Christmas Holiday the Kiwi Way!

It's time for another Kiwi Companions blog post! The day and weeks seem to pass so quickly!

The 2016 Pacific Area Plan from the Area Presidency, which we have participated in conceptualizing and preparing, was launched on December 7. After all of the meetings, discussions and considerations, it was very nice to see it finally “roll out.” This beginning is a preview of what is to come. The actual sharing of the plan in detail with members across the South Pacific in stakes and wards will happen in the first part of January 2016. Here is a link to the preliminary-launch video:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/area-presidency-send-message-to-pacific-latter-day-saints

The Latter-day Saint funeral for Jonah Lomu, the world-renowned rugby player from New Zealand was held on Tuesday, December 1^st at the Robertson Road Stake Center in Mangere. Over 900 family members, friends and fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints honored Jonah’s life. We served as public affairs representatives for the Church at the funeral, helping to coordinate the activities of members of the media who attended, as well as taking photographs for a news release on Mormon Newsroom-Pacific and generally helping in any ways we could. Among the dignitaries who paid their respects were His Royal Highness Prince Ata, representing Their Majesties, King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau'u of the Kingdom of Tonga; current and former All Blacks rugby players; and local government officials. Speakers included Jonah’s brother, John; his father-in-law, Merv Quirk; and his long-time physician, Dr John Mayhew. Latter-day Saint leaders who spoke were Elder Kevin W. Pearson, President of the Church’s Pacific Area, and Anthony Wilson, the Lomu family’s stake president. We participated in preparing this article about the funeral, including taking the pictures used in the article:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/family-friends-and-faith-leaders-remember-jonah-lomu-at-funeral-services

On Wednesday,December 9^th, we joined with many of the senior missionary couples and the entire complement of Pacific Area Office employees for a fun-filled Christmas Party at a nearby ward meeting house. The food was great, and the entertainment featured skits put on by each department including their senior missionary couples and the Area Presidency members and wives. Actually, we looked pretty silly, I think, but that’s what we were supposed to be, so we must have been successful. Susan and I and our group wore tinsel-covered, red or green Christmas tree hats and bobbed up and down while we lip-synced to a version of Boney M’s “Joy to the World.”Nice, huh?

When Friday evening, December 11^th came, we traveled to the center of the city and the Auckland Town Hall to watch and enjoy the Auckland Symphony Orchestra and a 120-member Latter-day Saint choir perform their annual Christmas concert. We really enjoyed this special evening, and it brought the spirit of the season to us in a marvelous way. These two groups have been performing together in December for many years. The hall was packed with people from various denominations who seemed very enthusiastic about the performance. Once again, here is the article I wrote the next day which includes a video clip and several pictures which I took while at the concert.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/auckland-symphony-orchestra-and-church-choir-share-christmas-spirit

Last Saturday evening at about 11:00 p.m., Susan and I met our son John and our good friend, Heidi Webster, at the Auckland International Airport. We were thrilled to see them arrive safely for their first visit to New Zealand. It was a joy for us to have familiar faces from home with us once again.

Heidi is a beautiful redhead who was in Young Ambassadors the same time John was. So they toured South America with YA way back when. Then they together headlined the cruise ship shows for those eight months or so traveling all through the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and North Baltic countries. They have kept in touch through the years and get together now and then. So when it was time for John to come to New Zealand, knowing that we could only travel with him for a few days, Heidi was his ready and willing companion! She is beautiful inside and out, and we had so much fun with them.

We stayed at a charming lodge located on the waterfront in Russell New Zealand.While there, we took a bus trip to the northernmost point in New Zealand, Cape Reinga, where one can see beautiful vistas as well as the coming together of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean; their waters are colored differently, and so it’s easy to see how they converge.

We also took a boat trip among the many interesting islands in the area called Bay of Islands. While doing this we fished for Red Snapper fish. We caught Jack Mackerel fish for bait, which was totally fun as we caught two to three fish simultaneously on one line. The lines each had five hooks, and so our attempt was to be first to catch all five, but I don’t think we ever actually did more than three. Each of us eventually caught a Red Snapper which are beautifully colored fish and are a New Zealand fishermen’s favorite.

After our time with Heidi and John, they took off to the South Island on their own. We went back to work at the office.

John and Heidi “made” our Sacrament meeting last Sunday as they were invited to sing and bear their testimonies (our ward is very spontaneous, especially when the assigned speakers are no-shows). And when we were up north with them, our little fishing boat captain sailed us into a rock cave called "The Cathedral," because it has the same formation as the inside of one of the huge stone cathedrals in Europe. There, Heidi and John treated us to a duet of Ave Maria. It was very cool, and our captain told us the next morning that he wished he could have stayed there for hours and just listened to them sing. They will return to Auckland tonight (Saturday), and she flies home to be with her family in Arizona for Christmas.

Our time with John and Heidi went by entirely too fast! But isn’t that the way it is in life with that which we enjoy?

In between all of our comings and goings, we’ve done some Christmas shopping and decorating of our apartment. In many ways, like the Christmas concert and the small, colorfully-decorated tree we have, it does seem like the holiday season here in New Zealand.

In other ways, like the warming summer season here and no snow on the ground, it does feel a little strange for us. Not being with family and long-time friends also takes a bit of an emotional toll on us from time- to-time, and moment-to-moment. But, it’s all good. And we are so grateful to be able to serve our mission and do our best to follow the Spirit and assist as God would have us do. We have felt and recognized the blessings of heaven in our lives and the lives of those we love back home. For this, we are most grateful!

John will be with us through Christmas, and our son, Brent, and his family will arrive next Tuesday to spend Christmas in New Zealand; more wonderful, fun times for us all. We can’t wait!

The Christmas season is a wonderful time for each of us, as sons and daughters of God. What blessings we enjoy, having the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and knowing of His great love for each of us. The love and caring guidance of our Heavenly Father is also priceless.

We watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional via our computer a few days ago and loved it so much, just as we do each year. Nothing compares with being taught and guided by servants of the Lord.

At this wonderful season, we extend our love and heartfelt best wishes to each of you and your families. We pray each day for your welfare and pray that heavenly blessings will be the lot and guidance of your lives. As missionaries here in the South Pacific, we know more assuredly than ever before that our Father is in His heavens, and that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. They do, in reality, know each of us personally and are anxious to help show us the way every day that we live. About this, there is no question.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, with all of our love!

Barry and Susan

P.S. Here is a picture of Susan, John and Heidi playing in the surf near Cape Reinga; they were obviously having fun!

Work, work, work...and a Missionary Thanksgiving!

Work, work, work…has been our tune for the past two weeks…but it’s all good! Being busy is exhausting at times, but also keeps us going, and, as they say…never a dull moment!

The week before last we were involved in meetings every day, helping finalize our plan, as the Area Communications Committee, for rolling out the Area Presidencies’ 2016 objectives and goals to all the church in the Pacific Area. The Committee’s mission statement is “The Pacific Area Communications Committee aligns with the Pacific Area Presidency to facilitate sharing messages that deepen faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement” (which our great committee members worked on for some time).

We built a calendar for the year’s communications to reach every member in the Pacific Area, paying special attention to turning increasingly to technology to help “spread the word” throughout the area, while keeping in mind those who do not have the tools to receive the messages that way, and getting the messages to them more traditionally.

It has been a challenging, but exciting assignment, and we have so much enjoyed working with our committee members who will now have the responsibility, through their church employment, to carry out the plan. And, best of all, the Area Presidency gave it the thumbs up!

Last week we turned our attention back to posting Mormon Newsroom articles. Barry wrote seven, including two related to the bombings in France, one on the Fiji graduates and another on Marama Elkington, an LDS rowing champion, plus he did the photographs for another. I wrote one on Primary Sacrament Meeting Programs around the world (much thanks to Leslee, Kathy, Amy, and Shar in Africa), and another on a welfare project in Tonga, helping the elderly and disabled there.

I have also been spending days trying to figure out hotel accommodations and some crazy flight itineraries to get our Public Affairs people,spread throughout the far-flung Pacific islands, to and from the Fiji Temple Open Houses in January without having them take four flights, through four different nations to get there. Sometimes it seems like a ship going directly from island to island would be faster!

I’ve also been spending time planning and shopping for our Senior Missionary Thanksgiving Dinner which took place the Saturday following the U.S. Thanksgiving Thursday. I was in charge of decorating…and that was a challenge!! Of course, they don’t celebrate it here (no Pilgrims or Pocahontas) AND, it is Spring here not Fall, so no Pumpkins, Indian corn, or colored leaves either!

Soooo…I had to “phone a friend,” and my good friend and neighbor, Sue Mika, ever so generously sent me a speedy “Thanksgiving in a Box,” she called it! She sent tablecloths and napkins (“serviettes” here) and paper turkeys, and VOILA! We had Thanksgiving décor. We were able to purchase gorgeous, huge, fall-colored sunflowers and gerbera daisies which Sister Buckner turned into beautiful floral arrangements. Eight sisters each took a table to set and decorate, which they did with creativity and beauty.

With shells abundantly available on the beaches here, these shell turkeys Sister Buckner made for each of her place settings took the prize!

Everyone had food assignments so the serving tables were covered with all the traditional foods we love. Cooking here has been a bit challenging since we are on the metric system and we are cooking at sea level. Everything cooks faster and hotter. So even though I turned my oven 50 degrees lower than recommended, my turkey was done in two hours instead of three. I turned the oven to warm, but by the time we pulled it out, at first glance, it looked like the turkey in National Lampoon’s Christmas movie! I was aghast! But as Barry began to carve, it really was fine, still tender and juicy. Whew!

Of course, even though I wasn’t assigned to bake a pie, I just couldn’t let Thanksgiving go by without my favorite pie crust cookies!!

With the Area 2016 Plan mostly behind us, the travel arrangements almost complete, ten new articles posted, and Thanksgiving Dinner decorated, cooked, and eaten, we were happy today to just attend church, teach Relief Society on self-reliance, rush back to the office to provide a luncheon for 20 or so multi-stake Public Affairs people in for social media training (THANK YOU Subway platters!), and return to our flat with the whole evening ahead to rest and enjoy.

YAY!! It was a good two weeks.

BUT…in the midst of all this, they announced the sudden and tragic death of one of New Zealand’s superheroes, 40 year-old Jonah Lomu. A former player on the All Blacks, New Zealand’s world champion rugby team, Jonah has been compared to our Michael Jordan, but in his legendary rugby performance. And nothing in the U.S. compares to the adulation and following given to the All Blacks! They represent the entire nation!! And they just won the world championship again…a world record.

In fact, Jonah was at the World Cup in England, and had only just returned home when he suffered cardiac arrest and died. He had been struggling for years with kidney disease, even while he was playing ball. But just a day or two before his death, his doctor had given him “a clean bill of health.” (Guessing the doctor feels kind of bad now.)

Though he was a bit of a “bad boy” by our standards, he obviously had a great soul, treating all his fans with kindness and attention, giving generously to the needy and less fortunate, and in 2012, finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ, being baptized, and becoming a great Dad to his two young sons.

Because he was a member of the church, we have become involved in the Public Affairs aspect of his LDS funeral, to be held as the fifth and last memorial service for this giant of a man here in NZed.  We have attended meetings discussing everything from press lanyards, parking passes, reserved seatings, ushering, press kits, VIP’s attending, photographing, not photographing, etc.

Thursday night we attended a three hour planning meeting at the church where the funeral will be held, with some 15 or so, including the Stake Presidents involved, his bishop, the mortician, the family representatives planning the program, etc. Jonah’s wife’s father, a member of the church, was there and we could feel his humble and great spirit, we felt the great loss this is to their family, and we sensed the overwhelming task his young wife has faced trying to honor the several different cultures, traditions, family, friends, teammates and nation who all want to have a part in saying their farewells to this man. As her father said, “She hasn’t been given a chance herself to mourn yet.”

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11552889

So, our Monday and Tuesday will be filled with preparing items for and attending and assisting with the funeral. They are anticipating a very large crowd and the services will also be broadcast to four other church houses here in New Zealand and three in Tonga. They also expect people to stand along the route to the cemetery, waving their goodbyes to one of the most famous, well-loved sons of New Zealand.

So, as I said earlier…Never a dull moment.

We are sustained through all of our highs and lows by the wonderful opportunity to attend our ward each Sunday where we renew our covenants and are taught by humble, faithful, valiant saints and by our scriptures study each morning. We just finished reading the Pearl of Great Price and wanted to read more from the New Testament.

In James this week we were touched by these words, brought to our attention by our outstanding Gospel Doctrine teacher, Brother Couch, a close family friend who had just dressed Jonah’s body in his temple clothes: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Message to us: Treasure every moment…treasure every relationship…every opportunity to do good…every gift given by our loving Heavenly Father. That when we return to our Heavenly home we can feel that we did our best, kept the faith, and endured to the end. Thank goodness for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for His redeeming Atonement that gives us hope and peace, comfort and love.

With all our love to you, dear ones…Barry and Susan