I LOVE TO EAT!

One of the things I enjoy most about my mission is having the opportunity to eat different foods.  But the best of part eating is that I can share a meal with wonderful missionaries.  Besides the times in the above collage, I had the chance one other time but didn’t get a picture to share.  Now you know how often I take advantage of being with missionaries.

Sisters Langi and Rarotoga at St Pierre’s Sushi

Sisters Te’o and Stone at The Ramen Station

Sisters Lucas, Chibota, and Perriton at The Fat Camel and then gelato in Whangarei

I do also work.  The stomach virus and cold virus is still playing havoc here along with boils, acne flares, muscle pulls/sprains, other injuries, etc.  My years at FHP Clinic as a phone triage nurse have come in handy.

Monday I was able to spend a few hours with Elder and Sister Mortimer who have been serving in Niue which is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand, east of Tonga, south of Samoa, and west of the Cook Islands. They are finishing their mission and returned to Auckland with 4-5 days before their departure to the US.  It was so wonderful to get to know them as I didn’t have the chance when they arrived as they came to the mission and went straight to Niue.  It was a blessing to meet them as they are humble, loving people and have served the people of Niue well.

The senior couples in the Cook Islands and Niue, which are part of our mission, are my eyes and ears on the ground in helping to care for the missionaries serving in those islands.

We only had a short time to sight see so I took them to Mount Victoria in Devonport.  I have posted pictures of this area in previous posts so I am only showing pictures of my new and now close friends.

Elder and Sister Mortimer

Wednesday was a sad day for our family.  We all had to say a sad farewell to Deanne’s horse, Lady (Hailey).  I shed my tears from New Zealand but my heart was aching for Deanne.  She had cared for and pampered this beautiful animal for many years.  Lady was 27 years old and her time on earth was completed but she will be lovingly thought of in our memories.  I know that she is with Bo, Rocky, Luther, Tillie, and all of our dear pets.  I like to think that Kay is watching over them and loving them now.

Lady

Cicilee, my oldest granddaughter rode Lady and competed in 4H for several years.

Everyone loved Lady.

This information from New Era March 2012 gives me this insight:

And according to the Prophet Joseph Smith, there are at least some animals in heaven. He said: 

“John saw curious looking beasts in heaven; … actually there, giving glory to God. … (See Rev. 5:13.) … 

“I suppose John saw beings there of a thousand forms, that had been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this,—strange beasts of which we have no conception: all might be seen in heaven. John learned that God glorified Himself by saving all that His hands had made, whether beasts, fowls, fishes or men; and He will glorify Himself with them” (in History of the Church, 5:343).

So, although we don’t have a complete understanding of what happens to animals after they die, we believe that they will enjoy some kind of salvation and immortality.

Sister Lucas is our new area mental health advisor.  She is over several missions in the Pacific Area.  She has been here two months and is excited to get to see other parts of the country.

Last week we went with Sister Bunker (who is traveling in other Pacific islands for the next two weeks setting up English curriculum at the church schools) to Wellington as you may have seen in my last blog.  I felt like a little excursion so on Saturday we went to Whangarei.  I took some medication to some elders, went to Kiwi North, had lunch with some sisters and then to Whangarei Falls before returning to Takapuna.  It was a fun filled day!

At Kiwi North we toured the museum and visited the Kiwi Habitat which is a purpose built
state-of-the-art enclosure where you can observe the natural behavior of the kiwi.  It is dark as
the kiwi are nocturnal but enough light is provided that you can watch them through a large window. 
I have been there several times.  This time was the best ever.  The kiwi spent quite a
bit of time outside of their burrows.  There is a male and a female in the enclosure

The Tiaki  Promise from the net:  Anyone who has spent significant time in New Zealand
in recent years has undoubtedly noticed the growth in tourism, many overseas visitors
but also more Kiwis than ever are  exploring their own backyard.

 As travel becomes ever more accessible, and more people are inspired to wander to new places, the impact on environments such as New Zealand's are noticeable. In order to counter this reality, some of the most powerful tourism leaders in Aotearoa have banded together to launch a creative initiative – The Tiaki Promise.

In the habitat you can also see other creatures such as insects and lizards/geckos.
This tuatara was out this time.  I have never seen it outside its burrow before.

From wired.com:

The tuatara may look like a rather ordinary reptile, but it's a highly unusual creature. This New Zealand native has a unique, ancient lineage that goes back to the time of the dinosaurs. 

There are two living species of tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus and the much rarer Sphenodon guntheri, or Brothers Island tuatara, which is found only on North Brother Island in Cook Strait. 

Mature tuataras usually measure between 12 and 30 inches long and weigh between 0.5 and two and a half pounds. Their skin is greenish gray and is sometimes speckled. Tuataras make their homes in coastal forest and low scrub, preferring areas with crumbly soil in which they can burrow.

Read on to meet this one of a kind reptile. 

1. The tuatara may look like a lizard, but it's unique. The tuatara is not a lizard; it is the only living member of the order Rhynchocephalia, which flourished around 200 million years ago. All other members of the order became extinct 60 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period. 

2. The name "tuatara" comes from the Maori for "peaks on the back." Tuataras have spiny crests along their backs made from soft, triangular folds of skin. These spines are more prominent in males, who can raise them during territorial or courtship displays. 

3. They are surprisingly long-lived. Tuataras mature slowly and don't stop growing until they reach about 30 years old. It is thought they can live up to 100 years in the wild. Part of the reason for their longevity may be their slow metabolism. Tuataras can tolerate much lower temperatures than most reptiles and they hibernate during the winter. The body temperature of tuataras can range from 41-52 °F over the course of a day, whereas most reptiles have body temperatures around 68 °F. This low body temperature results in a slower metabolism. 

4. They have a third eye. The tuatara has a third eye on the top of its head called the parietal eye. This eye has a retina, lens, cornea, and nerve endings, but it is not used for vision. The parietal eye is only visible in hatchlings, as it becomes covered in scales and pigments after four to six months. Its function is a subject of ongoing research, but it is believed to be useful in absorbing ultraviolet rays and in setting circadian and seasonal cycles. 

5. They can regrow lost tails. The tuatara can break off its tail when caught by a predator and regenerate it later. 

6. They have unusual teeth that can't be replaced. Tuataras have a single row of teeth on the lower jaw and a double row of teeth on the upper jaw, with the bottom row fitting between the two upper rows when the mouth is closed. It's a tooth arrangement not seen in any other reptile. And unlike all other living toothed reptiles, the tuatara's teeth are not separate structures but sharp projections of the jaw bone. This means that worn down or broken teeth cannot be replaced. Older tuataras with worn-down teeth have to switch from eating hard insects to softer prey such as earthworms, larvae, and slugs. 

7. Tuataras reproduce slowly. They take 10-20 years to reach sexual maturity. Males can mate every year, but females breed every two to five years. It takes the female between one and three years to provide eggs with yolk, and up to seven months to form the shell. Then it takes an additional 12 to 15 months from copulation to hatching, possibly the longest incubation rate of any reptile. 

A male tuatara named Henry, living at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, became a first-time father at the age of 111. He fathered 11 babies with a female named Mildred, believed to be in her seventies. 

8. They're diurnal when young, nocturnal as adults. Hatchling tuataras are believed to be active during the day to avoid the cannibalistic adult tuataras that come at out night. 

9. They cohabitate with birds. Tuataras can dig their own burrows, but also use the burrows of seabirds for shelter when available. The seabirds' guano provides an attractive environment for the invertebrates that tuataras prey upon, such as beetles, crickets, and spiders. Tuataras will also sometimes eat the eggs and young of the seabirds. 

10. Tuataras' worst enemies are rats. Tuataras once inhabited the New Zealand mainland as well as offshore islands. But when the first humans arrived from Polynesia, they brought rats and other animals that devoured tuatara eggs and hatchlings. The situation was so dire that the New Zealand government fully protected tuataras in 1895. Despite the protection, tuataras were extinct on the mainland and confined to around 30 offshore islands until the first mainland release of tuataras into a sanctuary in 2005. Three years later, a tuatara nest was uncovered, thought to be the first case of a tuatara successfully breeding on the New Zealand mainland in over 200 years. Along with captive breeding and release programs, attempts to eradicate rats from offshore islands have also met with success and allowed tuatara populations to rebound.

After lunch at The Fat Camel and then gelato – see above pics – we went to Whangarei Falls.  I have posted about the falls in previous blogs so only a couple of pics.

We watched a Middle Eastern couple at the falls in gorgeous dress having pictures
taken of what we guessed were wedding photos.

Along the path down to the bottom of the falls I saw this shadow pattern that
I liked created by the light through the tree ferns.

We had a very nice day arriving back in Takapuna around 6:00 PM

Sunday morning I substituted for Sister Bunker in playing the piano for Primary.  Man!!!  I’m rusty.  Had to one finger a couple of songs.  I need a piano and a reason to practice.

If you look very closely under the bluish hydrangea, you can see a tiny bird’s nest.
We saw this when we visited Mt Victoria.  When Sister Mortimer and I got close to the flowers,
a bird flew out and we could see an egg in the nest.

Growing up in Las Vegas, there were oleander bushes all over.  I see them here too but
it wasn’t until this week that I realized it is an oleander.  I thought it was just a large
flowering bush.  The leaves and blossoms are larger than I remember. 
You think it could be the water and humidity????  LOL

As I take my daily walk (unfortunately I don’t make it every day as I get frequently caught up in phone calls before I get out the door) I like to listen to conference talks or BYU Devotional talks.  One day this week I listened to a 1998 BYU speech by Connie L. Blakemore titled “Our Spiritual Eyeglasses:  What You See Is What You Get”

The premise of the talk is given in this paragraph:

“The message that I am bringing today is that your beliefs are the lenses through which you see the world. What you believe determines your focus and in turn your actions. You are seeing things as you believe they are—not so much as things really are, but rather as you are. Our challenge is to “finally see as God sees,” as Ann Madsen prompts us (BYU Women’s Conference, May 1998). If your beliefs are based on gospel perspectives, your glasses or belief window will allow you to see eternity from a celestial kingdom perspective. On the other hand, if your belief lenses are made from a non-gospel or worldly prescription, you will see just the opposite and earn your place for eternity in one of the lower kingdoms. So, what you see is what you get—literally.”

Listening to this talk took me back to the classes I was required to take when I decided to return to nursing after my 15+ year hiatus of being at home with my children.  In one of the required courses I needed to renew my state nursing license, I was asked to read and study Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

In his book, I learned that Covey’s belief is that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions.  In order to change a given situation, we must change ourselves, and in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.

Sister Blakemore’s speech coinsides well with Covey’s belief.  She goes on to say:

“Today I would like to elaborate on three different beliefs that are part of our individual prescription lenses, or belief window, through which each of us views the world. I chose these three beliefs because I think comprehending them from a gospel perspective is vital in seeing and staying on the path to the tree of life and eventually returning to live with God and our own family. The three beliefs, or pairs of glasses, I’m going to explore are 

1. individual worth; 

2. the physical temple, or body; and 

3. the Holy Ghost.”

She covers each topic well and gave me a lot to contemplate about how I perceive the world and the Gospel and what glasses I am looking through.

I would encourage you to read this talk.

I know that we are children of a loving Father in Heaven who knows and sees our great worth.  I pray that you will see your worth, know that your body is a temple for your spirit, and that you can be filled with and guided by the Holy Ghost.

I know that my Savior lives and loves me.  I know that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and through reading and studying it, I can know of His life and mission.  In the Book of Mormon I learn about the plan of salvation and my purpose for being here.

I love my Savior and I love you my family and friends.