Every Six Months

Janice has given me the responsibility for this week’s Blog.  She says that I need to chime in and express how I feel about things on our mission every once in a while. So I will have a go at it, as they say down here.

The Week of no significant, distinguishing events.

This week of our mission is marked by no significant, distinguishing events. The schools are all out for “Holiday”, which means the Seminary students are out as well as the University students. Brother Bell was not out of town visiting the North Island; we were not traveling this week either. There were not many students coming to the Institute Building, but, we did start our first daytime Institute class on the New Testament. There were three students in attendance. We think more will attend as we continue in the next few weeks. We did have Family Home Evening on Monday night although there were fewer in attendance since many were on Holiday. We held our usual Thursday evening Institute class, which again was lower in attendance due to students being out of town. Janice taught Brother Bourne’s class on the Old Testament, (Brother Bourne was on the North Island visiting their daughter and a new grandson) and I taught a class on Joseph F. Smith, in the “Presidents of the Church” course that we are teaching. We served Scones for the refreshment afterwards. These were a hit. Here I must explain that when I say “Scones” I was referring to the fried dough kind of scones that we know of at home. In England and here in NZ, scones are similar to our biscuits, and when they talk about “biscuits”, they are referring to “cookies”. It get’s confusing, but we can talk more about this later. Any way we served these fried scones, with honey butter, and they gobbled them up.

There were no film crews at the Institute Building. As I mentioned we did not travel, so we have no new pictures to show. There were no major  earthquakes, although we are still having frequent aftershocks, we hardly pay attention to the 3.5 or lower ones. We had one at 5.2 last week and it was hardly mentioned by anyone here.

So, Janice is not writing this blog for this week. I am going to put in my two cents, with the mention of the fact that they really don’t have pennies here in New Zealand. They start out with a coin that is pretty much the same size as our penny, and is made of copper, but it is worth ten cents. Then they have a silver coin that looks like a nickel, worth twenty cents, then a fifty cent piece, about the size of a U.S. quarter, then a smaller gold colored coin worth one dollar and then a larger gold colored piece worth two dollars. I would take some pictures of their money to show you, but, I don’t have any. Oh, wait! I’ll get a picture online. Then we go to the paper money which starts out with the five dollar bill, (there are no one’s) the ten dollar bill, twenty, then fifty then one hundred. I myself have never seen a fifty or a one hundred dollar bill, but they are out there. We really don’t use much in the way of currency; most everyone uses the plastic stuff, what they call “eftpos”, or ‘Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale’.

 

 

We have many times mentioned the differences between our culture in the U.S. and the daily practices and culture here among the people of New Zealand. They are a lovely and a diverse people, but of course have strong ties with Great Britain and the Crown. New Zealand is loyal to the Queen and the Royalty, and of course the big wedding of William and Kate was a focus of the country this last weekend. There are many people here with ties to Europe, Japan, China, India, Near East, and of course the South Sea Islands. I have also met people from Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Russia, Canada, and even some strange place called Idaho. The Maori people are wonderful and have a strong cultural influence. There is a Maori television station that is dedicated to preserving their language and culture. This is truly a “melting pot”. Some of the things that we had to get used to are: of course, driving on the other side of the road and the steering wheel on the right not the left. The food is similar to the food I ate in England on my first mission, so that was not as big a deal for me as it is for Janice, but, it still takes getting used to. That is especially true when Janice tries to bake or make recipes. They measure things in weight not volume. Their temperatures are measured in Celsius not Fahrenheit, their Christmas is in the summer, and their Easters are in the fall. It just seems that everything is backwards here, and I know it is not, it is just different from what I am used to. It is like the old debate I used to get into with people about which is better, Macintosh computers or PCs, they are both good, they are just different. What you get used to is usually what you like because of the familiarity of it.

What I want to talk about now, is what I have found that has a familiar spirit. The members of the Church here in New Zealand have a definite familiar spirit. That same thing hit me very quickly when I was on my first mission in England. I quickly (during the first Sacrament meeting I attended near Bambury, England) learned that the saints are the same everywhere they gather and worship God. That is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the Church. I can also remember being shocked when I found that there were such great differences in the basic doctrines of two village parishes of the Church of England.  I read an article in the local paper about the differences that two local Vicars were having over some doctrine. They were both left to interpret and teach what they wanted to teach. There was no direction from authorities above them, they could make whatever they wanted, their doctrine, and could debate the teachings of others in the same faith. That does not happen in the LDS faith, if it does, someone gets set straight very quickly. The doctrine is the same here in New Zealand as it is in Zimbabwe, and as it is in Utah. It is taught the same now as it was when Christ taught it, and when it was restored by Joseph Smith, and when it was taught from the pulpit and in the classrooms yesterday in church. The members here express strong heartfelt testimonies. They are well versed in the scriptures, we have learned so much from them, and have been strengthened by them.

The question might be asked, “What can you contribute to those that you serve there?” We are trying to answer that question every day. I know that each member can contribute to others if they are humble and seek the spirit. We try to do that. With the spirit we can share our testimonies and the things that we have learned over the years with these wonderful young people. We can encourage, and love them, and they love back. When they know that we love them and want to help strengthen them, they are open to the spirit, and we can teach. Janice has so many great talents that she can share; teaching piano, sewing, sharing recipes, and sharing her wonderful knowledge and teaching capabilities and the spirit of her testimony. She is wonderful to watch. I can’t keep up with her. These young people are drawn to her and her warmth and love. Therefore, she is able to give so much to them. She has a great ability to connect with them and influence them in wonderful ways.

What we want to do here is strengthen. We both want to have these YSA and young Seminary students find what the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers each of us, and that is joy. They will find joy in the Gospel when they can have the private religious experience that each of us needs to have in our lives to sustain our testimonies. The Holy Ghost needs to touch their hearts and minds with the knowledge and strength necessary to sustain them throughout their lives. They need to know that they are the future of the Church here in New Zealand. The Church will only be as strong as their testimonies are. The Church is true, it will not fail, and they need to be a part of it. These young people are influencing each other here in remarkable ways. We see that every day. They reach out, and are kind; they reach out and share testimony; they reach out and comfort when comfort is needed. Each one strengthens others in ways only they can, and it is remarkable to see. It is the way all members need to be. Love and charity. These earthquakes here in Christchurch have steeled these people, they are shaken, but they will triumph. We love these people.

Ok, I have some news for the sports fans out there. This past week the New Zealand Breakers, a Professional Basketball team here just won the equivalent of the NBA Championship. This is the first time they have done that. The team happens to have a former Utah State Aggie basketball player.  Most of you will remember Gary Wilkinson, a red headed Center that played for USU a couple of years ago if not last year. He contributed greatly to their success during the season, the playoffs, and the final game. The Breakers beat a team from Australia. They are the only team from outside of Australia to compete in their National Basketball League, an Australian League. Last week, the Breakers won their first NBL championship title, becoming the first New Zealand first-grade team in any sport to win an Australian-based sporting championship.

Also, it goes without saying, that Rugby is BIG in New Zealand, I mean Huge! New Zealand is hosting the World Ruby Championship this year, and the Kiwis are stoked about it!  It was interesting to read in the Deseret News that the BYU Rugby Team is one of the best Collegiate Rugby teams in the U.S.. They dominate their league, and are one of the favorites to win the National title. One of the reasons the team is so good is the Rugby Program at Highland High, and another one in the Provo area. The other reason they are so good is because many Islanders from N.Z., Samoa, and Tonga and Fiji, want to go there and play, even though there are no Scholarships for the Rugby program at BYU, Go Cougs!

Next week we’ll be back to your regular writer, Janice.