SIGN OF THE TIMES

Again, not much to report this week.  New Zealand is still in level 4 lockdown.  But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decreed that we will cut back to level 3 effective Tuesday April 28.  That will allow a little more freedom of movement, anywhere in the regional council, so we can visit and hike in some of the regional parks.  Restaurants can re-open but only serving take out or drive through.  I could use a haircut but barbers aren’t going to be back in business yet. Luckily, I’d gotten a short haircut in early March just before the lockdown went into effect.  And we aren’t returning to our Area office building yet under level 3, so will continue to work from the apartment via computer.  Good thing I had already gone paperless.

Monday was a YSA ward fireside on Zoom.  It was to give the recently returned missionaries an opportunity to report their missions.  I was surprised that our ward had 6 or 7 young missionaries who had returned early as a result of the virus, one who had only been in the Provo MTC for 2 weeks!  He (Awanui Morris) finished his MTC experience online learning the Philippino language from home.  He will now serve in New Zealand when allowed to, then hopefully later on can get into the Philippines to finish his mission there.  I suspect that Alisa and I are the only remaining missionaries in the mission field from our home stake in Visalia, CA. Alisa wasn’t feeling good on Thursday, so I went out in the evening to do the weekly shopping for her.  People here are overreacting in my opinion to the Covid 19 situation.  At the store everyone was wearing masks, looking scared or suspicious of everyone else.  There was plenty of sanitizer and gloves to go around.  Saturday was ANZAC day in Australia and NZ, to celebrate those who have fought and given their lives in wars since WWI (the equivalent of our Memorial and Veterans Days).  Usually the day is marked by big parades but those were all shut down by the virus. I did see a few signs honoring the veterans around town on my walks.  Monday will be the day off work for ANZAC. 
Saturday I went on a 5 mile bike ride around Lake Pupuke near our house.  I am enjoying extremely good health, no aches or pains.  I continue to do better on my jogging as the weeks go by and I look forward to getting outdoors.  I continue to do legal work as many extra hours as I can, including on weekends, to fight the boredom and make the time pass quicker.  This mission is more a mental exercise than anything else at this point.
This morning I got up early to go on a 2-3 mile hike along the beach.  I took the picture below on my return hike home.

Sign of the Times I saw today on my morning walk

SLOW WEEK

Not much to report this week.  We did an online FHE with the few remaining senior missionaries here.  Otherwise, it was just work at the office, I keep busy there putting out little fires and doing contract work.  We’re still at stage 4 on the lockdown or “shelter in place” order here due to the Covid 19 pandemic.  There is talk of dropping to stage 3 this coming week, anything to relieve the boredom here.  I get out and jog 4-5 times a week, and we go on plenty of walks and some bike rides, naps, reading and grocery shopping.  That’s about it. I finished volume 2 of Saints this week, the new Church history book.  I learned this week that all of the Associate Area Legal Counsel around the world have been sent back to the US to work from home, except one in the Philippines (who couldn’t get a flight out before they closed their borders) and the 4 of us in New Zealand and Australia.  Not sure what the reasoning is there.

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter everyone.  We’re still in lockdown here in NZ.  We’ll be celebrating Easter at home today.  A couple of weeks ago we attended our YSA ward Sunday School lesson via Zoom.  It was the first time Alisa and I had used that app, so I played with some of the buttons.  One button allowed us to put up different backgrounds.  So I chose a background with a picture of the Golden Gate bridge.  I was being a little silly so it showed Sis. Gubler and I in our Sunday clothes with the bridge in the background.  Later in the week, one of the YSA’s emailed us thanking us for our service in New Zealand and expressing the hope we could return to NZ again someday.  I emailed her back to let her know we are still here, and she replied that she thought we had returned to California since she’d see our picture on Zoom in front of the bridge!  We got a good chuckle out of that.

We did enjoy General Conference last weekend.  It was different in that only the First Presidency and the speakers for each session were allowed to attend in a small room somewhere in the bowels of the Church Administration building.  Even the Tabernacle Choir singing was pre-recorded segments from the past for the most part.  Many wonderful messages were shared, and even without the crowds that usually attend (due to the Covid 19 scare) the Spirit was still strong.  A highlight for us was the last song, We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.  The Tab Choir sang the first verse (pre-recorded) then choirs from around the world sang the 2^nd and 3^rd verses (also pre-recorded, but it looked live).  Mexico, South Korea, Ghana, Brazil, Germany and finally Auckland New Zealand (our choir singing on the beach at Wenderholm Regional Park recorded in early February I believe)!  Then everyone sang the final verse together.  There were some good distance shots of Sis. Gubler and I, and a close up of the lower half of my head singing.  Then at the very end, a close up of Sis. Gubler singing in our choir.  It was quite amazing seeing ourselves singing at General Conference.  It provoked quite an outpouring/response.  I think that song was the favorite of everyone, quite touching and memorable.  And I was surprised at how many people from around the world contacted us and posted that they’d seen us, some of whom I was surprised even remembered us, some of my former boy scouts even. 

The rest of the week was back at the office as usual.  Actually, I’ve been swamped with work, which I prefer, it makes the days and weeks fly by quicker.  We have a 4 day weekend in NZ to celebrate Good Friday and Easter, but I went in to work anyway on Friday and Saturday.  Alisa and I have been looking for some exercise besides calisthentics, walking and jogging.  So we thought to borrow 2 bikes from the mission home close by, since most of the young missionaries are gone home and won’t be using them for a while.  Friday morning we got an early start and rode our bikes to Devonport and back.  We stopped to see the docks and wharf there.  It was about a 10 mile ride round trip.  We’ve found some pretty good Ubake pizzas at New World supermarket, so Saturday afternoon for a diversion I drove there in Devonport again to do some grocery shopping and pick up a pizza.  There are lines to get in, you have to stand 6 feet apart, and voluntarily distance yourself from other shoppers.  I still feel bad for all the “non-essential” businesses that have shut down due to the government imposed lock down.  Many will not be able to reopen because of financial distress, such as one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Porto Fina’s, which shut its doors permanently.  We’ve even voluntarily dropped the rent by 50% for a couple of our own commercial rentals to help those businesses stay afloat, although so far our residential tenants have paid their rents.  Because we have been required to isolate in our apartment, however, our expenses have gone down, mainly just groceries outside of rent, car, and health insurance.  So Sis. Gubler and I will make it by just fine financially, together with our rainy day fund.  Activity wise, I am reading book after book, watching some old movies (John Wayne and Kirk Douglas this week) and even The Mandalarian which Kimi recommended (just another Western except I do like baby Yoda), and exercising, besides work everyday.  It can be monotonous.  I have been bothered by the hives the last few weeks, but saw the mission doctor who prescribed some medicine which seems to have cleared it up.  Otherwise, I have been enjoying remarkable health, although I could stand to lose a little of the extra weight due to inactivity.

The legal tidbit for the day.  In Tonga, land and apartments are scarce.  So for the missionaries, the Church asks permission from members and others to put portable apartment units made from assembled kits in their back yards.  However, some of the units have been on some of the properties so long that the property owners believe that they now own the units!  So I was asked to help create a temporary license agreement which will be taken to all the property owners for them to sign, acknowledging that the Church retains title to the units themselves, while the property owners just give permission to set them on their properties.

For our good turn story of the week, Sis. Gubler made brownies one morning and during our lunch break we walked them to a young missionaries apartment about half a mile away.  There are 4 young missionaries living there who are also in lock down like everyone else, so they can’t go out proselyting.  They are from Samoa and other island nations, which have closed their borders and won’t let any of them return home.  So they are stuck here for the duration.  They appreciated our visit and mainly the brownies, and I picked some guavas I found on a tree in their yard for treats later on.
p.s. last week I wrote on this blog about the economic disaster being faced in Vanuatu relating to Covid 19.  Since then, Vanuatu has been hit with a category 5 cyclone!  If it weren't for bad luck, Vanuatu would have no luck at all.

Bike ride to downtown Devonport

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Another week locked up in our apartment due to the Covid 19 restrictions here in New Zealand.  One day seems to melt into the next, such that it’s almost tough remembering what day of the week it is.  At least I’ve had plenty of legal work to do to keep my mind occupied, mainly a lot a contract and real property issues.

Enjoyed the counsel received today from General Conference.  Our one diversion this week was yesterday Alisa  and I drove to Devonport where they have a large grocery store by the name of New World, and we were finally able to find donuts there to purchase as part of our family General Conference donuts tradition.  Otherwise, not much new to report here. 

So I thought I’d attach to this report an email from our local attorney in the small island nation of Vanuatu, which details the economic disaster going on there. 

“I wish to advise you about the situation in Vanuatu as seen by our office as I would assume that you have received some news from your members in Vanuatu.  It’s not looking too good here.

A Government State of Emergency is in place. The Borders/frontiers are totally closed, except for cargo freighters. No more cruise ships are coming. Air Vanuatu has cancelled all international flights till July. Qantas and Virgin have done the same.  Domestic flights to the outer islands are all cancelled. Domestic passenger shipping is suspended. Only cargo may be transported.

A 9pm curfew is in effect for everyone except “essential services.” Most hotels have closed or will close soon. Others have put their staff on forced annual leave, so they will receive some payment, thereafter,  most will probably be terminated.

Many hundreds of job losses across the board, some of them quite skilled and experienced positions. Buses and taxis are losing a huge amount of their tourist business.

Many expatriates left before the airport closure deadline the weekend before last. Many businesses are closing: shops, tour operators, car hire etc…

Kava bars are all ordered to close (only takeaway permitted).  These gathering places are numerous and very important socially to locals.

Basically, with no tourists in a country dependent on Tourism and related businesses for 50% – 60% of its GDP and most of its employment, these wholesale closures will wreak economic and social havoc. 

 It remains to be seen just how bad it will become, but many people walking away from tenancies and businesses with bank debt.  We expect with so many people employed in hotels, resorts, tour operators, bars, cafes, restaurants plus all the buses and taxis in town, that we will see unemployment in the 1000s - which is a lot for here, where the capital Port Vila has a population of only 55,000.

The sort of desperation this will create will not bode well for personal and household security.  With no welfare system available, and no established state structure to offer relief – most people in trouble – businesses or employees - will simply hit the wall. 

Yesterday, the Prime Minister offered businesses a financial “Stimulus Package” to try to encourage them to stay open, in order to preserve the jobs of thousands of locals. This will help some, but will probably not assist those who have already closed.  We expect some tough times ahead here, and probably for quite a while.

 All this is happening when we still do not have a single official case of Covid-19 in the country! Having said that, we also have no way of testing! We are so ill equipped in Vanuatu to handle a significant outbreak – of anything! - that we all hope and pray that such a thing does not happen. There are reportedly two ventilators in the hospital system here, and one isn’t working! The main hope – I can hardly call it a strategy! - for us all here is – don’t get sick!!

We understand that strict measures have been taken in  New Zealand. So we are all in this together. Very warm regards. Marie-Noëlle Ferrieux Patterson”

This is an example of what is happening everywhere.   It remains to be seen how this pandemic-caused economic collapse will affect the rest of the world, including NZ and the US.  Once the rubber band is stretched to its limit, I’m not sure how quickly it will snap back.  Yesterday on a walk I noticed a fine Italian restaurant called Porto Fino’s which we’ve visited a few times is completely cleaned out and obviously shut down permanently.  Stay tuned!