Almost the LAST Sunset!!!

We have been so busy with travel and assignments that I've been MIA here for several weeks.  We have been to Wellington, then to Christchurch and we have just returned from a week in beautiful Tahiti.  And yes, we were really working......well most of the time.  The weather was perfect, the scenery magnificent and we took two extra days to celebrate the wonderful experiences we have had on our mission and take a break from our busy schedule.   (It was lucky for us that flights to Tahiti are only scheduled on certain days of the week, so we had no choice but to stay a few extra days.)  Photos from this trip will have to come later.  For now we are trying to cram 3 weeks of work into the few last days as we count down the number of sunsets we have left here in beautiful New Zealand.  And we have THREE!  Tomorrow we pick up our replacements at the airport, (at 5:30 am), and will have three days to train them, clean the flat and pack.  This photo is to remind me of the beautiful sunsets we have seen in the wonderful islands of the South Pacific.  

Sunset in Wellington, New Zealand

Charity Never Faileth

Here is one of my favorite photos from New Zealand.  This little boy, wearing his red gum boots, was helping to paint a school.  A large group of members of the local LDS Church, (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), spent a Saturday painting and sprucing up a local school.  There were old people, young people, families and teenagers all involved.  We attended and I took many photos.  This little guy was very serious about his work!

I have given the Church permission to use many of my photos as stock for their various websites and publications.   They added the quote and posted this one on the mormonchannel.org facebook page.  

Below is the original:

We have been so busy lately that it was nice to have a leisurely Saturday.  We took a bike ride along beautiful Mission Bay, ate Mexican food (or so it was called), and visited with the pigeons and seagulls.  Can you see the Sky Tower in the distance??  It was just the break we needed before gearing up for our final assignments.  This coming week we head to Christchurch, and then we spend a week in Tahiti.  The day after we return, our replacements come.  We will spend several days training them, and then we fly home!  Several of you have asked how much longer we will be here, and the answer is less than three weeks!!!!  It is so hard to believe that a year and a half could race by so fast.  We have had an amazing experience and have seen and done things that we never thought would be possible.  The time we are reminded how long we've been gone is when we 'skype' with our family and see our youngest grandson who was just a couple of months old when we left, and is now a darling, active, talkative toddler.  Time to get reacquainted!!

Spring in Christchurch

A memory of our first trip to Christchurch was one of shock and sadness as we viewed crumbled buildings and devastation beyond imagination, everywhere we traveled, caused by multiple major earthquakes that hit the Christchurch area several years ago.   

Our last trip to Christchurch was filled with the beauty of spring, renewal, and the tenacity and determination of the wonderful people living here who are rebuilding their homes, their city and their lives.