ChCh Chronicles: June 2013

We decided to go back and look at all our pictures and post some that we hadn't shown you that we think you would enjoy. Within the first few days we were here, Brother Bell took us on an earhquake damage tour. The earthquake was in Feb. 2011, and there are still heaps (lots) of work to do. They temporarily fixed the water and sewer pipes and now they are in the process of fixing them permanently. Many streets in the downtown area are blocked off and so it makes it very difficult to drive around. They are still tearing down homes that were damaged and rebuilding them. Every part of the city is still in some mode of rebuild. We would have liked to have seen Christchurch before the earthquake, as everyone says it has changed drastically.

On Saturday we finish piano lessons about two o'clock, so we have the rest of the day to drive around and do some sightseeing. We found a Burger King on the other side of town and were happy to have an American style Whopper. It tasted just like home!

One Saturday, we found New Brighton where there is a long pier, beautiful beach, and long rolling waves which attract the surfers. The water is only fifty degrees and the surfers are all along the waves going for it. It was just getting dark and it was a rather cool day. I'm sure there had been many more surfers earlier in the day. When we walked out on the pier, there were people fishing and crabbing. Some look rather serious and others look like they are just there for fun.

Last Saturday we drove and found a place called Sumner. It only took about thirty minutes to get there. There was another beach, lots of earthquake damage, and a lot of people out walking on the beach because the sun was shining. To keep the roads clear, they put up the huge shipping containers along the roads so the hills don't fall down onto the roads. It was kind of an upscale neighborhood. The sea was really churned up that day and the crest of the waves was white and foamy and really beautiful. There were rows and rows of waves coming in and they were going in every direction. There was a slight breeze so we decided to get out and walk along the beach. Kids were playing in the water and everyone was wet. They were totally unaware of the beauty surrounding them and the cool temperatures that were prevailing.

On a Monday June 3rd, it was the Queen's birthday and it is a National Holiday, so we had the day off. That means we were unable to open the institute and all the schools are closed. We had heard about the Antarctica Center where the people can go to train before they travel to Antarctica. It was a good day to go because the passes were half price and we had all day to spend there. We rode in a Hagglund, a vehicle they use in Antarctica to get around. They are amphibious and are all terrain. It looks like a short, squatty Hummer or snowcat. You get in and there isn't much room, you put on your seatbelt and headphones so you can hear the narration. We went up and down steep hills and even through water up to the windows. Our driver went rather fast and it was a white knuckle ride at times. There is a room that imitates the weather in Antarctica, so you put on rubber boots over your shoes, and put on a heavy winter coat. You step into a room where there is snow and they dim the lights and gradually start increasing the wind speed. Within seconds it is almost unbearable. Thank goodness, you are only in there for about five minutes but it really gives you a taste of the conditions there. OUR FACES WERE FROZEN! The Little Blue Penguins were adorable to watch. They rescue injured penguins and bring them here so they can rehabilitate them. You can watch them from up above and under the water as well, as they have levels of viewing. There were exhibits everywhere, actual equipment used in the Antarctica that the kids can climb all over and ride. The 4-D movie was spectacular! The seats moved, the ocean sprayed in our faces, the birds pooped on us, and at the end the entire room was filled with bubbles. We kept saying how much the grandkids would have enjoyed that!

Over in the Opawa chapel, we were asked to teach seminary for four days while the teacher went up to Hamilton for a temple trip. Sister Campbell only has one student, a fourteen year old girl named Easter. (because she was born on Easter) It took about 25 minutes to drive there and because Easter has sports we started the first day at 6:00. We had to drop her off to school at 6:45 for her practice. The rest of the week we met at 6:30 and finished by 8:00. Easter wanted to meet early on the last day so she could spend more time with us. We surprised her and brought breakfast on Friday. Easter is like a sponge, soaking up everything we teach her quickly and with such enthusiasm. It was a delight to teach her and are even going to her rugby game next Wed. I told her we wanted to take her home with us and she said she would go in a minute. She is such a good example to her family and all her friends. She continues to encourage her friends to come to seminary, so far she got one boy to come for two days, then he dropped out because it was too cold. She won't give up on them. It was a JOY to teach her and be in her presence.

One girl we have gotten close to is Sena and she has to go back to Samoa and work for two years to pay back her loan for the Canterbury University. We told her we wanted a picture of her and so we were taking pictures and all the YSA joined in. They are so excited to see each other and love to pose for pictures and do kissy faces. Also, one Friday night the YSA had a Glow in the Dark dance. They replaced all the lightbulbs with black lights, recorded cool music, rented a strobe light, and had glow sticks for everyone to decorate themselves with. They served a delicious pineapple, orange frappe with 7-Up in it and the kids danced the night away. Elder Blackwell and I enjoyed the night very much and the kids took millions of pictures. We included two on this blog.

They put stores in shipping containers downtown after the quake.

Mini's can go anywhere.

Memorial for those who died in the quake.
This grabs you.

New Brighton Beach

Sumner

Driving through water

Actual size of Emperor penguin

Shelley paid extra to ride snowmobile.

Easter

Sena

Love to mug it up.
We love them!

Glow in the dark dance.

Found Costco.... Oh wait.

Car wash has a place to wash your dog.
New business opportunity. Jump on this.

This is in our garden. Lots of flowering shrubs.
Strange way to run winter. Took this picture today.

Lots of rain today

We will have pictures in this post. But mostly we hope to relay some of the wonderful experiences we have been having. It is such an amazing experience to travel and meet with the wonderful saints here in New Zealand.

To give a little background about the Church in New Zealand. If you look at a map of this beautiful country you will see the south island is more than half the total land mass. There are 28 stakes in New Zealand. Of the 28 stakes, there is 1 stake on the south island and two districts. The main difference between North and South is that the Pacific islanders have settled in the north where the weather is warmer and the Europeans settled in the south for various reasons. Whatever the reasons, the church in the south island has struggled where we are serving.

Our responsibility is everything from Christchurch to the south end of the island. It doesn't look that far on a map until you start driving. The first day of the trip we headed for Dunedin which is close to a five hour drive. We did stop in Omaru and met with the amazing Sister Lisa Smith who is the on-line Seminary coordinator for the Dunedin District. The on-line students live too far out to come into a class and therefore they do their work on-line from a teacher in Wellington.

In Dunedin we met with Elder and Sister Webb, from Utah, who are serving their second mission. They served their first mission in Japan and worked in the mission home. They didn't know the language so when they went shopping bought fifteen pounds of salt instead of sugar. They ended up sharing with others. The language definitely was a barrier. They help with the seminary and institute classes and are truly an amazing couple. We also went to seminary in Dunedin with Sister Fortune. After class we did an inservice with her, as it is too far for her to come up to our monthly inservice in Christchurch.

The next morning we traveled to Queenstown, which is up in the mountains and is about a five hour drive from Dunedin. The town reminded us of Park City, Utah because there are summer and winter sports there. Mostly, the people are tourists. They have a small branch there and we met with the branch president, President Carpenter. He is an American and was on the BYU golf team as a non-member. He was baptized and met his wife at BYU. The branch only has about 25-30 members and struggles because of the distances they have to travel. It was so beautiful here, especially the lake which is fed by glacier water. We rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and got a spectacular view and pictures from up there.

Our next stop was Timaru, which is another five hour drive from Queenstown. On the drive, we go throught the interior of the country and saw a much different landscape than the coastline. There was one part that reminded Elder Blackwell of Poverty Flats, with low growing brush and bare hillsides. We saw hundreds of Red Stags. They are a little smaller than an elk and are raised on farms. You can buy their meat in the supermarkets and the males are raised so people can come and shoot them. There are lots of sheep, huge beautiful turquoise colored lakes, and very sparsely populated. On a clear day you should be able to see Mt. Cook, which we didn't see, but maybe next time.

In Timaru we held in-service with Sister Haua and Sister Jarvis, who is serving with her husband and is from Pleasant Grove. After the inservice, we attended Sister Jarvis's institute class, which was wonderful. Then Sister Jarvis taught a Tai Chi class and several non-members attend that. We only stayed for a few minutes. Elder Jarvis serves in the branch presidency and is the first counselor. They are in great need of Melchizedek priesthood here. Call yourself on a mission and move to Timaru. They would love to have you and you would fall instantly in love with them.

The next morning we attended seminary with Sister Haua and her five students. It is such a joy to see these teachers all in action and see them interact with the students. What a wonderful way for these young people to start their day! After seminary, we drove to Ashburton to look again for Brother Atwood's friend named Lyn Rosevear. Brother Atwood sent a picture and his testimony and we put them into a Book of Mormon and took it to him. We found him this time and had a nice chat with him and gave him the Book of Mormon. Brother Atwood is a wonderful man we worked with in the St. George Temple.

Our Christchurch inservice went very well. We had Brother Caldwell from the high counsel, Pres. Bourne from the stake presidency, Sister Van't wout from the stake teacher development director and three seminary teachers. We taught about the breadth and depth teaching that we learned in the MTC. They seemed very interested and were even writing down things we were saying. We were amazed!
They are so gracious, loving, and kind to us. We wondered why we hadn't learned this teaching method forty years ago. It is so inspiring and really teaches the students how to get the message from their heads down into their hearts. Wow, we really had a spiritual week!