COVID-19 is playing havoc with life!

The week has been fairly uneventful as far as missionary life goes.  I did spend from Monday evening into the wee hours of the morning in an ER with a missionary who received a concussion playing touch rugby on preparation day.  He was released from the hospital and is doing well.

I have had the usual calls for colds, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody noses, dizziness, headaches, homesickness, etc.  With all of the chaos in the world over “the virus” these illnesses may seem inconsequential unless you are the one with the nausea and vomiting.

I began Monday morning with a walk to the beach where I enjoyed the sun and the waves.

I took a walk back to my flat through the reserve/wetlands where I saw a different beauty.

Notice the tiny bananas beginning to form. You can see them sticking up in the middle top.

This bush near the office is always covered with bees.  Some of these bees were huge.

Tuesday morning I went to an ear clinic with a missionary to get an ear suction to remove excess wax.  In my nursing days this was done with a syringe and fluids.  Suctioning is much less painful or should I say causes less dizziness it seems.  Amazingly improves hearing with either method!

Wednesday was transfer planning meeting.  We scheduled and arranged for the missionaries leaving to be taken to the airport and for the ones arriving to be picked up.  We get missionaries from the US Provo MTC and then we pick up those who trained at the MTC here in Auckland. 

Thursday was Health Council.

Saturday the senior missionaries had planned to have an activity at the annual Pasifika Festival but due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the festival was cancelled.

“The Pasifika Festival is a Pacific Islands-themed festival held annually in Western Springs, Auckland City, New Zealand. Celebrated since 1993, it is the largest festival of its type in the world and attracts over 200,000 visitors every year.

The festival presents a wide variety of cultural experiences, including traditional cuisine and performances from Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Tangata Whenua (New Zealand Māori).”

Because Sister Lucas had not been to the gannet colony and I thought she should have the opportunity to go before the birds return to Australia, we went early Saturday morning.  It was so fun to see how much the “littles” had grown since I went there with John a week or so ago.  Most of the juveniles had lost their down and were pretty much feathered out.  Even fewer birds now than when we went a week and a half ago. 

Because I so recently posted about the gannet colony, I didn’t take many pictures.

There were a lot of surf boarders on Saturday but I didn’t capture them well in this picture.

I mentioned the fossil forest at Takapuna Beach to Sister Lucas so Saturday evening we were able to go to the forest at low tide.  I have been there several times including a few days ago with John but this time the tide was the lowest I have ever seen when visiting there.

After our scramble through the tide pools/rocks, we walked along the beach and enjoyed the gorgeous clouds and sunset.

The last picture/collage shows the same rock wall on Monday at high tide and Saturday at low tide

With all of the restrictions to large gatherings by government and the Church, on Sunday Sister Lucas and I met at Sister Bunker’s flat where she had her niece and nephew visiting from the States.  We had a study session/lesson and then Elder and Sister Mayberry joined us.  Elder Mayberry administered the sacrament.  It was a most spiritual and intimate setting with just the 7 of us. 

After our “sacrament meeting” Sister Bunker fed us a delicious lunch.

In the afternoon I took some antihistamines to a missionary who was suffering with a severe itchy allergic rash. 

Because of changes due to the virus, Monday we had another transfer meeting at the office.  Usually all new missionaries go to a chapel where we do the orientation, President Walker does interviews and training, and the new missionaries along with those already here meet with the new companions they have been assigned to serve with.  However, since there can be no large gatherings, we (the senior office couples and President and his wife) needed to meet to discuss how we would get everyone from the airport and MTC to where they needed to go.   It took a couple of hours of figuring it out but we did it.  I should say I filled a chair as I was not really able to help much.  Most of the new missionaries are elders and I cannot transport the elders since I am alone.  I did offer moral support.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly provided a lot of discussion, fear, panic, shopping, hoarding, etc.  I’m not sure I have chosen the best words to describe the situation.  However, I have not seen the hoarding that I have seen all over FaceBook and the news media here in New Zealand.  I feel really safe and secure here.  And, I know where you can get some toilet paper.

Countdown Takapuna

My new favorite snack.  It’s what I eat before I eat my chocolate

I have been blessed this week with an opportunity, in a way, to do missionary work.  I would love to share this special blessing with you.  First I have to explain or “set up” the situation so you will understand.  When I served my mission in NYC I helped a sister missionary from Korea through a health problem.  Because we often traveled to the doctor and hospital from Flushing to Staten Island, I spent considerable time with this missionary and her companion who was half Korean but was from the USA. 

When my mission ended in 2017, I stayed in close contact with these two sisters.  In late August 2018 I wanted to go to South Korea so I took the opportunity to go with Sister Fitt from Tennessee to see Sister Seo in Busan South Korea. 

Katie Fitt and I arrived in Seoul a few days before we were scheduled to go to Busan.  We wanted to go to the temple there.  We were early for the endowment session so we walked around the temple grounds.  We met a young woman walking along a path.  We talked to her and discovered that she wanted to serve a mission but she was the only member in her family and her family was not supportive of the church and would not allow her to go on a mission.

This 19-20 year old young woman told us that she was serving a mission the only way she could by doing her family history work.  She would come to the temple as often as she could find a ride.  It would take her an hour and a half one way to get there.  She would find family names and then do baptisms as she is not endowed.  She asked Katie and me to do endowments for two of her ancestors that day. 

After the temple session we met with her and took her and her friends to lunch.  I stayed in touch off and on through Messenger but not regularly.  On Monday I received a message from “Kim.” She doesn’t speak English very well so she uses a translator to communicate her feelings and thoughts.
We exchanged pleasantries and got caught up with where we are and what we each are doing.  I then received this following message:

Over the week we have exchanged messages daily sharing feelings, thoughts and scriptures.  One of the exchanges was particularly touching to me:

Another day we talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy. 

I feel blessed to have to opportunity to share a scripture and message with “Kim” every day.  I know that the Lord places us where we need to be when we need to be there.  I know that He had a hand in placing us together when we met in Seoul.  I feel that I am helping her and I know that she is helping me.  Together our testimonies can be strengthened.  I read the scriptures a little differently when I am reading to help someone else to understand.  In reading in this way, it helps me to better understand.  Does that make sense?

I love the scriptures.  Reading the Book of Mormon each day gives me strength to do the things that sometimes seem hard or worrisome.  I too want to build my testimony and faith on the Rock which is my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

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