May 12, 2024

Four Weeks Into our Mission

A morning view of Auckland from our 5^th floor balcony.

In April we enjoyed a zone activity at a Bee Farm.  

 

The owner, Harrison, is a young man from China.  His description of the hive activity was excellent.  Rick even learned a thing or two about bees and honey.   He couldn’t help but relate his Christian beliefs to keeping bees.  Everyone took several pictures and Harrison requested copies for himself.  He filled a small jar of honey for everyone present.

The gift shop offered jars of flavored honey and small sticks for sampling.  We selected our favorite flavors and now know where to go to find great gift ideas.

We make quite a crowd.  Our second stop was a festival market.  Rain started falling so we didn’t stay long.  Others couples stopped for lunch and we HAD to join them. 

Ketchup can’t be found.  One must always ask for Tomato Sauce with fries (chips) and other dishes that use this common condiment.

 Red and golden kiwi.  We especially like the huge golden variety.  Markets currently stock them for reasonable prices, so we enjoy at least one a day.

Pak’n Save grocery store.  In the USA most unmanned registers post a sign such as “This lane Closed” or “Please use next register”.  I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this sign at a closed register on a busy Friday night.  

Tuesdays from 12:30 to 1:30 is Sister Power Hour.  In Hong Kong the name was Sister Scripture Study.  It’s basically the same thing.  Sisters serving in the Area Offices or the Mission Offices are invited to this gathering.  Someone often brings a treat or new discovery to try.  

We meet in one of the available conference rooms to focus on a conference talk.  A different sister leads the discussion each week.  Bring a lunch or join for as long as your schedule allows.  I enjoy this break in the work to unite and share with these fabulous sisters.

Paul and Irene generously invited us to join then for a trip to Costco.  We’re still leery of the Saturday traffic but wanted to meet our dear friends at the large store.

Jack and Charlene Welsh (front of the photo) are serving in Hamilton, New Zealand with seminaries, institutes, and all YSA groups.  Charlene was restocking her supplies to feed the young adults.  The Welshes were our rock-solid couple in China.  They started their second year of teaching English when we arrived.  Jack was the leader of our church group.  Charlene knows all things related to technology.  We adore this couple and hope to see them again before they return home. 

Rick’s burger was twice this height until he removed the large chunk of fried cheese.  Restaurants are quite expensive, yet we still dine out.

I enjoyed this beet and zucchini salad in an edible bowl.  Presentation is half the meal here.