Sabbath

We stayed another night at Queenstown then on Sunday morning we went to church in Frankton. The weather this morning was miserable and wet. But I'm sure it will clear later. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before but Elder Saunders has a few nicknames and one of them is Mr Sunshine. So it was no surprise to me that during the church service the sun came out and it was sunny for the rest of the day. Frankton Branch is very small but the members are lovely and we had a spiritually uplifting sacrement meeting and lessons. Plus they have two missionaries there. Both of them are from South Africa and one of them knows our Elder Van Thiel. So we enjoyed talking to them both. I think they were both amused with our camper, I wonder why???

We carried on with our travels after church towards Milford Sound and parked at the last conservation campsite before entering onto the narrow roads and tunnel. The campsite was massive and you had to find your own spot to camp which was easy to do.  It soon got very very dark and it was just as well our camper had its own facilities as their was only one portable toilet and that was a long way from where we choose to camp. It was also very quiet there so we had a good nights sleep.

Queenstown Cruise

On Saturday we looked around Queenstown market before going on a boat cruise down the lake. We could have paid extra and had a tour of a sheep farm or had a meal in the tavern across the lake but we choose to just relax on the cruise. We did see the steamship Earnslaw on the lake. It is over 100 years old and the same age as the Titanic.

 

Flying High Friday

When we finished in the office we drove right to Auckland Airport for our 1 hr 55 minutes flight to Queenstown. It was a good flight and even had a snack on board. Then we had the exciting thrill of picking up our Jucy Camper which we drove just a few miles into Queenstown to find a camp site. The campsite was only 10-15 minutes walk into town, so we took a slow stroll into town that evening. It wasn’t a very big camp site but was very pretty. We were parked beside a small stream and with lots of trees around us. We could see in the distance the hills that people would paraglide off. No! We were not tempted to have a go.

Finishing Off Friday

Day 1 of our holiday and we started it with going in very early to the mission office! Elder Saunders gave back all of his keys and I took off the computer all the stuff that I thought was mine and not needed for Sister T. Actually when the missionary couples came into the office we exclaimed April fool we are not really finishing our mission today. Only that was the real April fool joke. We have finished!
So now I have a decision. Do I finish my blog here as it was a blog all about our mission or do I included our well-deserved break?

Thursday - The End of an Era

We were hoping that today would be a more relaxing day with us both just clearing out our stuff, no way. We were flat out busy until gone 5pm and we left then only because we were going out for a meal with Elder and Sister Rowland.
Today I had arranged for Elder T to take the Language Listening and Speaking English test at the Visitors Centre. I had gone to the centre previously and check that it would work and so was confident that there would be nor problems. We did have a little a hiccup as Adobe was not loaded on the computer but once that was sorted we were all ready to go. I’m not a big fan of how some of the questions are asked but he handled them very well. When I arrived back at the office his results were in and he got Intermediate High which I felt was excellent. Well done Elder T.
Going back to the Visitor centre, while I was there I manage to take more photos of the missionaries who attended the Temple today. It’s getting hard to say goodbye to our dear friends.
Elder Saunders had a busy day just clearing up loose ends, whatever that involved!
Our meal out with the Rowlands was at The Londoner not very far from the office but the first time we had visited it. The meals were delicious especially the chocolate cheesecake desert.

Weepy Wednesday

Today it was our turn to go inside the Temple with our Mission. It didn’t really matter which day we went as we would have enjoyed the company of any of our missionaries but today was special. The peace and happiness you feel when you are inside the Temple with friends can only be surpassed if it was also shared with your family. We feel truly grateful to have the blessings of being able to go to the Temple. Although we are a little saddened that we have not visited this Temple as often as we would have liked but that is not why we are in New Zealand. We are here to serve the Lord in the way He wants us to and that is to work in the office and to take care of our missionaries.
Again another flu shot session. This time Elder Saunders was not needed to transport the missionaries back and forward to the medical centre so we went back to the office.
This evening we had a farewell party for the Witts and ourselves. All the senior couples in the area were invited. It was really lovely and finished off with Rangi Parker singing one of her beautiful songs. fI must admit to getting a little weepy during her song. The Parkers also gave us a beautiful necklace and cuff links.

Temple Tuesday

The three Zones who were attending the Temple today were also getting a flu shot. We were still going to take the mail to the Temple for them though. Well actually we didn’t stop at the Temple because just as we were pulling up the Assistants called and told us it was all changed and they were meeting at the Tuhikaramea Chapel instead. Sister Templeton sorted out the mail while I happily took snaps on my phone.
Elder Saunders helped ferry the missionaries from the chapel to the Dr’s clinic. I went with the sisters on one of the trips and also had the flu shot. My arm was a little sore that night but I think it was mainly because one of the Elders poked me in my arm!!
I should add that Sister Chudleigh and Sister Tiamona gave us a present. They both had knitted us a pair of slippers. A treasure for sure.