Back in Time

Friday night was the YSA 1940’s Ball.   No pumpkin coach or glass slippers but we went anyway.  This was a great “Back In Time” night complete with lots of era dress, hair do’s, and dances.  

   Again, we got to teach them some of the dances (had we known about the “teaching dance” part of this mission Lou might have paid closer attention as a little girl at “Grace Oram’s Dance School” and Vance may have stuck with the tap dance lessons his mom made him take then too).  We admit we are rookies, 

but it’s lots of fun.

We were invited to have dinner again with the great Periera family. Mom Larissa is an amazing cook, and we love their family, dad Ricki, Keani, Dentzel, and Calvin .  

Takes us “back in time” to when our kids were that age.   

After dinner we joined the Periera’s at their ETERNAL FAMILIES institute class in Redoubt Stake. Great class and it took us “back in time” when they quizzed us on How do you know when its right to marry someone?  It was good to rethink and recall our journey…and the 43 years of adventures and challenges and blessings since then.

We had a little extra time so we thought we would take what would be just a short diversion one afternoon and go on a walk in Devonport. 

On our walk we came upon Torpedo Bay, the National Museum of the Royal NZ Navy, and decided to stop in. We had a fascinating visit.  

Kupe (according to tribal narratives, the first Polynesian to discover NZ) landed in this Bay in 950, at the mouth of the Auckland harbor and named it Haukapua. By the mid 1860's it's strategic location became the site for mine fields to prevent enemies from entering the Auckland harbor.  Mines were called torpedo's back in time, hence the name Torpedo Bay.  No longer the active Naval center, it now houses the national Naval Museum.

(We named the Navy teddy bears we saw: Kate, Adi, Gwynee, Livy and Greyson ...in a few months will need 2 more for the new grandbabies coming!)

Note the red poppies again.

We went "back in time" with this 4 ft. replica of the HMS Endeavor, the ship that carried the first member of the Royal Navy, Captain James Cook, to the shores of NZ.  

The play area for kids outside the museum

 Then inside to the sailors and the stories of the small but significant NZ navy in their 

roles aiding the allies thru World Wars (including the war ship THE NEW ZEALAND), and numerous other world and local conflicts and disasters until today.

Even the NZ Navy does the Haka!

Sail boats and green grass even in the cold months of winter.

The clock, reality and the “little diversion” part of our trip we took to the museum…

have you ever taken a side road, a diversion from your plan to see or do something that seemed worthwhile, but then lost track of time?  Well, we did.  And the clock reminded us that we had stayed longer than we planned. 

When we tried to get back on the road, to get “back in time” for the things we needed to be to, we found ourselves in a huge traffic jam (which happens daily from 6:30 – 9:30 a.m. and again from 4:00-7:00 pm everywhere in Auckland, it gets pretty bad. 20 minute drives end up way over an hour).  Diversion are fun until you realize you may not make it “back in time”.  Yikes!  

Downtown Auckland Aotea Square

On a walk to post a letter I happened upon a demonstration on Queen Street at Aotea Square by a group of Chinese living here in NZ, calling attention to the persecution of their friends and family back in their native country.   Many of the Chinese people we talk to here have spoken about these conditions.  Sometimes the bad things that go on or went on “back in time” don’t change unless we do something to help make changes,

 so these folks are at least trying.  

On the same little walk had 3 THOTL opportunities...to randomly meet on the street two people I had been trying (and praying) for weeks to contact...YAHOO!  And then I got to help (and walk a bit with) a very grateful stranger find something she was looking for in downtown Auckland...sweet.

   There are too many places in our world where fear and violence run unchecked.  We were one of the receiving missions for the missionaries who were taken out of Nicaragua with all the civil unrest going on.  Comments from the missionaries were that it was pretty sobering and the violence was getting very bad.  They were grateful to make it out or “back in time” to safe ground.  Makes you rethink things you often take for granted in safer realms.

2 Deseret News/Church News web photos 2009

 One THOTL story to pass on, retold at a mission conference here.   A “back in time”  experience of Elder O. Vincent Haleck of the Pacific Area Presidency while he served as a mission president in Samoa in 2009.  The number of missionaries was decreasing so he had to decrease the number of apartments they were renting.  As he did so, he kept decreasing in just one area until, without verbally planning to, he had all the missionaries out of just one of the apartment buildings.  His wife questioned him thinking it would be better to spread the closures out in all areas instead of just one place, but he said he was just doing what he felt the Lord wanted. 

Elder Vincent O. Haleck

Shortly thereafter Samoa experienced a devasting earthquake and tsunami that killed 31 people and completely destroyed the area of the apartment building (including a church house) they had once occupied.  Never question the Lord’s ways, His Hand, or his “..in time” timing.

web photo

“Back in time” can certainly have more than one meaning…  

If we GO “back in time” it’s a great way to REMEMBER, and recall important and valuable

 forgotten things or people or events.  

If we want to GET “back in time” we must stay aware of diversions, keep our eyes on the things of importance and not get caught in the traffic or the tsunami or something even more devastating and miss the most important things in life and the eternities.  

 There's a great reminder in the story of the 10 virgins, Matthew 25:1-13.  Be wise and not foolish, and careful that your "oil" (or your time) isn't running out. 

Watch ye therefore, for ye know not the day not the hour...

10 Virgins-Walter Rane
We hope you take moments to GO “back in time” but more importantly we hope you all 
GET “back in time”…where you need to be and with Whom and when. 

He lives,

and does all in His power for us to be

Back in Time.

We love you,

Vance and Louenda

Elder and Sister Downs