How Sweet It Is

This week was a little slow, as far as the work goes.  Brother Bell spent Monday through Thursday on the North Island, the Bournes (Amy) were gone to the temple, and that left us to man the institute building.  Because it is summer and the universities are out, and because it is so close to Christmas, there is very little going on here right now.  We answered a few phone calls, visited with a few students, organized our office, put back together a storage room that had been messed up in the earthquake, and took the online training for coordinators to learn about the online seminary courses that are available.  We did have a meeting with the Young Single Adult representatives from the stake and from two of the wards.  With their help we updated rosters, finding out what they knew about the young people we have listed as potential institute students.  We also calendared for visits. 

Next week will not be so slow.  Monday we have a woman coming from the area office to train us in CStar (record keeping program) and other office related items.  And, we are traveling with Brother Bell and Winnie to the southern part of the island.  We will be meeting and visiting with the seminary teachers in Timaru, and all the branches in the Dunedin District.  I’m not sure if we go as far south as Invercargill, or over to Queenstown, but I know that we visit a grandfather who is the early morning seminary teacher for his two granddaughters.  As always, we are excited to meet new people and see new sights.  We are going to be gone Thursday through Sunday.

This week was mostly cold and rainy.  Monday started out beautiful and we strolled through a small part of Hagley Park.  We walked for almost an hour and only covered one corner of this enormous and beautiful city park.  These pictures might give a sense of what is available there:

 

Lawn Bowling

Cricket fields

Botanical gardens

and beautiful paths for walking…

Monday afternoon it started raining and blowing.  We wore winter clothing around the house, ate hot soup, and carried umbrellas until Saturday.  Saturday morning the sun was shining and it was very warm.  We took advantage of the good weather and went to the Saturday morning market at Riccarton Bush Park.  This is a smaller version of the Pioneer Park farmer’s market.

I’ve never seen more beautiful vegetables than they have in New Zealand.

John found some particularly delicious German bakery items

 

These were his favorites—Bee Stings.  The top and bottom crusts were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle and they were filled, and I mean FILLED, with custard.  Just how John loves things, gooey and sweet.

We noticed that the bread here is very different from ours back home.  They don’t add any sweeteners and they limit the salt--it all comes out rather tasteless.  Margaret Bourne suggested Baker’s Delight, a bakery not far from our flat.  This bread is delicious, much to our “delight”, and their rolls remind me of those that Mom and Dad bought every morning in Germany.  We now buy all of our bread from here.

 

Lots of seeds and a good hard crust….YUM!

After getting helpful hints on baking from Sister Porter, via email from South Africa, I decided to bake cinnamon rolls for institute this week.  I made Setfa dough as I have not made it in years—without the help of a mixer.  Mixing bread dough like this brought back so many memories of my mother and grandmother.  My small and thin Grandma Amacher would take a big glob of dough, beat the life out of it with her fists, and slam it with great power and energy down onto the counter to get the texture she wanted.  One time she got angry with me during this process, chased me carrying the dough, and tossed it at me as I ran down the stairs.  She missed me and found the whole situation so funny that she sat down on the top step and laughed so hard that tears were streaming down her face.   I can’t for the life of me remember being naughty—it must have been that “Swiss temper”.

Twenty years in my old house prepared me for cooking in this kitchen which has practically zero counter space.  I felt right at home.

I was surprised at how well they turned out and the Young Adults devoured every one.

By Friday night we were so tired of being indoors, that we decided to ignore the rain and go to the beach.  We tried a new one, New Brighten Beach.  It was overcast and sprinkling, so we walked along the beach with our umbrellas.  We enjoyed the tranquility of it all—only one or two people as far as the eye could see. 

Saturday, after a Relief Society “tea” at the institute building, we decided to try the beach once again on a perfect day.  So, we drove back to New Brighten Beach (about a 15 minute drive) expecting it to be crowded—after all, it is summer, a weekend, and a sunny, beautiful day.  Well…

Wait a minute, look the other way…

there she is, one of about three people we saw.  Where is everyone? 

The sand is incredibly fine.

The beach isn’t the only place that is beautiful and under-used.  Everywhere we turn in this city there is a beautiful park with very few people in it.  One such place is adjacent to our Stake Center (the one that is not in use because of earthquake damage).  This particular park, Mona Vale, once belonged to the Church, but a few years ago it was deeded to the city.  Once again, a spectacular day and hardly anyone there.

 

How about a family reunion here?  I think all of our family could fit and we wouldn’t be disturbing anyone.

Our stake center—not in use since September 2010 earthquake.

Today, Sunday December 12, we attended the Opawa Ward to hear one of our Young Adults speak.  It was great.  We also attended our own ward in the afternoon.  We are ready for a new week and new adventures.

Life is very sweet for us and we are trying to enjoy these special times together—times to serve, times to testify, times to share, times to love.  We are so grateful for many things, but two that are especially valuable are…

 

We call her “Tui” because she is so very helpful and is always right.  And…

Skype!!!!  How did my mother leave all her grandkids without Skype.  I’m sure it has saved me from terrible homesickness.

 

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In the Land of the Kiwi

We have heard that missionaries get p-days (preparation days) which they use to get caught up on their laundry, clean their flats, and participate in some leisurely activities.  We haven’t had a p-day yet, so we have p-mornings (between 6 and 8 am) and some p-afternoons (after 5 pm) when we don’t have meetings, class, activities, or visiting to do.  In our p-mornings and p-afternoons we do a little exploring in and around Christchurch.  Here are a few things we discovered on this weeks excursions:

A Kiwi Refuge.

Deans Bush Park is a very short walk from our house.  There you will find the oldest standing cabin on the island.  It was built by Scottish immigrants, the Deans brothers, in the 1840’s.  (The whole Canterbury area was settled about the same time the Mormons got to Utah.)  There is also a much larger and finer home that was built by the widow of one of the Deans brothers, and some beautiful gardens.

 

This guy wasn’t the least bit bothered by me standing right above him.  He finally hobbled off on his crippled leg.

The trees over here are something else.  It’s the first time I’ve felt tiny in a long time.

Every Saturday morning there is a market in the park—much like the farmers’ market at home.  But, the thing we found most interesting was this “kiwi zone”, or refuge for baby kiwis.

When kiwi eggs are found, they are taken, protected, and hatched, then placed into one of these kiwi refuges.  There are double doors on the entrance.  The outside door must be closed before the inner door is opened.  This keeps predators like cats, dogs, rats, etc. from killing the baby birds.  If they are left to hatch in the wild, there is a 5% survival rate.  However, if they remain in a predator free zone until they are grown and then introduced into the wild, there is a 65% survival rate.  We were hoping to see a kiwi as we walked through, but we discovered that they are nocturnal. 

This kiwi refuge has the most beautiful little path through native plants with benches to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet.  We loved it in here.

Parts of it felt and looked like the Sacred Grove.

We loved the moss covered roots on these fantastic trees.

I hope I don’t offend anyone, but I think this beats Davis Boulevard for a daily walk.

Christchurch Cathedral.

In the heart of Christchurch stands Cathedral Square with this beautiful Anglican church at its center. The cornerstone was laid in 1865, but the building wasn’t entirely finished until 1904.  The building was nice, but my favorite thing was the pipe organ.  A young girl from one of the universities was playing Christmas carols and it was glorious.  I need to find out if they give organ concerts.

This artsy shot was taken by John who always has a different way of looking at things.

This picture is for my grandson, Paul—tell your parents you want this chess set for your next birthday.  Chess players at Cathedral Square.

The Ocean—again.

We decided to drive to Lyttelton, the main port for Christchurch.  We discovered a little town much like Park City, built on hills.  After a short walk, our legs and feet felt very much at home.  There were some interesting things about the town, but the port itself is far from beautiful.  It is very industrial.  The thing I loved most about this port…the smell.  The freshly cut logs smelled delicious.

Looking back at Lyttelton as we head up the pass.

From Lyttelton, we drove over a pass with the most narrow roads I’ve ever seen.  They made Logan Canyon roads look like Brigham Young built them.  And yes, Brad, there were bikers riding up and down the pass.  I guess biking must do something to wipe out the common sense portion of your brain.  It was scarey for me (the driver), but we and the bikers survived—this time.

There was something about this site that frightened me.  I think it was the first time I realized that I was on a rather small island, completely surrounded by the ocean.  I have always been afraid of water and this was a tough reality check.  The mountains back home might scare some people, but they offer me a feeling of security.  This, on the other hand,….

Heading down out of the pass, we drove into Sumner.  We posted about Sumner before (our first encounter with the ocean), but we didn’t mind going there again.  It is a beautiful place.  We stopped at the beach and went for a walk.  It was the perfect evening.

The sand was the most fine I’ve ever felt and the ocean was so warm.  Notice the absence of people.

We also work (I guess you can call it that, but it all seems so fun that it hardly feels like work).  This week the Bourne’s were gone to the temple (Amy and her sister, Laura, were going through for the first time and I can hardly wait to hear all about their trip), and Brother Bourne was in the middle of an institute lesson that he wanted to finish, so John and I were left in charge of Thursday night institute class.  We thought that most of the Young Adults wouldn’t come, knowing that class wasn’t going to be held, so we thought we’d just play a game if anyone showed up.  We had a few choices depending on the number attending.  I also decided to make treats.  I called Jill and Monica for some favorite recipes, went to the store only to find out that my decision on what to make would be determined by what ingredients were available.  I ended up making Lewis’ famous peanut butter bars that turned out to be something quite sub-par.  The peanut butter is different, the canned milk is different, and even the sugar is different.  I did the best I could, and put them in a Celsius oven at what I guessed would be approximately 350 degrees.  I was planning on the 20-25 minutes that Monica had suggested, but after 10 minutes they were smelling slightly burned and they were very crisp and falling apart.  John didn’t want me to waste the ingredients, so we melted the chips on top and made the peanut butter glaze.  They were edible, but that’s all I can say for them.  The young adults ate them without complaint.  We ended up having the biggest group ever (about 20) and we had a great time.

Caesar, Kate, Mikayla, Stephanie, Monica, and Julia.

 

On the couches: Steven, Matt, Patricia, Brodie, Drew.  On the floor: Mel, Abby.

The Campbell brothers: Marico and David.  David just got back from a mission this week.

After the activity, we had a great talk with Stephanie who is the Stake YSA representative.  She is eager to go visiting with us to meet the less-active YSA’s and we know our visits will be more effective if we take one of their peers with us.  We are still trying to get our lists updated and have been rather unsuccessful.  We can’t seem to find anyone with time to go over them with us.  Stephanie is going to share the information she has—hopefully her lists are more accurate.  This week we made a flier to leave in each home we visit.  Andrew could have made it look beautiful, but we did the best we could.

We did make a few visits this week.  We found that some had moved years ago, but we did get to see a couple of kids.  We enjoyed them and know that this will be a favorite part of our work.

Saturday our ward had a Seniors Christmas Luncheon for those 60 and over at the institute.  (Many of our ward functions are held at the institute because our building was damaged in the earthquake)  We attended because we’re over 60 and we are in charge of the building.  Look at the faces of some of these darling people.

Beth and Russel Colwell.  These people were converted and baptized 50 years ago by Alan Sumsion.  Alan and John sat next to each other on the High Council in the Bountiful, UT Stake. 

These are my favorites: Elizabeth and Thelma.  They were the entertainment—a skit and a piano duet.  Elizabeth is possibly one of the sweetest people I’ve met—like Mom but with an Australian accent.  Thelma is a “ham” and full of fun.  I want to bring them home with me.

Sunday we attended the Ashburton branch to hand out seminary certificates of completion.  I believe I’m correct in saying that it’s the first time in my life that I’ve ever attended a “branch”.  Church is held in a building that is right in the middle of town and attached to other buildings.  There are a few classrooms behind the room they use for their chapel and they also have rooms in a building next door.  The Branch had set a goal to get 100 people out for their meetings in 2010.  That day they were 4 short of that goal.  They were a happy, friendly group—mostly Samoans.  They didn’t have anyone that could play the digital piano and asked if I would play in Sacrament Meeting.  I played the introduction to ‘With Wondering Awe’ and the congregation started to sing.  I was blown away.  They sang with such spirit and gusto.  I could hardly keep the tears back and wanted to take them all back home with me, put them in the choir seats of our 18th ward chapel, and let everyone hear and feel their spirits through their music.  I attended their Young Women and was asked by some of the girls if I would please teach them to play the piano.  I hope to find a way to help.  If I can get my hands on the church course for teaching keyboard, I will make special trips down there.  We are trying to get an institute class going in Ashburton (about an hour’s drive).  If we do, John could teach institute and I could give music lessons one night a week.  Something else for us to work out.

 

Ashburton Seminary.  Front row left to right: Marina, Sala, Mata (the teacher), and Star.  Back row: Matthew, Toafa, and Romeo.

On our way back we saw mountains with a little bit of snow on the top and we listened to the Tabernacle Choir’s ‘Spirit Of The Season’ CD with Sissel.  I almost felt the Christmas Spirit.

This is the ‘White Christmas’ of New Zealand.

We got our New Zealand drivers licenses this week.  We did not have to pass a test.  We just filled out a form and paid some money and they let us drive.  I think it’s crazy, because we haven’t the faintest idea what we’re doing on these roads.  The greatest thing about getting a drivers license in New Zealand is that you don’t have to lie about your weight.  I was remembering when Carrie’s kids noticed her weight on her driver’s license—a number she had fudged on considerably.  They said, “Mom, it says you weigh______.”  Her quick reply, “I know.  Can you believe I ever weighed that much?”  I blame this forced dishonesty on the Department of Motor Vehicles for the state of Utah.  Mothers, and all people, are much more honest in New Zealand.  No one forces them to tell lies.

We also got our first mail from the states.  Thanks Aunt Kathy.  We love our Christmas presents.  All of the missionaries in the Johnson family will recognize these.

That’s right, missionary nose warmers.  Hey, I think I made one of these for John on his first mission 41 years ago. Kathy has kept the tradition going ever since.  If you’ve ever received one of these, perhaps you could leave a comment about them.

Today, December 5 for us, December 4 back home, Jenny was baptized.  I’m hoping we’ll see pictures and hear all about it.  We are proud of our sweet little Jenny and so glad that she is healthy once again.  The Lord heard and answered our prayers for her this year.  We love you Jenny.

And the best thing about the week….Eric and Emily announced that they are having a little BOY.  Thanks Eric and Emily for making things even for us.  That will make 4 grandsons and 4 granddaughters.  We couldn’t be happier!

We love the Lord, His work, and these people.  We feel blessed to be here doing what we’re doing.