Kia Ora and Arohanui (Goodbye and much love)

This is Cape Reinga at the northern tip of New Zealand. Oops, this is the Cape Reinga we saw. Only about 10 kilometers from our destination the road was flooded so we weren't able to get to Cape Reinga. Bad luck after driving for six hours to get there!

Bishop and Sister Ahokava invited us to their home for dinner. He is the Bishop of our beloved Glen Innes Ward. We had a lovely evening and lots of good food with their beautiful family.

A sight of which we never grew tired - the Auckland skyline.

This decorative fence is in front of the wharf at the harbor

Some of Sister Pinson's (Janet's) DELICIOUS cupcakes. I had to have them even in spite of my enlarged wasteline!

We love Takapuna Beach!!!!

In Hamilton to attend the temple before it closes. We stayed at the Novotel downtown and walked along the river in the morning fog. Cold, but beautiful.

We will miss attending this gorgeous temple located in Temple View. The Spirit is very strong at this very special place.

The love of my life! New Zealand is almost as beautiful as she is.

Love these ladies from the Glen Innes Ward

After faithfully serving in the Pacific Area Presidency, Elder Craig A. Cardon and his wife, Deborah, prepare to go home to Arizona. Their influence will be greatly missed.

Our wonderful group of senior missionaries gathered to bid farewell to Elder and Sister Cardon. Since McGuires and Buckners will be leaving about the same time we were seated on the front row with the Cardons.

We were so blessed to be able to associate so closely with and develop an enduring friendship with our dear friends Muriel and Junior Samuela. Their hard work made us look so good!

Our dear friend Winnie Yee. We met Winnie at the Averill Court Motel in Paihia and have been blessed by her love and friendship. A few weeks before leaving New Zealand, we made this trip to Paihia especially to see Winnie one more time.

Winnie is one of the kindest, most caring people we have ever met. We truly love her.

What a joy it was to work with Rich Hunter and to be able to enjoy being with his family! They are such wonderful people. As a parting gift, along with the Pinsons we gave the Hunter family a framed map of New Zealand drawn by Tom Swain. Rich's wife, Laura, and two of their five children (Grace and Adam) are pictured.

Rich wrote a sweet farewell song that was far too complimentary of our missionary service. Our friendship with him is something we will treasure forever.

On Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. many of the sister senior missionaries would gather to discuss the scriptures.

An emotional night as the senior missionaries gathered to bid farewell to Elder and Sister McGuire.These are times and friends never to be forgotten.

Elder and Sister Wright (Lane and Marian) carry a tremendous burden as they counsel with Mission Presidents regarding challenges they face. Wrights are some of the most Christ-like people we know and live just a few blocks from us in Draper. We look forward to their return home.

Elder and Sister Henshaw (Vernon and Susan) arrived in New Zealand shortly before we did and will leave just a couple of months after us. They made a huge contribution to the Church's education system in the Pacific islands and to the morale of the senior missionaries as they hosted our monthly gatherings. Thanks for having us over for dinner and games.

Shirley in front of one of her favorite "op shops" (charity shops). She donated a lot of clothes to this shop  before we left. If you look closely you will see a blouse on the mannequin that was hers. LOL.

Elders Pinson and McGuire (Quin and Jim) conferring at Jim's desk on an undoubtedly serious public affairs matter.

Tom Swain is an amazingly talented young man who works for the Publishing Services Department, a friend and helper of senior missionaries.

Area Seventy, David J. Thomson, has been an amazing support of Public Affairs in the Pacific Area. He has also been a great friend.

President Gardner (counselor in the Panmure Stake Presidency) at the Ratana Morehu Day celebration. He provided us some tasty, tender beef that we greatly enjoyed.

Area President O. Vincent Haleck released us just before we departed New Zealand.

Paul Jack (counselor in Glen Innes Ward bishopric). We look forward to seeing him and his wife, Mariana, in October when they will be in town for general conference.

On our last Sunday in New Zealand, the Glen Innes Ward held a special feed (dinner) for us after church. It was very humbling to realize they would have a dinner for us and even more humbling that they gave us several gifts.

The ward gave us beautiful greenstone pendants and this framed collage of Maori ceremonial attire made by Sister Gardner.

https://youtu.be/DKQH-FRih-4

 Check out the above link.  Some of our ward and stake friends joined Junior Samuela sing to us following dinner. We will surely miss them.

A spirited and long awaited welcome at the Salt Lake City airport.

This banner, the warm embraces and smiles of our family made us feel welcome after an 18 month absence.

We loved New Zealand, its people and places, our public affairs work and the incredibly wonderful people with whom we worked from February 8, 2017 until July 30, 2018. We thank the Lord for this fantastic opportunity to learn, grow and serve. Tumanako ki te kite ano hohoro koutou
Kite koe i ano (hope to see you again soon).

Elder and Sister (Jim and Shirley) McGuire

Wominjeka/Welcome - - Guwayu/See You Soon

SM:  Wominjeka means welcome in the language of the aboriginal Wurundjeri people of the Melbourne area. They were the first people to live there.

On May 21st we were off to Melbourne to meet up with the Australia public affairs team for a seminar.  We arrived midday and the seminar didn't start til the next morning so we went to the Healesville Sanctuary outside of town.

We loved seeing koalas, kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, platypus, Tasmanian devils, etc. Wallabies might just be my favorite! (No photo - my phone ran out of power at just the wrong time - as usual.)

Didn't see a lot of movement from the koalas that were snuggly (?) nestled into tree limbs.

I had never seen nor heard of an echidna.  Pretty cute little thing!

We NEVER seem to have an umbrella when we need one!

Kangaroos hop on their toes, not their huge feet. Something I'd never observed before.

Public Affairs Seminar began Tues. May 22.  Jim set the tone of the Australia event by wearing his new kangaroo socks made from bamboo - they just make me smile! He's such a larrikin!

This is one amazing group and they are wonderful friends that continually inspire us! Our co-workers in New Zealand, Elder and Sister Pinson, were unable to join us for the seminar. Janet was really not feeling well and they decided they couldn't make the trip. As it turned out, that was an excellent decision. She got worse and ended up in the hospital. It was later determined that she had Dengue fever. Apparently she acquired it in New Caledonia.

The Melbourne Temple is a beautiful, small temple just like the one in Shirley's native Columbia, South Carolina. We really enjoyed being able to attend and being with our Public Affairs friends was an extra bonus.

This sums it up perfectly!

You don't need to look closely to see that Pinsons are photoshopped in. They weren't able to join us because Janet caught Dengue Fever while in New Caledonia. Sure missed them!

For a little diversion the team went in to town and rode on the Melbourne Star (similar to the London Eye). Loved the view, just not the height!

Melbourne Star

Flinders Station - huge train station in the heart of downtown and right across the street from our hotel. We were told that Flinders Station is the busiest train station in the world! Really enjoyed downtown Melbourne and our hotel was right in the heart of the CBD (Central Business District.)

You've heard of the Kookaburra in the Old Gum Tree.  Well, this is a "Gum Tree".  Trunk and branches are very light in color.

Sorry for that Kangaroo whose hide was for sale at the Victoria Market!

Jim  and Rob Lloyd in line at "American Doughnut Kitchen" at the market. It has been in business for almost 70 years, selling jelly-filled doughnuts.

It was fun to wander through the maze of gothic laneways with lots of unique and quirky venues for food, fashion and art.   It is claimed that you can unlock the city's real secrets in these distinctive
streets. These laneways are right in the middle of town and we had a great time, with map in hand, exploring these hidden backstreets. So charming.

The Laneways are a pedestrian walk - filled with quirky little shops and restaurants

One of the arcades located along the laneways.

So colorful and enticing. I can't believe we just kept walking!

Federation Square is home to major cultural attractions, world-class events, tourism experiences and an exceptional array of restaurants, bars and specialty stores. Enjoyed walking through this modern piazza known as the city's meeting place.

Federation Square

Guwayu  - See you again, Melbourne!

Our ward conference was held the last Sunday in May. A feast was held afterwards. Lots of food was brought - some I'd never tried before. The cultural hall is quite small but that didn't seem to interfere with everyone meeting together.  Sure love this multicultural ward we are in that is made up of mostly Tongans and Samoans and some Maori.

May 30th was our anniversary.  It was also the day we both had scheduled dental appointments - unbeknownst to each other.  I guess we'll follow each other just about anywhere!  JM - Although we are so different in a few ways, over the 44 years of our marriage we have grown to be very much alike. I love this woman and am grateful we can share our lives together.

When one or more couples is finishing their mission we all get together for a sendoff.  The Hales and the Harveys will be leaving us.  Oh, how they will be missed!  Both couples were here when we arrived and we have shared much in the last 16 months. But we are happy to welcome the Saunders.  Elder Saunders is the Area Medical Advisor. His wife, Kristy, assists him in a myriad of ways. We will forever remember and be grateful for the incredible friends we have made in NZ.

Guwayu/See You Soon