New Zealand Hamilton Mission

Wiarere Falls This short video gives a little better feeling for these spectacular falls, the highest In the North Island at over 500 ft

Another Week Flown By! Wow!  It is hard to believe another week has passed by.  We seem to be settling in to the mission office routine now.  We are understanding our responsibilities and the skills to perform them are becoming developed so we can be more effficient.  I (Elder Folland)  actually started to feel like I have dug out of the hole-at least until the next transfer.  This week we received the first two of about 20 new vehicles that will be added to our fleet.  Our net number of vehicles will not increase because I will be removing the same number of old ones to auction.  I have to be the referee because everyone would like to have one of the new cars.  I have let it be known that bribes of food will be taken into consideration when new cars are given out.  There is a fair amount of logistics involved in this process.  Sister Folland is getting much more comfortable with the process of making sure the missionaries are le...

We had three zone conferences this week!  It was great!  We held two of the zone conferences in the theatre that is located in the building that houses our mission office and we had lunch in beautiful Kai Hall.  It is located directly west of the mission office and next to the new stake center.  Our third zone conference was held in a church building in a city called Tauranga, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Hamilton.  Two of the conferences included two zones.  There are five zones in our mission. Elder Folland and I do vehicle inspections.  These inspections help us to know which vehicles need services or repairs.  We also grade on upkeep and cleanliness.  Those missionaries who receive a 10 are rewarded with a snicker bar.  it's amazing how motivating a snickers bar can be--haha!!  After vehicle inspections, we help the other office couple prepare lunch for everyone.  This time around, we served grilled chicken sandwiches, f...

It is my turn to write the blog again(Elder Folland).  In our last post, was discussed the upcoming transfer.  It occured this past Thursday.  All of the preparation and checking paid off.  I spent about 6-7 hours getting it set up.  What made it particularly challening was that not only was I figuring the logistics to move 38 missionaries to various locations around the mission, but I also was trying to move cars to various locations.  The longest transfer was a missionary who went from Gisborne on the eastern coast to New Plymouth on the west coast.  That missionary had a 13 hour bus ride to get to his new assignment.  We spent a good part of the day at the central Hamilton bus station helping to make sure the missionaries made their connections.  We were blessed that no one missed their bus and everyone traveling by car arrived safely. In addition to the transfer, this week we send 2 elders home at the completion of their mission and wel...

We have a new mission president and his wife serving here in Hamilton.  President Cummings and his wife finished their three year service and now President Erekson and his wife are here to serve.  They are from Idaho, USA. This week was President Erekson's  tour of the mission.  He, his wife, and two assistants traveled to the different areas of the mission to speak to and meet with all the missionaries in our mission.  Elder Folland and I attended one of the meetings in Hamilton.  Sister Erekson spoke of the joy that can come from serving as missionaries.  President Erekson spoke of several experiences that he had where placing emphasis on the "ONE" was given greater importance and priority than the agenda. One experience was when he was asked to conduct a meeting where Elder David R. Bednar, an apostle would be speaking.  Before the meeting started, Elder Bednar asked him what was going on at his home that evening.  He responded that all...