The Clayton's Mission Adventures

We have been assigned to a small branch in Raglan. It has about 25 active members. I brought a key board home to learn some hymns. I've been called as the pianist. What. A. Joke. They will be lucky if I can play two fingers at a time. Somebody is really stretching me here... We call these oreo cows. A perfect white stripe down the middle. The eggs here are on a shelf not a cooler. Complete with feathers. I love it.  This sweet lady walked in the office one day with flowers, muffins and a card addressed to Celeste Knight's parents. She lives right by us and is in Celeste's Pathway class! Michele is a lovely lady. (Give her an A, Celeste) One of the benefits of being the car guy is that you get the new car with 378 Kilometers on it. (234 Miles) I just had to add this picture. Only in the toilets in New Zealand.  Here's a challenge for you. Find the Toilet handle to flush. (On the recessed wall) I stood there a long time trying to f...

Our House. We live on the left hand side. Our frig kept tripping the breaker. This is our replacement. It goes to my armpit. But at least we have one... The Hamilton New Zealand Temple. It will be completed 3 months after we get home.  Another view New Zealand is called "the land of the long white cloud" The sky looks like this every day.  This is our office. We are on the second floor to the right. The rest of the building is a distribution center, Museum, and family history center. .  Note the 22 wooden steps on the right up to our office. Yep, my hip has felt every one of them several times a day. My office is the second set of windows on the second floor. Elder Clayton is stuck behind the 3rd set of windows in a small office in the back. He has no windows.  I tend to stare out the window in awe too much of the day. The FM guy is next door to us in the 4th set of windows. Every plant that isn't an evergreen has flowers on i...

There are a few things we have to get used to. Always put your "trundler" in the trundler return so they don't run away and hit cars. Im not sure what the Evacuation Assembly Area is all about... Farms are sectioned off with hedges. I think its a pride thing, How you keep your hedge up says alot about what kind of  farmer you are. Some are over 20 feet tall and perfectly trimmed.  Another view of the same This dog is a resturant. This little town, Tirau, has a sheet metal ornament on each building if the entire building isn't a sheet metal animal. Just plain fun The country is so diverse. We drove from rolling hills to wooded area to mountains and lakes There were about 20 eateries here. All the seating was outdoors. It was about 58 degrees But it was ok because each table had a little fire by it,  Flowering trees are everywhere This was a bath house from 1901 Ferns grow everywhere This was a bridge in the Re...

Dear Family, Friends, and Dear Ones, Warning : This might...”will” be a long one. We have been drinking from a fire hose for 11 days and this is the first time we have had time to think. We entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Monday, August 26. The first thing we did was register and we received name tags with our names on them. Elder and Sister Clayton. We picked up a packet of keys, passports and visas, and a schedule. We then had a welcome and went to work! Our days started at 5:45 am and we had to be to breakfast by 7:00. Classes went from 8 to 12. Lunch. Class from 1-4:30. Supper.  Then class or devotional or meetings until 9:00. Then we would fall into bed.  Our first week was a study of "Preach my Gospel" Here's what we gleaned: 1. Get over yourself 2. Look outward not inward 3. Be bold 4. Love others unconditionally 5. Reach out 6. Be yourself 7. Most of all— Our entire week was based around one statement: "Come unto C...