Kia Ora and Merry Christmas!
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| We experienced a totally new kind of Christmas this year! We've never been without any family during the holidays and this year we had a chance to "go it alone"--except that we were never really alone. |
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This shot of the New Zealand Christmas Tree, the Pohutakawa, was taken from the apartment of our good friends and co-workers, Brent and Debbie Buckner. We spent Christmas with them and had a blast.
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Here's Debbie giving us a Christmas gift at FHE Haleck's held for the Area Presidency in their home. She is a gifted painter and this view of Rangitoto--the volcano we look out every day from our apartment windows--also features Pohutakawa trees. They bloom only in December and January and are truly spectacular.
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Our dear friends, Vince and Peggy Haleck hosted a Christmas Family Home Evening and gifts were exchanged. Kevin and June Pearson, Bruce and Patsy Brereton, the Buckner, Art and Deette Edgson also attended. Giff is holding up another gift we received. It was a heart-warming evening with our adopted New Zealand family. Halfway across the world it felt great to be with cherished friends during the holidays.
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Peggy set a lovely table with these pretty centrepieces. The food and company were perfect and it really began our Christmas season in the right spirit!
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There was also a Christmas lunch and program hosted by the Church Office here in Auckland. This is a sample of the talent! Each department gave thanks to another department--usually in humorous ways. Good food and good times!
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| The New Zealand Temple in Hamilton featured lights, displays and choirs to invite the Spirit throughout the Christmas season. |
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About 40,000 visitors enjoyed this lovely sight throughout the Christmas season. Ron and Ann Hawkins, friends from Utah, serve as Executive Directors of the Visitor's Center and do a marvelous job.
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We attended on the Saturday before Christmas and loved our evening.
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President and Sister Rudd lead the missionaries of Hamilton. Great friends from Sandy, Utah. Sister Rangi Parker sang in a family choir. Sister Parker is an icon in New Zealand and has done significant research and personal work to preserve the stories and spiritual events of the Church in this area.
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We attended the Raglan Branch with President and Sister Rudd and stopped for a quick view of the Indian Ocean in this diverse and beautiful part of New Zealand.
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We loved the tree-lined street leading to the Raglan Chapel. These people are dedicated and wonderful. We dearly love meeting new friends throughout the Pacific Area.
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Our last stop in Hamilton was a visit to the Parker residence. Part of Elder N's assignment is to head up the Church Museum in this area. Rangi and her husband have devoted many years to the history and preservation of sacred records here. Their help will be invaluable. These are two of the sweetest people on earth. We enjoyed visiting with them and felt uplifted by their faith and love! Rangi gave me the necklace you see and a pair of earrings to match. Such open and giving hearts are life-affirming!
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Our next stop was Rotorua where we met up with the Buckners and took a fishing, sightseeing, wave running, hot beach exploring trip with Ian--pictured here--and Tangi Vautier who have become some of our cherished friends in New Zealand. They own an company called Clearwater Excursions and we had one of the most memorable days of our lives on December 23rd.
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What a beautiful sight! Brent and Debbie Buckner are standing in front of Vautier's gorgeous mini-yacht with my personal favourite mode of transportation, a wave runner, just behind. They are at the hot beach which is a natural wonder where the hot sand warms the cold water to produce an amazingly fun beach!
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The lake water is cold. New Zealand isn't the warmest country on earth--yet because of the hot sand and hot water that bubbles from just underneath the earth in this part of the world (actually only one of two beaches we're told) we were sitting in comfortably hot water. Sometimes you had to move around to find just the right temperature. There were more than 20 people on the boat that day--this is just a few of them. L to R Tangi Vautier, Aria, her grand daughter, Wendy and Elder Giff Nielsen, Debbie and Brent Buckner, June Pearson, her son Matthew, daughter Elizabeth and Elder Kevin Pearson.
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Geothermal natural hot tub. My favourite place in NZ!
Vautier's boat in its glory. What a magnificent vessel. The party of 20 something friends and family had a spectacular day together. Truly is felt like a spiritual experience. We all bonded, laughed, played, ate, fished, swam and experienced true brotherhood and sisterhood. One of the nicest days we've spent since moving to New Zealand. Thank you Ian and Tangi! We love you dearly!!!
Tangi Vautier wasn't finished blessing our Christmas this year. She is a member of two villages in Rotorua and took us to visit both. The Buried village was swept away by a volcano many years ago. Tangi's relatives lived there and many were lost in the tragedy. This waterfall is on those grounds. The survivors were taken in by another village in town.
There is a museum and recreations of some of the homes from the buried village. This is a sample of some of the excavated ruins from the erupted volcano. The nearby lakes are considered sacred because of the loss of lives due to this disaster.
Whakarewawa is Tangi's other village. Only those with a family connection can use the hot tubs, cooking boxes (like pressure cookers) and other features of this unique village. We went on a tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. We even ate corn on the cob cooked in these boiling natural waters in merely seconds--it was delicious.
Here's a sample of the show we saw at Whakarewawa with Tangi.
Debbie and I visited a redwood forest and spring area near the lake house we stayed in at Rotorua. It was awe-inspiring. We did some water color painting, attended another Maori show and enjoyed lovely shopping, food and entertainment during our stay together.
Another fun activity was luge riding. After taking the gondola up the hill you ride these fun machines back down. There are three tracks--beginner, intermediate and advanced. Of course advanced is most fun!
We took pictures of Brent and Debbie zipping down the track. A great time was had by all!
After going down, the chairlift brings you back up.
Here's another shot of the track and chairlift. The views are spectacular from the hill. We enjoyed lunch and some ziplining while we were at it. What a great day!
Simply gorgeous. This country is so diverse and beautiful. There is different beauty around every corner. We love it here!
Lake Rotorua and the pretty vista from atop the gondola hill. What a lovely place.
On Christmas eve we shared experiences from past Christmases, played games, gave small gifts and enjoyed each other's company.
While we all agreed this Christmas was unique to any other, yet it was a spiritually uplifting time and we felt the love of one another and our dear Savior as we celebrated His birth. We feel grateful for His birth, life, example, sacrifice, resurrection and eternal and perfect love. May each of us strive to be more like Him at Christmas time and every day of the year!
