A Bit Of This And That

Get a paper and pencil for the latest vocabulary test—Kiwi 101.  I’ll be waiting to see how well you do.  The answers will be at the end of this post. 

1.  Pottle

2.  Bench

3.  Mokopuna

4.  Fizzy

5.  Winge

6.  Dodgy

7.  “Bob’s your uncle”

8.  Hiding

9.  Carked it

10. Dairy

11. Dear

12. Hori

13. Half pie

14. Knackered

15. Pakeha

16. Torch

17. “Spit the dummy”

18. Long drop

19. “Rattle your dags”

20. As

The government of New Zealand has, after months of being hounded by the citizens of Christchurch, come up with a solution to give some relief.  They have identified three “red zone” suburbs to be completely demolished.  The homes in these zones are damaged beyond repair and the ground is too unstable to allow rebuilds in the near future.  Until homes or areas are condemned, people are held hostage by mortgages on ruined homes and insurance companies that aren’t ready to pay out.  The plan is for the government to pay homeowners the 2007 assessed value of their property, and then the government, with all its clout, will deal with the insurance companies.  The suburbs that are “red zoned” are Avondale, Avonside, Bexley, and Dallington—all on the northeast side of the city.  I think these residents were satisfied with this solution and are now making some decisions about what to do next.  I know that many of them will be leaving Christchurch for good.  Many neighborhoods are waiting and hoping for the same solution, but it takes time for all of the assessments to be made. 

As for the future of these neighborhoods, who knows.  The government will retain ownership of the land and after 10 years or so, if the earthquakes ever stop, they will remediate the land and new, beautiful housing developments will spring to life.  Perhaps these quakes will put the earth to rest for another 16,000 years and Christchurch will become a lovely city once again.

We have the cutest sister missionaries here in Christchurch…

Sister Yu (left) and Sister Wu (right).  Sister Yu is from northern China and joined the church very recently while studying in Auckland.  She had only been here a week when she had a biking accident and broke her jaw. (Sound familiar, Brad?)  She has been on a liquid diet for the last two months and can barely speak, but she keeps on smiling.  Sister Wu has been here as long as we have.  She is from Taiwan.  She is an only child and her parents were unhappy when she joined the church, and even more unhappy when she decided to serve a mission.  They have given her no support—financial or emotional—they never write or contact her. This last week was her birthday.  She didn’t tell anyone, but cooked lunch for all of the elders to celebrate.  When we discovered it, Alyse, Hayley, Abby and I went to the store.  We bought a card, chocolates, and some flowers.  I have never seen anyone so pleased.  She said it was the first time she has ever received flowers in her whole life.  She has sacrificed and given so much and expects nothing in return.  She just serves and smiles.

Answers to the vocabulary test.  Because I am a missionary and have spiritual discernment, I will know if you have cheated.  You all know how I feel about cheating.

1.  Pottle—a container.  John bought a pottle of noodles for dinner.

2.  Bench—the countertop.  After cleaning the bench and doing the dishes, the kitchen sparkled.

3.  Mokopuna—Maori for grandchildren.  Moko is a shortened form of the same thing. By the way, I really miss my darling mokos.

4.  Fizzy—soda pop.  We really splurged yesterday and had a fizzy for dinner.

5.  Winge—complaining or grumbling.  John NEVER winges about all the work he has to do.

6.  Dodgy—shifty, shady, or of poor quality.  She spent her time with some very dodgy characters.

7.  “Bob’s your uncle”—everything’s fine.  You’re vacuum cleaner has died.  Go get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

8.  Hiding—a beating, punishment.  The student received a hiding for arriving late at school.

9.  Carked it—died, like our “kicked the bucket”.  You’re vacuum cleaner carked it.  Go get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

10. Dairy—the corner market.  Could you please run to the dairy and bring me some milk?

11. Dear—expensive.  John: “I’d rather not buy the milk at the dairy, it’s too dear there.  I’ll go to Pak ‘n Save instead.”

12. Hori—grungy or unkempt.  I get tired of getting dressed up and putting on makeup every day.  The hori look is very appealing to me lately.

13. Half pie—poor performance, bare minimum.  Her cleaning of the house was half pie.  I had to do it all over again.

14. Knackered—tired or exhausted.  Could you please run to the dairy and bring me some milk?  No, I’m too knackered.

15. Pakeha—white person or a person of European descent.  The Maori word means without a family—no genealogy.  Europeans, unlike Maori, were not able to list off generations.  We have a ward of islanders with a smattering of Pakeha.

16. Torch—flashlight. Her half pie 72 hour kit did not contain a torch.

17. “Spit the dummy”—threw a fit—derived from a baby spitting out his pacifier when he is upset. I really spit the dummy when my vacuum cleaner carked it.  I’ll just get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle.

18. Long drop—outhouse or latrine—very self-explanatory. When the sewage system carked it after the earthquakes, the people in Christchurch were encouraged to dig long drops in their back yards.  Sounds pretty hori to me.

19. “Rattle your dags”—hurry up.  This term is an old sheep farmer term.  When the wool is long, dung balls stick to the wool, dry in the sun, and rattle as the sheep run. Your vacuum cleaner carked it.  You’d better rattle your dags and get a new one, and Bob’s your uncle. Or—When the sewage system carked it after the earthquakes, the people in Christchurch had to rattle their dags and dig long drops in their back yards.  They were all hori and knackered after having done so.

20. As—add this to any word to add emphasis.  Means more. Hori as….mean as….dodgy as…dear as.

This vocabulary test was hard as.  Hope you have a sweet as week.  I miss you all, especially my mokopunas—they are all cute as.  I’m knackered and heading home for a fizzy, and Bob’s your uncle.

Inspiring Words

It was High Council Sunday yesterday, and the man assigned to speak in our ward was brother Hedges, someone I had never met.  He began by sharing some of his experiences with this last battery of earthquakes.  He has spent his days since Monday shoveling the liquefaction from his home, a task that he had just finished from the February quakes. His home is sinking and now is like a basement. And the worst thing, they are predicting a larger quake yet to come. Coping is becoming increasingly difficult with uncertainty and fear crowding out other, more positive thoughts.  When he received his assignment to speak, he said he wondered how he would be able to prepare a talk.  He kept thinking he should ring back and say that his shoveling could not wait.  In the end, he decided that the Lord would provide a way for him to prepare.  When he finally sat down to study, he felt that the Lord had a hand in his assignment; he knew the topic was chosen to bless his life at this particular time.  He was asked to use the talk from General Conference, ‘More Than Conquerors Through Him That Loved Us’, by Elder Paul V. Johnson.  He tearfully shared many quotes from Paul, intermixed with his feelings about what was going on in his life and the lives of the people of Christchurch.  I was awed by the workings of the Lord.  The troubles Paul and Jill were facing that evoked those words, and the direction of the Spirit given to make sure the words spoken during conference were the words God wanted His people to hear, all worked together for the benefit of so many people.  Paul’s talk has resonated so strongly with the people of Christchurch.  In fact, Brother Bell thinks that it was given specifically for them.  Perhaps he’s right, but yesterday, as I listened to Brother Hedges, I knew that those words were meant for me as well.  I, like Elder Christofferson, was particularly impressed by this:  “We must be careful that we don’t resent the very things that help us put on the divine nature.”  As I look back over the struggles of my life, I know that they have been and are “very personal—almost lazer guided to [my] particular needs or weaknesses”.  If there is anything even remotely Christlike in my nature, it has come as a result of earnestly and prayerfully seeking the Lord’s help as I fought my way through.  Despite the pain and sorrow, I would not undo or give back the learning and progression that has been made.  It is a humbling thing to realize how personally the Lord knows us, and how carefully He molds and directs the very details of our lives.  I’m so grateful for inspired words from our Prophets and General Authorities.

I’m also grateful for inspired words found in scripture.  I have been studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year as I work to prepare for online seminary.  I pay particular attention to the sections given to early missionaries.  I have been so grateful for the Spirit who tells me that the promises offered to those early men are also given to me as a missionary.  Some of the promises concern family, I cling to these with all of my faith (31:2, 100:1).  Some promises are personal and I hope to qualify for them (31:5, 62:3).  Some of the blessings I have already received, as in 84:88: “…for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit, shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”  I have felt this strength beyond my own.  I know this is the Lord’s work and He is helping us accomplish it.  The other blessing I have received and for which I am profoundly grateful was given to priesthood holders, also in section 84:  “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.”  Even though I am not a priesthood holder, I have felt this renewal.  Isaiah speaks of it in Isaiah 40:31:  “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  It is real and unexplainable.  When I thought of serving a mission, I worried greatly about my energy level, the aches and pains in my joints, or that my back would go out and leave me incapacitated for weeks at a time.  My back has been better than it has in years, I have had no pain at all in my joints, and I have more energy than I have had in 15 years.  I am not eating better (there really isn’t time to fix wonderful healthy meals); I’m not getting more exercise (less really because there aren’t enough hours in the day); and I’m getting older, not younger.  It is a fulfillment of promise—a blessing for serving the Lord.  I am most grateful.   

Here We Go Again

Someone told me today that New Zealand has experienced over 7,300 aftershocks since the September earthquake.  They say we are in uncharted territory, that no earthquake stricken area has had to deal with that number of tremors.  Because of their frequency, we are unrattled by most movement.  It becomes a guessing game; how big do you think that was?  We wait 20 minutes, go to ‘GeoNet’, and see how good we’ve become at seismological calculations.  We’re getting fairly accurate.  When we know one is over 5 we start worrying about where everyone is, whether they are hurt, and if there is more damage to homes and infrastructure.  So when yesterday’s first big aftershock of 5.6 hit, I was instantly worried about John who had gone to Pak ‘n Save in the mall to buy groceries.  The mall worries me.  It has two stories, heavily stocked shelves that fall, and a cement parking terrace that could trap and squash.  I was at the institute building and immediately tried calling his cell phone.  Phone service is sporadic after earthquakes so I couldn’t reach him for a few minutes.  When he arrived back at the institute, he told about going through checkout as the quake hit.  Things did fall off the shelves, people screamed, and the checker immediately hit the ground.  He finished what he was doing just in time for the security officers to usher him and all other shoppers out of the mall.  We watched as the university was evacuated, again, and we knew that all businesses and schools would also be closing and sending everyone home.  It was a lucky thing, because about 90 minutes later, the 6.3 struck which did damage to more buildings.  Many people are without power (a particularly difficult thing considering the freezing temperatures), again, many are back to using chemical toilets, again, and all of the city is asked to boil their water, again.  It will take a few days before all of the buildings in the city can be inspected and cleared for reentry.  Schools remain closed.  I’m not sure about stores.  I haven’t been out to check. 

The 6.0 quake was perhaps the strangest one we’ve been in.  We were driving home to our flat and stopped at a stop sign.  It felt like someone had picked up our car and was tossing it around.  On the sidewalk was an elderly Asian lady who was holding onto the traffic sign in her attempt to remain upright.  We ended up going back to the institute and spending the afternoon there with the YSA who made their way to the IB for companionship and conversation.

Some people in Christchurch are nonplussed and insist that they are going to stay put and rebuild.  This is there home.  Others feel trapped because they have mortgages to pay, jobs in the city, and other factors making it impossible for them to move.  A final group says this is the last straw; they’ve had enough and are moving out.  People always ask if the quakes frighten me.  They really do not, but I don’t have a home here to worry about.  My children and grandchildren are miles away (ironically living on the Wasatch Fault).  I think it would be a different story if this was my permanent home.  It feels a bit like being in one of those horror films or natural disaster movies where the eerie music plays, you know very well that something terrible is about to happen, and you want to shout at the silly people, “Get out of there you idiots!”

We had another 11 or 12 quakes in the night, but we only felt the one at 3:00 am—a 4.9.  We are having a missionary fireside tonight.  Elder Snow and Elder Callister are coming.  I think it is still on.

News from last week—Our Institute Choir performed for the first time ever. Ellen Chan directed as they sang ‘Lord Accept Our True Devotion’  for an education fireside where Elder Hamula and two administrators from BYU Hawaii spoke and encouraged the young men, young women, and young adults to get an education.  Elder Hamula very firmly told the people in attendance that when it comes to choosing between culture and commandments, you choose commandments.  He told the parents that they should not have their children quit school and give up opportunities for education so that they can work and earn money for the family.  This is a big problem here and I wondered how his advice was taken.  Cultural issues create many problems and they seem to be the most difficult to overcome.  The Samoan ward, Wainoni, has a wonderful group of Young Adults.  About 25 to 30 altogether.  They do not attend institute.  They do not come to YSA activities.  They remain separated.  We have been working for the last few weeks at getting to know them.  We attended their FHE on Sunday night.  They were so welcoming and kind.  We had a wonderful time, but whenever we suggested they join us in institute or participate in stake YSA activities, they hurriedly changed the subject.  Two of the girls, Sara and Missy, attended our FHE last night.  One Wainoni girl, Tusi, sang in the choir (the choir was superb, by the way).  Baby steps.

Wainoni FHE.

Faava, Sauni, Adele, Ginger, Tusi, Sara, Missy, and Pisila.

Tuki.

Dave and Susan, the YSA reps.

We went to Ashburton for piano lessons on Saturday.  Three kids, Jacob, Marina, and Mata had pieces ready to play on Sunday.  We made the trip again on Sunday to hear them.  It was one of the sweetest moments of my mission so far.  I wish you could have seen their faces as they finished.  They were trying so hard not to smile and show their delight, but it was in their eyes.  They were amazing and I was so very proud of them.  Their parents were almost as proud as I was. 

On the way home, we noticed that snow had finally dusted the tops of the mountains.

  

I leave you with just a couple of New Zealand sights—their graveyards are very quaint.  This country is relatively young and their cemeteries are no older than ours, but they look much older because of the moss and mold growing on the headstones.  These pictures are from the cemetery in Ashburton.

Completely surrounded by this lovely fence.

One more lovely New Zealand tree.  I love the interesting trunks.

Quakes and cold, no worries.  Kiwi’s are hardy.  We wimpy and pampered Americans are taking their lead.  We are hoping to become hardy. These 12-14 hour days are helping that process a bit.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BEAUTIFUL JILL!!!!

Only God Can Make A Tree

Abby, my little biologist and botanist, took me on a tour of Canterbury University campus this week.  She knew the name of almost every bush and tree.  When God was putting the finishing touches on New Zealand, He took some extra care and creativity with the plant life.  So many of the trees remain green and beautiful all winter long.  I couldn’t help but think of the poem ‘Trees’, by Alfred Joyce Kilmer:

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

Lancewood trees.  As saplings their long spikey leaves are stiff, leathery, saw blade-looking things that keep them from being devoured by animals.  As they become more lofty, their leaves soften.

This photo makes the Rimu tree look blurry.  It’s just a soft droopy tree with fine, feathery foliage that look like this close-up.

And then there’s the Cabbage Tree.  It has no resemblance at all to a cabbage.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

This is a relatively new campus.  The university was moved from the center of Christchurch in the 1970’s.  The architecture is anything but beautiful.  John thought it looked like some dark, futuristic movie set.  The buildings are all made of concrete, damp and darkened by all the moisture, and steel.  Here are a couple that aren’t quite as frightening.

The beauty of this campus is in it’s landscape.

One last plant, the silver fern.  This plant is the symbol for sports teams and New Zealand in general.  The fern looks normal from the top, silver underneath.

Saturday we made our weekly trip to Ashburton.  Three more students are ready to play in sacrament meeting this week.  Mata played the opening, Sala the sacrament hymn, and Marina played the closing.  Sala and Marina took turns leading.  All three were excited and very proud of themselves.  I have two more that should be ready within the next month.  They are all playing the simplified hymns, but they play them well and they sound wonderful to a branch with no pianists. 

Just a few shots taken out the car window as we drove home from Ashburton.

Seeing this double rainbow on Saturday, made me less nervous when the earth started shaking again this morning.  Doesn’t a rainbow mean we have at least another year before the end?  Today’s aftershock was a 5.5—a good shaking without any damage.

On Sunday we attended the Wainoni Young Adult Sunday School class.  This is the Samoan ward where talks and lessons are given in Samoan.  The young adults from this ward have not been participating in institute, and they rarely attend YSA activities. We wanted to invite them again.  They are such cute kids, and we were surprised to have 6 or 7 of them show up for the fast breaker later that night.  We will keep trying.  Each person adds so much.

We had another missionary leave this week.  Caesar McQueen is going to Boston.  I love seeing these young men going out to serve. 

Brother McQueen, Elder Caesar McQueen, President McDonald, and Bishop Boyd.

It’s another holiday today, the Queen’s Birthday.  No school, again.  I’m hoping that the stores are open because somehow we ended up in charge of treats for family home evening, again.  Oh well, it’s all good.