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.

2,000 Food Boxes

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.

Memorial Service

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,

Helping Hands

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 25^th, 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.