It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

Christmas in Summer!? Yes!

How do you get into the Christmas spirit when days are long and mild and everything is green and blooming? The answer is the same everywhere! Christmas music. . . and a Christmas tree.

Friday night we started Chrismas music at the Church History Centre. The acoustics in the lobby are amazing and the talent seems to be never-ending.

This brother and sister team were wonderful last night. They also did a Feliz Navidad piano duet -  with the brother jumping up to sing and then returning to the piano - that was crazy good! Later their younger sister joined them and then soloed while their mum accompanied.

Tonight is the third night of the three-weekend series -- Nine nights in total organized by the Temple View Stake. But mostly organized by Auntie Lil Kershaw who is one of the most beautiful octagenarians I know.

Brothers.

Mother, daughter, and cousin.

And then there's our tree! Missionary size.

Just add music. . .

Awww. . .  It really is Christmas.

Light & Life comes to New Zealand!

Last March when we arrived at the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre we saw a beautiful glass front building with a large open second floor in front of the museum entry. It was a beautiful space but not very functional.

Within a few weeks, we were thinking and planning how that space could be used for temporary exhibits.

This week it all came together just in time for Christmas. Light & Life was exhibited in the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City for several months during 2018.

The Church History Department contracted a company that does work for the national museum in Wellington to build the walls and install the exhibit. The team was so professional and great to work with.

Walking into the space now feels like walking into a beautiful gallery.

This is Light & Life ----

STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF GLOBAL FAITH

The photographs in this exhibit capture the lives of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 19 countries, exploring the relationship between light and life. Life can be messy and hard, but it can also be happy and hopeful because hope in Christ brings light into life.

While photographing Latter-day Saints around the world, Church staff photographers Cody Bell and

Leslie Nilsson try to use light from the sun whenever possible, even indoors. They feel that this not only produces beautiful images but is also symbolic of the Savior

When approval was given by the Area President, Elder Ardern, he asked if there were any photos from New Zealand. The original exhibit had none. When the photographers were contacted they provided two photos from New Zealand. I was blessed to be able to contact the families involved and do the research and initial writing for the New Zealand labels.

Here are two examples from out exhibit.

Munganga Doudou
2014
Mont Ngafula, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Leslie Nilsson

Munganga follows the counsel to hold a family home evening each week. Because she views her friends and neighbors as family, they are included in family night.

Leslie Norman Going (1929 – 2018)
2013
Maromaku, New Zealand
Cody Bell

Leslie Going exits the restored one room chapel built by his family at Maromaku in 1939 and dedicated by Matthew Cowley in 1940. 

Leslie’s grandparents, Percy and Gertrude Going,
joined the Church in 1893. In 1910 they moved their large family to a dairy farm in the sparsely inhabited Maromaku Valley. For almost 30 years, church meetings were held in the Goings’ home. When the family outgrew meeting at home, they donated land, labour, and timber from a giant kauri tree to build a chapel.

For the next 30 years, several generations of Goings
worshipped at the little white church, which also served as a gathering place for the community. Though a new chapel was built in 1969, the original building stands as a memorial to the faithfulness of the Going family.

i especially love this picture because I have learned so much about the Going family. We even took a trip to Maramaku in the far north and visited this little restored building.

The light of Christ lights  every person that has come into the world. What wonderful Christmas gifts. The light of Christ and this beautiful exhibit. Just in time for Christmas!!

The Christmas music is starting tonight in our centre. Stay tuned!

Visitors and promptings . . .

We have had a stream of visitors from Salt Lake City to our museum in the last three months.
In September we welcomed Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with Bishop Christopher Waddell, Presiding Bishopric, and Elder Carl B. Cook, General Authority Seventy.

We also had a week-long visit from our Museum team that supports us. It was awesome!

In October we met Sister Sharon Eubank and Sister Becky Craven. This is my favorite picture with Sister Eubank. I have no idea what we were laughing at but I can tell you she was DELIGHTFUL.

Elder Allister Odgers, Sister Noelene Odgers, Sister Sharon Eubank, Elder Barry Garlick, Sister Eva Garlick, Sister Becky Craven, Elder Ron Craven, Sister Rangi Parker, Elder Vic Parker.

Last Sunday was the Temple View Stake Conference, and Elder Ronald A. Rasband was the visiting authority.

Ten days before that, I got a call from the area office requesting that I be prepared to give Sister Rasband a private tour of the Church History Centre Museum. I was excited at the prospect and began thinking about how I could prepare.

For some time, I had thought that I should study the Fairbanks family and learn more about Elder Elliott Fairbanks and his father, Avard Fairbanks. We have an exhibit in our museum featuring Elder Fairbanks and his work on the Nuhaka Marae in 1949. I did not connect this with Sister Rasband's visit, but I spent some significant time the week before her visit, finding out as much as I could about Elliott and Avard Fairbanks.

On Saturday afternoon, the building was secured from other visitors, and we welcomed Sister Rasband, Sister Nattress, Sister Odgers, Sister Peterson, and Sister Clark from the area office.

When Sister Rasband entered the museum, the bronze bust of Matthew Cowley, just inside the door, caught her immediate attention. Looking closely at it, she said she had a particular interest in it because her mother was a sculptor. I then turned her attention to the carved lentil hanging above us and said she might be interested in it because it was carved by Elliott Fairbanks, son of Avard Fairbanks, the well-known American sculptor. She was thrilled and said the Avard Fairbanks had been her mother's teacher at one time. At that moment, I connected the prompting I received to study this family and know more about Elliott.



When we got to that part of the museum where Elliott's tools are displayed, she asked if Elliott was still alive. I told her I thought he had passed away in 2008. She said that one of his relatives had contacted her about something of her mother's, but she couldn't quite remember who it was.



Above, Sister Rasband listens to the story of Chinese immigrant Ahmu who was a stalwart in the early church in Samoa. His generosity provided the land for the Mission Home, a church school and the temple.

From the left: Sister Becky Armstrong (Service Missionary - museum daily operations), Sister Olson (Communications missionary, Australia), Sister Eva Garlick (Associate Director Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre), Sister Erekson (companion of Hamilton New Zealand Mission President), Sister Nattress (Area Presidency), Sister Melanie Rasband, Sister Noelene Odgers (wife of area seventy), Sister Deborah Clark (Communications Area Office), Sister Peterson (Area Office DTA).

Sunday morning, I had the thought that I should print the obituary of Elliott Fairbanks for Sister Rasband and give it to her at Stake Conference. I knew the names of Elliott's children were listed. I tried to dismiss the thought, but it wouldn't go away, so I printed a copy.

We arrived an hour early and found seats 3 rows from the front. When we sat down, I noticed Sister Kendal, our stake president's wife sitting on the row in front of me. I leaned over and to speak to her. I told her that I had a piece of paper for Sister Rasband, and I didn't know how to get it to her. I didn't want to approach her after the meeting. Did she know how I could get it to her? She said that her husband had asked her to sit on the stand next to Sister Rasband, so she would be happy to pass it along.

Sister Rasband received it and gave me a smile and thank you from the stand. At the end of the meeting, Barry got a phone call asking us to come to the centre for lunch and prepare to take Elder Rasband through the Museum if needed. We were happy about the change in schedule. When I saw Sister Rasband, she thanked me for the obituary and said as she read the names of his children, she remembered who had contacted her!

After lunch we had a brief tour with Elder Rasband but so good!

Above, sharing the story of Paora Potangaroa prophesying in 1881, of the coming of the true church to his Maori people.

After the dedication of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in the South Pacific, all of the other temples on our board were dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley. Elder Rasband served as the Executive Secretary to the Temple Committee at that time.

Below, Elder Rasband pins a tag on our map to his mission in New York City where he also served as Mission President.

What a great weekend!

There is always someone . . .

Every day there is someone to love. This never gets old.

Last Tuesday, we hosted a group of sixteen English Second Language missionaries from the Auckland Missionary Training Center. This Auckland MTC has been an all English program until now. This is the first group of missionaries to come and stay for nine weeks to learn English.

The English speaking missionaries who have a three-week MTC stay come to our Centre to learn about the history of the Church in the South Pacific and to connect with their own background or the place they will be serving. This ESL group came for an outing, to learn about the history of the Church, to connect with their background or the place they will serve AND to practice their English.

With that is mind, we introduced them to the centre and the museum as usual and then tailored a simple experience for them. We ask them to find a story in the museum that demonstrated faith, repentance, keeping covenants or following the direction of the Holy Ghost. They needed to take notes and prepare to share their story with the others.

I found Sister Matakite from Kiribati in the "Mission" room by herself, struggling to understand the following story about some young men from her home country.

She wanted to understand but wasn't confident in her ability to speak. I told her the story slowly over and over and then we read it together a couple of times. She especially had trouble understanding the meaning of the government restrictions. At first, she was so hesitant to try and said she couldn't do it. I encouraged her to keep trying and after considerable effort on both of our parts, she could finally tell the story. Her eyes started to shine. Sister Dil came by and cheered her on as well. Then Sister Dil told her that her Stake Presidient had attended Liahona High School in Tonga. I encouraged her to find the lesson that from small beginnings the Lord does his work. Suddenly the light went on and I exclaimed, "You are the fruit of those first missionaries!!!" Her smile lit up and her eyes shone as we did a "high five."

Later when Sister Matakite stood in the front of the theater to share her story with the group, I held my breath like a mother at her child's first dance recital. I admit I was surprised when she took several moments to get control of her emotions and hold back the tears. Then she held her head up high and told the story simply and clearly. She ended with, "I am the fruit of those missionaries!!" It was so great! In the photo below, she is the one standing against the wall in her purple sweater with a shy smile. She hugged me so tightly when she said good-bye and I hugged her right back and assured her she would be a great missionary!

It is all about love. It is all about the one. What a blessing to be able to love someone every day!

Point of interest: President Kenneth Palmer mentioned the story above is Elder Garlick's uncle.

It's June and it's winter . . . Down under.

May slid right by. Time is speeding past and we are trying to savor every moment.
Hang on . . .  I thought I would take you on a walk with us.
Each morning we are up at 6 a.m. and out the door for a walk at 6:30. These days it is still dark and I carry a pocket flashlight to so I can shine it on the path when we leave the street lights by the temple and head up the hill into the dark.

On Mondays, our preparation days, the centre is closed so we can wait and take our walk when it is light. That's when I take pictures.

This last week we had our first frost. The retired mission cars have been parked next to our house for a week waiting to be sent to auction. Their windscreens (not windshields) are frosted in the crisp damp morning air.

The brown-scape of the dry summer is a distant memory. The rain has come, and come, and come. The fields are deep green. It is green everywhere we look.

Barry is HOME! He admits that he feels his roots here and he hadn't imagined how deep. It is early winter. The locals say winter begins on June 1. Officially, it begins this year on June 22. The leaves have fallen, the feijoas have fallen, there are apples and pumpkin (winter squash) in abundance.

This neighbor has his sign out most days and down his drive is a wooden stand with the fruits and veggies, a self-serve scale to weigh them and an "honesty box" in which to deposit the money.

These are feijoas. 

They are the texture of a pear but a great mix of sweet and tart. You scoop them out with a spoon. They are delicious!

Barry is the self-appointed local liter patrol for Tuhikaramea Road. You could look on Google Earth and see our CLEAN Road!! Every morning he heads out with a bag in his pocket and every morning it is full when we come back. What did this neighborhood do before he came? I say there is a lesson on repentance in this activity. Repentance isn't a one time clean up. It's something you do every day. . . just like picking up trash on the roadside.

I have been documenting Barry's work. Who does that!??  A good historian. Me. :)

Most of the time it is fast food bags, candy wrappers and adult beverage containers -- bourbon cola in cans is the most popular. Sometimes it is a small bag . . .

Somedays a little more and once in a while, it takes both of us to haul it in.

The worsed is the cigarette cartons. I have never seen anything like them before. These are regular cigarette packages meant to discourage smoking! Oh, yuck! It would work for me!! 

Walking home we visit with the cows. 50 years ago the hills in New Zealand were covered with sheep. Now they are covered with cows. 

If you look closely you can see frost on the grass. This is winter in the Waikato. No snow!

X

And we keep an eye on the temple renovation. The scaffolding has finally reached the top.

We love living in Temple View. We love being in heaven!