Where We Live

We live in Shoalhaven apartment complex which is an 8-minute walk from the Church's Pacific Area Office in Takapuna where we work. Takapuna is a suburb of Auckland in what is called the North Shore.

There are 10 senior missionary couples who live in the same building. We have nearly identical flats. The Church leases the flats from individual owners.  The housing market in the Auckland area is very tight, making the cost of purchasing a place very expensive.

As you can see below, we are not "roughing it" like many missionaries around the globe. Yes, sometimes we feel guilty, but mostly blessed.

Sister Champlin is standing on our balcony.

The living room and dining area.  A living room is called the lounge.

Full kitchen.  The flats are modest in size and furnishings, but many missionary couples enhance them considerably, others don't.  Ours is well appointed thanks to Guy and Paula Fugal, our predecessors.

There are two bedrooms and bathrooms which are nearly identical to each other.
You can see we have room for company, any takers?

Out on the balcony attempting to save what is left of the geranium. 

Our view out the windows. Downtown Auckland in the distance.

Looking directly west is Saint Joseph Catholic College. High Schools are called colleges in  NZ.

Elder Champlin in the lounge on the couch after a day at the office.

Sister Champlin in the lounge talking with family. 

Elder and Sister Champlin on the balcony on Sunday morning before Church.
Our meetinghouse is less than a city block away.

Trees in nearby Milford Park were we go to walk.

Sister Champlin on Milford beach, our favorite place to walk.

Hamilton New Zealand Temple Lights

One of  our assignments was to travel approximately 90 minutes south to Hamilton to attend the first night of the Temple Lights event.  We prepared for the 3-week event with news articles for the media inviting people to come. Over 40,000 people did visit the temple during the holiday season.

The first night we attended the VIP reception at Temple President Sid Going's home on the grounds, where he and other Church leaders hosted government leaders and representatives of other faiths.

We then spent the evening filming a video of comments from people who attended, and taking pictures for articles we made available to media throughout the event.

The pictures above were taken by Sister Champlin.

Hamilton Flower Gardens

We traveled approximately 90 minutes south of Auckland to Hamilton which is where the temple is located. We went to assist with a presentation on Public Affairs to two Area Coordinating Councils. These are meetings of Stake Presidents presided over by the Area Seventy.

It was Saturday our Preparation Day so after the meetings we visited the Hamilton Flower Gardens with Barry and Susan Preator, the other Public Affairs senior couple working in the Pacific Area Office. The have been our trainers -- and we are very thankful! Just like younger missionaries who fear you won't get along with their companion, we wondered if we would enjoy working with our Public Affairs companion couple.  I don't think I can ever be a nice to anyone as they have been to us.

Below are a few pictures from the Gardens. They don't do it justice, but....oh well.

Driving on the Left

In New Zealand you drive on the left side of the road.  The steering wheels are on the right side of the car. This has taken some practice.

This road sign was evidence that Auckland knew we were coming.

We are not yet sure what this road sign means. From the look of it we better find out.

Funeral for International Rugby Star Sheds Positive Light on Church

As Public Affairs Missionaries we work with media in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific so information on the Church is accurate, timely and represents the Church in a positive light.  We also assist in special events.  These responsibilities are illustrated by our involvement in the funeral services of Jonah Lomu, the first internationally famous Rugby player. He joined the Church three years ago.  He died of kidney disease about 12 days ago.

Jonah is carried into the chapel by family, former teammates and opponents. 

There were four memorial services and his LDS funeral, all covered heavily by local and international media.  We were involved hosting/managing the media representatives at the Church Funeral and reporting on the main public memorial for our newsroom.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson waits to greet the Lomu family. Some of the international press covering the funeral.  

It is difficult to convey the scope and size of these events.  The reports were carried world-wide in major media outlets in every country where rugby is played.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Pacific Area President, meets with Crown Prince Ata of the Kingdom of Tonga who attended the funeral.  Prince Ata is also a relatively new convert to the Church. 

Over 1,000 attended the Church funeral.

President Wilson, Jonah's Stake President, conducted and spoke at the funeral.

The Church funeral was attended by over 1,000 people and broadcast to other stake centers in New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga.

Three members of the extended Lomu family in traditional Tongan dress. Over 90 family members arrived by bus just prior to the start of the funeral service.

President Wilson being interviewed by Wilhelmina Shrimpton, New Zealand Channel 3 News.  One of our assignments was to coordinate these interviews.  The reporters were very respectful.  One cameraman told us he was excited to go into a Mormon church for the first time. 

The Church was portrayed positively in all articles and news reports we tracked. Of significance was the coverage of the Church funeral.  Most media reports led with Jonah's two young sons singing "Families Can Be Together Forever" and "I am a Child of God."  The stake president's talk on the Plan of Salvation and the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ was also featured prominently in most reports.

The public memorial at Eaton Park (A giant rugby stadium where he played for New Zealand's national team: The All Blacks) was attended by over 5,000 people and was broadcast live throughout New Zealand and other places around the world.

Below are photographs taken by Elder Champlin at the memorial, several were used in various articles.

The casket followed by the family enter the stadium.

Nadine and their two sons watch as flowers are laid and a Family Together Forever sign is put in place.

At the conclusion a Haka was performed by former All Black rugby players as  the casket is carried off the field.

More of the Haka.

Nadine Lomu releases a dove, symbolic of letting him go.  After which his sons and family released 40 doves. 

Jonah Lomu

Below are some links to this coverage:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.nz/article/family-friends-and-faith-leaders-remember-jonah-lomu-at-funeral-services

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11553935

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/74588551/jonah-lomus-sons-sing-at-private-funeral

Saturday is Preparation Day

New Zealand has many, many beaches including one a few blocks from our flat.  One beach on the northern tip of the north island is 55 miles long. Curiously it is called 90 Mile Beach.  Still 55 miles of uninterrupted white sand beach is a long beach!  Below are a few beach pictures. We have long been beach combers and love to collect sea shells. With so many beaches we decided to collect only one shell from each beach visit.

Fun Facts:  New Zealand has some extremely large trees, Kauri for example. The average price of a home in Auckland is $860,000 NZD.  Unlike the one pictured below, most houses are modest and older.  An average home in Smithfield transplanted to Auckland would sell for over $1,000,000 NZD. One of the nicest beaches close to Auckland is Omaha Beach (pictured above with its yellow flowers) not to be confused with the famous D-day beach in France. Below is a picture of Takapuna Beach near our flat.

Have We Done Any Good in the World Today?

Below is an example of the types of short articles we write and post on the Pacific Newsroom. In this case the article was picked up and published by the Fiji Sun newspaper, which is our goal. Additionally, it was posted on Facebook.  The combined "likes" on Facebook and Pacific Newsroom is approaching 1000.

In our assignment we seldom know if what we write has a direct impact on a reader. Does it help in our goal as missionaries to help others come unto Christ?  We are primarily "seed planters," but in this case we were fortunate to receive some feed back.  (Read below, following the article.)

Focusing on Family Trees in Fiji

Members of remote Fiji village upload family histories to FamilySearch.org

___________________________________________________________

VANU LEVU, Fiji -- Members of a newly organized congregation of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Fiji village of Nakawakawa are working together to upload their family histories to the internet.

Recently, Church members from the small but growing congregation located in a remote mountain village on Vanu Levu, brought their written and mental lists of ancestors to the meetinghouse they built themselves.

Larry and Lynda Bennett, a retired American couple who serve as family history missionaries, brought laptop computers and remote internet connections from their base in Auckland, New Zealand. 

Peter Vakalala, local lay leader of the Church, brought the generator to supply power for the laptops.

Together they uploaded four generations of ancestral names, vital dates and other family details for each participant to FamilySearch.org, a free internet-accessible service provided by the Church.

This ensured their family history information is permanently recorded, and available in the future to them, their descendants and others desiring to discover and connect with their ancestors and their ancestors' personal stories. 

"Preserving oral histories and other living memory is critical in areas where official documents may be scarce or non-existent," said Sister Bennett.

Branch President Vakalala reacts to seeing his picture and family information of FamilySeach

President Vakalala was shown how to access records, add new families and upload family photos to FamilySearch.org.  He will train others in his congregation how to use it themselves. 

According to Elder Bennett, family history research has the potential to keep families strong. "When you do your family history and write memories about or read stories of your deceased ancestors, you feel connected to them in a very special way."

The Bennetts work to help people fill in the blanks in their family trees in New Zealand, Austrailia and the South Pacific Islands. 

They are not alone. "Mormon family history missionaries are assigned throughout the world to help implement strong family history programs," said Sister Bennett.

FamilySeach, a service provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is committed to helping people connect with their ancestors.

This effort is rooted in the Mormon belief that families are meant to be central to our lives and that family relationships are intended to continue beyond this life.

Because interest in family history is not limited by culture, ethnicity or religious faith, FamilySearch's resources are available to everyone who whats to discover more about their family and heritage. 

Getting Started: My Family Stories That Bring Us Together

See this story in its original form

The Rest of the Story:

About two weeks after this article was published we received an email from Sister Bennett.  In part it read:

"I got a message this evening from Peter Vakalala thanking me for getting the story about Nakawaka Branch into the Fiji Sun.  As a result of that story several of his family members have contacted him about family history and now one of his cousins is taking the discussions.

"Sometimes it may seem like your assignment doesn't directly impact testimonies as much as some.  But know that you...are touching lives."

That was a welcome tender mercy.