Matariki 2019

On Monday we had Sister Pratt over for dinner and FHE. We taught her about faith and and then read a couple of chapters in the Book of Mormon with her. 

The Apostle Paul taught that “faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him—trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love. It includes believing His teachings. It means believing that even though we do not understand all things, He does. Because He has experienced all our pains, afflictions, and infirmities, He knows how to help us rise above our daily difficulties. He has “overcome the world”  and prepared the way for us to receive eternal life. He is always ready to help us as we remember His plea: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” 

After FHE, we drove to Warkworth at 9:00 pm to meet up with Elder Wright from the mission office. We picked up a passport and some forms to be delivered to some missionaries up north tomorrow..

Tuesday we were on the road early playing courier, heading north 2 1/2 hours to Kaikohe. We delivered a passport to Sister Miller, who needed it to renew her drivers license,which had expired. She was happy to see us with the passport, because she had been relegated to riding a bicycle until she could renew her license!

We then headed 1/2 hour further north to Kerikeri to deliver some forms to Elder Hamblin, one of the zone leaders. On the way we needed to "give way" (yield) to a herd of cattle crossing the road. Several  farmers stood by watching as the  2  cow dogs did all of the work!. 

We encountered a huge Newfoundland dog as we started our journey back home. We made it to Kaiwaka around 5:10, and decided to stay for our Maori class which was at 5:30, instead of continuing on home and then turning back around and arriving to class late.

Wednesday we traveled to Dargaville, where we visited some less active members. When we arrived, we felt prompted to first go and visit Sister Rusdan, and elderly sister in the branch. She was home and so happy for us to come. She is 88 years old and has a wonderful testimony of the church. She feels like she is being under used and wants to do more in the branch! We then visited with Joseph Douglas, who was also very happy that we stopped in to see him.  We met and talked with Ruben Gilligan for a bit as well.

Thursday we finally got to meet up with Trevor and Annette Richards. We had dinner with them , their son Ezra and the Elders.

Friday was sewing group for Lisa.  Snickerdoodle cookies were made and shared with the ladies at the sewing group. Later we visited with Brother and Sister Body to see how she was recovering after her surgery. and left them with a plate of cookies.  We continued on to Campbell Richards and had a FHE with his family about the parable of the wise man and the foolish man. We talked about the parable and then played a game where the children had to choose what a wise man or a foolish man would do. We left each of them with a rock with the name of Jesus Christ written on it to remind them of building their  lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. A great evening with this family....and more snickerdoodles were left with them.

Saturday we attended a Maori New Year celebration at the local High School.

Matariki is an opportunity for Māori to share their stories and culture with the wider community, and many events and activities are planned throughout the country to share and celebrate Matariki. Some  events and activities include:

• Concerts and cultural performances
• Art exhibitions
• Art and Craft Workshops
• The sharing of myths and legends
• Astronomy Workshops
• Hangi and Feasts
• Dawn Ceremonies
• Family Days
• Tree Planting in Conservation Areas
• Whakapapa (Genealogy) Workshops
• Cooking Demonstrations

After each performance someone would get up on stage and thank the performers....or someone in the audience would stand up and perform the Haka to show appreciation to those who had performed.

     In the afternoon we headed to Dargaville for a Branch movie night.
The Elders quorum  cooked hot dogs and chips (french fries) and then served up ice cream. It was nice to see several less active members in attendance.
Sunday we attended church in Dargaville and met a few more new people.
Lisa received a knitted blanket from Brother Mike Gilligan, a fellow knitter.
It says.....
 "Dargaville Welcomes You.
 Live, love, be happy!"

Great words to live by! Have a great week! We will!