WAIHEKE ISLAND AND HUMP DAY

Today is officially “hump day.”  We’ve been on our mission 9 months, and 9 months from today, Dec.1, we will conclude our mission.  Looking back, it seems like the time has sped by, but I suspect it will pass by quicker going forward.  Bump, hump, slump, then dump!

This was leap year, giving us 29 days in February.  My father Darwin Gubler passed away 5 years ago as of Feb. 28.  I still miss him and mom.

We had some great news this week.  Rachel and Brent safely delivered Redd Grant Smith (at least that is the latest version I’ve heard of his name) on Feb.26 (or maybe the 25^th with the time difference?), 8 lbs. and 21 inches, at home with the help of a midwife.  Also, Ed got word the same day that he had passed all his board exams to become licensed as a dentist.  I know that he will enjoy life a little bit more now.

A project I got to work on this week was to help clear title to property in Neiafu, island of Vava’u, in Tonga for the new temple that has been announced to be built there.  The location is still under wraps while more due diligence is being done by the legal department.

Friday evening Alisa and I attended a bbq at the home of our friends Michael and Trisha Fox.  We met Michael at pickleball, and he seems to enjoy our company.

The rest of the weekend was action packed also.  Saturday morning we awoke early, quickly packed our things, and took a bus down to the wharf in Devonport.  There we caught the ferry to Waiheke Island, about a 40 minute trip, past Rangitoto Island with its volcano.  This was our first trip to Waiheke, and we were met at the dock by Mike and Dot Hilburne, who are the grandparents of one of Lora’s former roommates, Kailea.  We finally found a good weekend with nice weather to visit them.  They drove us around the island, with its wine grape vineyards, cute downtown area and beaches. Then they took us to their retirement village, where they have a nice home.  Their boat was parked on their front lawn.  We decided to go on a picnic.  It turns out their boat is an amphibious craft.  We got in, and Mike drove it down the street, across the beach and right into the ocean!  We ended up circling the entire island.  We stopped in one cove to have our picnic lunch.  Then we went into another cove with a small town and long beach.  We drove right out of the ocean and parked on the beach, with plenty of people watching.  After playing in the water we had gelato cones then headed back out to sea.  Finally, we made it back to where we started from.  After a swim in their retirement center pool and hot tub, we showered then went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant downtown, with a beautiful view of a harbor with locally owned boats moored.  I treated the group to dinner since I figured the Hilburnes had spent a bit of money on the gas for their boat. 

I woke up refreshed after a good night’s sleep.  Then we all drove back to the downtown area where we visited the meeting hall which our Church has rented out.  The Church used to have a branch on this island but it was shut down a number of years ago.  There apparently are a number of less active members on the island currently. So the Church is trying to get up and running again.  This is the 3^rd Sunday which they have met together, with Bro. Hilburne (a former bishop) as the group leader.  The Hilburnes used to take the ferry every Sunday to come in to Takapuna to go to church.  Anyway, counting us, the Hilburnes, and an older brother who came on the ferry this morning to teach Sunday School, including 2 babies there were 15 of us present.  It reminded me of starting the old Ijiri branch in Japan as a young missionary.  Anyway, the Hilburnes had invited Alisa and I to be the speakers, so we were.  I spoke about miracles, and how with faith this little group will grow and thrive.  Then the meeting was opened up to testimonies for the remaining time.  After Sacrament meeting, Alisa and I said our goodbyes to everyone, then walked a kilometer down the hill to the dock where we caught the ferry ride back to Devonport, then the bus back to our apartment.  We dropped our stuff by the apartment then walked on to church in time to attend Sunday School with our YSA ward.