To There and Back Again

This marks the end of our mission to New Zealand. To quote Bilbo Baggins we went "To There and Back Again." It has been adventurous, incredible, beautiful, spiritual, and oh so fun. We have met so many amazing people, many of whom are related to Steve through his Scottish line. We have seen breathtaking sights from the beautiful beaches to the glow worms to the gorgeous vegetation that covers the island. We have immersed ourselves in the Māori Culture with their beautiful songs, the very cool Haka, and their love and respect for family and ancestors. Don't be surprised with we greet you with a big hug and kiss whenever we see you. That is the Māori way and we love it.

We only had a couple days in New Zealand this week before we were home again. Monday morning was spent making our final preparations to leave. We did the final washing of sheets and towels. We did the last-minute vacuuming and wiping down countertops. We cleaned the last things out of the fridge and cupboards. We even vacuumed the garage after we pulled the car out. We ate our last lunch to finish up the last bit of food. We packed the remaining things in a little bag for snacks. 

We only forgot two things. Steve left his Aussie hat on the top of the hall closet. The Carlisles are going to pick it up for us. We will get it from them sometime in the spring when we take a trip to Utah. They come home in February. And we forgot to take any last pictures of our house. 😢

John and Diane Hester

We headed to the Hester's house in Auckland and arrived around 3:30pm. We had such a wonderful visit with them. Diane made a delicious dinner and pavlova for dessert. It was perfect. 

Tuesday was VERY, VERY long. It was actually about 38 hours long for us. We got up at 7:00am and headed to the mission office about 8:45. After dropping our car and various keys off, Elder and Sister Holms drove us to the Auckland Airport. After getting all checked in, our flight took off around 2:30. We arrived in Los Angeles about 12 hours later. 

We had about a 4-hour layover before we boarded our plane to Portland. That flight was about 2.5 hours. We landed at 11:30am Tuesday, December 9th, which was about 3 hours before we left New Zealand at 2:30pm on December 9th. Crazy! We only slept a little while on the flight to Portland. For some reason we couldn't sleep on the very long flight from New Zealand. 

We met the family at baggage claim in the Portland airport. It was so exciting to see everyone. All our children, one spouse, three grandchildren, two grandchildren in-laws, and two great grandchildren. I was so excited that both let me hold them and cuddle them. I was afraid they wouldn’t know me. We talked to Ruthie on Zoom several times, so I was hoping she would be OK. She was absolutely FANTASTIC. She immediately came to me and just held me so tight. I loved it so much. Her baby brother was a good cuddler too, but he is only 4 months old and loves to be held. 

We unpacked our suitcases, tried to find some things in storage upstairs, had a delicious dinner at our son's house, (we live on his property, so they are our nearest neighbors), and then went to the Stake Center to be released. After we got home, we did more straightening before finally taking a shower and going to bed! I figured out that our December 9th was very close to 38 hours of awake time for us. 

We slept really well and woke up very late on Wednesday morning. LOL We are now "Back Again."

It has been a pleasure to share all our adventures with you!

All our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox