President Pere and I visited a few of the less active members in the branch this week. We saw Fred Body and found out that his wife had been taken to the hospital in Takapuna due to a possible stroke.  Fred had missed several days of work going back and forth to Takapuna to be with his wife and was not going to be able to go visit her again. President Pere was going to be in Auckland the next day, so he said he would stop by and visit her. I also told Fred that Lisa and I would make a trip to see her on Sunday.    We then stopped in to see Rena Richards who is due to have a baby in 2 weeks, Her husband is in the Phillipines and won't be home for a week. She is taking care of her inlaw's house while they are in America and she is also watching a couple of her nephews, along with her two boys! We left her with a blessing and will be checking up on her in a few days.

I stopped by Ezra's to drop off a plate of cookies and wish him a Happy Birthday. In order to get up to the house I had to park the car and hike up the hill through a herd of inquisitive cows and calves. There were several 1 and 2 day old calves hanging close to their mothers. Once I made my way through the herd I encountered the "Big Daddy" of the herd. He stood his ground and was not going to let me by.

We had a stare down for a few moments, and as soon as he blinked...I made my way around him, and never looked back!

Lisa made a large batch of cinnamon rolls and shared them with several of our neighbors. We then had Elder Tenney and Elder Hunter over to watch Conference  and enjoy homemade cinnamon rolls. 

After watching conference with the Elders, Lisa and I drove an hour south to the North Shore Hospital in Takapuna, to visit with Morihu Body. She was sitting in the waiting room when we arrived. She was so happy to see us. After having an MRI and a Cat Scan, the results showed that she did not have a stroke. She will stay a few more days in the Hospital and then go to her son's home in Henderson for a while, since it will be closer to her doctor's office.

Monday evening we attended our monthly gathering with the Senior Missionaries. We met at the Institute building in Auckland and had "Sloppy Joe's" and played "Kahoot", both favorites of the Young Adults who attend Institute. Elder and Sister Whatcott  are the Senior Couple assigned to work with the young adults and teach classes at the Institute.

On Tuesday we visited with the “Woodcarver” Jiries Giacaman and his wife Marcelle.  They are originally from Bethlehem where Jiries started carving olive wood as a young man in his family trade.  30 years ago they moved their family to New Zealand to provide a better life for their children. It was difficult to leave their home in Bethlehem, but it was even more difficult to be Christians there. They were persecuted and  feared for their lives. Jiries has been carving wood for over 50 years. Jiries carves and Marcelle does the finish work. They create beautiful nativities and Christmas ornaments which are very popular souvenirs. Their carvings and ornaments can be found in many of the souvenir shops in New Zealand. They also carve Angel Moroni and the Hamilton Temple!  They are proud to say they are Palestinian Christians.   

Lisa traced a Kiwi on a piece of Kauri wood and Jiries cut it out with the band saw, shaped it with a dental hand piece, sanded it, then handed it off to Marcelle to finish.

A beautiful Kiwi made by the Giacaman's while we "stood around" visiting with them! Then they gave it to us as a gift. Such a sweet couple!

Just a few of their wood creations!

 Even an Angel Moroni

We try to have the local missionaries over each week for dinner. They are fabulous young men... hard workers and  wonderful examples of Jesus Christ.

Lisa and I were out for a morning run and stumbled upon a "Grass clipping man" leaning
 against a tree while  holding a volleyball

Another quilt by Lisa!  She made this one for Rena Richard's baby 

I love hot and spicy foods, and have found that the New Zealanders 

version of hot....is very , very mild.

I was impressed by these Wasabi Doritos, they definitely have a kick !

A friendly reminder on the freeway

Saturday morning we attended the Wellsford School Ag Day. It was a fundraising event for the elementary school and was similar to a  U.S school carnival crossed with a county fair.

To summarize the balance of the week....We spent a day doing 8 missionary flat inspections throughout the Northland, did yard work at Gloria Pratt's, took dinner by Rena Richards, sang with the Community choir, filled orders for the Food Bank, held Family Home evenings with Campbell's family, attended Maori class, went with the Elder's on visits, held a Family home evening with the Buxton's, attended 2 sessions of Stake Conference in Whangarei on Saturday, took Sister McCarthy with us to Stake Conference on Sunday, sang in a combined choir from Dargaville and Wellsford at Stake Conference Sunday and....we were asked 30 minutes before conference (really..we were told) that Lisa and I would be singing a duet, at the pulpit, acappella, as the intro to "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"....somehow we were able to pull it off! We are extremely blessed and love serving the people of New Zealand and inviting others to Come unto Christ. Below is a 1 minute video that emphasizes the importance of being different, yet one.