Adventures in Paradise Volume 2 #9

Kia ora, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with thoughts on a song that has been constantly playing in my mind for the last two days. As I understand it, “Joy to the World”, was based on Psalms 98 in the Bible, and even though it has become a Christmas favorite, it was originally written celebrating Christ’s final return, rather than His birth. Be that as it may, this song celebrating Christ has been on instant rewind in my head ever since Ward and I spent two days this week in Hamilton, New Zealand with many of our Cook Island friends.

 

There was a mission conference scheduled for last Tuesday and it was to be held in Hamilton near the temple. It was an exciting time for over 250 missionaries as they anticipated spending the day with friends and former companions. It would be a wonderful opportunity to be taught, spiritually fed and to enjoy the company of the entire mission. Everyone was looking forward to that day and Ward and I were no exception. Our excitement was also focused on the fact that many of our Cook Island friends had scheduled their annual temple trip that same week and we had been given permission to extend our stay so that we could spend time with them.

 

In several of our blogs, written while we were serving in the Cook Islands, I mentioned the humble and often spartan living conditions of our friends. I shared stories of how they live off the land and how they raise pigs and goats to put meat on their tables. I joked that you don’t want to become too attached to those creatures, because they most often end up as the main course of one kai kai or another. I once took my blog readers on a Cook Island home tour, where the readers were introduced to the reality of island housing. It was, I hope a respectful tour, but it was meant to help the reader appreciate just how little these people have, compared to what most of us experience, but at the same time how grateful and truly joyful they are for what they have.

 

Our friends save all year for the blessing of being able to spend one week in December serving in the New Zealand temple. The plane fare alone is at least six hundred dollars per person. This is a huge sum for these people. This year, over thirty made that annual temple trip. They stayed together in temple housing, where each small room contained beds for six and a bathroom; nothing else. There is a community kitchen, where they would all come together at the end of the day for a shared meal. There is a lot of laughter and everyone shares what they have with the rest of the group. In my former life, I would be thinking about what tablecloth to use and what sort of a centerpiece would be appropriate. I would be concerned about whether my china (I use this term loosely) matched my glasses and how the food should be garnished to make it as enticing as possible. Watching my friends, as they ladle dinner out of massive pots, I am reminded that some of us may go a tad overboard when it comes to entertaining. After all, isn’t the whole object of our being together is to enjoy and be joyful?

 

At the end of the first evening, after the last fingers were licked and the last plate cleaned, everyone congregated in the lounge area and held a devotional. There were prayers, some short items of business were discussed and then the singing started. During the prayer, blessings were requested for all those less fortunate. Ward and I both remember wondering during that prayer, who would be less fortunate than some of our friends, but I had forgotten that material possessions mean very little to them.  Ward and I also must have very short memories, because somehow, we had forgotten just a little, how beautiful that singing was. How can that singing be so forceful, yet so tender? How can such a small group sound like so many? How could I have forgotten just how touching their singing is? It was magical and at times, I just closed my eyes and let the music wash over me. One of the favorite hymns sung both evenings was “Joy to the World”, and it was spectacular. The evening of the devotional, that song was sung reverently. The next evening was an entirely different story.

 

The second evening that we spent together was a party. Many of the other temple workers arrived to participate in the caroling. There was no strolling from one home to another as you might expect. Instead ukes were tuned, head eis (flower wreaths) were donned, sarongs were tied around waists and Angora Williams took two spoons out of the kitchen drawer to make yet another musical instrument. There was singing, dancing, a lot of laughter and the songs that had sounded so reverent the evening before, now were treated with an entirely different approach. They were loud, they were joyful. They were accompanied by clapping hands and the wooden kitchen tables became makeshift drums! I closed my eyes as my friend, Tereomona Cummings gently rocked me back and forth with her to the beat of the music. I was back home in the Cooks and it was perfect.

 

Eventually, the dancing started and the rule of the evening was that if the dancer took off the head ei and handed it to you, it was your turn to get up and dance. It was considered an insult to say no, so no one did. When my turn came, as I feared it would, my “dancing” consisted of a few steps of the hula ( or whatever) a little bit of the twist and as much of the Charleston as I could manage. Being a good sport is almost as important as being a good dancer, so let’s just say that I was a very good sport! I had fun and there was no worry about being embarrassed. These people were my friends and that’s all that mattered. Yes, Ward did perform “Little Grass Shack”, but that is to be expected. What was also expected as I searched for him across the room, was that that he was tearfully observing while remembering all of the sweet times that are now Cook Island memories.

 

If you have never head Christmas carols accompanied by the ukekele, then you haven’t really heard. At the evening wound down, there were at least six, “Last Songs” “Ok, this is really the last song”, and” Ok, Ok, this truly is really the last song!” It was getting late, but no one wanted to be the first to leave. Finally, after the final song, a prayer and many hugs, the crowd went their separate ways and Ward and I drove away with some Cook Island gifts and kisses on the cheek. We shared our “See you laters” and left knowing that we will have the opportunity to experience this all over again next year.

 

The photos that we are sharing this week are chosen to help you appreciate the joy that was part of those two evenings. I have tried my best to describe that which is almost indescribable, so I hope that you will be able to sense at least a portion of what we experienced this week.

 

As usual we are happy and trying to work hard. This week has been joyful and we are so grateful to have been a part of that gathering. We will share our New Zealand Christmas with you next week, should you be curious, but we felt that this message just could not wait. We hope that each of you find joy in your world this Christmas and know that you have been a joy to have in our lives.

 

Love, Ward and Susan     Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in Gisborne, New Zealand

 

 

 

 

 

Joy to our world!