A New Zealand Father's Day, Beautiful Scenery, and the Hamilton Temple--Week Four

Kia Ora from a land down under, New Zealand! (Kia Ora means, " . . . literally, be well/healthy in the Maori tongue and is translated as an informal ‘hi’.”)  Another week has come to an end in our missionary labors. Like the previous weeks, our time here has been full of activity and learning of every kind.  We are regularly reminded of the need for humility, attentiveness (to the Spirit), and hard work.

This past Sunday in New Zealand (Saturday back home) when we arrived at our ward in Glen Inness for Fast and Testimony Meeting, we found out it was also New Zealand’s Father’s Day. Many of the testimonies revolved around expressions of love for fathers and fathers’ bearing testimony that they wished to be “better” fathers. There was a strong spirit in the meeting, and many tears were shed regarding families, challenges of various kinds in families, and the desire of the saints here for all of their family members to be part of the restoration of the gospel and the recipients of God’s covenants with His sons and daughters.

The spirit of that meeting continued in our Sunday School lesson, and Brother Riwai-Couch, who taught the lesson, bore his testimony in an emotional, sweet way at the conclusion of class using the words from two verses of a favorite LDS hymn, O My Father:

I had learned to call thee Father,

Thru thy Spirit from on high,

But, until the key of knowledge

Was restored, I knew not why.

In the heav'ns are parents single?

No, the thought makes reason stare!

Truth is reason; truth eternal

Tells me I've a mother there.

When I leave this frail existence,

When I lay this mortal by,

Father, Mother, may I meet you

In your royal courts on high?

Then, at length, when I've completed

All you sent me forth to do,

With your mutual approbation

Let me come and dwell with you.

His testimony and the witness of the Spirit after listening to the beautiful lyrics of this beloved hymn were powerful.

We have now had an opportunity to see just a little bit more of this beautiful contry. An example is a peninsula located just south and east of where we live and work in Auckland. The area is known as the Coromandel Peninsula. We were fortunate to have a partly cloudy day for our journey where the sun could periodically punctuate the long white clouds (after which this land is known, Aotearoa, which means the land of the long white cloud), and the ever-present showers that abound.  Along the way, we visited the villages of Hikuai, Whitianga, Kuaotunu, Coromandel, Whakatete Bay, Thames, and Kaiaua.

Hills above Coromandel

Hills of the East Coast of Coromandel Penninsula

Pacific Ocean on the East Coast of Coromandel Penninsula

Lots of pigs on Coromandel

Village of Coromandel

We arrived in the tiny hamlet of Kaiaua just at sunset and found there a fish and chips shop recommended by previous senior missionaries. Their recommendation was faithful and the food was excellent.  We ate our dinner meal sitting next to a Maori fellow about our age who turned out to be a bus driver that had frequently transported Mormons and others to Hamilton, New Zealand and the Temple which is located there. Our dinner chat was fun and educational in many ways. This good man was fond of sharing with us pictures of his family and his ancestors which he had stored on his cell phone. Of course, this prompted an opportunity for us to reciprocate and share images of our family with him. In the end, we found a new friend, which is quite easy to do in this land.

We also travelled on assignment to Hamilton where the temple is located. There we participated in an inter-faith evening sponsored by the local Muslim community. At the meeting were representatives from these churches: Latter-day Saint, Catholic, Muslim, Anglican, Protestant, and Baha'i faiths. Representatives from each faith gave a presentation on humanitarian work in which they engage, in harmony with the tenants of their respective religions. Each presentation was excellent, and the evening provided a great opportunity to make new friends and extend understandings. We also found great commonalities in the service rendered to humanity.

The Hamilton Temple

We were also fortunate to visit the Hamilton Temple and Visitor Center, and do some temple work there. The temple certainly sits in a most beautiful setting, on a prominent hill which overlooks the surrounding countryside. And even though it is still winter here, the flowers around the Vistor's Center and the temple were beautiful!

The Hamilton Temple Visitors' Center

Temple grounds

It truly is a blessing for us to be here and to play a very small part in the work of the latter-day restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We feel the blessings of the Spirit each day as we go about our assignments. For that, we are most grateful.

Please know that we know: the Church is true, Jesus is literally our Savior, and we do have a Heavenly Father who loves and knows each one of us personally. We also know that He is desirous of helping us every day of our lives, if we will only let Him do so through our prayers to Him.

We hope that you and yours are happy and well.  Until next time.

Elder Barry and Sister Susan Preator