Time Flys
Well, 3 weeks ago we discussed getting back on weekly blog posts and now 3 weeks later I am finally getting back to it. We have not been sitting around doing nothing though and in fact we had almost a week with a lot of fun activities because of visits from several family members. More on that later.
Since the last post, we had a transfer week which was relatively small but still busy with all of the extra events associated with it. Around that time, I took a trip up to South Auckland to evaluate a flat(apartment) that was hastily vacated by a pair of elders, due to an unfortunate circumstance. We were hoping to move a set of sister missionaries there because we were concerned for their safety. They had been stalked at their flat by someone who was knocking on their door and windows in the middle of the night. The President felt we needed to move them ASAP. Upon my evaluation, I found the location to be acceptable for sisters, but the previous missionaries had left the place in a mess. I spent several hours cleaning up, including hauling away 7 large bags of garbage. I didn't arrive back to Hamilton until near midnight. To make matters worse, one of the garbage bags leaked on the way home, causing a horrible stench in our brand new office van. It took a 4 hour detailing job and several days to get the smell out. Needless to say, I was in a somewhat sour mood the next day. The good news is we were able to get the sisters moved in and feel much better with their situation.
The following week, we had zone conferences. That is always a busy week for us. Sister Folland and I again took charge of providing the luncheon for each zone conference. That means providing meals daily for 50-60 people Tuesday through Friday. It adds a lot to our already busy schedule, but we love interacting with the missionaries and seeing them enjoy the meal.
Now the fun part. A week ago yesterday we met up with two of our sweet daughters, Rachael and Marissa who came to New Zealand to visit us. Additionally, all of my siblings and their spouses arrived in Auckland following a 13 day cruise around Australia and New Zealand. Sister Folland and I drove up to meet them. Rachael and Marissa returned to Hamilton with us to spend a week. My siblings came down to Hamilton on Sunday and we hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner at our flat. We had 11 people in our little place and had a wonderful reunion. The dinner was not the traditional turkey and fixings, but was none-the-less yummy- seared fresh tuna, salmon and roasted vegetables with red velvet cake and ice cream for dessert. (Turkey is hard to come by in New Zealand). On Monday, we had a wonderful trip together up to the Coramandel Peninsula to visit Cathedral Cove. We said goodbye to my sibs at the Cove, as they needed to return to Auckland in preparation for a flight the next day to tour the South Island. Amazing to think we met up like this 7000 miles from our homeland.
The next 3 days, Rach and Rissy kept us hopping, visiting some of our favorite places we have found in the North Island. We went on a 42K(27 mile) bike ride on a stunning trail called the Timber Trail, with beautiful forests, deep gorges, rushing rivers, suspension bridges including one 462 ft long and 172 ft high and pools for a refreshing dip. We spent a day at the Raglan beach and visited Bridal Veil Falls. The highlight for the girls was a white water rafting trip on the Kiatuna river. It featured 14 rapids and 3 waterfalls one of which was 22 feet high.
What a wonderful time we had sharing this beautiful land with our family. We realized again, after everything, our family is our most precious treasure-worth keeping around for eternity. We have so much to be grateful for at this Thanksgiving time. Ours is a truly blessed life!!!!!
Since the last post, we had a transfer week which was relatively small but still busy with all of the extra events associated with it. Around that time, I took a trip up to South Auckland to evaluate a flat(apartment) that was hastily vacated by a pair of elders, due to an unfortunate circumstance. We were hoping to move a set of sister missionaries there because we were concerned for their safety. They had been stalked at their flat by someone who was knocking on their door and windows in the middle of the night. The President felt we needed to move them ASAP. Upon my evaluation, I found the location to be acceptable for sisters, but the previous missionaries had left the place in a mess. I spent several hours cleaning up, including hauling away 7 large bags of garbage. I didn't arrive back to Hamilton until near midnight. To make matters worse, one of the garbage bags leaked on the way home, causing a horrible stench in our brand new office van. It took a 4 hour detailing job and several days to get the smell out. Needless to say, I was in a somewhat sour mood the next day. The good news is we were able to get the sisters moved in and feel much better with their situation.
The following week, we had zone conferences. That is always a busy week for us. Sister Folland and I again took charge of providing the luncheon for each zone conference. That means providing meals daily for 50-60 people Tuesday through Friday. It adds a lot to our already busy schedule, but we love interacting with the missionaries and seeing them enjoy the meal.
Now the fun part. A week ago yesterday we met up with two of our sweet daughters, Rachael and Marissa who came to New Zealand to visit us. Additionally, all of my siblings and their spouses arrived in Auckland following a 13 day cruise around Australia and New Zealand. Sister Folland and I drove up to meet them. Rachael and Marissa returned to Hamilton with us to spend a week. My siblings came down to Hamilton on Sunday and we hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner at our flat. We had 11 people in our little place and had a wonderful reunion. The dinner was not the traditional turkey and fixings, but was none-the-less yummy- seared fresh tuna, salmon and roasted vegetables with red velvet cake and ice cream for dessert. (Turkey is hard to come by in New Zealand). On Monday, we had a wonderful trip together up to the Coramandel Peninsula to visit Cathedral Cove. We said goodbye to my sibs at the Cove, as they needed to return to Auckland in preparation for a flight the next day to tour the South Island. Amazing to think we met up like this 7000 miles from our homeland.
The next 3 days, Rach and Rissy kept us hopping, visiting some of our favorite places we have found in the North Island. We went on a 42K(27 mile) bike ride on a stunning trail called the Timber Trail, with beautiful forests, deep gorges, rushing rivers, suspension bridges including one 462 ft long and 172 ft high and pools for a refreshing dip. We spent a day at the Raglan beach and visited Bridal Veil Falls. The highlight for the girls was a white water rafting trip on the Kiatuna river. It featured 14 rapids and 3 waterfalls one of which was 22 feet high.
What a wonderful time we had sharing this beautiful land with our family. We realized again, after everything, our family is our most precious treasure-worth keeping around for eternity. We have so much to be grateful for at this Thanksgiving time. Ours is a truly blessed life!!!!!
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