All of a Sudden . . . We were the Area Welfare Specialists for the South Pacific!

This week, these verses from 1 Nephi 4:6-7 kept coming to mind:

And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.
Nevertheless, I went forth . . . 

It was strange, entering the office that Monday, and realizing that WE were "on our own"! 

Well, not quite . . . We can't even tell you how much we rely on our "Team" - Hans, Luisa, and Sam!  They are such amazing, generous, competant, and caring people!  You will not find better "co-workers" anywhere in the world!

Our little corner of the world!

Our work day begins at 8:00 and ends about 4:30 - with a lunch break anytime that's convenient.  Every Monday morning at 8:30 we have a Devotional with everyone working at the Area Office.  After the Devotional, our team has a planning meeting in Hans' office.  Then, we just work all day!  Our days are long, but the time seems to fly!  There are always projects to be done and meetings to attend; "fires to put out" and problems to solve; emails to answer and phone calls to make!  The best thing about our "job" is that we are working to help make lives better for the people in the South Pacific.

In case you're wondering, our mission includes:  New Zealand, Australia, Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, and Cook Islands.

This is a beautiful print that Thomas Swain, one of our friends in the office created showing the South Pacific Area.

Once a month, all the Senior Missionary Couples (15) working in the Area Office have a dinner and Family Home Evening together.  Our first one was held that Monday evening after the Maughan's left.  The room was decorated in red, white, and blue; with New Zealand flags everywhere.  It was decorated in honor of our new counselor in the Area Presidency, Elder Ardern, who is from New Zealand.  He and his wife came and spoke to us and we played a "get to know you" game to introduce ourselves.  It was great for us, because we were the "New Kids on the Block" and we were able to meet and get to know everyone!  Can't believe that Ral didn't take pictures, but she did get a few from one of the Sisters who took pictures of Michi Matsumori with the dessert - called a "Pavlova" - Yum!

Speaking of Michi . . . She and her husband, Doug, invited the Streeters and us to their home on Wednesday for dinner - and what a treat it was!  Doug is the General Counsel for the South Pacific and coincidentally, Don's father baptized Doug's parents into the Church over 50 years ago!  Their families were friends throughout their lives.  Small World!  We did take pictures of their beautiful apartment and it's fantastic view of the lake AND the ocean!

 

We had lived out of our suitcases for three months - and FINALLY - We were able to move into our "new" apartment on Wednesday - Happy Day!  We actually unpacked!  

Just to give you an idea of how we were living . . . We had everything for the new apartment in the "old" apartment because the new apartment had to be cleaned for us.  Craziness!

 

 

Pictures to come of our "for real" apartment!  Just know that it's "Home Sweet Home" and we love it!

During that first week "on our own", we were invited to attend and participate in a "Wellness Conference" at one of the colleges here on the North Island.  This next picture is for our grandson, Mason!  See, Mace, your grandparents finally made it to "MIT"!  (We also thought the parking sign was pretty funny!)

   

Our Area Welfare Manager (AWM) and supervisor, Hans, was one of the keynote speakers and really did a great job speaking about the culture of the island people and how they are so naturally resilient. 

Another speaker was a woman who was a former gold medal champion squash player, Leilani Rorani.  She is a member of the Church and when she was playing, was named "Maori Sports Person of the Year twice, and "New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year" once.  She told us how everyone thought her life was so perfect and glamorous when she appeared in interviews and on the covers of every Pacific area sports magazine.  Actually, her life was a "mess" because she was not living the principles of the Gospel.  She talked about healing and how it was like tending a lemon tree and bringing it back to life and health.  All the "Kiwis" (the name for New Zealanders) know who she is.  She is delightful and brought her mother and sister with her.

 

Here we are with Dr. Leland Ruwhiu, a noted social worker within the Maori culture, and Moses Armstrong, the Country Self-Reliance Manager for New Zealand.

On Saturday, Don drove around to check out the local area and worked out at the gym in the nearby hotel that missionaries are allowed to use.  Ral went with some of the ladies (Michi, Susan, and Debbie Buckner) to the Otara market - described on the internet as: "The largest Polynesian-style market in New Zealand, selling everything from produce, through to Pasifika treasures, clothes, music, flowers, accessories and much more." She enjoyed listening to the Polynesian performers and bought fruit and vegetables and some fabric for a table runner.

Oh . . . and by the way . . . the ice cream in New Zealand is the BEST!  NZ dairy products are famous for their quality due to the country's pure water supply and lush, green pastures.  We have been told that NZ leads the world when it comes to dairy products, accounting for over a third of the world's dairy trade.  Who knew?!

We can imagine that while reading our blog, you may say to yourself - Wow, what kind of mission is this?!  Party all the time?! . . . Well, we can tell you that we actually DO WORK!

. . . and it is the best kind of "work" . . . the Lord's work!  In our upcoming blog posts we will show you some of the wonderful work that is going on in the South Pacific to improve the lives and health of the people.