History of the Church in New Zealand

Interesting week!  Monday was a fairly quiet day.  Preparation day for missionaries can’t be a sick day. I never hear from them until after the sports, shopping, and possibly cleaning for some missionaries.

I spent my day anticipating family home evening for the senior couples and looking forward to having Elder and Sister de Lora arrive from Northland to stay with me before going back home Tuesday.  Our FHE group celebrated the 4th of July with dinner (baked potatoes with chili and all the fixings) and games starting with a quiz about American history/independence, putting game, and jumping ping pong  balls into cups.  We do have fun.

We made this video to play for the incoming missionaries

Tuesday morning I went with the de Loras to Martha’s Backyard.  I mentioned this in an earlier post.  This store sells import items that can’t be found here.

Cloudy day with a bay full of sail boats at moor.

Martha’s Backyard

After this we went to the Sky Tower in Auckland.  We ate lunch in the revolving restaurant at the top.

 If you would like to read about the Sky Tower, you may do so here.

Wednesday was transfer day/orientation for incoming missionaries.

A few of the incoming (new) missionaries waiting for lunch and then the orientation

Thursday morning I accompanied a missionary to the doctor.  That afternoon was Health Council with mission President and Sister Walker and the area medical and mental health advisors to discuss care for and treatment for some of the missionaries and their medical issues.

On Wednesday evening, my washer with a load of washing clothes and a dryer with wet clothes stopped functioning.  I checked all of the circuit breakers and I couldn’t get it going.  An electrician came by on his way home.  The two machines were plugged into a surge protector so even though I had tried the circuit breaker, they still didn’t work. The electrician reset the surge protector.  Long story, to be safe, I dried the clothes in the dryer before I finished the washing. 

As I was preparing to go to the doctor with the sister on Friday morning I got a call that the electrician was waiting outside the glass door downstairs so he could check the power in some other way.  Anyway, I didn’t make it to the doctor.  She told me that she could go alone when I checked in with her and told her I wasn’t sure how long the electrician would be here.  It appears that the circuit that the washer and dryer are on also has the stove, refrigerator, and an outlet where the toaster is plugged.  In the future, I need to only use the washer and dryer together and not use the stove or toaster at the same time. (WHEW!! That was a long and involved story but for some reason I thought to share.)

Elder and Sister Lewis invited me to go to Hamilton to the Matthew Cowley Church History of New Zealand Museum.  I got permission to leave the mission so we left early Saturday morning.  The country is green and beautiful.

The library/Church History Museum is in Temple View.  We were greeted by friends of the Lewis’s from Utah who are serving in Hamilton.  Elder Lewis’s great grandfather served in this country and had a picture of his GGF with other missionaries.  He knew a couple of their names and wanted to talk to Sister Parker who is the most knowledgeable person on church history in New Zealand.  He had been told of her expertise and advised to schedule a visit with her.

Interesting side note, Tracy Judd Petersen married to Rex, my son, grew up in Temple View.  The Parkers know her family well.  Working in the library I also met the mother-in-law of Diana, one of Tracy’s sisters.

Mural in entry

Binders of pictures, letters, histories

Arohanui means much love and affection

Matthew Cowley was a prominent figure in the history of the Church in New Zealand.

Elder and Sister Parker

Diana Farthing’s mother-in-law

Elder and Sister Hellewell and Elder and Sister Lewis

Sister Parker singing a beautiful song of New Zealand too long to record

the entire song but as she sang pictures were displayed 

Missionary transportation

Wood carving representing good and evil

Flax skirt

Sacrament tray

Tapa cloth

This explains this phrase

Elder Parker gave us a guided tour of the Museum

Pictures of the area around the temple and library

Pictures of the area around the temple and library

Scaffolding around the spire of the Temple.  They will be placing a Moroni statue
with this refurbishing.  I’ll just have to come back for the opening!!

After lunch we had a pleasant and gorgeous ride home.  It took a while because Elder Lewis who is over housing in the mission needed to stop and fix a few things in flats between Hamilton and home.

The Waikato River

Sunday was a quiet day. A time to rest and learn of our Savior whom I love.

As I get to know the people of New Zealand, I am impressed with the courtesy that I see here.  For example, if I want to change a lane whether on city street or motor way, as soon as I put on my turn signal, the driver in the land I want to enter immediately slows down for me.  There is seldom a person that speeds up so I can’t enter the lane.  .  No road rage!

I pray for all of you my family and friends.  What a blessing to have people in my life who support and care for me even though I’m thousands of miles away.

I love you my family and friends

From moari.com
Aotearoa is the Maori name for the country of New Zealand. The literal translation of Aotearoa is "land of the long white cloud".

New Zealand has been inhabited by Maori since approximately 1300 AD. Dutch navigator Abel Tasman was the first European to discover New Zealand during his voyage of 1642–43, although he never set foot on the land. In 1769 the explorer James Cook arrived in New Zealand and claimed it for Great Britain, but it wasn't until the late 1700s that the first Europeans began to settle in New Zealand.

In 1835 the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand was signed by 34 Maori chiefs. The Declaration asserted the independence of New Zealand, with all sovereign power and authority residing with the hereditary chiefs and tribes.

A few years later on 6 February 1840, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) between Maori and the Crown was signed. The Treaty guaranteed Maori full possession of their land in exchange for their recognition of British sovereignty. The Treaty of Waitangi is regarded as New Zealand's founding document and remains a core point of reference for Maori and the Government.

This week I was talking to Jim.  He asked me about meat pies and had I looked for them. 
He reminded me that the owners or part owners came from NZ.  We used to go to the
Morrison Meat Pie factory and enjoyed many Morrison meat pie dinners.  I have been seeing
the pies in the store but hadn’t yet tried one.  I did this week and it was delicious