Cute children, stolen bikes, and fires!

When you let a little girl play with your iPad you often get selfies you were not expecting. This is the daughter of an investigator. She hasn't felt comfortable going to Primary and so this is during our Gospel Principles class. We couldn't resist putting this on the blog.

This is our team of Ward Missionaries and Full time Missionaries at our Missionary Correlation Meeting. We now have 2 Elders and 3 Sisters in our Ward, along with the Ward Missionaries and the new Ward Mission Leader and his Wife. The full time Missionaries also cover two other Wards besides ours.

This is a new Senior Missionary Couple, the Downs, who are now serving in the New Zealand Auckland Mission. Our childhood friend Danzelle Lewis Allen was good friends with them back home in Utah. They are serving in the Church Education System and teaching Institute. This was at our Come and See fireside which is where missionaries can bring their investigators to hear music and testimony. Danzelle and her husband are serving in Greece.

We had to say goodbye to most of the beautiful trees that lined the golf course behind our flat. Evidently this golf course merged with another adjacent golf course and they are redesigning the one in back of us, which means they are cutting down trees. So now we have a logging camp behind us. This day was so unusual since we had this sunny day with a few clouds and in just a few minutes it all changed and we had this

cloudy day and rain. Then in a couple more minutes it was sun shine again. That is how fast the weather changes here.

Last Tuesday we received a phone call from two Sisters who said the had their bikes stolen the previous Thursday. We immediately called the police and reported the bikes stolen. We decide to go see where the bikes were stolen to see if we could spot them. We also decided to check

the local pawn shops but didn't find anything. We had to go to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions so we left the area. When we were done with picking up the prescriptions, we decided to go back and check again. As we drove past the home where the bikes were stolen we noticed that two doors down there were two boys on bikes that looked like the Sisters bikes. We stopped at the home and the two boys rode away. We knocked on the door and talked to one of the boys mothers. She said she would get the bikes back for us. We drove around again looking for the boys and when

we returned the mother waved us over. The two boys were there with the mother and the father. They gave the bikes back and agreed to listen to the Missionaries message.

On Wednesday, we received a call from the Pokekohe police and they said they had an Elder's bike that was stolen about 4 months ago in Mangere. Pokekohe is about 30 kilometres from

Mangere so that was a little surprising. We took about 30 minutes to get down there. While we were there we needed lunch so we found a Turkish restaurant and this was our food. Sister Bartlett had something chicken and Elder Bartlett had shrimp. Very interesting, and the person serving us was from India.

Friday night we had a Missionary game night. Members and Missionaries could invite investigators and less active members to play games with the Ward Members. This is our Bishop in the middle in the apple eating contest.

The hit of the night was a human Hungry Hungry Hippos. One team member laid on a skateboard with a strap tied around their waist and a bucket

in their hand. The team members would push the person on the skateboard out to the center of the hall where there were balls. They had to grab as many balls as they could with the bucket and the team pulled them back to their corner with the strap. We also did Face the Cookie and the M&M game. Great fun was had by all.

We woke up Saturday morning to a panicked phone call from a Zone Leader who said there was a fire and some Sisters were at the Middlemore Hospital Emergency room. So we rushed over there to find four Sisters and their Zone Leaders. Sisters Graf, Fuimaono, Fehoko, and Tanuvasa. Elders Stringer and Del Rosario. These Sisters were being checked out to make sure there were no after effects of them inhaling smoke. Sister Graf had soot all over her face from the smoke but she

was OK and no other problems. We took them all back to our flat and fed them waffles. Food can cure many ills.

When we went back to the Sisters flat we saw what had happened. Since they don't have central heat here all of the Missionaries have to use space heaters. One of their blankets somehow came into contact with the space heater and started to burn. You can see below the damage done to the mattress and box springs. Luckily no one was injured in the fire and it was put out immediately by one of the Sisters. This is a picture of the mattress and box springs and the heater, and the small bundle at the feet of the Sisters is what is left of the blanket. Sister Graf and Sister Fuimaono are posing by the damage.

We know that the Lord is looking out for these Missionaries. There are so many things that can

go wrong. We pray for their safety and health, and for their bikes. We have joy in this service and hope you all have joy in reading this blog. Love Elder and Sister Bartlett.

Called to Serve!

It has been a hectic couple of weeks and that is why this blog is slow in coming! We had to prepare for Missionary transfers, outgoing missionaries, and incoming Missionaries. We had to catch several meals at some of the local takeaway shops like this one that was English Roast run by oriental people. It was pretty good and close to the doctor's office where we spend a lot of time.

We also had to transport a lot of bikes to the Mission Home for the incoming Missionaries so our car often has bicycles on the back. We always have our bike rack on and ready for any occasion as this picture shows during one of our trips to the Mission Home.

This was a nice meal we had after one of our morning meetings. We made a short trip to Devonport where it was suggested we eat at Manuka. Steak and Salmon, yum. This was not Takeaway (fast food).

When we had a few minutes between delivering bikes and meetings, we drove up to Mount Victoria to get a good panoramic view. Mount here is usually an extinct volcano several hundred feet above sea level. The island we are looking at is Rangatoto, which is a wildlife reserve in the Auckland bay.

This is Mount Victoria from the road below so it is not very high and is located in Devonport. There is an old military fort that is dug down into the top of the mount and it has a very large gun in it.

We had 10 Missionaries die (go home). Among these were Sister Cacho from the Philippines. We are sad to see them go because we are just getting to know some of them.

Sister Dinglas and Elder Ponse are also some Missionaries that we were able to take to the airport for their flight home to the Philippines. Their flight left at 11:55 pm so we were at the airport rather late. Many times the members from the Wards and Stakes they serve in come to see them off at the airport.

They do get close to some families and it is bitter sweet when they leave. They are excited to see their families back home but sad to leave the people they love here on their Mission. A new chapter in their lives is about to begin. They will be a great asset to the world and to the Church wherever they go. Good luck to all of them. We love them and will miss them.

We also have some wonderful Senior Missionaries who are completing their Missions. The Freemans will be leaving us next week. We are able to have family home evenings once a month with some of the Senior Missionaries serving in the New Zealand Auckland Mission so it is sad when they finish and go home. We will miss them also and need more like them to come serve.

They are sorely needed here and have many wonderful miracles they told us, about families they have helped back into the activity. You couples please consider coming here to serve among these wonderful people and see these miracles happen.

Next it was on to new Missionaries. We were originally supposed to have about 21 new Missionaries come into the Mission this transfer but because of VISA and other delays, we only had about 14 new Missionaries. It was quite hectic to get all of their bikes ready and we have been working long hours trying to get ready, along with taking care of other bike and health problems.

Because of the hectic schedule we didn't get any pictures of the new Missionaries. We had about 5 countries represented by the group, including 2 from Brazil. While the new Missionaries were having lunch, we went to get some lunch also. We ended up in the parking garage of a mall and this was interesting. They just incorporated the natural rock as part of the underground parking garage.

We took a few minutes while delivering and picking up bicycles and going to doctors appointments to visit Achilles Point and found these three statutes. We just couldn't resist taking a picture. It was a beautiful overlook of Ladies Bay.

This is another picture from Achilles Point looking at Browns Island. It was a little windy as you can tell from Sister Bartlett's hair.

We also wanted to get a view from Mount Wellington a few minutes from Achilles Point so we drove up there just before sundown. This is a picture from there out to the ocean where you can see Rangatoto Island in the distance. This is also an extinct volcano.

In this picture you can see the crater on Mount Wellington with the city below in the background. This is the first one we have seen where the crater is very visible. There are some people down in the bottom that are hard to see.

To top off the week we were able to go with the Ward to the Temple on Saturday. The bus left our Ward building at 5:30 am and had about 44 people on board for the Temple including about 22 young men and women. This is them after they were through at the Temple in the Visitors Center.

We also visited the new Library/Church History Museum for the Pacific area. The first outside of the United States. It was fun to see the youth doing dress up.

It was also fun to see Priests playing with blocks and building their own Temples with them and taking pictures of what they built. They even had tiny Angel Moroni's to put on the top of the Temples.

This one hit home for Elder Bartlett. You peddled the bicycle and the film on the screen showed you cycling around different missions. There was one that even showed Mangere Bridge where we have been on the same street. At least Elder Bartlett didn't have to fix this bicycle.

This is a picture on the bus getting ready for the ride home. At this point the youth have been spiritually fed and physically fed and full of sugar and are very excited. For us old folk they actually kept it kind of quiet for the ride home. The people at the Visitors Center and the Library were surprised that there were so many youth from just one Ward. What a great opportunity Elder Bartlett had to help them do Baptisms and Confirmations in the Temple. When our cups get kind of empty it is great that the Lord provides these opportunities to fill them up spiritually. We love being here and serving with the Missionaries and with the Otahuhu Ward. Our life has been blessed greatly. We love our Mission and each of you. Love Elder and Sister Bartlett.

Did I mention this before?

Something we forgot to mention in our last post is that a member of our Ward passed away. We were invited by the Bishop to go with the Ward leaders to her brothers home for part of the funeral services. The Ward put on a program for the family. We all sat on the floor of the home on woven mats in a room where the coffin was. We had songs, prayers, and talks by Ward leaders. When it was over the family invited us to take home a snack which consisted of some BBQ and a bag full of something we later found out was raw meat which we put in our freezer for later. The following day the above service took place in the cultural hall of the Church. We didn't understand much of it since most of it was in Tongan. The following morning was the final funeral and burial. Unfortunately, she left a 15 year old daughter and 10 year old son.

We love working with these young Missionaries. We purchased a pressure washer to clean the bikes and three Missionaries showed up at our flat to have bikes fixed. We told them to clean the bikes with the pressure washer and they had a little too much fun and started cleaning the cement driveway. That's right, you now have their names: Elder Cowl, Elder Chung, and Elder Vaioa along with Elder Bartlett.

We were able to attend the Otara and Tamake Zone Conference and this is our group. We are losing many Missionaries so the groups are much smaller. This is President and Sister Walkers 2nd round of Zone Conferences. Unfortunately Elder Bartlett had to take the picture so he wasn't in it.

Sister Christy pictured here with Bishop Samau and President Ofanoa (2nd Counselor to the Stake President) just returned to the Ward from her mission in The Philippines. They do put on a party for their Returned Missionaries. You can see the leis that people placed on her, she could hardly stand up. She also talked briefly in Stake Conference and bore her Testimony in Tagalog, which was amazing since the Sisters had an investigator from the Philippines so he heard testimony in his own language.

Our Stake Conference was this week and they seem to love to have a Stake Activity to go along with Stake Conference, which would be a fun tradition back home. In this case it was Karaoke night. They wanted representatives from Primary, Youth, Relief Society, and Priesthood. The Sister in this performance is the Stake President's Wife Sister Pulu. What fun it is.

This is our Bishop Samau and he was really getting into it. We could say we let our hair down, but some of us don't have much hair to let down. Let's just say it was a fun time with clean, wholesome entertainment. They also enjoy inviting government officials to their activities and to Stake Conferences. One of the officials was able to give a few words of encouragement and told them to get registered to vote and make sure to vote.

This is his daughter (and wife). His daughter got caught up in the fun and wanted to sing a song. It was great.

Some of the Missionaries decided to dress up for Stake Conference and wear some of the traditional island dress including Sister Bartlett, Sister Gorrela (from India), and Sister Romauldo (from Philippines). We couldn't resist taking this in front of these beautiful blossoms on the tree. Funny thing is the tree has blossoms but no leaves.

We couldn't help taking this selfie so Elder Bartlett could get in the photo. We had a great Stake Conference and afterward we were invited to have dinner that the Stake Relief Society put on for all of the visitors. Since we were taking home these Sisters they also were invited. They love the Missionaries. We sat with the two Stake Patriarchs and their wives and had a wonderful conversation.

Sunday evening there was a Primary baptism and Mele Felila was baptised. Her grandfather actually came from Tonga for the baptism and performed the confirmation in Tongan. Mele was dressed in her traditional dress after her baptism.

Yes, you are seeing correctly. Following the baptism the family put on a feast including a whole pig and all the trimmings. They do know how to put on a meal.

Since three sets of Missionaries were at the baptism dressed in the Island dress, we had to get a picture with all of them. From left to right they are Sister Loneza, Sister Fehoko, Sister Romualdo, Elder and Sister Bartlett, Sister Gorrela, Sister Miko, and Sister Tauiliili.

Many things are going on right now and we are involved with the Missionaries and our Ward. We appreciate all of your prayers in our behalf and we pray for all of you, our friends and family. May the Lord bless you all.

Love, Elder and Sister Bartlett

No time to stop and think!

Lately we have had little time to think or get much done other than bicycles and bodies. We are the Elder and Sister B&B Bartlett. Elder Bartlett takes care of the bicycles and Sister Bartlett the bodies. We just have to take the little joys as they come along. We have this large rosemary tree in our back year and it seems the butterflies and the bees like the purple blossoms. You can see a butterfly on the flower if you look closely.

We have had a little time to get out and enjoy collecting shells at some of the beaches. This is Longs beach and we collected some shells there. Lots of people and dogs on the beach this day but we had no flea bites. We had to see some sick missionaries up in this area so we took advantage of a beautiful couple of hours.

Here are some of the shells we collected on Longs beach. They have more blue in them than the ones we found on Red Beach. We just love the scenery and the tranquility of walking up and down the beaches.

We were heading toward this cliff on Longs beach to read what the sign said. When we were close enough to read it it said "Beware of Falling Rocks". Only then did we see the huge rocks that had fallen from the cliffs above.

We love the old drift wood. It reminds you that even the largest trees can succumb to the ocean. Elder Bartlett wants to bring some back to the Flat with the shells but Sister Bartlett always objects. What do you think, wouldn't this look good above our mantle?

We also visited Takapuna beach for one hour. It is only about 2 blocks from the Mission Office so we decided we needed to visit. As we walked out on the beach, there were homes right on the beach with volcanic rock walls. This tree branch was growing through the wall, under the sand and back up again. We are sure the homes along here are multi million dollar homes.

We found some very nice shells here. It is catching. We are starting to be more selective. We thought it would be good to put our Missionary name tags with the shells to show the relative size.

Elder Bartlett finally got his way and collected some driftwood, a volcanic rock, and this shell that still had a clam or whatever in it. It was dead but the shell was still together. These shells have a flat bottom shell and a curved top shell. We wondered how these flat ones fit together with a rounded one and now we know.

Elders Vaioa from Samoa, Elder Chung from Tahiti, and Elder Cowl from Australia, invited me to go to the Golf Driving Range with them on their Preparation day. We had a good time and only hit one bird. Is that why they call it a birdie? It is fun to hang with the Missionaries, they are excited about their missions.

This is what happens when you give your camera to an Elder to take a picture. You get a selfie. Thanks to Elder Taranaki. We stopped by a Zone Conference on our way to a doctors appointment to pick up some bikes and check on some Missionaries during their lunch break.

We wanted a picture of us with Elder Kessinger, one of the Missionaries going home that day to Spanish Fork, Utah. He will be going to BYU this fall. Go Cougars! Hey BYU son Jarom, look him up. He is a great guy. It is always sad to see them go.

We did find probably the best burrito in Auckland. It was a place called Mexicali and was introduced to us by Elder and Sister Briggs who work at the MTC. Ouch! A burrito and soda for two was $40. It was good.

Sister Bartlett prefers Elder Bartlett's cooking. It is good quality like this omelet, and it is served right to her table and much cheaper. She only has to do the dishes. We searched everywhere and finally found a waffle maker so Elder Bartlett has made some terrific waffles also. We like to put fruit on them like mango, kiwi, bananas, blueberries, strawberries. The machine looks like one of those you find in hotels where they have free breakfast.

Enough about food, we are excited that one of the families we are trying to get activated in the ward has been to Young Men's and to Church. We keep inviting them to other Ward activities but so far with no success.

We do hear of miracles back home as one of our longtime friends is getting baptised. He and his wife read this blog and we just wanted to say congratulations. We have always had faith that you would someday be baptised. Wish we could be there.

We pray for all of you our friends, and hope the Lord blesses each and every one of you.

Love Elder and Sister Bartlett