Politicians - No Politics, Please!

What a great bunch of people we work with.  Muriel and Junior Samuela are the Area Public Affairs Directors for Auckland and all areas north of that.  And it's always more fun when our YSA friends come along.  Matt Krull is the Opinion Leader specialist and Emma Bradfield is the Interfaith specialist.  They are delightful and talented, too.

We headed for the Bay of Islands area, three hours north.  Two members of parliament (one is LDS) and the leader of the Mana Party spoke at a devotional in Kaikohe, a town close by. They spoke on assigned topics, nothing political!  We came to assist the stake public affairs leaders there, Sid and Colleen Going. Good event. 

What a canoe!! In the Pacific these canoes are called wakas or vakas. We left early enough that we had time to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Paihia. It was here that on February 6, 1840, many of the Maori tribes arrived in their wakas to sign a treaty with Great Britain. Ever since, there have been disputes revolving around what was signed vs. what was thought to have been signed. The Maoris seem to have some evidence that the English version of the treaty they signed is different than the Maori language original.

Wikipedia says: "Because the English and Māori versions of the Treaty differed significantly, there is no consensus as to exactly what was agreed. From the British point of view, the Treaty gave Britain sovereignty over New Zealand, and gave the Governor the right to govern the country. Māori believed they ceded to the Crown a right of governance in return for protection, without giving up their authority to manage their own affairs." 

The treaty grounds are really beautiful, right on the ocean. It was fascinating to learn a little bit about the treaty. There are some Maoris who resent the British for colonizing New Zealand, but many are grateful, realizing that if it had not been for the British, New Zealand would not be as advanced as it is today.

By our count, the canoe seats about 50 people.

Now, for the real purpose of our trip, a devotional in Kaikohe. It was such a great experience to see three seasoned politicians NOT giving political speeches in the Kaikohe Stake Center.

Following the meeting one of the local Bishops reported that two inactive members were so impressed with the evening that they committed to come back to church. That alone made it all worthwhile. We are glad that some of what we do really does translate into changing people's lives.

Couldn't resist another MTC repeat when we saw this map at the meetinghouse.

Harare Hone (leader of the Mana Party), MP Pita Paraone (NZ First Party), Colleen Going, Stake Pres. Beatson, MP Kelvin Davis (Labour Party), and National Party candidate Matt King

Darling Emma B., our YSA interfaith specialist

On our way to Kaikohe, we stopped at the cheese factory in Puhoi. Such a great little town with an even greater library.  If I were looking for a job I would want to work there!

JM: The cheese factory is very popular but we must have hit the timing just right because the crowds weren't too bad. We bought some cheese and were on our way.

Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach is about an hour NE of Takapuna. It is a long beach with beautiful sand. A little town nearby has a market that is supposed to be very good but on this Saturday we were too late (shucks!).

SM: A Devotional was held in Auckland Aug. 12 at the Mt. Roskill Stake Center. The guest speaker was the Right Honorable Prime Minister of New Zealand, Bill English.  The photo below is the final planning meeting the day of the event to be sure all was ready.  A prefunction (reception with refreshments) was held before the devotional.

Kavienga and Jim waiting for the Prime Minister and other invited guests to arrive (other YSA members of the public affairs team are in the background).  He could have looked a little more enthused! He always looks half asleep. Guess he needs some plastic surgery on those tired eyelids.

It's a party! For Rich Hunter, our dear friend and Public Affairs Director for the Pacific Area.  We were delighted (and honored to have been invited) to celebrate his 50th with him along with family and other delightful guests.

Our co-workers, Quin and Janet Pinson, were in charge of the senior missionary couple family home evening for August. They had a "Welcome Home" theme for Elder Ian Ardern who had been serving in the Philippines and was called home to New Zealand to serve as 2nd Counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency.  We enjoyed Shepherd's Pie and Pavlova, favourite NZ fare.

Pavlova!  Made from meringue and melts in your mouth.  Delicious. Eight of us ate the whole thing! 

We love Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba

Amos Watane is just one of the many amazing people with whom we have the pleasure of working. He works in the Publishing Services Department and is a lot of fun to be around. He did this video for our grandkids:

Due to severe colds we had to postpone our scheduled trip to Samoa and American Samoa so we decided we needed to get it done before heading to Australia at the end of the month. So ...

Now we're off to Western Samoa and American Samoa.