t's a Small World

 After going to the New Zealand Temple we stopped off at the Visitors Center to say hello to the Summerhay's and we met the Stouts.  Carolyn Lee Stout turned out to be another of Louenda's "Hess" cousins (Louenda Hess Downs). Sister Stout is a descendant of William Alma Hess from Plymouth, Utah just like Louenda (Carolyn is from William Alma's daughter Jane Hess Nish, Louenda is from Clarence Eugene).  

Small world. 

Thank you Disney for the graphic

As we set out on our early morning walk this week one of the huge rocks supposed to be lining the path was instead IN the path.  Buff as the two of us are (lol) we couldn’t budge it.  When up behind us came a young sister, a nun.  The three of us moved it back out of the path and then as we were all headed to the beach we had a chance to chat with her for a minute.   

The nun, Sister Josephine Marie (for Joseph and Mary)  was originally from Christ Church here in NZ, but is now from a convent in Spain and part of The Order of Mary of the Morning Star. She was so positive and happy to be alive!

 We had another dinner with Arthur and Zoe Zhang.  Zoe brought us these 12 hour special Chinese boiled eggs.      
Places that years ago seemed foreign and far away (Spain, China, etc.) are now just the home of somebody we see or know over here.  The world seems to be getting much smaller and more familiar.  

We find that ethnic restaurants here are often more for local ethnic populations living here than for outside diners.  The different cultures we got to experience and taste in the western US are completely different than ones we are loving and learning about here.  It really is a small world.  

Sushi sushi everywhere, from the Chinese to the Kiwi's, its as loved in the fast food market as pizza!

We see many, many Indian students at the University.  We found that there is a long history of Indian people in New Zealand.  They began immigrating in the mid to late 1800's.  The above picture of the structure is Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib Takanini in Auckland. 
Just one more way our world is getting smaller. 

This is the Island of Niue (pronounced "New Wey"), a small upraised coral atoll between Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands.  The population is only about 1500-1600 people.  We have 2 young missionaries and two senior missionaries there right now.  

Our Institute director, Phillip Skeen, found out that it had been scores of years since a Patriarch had been to Niue (which is in our mission) to give members the opportunity to have patriarchal blessings.  So, he arranged to take Patriarch Johan Snijder (I think he is German) over to give blessings.  It took heaps of clearance but with a bit of faith they made the airline arrangements ahead, praying for clearance to go, and finally got clearance the night before they were to fly out (THOTL).  

(Above Taro root and bananas at a market on Nuie, below one of the two chapels in Niue)

The Patriarch said he usually gives about 30 or so blessings in a year in NZ.  In a week he gave 26, to people from ages 12-81.  Of the 1600 people on  Niue, just over 300 are members.  Pretty sweet.  We happened to be in the church meeting today where the Patriarch spoke about the trip (THOTL again).  One young married couple came for the wife to receive her blessing, the husband was not a member.  As the Patriarch laid his hands on her head and gave her a blessing from Heavenly Father he told her of her specific special gifts and talents and how the Lord the could use her.  Afterward the husband was pretty amazed and asked how the Patriarch knew his wife so well when he had never met her before.  The Patriarch explained that the blessing was not from him but from God, and God knew his wife well.  Small universe.

This week's Institute and Sunday classes with our great YSA’s.  A mix of Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Filipino, South African, Australian, European mixed in as well, and even a Connecticut Yankee in the mix.  Love gathering with these great kids in our small world.

Driving to the New Zealand Temple in the early morning.  It seems as if the foggy mists of England have found their way across our small world to New Zealand. 

More of our small beautiful world from a western beach in Auckland.

Wherever you go in this small world moms make you take off your shoes before you come inside, just don't forget where you left them.

Speaking of small worlds stuff, this is small beach stuff...more really high tides this week that just ate up any beach to walk on. 

In all, we have seen most of the cultures depicted in the Small World little people portrayed at Disneyland.  We commented that we thought we had seen them all but maybe the Eskimo’s.  But then we got pictures from our granddaughters that changed the Eskimo deficit...

Even a small world seems to have it's Babylon's.

See Monarch butterflies everywhere in New Zealand.  We used to see them in the fall at home on their migration to Mexico.  New Zealand is actually one of the places they winter over so we see them in heaps and they stick around. (NZ web photo)

More of our Sunday YSA's.  You would love them! 

Though the miles (and Kilometers) make the world seem big, the people are what makes it a small world.   

This Thorvaldsen Christus Statue in the window of our Institute Building is a reminder and an invitation.  A reminder that we are all Children of God (Romans 8:15), which makes the world seem like a much smaller place,  An invitation to "Come unto Him"./  He's the One doing the gathering of all the family of God, His work is getting them back from this world to home. 

We are finding we love ALL of the folks we meet in this small world, and it feels more and more like family everywhere.
Our hope is that in some way we can help with the invitations, the gathering, or even with some little menial work in the background.  Its a BIG world, but in many ways it's just a small world...and it's HIS!
We love Him!
We love you!
Vance and Louenda
Elder and Sister Downs