March 20,
2015
Greetings
All,
Well, what’s
been going on since we last talked … oh yeah, a category 5 cyclone in the
Pacific Area!! Don’t these things happen
to other people? We were on full alert but gratefully the storm
veered to the southeast. You probably saw
the magnitude but in case you did not, it was the largest in last 30 years with
winds in some cases over 200 mph.
That’s NZ in
the middle, lower. Vanuatu was hardest
hit. A large relief and aid effort is
underway with the Church assembling 2,000 food packages. Link to the following newsroom story. You will be impressed.
Apostle Bednar Visit
In the words
of Jeannie Jardine, “The apostles never disappoint.” And so was the case with Elder Bednar. He came on a 10 day visit to the Pacific
spending the majority of time in Australia and NZ. We are fortunate in this assignment to cover the
majority of the meetings including some informal discussions held with the
Pacific Area staff. Memorable quote, “Buckle
up, this work is accelerating at an unprecedented pace.”
Hamilton Accident
Three
members of the Church from Richfield and Monroe were tragically killed in an
auto accident while traveling to the Hamilton Temple. The driver, the only
survivor, turned in front of an oncoming truck.
Tourists and NZ driving have been a source of numerous accidents this
year, i.e. driving on the left side of the road. NZ is considering testing to pre-qualify
foreign tourists. Church and community
outpouring was significant. Click on the following link.
Mormon Helping Hands
Annually, the
Church holds a NZ wide service day complete with yellow vests. This year’s date was Saturday, February
28. In addition to various community
projects, one stake completed gardening on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Cathedral,
Wellington. More warm and fuzzy feelings
for Bunnell and Mcinnes. For a video
essay, including the Sacred Heart effort, click on the following,
and you will
feel good. The canal clean-up effort was
picked up by TVNZ3.
Hobbiton, Moores and the Allens
Our
counterparts in Australia, Dave and Leslie Moore together with Ray and Pat
Allen, came to NZ for a combination visit and seminar. One of the memorable stops, Hobbiton, site of
the Lord of the Rings filming.
 |
| Wallaces, Moores, Fugals, Allens |
Release Date
We have
received our release date, July 25th, four months out. Hard to believe this is coming to an
end. The experience continues to be
exceptional. It is beginning fall now
since the seasons are reversed compared to Utah. However, monitoring your weather, you didn’t
really have winter and are having a great spring.
Go Utes!!
Just saw the first round of the NCAA tournament with them beating SFA, 57-50.
See you all
soon.
