A walk about Takapuna!

It was a sunny and breezing day here in Takapuna so we decided to take a walk. To prepare for it we decided to bring our overcoats with us to the office. That is the best decision we have made since we got here and there have been many decisions! As we walked we saw some great things.

First off I was not aware that aloe grew so large nor did I know that it had flowers! It was very pretty and they went along the entire front of an office and they were all flowering. It was lovely to see it and to learn something new today. We wondered on and ended up at the beach. This is where we were before but today it was not raining nor was it dark. Makes a real difference.

I should have edited this before posting but this is a seagull that looks like the ones we have at home but I question wheather they are. These actually go into the water and clean themselves. I did not get a photo of him splashing about but that is what he was doing. There were people swimming without wet suits so I assume it was not too very cold. We did see a huge container ship coming down the bay.

This is a park called Gould Reserve that is between the car park and the beach. It looks so nice and actually has tables to eat at. I told Dad I wanted to get some shells but we never go to the beaches to pick them up. He said we could eat at the tables but I told him that we never have lunch. So we both have things to work on so we can do some of the fun and exciting things there are around us. IT was a great walk and we were all ready then to go back and work for a couple more hours. Enjoy the photos.

Jasmine

Jasmine Perrett has just as interesting story as Guy did. She is half Rarotangan which means she is from the Cook Islands. Her mum was from the Cook Islands and her Dad was from Australia. They had four children and then along came Jasmine. They were happy and contented with the family that they had so they put her up for foster care. This woman, in her late 40's, heard on the radio one day that there were 11 white babies and one mixed baby up for foster care. She heard it two weeks in a row and talked her husband into fostering the little mixed baby. That was Jasmine. Her foster parents were white Europeans that had immigrated to NZ and she was obviously not. They were members of the church and had been for years. When she was four years old her birth mother gave up all rights to her and she was adopted by the Napier family. Her mother came from a family of 15 children and loved children and loved this little girl. She was part of the family in every way. Her patriarch blessing says she was always meant to be a Napier. So she was raised in the church with brothers and sisters that loved her and cared for her as if she was born into the family. She served a mission in Christchurch NZ. They have two very nice boys...at least we think they are. Their oldest Jason is a returned missionary who served in Singapore 2007-2009. He is now studying medicine. Their other is a missionary in Melbourne which was his father's mission. What great people they are. She is a school teacher by trade and teaches 13-14 year olds which is like 8th graders. She teaches all disciplines and I would assume she is very good. She is our gospel doctrine teacher and I have never seen anyone that can write so fast on the whiteboard with a marker! We are so blessed to be able to meet and become friends with such special people!

Most Interesting New Friends!

We had dinner Sunday night with some people in the ward that we attend. They are Guy and Jasmine Perrett. Their story is great. May be a bit longer than I would like but I think it is worth sharing. Guy grew up in south Auckland and was one of four sons. His father was a drinker and his mum a quiet, gentle soul. She turned the missionaries away from her home when she was very young so later on when they came to her door again she let them in. She never told her husband that she was interested in the church as he would have been angry about it. When the elders were in the neighborhood his father would open the window and yell at them or go out on the street and harrass them so she kept quiet. His father would go to the bar each evening after work which was about 4:30-45. He would stay until they closed. At that time last closing was at 6 p.m. so all your drinking had to be done by then. Guy and his brothers would meet their dad at the pub and wait for him to finish drinking and then they would all go home. Usually with his dad behind the wheel. The bars were not open on Sundays but the people got around it by have Sports Social Clubs. On Saturday afternoon the pubs would move all their liquor down to the local cricket or rugby club and then they would serve the drinks from there. On Sunsdays he would be at the clubs with his dad and brothers and his mum would be at church with the mormons. She had callings in the church and all for years before she was baptized after their divorce. He went to a very small high school and anyone that played sports played all the sports. So he was on the teams with mostly the same boys but there were some others that played basketball....and they were members of that Maori or polynesia church...they were Samoan. Two of them were brothers and they were very nice to Guy and invited him everywhere. Their dad was stake president. Guy did not really investigate the church but learned good things about it and liked it. He said that during that period of time they would have firesides (this was in the 70's I would assume) called Firesides with a General Authority and it was with a GA. They would fill the font before the meeting and afterwards the missionaries would take their investigators into a separate room and have prayer with them and oftentimes baptize them. (I know we do not do this now!) One time they had a reception afterwards for the stake presidency and bishops and families etc and he was invited. The visitor was N Eldon Tanner. He asked guy if he was going to be baptized. Guy told him No Sir! President Tanner asked him if when he knew that the church was true would he be baptized and he told him yes. Elder Tanner asked that he write to him and tell him when it happened. Guy said that although he already knew that the church was true he was only going to be baptized on his terms. He joined a few months later and a year later received a mission call. His friend, the stake president, asked if he had written Elder Tanner yet. He admitted that he had not but did and Elder Tanner responded. He is a very educated and smart man, very careful with his dress and manners. He has served as a bishop. He was a land developer until the bottom fell out of the market three years ago and since then has been a consultant and went back to school for a masters with a certificate in sustainability. Maybe I will tell her story in a different post. Stayed tuned.

Sunrise, Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset

It is amazing that today is the first day of winter here in New Zealand just as you begin your first day of summer. It is the shortest day of the year today. Checking I found that sunrise was at 7:34 today and that it will set at 7:12 for a total day length of 10:36. Six months from now when we experience the longest day it will be 5 hours and 7 minutes longer. I wondered what the difference was in Utah so I checked. There is a 5 hour and 49 minute difference between the longest and shortest day. And I would have thought we would have more sunshine. Enjoy the day!

There is hardly a day that goes by that we do not see a rainbow. They are very pretty. Some are more vibrant than others and some are double but they are nice to see. They spend about 10 minutes each evening going over the weather for the next day. I am not sure if it is because there is one ocean on one side and a sea on the other and bays all over the place but they have very strange weather. I will say they have been pretty accurate until today. The forecast was clear and warm, up to 18 degrees C, and then rain in the late afternoon, with hard rain at night and then rain for the rest of the week. It was raining when we got up and has conitnued to for most of the day. It is very dark and gloomy. It is winter solstice tomorrow so it should be getting light earlier and dark later.

Thought the mailboxes were interesting. They are all over the place as well.

A walk along the sand

We decided last night that we were going to walk along the beach and nothing was going to stop us! So we did in the rain but it was nice. It was just getting dark and was a bit chilly and wet but we had a nice time. There were windsurfers in the parking lots who were rolling up their sails and paddleboarders still coming in. I kept thinkng how cold they would be. Of course they all had on wet suits but their feet were bare. The tide was coming in pretty fast so we walked along the street where all the little shops are to get back to the car. There is a little fish and chip place that we have wanted to try so we went there...we had F/C for lunch so we were just going to look. Anyway, there were three couples eating when we got there and one of them asked: Are you really fans of BYU? Dad had on his Y jacket. I think they were very disappointed that we were not Kiwis! They were from Provo and had just gotten in that morning. One had served his mission there 40+ years ago and was married to a Kiwi. The others were family...a mom and sister I think. The woman who was kiwi had been raised on the north shore and had been neighbors with the Dils and Roberts that I wrote about yesterday. It is a small world. One was an ortho surgeon that just retired from his practice...cannot remember the name exactly but it was McC.....something or other. Anyway. We saw them 30 minutes later when we were at the grocery store too!

A few more new phrases....

I am ever finding new ways to refer to every day items etc. in my life. THere are no moms here but rather mums. When times are tough and the budget is tight it is the store cupboard that they are grateful they have rather than food storage. And a very good idea is a keen one. I find myself listening more carefully to try and figure out the word by context rather than having to ask. We need to take the car in to get its new warrant of fitness which is its safety inspection. They will do a roller brake test to see how it stops. I learn something new everyday!

Polynesian church

In the 1950's the church is New Zealand was considered a polynesian church because so many members were of that heritage and there were very few "white" members. In 1951 the mission president sent a set of elders to the north shore (that is where we live) to see if there was any type of interest or reception to the church. If I have the story correct one of those missionaries was Elder Garry Ursenbach, my uncle. They tracked the entire day and did not get into any doors. The word had gone out into the community that the Mormons were in the streets and many doors were closed to them. They came to the home of the Roberts. She had been watching them go door and door and when they knocked, she let them in. The country was still struggling to recover from the effects of WWII. Her husband had served for over 5 years and they were just getting back on their feet. When the missionaires knocked, she took advantage of the truths to bring her joy and happiness again and was soon baptized. Her husband took longer for this to happen. On the morning of his baptism he laid on the bed, smoking a cigerette and told his wife that he would do this on the condition that he was never asked to do anything in the church. Within a matter of months he was teaching gospel doctrine and passed away after serving as branch president, bishop, stake president, regional representative etc. They became the backbone of the church in New Zealand among the white people. Their family still are great leaders. Another family that joined about that time was the Dil's. They too have served in every capacity. We had the privilege of having dinner with Michael and Christine Roberts and Tina and Lindsey Dil. What a blessing to learn of the great history and heritage of the church and to know that my uncle had part of the beginnings. There is a great mixing of the blood in New Zealand. Very few at what would be considered white. Those in the church began to mix races first and now the country is a very mixed one. Very few are white or maori or tongan or samoan but they do hold on to their heritage. What an interesting place to be!

A Few Observations

I have had a few thoughts of late that may (or may not) e worth putting in writing. I am finding that I really like the people that we are surrounded by here. The office is a mix of people from all areas of the pacific and some are even from further distances but they all have one thread running through them that is common. They all have a testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and they are all trying to do good. Let me give you a few examples: Nana is in charge of all of the church rentals. She is Samoan by birth but has been here most of her life. She is married to a Samoan who just joined the church two years ago. They go to the temple once a month with their ward and usually she takes the day off when they go. She is a hard worker. Yesterday when we moved she was in there with the best of them carrying drawers and pushing chairs I like her. Another is Bradley James. He is from England and is married to a girl from Scotland. He is always complaining about stretching the dollar because he has all these kids (7) to feed. Tries to make one believe that he is not sure where his next dollar is coming from but they own 10 acres and have two cows and chickens and goats and dogs and cats. He said that they do not milk the cows, I assume they are young, and kill them for meat. They gather the eggs but do not eat the chickens. He said when they stop laying he just lets them rest and die in peace. I told him yesterday when he was complaining about all the mouths he has that no one put a gun to his head and forced him to have 7 kids. He said that the bible commanded him to. I just raised my eyebrows at him. He works really hard for the church and is dedicated in caring for all the properties they hold here. He is really a hard worked. Ameet is another one. He is in the IT department and he is responsible for our phones and internet. We are keeping his feet to the fire right now since we have neither at our apartment....either one of them. He is Indian by heritage but came here some time ago. He served a mission in Fiji. His wife is Indian too and they have a little girl and boy. Cute kids. His partner in the IT department is Mathius and he is from Sao Paulo so we enjoy him. Another one is Albert. He is kind of the guy who does it all. He drives the shuttle van from the chapel a few blocks away to the office since the parking is very limited. He sorts and delivers the mail and is just a good guy. He always walks by and greets us: Good Morning Bertasso Family! He just went by and told us that Dad's job title is written too small and it is hard to know what he does. Dad told him that no one knows what he does nor would they understand so it is ok. He loves what he does and always smiles and is happy. What a great group of people we are so blessed to work and serve with!

It is a cool, cloudy day here in Auckland. You can see how overcast it is from the photo. It is supposed to be just overcast with a few showers but I think it is going to relly rain. We have been told that it will be that way...cold and wet...for about three months. It is a bit early for that to start now and all. Hopefully it will only be this way for today. At 9:30 a.m. it is not a favorable outlook for the day. On days like this the water can get pretty rough with white caps. Hopefully I will be able to take a picture of it one day soon.

Chinese Laundry

Since we got here we have had to do laundry twice. That requires washing the clothes in this little tiny washer that will hold 8 pairs of garments OR 4 dress shirts OR a set of sheets. The shirts and sheets are washed and then dried in the same machine...but the shirts and sheets are only partly dry. The towels are almost totally wet! The underware I just take out of the washer and hang up. This is my handy dandy drying rack. It folds down to totally flat. It is pretty cool. I would consider getting one of these when I got back....maybe :-D. As you can see it takes up lots of room. Our new place has a separate washer and dryer but they will not hold anymore than these.

A Cheap Eat

We keep seeing these ads on TV for Pizza Hut and Dominos and for their $5 deal so last night we went to find one of them. We had to go in the direction of the one apartment that we had decided against and it just varified that we had made a very wise decision to pass on it. It was still bumper to bumper traffic at 6:30. Anyway, we used our GPS and drove to Pizza Hut. And found that right next door was Dominos. There was a DVD rental shop between. Both had the same deals going. So we tried it. Well, it was somewhat disappointing. The cheese bread only had a few strands of shredded cheese on them. The hawaiian pizza was the best. We will have to give Dominos a try. I am reminded all the time by my companion that sometimes things do taste better in a foreign country than at home. The biggest disappointment is that a large is the size of a totinos that you take from your freezer. There is also a McDonalds right by the two pizza places. They actually serve fish and chips there. We are still trying out various places to get them to see which are best. So far, it is those made of snapper!

Pot Pies

Yesterday we had an appointment at the bank to set up our account. It took us longer than usual because the man who was helping us was from China (Chiner as he said it. Immigrated 10 years ago and learned kiwi english so he adds r's at the end of words ending with a vowel) so we kept getting distracted and talking about where could we get good chinese food, peking duck etc. Afterwards we stopped at a place called Jester's Pies. He had all sorts of little pies. There was the Billy T which had minced meat and vegetables with gravey. There was the southern boy and lots of more. I should go and take a picture. We ate them when we got back to the office. They were pretty tasty. A bit different. They also had apple with cinnamon and custard. I might try that one next time. Very nice. And I guess it is a good place because people in the office who saw them commented on them and did not give us a different place to go.

Happy Anniversary Queen Elizabeth

Yesterday was a hoiday here because it is the anniversary of the corination of Queen Elizabeth 60 years ago. Interesting that although Australia is also part of the United Kingdom they had no celebration. We were driving home from the office (Some people have to work even on holidays if they cannot get their work done in the alloted hours.) we heard a funny song. It started with a verse about the queen being a nice lady, then went to a verse about how she had done nothing for me then continued on with maybe she should quit and ended with this should be the end of the monarchy. It was all done with a funny tune and all but I have wondered how serious it all is. P1000072.JPG I was visiting with a lady at church on Sunday and she said that the biggest issue facing the Kiwis is class size and that the ones that are protesting it are young adults in college who have no children. It is certainly all the big news right now.

I may have lost one.

I hope that when I publish this one I will find the last one. I am hoping that with 23 months to lean that i will know how this all works. Thanks for your patience. Would love to hear your comments.

Sweet Sunday

It was a sweet and very nice Sunday for us. Our meetings do not start until 1 so we studied at home in the morning. Mike spend some time doing what he does best: taking care of missionaries. Our garman got us to church without any mistakes. The chapel is a large stake center located on what everyone refers to as the North Shore although we are pretty removed from the beach where it sits. It has been added onto several times. There is a main floor with the regular rooms etc but then you go down a ramp one direction and then turn a corner and go down some more. There are nice classrooms down there. The Bishop called on us to bear our testimonies before the rest of the ward. It was rather small in attendance today because it is a three-day weekend with tomorrow being Queen's day. I cannot remember if it is her birthday or if it an anniverasry of her crowning all those years ago. I think it has been sixty years. We meet a couple that we had visited with at the MTC when we were at the seminar before our mission. Lindsay and Tina Dil. His family was one of the first to join the church years ago. In fact I think Uncle Garry either taught and baptized them or they joined just before he got here. Anyway, it was good to see them. They had been called to the Ivory Coast but while at the seminar they were reassigned to Ghana. It was originally a two year mission but then changed to a three-year after their first year. It was fun to see them again. He has since served as an area seventy. It was a nice day.

And yet another post: Matt said shorter is better than long so here you are!

Last night when we were finished with our errands we were trying to determine what we were going to do for dinner today. We decided that we would stop at KFC which is right around the corner from our apartment. We can literally walk there in 3 minutes. So we stopped and got enough pieces for Saturday night dinner and Sunday too. Good planning on our part we thought. Just to let you know, if you are really wanting a good plate of KFC this is the place to come! The breading is different: it is lighter and has better spices. And it was just perfect. Fried to the right crispness and so tender and juicy inside. Made for two perfect meals.

Our Auto Graphics

I told you that I would take a picture of the dash of our cute little care. This is what we see when we are up and running. The colors of the arrows and the direction that they are going depends of whether we are running on battery or petrol. We did get it up to about 80 km today I think when we were on our way to church.

I told Mike that at least we do not need to add insult to injury and drive a pink car as well. This little number is parked on the same row as we are. Cute little thing isn't it?

I think I've got it!

It is really strange because when I add the photos I only get works but when I publish it I actually have a picture so I will try this some more. The below picture is of the fish and chips that we ate at Al and Pete's on Wednesday.

The next photo is of the Sky Needle that was right outside our window at the hotel in Auckland.

The next photo is from the window in our living room. In the far distance you can see the Sky Needle. This just gives you an idea as to how far we are away from the downtown city area.

It is a pretty nice area where we live. There is a boys cathoic school across the street. The rugby field is in front of us. Saturday there we games going on. But it is still very peaceful and quiet.

I am not sure this is working but here is a photo of the fish and chips we ate.

Looking for a place to lay my head!

Some of you have seen the pictures of the little apartment that we have been provided. It is very small...bed goes wall to wall...bath is 3/4....kitchen has a bar sink....oven will not hold anything bigger than a 9 X 13 not only in width but height as well. The man in charge of housing told us on Wednesday that they were looking for a bigger place for us. So on Friday we asked him if there were any options now for us. He told us that there was an apartment that had been the area medical missionaries home. They said that since the new doctor was not here yet as he has not received his visa we could look at his place. It is in a very high -class part of Auckland in the society (that is a suburb) of Devonport. It is right on the tip of the land. It is on the tenth-floor of the building and faced the bay. Spectular! But the apartment was not very nice. Old and not configured right for what we needed to do. They then offered us another one that they just got the lease on. It is totally empty but we will soon have what we need to make it home. It will be good to be settled. One neat thing...the bathrooms have heated towel bars and also heated floors! That is the only heat other than the space heater! We have not tired them but will report when we do!

The Electric Car

We knew before we got here that we would be driving a Prius. Nate took great pleasure in teasing us about it but....what a wild ride! We really tried to watch carefully as we rode with Elder and Sister Rowe but until you do it...another story! We had an appointment to see an apartment yesterday. Nana and Bradley were taking us and Nana said she would drive...our car. When we got in she kind of fumbled around and then Bradley did "something" and it started! When we finished with the appointment Bradley said he would drive back. I wish I had been making a You Tube video of it! He was so embarrassed but it was so funny! The best part was that as soon as we started to drive it there was not problem....off without a clitch! (I will have to take a picture of the dashboard and post it! Best thing is we do not need to feed the squirrels very often. 675 km on the last take of petrol.

TGIF

I have realized that it is probably better to not do a post during the wee hours of the morning. I did not proof it very well and found that I misspelled window. Oh well...we moved our things into the apartment today although there is discussion going on about us going into a different apartment which might be bigger. We had lunch yesterday with the Rowes at a nice little restaurant right on the Takapuna beach. We had great fish and chiips and I had a fresh fruit juice drink of apples, oranges and mint. It was delicious! Again, no pictures. I keep forgetting I can take photos with my phone. I'll do better. We took a walk last night around the neighborhood by the office. What a fun little community. I found a couple of places to get my nails done, an I Store that has apple stuff and some other fun shops. It is going to be sweet. Or should I say keen!