Comp Study, Book of Mormon, and Rainbow Falls

We called Griffyn on Monday to celebrate his birthday on Sunday back home. It was fun to talk with him. It looks like he will be driving when we get home! Before we left on our first mission, he was barely in Young Men.  Not long after that, we had our video call with MyLiege's family. All three girls were home, so we got to talk to each of them. Alyx sang her audition piece for us. Elle got contacts and looks more like Anna every time we see her.  Anna is still working on her mission preparation.  She and Sean just took a trip to New York last week. They had a great time. 

Tuesday was very low-key. We had comp study with the Riverside Elders. Part of our discussion included section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is all about the Priesthood. We had a very good discussion. After lunch, Steve did some shopping, and I worked on HawkSoft.

Wednesday was a little busier. I helped Leona with an automatic payment adjustment she needed to make. I think she will be fine in the future, should the need arise again. DCM turned out very well. The Zone Leaders went to the South District meeting and the STLs (Sister Training Leaders) came to our meeting. The Sisters also happen to be part of the Social Media team in the Mission. They filmed a short little video after DCM with all the missionaries in the Zone. I think it turned out cute. They staged Elder Carlisle on his knee holding a piece of paper in front of him facing Sister Carlisle. All the rest of the missionaries were gathered around Sister Carlisle looking very happy and excited. We were jumping and making noise. Sister Carlisle looked the happiest of all. The video camera showed us all very excited and then panned around until it focused on the piece of paper Elder Carlisle was holding. It said, “Will you go to Church with me?” It was perfect! 

After lunch the Hikurangi Elders came over to do comp study. We had a great discussion about section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants again. Elder Hunter had lots of questions. I very much enjoy our Comp Studies with the Missionaries.

I worked on a little Family History in the afternoon. I also made certificates for our Personal Finance class. Sunday is our last class. 

After dinner it was time to go to our Book of Mormon Reading Group. We had 5 people tonight plus the Elders and us. We had a wonderful reading and discussion. I think everyone enjoyed the group.

We had a wonderful Mission SPF meeting on Thursday morning. Sister Allen talked about excuses and how detrimental they can be for us. We need to take responsibility for our own actions or inactions. 

The Zone Leaders came over after SPF for our weekly Comp Study. We talked about the Priesthood and the Second Coming. It is fun to share scriptures and insights with each other. They are doing such an awesome job with our Zone. We love them!

After lunch, we headed over to Peggy’s flat so I could borrow her sewing machine again. We received a pair of pants from Elder Tumanuvao on Tuesday that needed hemming.  Thursday, Elder Mabaso asked if I could fix a seam that had ripped out of a pair of his pants. Peggy is so nice to let me borrow her machine. We had a very nice visit with them as well. We don’t get to see them very often in our ward because they both hold Stake Callings. Her husband, Steve is the Stake Clerk and Peggy is the Stake Primary President. They are in the middle of all the Primary Programs. It is always nice when they can attend our ward. 

When we got home, Elder Wilcox worked on sending out reminders for talks and prayers for Sunday. I updated the program and also worked on the Ward Council Agenda. I checked in with our Personal Finances Group. I also worked on our bills.

On Friday, we did some sightseeing. We realized that we haven’t been able to get out much except when we have had Senior Activities. We thought it might be good to see some of the sights around the North Island that we haven’t seen yet. 

We headed up north to Kerikeri to a place called Rainbow Falls. It was a very short walk from the car to the first look out point. The falls are beautiful. We could have walked back to the car and called it good, but since it was such a short walk, we decided to go a little further down the trail. There were several people at that next lookout point. As we got closer, we figured out why it is called Rainbow Falls. We stood much closer to the actual falls. The weather was perfect and the sun was shining. Looking down into the pool of water we could see a beautiful rainbow that stretched quite a way across the water. It was very bright near the falls, and lighter the further away it got. We met a nice couple there who live in a retirement community right next door to the falls. They say there are no signs that tell you where to see the rainbow and many people never see it. We were lucky. It had been raining all week, and the rainbow was not very visible. Today, we had sunshine and moderate temperatures. It was beautiful. 

After we left those falls, we drove to several other places in the north and also a little south of Whangarei. It was a very nice, relaxing day to see some of the many beauties of New Zealand.

Saturday was a preparation day for us. We took care of things around the house. Changed linen, did laundry, cleaned the house, etc. We also made a slow cooked soup for our Soup Sunday after Church. We did some preparation for our last Personal Finances class as well. 

I had several things to take care of for the Ward. We even set our clocks ahead for Daylight Savings. I even had some time to do a couple of certifications for Darrin. 

Later the STLs (Sister Training Leaders) came over to use our Wi-Fi. They are also the social media Sisters up north. They are the ones who made that cute video with the Carlisles on Wednesday. They had a few things to upload for that part of their calling.

We started Sunday with Ward Council. We had a good discussion on several topics. I love the opportunity to greet people when they come to Church. I hope that is the calling I get when we go home. 

Our Sacrament meeting felt very special. Our little primary girl was a little too shy to speak, so her mum gave her little talk. Next, we heard from last minute speaker we got on Thursday evening after the assigned speaker ended up in the hospital. He did a great job and shared stories of miracles, including his when he was severely injured and should have been paralyzed. After much therapy and surgery, he was able to walk again and even play rugby again. However, after he broke his arm playing rugby, he gave up the sport. Someone was trying to tell him something. 

Charlotta gave our next talk. She did a marvelous job. She talked about the difference between unity and uniformity. We want and need unity. We can all have different ideas but still have the same goals or purpose. Christ shared many times “that they may be one.” Uniformity, on the other hand, it trying to make everyone do the same thing the same way. It was an excellent talk that encouraged compassion. She said:

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

“Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate.”

Love is central to our discipleship. It’s not optional.

Love is Active, Not Just a Feeling 

We had a wonderful Relief Society lesson. We talked about the General Conference talk by Elder Stone called, “Charity—a Sign of True Discipleship.” We discussed how we can be better Disciples of Jesus Christ and implement Charity more fully into our lives. We even talked about several things we can do as a Relief Society to help strengthen our Ward. It was really good.  After Church we had our Soup Sunday. The food and fellowship were really good. 

Then, at 3:00, we had our last Personal Finances class. We really enjoyed this class, and I think everyone else did too. We have learned many things that can help our financial planning now and in the future. I made certificates for each class member. We also made Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to celebrate. It was a wonderful day! 

All our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox