Early Morning Seminary, General Conference, Zone Conference, and Funeral

What a week! This was our last week of Seminary before a two-week break between terms. Somehow, we ended up attending in-person for three of our four days! On Monday, we went to the Stake Center for early morning Seminary. Normally that class in on Zoom, but with this the last week before the break, one of the Bishops wanted to prepare breakfast for all the kids. I think because he was the Bishop of the Monday Seminary teacher, we had breakfast on Monday. We were asked to be her second adult and to help out with the Zoom portion of her lesson, since she has three students from Bream Bay. She normally only has about six kids on Zoom. She had thirteen show up in-person! It was a good experience for all. I'm sure breakfast helped some of the kids decide to show up. Hahaha

I spent the rest of the day involved with the New Convert Initiative report, the Area Call associated with the New Convert Initiative, and watching some General Conference. With the time difference between New Zealand and the United States, we don't usually watch it live. We had originally planned on watching the last Sunday Session live on Monday morning, but then we had to attend Seminary at the same time. So, we watched all of conference on YouTube. We watched the Saturday morning opening session of conference on Sunday afternoon. On Monday, we watched the second session. 

On Tuesday morning, we were at the Hikurangi Chapel for early morning Seminary because the Elders were teaching, and they needed a male second adult. As it turned out, one of the fathers came and stayed, but of course we didn't know that was going to happen. We had a good lesson, and I know how helpful it is to the Elders to have several more people in class. 

Elder Wilcox and Elder Dixon

I worked on some more New Convert Initiative stuff, some HawkSoft work, and we were able to watch two sessions of General Conference. Later, we made some snacks for Wednesday's DCM meeting. Steve made a fruit salad, and I made some banana bread. 

During the day, we received some hard news. The first news was that our beloved friend, Sabrina Batista had passed away. She was one of our Portuguese Interpreters in Salt Lake City on our last mission and we grew to love her so much. We had hoped to see her when we got home from our New Zealand mission, but we will have to wait now until it is our time to pass over. 

Devyn

Then, a couple of hours later, we learned that another beloved friend here in New Zealand passed away suddenly. Kalani Wihongi is one of the sweetest men I know. His poor wife was visiting their daughters in Hamilton when he passed away at home in Tikipunga. It was a sad day. 

Wednesday was a very full day. Thankfully, we didn't have to get up extra early for Seminary! But we were up and ready for DCM. Our fruit salad and banana bread were a hit. We had the APs join us. They stopped by our house the night before to pick something up for Zone Conference and smelled the banana bread. When I told them it was our DCM meeting, they said they would be there! Hahaha

Lily May

Elder Wilcox left DCM as soon as it was over so he could go all the way to Punaruku to meet the glass repair man. We had to have the sliding glass door replaced after one of the Elders bumped it with his bag a few weeks ago. I had the Carlisles take me home so I could spend the day working on my Seminary lesson for Thursday. By the time he got home, I was done with the lesson, and we were able to watch the last session of General Conference. When that was over, we headed to the Hikurangi Chapel for song practice for our Easter Sacrament program and then to help with the Young Women's activity. They were making white handkerchiefs for the Auckland Temple Dedication. Several Relief Society sisters joined as well. 

Sister and President Allen

Thursday morning started with early morning Seminary at the Whangarei Stake Center. We didn't have breakfast, but I did take some mini candy bars for them. 🍫We had eleven students show up. The whole week was focused on sections in the Doctrine and Covenants that called several brethren to missionary work. Section 30 through 36. On Tuesday, the Elders taught the lesson entitled Choosing to Serve a Mission. They were perfect for that. They taught our Hikurangi students. I taught the lesson entitled Diligence in Missionary Work, to the rest of the Stake Seminary. I asked our Zone if any of the missionaries had an experience where they showed diligence that resulted in a baptism. Elder Hague said he had one and was willing to come and share it. I started the lesson with a story call Fourth Floor, Last Door. In this story, the missionaries were discouraged because no one was willing to talk to them. They knocked on every single door of the entire four-story complex. They wanted to leave after the first floor, but they continued. They continued to the last door on the fourth floor. Finally, a young girl opened the door and convinced her mother to let them share their message. They gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Several weeks later the small family of a mother and two daughters were baptized. One of those daughters eventually married Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Elder Uchtdorf was grateful those missionaries pursued with diligence, instead of giving up.

I focused my lesson on everyone being diligent in missionary work, not just full-time missionaries. I wanted them to recognize we are all missionaries. We are to Love, Share, and Invite. Missionary work is not just "door knocking". We are missionaries when we are examples of what we believe, like doing good and serving other. We can share by simply telling our friends what we did at a youth activity or what we may have learned in Sunday School or Seminary about the love of Jesus Christ for us. We can invite them to our activities, to hear us talk in Sacrament meeting, to the Temple Open House. or to our Easter Sacrament meeting. 

When we got near the end of our lesson, I invited Elder Hague up to share his story.  Elder Hague shared an experience he had where he showed diligence in serving when he was discouraged and sick. After they had prayed, he and his companion decided to continue with the appointment they had scheduled, even though they thought it wouldn’t amount to anything. Long story short, the man agreed to be taught and after a few weeks joined the Church. It was a perfect ending to our lesson and the students enjoyed it.

After we got home, the Bishop showed up with some problems he wanted help with. We ended up calling Global Services. We were told we would have to send the problems to the Salt Lake City Finance department to get fixed. Some of these problems were three years old, before he was even the Bishop. After he left, Steve ran some errands, including picking up the Bishop's trailer. We needed to take some bikes to Auckland for Zone Conference and to pick up some mattresses that we had to take back up north. I did some work on HawkSoft while he was gone.

We hit the road on Friday morning before the sun was up. It wasn't completely dark, but it definitely wasn't light either. We didn’t even get to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, because it was raining. 🌧️ The Hikurangi Elders arrived at our house a little after 6:30am. We had to be in Auckland before 9:00. We had assignments to help with before Conference started. I worked in the kitchen and Elder Wilcox worked with the bikes and mattresses. I think he also helped set up tables and chairs and whatever anyone else asked him to do.

We were able to join Zone Conference a little after 10. We heard the last of the Testimonies of the missionaries who are leaving. Then we went into the Easter Devotional portion of the meetings. There were five musical numbers from the different Zones that were there. Each musical number had someone announce the song. Part of that announcement was they gave a beautiful testimony/talk about the song and what it meant to them. They were all very touching. Then those participating in the number got up and performed. The first song was a powerful of There is Peace in Christ. Sister Tayler was our soloist. She has an absolutely beautiful voice. Her pianist was Sister Fale, who used to be in our district. She plays wonderfully. I really loved that number. 

The next song was I stand All Amazed by the Whangarei North and South Districts. Somehow Elder Dixon roped us into it even though we are in the Central District. Elder Dixon played his guitar, and we had about a dozen or more missionaries sing, including three Senior Couples. I think it turned out really good. 

Our third song was a solo by Elder Fa’Aoso and a violin by Sister Foote. It was a beautiful arrangement I had never heard before of There Is a Green Hill Far Away. The violin added so much. I was very moved. 

Our fourth song was by our Whangarei Central District. We had two guitarists, Elder Hague and Elder Maraetefau. We sang I know That My Redeemer Lives. The Sisters started, then the Elders, when we all sang together. It turned out pretty good too. 

The last song was done by the Office Elders, Aps, and Media Specialist Sisters. They sang one of my favorite songs called, Bethlehem.   It was also so beautiful. The whole program took by breath away. The Spirit was so strong. 

President and Sister Allen spoke to us about Easter. I missed part of President Allen's talk because I had to go help in the kitchen again to get ready for lunch. 

Lunch was delicious. Have the group got flu shots while the other half started on lunch. Then the second half got their flu shots. After lunch we took group pictures. My phone was in another room, so I didn’t get any pictures. I’ll have to pull them off of the shared drive once they get posted. 

Saying Goodbye to Elders Sanders

Then it was time for GAMES! Such fun times. Sister Warword organized so very fun games starting with an Easter Egg Hunt. In some of the eggs there was a puzzle piece. They had to put the puzzle together. Not all the eggs were found so we had a few pieces missing. The first team to guess the picture before it was completed got a prize. We had several other games around the Cultural Hall. Sister Nash and I worked on the Red Solo Cup and ball game. Let’s just say, the missionaries laughed a lot and had fun. I don’t know what all the other games were like. 

We ended by singing God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again in Māori. It is ALWAYS beautiful and makes me cry. We all said our goodbyes to those missionaries who are leaving. I gave special hugs to Elder Sanders and Sister Foote. I hugged them all, but I know those two better. Everyone had a hard time leaving because it is so fun to visit with everyone. 

We received some GREAT news. Our Denby e-bike Sisters NOW have a CAR!!!! YAY!!!! I have been so worried about them on their e-bikes with bad brakes, and in the rain. I’m so happy they have a car now.

Saturday was a day of service and lots of driving. We started by dropping the twin sized mattress off at the Elders' flat in Kaikohe. I think they now have three Elders in the flat. From there we headed about a half hour away to Chapel in Awarua for the funeral of a dear friend who passed away suddenly this past week. It was a smaller Chapel that he attended as a young boy. He grew up there, served his first Sacrament there, and left on his mission from there. His family was in the process of moving back to the family homestead. They had been working on the property for several months to get it ready to move in. They were just about ready. The Chapel was filled to overflowing with so many friends and family. It was a beautiful and heart-felt service. 

After the funeral, we headed to Dargaville over an hour away to drop off a queen-sized mattress at Elder and Sister Buchannan’s flat. They will be leaving soon, but they are expecting another Missionary Couple to move into their flat before they leave. They needed a bed for their spare bedroom. We borrowed Elder Carlisle’s portable drill so we could put the base of the bed together. When we dropped the bed off, the Buchanan’s thanked us and said they could put it together. We mentioned we had the portable drill and talked them into letting us help. With all of us helping, we had the whole thing together in less than 30 minutes. Sister Buchanan said it would have taken them until Monday to have done it with their hand tools. I’m so glad Elder Wilcox thought to ask Elder Carlisle to borrow the drill. What a life saver. 

Sunday was a very special day. For a great many people, it was a once in a lifetime occasion. We were able to gather at the Whangarei Stake Center, present our Temple Recommend, and attend the Auckland New Zealand Temple Dedication with Elder Patrick Kearon. 

Steve and I had a flood of memories come back to us that nearly overwhelmed me. I’m not sure how many Temple Dedications we participated in while we were serving in Global Interpretation. We thought of the wonderful people we worked with and the hundreds of dedicated interpreters who do so much and rarely ever get any acknowledgement. I reached out to Curtis and Eunlan to see which one might be working the dedication. Curtis replied back, saying he was assigned, but all the interpreters were either on Tieline, or onsite. They sent him home.😢I told him we were thinking of him anyway. 

We were there an hour early so we could sit in the Chapel. It was a good thing we went that early, because it was almost full when we got there. By 9:30 the overflow was full, and they had locked the doors. They HAD to be in the Stake Center by 9:30. They held a rebroadcast session at 2:00 so hopefully no one would miss out. 

The choir of 12 did a beautiful job. I loved all of their songs. The speakers were great, and of course, listening to Elder Kearon was a great blessing. It was overwhelming to stand and give the Hosanna Shout with so many Saints and then sing The Spirit of God. I have to admit it was a much more emotional experience for me than most of the ones we watched in Salt Lake. I think it is because this is our Temple and not just a Temple. This is actually the first Temple that (at least for our time here) is our Temple that we’ve been able to participate in. We missed the Portland Temple Dedication by two weeks. We were in the process of moving to Oregon when the Temple was dedicated. 

It made me think about my Sunday School lesson last week. We talked a bit about where Zion is. The early Saints were told to build Zion and, like many of us think, they thought it was a specific place. We have learned that Zion is the Pure in Heart. There are hundreds and thousands of Zions around the world as we gather to our Stake Centers, commonly referred to as the Stakes of Zion. In the course of that lesson, I said, “Right now my Zion is right here with each and every one of you.” I remember having a overwhelming feeling come over me as I knew how true that is. Right now, on this mission, my home, my Zion is here. When our mission ends and we go home, we will return to that Zion home. Zion is wherever the Saints are gathered together. 

I pray we will all be together in Zion someday!!!

All our Love and Prayers,

Elder and Sister Wilcox

Senior Activity, Comp Studies, District Lunch, and Flat Inspections

Monday started off with a trip to Dargaville with the Carlisles so we could meet up with the other Senior Couples for lunch. Elder and Sister Buchanan are going home soon, and we wanted to have a nice luncheon with them. They wanted to host it at their house since it is practically on the beach. They have such a beautiful view from their living room window. All seven couples made it. We did potluck. Everyone brought something and the food was delicious. The company was even better. I love these Elders and Sisters so much. We always have fun getting together.

We didn't really "do" anything besides eat and talk, but it was the BEST!!! We sat at one end of the table with the Bowens and the Wards. The Carlisles were next to us and across from the Buchanans. At the other end of the table were the Bennions and the Michaelsons. Lots of great discussions filled our time. When it was time to leave, we decided to take a little walk on the beach. 

The Carlisles were braver than us and walked from the house down about 54 steps to get to the beach. Elder Wilcox and I knew our knees, ankles, and hips would NOT take that many steps, so we actually drove right on the beach. So much easier. LOL The beach was so long in both directions. The sand was hard and easy to walk on. We didn’t even have to get our shoes wet. 🤣 We picked up some shells, took several pictures and enjoyed the beautiful view and nice weather. Then it was time to head home. Of course, we made it back just in time to get into rush hour traffic. 😞It was a wonderful and relaxing day. I loved it!

I spent most of Tuesday getting everything done that I didn't do on Monday. LOL I worked on the New Convert Initiative, my Seminary Lesson, and even some work on HawkSoft. The Bishop asked us on Sunday for some ideas on an Easter Program for Easter Sunday. Elder Wilcox and I talked about a few different things we could do. I typed it all up, as well as some ideas for youth activities that MyLiege had sent me. The Bishop came over Tuesday afternoon and picked them up. He picked one of the Easter Program ideas we gave him. He also loved the youth activities we gave him. Later Elder Wilcox picked up Elder Carlisle and headed to one of the missionary's flats to does some work on issues that the landlord reported on. 

Sean called me later in the day. I think he was bored since the rest of the family was away. He had been sick for a couple of weeks. He is finally on the mend. Anyway, he told me he had come home from Church on Sunday and wanted to read my weekly blog. His eyes hurt because of his illness so he sent the blog to an AI program. It generated a “podcast” of two people discussing my week of service based entirely on my blog. The people sounded real and not computer generated. They had personalities and lots of inflections in their voices. At first, I was trying to figure out who was talking. I was amazed at the “podcast”. I got tired just listening to everything they said. It was about a 20-minute talk show. Sean sent me the recording so I could listen to it later. He only shared a few minutes with me on the call. Modern technology is so fun sometimes. 

Sister Jones and Sister Brough

Wednesday morning started with meeting the Stake Seminary Supervisor at the Stake Center so I can start holding my Thursday Seminary class in person rather than on Zoom. She showed me where class is held and the Seminary cupboard, etc. She also gave me a key. About the time we finished with that, it was time for our DCM meeting. The Zone Leaders joined our meeting since they were doing the training. One of my favorite parts about DCM is our 2 stars ⭐ and 1 wish 🌠. We each have an opportunity to tell 2 great things that happened in our week and then 1 wish or goal that we have control over. For example, we can’t wish that everyone we talk to will get baptized, because that would take away their agency. It has to be something we can control, like wishing I could get more out of my personal scripture study, by praying before I study. Anyway, it is always an interesting experience. I love hearing about all the wonderful things happening in the lives of our missionaries.

After DCM, we headed home to make lunch for the Hikurangi Elders before we did our Comp Study with them. We had a good time visiting and a great study time. We left right after that to go with them to a teaching appointment. They are now teaching Ben’s mother. Ben was baptized a few weeks ago, and his mum is impressed with the changes in his life. She is coming to Church and now taking the lessons. I’m glad we got to go with them.

Once home, I got to work on finishing the New Convert Initiative report. I also sent out the Ward Council agenda. Later we had a video call with the Stake Clerk to fix a problem in our finances that has been there since 2022. And later still we had a video call with President and Sister Allen and all the other Senior Missionaries. Fun Times!

Our Thursday was very busy. Our in-person Seminary class was so much better than Zoom. We had six young men show up. They all participated and answered questions and read. We had a good discussion on General Conference preparation. 

Pretty much the rest of the day was one Comp Study after another. The first to show up were the Riverside Elders. We studied Section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants since that was the Come Follow Me lesson for the week. We didn't quite finish our study before it was time for SPF. That meeting focused on some changes to DCM as well as preparation for the Auckland Temple Dedication on 13 April. For many of these missionaries it will be a once in a lifetime experience. 

After they left, the Ngahere Sisters showed up for their Comp Study. They also wanted to study our Come Follow Me lesson. Instead of just reading and discussing Section 29, we went to the Come Follow Me manual and followed the first two suggestions for what to look for and how it applies to our life.

Elder Soares is actually in this group picture.

Lastly, the Denby Sisters showed up for their Comp Study. Poor girls were soaking wet. It rained all day, and they were on e-bikes.  The bikes work great when the weather is dry but are not the best thing for Sisters when it is rainy! We are praying that a car will become available for them very soon. On top of the rain, both bikes have break problems, and they can’t get them into the shop until the 17th of April. I am not happy with this situation. The e-bikes may get traded out at our Zone Conference, but that is still a week away.

The Sisters also wanted to study Come Follow Me Section 29. So, we read that one once again. Each discussion was unique, even though we were reading the same verses. We discussed different thoughts and feelings about different verses. We all learned something that day. I think Elder Wilcox and I learned the most.

I managed to send out emails to all the Stake Clerks to help out with collecting the information for our New Convert Initiative in between the Comp Studies. We also managed to watch the first session of the Follow Him podcast.

I started Friday morning by helping Leona set up an automatic payment with her bank for the house she is renting to buy. She was very happy to get that done. When we were finishing, the Central District started showing of or a weekly District Planning meeting. The Ngahere Sisters showed up first and got to choose which room they wanted to do their planning in. The Riverside and Hikurangi Elders showed up shortly after that, and each with to a different room. Periodically someone would come out and ask some questions pertaining to planning, so we knew they were doing their planning. The DL would also periodically check in on them. 

We spent the "planning time" prepping for lunch and then watching the second half of Follow Him. We also were able to watch the World Report for 2025. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is so wonderful to see all the different things that have gone on in the Church for the last 6 months. The Church has done so much humanitarian work with floods, hurricanes, and wildfires in various areas around the US and the world. Several Temples were dedicated, and so many other things. They did a nice recap of the work that is being done on the Salt Lake City Temple. It is amazing.

When that was over it was time to make grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone. They were beginning to finish up, so our timing was perfect. We also had chips, cinnamon apples, some veggies, and cookies. I love just sitting and listening to them talk with each other. In such a short time, they have all become lifelong friends. 

We finally had to kick them out so we could get our flat inspections done. It takes almost three hours to do them all if we do them in one day. We were planning on taking two days because we had another teaching appointment with the Elders, but the first one went longer than expected. The Elders had someone else with them for teaching, so we ended up not going. Instead, we got the rest of the inspections done so we didn't have to go out a second day.  For the most part, all three flats looked good. Only one needed a little more work. I’m sure it will be better next time.

Saturday was very low-key. I fine-tuned my Sunday School lesson. I finalized the Ward Council Agenda and the Sacrament program. The Elders popped in to wash up and clean their shoes. They were visiting someone in the neighborhood and managed to get a bit dirty. Once they were clean, they were out the door working again. After they left, we gave each other haircuts, before finally settling down for the day.

Sunday was Fast and Testimony for us. For the US it is General Conference Weekend. I started the day listening to the first session. I didn't get to finish it because it was time for our meetings to start. We started with Ward Council. Then we had a nice Fast and Testimony meeting, followed by Sunday School. We had such a nice turnout for Sacrament meeting, I was hoping to have a lot more in attendance for my Sunday School Class. It all turned out OK. After Church we had several things, we needed to take care of in the Clerk;s office. After I got home, there were a few other things to take care of before working on my weekly recap. Once that was done, it was time to enjoy some General Conference. 

It will take us a couple of days to listen to all of General Conference. Because of the time difference here, we (as in New Zealand) don’t watch conference until the following weekend. However, this conference will be an even long wait. Next Sunday is the Auckland Temple Dedication, so there is no conference then. The following week is Easter Sunday, so, again, no conference. They have scheduled General Conference for the 26th and 27th of April. I can’t wait that long!

One of our Supervisors posted a link to a Behind the Scenes of General Conference:  Interpretation video on YouTube. Season also sent us the link. It is only about 4 minutes long, but it will give you just a taste of what we were involved with for two and a half years. Many of the people in the video were people we worked with. It really made us miss this time we had in our last mission. If you would like to take a look, just click the video link above.  

I hope you enjoy General Conference!

All our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox