30 October 2019

This week we picked oranges, lemons and mandarins. How many times as you eat a piece of  fruit do you take a bite and it is flavorless and not worth the calorie?  Well, that's not the case here. This is the way I remember fruit tasting 50 years ago. I think we are in the Garden of Eden...Although Cranky Pants might have to change his attitude if we were in the Garden of Eden. I didn't like the first picture he took and He didn't want to retake the picture. He told me I wasn't going to like his new selfie. I have to admit, he was right. That boy! I really need a selfie stick to replace his arms.

Ya know the "Share a Coke with ...? campaign," Well the names have been changed in New Zealand, 

We took an Elder to the airport and found an American Store in Auckland called Martha's Backyard! It has American things you can't get in the stores. We found Karo syrup, Ranch dressing, manwhich, Italian dressing, pumpkin, and cherry pie filling. But it was a little pricey. 24.50 for the Ranch. 8.00 for the karo and 8.00 for four packs of dry Italian dressing.  The Cherry pie filling was a steal since it was reduced to 4.50. 

Most plants have a fern -like appearance here. Even the Evergreens. They all look like ferns.

These turkey looking birds are all over the city. They swim so I don't think they are turkeys. They are as big as turkeys. Just roaming the streets.

If I could title this one it would be;
"Drumsticks and Chops"
The hill was full of wild turkeys and sheep. Looks like Christmas Dinner to me.

Everything is bigger in New Zealand. You go to pull out a tissue and the box ends up on the floor, because for 60 years, when I have pulled a tissue out, I never had to pull my arm over my shoulder to get it out.  Here, I have to pull another 6 inches and I'm always throwing the box all over the office. 1st world problems. 

You don't need wood chips or rock in flower beds. The ground cover is like a thick mattress.

This was a Maori funeral. It was more like a celebration for 3 days. The body is kept home and family and friends gather and eat and mourn and rejoice. The road by our house was almost impassable because there were so many cars parked on the grass, street, sidewalk, and road. They had these canvas tents set up. 

Two words...What and why?

We have the opportunity to eat foods that we have never knew existed. This was a meal at Nando's an African Restuarant. I'm not sure what half the stuff was I was eating, but I would eat there again if it wasn't for the Birds...

The doors were open and birds kept flying in and out and perching on the tables and eating scraps off the floor. This one was perched on the menus. Goodness. Some things are so different.

This is a 10 cents piece. A dime. A New Zealand Dime. When my mom, Santa died in 2005, whenever I found a dime laying on the ground, I always said it was mom letting me know she was with me. I would find dimes in the strangest places. The bathtub, my silverware drawer, in between my sheets. I got to a point that I was sure my children were hiding them in weird places to make me happy. At the year anniversary of her death, I had a pint jar full of dimes. Well, it continues on here. 1st off, all things are priced so there is no change involved when you purchase items. VERY RARELY do you get change. When I was cooking for my first time for 60 missionaries, I was carrying food from the kitchen to the gym and right in the walk way was this 10 cent piece. I had walked that hall a dozen times. Saturday, I got out of the car and right on the driveway was another 10 cent piece. It brings me great comfort to know that Mother is watching over us.

I haven't had a hair cut for months. I made an appointment with Tint Hair and Beauty and the GPS took me here.  I wasn't sure if I was getting my car worked on or my hair cut.  This was the right place. If you look closely on the right side of the open garage, there is a sign that says "Salon". The salon was in the back of the shed, My hair has not been this short for years...Andrea was a lovely lady.

So short on time this week. In a nutshell...

1. No accidents! Just two flat tires at the same time and a transmission went out. We did get to drive 1 1/2 hour home with 4 sisters who sang Maori songs to us all the way home. It was lovely. 

2. Made our first trip to Auckland to the airport to drop a missionary off. We survived.

3. Got a really short hair cut. Whew. REALLY SHORT.

4. We see miracles in our mission on a daily basis. 

Miracle of the week:

Elder Allard and Katutu (pronounced Ca-Sue-Sue) taught a lady and she was ready to be baptised. She had an ulcer on her leg for over a year and her doctor would not let her get into the water to be baptised. So she has been waiting for months for it to heal enough for her doctor to say it was ok to be baptised. The elders were praying one day and felt they needed to give her a priesthood blessing of healing. They hesitated in doing so. They felt they didn't have the faith to heal her. The nagging thought to give her a blessing kept coming to them often. One of the elders was talking to his parents on Preparation day and told them about this lady and the parents said he should heed the spirit and give her a blessing to heal her. They gave her a blessing that night. By Thursday night, after seeing the doctor, she was given the go ahead to be baptised. The power of the priesthood is real. If you are in need of healing, comfort, or a blessing, seek out someone who has the power to act in God's name. Miracles still exist on this earth. We have witnessed this many times in our family. 

Thank you to all who have assisted Lindsay and her kids these past weeks. There isn't much we can do 7100 miles away. 

Love to you all, 

Elder and Sister Clayton