Sing with Enthusiasm, Pray with humility!

This week I want to dedicate the blog to the wonderful people we have met in New Zealand. For prelude music, the Bishop got up and sang an acapella solo. It was wonderful, not that he has a marvelous voice, but because it was filled with the spirit. I have noticed a couple of things in their Sacrament and other meetings. They sing with enthusiasm and they pray with humility. You can hear all of them whether they can sing or not, they love to do it and it is as a Heavenly Choir. When they pray, it is with humility to the point you can hardly hear them, but you can feel the spirit. They bear testimony fervently and again you can feel the spirit. Every meeting begins with a song.

This island paradise is also very international. Today in church we heard testimonies in English, Tongan, Samoan, Portuguese, Niuean, French, and some language from India. Yes, these were all in their native tongue and all are members of our Otahuhu Ward. All of these sweet people also speak English, which is amazing to me that they have mastered two languages at least.

You may ask what is Niuean. There is a tiny island in the Pacific called Niue. It is an island nation with about 1500 inhabitants. I believe it is supported mostly by New Zealand. There is one road around the island that is approximately 36 miles long. We have several members of our Ward who are from there.

On a lighter note. We have a little frame in our kitchen which has pictures of our Children and Grandchildren that appear in a slideshow. It is a pretty neat gadget given to us by some of our children. At times we just sit and stare and miss them all so much. One of our children (Jarom) doesn't put anything on it.

Sometimes we wonder how the Missionaries survive under the conditions of their flats. We were helping some of the Sisters with their electrical problems and came across this fixture. We puzzled for a second and then figured out it was a heater installed above the sink in their bathroom. Yes those are live wires espoused because the glass tube was broken and hanging down. Don't worry mom it is not longer a hazard.

If you are on the go and hungry, we found these pancakes, both regular and dollar sized in the bakery at the local market. We thought it a little unusual. We are starting to get use to the way things are done here.

If you were ever wondering what happens to those socks that seem to be eaten by the washer and dryer so you have only one of the pair, we found them! We see this on the way to Church each Sunday and we just had to take a picture. We don't dare look inside.

We have been busy and enjoy hearing from you who respond to things we mention in our blog. We are enjoying our time here in New Zealand. Our Mission is a blessing to us and our family. We get to talk to some of our children and grandchildren each week which is great. Until next week!

Love Elder and Sister Bartlett