July 21, 2014
Greetings All,
How time flies!! It has been over three weeks since we posted
on our blog but similar to many things in life, it feels like yesterday. A wise man once remarked, “If you don’t think
time flies, just sign a 90 day note.”
But I digress …
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| Senior Couples at July 4th Celebration |
July 4th Celebration
Area senior couples got
together and held a “quasi” July 4th celebration, sans
fireworks. We gathered in the Area
Office break room amidst bunting, red/white/blue table decorations and small
American flags then feasted on sloppy joes, potato salad, brownies and the
like. Some dressed more decorative than
others but as you can see from the picture, all were there to enjoy the day and
each other’s company.
There is a strong spirit of
camaraderie amongst the seniors and certainly a wide variety of
individuals. All are glad to be here but
miss their families. After the meal, we
got to know each other better by first writing on a small piece of paper
something about yourself no one else
knows. These pieces of incriminating
information were then read one by one as we attempted to identify the
perpetrator. Revelations included a
door-to-door lingerie salesman (former mission president), a certified clown (an
attorney – a paragraph could be written here) and a Las Vegas stage dancer (we
asked for demonstrations but none were forthcoming). Good time had by all.
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yes BYU fans (I don’t think
there are many on my distribution list), general authority, pro-quarterback and
TV announcer Gifford Nielsen will be joining the Pacific Area Presidency sometime
early August, typically a three year assignment. I will do some research to ensure no
“exaggerations” are forth coming.
However upon initial Wikipedia review, he was quite an athlete. (To the Englands, especially Chad, I will do my
best to get an autograph for your collection).
Trip to Tonga
On Saturday, July 26th,
Carol and I are going to Tonga for a week to participate in a stake anniversary
celebration and gather information for a related newsroom article. Tonga is
about 1,500 miles from Auckland so no small trip. The Church has strong membership there (about
58% of the nation) and has just committed $1.3 million in housing restoration
after a recent strong cyclone.
Day in the Life of a Public
Affairs Senior Couple
For the most part, we are in
the office daily from 8:30 to 4:30.
Typical day is spent gathering, writing and editing for the newsroom,
in case you are interested in
seeing the latest efforts. From an
ecclesiastical perspective, we support local leadership in their respective
public affairs responsibilities. Yesterday (Sunday here) we hosted a three hour
quarterly meeting of 25 stake directors of public affairs all of whom are
involved with media, interfaith activities and opinion leader efforts. Additionally, we are involved in planning
activities (YSA to Parliament as an example) including service projects and
stake training seminars. Later in
August, we’ll travel to the upper part of the North Island, Kaitaia, and will
spend three days with various stake leaders there.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for now. Hope you all are enjoying summer. Currently, our kids and their families are in
Newport for our annual family vacation minus the patriarch and matriarch. Boy that sounds old. It’s winter here with temperatures in the low
to mid fifties and wind, sometimes very strong wind including five consecutive
days of non-stop 50 MPH+ recently and a whole lot of rain. No mystery why NZ is green.
Keep the world together while
we are gone aka MH Flight 17, Israel and Gaza.
Five months down and 13 to
go. Cheers!!
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