.

Kitchen.  That green thing is called a dish drainer.  Dish drainers are used in the absence of a dishwasher.  I don’t mind a bit.

Laundry room—washing machine and dryer hanging from the ceiling.  Dryers are unusual in New Zealand homes.

This beautiful clematis is in my backyard. 

I am having quite a time getting used to the climate.  One minute I’m roasting and the next I’m freezing.  The buildings are all cool inside and require a little more than shirt sleeves, but when outside I’m very warm.  It seems so odd to see people in shorts in the stores that are decorated for Christmas.  I just can’t get the holiday spirit. 

Thursday we finally got our car.  It’s a brand new Toyota Corolla with the steering wheel on the wrong side.  The driving is another big adjustment for me.  I am very jumpy for fear of being hit by oncoming traffic.  I only drive early in the morning when there are no other drivers on the road.  Also, the blinker is on the right side of the steering wheel and every time we are about to turn a corner, John turns on the windshield wipers. 

 

Doesn’t that look weird?  He’s really pretty good at it. 

I have been fascinated by the walls around all the homes.  As we walk we love the variety and are envious of the privacy they provide. 

Some use stone and other materials—this one is fabric.

Others are brick…

 

Wood…

 

Or plants…

 

And every once in a while, you can see the lovely yards behind….

All of these homes are within a block or two of our flat.  The last frustration is one that we still have not solved—that of communication.  We are not connected to the internet at our flat and we do not have access to a phone.  If we want to communicate with our family, we have to go to the institute building and send emails.  We received a modem, router and antenna booster in the mail today, but John hasn’t been able to get it up and running.  We can’t seem to get the proper signal????  A technician is supposed to contact us (I’m not sure how) on Monday.  Until then….

Mike, where are you when we need you?

Brother Bourne (Martin, Amy’s dad) tries to help, but no luck.

We have not done much missionary work this week.  We did get a chance to meet some of the Young Single Adults at an institute class on Thursday night.  We are trying to get lists of potential institute students from the stake president and we intend to visit each one and extend a personal invitation.  In December we are taking a trip to the south end of the island with Brother and Sister Bell to meet the seminary teachers and give some training.  We are looking forward to being completely settled and going to work.  Everywhere we go we meet warm and wonderful people. 

I know this is a long post, but I do want to say one more thing.  I believe it was my brother Scott, who told me of one of his mission companions years ago. This Elder would get up very early in the morning to shine Scott’s shoes for him.  Scott was so touched by this kindness and I have never forgotten it.  I have just such a companion.  John (Elder Stauffer) does everything he can for me to make this transition easier.  He willingly helped me wash every surface in this house so that I could dissipate some of my OCD fears.  He has tried hard to make everything convenient.  This would be difficult for me if it were not for him.  He’s out washing dishes right now. Here he is, doing anything he can to help at the institute. 

This mission makes me love and appreciate him even more!