Birthday Boy, Inspections, Bishopric Dinner, and Final Family Name Assist Presentation

This week has been filled with lots of cleaning and service. We invited any missionaries over that wanted to help us clean our windows. We promised them breakfast. We got two companionships, and we all had a great time. They washed the windows, and we made them pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. It took us about an hour to do the breakfast and windows and then we had another couple of hours to eat and play games.  

After they left, we had our last monthly video call with MyLiege's family from New Zealand. I have to qualify it with "monthly" because Sean has been known to just call us up randomly at other times. LOL I also spent several hours of our P-Day catching up on some HawkSoft work that I had. I almost completed it but ran into a problem that I needed checked out in the US. Since it was Sunday there, I had to wait a day. While I was working on HawkSoft, Steve was wiping out all the drawers and cabinets in the Kitchen and then putting everything back in place nice and tidy. Everything looks so nice. 

Tuesday was Steve's birthday. It was kind of low key until dinner. I was able to finish HawkSoft after Darrin fixed whatever the problem was. I think it only took me an hour. I also prepared our Family Home Evening lesson for the family we teach every other week. Steve took care of the weeding outside and I washed all the windowsills in the house to go with our nice clean windows. 

After lunch, the Sister came over for Comp Study. We ready two more chapters in "Saints." We are all really enjoying reading this book together. I especially love the discussions we have after (sometimes during) each chapter.

The Carlisles invited us to go to dinner for Steve's birthday. We had a wonderful time. When we finished, we decided to go back to our place for birthday cake and games. However, just as we were getting close to our house, Sister Carlisle got a call from their neighbor telling them someone was breaking into their house. Their neighbor saw the guy and called the cops. So, we dropped them off at home instead of taking them to our house. Scary! I’m glad they caught the guy, and everything turned out all right. 

Over the last few months, Wednesdays have become our busiest day. We had a wonderful DCM meeting on Wednesday morning. We had delicious snacks and visits for a short time after DCM with both Districts.  When we got home, we cleaned out the bathroom drawers. Some stuff we will send to the op shop. We threw away some stuff. Some are ready for packing now, and some I am still using. We vacuumed the drawers before wiping them down. They are clean and shiny now. I had pushed that little task back day after day for over a week. I’m so glad it is finally done. 

About the time we finished that little (NOT) project, the Elders arrived for our weekly Comp Study. Again, Elder Hunter peppered us with lots of doctrinal questions. We did the best we could to answer them, and we had a good discussion about them. After they left, we made dinner and finished watching the second half of Follow Him. Then it was time to go to our Book of Mormon reading. Bishop had a meeting, so he didn’t make it. We only had Wini show up. We read the two Isaiah Chapters in 1 Nephi. We had quite a discussion about them. Isaiah can be difficult to understand sometimes. Next week we will read Nephi’s explanation of those chapters. 

We left right after words to head to the Snows house for our Family Home Evening. We had a good lesson on the Second Coming of Christ. We had a couple of different activities the kids got to be involved in, so that made it nice. I think they had fun.

We started Thursday early with flat inspections. Both flats were in really good shape. The Riverside Elders had a couple things to tweak while we were there, but they took care of it before we finished our inspection. Then we headed to the Hikurangi Elders to do their inspection. We couldn’t find any issues. It is so nice to have such great missionaries.

We made it home in time for our Mission SPF meeting. President and Sister Allen gave a very creative presentation on being accountable for their own actions. After SPF we waited for the Zone Leaders to come by for our Comp Study. After a while we contacted them to find out they forgot to tell us they couldn’t make it that day. 😢We probably won’t meet with them next week either because it is transfer day next Thursday. 

While I was working on other projects both administrative and around the house, Steve went shopping to pick up a few things. We noticed that morning that both flats needed something repaired. The Riverside flat needed a new heat lamp in the bathroom. The Hikurangi flat needed a new bracket to fix a door in the kitchen. He was able to take care of both repairs as well as pick up a few groceries that we need for our Bishopric Dinner Friday night. 

Friday was a long day with hard work, and lots of fun. We started by picking up the Carlisles to head over to the Ata Mahina flat near Bream Bay. We met up with the Hursts and the Roses from Auckland. We were right in the middle of rush hour traffic, so we ended up being later than we planned. I think the Hursts and the Roses got there earlier than planned, because a lot of the work was done. Most of the packing and loading furniture was done. We all jumped in to help where we could. While I was vacuuming that flat, I noticed some black marks on the walls where different things had rubbed against the walls. I asked Sister Hurst if the landlord was planning on painting as normal wear and tear. She said that it was our responsibility to take care of holes, patches, and things like black marks. I had Elder Wilcox take a paint chip from the wall, and then he and Elder Carlisle went back to Whangarei to the hardware store to get some paint blended. They do a really good job of matching the paint. 

They were gone a really long time. There was construction on the highway that caused traffic to be backed up in both directions. So, they were slow getting there as well as coming back. We had finished all the loading and cleaning. The Roses went back to Auckland. We sent the Hursts to get some lunch because they were going to be meeting with the landlord and officially close the flat. They were also going to be doing the painting. Sister Carlisle and I wanted for the men to get back. While we were looking for a route for Sister Carlisle to take a walk on the beach since we were so close, the guys showed up earlier than they thought. We took care of a few things, left the paint and our extra keys on the counter, called the Hursts to see if there was anything else they needed, and then headed to Waipu Cove to eat some lunch. It is a nice little restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the beach. After lunch we walked down to the beach to enjoy it a little more. Sister Carlisle got her walk on the beach with Elder Carlisle, and Steve and I sat on a bench and just enjoyed the view. 

After we dropped the Carlisles off, we headed home to relax for a little while before getting dinner ready for our Bishopric dinner that night. Bishop and Darlene showed up first. They informed us that the Walkers were not going to make it because one of their horses died and they needed to bury it. While we waited for the Horsfords to arrive, we shared our family Nativity Video that Season made for us during COVID. Russell and Merilene arrived near the end of our video, so it was just in time for dinner. 

We had so much fun. We enjoyed a wonderful visit. After dinner we played a dice game called “Bank”. Then we enjoyed delicious desserts and more visiting. I think they stayed until 10:30 or so. It was such a wonderful night.

Saturday was a little more laid back. We did our normal housekeeping things with laundry, linen and general cleaning. I took care of a few things for our meetings on Sunday. We left around 1:30 to go to Kaikohe for the Stake Leadership meeting of their Stake Conference. They were the last Stake that I needed to do the presentation for. 

I was the first speaker. The presentation went off without a single glitch. Most of the leaders had never heard of the Family Name Assist tool in the LCR tab. It was received very well. After the meeting, we were invited to a light dinner in the High Council room between the leadership and adult sessions of the conference. We had an opportunity to talk to several people about the tool. After dinner, we headed home.

I love Sundays when we get together with our Ward Whanau (family) to partake of the Sacrament and worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Sacrament meeting consisted of a primary child giving his favorite scripture. He got shy, so mom gave it for him, but he got up there! We then heard from our two fulltime Elders, Elder Hunter and Elder Ihaka. I’m sure one of them is going to be transferred on Thursday. They said they thought they were both going to be transferred. I don’t think so. They both gave great talks. Our concluding speaker was Teina. He is going on a mission and leaves very soon. He will be going to Australia.

In Relief Society, we talked about Sister Tracy Browning’s General Conference talk entitled, “Tune Your Heart to Jesus Christ: The Sacred Gift of Primary Music.” It was a wonderful lesson as we shared what our favorite primary songs are and how they help to strengthen our testimonies. We talked about why primary music can be a powerful way for our children to learn the doctrines of the Church. 

We took care of a few administrative things before heading home and had a much-needed relaxing afternoon and evening.  

I hope you have a wonderful week!

All our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

Two Tangis, Two Funerals, SPF Presentation, and Sacrament Talks

This may be a short weekly recap, even though it was a long week. We spent Monday through Wednesday involved with two tangis and two funerals. Roberta passed away on November 6th. Since they had to wait for some out-of-town families to arrive, the tangi wasn't held until Monday.  A Māori tangi (or tangihanga) is a traditional funeral ceremony that honors the deceased and supports the grieving whānau (family). It is one of the most sacred and significant customs in Māori culture. tangi typically lasts three days or more and is traditionally held a
t a marae (tribal meeting grounds), though it can also take place at homes or funeral parlors. Roberta's was held at the home of Sister Paratene.

We spent all Monday at her house helping out with the tangi. This one was only one day and a night. The casket is open, and friends and family come to pay their last respects. Food was brought so the visitors could have some kai (food). If it is at a marae, mattresses are laid around the coffin, and the family would stay there overnight. The body is rarely left alone from the time of death until burial. None of the family were staying overnight at Leona’s. We had people coming and going all day. 

Monday evening, we had a short service of sorts, where those who were there could share their thoughts and memories of the deceased to honor them. It was special tonight for a couple of reasons. Although Roberta was a long-time member of the Ward and beloved by all, her husband never joined the Church. He supported her in everything Roberta did in the Church. If you didn’t know he wasn’t a member, you would never guess. He is a member…he just doesn’t know it yet. Anyway, after everyone who wanted to share their memories and love for Roberta, her husband spoke up to thank everyone. He knew all the people there, but he said that he never knew how much his wife meant to our Ward and to the members there. He was truly grateful for how much everyone loved his wife and him also. 

The Bishop shared a few closing remarks and mentioned how much Mike and Roberta were true friends and partners with each other in all the did. He then told Mike how much Roberta wanted to be sealed to Mike for all eternity. Mike chuckled a little and said, “give me six months.” The rest of the group said they were going to hold him to that. It was very sweet. 

We had the opportunity just a few times to visit Roberta and Mike in their home. Roberta didn’t talk much, but Mike was fun to get to know. The thing that impressed me the most was how tenderly he took care of his sweet wife. She was pretty much bedridden, and he was so sweet to her. You could feel the love between them. The Ward is going to do everything they can to continue their relationship with Mike. They all love him too!

Tracey decided to stay overnight with Leona for the night. On Tuesday morning we were up early to make broccoli salad for Roberta's funeral. Then we headed to the Chapel to get things ready. I also printed all the programs and helped in the kitchen getting the food ready. 

There was a nice turnout. Mostly family and members and friends. Of course, we had members of the Ward show up too. The service was very nice with mostly family members and a few Ward members speaking. The shared memories of their time with Roberta were very sweet. We didn’t know her when she was healthy. We learned she was a feisty little thing and knew her mind. Everyone loved her. She knew how to get things done and she did it. It sounded like she was a force for good wherever she went. 

After the funeral services, we invited everyone to share some kai (food) with the family. Most of the people stayed and visited. It was very nice. 

After everyone had eaten we packed up some food for Roberta’s husband and her two sons. There were still a few things left that we packed up for Leona. 

Leona has been taking care of Dean for over 39 years. He was severely disabled, but she cared for him all that time. He was in a care facility, but she visited him every day and would spend the night with him whenever he was in the hospital. She would take him on outings with her and her four “children” when they were growing up. They are nieces and nephews that she has raised since they were babies. She never married and did this all on her own. 

Anyway, Dean passed away on the Sunday before the tangi for Roberta. Leona was committed to helping Mike during his time of grief at the loss of Roberta. Other than us, she did not let anyone know that she too was grieving. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dean’s body lay in state in Leona's home for friends and family to come and pay their respects. We went over after Roberta’s funeral to take the leftover food for her to have for any guests that showed up. We stayed with her for a while until her nieces and nephews showed up. They stayed with her for a couple of days. She wasn’t alone during this time of loss. She is truly a gracious lady.

Wednesday started with DCM. We were a bit chattier than usual and had a good time. We especially had a fun role play at the end of our training. After our refreshments, we headed down the street to the funeral home for Dean’s funeral. 

He had such a beautiful service. Other than Leona, her nieces and nephews, and Brother Toi, we didn’t know anyone else. There were lots of current and past care givers for Dean. Many of his family showed up as well. Leona, her nieces and nephews, and a few care givers were the speakers. They all spoke of Dean’s laughter and the love that emanated from him. They talked about the many things they learned from him as they all cared for him in their own way. The four kids grew up with Dean. He was nearly twenty when they came to live with Leona. They were ages 3, 2, 1, and newborn. The kids told beautiful memories of their times with Dean. It was so full of love and laughter. 

The care givers also spoke of their love for Dean and the privilege they had of taking
care of him over the years. They mentioned how he would sometimes start laughing, which then caused everyone around him to start laughing. Again, I could feel the love they have for Dean. A few family members got up to share their thoughts and feelings too. They mostly expressed the gratitude to Leona and her children for giving Dean the love and whanau (family) they didn’t give him when they should have. They were grateful for the wonderful life Dean had with Leona’s Whanau. 

Elder Wilcox conducted the Funeral service and gave the closing remarks. He shared a scripture about how after Dean is resurrected, his body will be whole. He will see and stand and talk. He will be perfect.  After a short slide show presentation, I gave the closing prayer.

President and Sister Allen

We headed home for our Comp Study with the Hikurangi Elders. We tend to use some of our Comp Study time to do our mission correlation meeting. We have always done that with the Hikurangi Elders. It helps us keep on top of all our new friends and new members and se
e how we can help the missionaries. 

Not long after they left, we went to the Chapel for our Book of Mormon reading. The rain was coming down pretty hard, and we didn’t think we would get a very big turnout. As it turned out, the Bishop was the only one who came besides the Elders and us. We had a wonderful time reading chapters 17 and 18 of 1 Nephi. We read and talked about Nephi building the ship and the journey to the promised land. We were all glad we ventured out to read the Book of Mormon. 

Once we were home again, we had to finish our presentation for SPF on Thursday. We managed to get the PowerPoint portion done on Monday while we were at Leona’s house, but we still needed to figure out what we were going to say and to time our presentation. We did that Wednesday night. 

I started Thursday morning with our HawkSoft Anniversary Video Call with all those who started with HawkSoft in either November or December. I started on 29 December 2008, nearly 17 years ago. It was so fun to see so many friends I have worked with over the years. A few have been there longer than me, most were shorter, but all of them have been there for a while. 

Not long after that call was our Mission SPF meeting. We gave the presentation. We talked about the lives of President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson. I think it turned out pretty well. We had lots of pictures, interesting facts, and some personal stories for each of them. 

The Zone Leaders showed up shortly after that for our weekly Comp Study with them.  We had a shorter time than usual because they had another appointment. They had several things they wanted to talk about, so we didn’t do a lot of scripture study with them. The mission wants the missionaries to present a small portion of the 5th Sunday Forum on our Mission Goal. They had some links and forms they had questions about, so I was able to help them out. Also, the Hika Elders will be in Punaruku on the 5th Sunday, so it looks like we will be doing the presentation in Hikurangi. 

Sister LeBaron

Later, we worked on our talks for Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. I wrote mine in such a way that I will be able to use most of it for the talks we give when we get home. 

We thought our Friday was going to be spent entirely at home. We had
kind of a lazy morning reminiscing about the past couple of weeks and then on our entire mission. I heard another ding on my phone and thought I had better look at my messages. Normally, the morning messages are a lot of missionaries wishing happy birthday to those missionaries that are having birthdays, so I don't stop and look at each of them as they come in. Since the dings had slowed down a bit, I thought I could catch up. There was a message from a sister telling me that Deborah was trying to get a hold of us and I hadn't answered. I had to go to our New Zealand phone to see Deborah's message. The message was to pick up Deborah and take her and her belongings to a temporary campground. Just as we were almost there, she texted that she had to run an errand, so we waited for her in the lobby of the hotel she was staying at. After we dropped her off at the campground, we headed home.  

Sister Julia Jones

Once home, I worked on some ACORD forms for HawkSoft and Steve packed some more of our stuff that we will not need over the next few weeks. I think we are in pretty good shape. Most of the stuff that is left is stuff we still need to use.

We actually stayed home all-day Saturday. I enjoyed my scripture study that morning reviewing President Nelson’s conference talk called “A New Normal.” He gave that talk toward the end of the COVID 19 Pandemic. I think the quote that impressed me the most was, “We live in a glorious age, foreseen by prophets for centuries. This is the dispensation when no spiritual blessing will be withheld from the righteous.” We do have an exciting future to look forward to.

We took care of several things around the house in preparation for our move. I spent much of the day getting caught up with a bunch of certifications that Darrin gave me to do for HawkSoft. I still have probably the same amount left that I hope to take care of on Monday. 

Sister Jones and Sister Polton

Before we were done for the day, we gave each other haircuts. That should be the last one we have to give each other before we leave.

Ward Council was good Sunday morning. I gave the training on record keeping and reports. I pulled much of it from Doctrine and Covenants 128:6-8 about recording ordinances in the Temple so the dead can be judged out of the books. Those books are the records we keep on earth.

Steve and I both gave talks in Sacrament meeting. I think they turned out well. We both spoke on Christlike service and related that to our missions. And of course, we talked about our love for the members of the Hikurangi Ward and how grateful we are for being able to serve here. 

After Church, we hung around for a little while taking care of things the Bishop asked us to do. After we got home, I started working on the recap and Steve made lunch. 

We were able to relax for the afternoon before we had an inspection Zoom meeting at 7:00. 

All Our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

Auntie Sandra's Breakfast, Zone Conference, Bonfire, and Stake Conference

What a week. No wonder I'm so tired. 🤪 Monday morning started with our Missionary Breakfast at Auntie Sandra's house. As usual, she went all out. Lots of delicious food and cute decorations for a fun party atmosphere. It was Halloween themed. We almost missed it because I failed to look at my computer that morning. I was taking a break from computers. Hahaha Thankfully, Elder Wilcox checked Messenger and found Sister Carlisle's message reminding everyone of the breakfast. We scrambled to get ready and go! Such fun when we got there and there was still plenty of food left. 

We spent the day sorting and packing stuff we won't be using for the rest of the mission. We cleaned the hall closets and packed souvenirs, Knick Knacks, and some winter clothes. We will be taking a bunch of clothes to the op shop before we go to make room for all the souvenirs. Haha

About the time we were both worn out, it was time to get ready to go to the Carlisle's for dinner. They had two other friends over as well. We had a wonderful time visiting and playing a game of Bank. 

We did our normal Monday video call on Tuesday. It was a little too tricky to coordinate on Monday. They are busy working on getting the space over the garage turned back into a little apartment for Laila, Tyus and Roman before we get home. Douhet is positive everything will be done in time. 

We had Comp Study with the Denby Sisters in the afternoon. Later we arranged to pick up a car for one of our sisters. She is unable to drive, and we were moving her to another place. All her belongings were in her car. We had to take the car to our house to pick up sometime later. Coordinating everything was a bit tricky, but it all worked out. 

Wednesday was a pretty busy day. We had DCM in the morning. We went immediately with the Carlisles to shop for Zone Conference food. We managed to be back by 2:00 as we were expecting someone to pick up the car we picked up the day before. The Hika Elders showed up for Comp Study a little after that. Not long after they left the others showed up to pick up the car. We had a nice little visit before they headed back home.  Then it was time to head to the Chapel for our Book of Mormon reading group. I am really enjoying our group. We lose some and get some different each week. If we could get everyone in the same week, we might need a bigger room. LOL As soon as that was over, we headed to the Snows for our Family Home Evening lesson. The kids were amazing, and we had a great time with everyone. After ice cream bars for dessert, we headed home. 

We had SPF on Thursday morning. Sister Allen talked about Doctrine and Covenants 58. She specifically focused on verses 26 through 29. These verses talked about being anxiously engaged in a good cause and being wise servants. We, as a mission, are working on an annual goal of 500 baptisms for the year. We are in a doable range if we continue to work hard and remain anxiously engaged. We will sprint to the end! I’m sure we can do it with the Lord’s help. The mission has never had that many baptisms in one year!

I was able to put in an hour or so working on HawkSoft ACORD forms. After that, we spent the rest of the day working on food prep for Zone Conference. Cooking most of the food on Thursday makes for a much easier day on Friday.

Friday was Zone Conference. We went a little earlier this time because the mission brough back the Haka and they were doing it before conference instead of at the lunch break like before. I wanted to make this conference a little special since it is the last meal we will be making for them. We angled the tables instead of just straight lines. We also decorated the tables with Bird of Paradise. They looked nice. We finished all the prep work before they did the Haka. They moved our center tables out of the way to make room for the Haka. it wasn't disturbed too much. We got to stand up front with the other missionaries who are leaving to go home. Technically we weren't going to be standing up front until the December Zone Conference, but since Sister Allen isn't going to be here in December, she wanted us to be part of the leavers. I'm glad, because this was OUR Zone Conference. In December, we will be meeting with another two Zones in Auckland. We will be standing up again, but it won't be quite as personal as this one was. It was an unexpected treat for us. 

We had a meeting with a new caterer who will take over the meals starting in January. She will have a Senior Missionary liaison between the Mission and her. It should be much easier for everyone. 

We rested for a bit when we got home and then headed out to our annual Ward Bonfire. We were tired, but I'm glad we went. It was a lot of fun, and we got to visit more casually with Ward members than we do at Church. 

Saturday was a Baptism for a young girl in our Ward. After the Baptism, I created her Baptismal Certificate so she could take it home the same day. Since we had Stake Conference this weekend, she would have had to wait a week before she got the certificate. While I had the Bishop there, I briefly went over the Membership Audit with him and printed some reports for him to review. Then we grabbed a quick plate of food before heading to the hospital to give a blessing.  

After the blessing, we went to the Stake Center for the leadership session of Stake Conference. We made it just in time. The theme for conference was Matthew 22:36-39. First to love God and second to love our neighbor. All the talks were related to that. We also had people from Auckland to kick off the Just Serve program of the Church. It has been available in the States for several years but is new to New Zealand. Whangarei is one of the pilot Stakes for the program. 

After the leadership session, we headed to the car to grab a protein bar for "dinner." Then we headed back in the adult session. There were different speakers, but they focused on the same theme. As we were getting ready to go home, Sister Nygren came up and asked with we wanted to go to dinner with them. There were four senior couples at conference. We all headed down the street to a Thia restaurant. We ate there not long after we moved to Whangarei with President and Sister Allen. We had such a good time getting to know a new Missionary Couple that will be taking over the Wards place in Wellsford. Elder and Sister Nixon are from Nevada. She is going to supervise the Zone Conference lunches, at least until another couple takes over for us. We sat across from them and had fun getting to know them.  We also had the Nygrens and the Carlisles.

Sunday finished our Stake Conference. It was a wonderful session. We had a beautiful children’s choir. They did an amazing job.  We also heard from a couple of youth speakers who also did an amazing job. We learned about Patriarchal Blessings from our Stake Patriarch and staying on the Covenant Path from and delightful Sister who talked about her journey back to Church and with a goal of the Temple. We heard from our Stake Presidency and a counselor in our Mission Presidency. The talks were inspiring and engaging. It was a wonderful Stake Conference.

At home, I did my scripture study and then worked on the recap for the week. I took care of a few other things before finally settling down for a relaxing evening. 

All Our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

 

Comp Studies, Visits, Organize, and Hamilton Temple

It seemed to take a few days to "recover" from our getaway to Queenstown. However, we jumped in with both feet. Monday morning started with helping Leona with something she needed to finish up her Seminary reporting. We had a wonderful visit.  

I spent much of the working on preparation for several things on our calendar. We scheduled our Comp Study with our missionaries for this transfer. I planned with Sister Carlisle the menu and preparations for our upcoming Zone Conference. I also prepared things for Ward Council, Sacrament Meeting, and several trips to Hamilton, Auckland, and Kaikohe over the next couple of weeks.

We visited a sweet Sister in our Ward who is in the hospital and at the end stages of her life. She has been homebound for several years after suffering a severe stroke. She had a mini stroke that put her in the hospital this time. As much as her husband hoped she would get well enough to go home so he could continue to take care of her, he was told that she doesn't have very much time left. She has been a stalwart member for many years and will be greatly missed. 

We had a lovely video call with Sierra after we got home. We chatted about how Monty and Rebecca are doing. We also chatted about all the things we need to get done before our mission ends. 

After the call, we decided to lay out a plan to accomplish all the things we have left to do before our mission ends. Some of them are basic deep cleaning and sorting and packing. Some of them are things we need to do, places we need to go, and people we need to see. Getting it all on a calendar actually helped a lot. It looks very doable now.

We are changing a couple of companionships around for Comp Study this transfer. The Carlisles are assigned to the Riverside Elders, and we are assigned to the Denby Sisters. We are keeping the other missionaries the same. However, the Riverside Elders hadn't been notified of the change yet and showed up for our normal Comp Study Tuesday morning. 

We had lunch and took care of a few things before the Denby Sisters showed up for their Comp Study. In the future we won't have the Riverside Elders anymore. 😢The Sisters decided they want to read the book "Saints," as both of them want to know more about Church History. We read and discussed the first two chapters. 

After they left, we went to see Ben and his mum. They were a little down in the dumps, so I'm glad we stopped by and visited them. On the way home, we picked up some groceries and apples so I could make Apple Crisp for DCM.

Wednesday morning brought a wonderful DCM meeting. One of the Elders in Wellsford was not feeling well so they didn’t make it to Whangarei for DCM. Since that companionship has the South District DL, the South District met with the North District. I always like it when we can all meet together. I made Apple Crisp for our dessert. Sister Carlisle supplied some cucumber, carrots, and cinnamon apple slices. The missionaries loved it. 

Later, we had the Hika Elders over for their Comp Study. We did scripture highlights and talked about some of the members in our Ward that they are working with. Not long after they left, the Riverside Elders were back. They officially were notified about the Comp Study switch at DCM. Elder Tumanuvao made some apple muffins with a caramel topping for us. We warmed them up a bit for our evening snack. So yummy.

Later, we headed to the Chapel for our Book of Mormon Reading group. I have really been enjoying our group. I like the questions and the discussions we have with our reading. Tonight, we covered chapters 13 and 14 in 1 Nephi.

We had a very nice SPF Thursday morning as Sister Allen shared things about President Oaks. After SPF, the Zone Leaders came by for our weekly Comp Study. We decided to study one of President Oaks’ General Conference talks that were mentioned in the SPF meeting. It was called Good, Better, Best.  We had a great discussion. 

After lunch, we spent the afternoon starting on some deep cleaning. We took care of all three of our hall closets. We cleaned the shelves and organized all the stuff that will stay with the house for the next senior couple. We also started putting things aside that we will be taking to the Op Shop. When we finished that, we cleaned and organized the pantry. It helps us see what we need to eat before we go home. LOL I'm so glad that is done. 

We were up at 4:30am Friday morning so we could make the long trip to the Hamilton Temple. We actually got to spend two days at the Temple with several beloved friends. On Friday, Dallas received his Endowment. We had Dallas and his wife in our first Temple Prep class when we first got here. His wife was ready to receive her Endowment about a year ago. We kept praying for Dallas. Over the last several months we could see a lot of growth and were so excited when he said he was ready. After the Endowment Session, nine of us went out to lunch to celebrate. Such a fun time. 

Friday evening, we were back in the Temple to do some Initiatory work. I was able to finish up all my names! I was so happy. We went back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning started with the sealing of Dallas and Wini and their three children. This is kind of the culmination of our mission. We have watched them both grow so much. We prayed they could be sealed before we went home, so this was an answer to prayer. It was such a lovely event. There was so much love in the room. They had great support from a lot of people who were willing to drive all the way to Hamilton for their sealing. An Aunt and Uncle came all the way from Australia for the event. 

After the sealing, we took pictures and visited nearly everyone who attended. Then we headed over to the dining room in the housing section of the Temple, where there was a nice little luncheon prepared for everyone. We enjoyed our two days at the Hamilton Temple. It is probably the last time we will ever be there. I’m so happy it was such a wonderful occasion to celebrate with such special friends. 

We had a nice drive home. The weather was gorgeous and even pretty warm. I think summer is just around the corner. … At least until the next storm. LOL

We had a great Ward Council meeting Sunday morning. I loved the training that Brother Holtz did. He gave us assignments for the last couple of days and then had us report in our meeting. It was very spirit filled. 

Fast and Testimony meeting was very nice. I enjoyed each and every testimony that was born. I almost got up to bear my testimony about Temples and the sealing of Dallas and Wini, but I know I will be bearing testimony next month for sure.

I spent the second hour in the clerk’s office taking care of several things for the Bishop. He is working hard to get our replacement. We have Stake Conference next weekend, so it will be at least two more weeks before that happens. 

At home I worked on a few more things for the Bishop before I did my weekly blog. Then it was time to relax before we start again next week…which looks like it will be even busier!

All Our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

Transfer Breakfast and Queenstown!

I love our Transfer Breakfast where we get to meet the new missionaries in our District. We got up early to get everything ready and started cooking. The Carlisles arrived around 8:30 to make the waffles and scramble the eggs. Elder Wilcox fried bacon, I put the hashbrowns in the oven and cut fruit. We met our three new missionaries. We have a total of five in the Zone, but we didn’t have the whole Zone for breakfast. After breakfast we played several getting-to-know-you games. Everyone had fun. We enjoyed getting to know each other better. I love these breakfasts because it is a way to become an instant family.

After everyone left and we were all cleaned up, we had our video call with MyLiege's family. Sean joined us on the ride home from Church. We enjoyed talking with the whole family. Well, not Djeryd and Eva. They didn’t come over so we didn’t get to see Ruthie. 😢I have to admit; I am looking forward to being able to hug our great grandbabies in December. 

After the call, we watched the first part of Follow Him, as well as doing a load of clothes before we left on Tuesday. We also called Joey for her birthday. We had to leave a message, so we sang to her. We took care of a few other things like packing. Not long after that we headed to bed early!!!

3:30am came early that Tuesday morning. We caught an early flight from Whangarei to Auckland. I rather liked dealing with our little airport in Whangarei compared to the BIG airport in Auckland. We had a short layover in Auckland before we boarded our airplane for Queenstown. We landed in Queenstown at 9:30am. By the time we got to the hotel it was nearly 10:30. I was sure there would be NO WAY we could check into our room that early, but they were almost done cleaning our room when we got there and it was ready by the time we finished our check-in. That was so nice to check-in and get unpacked. 

We were in the secluded Waterfall section. It was the furthest away, but it had the most incredible view and a full wall of windows. We had a waterfall out the window, as well as a lake, and of course, beautiful mountains and lots of trees.  We unpacked and went to get some lunch to take back to our room. We sat at a little table by the big window and ate our lunch. After lunch, we still had a couple of hours before we had to pick up Brother Ah Mu, so we decided to take a nap. Did I say that 3:30am is really early? I don’t ever take naps, but we both managed to fall asleep. We were tired.

We picked up Brother Ah Mu from the airport and took him back to the hotel to check in. Then we went sightseeing around downtown Queenstown. We looked for someplace for dinner as well as checked out the local sights. After dinner we went to a place called Skyline and then rode a gondola up the mountain. We couldn’t get over how quiet the ride up the mountain was. It was also very beautiful. At the top we got out and walked around the area. We went to the view deck to take some pictures. It was actually snowing a little. There were very tiny flakes, but it was snow!!! On the way back down the mountain, we rode in a gondola with another family. The aunt and uncle were from the Philippines, and the rest of the family were living in Auckland. They had a couple of kids who were so excited to see the wild goats on the mountainside. We all spotted goats for them to take pictures. We had a nice little visit with them. I mentioned that Brooklyn will be going to the Philippines in January to serve a mission. They were very nice people. Then it was back to the hotel to get some rest for Wednesday's adventures. 

Wednesday morning took us about an hour away to a place called Glenorchy. That is the nearest town to the “real middle-earth” locations. We drove further into nature amidst the beautiful mountains, rivers and lakes. Elder Wilcox did a better job of picturing scenes from the movies than I did, because I don’t always pay attention to details. However, the views were spectacular. No wonder Peter Jackson and many others have chosen that location for backdrops to their movies. It is virgin area, virtually untouched by man. 

We went down some gravel roads off the beaten path that took us to even more incredible places. That was when we started seeing lots of sheep. It is true that there are more sheep than people in the South Island. Since it is springtime there, there were lots of adorable little lambs. We were surprised that so many sheep gave birth to twins. In a couple of herds, we only saw two lambs with every sheep. Other herds had a mixture of one or two little lambs. 

Brother Ah Mu took us further back. We drove across two streams. There was a total of seven streams to cross. However, when we got to the third stream, the increased rainwater rose the stream to an unsafe crossing. We turned the car around and headed back to town. 

We then went to see the old Gold Rush area, in particular what legacy the Chinese immigrants built up and left behind. Pretty much after all the gold was mined, the old miners left in search of more gold. However, before they left, they let the Chinese immigrants come in to work the mines even though there wasn’t much gold left. The immigrants that stayed ended up reverting back to what they knew, growing food. They had a hard life but left a legacy behind. 

After lunch, we went to Arrowtown. It is this very cute, picturesque town that looks like it is out of an old movie. We walked down main street and stopped in several of the various shops along the way. Sometimes we just looked in the windows. Of course, we had to check out the Sweet Shoppe and the Ice Cream place. We also visited a little museum/art show in town.

As I reflected on the day, I realized that the weather just kept getting better and better throughout the day. When we were strolling down the street in Arrowtown, I didn’t even wear my jacket. Before we came to Queenstown, the long-term weather forecast for that week was very, very stormy. We didn't see any of that. I found out later that the storm hit on the coast of the island and it was pretty severe. Queenstown is more inland and only had a few little showers and some heavy winds. 

When we got back to our hotel, I sat in front of our beautiful view and wrote about my day. 😊

The storm must have hit Queenstown in the middle of Wednesday night, because we woke up to evidence of the storm. The normally little waterfall/stream that runs just in front of our window was a raging, muddy waterfall. Granted, it doesn’t fall very far, but I could see the top of the falls from my window when normally I can only see the flowing stream. It was also raining and very windy. 

Our first stop was a little town called Cromwell just north of Queenstown. By the time we got there the rain had stopped and the wind had died down. We got out and looked around. It was a gold mining town and had lots of relics from all the mining. It also has a lot of sheep. We got up and got close to the sheep. 

From there we headed further north to Wanaka. We stopped along the way to take more pictures. We had a nice lunch in Wanaka. We could over look a big lake while we ate. It was nice. We headed back to the hotel after that. We took the scenic route back. We went up a mountain and saw some beautiful sights. At the summit it was a little cloudy and extremely windy. We could feel the car shake when we stopped to take a picture. The road down was very, very windy. Some of the turns were very tight and were almost 360 degrees. We went very slow. We pulled off on a few turnouts to get more pictures. 

The weather was pretty good for the rest of the day. We still had some wind, but it wasn’t too strong. By the time we got back to our room, our little waterfall was once again a small waterfall/stream.

On Friday, we had beautiful sunshine for most of the day, although it was much colder today. The Lord really blessed us on our trip. The forecast had been stormy, but we had great weather all four days. 

Our journey took us to the top of the mountain that we could see out of our window from our hotel room. There were some breath-taking views to see. We stopped several times on the way up the mountain. We wanted to go as high as we could to finally see some snow. There was a little snow on the roadside, but the road became very icy, so we decided it was high enough. Elder Wilcox got out of the car to take some pictures. It was COLD. 

After our mountain trip, we stopped at McDonalds for lunch. We enjoyed a nice visit before we headed back to the Hotel. Brother Ah Mu checked out that morning, but his flight didn’t leave until 8:00pm. So, we went back to our room and spent the afternoon playing some games. We played a dice game called Bank and a card game called Swoop. We also made Brother Ah Mu watch our Christmas Eve video that the kids put together for us during COVID when we couldn’t be together. We have watched it several times since we have been here. This Christmas we will be home! After that, We said our goodbyes and Steve took Brother Ah Mu to the airport.

After one final breakfast at our hotel on Friday morning, we packed up and checked out of the hotel. The hospitality was incredible. Our view was beautiful. There were a few things I would have liked to be a bit different. The bed was very low, so it was hard to get in and out. I guess we are just a little too old, hahaha. There was no TV, but we managed to do other things like play games and actually go to bed earlier than normal. We got nearly 8 hours of sleep every night. YAY!!!! Those were minor inconveniences compared to the way everyone was so welcoming and helpful. Breakfast was included with our room, and it wasn’t just a continental breakfast either. It was a restaurant breakfast. We enjoyed it every day. Most of the workers were on Holiday Work Visas from other countries. They were all young and so fun to be around. 

Then we headed to the airport. Once again, the weather was beautiful. There were white billowy clouds and blue skies. I think the snow level was a bit lower on the mountains. The scenery in Queenstown was breathtaking. The scenery in the North Island is also very beautiful, but we don’t have the mountains there like they have in the South Island. 

We flew into Auckland and had a 2-hour layover. We grabbed some lunch while we waited. When it was time for our short flight to Whangarei, they announced two flights. The waiting room for all the flights further up north were all in the same place. We waited until the announced Whangarei before we got up. However, we somehow managed to get in the middle of the crowd going to the other place. Both flights went through the same door from the waiting room to go down a hall that had various gate numbers leading off the walkway. We ended up following the crowd and boarded the wrong plane. Gratefully the flight attendant at the door spotted the boarding pass and saw we were on the wrong plane. Our gate was 39. We assumed it was at the end of the walkway because it was one of the highest gate numbers. The crowd went to 36 which was actually at the end of the walkway. Anyway, we turned around and went back the way we came and found 39 was halfway down the walkway. We made the flight and managed to make it home. I’ve never been in such a confusing gate situation as that one. It was good to be home.

We got home early enough to shower and even do a load of laundry. We watched a little TV and headed off to bed. 

On Sunday, we had a very constructive Ward Council meeting. We also had a delightful Primary Children’s Sacrament Program. We had nearly 20 primary children all bearing testimony and singing songs. Some of their talks were in Māori. Usually, those were then interpreted into English (but not all got interpreted. 😢) Other talks were in English. They did a beautiful job. I think they may have included a few of the older nursery kids in the program.  They all did an amazing job. We even had several solo songs by the kids that were absolutely beautiful. I was very impressed. And the solos were not done by the oldest kids either.

We had record numbers in our Sacrament meeting so that was awesome too. Unfortunately, not everyone stayed for our Soup Sunday after Church. We had a good turnout, but so many left after the Sacrament meeting, I know it could have been an even bigger turnout. The food was great, and we enjoyed visiting with those that stayed. 

After Church, it was home to work on my recap and to rest up from our vacation. LOL

All Our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox