Auckland at Night

 

Easter Sunday

Today is Easter Sunday.  Hard to believe we have been missionaries almost two months now.  Our MTC date was February 24^th, the date from which all others have relevance!

 Easter in NZ is a national holiday in combination with Good Friday and the following Monday.  So, there is a four day period where virtually everything is closed.  Since we are serving in the Area Office and it is closed as well, we literally have a four day period of discretionary time which brings me to the subject of senior missionaries.

There are thirteen senior missionary couples in the Auckland area, six of whom office together with us on the fourth floor of the Area Office.  The assignments include public affairs (us and another couple), CES working with the young adults, welfare, a doctor, a psychologist, area legal counsel and his assistant and self –reliance.   The Auckland Mission office is just around the corner.  Two senior couples serve there and are very busy given growth in missionaries assigned to the area.

The Area Office includes approximately 55-60 full time Church employees as well as the Area Presidency.  It is located on the north shore in a suburb of Auckland named Takapuna, an upscale suburb at that.  I admit I never envisioned this type of an environment.  My vision included the austerities of a nineteen year old proselyting missionary in South Germany. (You California RMs can’t relate.)  Quite to the contrary.  New Zealand could not be more modern.  While more expensive by about 30%, every creature comfort you find at home is readily available in abundance.  As an example, the Area Office is across the street from Shores, a large upscale shopping mall including a food court.

Our day begins with a ten minute walk to the Area Office arriving at 8:30 AM.  We have a car but parking is for the most part unavailable.  The day typically concludes at 4:30 PM with an hour for lunch.  Frequently, we will pack a lunch and eat in the downstairs break room.  Our evenings and weekends are generally free unless we are on assignment which in the past has taken us to Christchurch, Hamilton (location of the temple) and in the near future to Wellington, the NZ capital.

During the day, we work on a variety of activities.  However, our primary effort centers on the Church pacific newsroom site,  www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz.  Please log on and amaze yourselves at all of the articles which for the most part are the effort of Elder and Sister Wallace.  I am sure a Nobel Prize in “literature for newsrooms” is in the offing although I have yet to hear from Sweden.  This could be reasonably compared with Obama’s Nobel Prize for Peace after less than one year in office but I digress.   In addition and from time to time, we plan for particular public events.  The next is a Young Single Adults to Parliament to be held in Wellington in May.  There, fifteen young adults from various stakes together with ten Catholic young adults will observe a parliamentary session , host a luncheon where Elder Kevin Pearson together a member of Parliament will speak and participate in a debate concerning religious freedom.

 Our ward assignment is Glen Innes, a suburb of Auckland.  The membership is mostly Polynesian.  These are some of the most kind and humble people on the planet.  We have two sets of missionaries and we alternate weeks taking them to dinner at – wait for this – Carl’s Jr.  I told you this place is “modern”.  By the way, three dollars NZ for a large diet coke at McDonald’s. 

Every month on a designated Sunday evening, the missionaries gather together with investigators and members for a “Come and See” meeting.  Tonight was the night.  These are held in a stake center, and both times we have attended, the entire chapel and recreation hall have been filled.  Two beautiful musical numbers were followed by testimonies of recent converts.  The convert from China gave an inspiring account of his journey to find the “truth”.  Our favorite part of the evening was listening to over 200 missionaries sing “I Stand All Amazed”.  The program ended with a video of a talk given by  Elder Holland on Christ and the Atonement.    

After two months, we are comfortable and settled.  While we miss family, friends as well as certain things at home, we feel an opportunity to make a contribution and look forward to the next sixteen months. 

Good friends and senior missionaries, Jim and Renee Arveseth went home last Friday.  There is a real camaraderie amongst the seniors and we dearly hated to see them go.  However, two new sets are due within the first week of May with four others departing in the next four months.  A real revolving door!

We hope all is well with you.  We appreciate your love and support.  Have a wonderful Easter.  Here is a short video we posted on the newsroom about the importance of this special day.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXrOG02NMB0

In case you haven’t seen the new video the Church produced this year ……

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3TI4bYerU

Elder and Sister Wallace, 

Keith and Carol

 

 

Hamilton Visit - April 3-4, 2014

G’Day (again)

Last week we had an assignment in Hamilton.  Hamilton is an important site for the Church in NZ.  It is home to the first NZ temple built in 1958. It is also the site of a Church school together with dormitories and support buildings all completed by labor missionaries during the 50’s and 60’s.  The school has been closed and is scheduled for demolition which has been controversial.  In addition, it is the primary site for the activities surrounding LDS apostle Matthew Cowley well known by both members and non-members alike for his dedication to the Māori people.

There are now 3 missions in NZ; Auckland, Hamilton, and Wellington (the South Island). 

Our first stop was the mission office.  It was fun to talk with the senior (we seem to use these term often) missionary couples serving there.  We talked with the Labrums who at one time lived in the Cottonwood Heights area.  Kent Labrum shared  office space as a CPA with Paul Kasteler.  Their children attended Brighton High with several of our kids.  Their son Justin and his family are in Becca’s ward.  Small world!!

We then visited with a wonderful woman, Rangi Parker.  She has been collecting and cataloging the Church history of New Zealand, focusing on missionaries who have served here.  The church is in the process of constructing a museum to house her work.  Her collection includes valuable journals and pictures dating back to the first missionaries in NZ.  Many missionaries have and continue to contribute.  Her latest addition was a picture of the Wallaces so when our grandchildren’s children arrive in NZ, they will have an historical reference.  This may be our “Andy Warhol” fifteen seconds of fame!! 

Rangi has a strong love of the gospel, and since a terrible car accident, has devoted her time to this work.  She told us a few faith promoting stories from journals and some of the miraculous events that have led her to connecting with these missionary families.  She used to be a well-known singer, and before we left she sang a beautiful song for us about New Zealand.  We hope to visit her often.    She really touched our hearts!

Across from the temple is the Visitors Center. We met the mission president’s wife, Sister Rudd, and the directors of the center, Elder and Sister Hawkins.  The Hawkins and two other couples have been in NZ under 6 months, so we had a lot in common.  We are all adjusting, but it seems to be getting easier. 

Yesterday we were introduced to the “wood carver”.  He and his family moved to NZ from Bethlehem.  He does incredible carvings from the wood of the Kouri tree.  Certain Kouri trees date back 800 – 1,500 years.  Before coming here he did carvings made from olive wood. The couple we were with, the Arveseths,who are headed home in 2 weeks,  purchased nativities for their children.  We also drove to Piha Beach.  Piha is on the Tasman Ocean side of the island and world famous for international surfing competitions.  The sand is black is color due to the proximity of ancient volcanic activity. The beach is known for “Lion’s Rock”.  This large rock shaped like a lion adds to the amazing landscape of this beautiful beach.