HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Well, we’re 6 months into our mission, and our final day is Dec. 1, 2020.  Looking back the time has actually seemed to go by quickly.  But I still miss my family, and serving as a legal missionary is still a lot of work, like going into my old law office daily but without the pay and a bit more busywork.

Elder and Sister Riggs left this week.  Our legal office took them out to dinner Wednesday evening at the Al Forno Italian restaurant in downtown Takapuna.  It was a pleasant evening of visiting.  His replacement arrives the end of January, so we’ll see how I do beginning this coming week at doing the work of 2 attorneys (my practice and Elder Riggs real estate practice).

Thursday was Thanksgiving but you wouldn’t know it here.  This American holiday is not celebrated in NZ, and it was just another day at the office, as was Friday.  Friday evening I took Alisa to the historic Victoria (The Vic) theater in Devonport. It has been around since 1912, the oldest theatre in the southern hemisphere.  We had ice cream and watched the new movie “Knives Out”, an Agatha Christie type “who done it”.

Saturday was our Thanksgiving celebration.  Alisa made rolls and a chocolate silk pie.  In the afternoon the senior missionaries got together for a pot luck dinner with ham and chicken (not turkey, too expensive and hard to find), and holiday games.

Pie making contest

"Thanksgiving meal"

Good bye to the Riggs

CHILL WEEK

Monday morning I went to the office while Mom drove Ed to the Auckland airport for his return flight.  Since he purchased the cheapest ticket home, his return odyssey took 36 hours, with a number of lay-overs.  It was great to have him here as our guest, but we miss him again now that he is gone.

I put in a lot of extra hours at the office this week.  Elder Riggs is finishing up his mission this coming week, so I have been learning his real estate responsibilities so I can take over for him.  Since his replacement doesn’t come for at least 2 months, I’ll be doing his work and mine as well, essentially doing the work of 2.  The good aspect of this is that I’ll be able to design my practice a little more, and give the parts that I don’t enjoy as much (such as tax issues!) to the new attorney coming in.

Friday evening we had Elder and Sister Layton and Elder and Sister Mickle over for dinner.  The Laytons have been here a couple of months, he is the executive secretary to the area presidency.  The Mickles, social workers, are just wrapping up their mission and returning to St. George where they have retired.  We had a nice visit.

Due to all the adventures and travel with Ed the week before, we decided to have a quiet weekend at home in Auckland.  Saturday I got up late, had breakfast, then went to the office.  I had a little legal work to get caught up on there.  I also worked on my power point presentation about The Little Red Hen and Developing a Work Ethic, which I will be giving to the For the Strength of Youth teenagers youth conference in January.  Also, we found out this week that our mission release date is now December 1, 2020.  That matches up to an 11 night Royal Caribbean cruise we found that will go around the South Island of New Zealand, so I made our reservations for that.  We are located on the North Island and will have the chance to see most of that while we are here.  The cruise will give us a chance to see the other part of New Zealand we likely won’t get to.  And that will also be during our summer here but before school summer break.  So the timing will be about right for us to see the rest of New Zealand and perhaps a little more, then be able to return home to America in time to spend Christmas with the family.

WELCOME TO THE SHIRE!

This was an action packed week.  Ed was here as our guest so we wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.  I had to go to the office on Monday and Tuesday.   So Mom entertained him on those 2 days, taking him to SheepWorld, and a ferry ride to Rangitoto Island and downtown Auckland.  Monday evening Mom and I were in charge of the monthly Senior Missionary fireside, so we chose a service project to show the YSA ward members around the Area Office building. We had some seniors assigned to do short classes explaining what they do as senior missionaries. The other seniors were “tour guides”, taking small groups of YSA’s around the building to the classes.  We had around 30 YSA’s attend. The activity went from 7 to 8:30pm, then treats in the kitchen area.  The YSA’s hung around until about 9:40 pm visiting and playing table tennis.  Sis. Gubler and I finally had to shoo them off so we could lock up.  Everyone involved seemed to have a good experience.  One young man, Sam, said it had got him thinking about going on a mission now rather than waiting until he got more college done.

Tuesday evening after work I took Ed to the golf driving range just down the road from our apartment, where Elder Simmons (age 80), an avid golfer, gave him plenty of pointers.  Then I took Ed out to dinner at a Indian restaurant in Devonport. Then I dropped Ed off at Maddie’s house, a young sister in the YSA ward, for a game night with some ward members.

Wednesday through today (Sunday) Alisa and I took off full time missionary work to show Ed around.  I took my iPad with me so I could do a little work and respond to work emails.  We left Auckland around 8 a.m. on Wednesday and drove to Coromandel peninsula, where we visited Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach. At the beach at low tide you dig a hole in the sand and hot water seeps up into your own little hot tub! 

Thursday morning we had a delicious breakfast at the Hot Wave cafe, before driving along the Pacific Coast Highway 2 along the Bay of Plenty.  This is the bread basket of New Zealand, I enjoyed seeing the many avocado and kiwi farms.  We checked into our bnb outside Rotorua where we would spend the next 2 nights.  After unpacking we dropped by the Information center to learn of the various activities available and to buy tickets.  From there we went to the Polynesian Spa, one of the best I’ve been to, 8 separate natural hot pools, to soak our sore muscles.  Then we had dinner at a nice restaurant on Eat Street.  Finally we visited the Redwood Forest and hiked the elevated lit up bridges in the tree tops in the dark, pretty cool.

Friday morning we went to the Wharerararera Maori Living Village and then to their haka and singing show.  Stopped by Carl’s Jr. for a quick bite.  Then Ed and I went to Off-road New Zealand where we drove an old Suzuki Samaria and did some 4 wheeling. Then on to Rotorua Rafting for Ed to do some river rafting, and over a 7 meter waterfall, supposedly the largest drop of any commercial rafting company in the world.  His raft went over the waterfall upside down and they all got drenched!

Saturday we packed up and drove to Hamilton where  Mom had some public affairs meetings, so Ed and I visited the Hamilton Gardens meanwhile.  Then we drove to Matamata where we checked into our final bnb, before visiting Hobiton, where they made the Lord of the Ring and Hobbit movies. It had been overcast all day, but the sun came out just as we got to the Shire, and we got plenty of pictures and enjoyed that experience.  

This morning we drove to the next town over, Morrisville which has a branch of the Church.  It turned out to be a great little branch, it was their Primary program and they even invited us to stay over for their linger longer.  Then we drove back to Auckland and unpacked before attending the YSA fireside at the Redoubt stake center where Elder Rasband spoke to the YSA’s.  Ed was invited to attend that fireside by the cute RS president, Ashley.

Ed returns home tomorrow, then we’ll miss him again along with the rest of the family.

Hobbiton-In the Shire!

Ginger beer at the Green Dragon

Knocking on the door

3 Hobbits

White water rafting

Over the falls

Off roading

Off roading

Redwood forest night lights

Redwood forest night bridge

Polynesian Spa

Hot Water beach

Cathedral Cove

A VISITOR FROM AMERICA

It’s Sunday morning and we’re visiting by telephone with Rachel for her 30^th birthday.  I can’t believe my little girl is that old already!  It’s been a lazy morning so far.  Last Sunday was the final self reliance business class that we’ve been teaching the last few months in the YSA ward.  The students each did their business presentations and I had Bishop Dil and Elder Harris help me critique them.  So today we just have the regular 2 hour meeting block then have the rest of the Sabbath off which will be nice.

Monday evening we had Elder and Sister Kazuhiko Yamashita over for dinner.  He’s serving in the area presidency. Alisa has gotten to be pretty good friends with Sis. Yamashita since she drops by to visit and teach her English every week or two.  Elder Yamashita used to be the stake president in Fukuoka, Japan in the early 2000’s and I was amazed at how many people he knew that I had baptized or known, such as Misao Horio and Hiromi Ide Takamatsu.  We had a nice visit.

Tuesday evening Alisa and I played pickleball for the first time in a few weeks and we got a good workout.  Spent the next few evenings researching what to see and visit with Ed this coming week, and reserving bnb’s to stay at.  Thursday afternoon I drove Elder McMurray to downtown Auckland where we were to attend a law seminar.  Unfortunately, his GPS and my GPS disagreed and we ended up driving around in circles in the downtown area for an hour before we were able to find a parking garage and attend the last part of class.  I'll take the bus to downtown Auckland from now on!  Friday evening we went out for a walk and dinner.  We found a nice Korean bbq buffet where we ate.

Saturday morning was slow paced as we waited for Eddy’s plane to arrive.  So I picked up my shirts at the dry cleaners, filled the car up with gas, went grocery shopping, and helped clean the apartment.  Then we drove to the airport to pick up Ed.  He spent the last week with 8 fellow students donating his time as a dentist in a clinic run by the Church in Samoa, and having a good time.  He said he had a steady stream of patients, did fillings and pulled 29 teeth.  He also found time to go swimming in the ocean and tour the island.  He said the ocean water was the warmest he’s ever felt, and he really liked Samoa.  His group of dental students found a nice luau to attend for $22 each (a lot less expensive than in Hawaii!).  We gave him a lei at the airport, loaded up his suitcase in the car and drove home.  He accompanied us to the pot luck farewell for 3 of our senior couple missionaries who are returning home this month, the Riggs, Saunders and Mickels.  This coming week we will take a few days off to show Ed around New Zealand.

Graduates of our business class, and Bishop Dil

Ed being greeted at the Auckland airport by a beautiful local girl (Sis. Gubler)

Dinner with the Yamashitas

Ed working on patient in Samoa

Dental student Ed diving into water in Samoa

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION WEEK AT TEMPLE VIEW

I can’t believe we’re into November already!  The weather has warmed up here and is becoming more consistently sunny and less rainy although there are still a lot of cotton candy clouds that sail by.  It is supposed to be in the 70’s all week.

This week passed quickly.  Monday was New Zealand’s Labor day holiday, so the Church area offices were closed.  This gave me a chance to put some finishing touches on my Education Week power point presentation and remarks.  That evening Alisa and I went out to dinner with the Whatcotts at a nice Japanese restaurant on the beach in Takapuna.

On Tuesday I left at 6 a.m., drove to the Auckland Airport, and took an early flight to Wellington, the capital city of NZ and home to the Appellate court. I attended my first court session there, to watch and take notes on the Tax Commissioner v. Roberts case.  This is not our case, but has some similar tax implications to my The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. Commissioner case which will be heard next March by the same court.  My case involves whether Church members in NZ can get a tax credit for their donations to the ward missionary fund, particularly when the donations  are made by the family of a missionary.  So I enjoyed the 2.5 hour hearing of back and forth between the 3 judges and the solicitors (attorneys).  The judges were not sympathetic to the tax commissioner’s position in the least.  In NZ, only a monetary gift to a charity is eligible for a tax credit, not a gift of services or property.  The issue in the Roberts case was whether a debt forgiveness to the charity is the equivalent of a monetary gift.  The judges dressed in normal business suits, the solicitors were dressed in robes, but no one wore white wigs, darn it!  Anyway, after the hearing I caught a taxi back to the airport and flew back to Auckland, arriving home around 6:30 p.m.  The next day I drafted a summary of my observations for our local legal counsel.  They had wanted to have one of their attorneys attend the hearing, but at an estimated cost of $2,600, I decided it was cheaper for me to attend and take notes for free!

Friday morning  Alisa and I were up early, having packed the car the night before, and were off before 7 a.m. to drive the 2 hours to Hamilton/Temple View for Education Week.  This is the first one they’ve held in NZ for over 10 years.  It was well organized, with the classes taking place in the David O. McKay building (huge new stake center) and the surrounding buildings.  My presentation was entitled “The Blessings of a Good Education and a Meaningful Career”.  The classes were 50 minutes long and were scheduled throughout the 2 days (Friday and Saturday).  I gave my presentation 5 times, which left me a little time to attend some other classes.  Alisa took pictures and notes so she can do an article for Pacific Mormon Newsroom later.  Most of the class sizes were relatively small, my classes had students from 4 to 12 each.  That made for a more intimate setting than when my classes were 100-200 at BYU Provo Education Week 20 years ago.  The NZ Ed Week had between 400-500 in attendance they claimed, which isn’t bad for a first re-boot.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Friday night Alisa and I stayed at a cute B&B in Hamilton, a little cottage in a garden setting, delightful! Saturday afternoon Alisa drove back to Auckland Airport to pick up Edmund at the International terminal.  He had just flown in and had a 12 hour layover.  She brought him back to Temple View just after the final classes had concluded.  We got to show him around, taking him through the Visitors Center/Mathew Cowley Museum, and for a walk around the grounds and to see the temple remodel in progress.  Then we attended the evening banquet in the large dining hall and had a delicious dinner of ham, chicken, new potatoes, salads, breads, etc. followed by an easy listening band.  By this time it was getting late, so we headed home.  We drove by the airport to drop Ed off for his ongoing flight to Samoa, where he will spend a week working at a dental clinic there to help some of the natives who can’t afford dental treatment.  He’ll return here in about a week to spend a few days visiting us.  He bought the cheapest flight tickets he could find, so he had long lay overs in LA and Fiji before arriving here, taking a total of 26 hours (normally a 12 hour direct flight)!  He will have similar lay overs on the way home eventually.  It’s nice to be young and have that type of energy and time.  On his layover in Fiji, he spent a little time at the beach near the airport.

Today I facilitate my last Self-Reliance business class after church.  The students will each be making 5 minute presentations about their business plans.  I have invited as guests Bishop Dil, who runs a family owned mortuary business, and Elder Harris, a successful architect who is here on a mission for the Church.  They and I will critique each presentation.  I’ve really enjoyed facilitating this class, some great students, around 10-14 YSA’s attend each week.  But it will be nice to have my Sunday afternoons back again!

Teaching at Education Week

Elder Gubler and Edmund at the banquet

Our post Education Week banquet, Elder and Sister Simmons, Charlene McMurray

Our little cottage B&B in Hamilton

Garden at our B&B in Hamilton