All Quiet On The Western Front (From Elder Stauffer)

Well, I  hesitate to say anything about this, for fear that just talking about it, could cause a quake, but it looks like things are calming down somewhat as far a earthquakes go. We are still having aftershocks, but, they are in the mid 3’s which we usually don’t even feel. Yesterday in church, Janice said that one of the members, who is originally from Holland, so he talks with a thick Dutch accent, said: “We are thankful that we have not been shaken out of our seats, or out of our beds for a few days, and we pray that our lives can be peaceful for a while”. It was said in a most simple, sweet, and faithful way. It’s a good thing the quakes are slowing down, because it’s getting COLD down here, and if a big quake caused the power to go out, it would be un-bearable! It is winter here in the southern hemisphere, the month of July is like January in Utah. It is one of the coldest months. It is hard to describe the weather, it is not as cold, temperature wise, and they very seldom get snow in Christchurch, but, it feels really cold most of the time. Some of it is due to the moisture, it is more humid, and that makes it feel colder. But, most of it is due to the fact that central heating is rare in the buildings and homes. The heating at the institute building is provided by electric wall heaters, we turn them on when we occupy a room, and it takes time to heat up the room and get warm. If you move to another room you go through the same procedure. If you come home for lunch, and the flat is cold, you do it all over again. Sometimes it is warmer outside between buildings than it feels inside the buildings. The buildings were not built with a lot of insulation, so they don’t retain a lot of the heat for very long. Right now as I type this, I am in a room with a heater, and it’s been on for at least a half an hour, and the room does not feel warm. Dressing in warm layers is the best way to stay warm other than going to bed with an electric blanket. Janice wore her long thermals yesterday to try and stay warm. Heating is not cheap either, so we try not to turn on the heaters at night. It is nice to get in bed, and you can tell that most Kiwis like to get home at night and go to bed early to get warm because the streets get deserted after seven in the evening, and most shops are closed early. It is hard to find a place to eat after 8:00 p.m. that is not a pub or a bar. As noted in the title, I am writing this blog because I am home while Janice is at the institute, I am home because, you guessed it, I have a cold!

I have to say something about driving on the streets and roads here. New Zealand is not known for their major highways and freeways, they do exist, but they are few and far between, and don’t go for very far. If you find a four lane freeway, it will last for a few kilometers and narrow out again. Most of the main roads that lead from one place to another are only narrow two lane roads. Let me give you an example. Highway 1, which runs almost the full length of the south island, and is one of the main routes to travel to the south and north of Christchurch, is about like the road from Hyrum to Paradise or from Hyrum to Wellsville. Not from Hyrum to Logan, because there are more than two lanes now on that route. At times it is just like driving through, let’s say Blacksmith Fork Canyon, two lanes curving for miles and miles, and not many places that are safe to pass.

They do have stretches of the highway that have passing lanes so you can get around slow moving vehicles when you come to one, but they only last for a short stretch, just long enough to get around a truck or slow moving car pulling a trailer. So, imagine traveling the full length of Utah on a two lane highway that sometimes is straight, but most of the time is very curvy. Driving like that for hours at a time can be physically challenging. These highways also go directly through small towns on the route, and when you come to a town, you must slow down to city speed while you go through the city. Driving around in the cities is also challenging. It can be sort of like driving around in a crowded parking lot trying to find a place to park. The streets are narrow, and sometimes you have to pull to the side to let a car coming from the other direction go by. Here in Christchurch, the earth quakes and the damage they caused, can make it very difficult for people to go only a few kilometers from one side of town to the other. Brother Bell usually has to drive like twenty minutes from his house to the Institute, after some of the quakes it took him up to two hours to do the same distance.

It is interesting to watch the citizens of Christchurch as they prepare to try and rebuild their beloved city. I say “try and rebuild”, because I can see it is hard to start rebuilding when you never know if another earthquake might cause you to have to start all over again. That has already happened a couple of times. It is hard to rebuild when the insurance companies won’t insure new building for fear of having to make large payouts like they are having to make now. They won’t let new building take place without insurance. So, how do you fix a problem like that?

Here is a picture I took before the Feb. 22 quake, the next picture was taken by a newspaper, after the quake.

 

The city has given the citizens the opportunity to make suggestions as to how they would like to see the rebuild go, and they got over 90,000 suggestions. Some people want to see the city built like it was before, as much as possible. Some want it to  change big time, and be re-designed, so to speak. Many want it to go “Green”, with as many environmentally friendly features as possible. Interestingly, many would like to see improvements for the traffic situation. Better planning for the traffic to flow more efficiently, for cars, bikes and pedestrians. It will be interesting what they finally come up with. Will the city be more modernized, or come back closer to what they had before. I think they loved it as it was, but recognize this is an opportunity to make some upgrades and improvements.
We shall see.

Since we are approaching our midway mark on this mission. I want to tell you that I know we have been called here to New Zealand to serve at this time for a reason or maybe many reasons. I feel very strongly that the Lord wanted us in this part of the vineyard, now. He wanted to use us to accomplish work He had in mind for us to do. He wanted us to work with individuals who needed something that we might be able to offer them. You know how sometimes you meet someone for the first time and they seem familiar to you? Like you knew them before somewhere, and obviously it must have been in the pre-existence because you know your have never seen them before in your life? Well, that’s what it feels like with some of these people we associate with each day. Familiar spirits; there seems to be some connections. Something like that is true about our work here too. It seems like we were sent here to do this because we were prepared to do this work at this time. Especially Janice, I can’t tell you how suited her talents and skills are for this work. It is amazing to watch her use her musical skills, her social skills, her mentoring and counseling skills, and (she won’t like me saying this) her cooking and baking skills. They seem to be drawn to Janice and drink in what she has to offer them. They know she loves them and accepts them immediately. She has this ability to connect with them and they want to be around her. Fantastic, simply fantastic! I know our knowledge and our testimonies have grown while we have served these people. It has been challenging, leaving those we love so much at home and going to a different (although lovely) place. Our lives will never be the same after this, but, I know our lives have been enhanced, our testimonies strengthened and our love for each other increased.

In the traditional sense, this work is way different than most missionary work. We really don’t do much proselyting, as in knocking on doors or teaching missionary lessons, but, it definitely is missionary work that we do. These Young Single Adults here really like to hear the word. They know the gospel, but, they also love to discuss and analyze the gospel and see how it fits into their lives. We hope that we can add to their understanding, and help them to think more deeply about the principals and doctrines they come across in their studies. They ask great questions, some have things in their lives which test them and they want to know how to solve problems and overcome difficulties. The gospel is the key to resolving and overcoming what this world dishes out. We know that these young people are being prepared to lead the church here in the isles of the south seas. I say that because those that we come in contact with, come from all over the world, and many from the other islands of the Pacific. The teachings of the scriptures and manuals and the prophets and leaders will help make them great leaders among men. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. I know that the gospel will prepare us, if we are faithful and repent, to live with our Father in Heaven again. God the Father and Jesus Christ did appear to young Joseph Smith and through him all was restored. The world needs to know that, and if the people of the world learn that one thing it will save all who will accept that message and embrace it.