Leaving New Zealand.....

Our assignment to work in New Zealand for the past 15 months has come to an end. It has been an experience of a lifetime. Over that time we have met many wonderful people and experienced life in the Pacific Islands. We visited Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Kiribati, Japan, Honk Kong, Australia, Korea and Roratonga. Even though those islands are very cool and its neat to say we were there the greatest experiences we had and the experiences that will burn the brightest in our memory will be the wonderful people we met and associated with.

Often times we met people that had what appeared to be very little (our standards), but those people seemed to be the most content. They are happy with life, they love their families, and are quick to express love and acceptance of strangers. What was demonstrated to us over and over was that all of these people on all of these islands have one thing in common with us and people back in America. They love the Gospel and being members of the Church. It becomes the link that binds us to each other around the globe. Their testimony of the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, a living Prophet, blessings of the temple and their desire to serve their fellow man makes them all unified. We came to love them like family and will miss them deeply.

Back in New Zealand we worked daily with many employees in the Area Office and the Mission office. We had wonderful activities with the FHE group. They all became our family away from home. Its difficult not to long for the island of the Long White Cloud.

On the other hand its great to be home. Customs greeted us with a smile and NO luggage inspection. Even though one piece of luggage decided to remain in California for an extra day we are all now reunited and are happy. We left summer and were welcomed to Utah with a great Christmas storm that left a new foot of the white stuff in our yard and on the roads. As of today we have avoided any accidents, have only driven on the wrong side of the road twice and have used my windshield wiper as a blinker about a hundred times!

We loved it and love being home. We know we will never forget the experiences we had in the Land Down Under. (New Zealand, not Australia) Check out the PICS...in Albums.

Bob's Greenie

Bob's replacement is a member of our Stake Presidency. Garrick Parr is a tall, gray hair, distinguished looking kiwi who is about 5 yrs younger than Bob. They have traveled together to Samoa and Tonga. Bob has the luxary of having 5 weeks to train him. He has not really been in HR but will be a great asset to the church in many many ways. They have come back with fun companion stories. They have both had major flashbacks of their missionary days. They dress like missionaries and are together always. They stayed in houses on campus so felt like they were flatting again. They get up and walk early for exercise. They have companionship prayer. They eat a half a box of cereal while they study their scriptures and discuss them together. Then it is off to work. They hit a roadside stand to get their chicken hot dogs, frozen veggies and chips for dinner after they did a temple session. Then companionship prayer before going to their rooms for bed. They were thrilled to get home to their "real" companions even though they loved the 30 year flashback and their time together.

The Greatest Walk In The World!

Well if not the greatest it certainly is the wettest. But you get blessings when you walk the Milford Trek in the rain. WATERFALLS! Hundreds and hundreds of temporary waterfalls gushing down the canyon walls.

During our stay in New Zealand we had hoped to do the famed Milford Trek. Well we took the plunge and signed up for the guided walk. You walk in the rain during the day but enjoy hot showers, cooked meals(we gained weight), and soft beds at night. We had four young, friendly guides taking care of us and keeping us on schedule. Forty five of us enjoyed the 4 night 5 day tramp through some of the most incredibly beautiful country you have ever seen. And yes we took WAY to many pictures. (Miriam had the camera). But we really blame our children for giving us a waterproof camera and we put it through the paces!

Wee waterfalls, big waterfalls, granite cliffs, incredible vegetation, heaps of swing bridges, wonderful lodges, new friends and memories to last a life time. Of the 49 people walking only one person claimed to have dry feet and our guide said she was lying. But walking in the rain isn't so bad. We weren't cold and had the facilities to dry out at night. We started each day with dry clothes and high spirits.

We finished the trip with an extra day in Queenstown. To honor a promise made in Auckland I selected the LEDGE on top of Bob's Peak as the Bungy Jump of choice. Both Miriam and I took the plunge. (I jumped and she did the sky swing). ENJOY THE PICS..DONT OVERDOSE!

Thanksgiving in New Zealand?

OK when you are away from home and you are not around your loved ones you could have a tendency to be depressed. Some people are known to eat and eat and eat if they are in that state of mind. Well we are not saying that we were depressed or anything like that. We did miss everyone very much but we did enjoy the company of other Americans also separated from their families. In fact we enjoyed 2 thanksgivings! One on Thursday and one on Friday.

Thanksgiving #1
We were invited to the Mission Presidents home for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. While the food was being prepared we all sat down to a friendly competition of candy turkey making, using little jelly candies and toothpicks. The teenagers won, the adults struggled with their creativity.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal (no yams!). We took a survey and no one really likes yams, everyone just serves them because their mother did. We topped off the meal with yummy pie for dessert.
Following dinner we sat down for a great game of Apples to Apples.

Thanksgiving #2
We planned another thanksgiving dinner with other American expats that had no family to celebrate with. We had a wonderful meal and just enjoyed each other’s company away from work.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all the blessings we have individually and as a family. Since the family reads this blog I will use it to tell them all that we love you very much, are thankful that you are all happy and doing well, and we look forward to Christmas when we will be able to see you in person.
Love Mom and Dad

KeriKeri Half Marathon

2,500 runners, 13 miles, going potty in the bushes, walking more than running, getting dehydrated, eating snapper, driving a very very long way and playing card games. All in all it was a fun and exciting weekend. We worked our way up to the half marathon by walking about 10 miles for a couple of weekends before the big race. So Miriam and I were kind of ready for the main event. It was a fun atmosphere and we all felt pretty good about our accomplishment. I got bit by a mystery bug at the Bay of Islands and my forearm is swollen and itchy. The Area Doctor is taking care of me and watching it closely. I have something called cellulitis. The medicine is working well. I just finished a quick trip to Samoa where I had a flashback experience to my own mission over 30 years ago. My replacement went with me. They put us up in a small house, we finished each night and started each day with companion prayer, wore white shirts and read the Book of Mormon each morning as we each consumed half a box of cold cereal. We have another trip to Tonga coming up. Then its vacation time in the South Island and home to Utah, just in time to shovel snow and enjoy a white Christmas.

Service Center Manager Seminar

We had a seminar in the Bay of Islands for all of the Service Center Managers in the Pacific Area. It was held North of Auckland about 4 hours. We had Managers from the Area Office and Managers from Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Australia, Papa New Guinea, Kiribati, and New Zealand. We also had Elder Hilbig in attendance. It was a great opportunity to build relationships, establish goals together and say goodbye to Clint as he is retiring at the end of the year. We also found the time to tour the Treaty Grounds, go on a cruise on a catamaran, paddle with the dolphins and enjoy the beautiful country. We got to know the managers much better and learned about their challenges and responsibilities on the islands. They and their wife's are all wonderful people with strong testimonies of the gospel.

A Week of Wandering (when we aren't at work)

After a busy week at work getting caught up on things, we found ourselves wandering up north. We finally made it to the Farmer's market & pottery shops. The best part of the day was finding the Tawharanui Regional Park. It is an open Sanctuary (pest free)for all existing native species and to reintroduce some others that have been lost. Make sure you find our pictures to the right. Monday was our Labour(yes, it is spelled correct) Day here in NZ. Our friends the Marshalls invited us to join them to Tiritiri Island. We took a twenty min. ferry from Shakespere. This island is a bird refuge. Many endangered species have been protected here. We saw tons of birds with the help of our enthusiastic bird guide. My personal favorite was the Takahe which is the Pukeko's closest relative. They are both colorful goofy looking things with large feet and big heads. Neither really flies. Both of these places had Kiwi on them. If we had stayed the night and went out with a torch (flashlight) we could see a Kiwi. They are very nocturnal. It was a beautiful place and fun to be introduced to the birding world. (It won't happen real often--our real love is to power walk the great trails but it was good for a change.)

Later in the week we had a senior missionary Halloween party. In NZ Halloween has not really taken hold yet. On Halloween we did not get any trick or treaters (except the President's son in our office). On Saturday I walked the coast to coast again with Wiki and Pauline Achee and Allyson Gurney. Bob hurt his back so he was home washing the car and doing laudry. (Miriam is a task master, isn't she)(Please check out the pictures to the right)

SatMap of Kiribati

There is surprising quality on this island, so zoom on in and check it out.

View Larger Map

Fiji, a Happy Accident October, 08

Side trip to Fiji.....The way to get to Kiribati is by flying to Fiji then connecting to Kiribati. While we were in Kiribati we were asked to provide some training and assistance to the Fiji Service Center. So, we landed in Nadi, Fiji..spent the night and caught a domestic flight across the island to Suva where we were picked up by Sia, an employee of the Suva Fiji Service Center. The plan was to work Wednesday-Friday at the Service Center. After settling into the hotel I left Miriam to wander around the city alone while I went into the Service Center. We were working on better defining the HR role of the employees in the Service Center and strengthening their “service relationship” with the management of S&I. So Paul and Mele and Sia and I worked on understanding HR and our role to the customers. On Friday we met with the salary survey providers to help them better understand our organization in hopes of ensuring the salary data we use makes sense and relates to our organization. The first night in Suva we were able to have dinner with President Ostler and his wife. They are serving in Suva as the Mission President. President Ostler’s wife is Brad Jensen's (my brother in law’s )sister. We had a great visit with them and enjoyed hearing of their great experiences. Thursday afternoon we went on a tour of the new Service Center that is being built next to the temple. They are building a Service Center, Mission President’s home, patron housing & distribution center. Paul Whippy was responsible for the dedication arrangements of the temple. Right before the dedication, there was a big political coup in the country so the government was not allowing any large gatherings. Because of this the dedication was changed to 60 people only. Paul shared with us many faith promoting experiences about the purchasing, building, and dedicating of the Temple. We toured the school campuses and met many wonderful people.Thursday evening we were fortunate to do a session in the Fiji temple. It was wonderful as you can imagine. Friday night was a stake music festival and dance. The saints of Fiji love to dance and sing. Miriam and a Fijian with great rhythm were one of the first couples on the dance floor. (much to her dismay!) A good time was had by all.. I even danced.Saturday the flights were full so we HAD to stay in Fiji one more day. We woke up to torrential rain and it rained alllllll day long. However we were determined to have a fun day in Fiji. We found a place called ZIP FIJI. The same company that built the zip line in Park City has built a zip line experience through the rain forest of Fiji. They said it would even be more fun in the rain so we went for it. So, suspended about 50 feet off the ground we zipped over rivers, through the canopy of the rain forest. Our guides were young Fijian men that looked like they could be return missionaries…and they were! After doing a lap of zip lines they offered us another lap, and we couldn't refuse. The second lap was more fun than the first because you are more comfortable. Things like hanging upside down, etc. The rain was torrential. We were soaked to the bone but had a wonderful time. We had brought a change of clothes but forgot a towel. We still had a fire walking demonstration to see. We changed in the car and used the heater to dry out Miriam’s un-mentionable’s ! We were back in the bush so there were not too many people to avoid. Off to the tourist trap place to enjoy fire walking and Fijian dancing. The torrential rain made the fire walking not to impressive. That night we took Elder Ramisima out for dinner. He was a full time missionary in New Zealand and we got to know him very well. He taught many discussions in our home here. He had to take a bus and taxi to get to us in Fiji. The buses are packed with people and he described his experience of getting to us. He said the doors were broken so everyone had to exit out the back of the bus. So when one person wanted off everyone had to get out then get back in. Quite a chore! The next morning we headed for the airport, flew to Nadi on the other side of the island then off to New Zealand. Flying in to New Zealand is wonderful. It is so green and pretty. We made it safely home but loved the experience. Enjoy the pics on the Album.

Kiribati, October 2008

Version 1 of our trip to Kiribati (Kiribus) The romantic version....
We flew from Auckland New Zealand to Nadi Fiji. We spent a lovely night in a beautiful room at the Tanoa International Hotel. The next day we boarded a plane to the country of Kiribati. Kiribati is a collection of long narrow islands. We noticed on the plane that we were definitely in the minority. White man and woman, man dressed in white shirt. We were greeted by beautiful people with huge smiles saying Maouri, which means “hello”. Everywhere we went the people went out of their way to greet us. We stayed at the Otientii Hotel. At high tide the beautiful lagoon was literally just a few feet away from our balcony. We ate a classic continental breakfast in a open air restaurant each morning. There is only one road in Kiribati, it goes straight through the island to each quaint little village.
We had our management training on Friday and Monday at the Service Center. One of our participants was Brother Tune. He is the pioneer of the Church in Kiribati. He is a Stake President now but in the 1970’s he was converted to the Church in Tonga. He returned to Kiribati as the first member and now there are two Stakes, and over 10,000 members. Missionaries are there and are very busy teaching and baptizing.
In the mornings Miriam would take nice long walks through the little thatched home villages looking for little kids on the beaches and in the trees. Every school on the island has their own uniform, including Moroni High. The kids looked very sharp in their bright uniforms walking bare foot to school each day.
On our flight was Brother Wall from SLC. His job was to continue working on the translation of the scriptures into the Kiribati language. He is a great guy. He can speak, read, and converse in over 8 languages. He was there to hire contractors to translate the Book of Mormon, D&C and Pearl of Great Price.
We met President Bleak, the Mission President and Senior Missionaries, etc. All tirelessly working to bring the gospel to the people. It can be very challenging because of communication and transportation issues between the islands. A nice Senior Couple fed us a great meal one evening.
We went to a celebration for Fiji’s independence. It was at our hotel and the President of the Country and his wife were there. We had a great conversation with the first lady. Her and the president have great respect for the Church. They have their children enrolled at Moroni High.
Miriam spent one day serving the students at the school and helped them learn how to read and understand what they were reading. We had an island tour of the WW2 relics. On the tour we walked the beaches, saw Japanese bunkers, large gun placements, visited markets, memorials, etc. The government has taken the position that they are being consumed by the sea due to global warming. Other opininions are that they are sinking due to geological plate shifting.
On Tuesday we returned to the airport to catch our plane back to Nadi Fiji. While waiting there a New Zealand sister missionary that returned to her home in Kiribati came to say goodby to Miriam.
Though poor the people of Kiribati are blessed and happy. The Church is an incredible blessing for them.
…..Now some people have accused us of being on one long vacation so we want you to now read the OTHER version of “our trip to Kiribati”. Everything contained in the description happened and is just another way for you to experience what we experienced.

The "other" version of Kiribati.

Yes we ate in our hotel restaurant ... a pig walked in and sniffed us. Not to mention the cats, dogs and birds inside the buildings.A nice missionary couple invited us over for dinner..they threw it out after all the weevil floated to the top.Miriam's nice walks to the beach? Every time she went, there was someone taking a dump. Miriam got sick for two days, still thinks she has worms. I woke up in the middle of the night with heart attack symptoms...it was just gas.The cute kids are running around naked on the island mugging for a picture. There is a tradition that if you burn a diaper it will burn the baby so EVERYWHERE there are used disposable diapers -on the beach, side of the road, in the bush, everywhere. But all the babies we saw were naked, so go figure. Out for a walk we accidently wandered into the mental hospital village. Two ladies followed us and wanted us to take them back to America. Miriam tried hard to teach in the school.. very frustrating because they can read but they don't know what they are saying.
We didn't buy any food... we packed in our food (tuna, noodles, rice). We boiled all of our water each morning. We had a extra bucket of water sitting in the shower because we were warned that the water goes out with no notice. The homes were little more that sheds, most people live in very poor conditions. You don't swim in the lagoon because it is well known that it is the sewage pond for the island.
We had a grand time.
Now you know the "other " version of Kiribati. Does that sound like a island vacation to you?