Be of good cheer!

Each time I mow Sister Pratt's yard, I am watched ever so closely by her cat! He will lay on the porch scowling, or looking as if he is pouting the whole time I am mowing. The last few times, he has waited on the porch until I have finished and then he jumps down seeking my attention and affection.

Lisa and I have been in New Zealand for 4 months now. For the first little while, most of the people here reminded me of this cat. We would walk the main street or enter into establishments and most people would appear to be glaring at us, or they would not make eye contact with us or try and  avoid us altogether. As we  have immersed ourselves into the community and provided Christ-like service, we have seen a mighty change take place. Now...a day doesn't go by that we don't have someone wave at us, or smile and greet us or stop and talk with us. We constantly pray for the hearts of the people to be softened and to help us in bringing others unto Christ.  

President Thomas S. Monson said:

"The Lord admonished, 'Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,'" he said. "What great happiness this knowledge should bring to us. He lived for us and he died for us. He paid the price for our sins. May we emulate his example. May we show our great gratitude for him by accepting his sacrifice and living lives that will qualify us to return and one day live with him.""Let us not be critical and judgmental, but let us be tolerant, ever emulating the Savior's example of loving kindness," he said. "May we willingly serve one another. May we pray for the inspiration to know of the needs of those around us, and then may we go forward and provide assistance."

We spent some time in the town of Maungaturoto this past week. We had a nice visit with Rebecca Fletcher and shared a short message with her. She has 2 daughters, Madeline 15 and Haven 12. Haven is recovering from an accident where she was hit by a car while walking to school. She  was blessed with no broken bones but is dealing with recovering from a concussion. We stopped back by on the way home from Dargaville on Sunday and dropped off a couple of small gifts for the girls, who both had birthdays this week.

While in Maungaturoto we attempted to find the Dunn family. We did not have an address, but were told that they were on a main road and were living in a shipping container, so it should be easy to find. We scanned the hillsides up and down the road but did not find them?!  Lisa made the quilt in the picture below for their baby girl, whom they are adopting. We finally caught up with them and found out that they did not live on the main road, but rather off the main road on a dirt road!

Last week we walked into our District Council meeting in Whangarei to a  room full of unfamiliar Elders. Come to find out, the Elders in Wellsford have been moved into the Waimate Zone, about 60 km south of us, and the Dargaville Elders have been moved into the Hikurangi District, about 85 km north of us! So we are  faced with the dilemma of which of our Elders do we now support ?!?

We found it amusing that a local PTA was sponsoring a contest for who could shoot or trap the most possums! Here are a few facts.....People used to think that possums only ate plants. But in 1993 possums were filmed eating the eggs and chicks of the endangered kōkako. They have since been filmed eating the eggs, chicks and even adults of many other native birds including kererū, kiwi, harrier hawk, fantail, muttonbird, and tūī. They also eat the nectar and berries that native birds like to eat so that there is less food for the birds.   Possums eat about 21,000 tonnes of leaves and flowers in just one night. That’s a lot of forest disappearing while you sleep.

Possums carry a disease called bovine Tb (tuberculosis) which they spread to cattle. They also eat pasture so there is less food for farm animals. The damage done by possums costs NZ farmers about $35 million every year. The New Zealand Government spends over $110 million per year on possum control.

Possum fur is soft and warm. Possum skins can be used to make clothing and possum wool is mixed with merino sheep wool to make knitting yarn. Possum meat has been found to have a high quality protein which is rich in healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Some New Zealand companies use possum meat to make healthy pet food for cats and dogs. In the 1980s, possum meat was also exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia for people to eat. In these countries it was considered a special food delicacy and was called ‘kiwi bear’.

Here's what happens when you don't ride your bike very often!

We spent another day helping President Lisiate do more taping and texturing on this little house in Donnelly's Crossing

A picture of the trash can on Lisa’s side of the bed......with a few Instagram comments

It was time to do flat inspections again, so we spent one day in a torrential downpour as we went in and out of the apartments all over the Northland, trying to stay as dry as we possibly could. The wind blew all day long accompanied by the rain, which eventually turned  into a spectacular thunder and lightning display in the middle of the night.

I dropped off my prescriptions at the local pharmacy and was told it would take about 15 minutes...so I went and got my hair cut and returned. As I entered the pharmacy the woman who had previously helped me gave me a funny look and turned and went into the back. Out came the Pharmacy Manager carrying a small box with all of my prescriptions. He set it on the counter, and in a very somber and apologetic voice said " I am so sorry." He went on to explain that a New Zealand resident would only have to pay $5 for 2 of the Rx's and the other 4 would be free. He was totally shocked that I would have to pay almost $900 for 3 months worth of medication! We talked for a few moments about health care, and I reassured him that I would be OK, and that I did have insurance that would help cover some of the cost. I paid him and as I was walking away he continued shaking his head in disbelief that I had to pay so much for the medication.

We received a call from Elder Wright asking us if we wanted a new car?! I told him there was nothing wrong with our car...but he went on to explain that he would much rather give the new cars to the Sr. Missionaries because they tend to appreciate them and take care of them more. So we agreed, and on Saturday drove our old car to the Sisters in Hikurangi and brought their car home to take to the mission office, to go to the auction. The Sisters were ecstatic to receive our old car, which was in much better shape than theirs! 

Saturday evening we had the Wellsford Elders over for dinner. We were able to do updating and correlating since we do not meet with them in District Council anymore.

On Sunday we were back in Dargaville, where Lisa spoke in Sacrament meeting on the Light of Christ. We were invited to have a meal with Ruben and Joe and then headed back to Wellsford.