Rick and Rain's Mission: 2009

This past weekend we traveled to Henderson which is South of Auckland. The purpose was to visit a woodcarver's business we had heard about. The craftsman is Jiries Giacaman who had moved to New Zealand from Bethlehem 22 years ago with his wife and five children. Mr. Giacaman uses all New Zealand wood and is a true artist. We bought several pieces, one of which is the Holy Family. Mr. Giacaman's sweet wife asked us if we would like to see the workshop. This was a real treat. They gave us the grand tour and showed us how he does his carvings. Mr. Giacaman carved a Kiwi bird and then gave it to us as gift as well as a handcrafted tree ornament. We so enjoyed this delightful couple.

Mrs. Giacaman in their store

Rain with Mrs. Giacaman

Mr. Giacaman describing how he finds his wood.

This is a vault that he lets the wood dry for two to three years before he carves it.

Mr. Giacaman does a rough cut at the jigsaw

Shaping the wood

the Kiwi bird

These pictures are from a couple of weekend trips.

Near Orewa

Downtown Auckland

Auckland

Rain near Coramandel

Overlook of Coramandel

Everywhere you go it's green. The whole country looks like a golf course!

Near Cathedral Cove

This week we went to all four Zone Conferences. Sister Robertson helped me pass out the new JP Morgan cards to all the Elder's and Sister's. The four zones are spread out from Whangerai in the North, to Hamilton in the South. It was wonderful seeing all the 182 Missionaries serving here. I tried getting group pictures of all four zones, but the 1st two zone pictures didn't work out.

We are finally getting better at figuring out our responsibilities, but each day is always a new adventure. After handing out all the cards, two of the missionaries lost their cards, two used the wrong PIN number in an ATM machine, and the machine ate them. I also had 6 of 7 calls asking for their PIN numbers.

We have at least two speeding tickets/week, one or two wrecks, and there's always a problem with fleas in their flats.

With all the little problems, the Missionaries are doing wonderful work here in New Zealand. We've had over a hundred baptisms the last three months, and we expect 140 in November.

This month the Church is starting an ad campaign giving out DVD's for "Joy to the World". We have 4.000 DVD's in the office, with a plan to get more if required. December will be a very busy month with referrals, since the missionaries will be delivering them to people that ordered the DVD's.

We meet with the Area Office Senior Couples each Monday night and have a devotional. We have developed life long friendships with them, and we look forward each week to get together with them. Last week we all were invited to Elder Callister's home for a devotional. He is the Area Authority Seventy for the Pacific. He has written two books, and he discussed the process he went through in writing and publishing them. It's amazing to be surrounded by Area Authority Seventies and to be able to listen to their council.

This next week is Thanksgiving, New Zealand obviously doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but we have been invited to President & Sister Porter's (Mission President) for a Thanksgiving meal along with Elder and Sister Walch. The Senior Couples and us are all getting together Saturday night to celebrate Thanksgiving as well. We feel like we have so much to be thankful for. We have truly felt the Lord's hand in all we do.

When I arrived here I could barely walk with problems with the Sciatic Nerve in my hip, but I have no pain at all. Rain and I have been going to a Natural Path doctor who's in the Stake Presidency, and he has really helped us both. We go each week for treatments, and he won't allow us to pay for his service. He says there's no way he will charge missionaries. He's a great man for all he does.

We're also getting used to living in our little flat. It really feels like our home away from home. We are able to use Skype and see Walt and Darcie as well as Scott and Amy and the kids, which really helps keep us close to them. We miss all of our family, but being able to see them makes it much easier.

Below are some of the pictures from Zone Conference.

Zone Conference