Moeraki Boulders

We had a fun outing one Saturday in November. We took a drive north to the town of Oamaru for lunch. Along the way we stopped to check out the Moeraki Boulders. When we got to the beach, there they were..... enormous, giant boulders. They were amazing to see. We had fun dodging small waves as we walked among the big orbs. Some of them had completely broken down..... but most of them remained intact. We tried to rearrange the beach but were unsuccessful.     (http://www.moerakiboulders.com/)

When we got to Oamaru we had an enjoyable visit to the wharf area. Fish & chips at The Galley was wonderful. At the adjacent public park we found several fun things to see ..... including the largest bicycle we've ever seen. It must belong to the person who put the boulders on the beach.

Carving soft stone blocks into amazing sculptures. The touch of the master's hand at work.

On the way home we had to stop and take a photo of this field of amazing yellow blooms that really caught Sister Edward's eye.

Octoberfest

     We’ve had a busy time in October. It started on October 7th when Sister Edward was the guest speaker for the Dunedin New Zealand National Genealogical Society. She made a presentation about Family Search.

  

     It was held at the Dunedin Library in the Octagon area of downtown. Her presentation lasted about an hour and covered the basics of the Family Search website and also included short videos about records preservation and the granite vaults in Utah. Everybody appeared to enjoy the presentation and she answered any questions they had about Family Search. 

     As a thank you, we received a beautiful hard-covered book titled Historic Otago. It contains a lot of photos and information on the history of the place that we are calling home during our mission. It was such a thoughtful gift and will return home as one of our treasures from New Zealand.

 October 24th

     Saturday the 24^th was an activity-filled day. At 10:00 am Sister Edward attended a Relief Society get together at the church.

     At 2:00 pm we were back at the church for the baptism of Malie Tonga, who attends the Dunedin 1^st Branch. We were excited to attend her special event. We got to meet her husband, Eli, and her parents who were visiting from Tonga.

Malie with husband, Eli Tonga.

Malie with SIster Shaw and Sister Phillips. That's her dad in the background.

     At 4:00 pm we took part in a Missionary Carnival in the cultural hall. It was organized by the Mission Zone Leaders. To begin, a video that was put together by Sister Edward was played. It included a lot of photos of the local members from both branches accompanied by beautiful music. She has a wonderful talent of creating presentations on the computer.

     After the video, everyone who attended rotated through six different games and challenges, each one hosted by missionaries. It was a fun way to show members some ways to share the Gospel with others. 

We kept the video playing so that those who missed it at the start could still view it.

Members intent on solving the puzzles.

     Elder & Sister Edward hosted a table where two different word games were provided. One was a word-search game, the other a crossword puzzle. The answers were all missionary related. The members had a fun time trying to complete the answers as quickly as possible. Some little girls were a delight as they blurted out some of the answers to the questions we read to them.

 

Elders Mortenson & Daniel and a creative game for the kids..... there goes the beanbag.

Kids are always game for Twister.

Elder Daniel giving the kids some instructions.

Some thoughtful consideration being given to an answer.

Even the adults were game for Twister.

Nothing like a blindfold and a three-legged race to produce lots of laughter.

Ponder on this.

Sisters Shaw and Philips explaining the art of ponderizing.

Two Elders show members how to have fun sharing the Gospel with some role-playing.

After the games and challenges were over, there were lots of refreshments and treats to enjoy. The response by those in attendance was very positive. It was fun to get to know some members of the other branch by sharing this time together in such a positive way.

October 31st

We weren't done for the month yet. Halloween was the annual Trunk or Treat party at the church. It started about 6:00 pm in the parking lot. Some of the members decorated their vehicles with very creative Halloween themes. It was all in good fun as the children went from vehicle to vehicle and collected their treats.

The Dunedin LDS Church sits at the top of a steep road.

A view through the trees to the ocean.

It was a windy day as the white-capped waves rolled in at St. Clair Beach

Elders Daniel and Mortenson did an excellent job of directing cars into the parking lot.

By the time the party started, the parking lot was full of opportunities for the kids.

Inside the church before the event started everything was being prepared for the program later.

Melanie & Ronnie Taurarii & little penguin Kaden. Sister Taurarii was in charge of the event planning. She did such a great job.

One of the fun decorated vehicles.

Some vehicle decorations were for show, while others were interactive.

Pirates was the theme of the Taurarii vehicle.

Not sure how this Halloween thing works.

Vivienne brought gold coin chocolates to give the children. Here she has a magical experience with a princess.

This little girl was very deliberate about her options..... so cute!!

Using mom's purse for her treasures.

The costumes were very creative.

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood..... seen the big, bad wolf anywhere?

"Feed the Fish" won an award for best decorated vehicle.

When the Trunk or Treat was over, everyone was invited inside for the party. We enjoyed food, games and dancing.

 

Many of the parents had a fun time dancing with their children at the party after.

Little Elmo was cutting some sweet moves on the dance floor.

These girls were showing their best Halloween dance moves.

The youth had a great time entertaining us with a dance to Thriller. That's all for now!!