June 28, 2015

                 

You're probably wondering the same as us how this month has flown by so fast! It's the end of June and we are already through 1/6 th of our mission!

I think Craig is happy to stay close to the apartment doing errands on our P-day, but come Friday night, I'm studying maps and googling cool places to visit, anticipating a day of exploration. Saturday found us only an hour northwest of Auckland at Wuriwai Beach. Knowing that the weather might not be too good, we dressed right and had a wonderful time. It was windy and cloudy, but soon the sun broke through. We weren't alone there. Lots of people walking dogs, and about 30 wind surfers out in the water (you might be able to see one behind me in the above picture). If they can brave the water, we can enjoy walking on the sand. 

We thought this would be fun to try, until we saw him blow completely over. He up righted, fiddled with it some and then drove on. 

                                            Craig takes a breather from our walk. This ground looks like mud, but it's black sand. The west coast of NZ has black sand, while the east coast has the lighter colored sand. Behind this mound of sand we were surprised to see a nice golf course packed with golfers. I told Craig that come Spring, he can drop me off at this beach and then golf 18 holes right there. I will be happy and so will he. 

                                          Looking out at the wild and windy Tasman Sea from the nearby beautiful cliffs. On the far left are the dotted remains of last spring's Gannet colony nests. These birds come by the thousands from Australia to lay on their one egg on these cliffs. We will come back to see them in September.

We had a great week finally being able to visit with some members we had been trying to see. One couple with grown children, we were so happy to see at church and their home.  Their son is visiting from Australia. It turns out that this son took leave of his job and is here for three months so he can buy a home for his wife that they won't even live in. Because of home purchasing laws in NZ, you have to work and live here 3 months to get a loan for a home, so he is here to work and buy this home, then go back to Australia. They always wanted this house and it's now available, so he's come to buy it. 

Another great visit was to a woman and her 18 year old daughter. We gave them a short lesson about the influence of Holy Ghost. She got a little teary and opened up about how she had a calling and thought she wasn't getting support from members, so she quit her calling and quit coming to church. We invited them to church and to sit with us, and they came, and sat with us on the first row! It was a perfect meeting, because the daughter is wanting to serve a mission when she is 19, and a newly returned Sister missionary spoke and gave a wonderful testimony about her mission. We are going back to see them this week to do a FHE. 

We were lucky to catch up with another sister who we knew was soon moving two hours away. It turns out she needs help loading up her van in two weeks. She is so greatful we are able to organize some men to help her move. I'm not sure she would've asked anyone to help her or what she would've done if we had not stopped by. She has only lived here one year and has no family near. 

I heard this quote on a video that I love, " Let us be the answers to other people's prayers."

I have to say that we love, love visiting with members in their homes! The spirit of love is there, the children are so mannerly and happy to see us (old folks), but they feed us too much. Fry bead, homemade donuts, coconut buns, sweet bread, and Pizza Hut pizza. Friday we had a game night with a wonderful family and the kids were so happy to learn Spoons and Farkle. At the end of the evening before a prayer, the children sang "A Child's Prayer" and one at a time thanked us for coming to teach them games. Their ages were from 6 to 14 and it was the sweetest thing ever!

                 

We had Family Home Evening at the University of Auckland Institute building with the other Seniors and Craig found a competitative opponent in one of the students there.  It was a close win for Craig, but he said this guy is a better player than he is. 

I'm sorry this photo is blurry, but I was so excited watching this informal Haka performed by some Institute students, I must not have been able to hold my phone still. The women and men were amazing and tried not to spit on us, because we were sitting so close to them. 

This is a great book we bought that is teaching us about the Moari culture, their early church leaders, and the influence of the early missionaries and the church in NZ. There were many prophesies from Moari Chiefs in the 1800's that came true, which greatly influenced so many to embrace the gospel.

In 1883, many Moari from the Wellington area had joined the church, but when the missionaries taught them the Word of Wisdom, about no drinking tea and coffee or alcohol, and no smoking, they all left, except the most faithful. 

I could go on and on, although this post is already too long, but we hope you know how much we love this opportunity to serve a mission. We are trying to make the most of each day we have here. I'm in charge of our daily calendar and it's a big job keeping it full. We are so blessed and feel your love and support. We love our Savior and know we are doing His work. 

I will leave you with this scripture from Romans 8:35,37-39,

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword?

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

June 21, 2015

                                            Happy Father's Day to this wonderful husband of mine. Once a year he deserves the breakfast he loves, eggs, potatoes, and ham. Since we are a day ahead, he will Skype with the kids on our Monday, but their actual Father's Day. He won't be getting his favorite gift from the them - golfballs, but because he's a man who has everything, he's pretty happy hearing from them and a kiss and hugs from me! 

                                             New Zealand is known as "the land of the long white cloud", but I would add that it is the land of rainbows too! Most every day I see rainbows. It is also rare to see the sky without clouds. They roll over the land, blocking the sun and most times dropping showers, then move on across the ocean to Australia, I guess. 

The Sister missionaries in our Ward do not have a car and the shoppes are too far to walk, so we spend some time on Mondays taking them for their once-a-week food shop. I use that time to do some shopping myself, but this week we took a little detour with them to this beautiful park called One Tree Hill. We had been there, but they had not, so it was a nice diversion on their P-day! I posted a picture of this amazing fig tree back in April.

                                             Poor Sister Gila (right) had to have two back molars pulled today. Root canals were out of the question because of the price.

Have you ever had Milo? It is very popular here and wherever we go, they offer us some hot Milo. It is similar to hot chocolate, but I like it better. It still needs sugar and a few marshmallows on top, but I don't get an upset stomach after, like I do with hot chocolate. 

                                              We visited a sister who we love her passion, commitment and faith. She brought out her "treasure" to show us and it was a bundle of over 2000 completed Temple names she'd been working on for the last 6 years, since her husband died! She cried as she talked about her deceased family members, since she was the only one in her family who joined the church (40 years ago).  She was a generous hostess, serving us Milo and cookies (biscuits), and insisting we take this Milo tin home with us. 

             We have great fun playing Wizard and Farkle with members. We even found a family that has Settlers and we want to go back to play it with them.  

We were served a nice lunch of sandwiches and fruit by a sweet lady who gave us FISH HEADS last time. We were relieved and enjoyed a spiritual message with her. I've been making treats to take to our FHE nights and made my first batch of Rice Krispy Treats. They weren't too good. Marshmallows are considered candy here and I've only found white and pink colored ones packaged together, so the treats become pink. 

                I could use the white marshmallows only, but then what would I do with all the pink ones? We'll see how everyone likes them. It's a U.S. only treat. 

This is hilarious! We visit a really sweet woman in a nursing home. This is a nice place, not like what I've been to at home. We visit her in the main room and there are a few women sitting around "watching" television. There is also a man sleeping in a recliner. No one seems too alert. Frequently the sleeping man wakes up and starts moaning loudly. No one pays attention. Then suddenly after he starts moaning again a woman next to him yells, "Oh why don't you just shut up! I'm sick of hearing you!" He anwers back, "You shut up!" Then she shouts back for him to shut up, and they go back and forth like little kids until someone intervenes. A woman sitting next to Betty is disgusted with the whole thing and says, "They should just be thankful they have a nice place to live with food and good care!" I was just amazed that seemingly comatose people woke up!

It rained and rained on Saturday, so we didn't plan any outings, but I got to spend the day weaving another basket. Of course it isn't finished, but again, Gaelene was so generous to spend her day off helping me do this. Craig was sweet and did a few odd jobs for Gaelene before going home to watch Hugh Nibley lectures on the Internet that he's hooked on. 

We were asked to speak in a different Ward (in another Stake) on Sunday for their Missionary Sunday. Craig's message was about how the Lord prepares people to hear the Gospel. One example he gave is from a book we bought about the early Moari church converts and leaders in New Zealand. If you haven't heard this it is amazing because there are at least 3 or more different prophesies given by different Moari Chiefs, in 1830, 1845, and 1860 regarding where they could find a church to follow the true God. The 1830 and 1845 prophesies said the church would come from the east, and the ministers would raise both arms up when they prayed. The 1860 prophesy said this too, and added that the ministers would not be paid in money and they would come two by two. They would live, eat, talk and sleep with the Moari and they would write names for genealogical records. These Chiefs told their people to watch for these ministers and join their church when they came. Thirty years after LDS missionaries first came to NZ, in 1884 some Mormon missionaries arrived at this Moari area and after a service, one Elder said a prayer with both arms raised in the air. This was the sign the people were looking for and large numbers joined the church. There was another prophesy in 1881 saying when the missionaries prayed they would raise their right hands. 

Of course we have become very interested in the history of the Church in New Zealand. I am so thankful for my ancestors and the courage they had to join the Church with all the opposition from their families, and leaving everything to settle in Salt Lake City over 100 years ago. I am a product of their faithfulness in raising their children in the Church, and so are my children. We have been so richly blessed! Thank you for all your faith and prayers on our behalf and for all the missionaries all over the world! The stone is rolling forward! 

Love you all,

Elder and Sister Martin

         Gaelene made me these roses made from flax. I want to make some of these too!

June 14, 2015

We had a special early morning hike and testimony meeting on top of Mangare Mountain last week with our Zone. As you can see we all wore missionary attire for the hike, and if you saw my shoes, you would see mud, and bits of cow poo from the trail. It was impossible to avoid cow pies completely. In the picture behind us is the area we work everyday, with the bay at low tide. It is lovely and we are so blessed to be here.

This is our Zone, minus three Elders cut off the picture. We are so impressed by the spiritual maturity and commitment to the work these Elders and Sisters have. They are from Brazil, England, the U.S., Australia, Samoa, Vanuatu, and other places, and are all 20 and younger! Elder Martin told them about how his own mission 50 years ago shaped his testimony and character for the rest of his life, and their mission can do the same.

We also had our first Zone Conference last week. It was a spiritual feast reminding us that as missionaries, we need to acquire the four "loves": love our companion, love the people, love the Mission President, and love the Lord. We especially liked the part where they talked about bicycle and driving safety, and gave demonstrations of cleaning products and how to use them. Apparently, as wonderful as these young people are, many do not know how to clean. There are problems with fleas, bed bugs, cockroaches and mold that they have to attack. That stuff they don't write home about. 

We had some great Family Home Evenings last week. One home the mom has a Partner, but she comes to church every week! For our FHE she had her children there (one is on a mission). She had also invited her mom, and 3 cousins.  We had a great time and she made the best apple crumble ever! 

Another lesson was at the home of the single dad who is a Methodist. We talked about families being together forever and he loved our message. We showed him the Mormon Messages video called "A Father Indeed", which is fabulous, and could be his story. We hope to do a FHE visit there once a month. Take the time to watch those church videos. They are powerful!

We are so amazed at how strong the youth are in this ward. Even from troubled families we see good kids, and they are at church even without their parents! One home we would be happy to teach just the children and send the parents away.  They are so eager for the gospel and love to read the scriptures, while the parents are nagging at them the whole time to be good, are gloomy and barely show an interest. 

Here is my finished Kete, woven from native flax. It has many flaws, but I'm pretty happy with it, although I can't take all the credit because it would be in the garbage without the help from Gaelene, my teacher. She loves to make these, so I hope to continue learning. This is a good activity while Craig is golfing. Also since Gaelene is single, Craig is doing some handyman jobs to help her out.

It was going to be good weather so Craig and I decided to travel 3 hours north for an overnight trip to the Bay of Islands. We heard it was a "must see" place and we were not disappointed. Along the way we stopped at a few beaches and then spent the night in the town called Russell, on the Bay of Islands. It was the first permanent European settlement in the early 1800's and developed because of trade and whaling. It was known as "the hell-hole of the Pacific" because of no enforced laws and the rough nature of the sailors who came there. 

The Bay of Islands is a natural harbor and contains 144 islands with numerous peninsulas and inlets. I couldn't get a great photo of the whole bay and islands, but if you google it, I'm sure you will see gorgeous pictures. 

There are lovely homes along the beach of every size, and then we saw this primitive spot with a small Bach (batch) on the right, a canopy for the table, and a trailer tucked back on the left under a canopy. Not much luxury, but functional.

Here is the ghetto trailer park with about ten of these in various conditions lined up along the road in permanent spots. We were amazed, but hey, it's a prime location and some people are ok with staying there. Maybe they rent for big bucks too! 

This is another giant fig tree planted 150 years ago along the Russell harbor.  People and car ferries shuttle across the bay from Paihia, which is on the mainland, to Russell. 

We drove across the country to the western side, which only took about an 1 1/2 hours, and this is the road through the Waipoua Kauri Forest, which is like a rain forest of dense tree ferns, palms, and trees. We wanted to see the Kauri trees, which are similar to our redwoods in age and size. 

This is Tane Mahuta, a 2000 year old kauri. A person would look tiny next to its trunk.

 It was a weekend of driving, but we saw a lot of countryside and know where we want to go back to spent more time. We are saving a drive up to the tippy top of NZ for next time. We saw how most of the population is in Auckland, and few reside in the smaller coastal towns and inland farm towns. There is so much grazing land with cows, horses, pigs, goats, sheep and llamas. We saw wild turkey too. There are no scary wild animals in NZ to worry about, and no little critters like squirrels, possum or raccoons to run over. Also, no deer to dart in front of your car. There are lots of birds around that make a lot of noise. 

People say that the South Island is so different than here on the North Island, but we won't get there until after our mission. We ARE focusing on our prime purpose for being here, but appreciate a little diversion every couple of weeks. We love the strong spirit of love and generosity here and the find great joy in the work. 

Here is the last of the Missionary Pledge I've been quoting (author anonymous):

"I will not give up, let up, or shut up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ.  I must go until He comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He stops me.  And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear!"  

Elder Martin and I are a little slower at this work than the younger missionaries, but the message is the same, as well as a lot of the results.  We pray Jesus Christ accepts our offering! 

We love you all and thank you for your prayers!

Elder and Sister Martin

June 7, 2015

The New Zealand Temple in Hamilton on a rainy day. The temple sits on a hill overlooking green, grassy fields just outside the city. The flag pole on the left has a New Zealand flag at half-mast to honor Elder L. Tom Perry's passing. I kind of look like a black shadow here in front of the temple. 

We cleared our calendar on Wednesday and went to the temple, which is 90 min. south of Auckland. It's out of our mission, but Pres. Balli gave us his blessing. We hope to go every two months. It is a small temple, the first built in this part of the world and dedicated in 1958, with the same size and design as the Swiss Temple. In a year or so they will close it for a major two-year remodel. We had a great day, rain and all.

Craig is carrying my red bag, not his!                    

On of our favorite and successful things we do with the members, active and not, is come to their homes for Family Home Evening. They don't know what to expect from the "old" missionaries, but after the hour we are there, they realize that Craig and I are the "fun" missionaries! We do a spiritual message, a game and Craig wows them with his card tricks. We've been teaching lessons about the promises and blessings of observing the Sabbath Day and of attending church. The game we've been playing lately is charades, using Old Testiment prophets. The kids love it!

Another great family we had FHE with has lots of children, and we had a great time there even with a little chaos. The dad made us fry bread with jam and it was delish. Sometimes we make an appointment, and the husband forgets about it and doesn't tell his wife. Then there is a surprised look when they answer the door, but most times we are still invited inside and have a good time. 

Meeting people in their homes helps us put faces to names, and children to parents. The children treat us very respectfully, and can also see that we teach the Gospel in a fun way! We are building relationships, showing an example, and they have great trust in us! 

Sometimes in the afternoon, if Craig makes a wrong turn, we end up at The Strawberry farm and have to get an ice cream cone! I know I mentioned this before, but here is the picture! Vanilla ice cream blended with frozen strawberries. Yum! Craig always wants to share one, but I say no way, I want my own!

Sadly, the farm closes next week for the winter. We are going to miss this snack for the next three months til they open again. They also serve giant pancakes with ice cream and chocolate sauce on them, but we haven't tried that yet.

We are truly lucky to serve in this beautiful town, called Mangare. We found a wonderful 30 min. trail around a lagoon and it's a nice walk after our lunch anyday. 

We are not wearing walking clothes or shoes, but the trail is kind to our feet. On Craig's right are flax plants and they grow everywhere. They were once a very useful and important plant to the native Moari people. They used them for multiple everyday items, like rope, medicine, and basket weaving. A sister in the ward agreed to teach me and others, how to make a Kete, which is a tote basket made from flax. She and I cut the flax, saying a prayer first, to give thanks for the flax. Then we split thin strips from each leaf. Those were then boiled and some were dyed purple. It was a lengthy process getting the flax ready to weave and Gaelene did most of the work. 

This me and Sister Brunson, another Senior missionary, working on our baskets. It took all day and I still didn't finish, and I needed Gaelene's help most of the way. It was really fun, but hard on my weakling fingers. Unfortunately, my first project was a big beach bag size basket with a purple pattern, so it took longer than we thought. I still have a little bit left to do before it's finished. I will take a picture of it and show you next week.

This is wonderful Gaelene with tables crowding her living room and bits of fibers all over her carpet, and she did this out of love for us and love for the art of weaving. I want to make another basket in a few weeks, but it will be smaller and more manageable.

When I look back at our everyday experiences since coming in New Zealand, I get choked up seeing how precious our time is here, and how precious the people are! We've heard comments from ward members about "how thankful they are we are here, what a blessing we are to them, how nice it is to learn from mature missionaries who have wisdom and experience". I don't know about any of that, but I know we are gaining way more than we are giving. The scriptures come alive, service is fun, we love being Companions, I love how I'm always greeted with a hug and kiss on the cheek from the members, and we learn so much about humility, obedience and love from the younger missionaries! 

I'm so thankful for communication from God to me, through personal revelation! How did I dare live one day without it, when I would neglect my prayers or scripture reading? Without that daily spiritual dose to keep me connected to God, I was like my dumb cell phone connected only to worldly messages and my own prideful ways. I'm still prideful, but I get humbled more easily. 

Thank you for all your support and prayers for us and for missionaries all over the world! This is God's work and the Church grows and grows because it is The Church of Jesus Christ! We are thankful to be His representatives and wear name tags with His name on them. Be faithful, be bold in your testimonies, and be obedient to the Commandments! We love all our dear family and friends!

Elder and Sister Martin

May 31, 2015

One of the highlights of our week was attending a missionary conference yesterday with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve. The Auckland and Hamilton missionaries attended, making it a large audience. The best was the location, just down the street from our apartment, at a chapel on the Auckland MTC property. We could've walked if we didn't need to bring the Sisters. 

Before the meeting began Elder Cook and President Gifford Neilson shook all 300+ hands of each missionary. 

In his remarks,, Elder Cook told us that missionaries are "ward and branch builders, not the marketing arm of the church" and we "succeed when we INVITE, no matter what the outcome".

Sister Mary Cook spoke and reminded us "You are your very first convert".

President Coward, an Area 70, said, "Your heart has to grow while you serve. In all your doing, are you becoming disciples of the Lord, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LiVES"?

David J. Thompson, another Area 70, quoted Joseph Smith as saying, "When the Lord commands, do it." And then he said, "Let us always be that person who is willing to step forward."

Craig is loving immersing himself in the scriptures, especially using the new IPad he got for his birthday to cross-reference. It's like rediscovering candy again. I am in charge of the scheduling, making phone calls and texting on my "primitive" phone, along with the normal domestic chores, so Craig can get in all his study time. He does do the vacuuming though, which I'm happy about. I just finished the Book of Mormon and yes, loved it even more, and I'm ready to read it again! I love that President Monson said simply, "If you haven't read the Book of Mormon (or if you aren't reading it), READ IT!"

Every other week we attend Family Home Evening with the other 18+ senior couples who live in the city of Auckland. It is held at the Area Office in Takapuna, which is about a 40 min. drive in traffic. We all take turns as couples planning the lesson and hosting dinner. It's fun to get to know each other and learn about all the different assignments the Seniors are doing. Two couples arrived last weekend, one from Utah and one from Wyoming.  New Zealand was only a stopover because they soon left for Fiji and Samoa. Their assignments were to work in the high schools helping students move on to further their education, which is a huge need here as well as all over the pacific area. 

Service project #2 was last week at the home of Dollie, an older, very fun Chinese widow. We painted the railing on her back deck. Sister Palu and Sister Gila helped, as well as Brother and Sister Keung, who know Dollie and set it all up. 

Dollie isn't a member, but we hope to see her again at the Keungs home. She rewarded us with a dinner of Chow Mein and Din Sum, that she made afterwards. She was very appreciative of the great job we did. 

Today we gave talks in church for Missionary Sacrament Meeting, which I hear is every 3rd Sunday. (Maybe we will be speaking every 3rd Sunday!). Us and the Sisters had 5 minutes to talk. My talk actually was 5 minutes, which may surprise you, but do you think Craig's was? Five minutes is a tough amount of time for him to keep to (and he went over). I was worried we might have to tug his suit coat.  It was also homecoming for a darling girl who just finished her mission to Hawaii, so we needed to give her most of the time. 

I downloaded "Meet the Mormons" on my IPad and we show segments of it all the time with our lessons in people's homes. If you haven't seen it (or have only seen it once) rent or buy it and WATCH IT! Show it to your friends and neighbors!  Each segment is entertaining and has a powerful message that touches people's hearts. We showed the last segment about the missionary mom to a woman (with a son on a mission) and her male partner (common word and situation here for a live-in companion), and they were both so emotional, wiping away tears. They wanted us to return to do a FHE with their family. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives, and I'm finally doing what I should've been doing all my adult life, but I made excuses, was too busy, and too uncomfortable. I'm ashamed to think of how much more I could've done to lift my neighbor, with not that much effort. Missions change lives too!

Here is paragraph 3 of the missionary pledge:

"My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, the way is rough, my mission is clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity."

We love you all, and thank you for your prayers!

Elder and Sister Martin

May 25, 2015

We have been on our mission for two months already and time is going by fast! This week especially flew by. Because our assignment here is Member/Leadership, we do a variety of things during the week. Here are some of those things:

** We started helping an older man learn to read. We don't know much about teaching reading, but we downloaded a great program on our iPad and he is really catching on. The only downside is that the program uses American prounouciation and they speak with an English accent here. He is still doing good, and we are having him read the Book of Mormon with us everyday too. We know learning to read will change his life.

** a less active sister we visit, who is in poor health, wanted a blessing so Craig and another member gave her a blessing.

** we were introduced to a Chinese Kiwi widow, who needs some help painting rails and spindles on her deck, so we went to see if it could be a service project. She's not a member, but is so nice and she served us some homemade Chinese dumplings. They were so good. We will do that project this week with the Sisters, and I think we get some lunch too! Totally worth it!

 ** we attended the transfer meeting to drive some Sisters to their new areas. At the meeting, President Bali was so inspiring, telling the Elders and Sisters not to take for granted the miracle and power of the Atonement. That once they truly grasp it's meaning, they won't mind getting up at 6 am every morning and will be anxious to get out of their flats to find people to teach this marvelous message to!

** Friday, I taught how to make Taco Soup at Relief Society. The theme was budgeting and this soup is good for the budget. The women loved its Mexican flavor with sour cream, cheese and chips on top. 

** we had many great visits in members homes and shared spiritual messages. It's good to meet them in their homes and put names to faces. There is a large wonderful family established here with several brothers and a sister and their children. I find it hard to tell the brothers apart and remember which children go to which house. 

We said goodbye to Sister Bonilla (on the right) from Perth, Australia this week. We get so attached to the Sisters and she is our first one to go home. We are happy Sister Palu is still here. She is from Sydney, Australia. These wonderful young women are spiritual giants, and when they teach the gospel, we can feel angels surrounding us. Their testimonies of Jesus Christ are solid and pure and they have hearts of gold. They are out and about, rain or shine, meeting, teaching, and praying with people. We love them and will miss Sister Bonilla. That tree behind the Sisters grows in the Mangare village and someone crocheted and knitted a patchwork "blanket" for the trunk. Quite bizarre. 

Our new Sister Gila is from the island Vanuatu.  She has a sweet, spunky personality and is rock solid in the gospel too. We will love working with both of these great Sisters!

The highlight of the week was our visit with Jericho. He is a Methodist, but he likes to talk to us. He is a divorced dad of three young children and his wife left him and the kids five years ago. He lost his home, and had to quit his job to take care of the baby while the other two children went to school. They lived in a homeless shelter till he could get on his feet again. Now he has a humble home, a car and his own lawn business. He only cares about his kids. He won't marry because he doesn't want anyone "messing" with his kids. They have family prayer morning and night, and he knows God will provide for his needs when he comes up short. When we came for a visit, the children were in bed, the house was tidy, and he served us cake and juice. He had no money for that, but he made it so special for us. We talked about family and prayer, and we offered to come again with a Family Home Evening lesson and treats. He seemed happy about that and we left with a prayer. Driving home I could not speak, I was feeling so humbled by the message we had learned from Jericho that night about humility, sacrifice, and faith in God. 

On a lighter note, P-day brought lots of rain, so I googled "what to do in Auckland on a rainy day", and it said to visit the Natural History and War Memorial Museum, which we did, and so did tons of other people. We spent about 3 hours and learned all about the Maori culture, New Zealand plants and animals, including extinct ones, and about the Kiwi contributions to the Boar Wars, WWI and WWII, and much more. We left our apartment from our underground garage and parked in the underground garage at the museum. Three hours later we drove to the underground garage of the grocery store, got what we needed and drove back to our underground garage. We never felt a drop of the all-day downpour. Below are some photos from the Moari section of the museum, which was the most interesting. 

This is the back of a storage building used for storing food and precious items of the Moari Chiefs. Lots of intricate carvings. 

This a reconstructed actual Moari meeting house or Marae. I couldn't get get these people to leave so I could take a picture, but the walls are intricate woven mats with carved posts in between. The gates are to keep people out of an area that restoration work is being done. Out of respect, shoes are removed before entering. Different towns still have these Maraes today, but they aren't near this detailed. 

This is the front end of a Waka, or giant canoe used for traveling between islands. This one held 140 men. They were hollowed out and carved with stone tools from giant Kauri trees. The picture below is the tail end of the Waka. It's hard to see how big it is. There are intricate carvings all along the each side and on the ends.  Even the water balers and oars had detailed carvings. 

These are decorative, flat wooden clubs once used by the Moari in hand to hand combat to split heads open. Then they took those they killed and had a cannibal feast!

Missionary Pledge, paragraph two:

"My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, and warped goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.  I now live in faith, lean in His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power." 

I am so thankful to be on the Lord's side, one of His soldiers, thankful to be a missionary! 

Have a good week dear family and friends! 

This is a giant 12 foot Moa, which is now extinct because the Moari ate them all. They resembled the ostrich, and with their size, provided a great feast!

May 18, 2015

America, don't be frustrated with your cable company, because at least it isn't Vodophone, which is what we have here. We might get our faster, unlimited wifi back on in 3 weeks, and hope they will credit us, but in the meantime, we have to buy limited wifi again from the office downstairs. We shouldn't complain about their price, that we get kicked off all the time, or that it's slow as tar. We should be happy we have SOMETHING, which I am. 

I WILL SHOW GRATITUDE TO A FATHER WHO GIVES US ALL!

We start out each day with a fast 3-4 miles around the nearby park. It makes us happy to get a good walk and we're thankful we have this park so close and not have to traverse the city streets. I started noticing all the different kinds of mushrooms around the trees and have found about 10 different kinds. This one is my favorite. 

This is the baby version of the one below. Isn't it the cutest little mushroom ever?

I'm amazed how it grows out large and flat and turns orange. 

We brought a few games with us and are slowly teaching them to a few members. They are Wizard, Rook, 5 Crowns, and Hand and Foot. Craig has also made quite a hit with his card tricks. Games are a great way to get to know people and have some fun. We play short games like Spoons and Party Pictionary when we do Family Home Evenings, and the kids love it! 

The people here love to feed the missionaries! We have eaten at a few homes and all have been good meals. We've had burgers, drumsticks, good vegetables, pork, leg of lamb and fish heads. The fish heads are a delicacy with some islanders. We don't want to gross you out, but know that the texture and technique of eating fish heads was not appealing. Our hostess didn't seem to mind because that was more for her, because she LOVED THEM! She fixed us other food that we did like!

People are so welcoming and they really do want to listen to our message and they have lots of questions. It's amazing to me that we can visit with them with all their chaos and have good visits. Some homes we drive up to I think, ok, this is scarey, but when we are talking to the people, they are so nice and I forget what I thought. Some are never going to be different, but we are doing what we can. 

Last Saturday, from downtown Auckland,  we took the ferry for a 40 min. ride to Maiheke Island with another Senior couple and had a wonderful time. The weather was sunny and perfect! We rented a car and drove around the island stopping at some vistas and some beaches. We had really good fish and chips for lunch. Below are some pictures.

 is the Maiheke Harbor. There are a few giant homes on the hillsides. The drive around the island is about 90 minutes.

There's a few vineyards on the island. It Is winter, so the vines aren't producing now.

People keep their boats out in the bay. We saw a sea plane fly and land, then dock on the beach. After a little while it flew off. We found some nice shells on this beach. I'm hoping my souvenirs will be a cool variety of shells.

A view of downtown Auckland from the ferry as we entered the harbor after a fun day. I would like to go back when it's summer! Now I need to find a great place we can go next week. I'm wearing Craig out! 

Here is the beginning of a missionary pledge. I will add another part each week:

" I AM PART OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.  I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still." 

We will get better in our missionary efforts each week as we meet more people and gain their trust. As we bring the Holy Ghost into their homes and their lives. As we testify of Jesus Christ and His love for them. Many people's circumstances seem impossible to change, but we won't give up on them. Our job is not to give up on them!

We love you!

Elder and Sister Martin

PS - These are some fun pictures of a party of about 20 on the ferry heading to the island for the weekend, all dressed in 60's costumes. They were celebrating the woman's 50th birthday! They were a fun group and what a great theme for their celebration!