Miracles, Missionaries, and Zone Conference 

After Seminary on Monday morning, we had a real treat. We started teaching our granddaughter, Madison, the Temple Prep classes. We had a wonderful Zoom meeting with her and a great discussion. We are looking forward to doing that each week for the next several weeks. After our lesson, we got to video visit with Season and some of the rest of the family. I love our weekly visits with each of our children and their families. 

I spent the rest of the day working on my Seminary lesson, some HawkSoft work, and a large task that I was completing for the Elders in our ward. I was amazed that all my projects were completed in record time. I was worried I wouldn't get it all done, and instead, I had time to help Steve with some clerking things he needed to work on. At 5:00 we walked over to Charlotta's house to have a wonderful dinner with her and her husband. I couldn't believe how quickly the time flew by. Before we knew it, it was 8:00 and we needed to head home to get to bed so we could get up early for Seminary. We experienced some miracles with time.

Tuesday took us to the Library after Seminary. I had no idea if or how many missionaries might show up to helps us out. We got there around 9:00. The Hikurangi Elders showed up a little before 10:00. They stayed until noon. Around 11:00, our Sister Missionaries showed up and stayed until noon. During that time, we experienced another miracle. In all the times we have been going to the library to find lost members of our ward so we could move them out of the ward, we only ever found one or two each time. On Tuesday, we found 28 names!!! It was mostly from one of the Elders who happened to look in the RIGHT book. There are 72 books to look in. The one he grabbed had a pot load of our "lost members" in it. We were so happy. The rest of us found a few more names, but Elder Dixon found the most.

We stopped at the hospital on the way home. The Bishop asked if anyone could visit Craig in the hospital and since we were in the area, we volunteered. There was a family that I had just mentioned to Elder Wilcox that we hadn't seen in a few weeks. I thought we should try and visit them that week. I didn't recognize the name the Bishop posted until I looked him up in the Ward Directory. He was the Brother whose family hadn't been there in a while. We had a short but very good visit with him. He was hoping to go home the next day or Thursday.

We arrived home about 2 minutes before 1:00. We were expecting Sister Budge to be there for her Pathway class. The Zone leaders were knocking on our door as we pulled into the garage. Elder Dixon had asked if we would be available between 1 and 3 that day for Elder Moyes to do his Pathway class. So, we put Sister Budge in the office and Elder Moyes in the spare room. The other sisters left to work in a threesome. I thought the remaining three Elders would do the same, but they hung around for lunch. Elder Dixon brought some food to make lunch. Elder Wilcox was already making our lunch before we knew Elder Dixon was making lunch. Anyway, everyone had some lunch and the Elders hung around for a while before eventually going out to work. Around 3, the sisters dropped off Sister Szott, Sister Budge's companion and they left. The Elders came and picked up Elder Moyes and they left. Sister Budge and Sister Szott stayed for our Companionship Study. They left around 4:15. I finally got on my computer so I could update all the findings we made at the library and help Elder Wilcox get them updated and moved out of the Ward Directory. I think we finished around 7:00.

On Wednesday, we headed to Whangarei to get our New Zealand Driver's License. We must get the license before we've been here a year. Steve wanted to get it done now so he would quit worrying about it. They require proof that you've been driving for 2 years. Both Steve and I renewed our license just before we left for New Zealand so we could get the new Real ID, consequently our issue date was only a few months. Luckily, we were told that we could request our Oregon Driving Record before we went to get our license. I was able to get mine with no problems. It took a while, but no problems. 😊

Elder Wilcox, on the other hand, ran into a problem. He should have had a line on his DMV record that stated the issue date of his previous license, however, it was missing from his record. That meant he could prove he had been driving for two years. I had a picture of his previous license on my phone, but that wouldn't work for them. So, he left without his NZ Driver's license. 😢Once we got home, I requested his record again and this time that line was there. 

Elder Lea'ana Carving the Pig

We went to our DCM meeting. Our District Leader has been sick and wasn't there. One of the Zone Leaders got an allergic reaction to a dog and was all swollen up. So, Elder Moyes stayed home with Elder Bailey so the other Elders could come to DCM. The other Zone Leader, Elder Sanders, ran the meeting.

After the meeting, we went to the Elder's flat to check out their broken washer. They have a washer just like ours so we brought our manual so we could determine what the error code they were getting meant. It turns out it is a water level sensor that isn't working. The solution...Turn off the water and call for a repair. We called Elder Garner to let him know. He asked us to find a repair man and get it fixed. We took care of that after we got home.

Since it was already halfway through the afternoon, we headed home so I could prepare the Seminary lesson for Thursday. Part of the lesson mentioned part of a talk by Elder Uchtdorf about going in circles in a forest.  I was going to show a short video about the experiment they did, but I’m always concerned about showing videos on Zoom. Some of them don’t have great Internet so the videos are very choppy. Instead, I decided to share my story about when I got lost in the forest next to our house. I thought the point Elder Uchtdorf was making could be met in my story too. Sometime personal experiences help to make a point. It was a scaled down version of my story.

The lesson went well on Thursday morning. I'm glad I did my story. I was able to engage the kids quite a bit by having them annotate on the screen answers to some of the questions. I think they prefer writing on the screen than answering out loud. Steve headed back to get his license, with his updated DMV report in hand. We also sent along a document from the panel doctor we saw to get our visas before going to New Zealand. Since Steve is over 75, he had to have some kind of medical certificate. He got there and almost immediately found out we forgot to send his passport too. So, he drove home and picked it up and went back. He walked in the door at 10:00, just as the Mission Zoom SPF meeting was starting. He still didn't get his license. Apparently, there is an official document he can only get by seeing a doctor here that he must turn in for his license. So, we set up an appointment for Monday morning after Seminary. Cross your fingers that the third time will be the charm. 🤞🤞🤞

Sister Paratene

We received a call from the Seminary teachers wanting to know if Elder Wilcox and the Elders could give her foster son a blessing. He is in a group care facility as he is severely handicapped. He is on Hospice now as well. He is in his 40's and has lived longer than expected at this point. We got a hold of the Elders, and everyone met at the care facility. Sister Paratene has never married. She raised four children belonging to her nephew. They were newborn, just turning 1, 2 and 3 at the time she got them. Plus, she supported the foster son from the time he was 7. She worked full time in different care centers, starting with the one where she met the boy who would become her foster son. She still works part-time now. She is an amazing sister. She asked Elder Wilcox to be voice of the blessing. He gave a beautiful blessing. The spirit was very strong. Dean, the foster son, cannot communicate but he can hear. He is also blind. He seemed pleased. We visited for a while and then Elder Dixon took out his guitar and sang two beautiful songs. I think he takes his guitar everywhere with him. 

The Missionaries that are leaving

Since we no longer have comp study with the Elders, we have not had a meeting where we could go over our ward together. We invited them over after the blessing. Since it was noon, Elder Wilcox made some lunch. We call it "Missionary". He ate it a lot on his mission when he was younger. Our kids and grandkids like it. Djeryd even asked for it for his birthday dinner. The Elders liked it too. 😊It is much better with Costco Polish dogs, but they don't have them here. 😢 

Elder Wilcox, Elder Cockbain, Sister Wilcox,
Elder Dixon, Elder Lea'ana, and Elder Bailey 

We spent the rest of the day and into the evening roasting vegetables and making brownies for our Zone Conference the next day. We received a call in the afternoon from the Office Elders asking us if they could stay at our place while they were up north for our Zone Conference. Because we only have a queen bed in the spare bedroom, one got the bed and the other one had to sleep on the floor. They were good with that. They were the Elders who arranged the pig for our conference. Apparently, they both served in that ward nine months ago and know the Elder Quorum President who was roasting the pig. Normally, they would have stayed with the Kreutzkamps because one of their extra bedrooms has twin beds in it, but Elder Kreutzkamp was sick. They got in about 9:00 that night and left early the next morning to help the Brother prepare the pig. They were absolutely no problem at all.

Friday was Zone Conference!!! We got there a little after 9:00. It started at 10:00, but we wanted to help with setup. Luckily several Elders arrived by 9:30 to help set up tables and chairs
We had everything ready to go before the conference started. I stepped out around 10:30 to get some of the roasted vegetables in the oven to warm them up. We had some mashed potatoes in a slow cooker to stay warm. Everything else was either room temperature or in the fridge. I checked a few more times and all was good. About 11:30, Elder Wilcox saw someone walk down the hall carrying a large metal food container. I followed them down the hall as they were putting stuff on the serving tables. I smiled and thanked them and then asked who they were. They said the Stake President had asked them to cater the Zone Conference. No one in our mission office nor anyone involved in the Zone Conference had any knowledge of this. So, instead of having a meal for 70 people, we had enough food for 140 people!!! I guess the spirit must have been telling me something, because I kept trying to find out if anyone else was supplying food. They kept telling me that it was JUST the guy with the pig. That was all. We gave away a LOT of leftovers. We called it the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Nothing ran out.

I sent Elder Wilcox to go buy some zip lock bags so we could bag up all the leftovers so people could take stuff home. While we were cleaning up, we got interrupted twice. The first one was to take a group picture and then for the Haka for all those missionaries who are going home. We had three couples going home and 5 (or 6) young missionaries leaving. The longer we are here, the more missionaries we know and love, the harder it is to say good-bye to them. It was very emotional for me. The second interruption was for a quick meeting about Flat Inspections. By the time we finished bagging food and doing dishes, it was nearly 2:00 PM. We were able to attend the closing session of Conference. Almost all the missionaries, senior and younger, were able to bear their testimonies. That was also fairly emotional. I know the Spirit was so strong. After a little more follow-through after the conference, we went home. We were exhausted!!!

Saturday, we slept in for the first time in ages. It was nice. We planned on doing laundry and other things around the house. I wanted to get a head start on my Seminary lessons and work on the Lost Members list, as well as anything else that came up. It was not meant to be. A little after noon we heard a knock on the door. Four Elders were at the door wanting to know if they could use our washer and dryer. We had not started our laundry yet, so we said yes. Elder Bailey was still unwell, so he rested in our recliner. The other three Elders went and bought some fish and chips take out and brought it back for lunch. We pulled out some salad fixings to go with it. After lunch, they debated on leaving Elder Bailey with us so they could go to work or take him with them. I felt he needed to go home and go to bed. He was getting weaker by the moment. He went to Zone Conference and then was out that morning too. I told him he over did it again, and needed to go home and go to bed and stay there until he was better. He said he wanted to go work, but in the end, he ended up at home in bed. We told the elders we would rotate their laundry so they wouldn't have to keep coming back to the house. As it turned out, they arrived back just as the last load finished drying. We finally started our laundry and managed to get it done before going to bed. After they all left after 2 (I think), I was able to start work on my lessons. I got most of it done. I never got around to the Lost Member list. Hopefully I can get that done before next Tuesday morning when we go back to the library.

Sunday was short and uneventful. Church was good. The Bishop was out of town, so we didn't have Ward Council. We were don't with everything not long after Church ended. We stopped by a less active member's house on the way home, but they were not home. At home, I started on the blog recap and then crashed on the couch. I keep thinking we will have a quieter week, but it won't be next week, that's for sure.

Happy Father’s Day to those in the USA. Father’s Day in New Zealand is in September, sol Elder Wilcox with get two of them. Lol.

I hope you have a GREAT week.

All our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox