I planned and conducted the Sacrament meeting in Wellsford last week, so... Lisa and I spoke along with Pat Buxton. Pat is the only member of her immediate family, and doesn't  attend church very often. We have visited with Pat and her 4 children many times in her home and have held many family home evenings with them. Pat reads the Book of Mormon with her children each night and has shared with us some of the wonderful feelings that  she and her children have felt as they have read together. I felt prompted to invite Pat to speak and to share her thoughts of how the Book of Mormon has helped her and her family. Pat texted us several times prior to Sunday with fear and nervousness about speaking in Church. Sunday came, and she showed up with two of her children. She spoke and gave a wonderful heartfelt testimony! Lisa then followed Pat's comments  with remarks on the Book of Mormon and on the Come Follow Me curriculum we are studying this year. I concluded the meeting speaking about how simple the Gospel message really is....that God loves us and we are to love everyone!

Another Senior Missionary Family Home Evening has come and gone! We had 3 new Missionary couples in attendance. The Leaning's, McCreary's and the Burton's. We ate dinner and then listened to the Burton's give a presentation about their 6 months of service in the Cook Islands.

We alternate attending district council meetings with our Dargaville and our Wellsford Elders, since they are in different districts. The Dargaville district all came with small gifts to celebrate Elder Jones's 20th birthday this week. We have some awesome Missionaries in both of our districts!

The Mangawhai cliff  walk
We have been watching the tides to find a perfect evening to do this as a loop, rather than an out and back. The Mangawhai cliff  walk provides breathtaking coastal views that extend from Bream Head in the north down to the Tāwharanui Peninsula in the south. The Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island/Aotea are often seen on the horizon.

The track starts along the beach, then climbs quite steeply for about 30 minutes to a lookout point. It then winds past ancient pōhutukawa teetering on the sheer slopes before descending to the stony beach below. From here you can walk back along the beach (8 km), but only during low tide, otherwise you have to hike back up the mountain and return the way you came.....which we have done before!

The New Zealand currency is really beautiful, and so is the current exchange rate!

$1.00 in New Zealand = $ .66 in US

 We love working with our Elders in Wellsford!

Elder (Cameron) Hunter and

Elder (Joave Liulawedua Tuinayau Ravana) Soata!

It's a good thing that we call them Elder Hunter and Elder Soata, and don't have to use their first names!

We assist them in teaching lessons with investigators, performing meaningful  service and, have them over for dinner often!

We took a bike ride from Kamo to Whangarei town basin then over the Hatea bridge and back. The draw bridge is in the shape of fish hooks and  opens for boats to pass through. Most of the ride is on a bike path separated from the main roads, which is so much safer than riding on the New Zealand roads without shoulders.

Lisa and I tried to find Sister Eileen Henare a while back, but got to the end of a 10 mile long metal (gravel) road and came to a closed gate, we then turned around and ended up at an old Maori cemetery. So....we did some asking around and found out that Eileen lives beyond the gate, 5 miles further on a dirt road that is almost impassible by car when it is wet and muddy. It has been quite warm lately, so we made the 35 minute drive back out to Oruawharo and down the metal road and through the gate to the dirt road...(really just two tire tracks through the native bush.) The trail ended up on a remote section of shore on  the Kaipara Harbor. There we found Eileen! She and her husband are in their 70's, and her husband works and stays in Auckland Monday thru Friday. Eileen is out in the middle of nowhere all by herself and is not able to drive. She became very teary eyed as we visited with her and left her a Gospel message. She said she was very lonely and had been praying for someone to come visit her, and that we were the answer to her prayer. We promised her we would be back to visit with her again, now that we have found her!

The Wellsford Branch held their annual summer BBQ at the beach.

It was a hot day, but luckily we found shade underneath the trees. There was BBQ chicken, beef, and the infamous sausage sizzle...a buttered piece of white bread, with grilled onions, sausage and tomato sauce (ketchup). There were plenty of salads and biscuits (cookies) and fizzy drinks (sodas)  to round out the meal. A few of the brave youth and children played in the ocean, but for the adults the water wasn't quite as warm as we had hoped for.

While visiting with Joseph Douglas in Dargaville, we noticed he had a new stained glass window with the picture of a rainbow trout in his dining room. He had it done in remembrance of his father and grandfather who were originally from Scotland. We often drive by the stained glass gallery when in Dargaville, but it is typically closed. it was finally open one day, so we stopped in and talked with the owner. The glass on the right is a Pukeko, a native NZ bird that she made. She has been doing the glass for a number of years and is getting ready to quit and focus on jewelry and teaching classes. 

 The Kūmara (sweet potato) was brought to New Zealand one thousand years ago from the Pacific islands by early Maori settlers. This kūmara  bush had much smaller tubers and was widely grown, especially in the semi-tropical regions of the North Island. Modern kūmara grows on a creeping vine and evolved from a larger American variety with bigger tubers and better taste which was imported in the early 1850s. The majority of kūmara is grown in the Northland in the Wairoa region where soil type and climatic conditions suit it perfectly.

We are now in the heat of the summer and the perfect weather for growing kumara. As we drive through Ruawai on the way to Dargaville, we pass through endless fields of kumara. We get a kick out of some of the growers and packing sheds advertising. 
To them....the Kumara is King!



The summer holidays are coming to an end. The children will be back in school soon, and the number of boats and campers on the roads should start to ease a bit....and the people should return to their normal schedules! A brief synopsis of the past 2 weeks...we have been given increased responsibilities at the food bank which has given us wonderful opportunities to serve the community, Lisa is back to knitting and sewing with her groups. We have been able to visit  members in the hospital, do yard work and make meals for our neighbor across the street who is pregnant and her husband (who is recovering from spinal surgery), visit less active members in their homes, plan and conduct Sacrament meetings, speak in both Branches, visit the residents of the local rest home, teach lessons at church, attend district councils, assist the Elder's in teaching discussions, inspect 11 missionary flats and make repairs, have Gloria and the Elders for dinners, enjoy the Wellsford branch beach activity, and took some time to do the cliff walk and a bike ride.

We look forward to less traffic on our roads and some sightseeing excursions once the summer holidays conclude. New Zealand is such a beautiful country and we are excited to see some more of it!