26 August 2020

ONE YEAR! 

I can't believe we have been out for ONE YEAR! As we were driving around New Zealand the other day, Elder Clayton turned to me and said, "I'm really concerned." I asked him about what. He told me that if he were asked to give a homecoming talk post mission, he wouldn't have anything to say, as he has not found anyone to teach the Gospel too. Of course the first thing I did was reassure him that he  need not worry about speaking to a church congregation about our mission because: 

A. Covid will probably will still be directing the course of our lives and there will be no large church gatherings.

B. We don't have a home ward, because we don't have a home.

C. And if we did have a home, we dont' have a car to drive to it from whatever airport we land in... after 14 days of isolation.

Then I cuffed his shoulder and said, "What are you talking about?"  We then proceeded to recap our year in New Zealand. Three hours later he told me to remind him about these experience when he doesn't have to give a homecoming talk. 😏 We have served during a very unusual time, but we know that we have been prepared all of our lives to be in New Zealand at this time doing what we are doing. Most missionaries that serve here have a tie to New Zealand--a relative that served,  they were born here, they served their first mission here, their father built the temple, their uncle was the first Stake President, etc. We don't have ties, but for the record, a part of my heart will always be here in New Zealand.We feel so comfortable here. We love the people, our branch, the neighbors, the land, the ocean, the sea shells, the driftwood, the rain, the sky, the birds, the flowers, the green grass covered hills, the sheep, the cows, the mountains, the creme buns, the ice cream, the licorice. We love our mission, the people we get to work and play with and our dedicated Sisters and Elders who were in primary 6 years ago and now are putting their lives on hold to share the message of Jesus Christ and invite others to "Hear Him".  With all the different voices talking to us, it's hard to know who or what to believe. Learning to hear the voice of the Lord is where we will find peace in this troubled world. Our efforts to hear Him need to be ever more intentional. It takes conscious and consistent effort to fill our daily lives with His words, His teachings, His truths. We have front row seats to witness and LIVE what ancient apostles talked about in the scriptures.

Elder Clayton may not be out finding, teaching, or using the white tie he packed for baptisms, but he is managing the financial affairs, transportation, and cellular devices for 132 teenagers. We are assisting in the work by taking care of their temporal needs. We have witnessed miracles, our testimonies have grown and we look forward to getting out of bed each morning and going to the office. And then about 8 to 10 hours later, we look forward to going back to our flat and going to sleep to gear up for the next day. 

 As you can see, it's still winter.

 We had to have pictures in front of all the different fruit trees:

  The grapefruit tree

We were in awe that the tree could hold all those heavy grapefruits and not break limbs. (I told Dwight we needed an "Amazed" look on our face picture. He is such an extremist) Don't you love that silver hair of his? 

The tangelo tree.

A stolen kiss under the lemon tree! 

We only have 24 Saturdays left to explore New Zealand! Last Saturday, we started out for Kawhia Beach on the West coast. (caw-fee-ah)  Remember: wh=f

We didn't make it because a rain storm came up. 

But we did see this reallly unique BIKE FENCE.  There are heaps of old bikes tied to a fence. We asked the owner why they were there and she shrugged her shoulders. Just because...

New Zealand was Covid free for 102 days. Then 4 people tested positive and things and people went crazy again. It has been interesting to watch how quickly Covid spreads from ground zero. Only essential workers can work outside their homes, all others are to stay home, except to go to the doctor or grocery store. Even with the tight restrictions, the cases were increasing each day. The rest of New Zealand is at a level 2 restriction. When we go anywhere, we social distance, wear a mask, and have to sign in with our phone so we can be traced...

 Interestingly enough, Rugby games can be attended. I found this news article interesting. 

This news article did not set well with my soul. We are not allowed to attend church, but "FANS can attend their weekly worship at the alter of of the national religion."

Buckle your seatbelts, my friends, we are nearing the 2nd coming, and it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Even though the spread of Covid happens at alarming rates, ( so does the common cold) the number of people that end up in the hospital or die is very small. I read a statistic regarding Covid 19 (was it true, I don't know. Who can you believe?)   .26 % of people that get Covid die.  99.74% will recover. Yet it is controling everything in our lives. I just don't know...

But on the bright side, My hip is feeling amazing. I'm sure my speedy recovery is because I'm serving a mission and I have had so many prayers sent heavenward in my behalf. 

Our little 4 year old granddaughter, Halle, prays every day that  "Grandma can be tested".  In her little mind, with all the crazy stuff she hears about COVID, if you are sick or in the hospital, then you must have COVID, (whatever that is) and MUST be TESTED! 

On a side note, it just occured to me that I had my first right hip replacement in HAMILTON, Montana.

I had my first left hip replacement in HAMILTON, New Zealand. I need to avoid Hamilton's at all costs. That's just way too Twilight Zoneish.

Here is a picture of flowering trees as we were driving way too fast past them.  I LOVE how the flowers fall off and you have a blanket of flower petals below the tree. 

I wanted to roll in them, but that would create two problems:

1. I could not have gotten up off the ground, as I can't bend that way yet or I will dislocate my new hip

2. Someone probably would have called an ambulance if they saw an elderly lady rolling around on the ground under the trees 

But I was tempted...

And another bed of flowers

This is the living room wall at our flat. The whole wall on the North side--which is the sunny side because we are south of the equator--is a folding door that opens up into the living room. It's also great for moving furniture into the house. 

I sent Dwight to the store to find a watering can for my plants. This is what he brought me back. Gotta love my little pink elephant watering can...Oh Dwight. You still make me laugh.

This is my view from my desk at the office. We have a lolly bowl. Lollies just make everyone's day go better. New Zealand is famous for a chewy mint candy called Minties. If you can keep your fillings intact while eating them, the best part of the Mintie is reading the 

"It's moments like these you need Minties" cartoons.

I'm not sure why you needed to know this. 

Hamilton is starting a new way to collect rubbish. We recieved a 7 page booklet about how to do it.  We have garbage cans now! It used to be that we could take 2 black garbage sacks to the curb every week. Well, now "They" have made rubbish collection quite an ordeal. We have a scrap pail, a recycle bin, and a small rubbish bin, and a bin for glass. The bins must be placed on the street a certain way. You can't do this or that. There is so much pressure now with the garbage! The worst part is the fear that comes with throwing something in the WRONG BIN! BECAUSE...We now have a garbage gestopo--Yes, for reals, folks, A BIN INSPECTOR--that comes around and checks our garbage bins! (Like we don't have enough stress in our lives!) Your rubbish bin then gets a green, yellow or red dot depending on your compliance. If you get a red dot, they won't take your garbage until you go through it and make it right. I just can't imagine how our missionaries are going to make this one work. Dwight's competitive nature kicked in and he's going for the green. I'll keep  you updated on his progress...

If 

                  

                 WHAT I ORDERED.                                                                   WHAT I GOT.

Never leave me home with the credit card alone while I'm healing from surgery. I had way too much time on my hands and found the cute little doll on the left ON SALE! If you ordered 2 you got a 3rd one free! I could just envision all my little granddaughters loving these adorable dolls. So I ordered 8 to get 4 free! 5 weeks later the doll on the left arrived. One doll. At least the dress was the same color...Lesson learned: BUY LOCAL

 

I have to show you my favorite part of the office. I started a picture board in December of our missionaries. I put up pictures of them doing service, pictures of their baptisms, or other uplifting, spiritual experiences. Our missionaries love to find their pictures on the board. Our mission motto is:

Knees on the floor

Boots on the ground

Sheep on our shoulders

I'm running out of board. Going to expand it this week.

We do have snow in New Zealand. We had a clear day yesterday and from our office window, we could see this mountain near Taupo, which takes 4 hours to get to!  (I did not take this close up picture because I have never been to this mountain. From our office window it was the size of a prune) This is a close up of the snow covered mountain. BUT it was so amazing to see all this green and way far off in the distance was this white mountain. I can't wrap my head around the fact it was 4 HOURS AWAY and I could see it!

Here is a video of the bike fence.

If you have time, come for a ride with us and enjoy the scenery.

We pray all is well with your souls. 

We pray you are healthy and well.

We pray that you find peace. 

We pray you have enough.

We love you, 

Elder and Sister Clayton