Kia ora! Our excellent adventure continues with thoughts suggested by a quote from Shakespeare. In the play, “Romeo and Juliet”, parting is described as such sweet sorrow and we are in the midst of experiencing that very emotion as we prepare to part company, if only for a time, from people whom we love.

As you can imagine, there is sweetness in knowing that we are coming home. We have missed the simple pleasures that await us. My tulips are blooming and I so love a Utah spring. There are smiles and hugs to be shared and reminiscing in our future. There are babies we have yet to meet although we already love them and two new great grandbabies who are on their way. We look forward to seeing the changes that have occurred in the lives of those we last saw eighteen months ago and yearn to offer words of comfort to those friends who have lost loved ones in our absence. We are coming home!

Yet, we are experiencing another sort of sweetness which involves the sorrow that Shakespeare describes. Parting is not easy, nor thankfully, permanent. We have spent our last few days here being treated to the goodness that we have grown to expect from our friends in New Zealand.  In the midst of the beginning of Gisborn’s rainy season, we have been showered with visits and acts of kindness. We will depart on Monday, knowing that life is good and being thankful for mobility and the opportunity to return. We know, without a doubt that we will see many of our friends again and that makes leaving a little less painful.

In our last blog written from New Zealand, we wish to share with you the faces and stories of those we have come to love. We hope that in some small measure, you will catch the essence of who these friends are and what they have meant to us.

As always, we are happy and still trying to work hard. We look forward to reunions with many of you and should you be interested, we have been asked to speak in our home ward, Sunday May 15 at 11:00 am. Thank you for being supportive during our time away from you and we can’t wait until we are able to see your faces!

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

 

 

It's just possible that I should apologize for the number of photos this week, but I wanted to share as much as I could so that you would appreciate where are hearts are. 

This is Andres who came to say goodbye to the missionaries at the bus station. I will miss seeing him in his monster robe and pajamas.

 

Kelly and Cameron (who was baptized last week) came to say goodbye to Elder Fineau. Watch for Kelly's touching announcement appears at the end of these photos. We will miss them.

 

Blake is now the best pumpkin pie baker in Gisborne. We will miss him! 

 

Tania and Arirki came to say goodbye to Elder Jonnson. He will miss them and so will we. 

 

Cameron was baptized last week. We love him and his little family and we will miss them dearly.

 

We will miss casual evenings with our sweet friends. I will also miss the hugs and kisses.

 

I will miss kind friends who are willing to share an umbrella.

 

Ward will miss huge taro leaves and the Tongan elders will miss the Lupulu that he makes with them.

 

I didn't think that I would miss a sausage sizzle, but I might!

 

We were surprised by a going-away dinner in our little branch. We will miss the West men and the kindness they have shown to us.

 

Lindsay couldn't stay but came to say goodbye on behalf of his family. He has been a good friend and we will miss him.

 

I will miss the generosity of all those who contributed to our farewell dinner. The food was delicious.

 

I won't miss Ward taking a photo of me while I am eating! One of the members donated a lamb to be roasted on the spit and it was delicious.

 

These women are great examples of the diversity of our little branch. The woman on the left, Fianza Whatiteri is Maori and Juliet Lardelli married into an Italian family who were early settlers in the Gisborne area. 

 

We will miss these two single mothers and their children. They were all baptized within the year and they are happy about the positive direction their lives are taking.

 

What a surprise! Ward is dancing "Little Grass Shack" AGAIN! There is no opportunity to miss it!

 

 

 The Blandfords just purchased a home that they plan to move onto family land in our little village. We are sorry to miss the chance to welcome them in their new home.

Here is Kelly again with her surprise. Her baby boy, due in August will be named Belliston. Many of you will be able to meet them when they come to Salt Lake to be sealed. We have no desire to miss having them in our lives!

Adventures in Paradise Volume 2 #63

Kia ora! Our excellent adventure continues with thoughts concerning just how powerful a few words can be and how grateful we were to be on the receiving end of them. Last week, circumstances were such that a return trip from Hamilton was going to take much longer than we anticipated. On the best day, the drive from Hamilton to Gisborne takes a little over five hours. The two lane road is challenging in the daylight and as that light faded, it became painfully obvious that we were going to be making most of that journey in the dark, having left much later than we had planned. There is an especially challenging portion of that road that is called the Gorge, and in addition to the curving road, there is a steep drop off on one side and danger of falling boulders on the other. The wise driver expends great effort in trying to assure that that portion of the drive (which takes about an hour) is made whenever possible in daylight.

Due to circumstances way beyond our control, we left Hamilton, knowing that we would be driving most of the way in the dark and dreading our entrance into the Gorge. We were already tired and frustrated and anticipated that we would not arrive home in Gisborne until the wee hours of the morning. We were not pleased. In the middle of our discussion about the unhappy situation in which we found ourselves, a text message came in that touched our hearts and became a sweet and welcome diversion to the dread that we had been feeling. Our friend Hone Whaanga (remember a “wh” has an “F” sound) sent a message that touched our hearts. What follows is the conversation that Hone and I exchanged as Ward drove through the dark.

Hone:     Hi guys are you both available on Saturday April 16 at 4:00 pm?

Me:         Yes, we have that day open.

Hone:     Cool! We would like to cook a meal for you both that day as a gesture of thanks

               for your selfless love, time and effort which you have shared with us during the

               time which we have been blessed with to have you both in our lives. I’m glad       

               that I am texting because I wouldn’t be able to hold it together as it is hard  

               enough to do via text. We love you both so much and I can’t thank you enough.

Me:        And I’m glad that I am reading this text rather than hearing it in person. You

              would be seeing Elder Belliston crying his eyes out too. Thank you for a very

              sweet message. Xoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

Hone:    I had hoped that the 18 months would never come but I know that you both have

              family and friends and a lovely home that is waiting for you to go back to. I

              appreciate the time that I had to feel your influence and love and to learn that      

              precise obedience is what is most important. I really understand now that service

              is where the Savior is because I feel Him around me when you both counsel me

              and comfort me. I will always hold you both dear to me forever.

Me:       You know how much we love you and your family!

Hone:     I know. We know. We all love you both!

Me:        We are now forever family and we will stay in close contact. AND we will come

               Back!

Hone:     Yessssssss!  That’s a plan!

Me:        We are almost to the gorge and will not have phone coverage much longer. We

               love you!

Hone:     Love yous (not a typo) too!

We spent the rest of our moonlit drive home reflecting upon what had just happened. Suddenly the drive was not nearly as daunting as it had once seemed to us. We were touched by Hone’s words, but more importantly we were again, through that heartfelt message, reminded of why we chose to serve in the first place. It is the loving, permanent connections that are formed when you choose to serve others. We would not have missed this adventure in paradise for anything and if we are ever asked why in the world would we choose to leave home and family for an extended period of time, we have only to share a copy of this text.

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We have also been reminded why it is that so many missionaries choose to return over and over again to the lands where they served. Our adopted countries and the people that we love call us back. It’s just the way it is. In a little over three weeks, we are excited to be coming home, and we are confident that there will be equally happy homecomings as we return to the Pacific sometime in our future.

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

 

This is Hone and his daughter, Halo. We love them to pieces!