The Week of Seventeen!

This past week was a busy one for us. The title indicates that we were able to visit in the homes of 17 this past week and leave a message. We were busy and enjoyed it. One gentleman we met, has not been active for many years. Someone suggested that we visit him and so we found his address from somewhere and dropped by. He was glad that we did. Elder was able to leave him with 2 commitments. He has an amazing life and his life has been spared many times. He wasn't sure why but Elder told him why he thought he was still here. His wife passed away several months ago.
The above picture is our luncheon after this past week of District Sunday. Our visitors, 9 in total, came down from Nelson Sunday morning. Our Branch almost doubled in size. It was really nice to have 5 in Primary to sing and learn. In the picture you can see the Grandma of the du Feu family, Sister Bonnie Stack holding their little girl, David who is 11, the two older du Feu sisters, their mother Janice, and Sister Lyn Maugham of our Branch. Brother du Feu also brought his 2 young sons, George and Farrel. It was so nice to have young ones at Church. Merle played with them and they can't wait until the next time they see "Elder Grandpa". It was really fun.

Above you can see one of the waterfalls that appeared with the rain on Wednesday and Thursday. This is coming back from our District Meeting we had in Greymouth with our young Elders. They are really teaching us and helping us know what to do.
Above is one of the ladies we are getting to know, Wendy Barrell. She is with her darling dog Sadie. Wendy is an original West Coaster. She is such a nice lady and we have had some great visits with her. Her husband is Reg. She is the Nana to Kahn and Levi. We really enjoy our visits with Wendy. She has a beautiful garden of flowers and vegetables. She suffers with arthritis and has had 2 knee replacements.
This is one of the many beautiful sunsets we enjoyed this past week. It looks correct to me to have the approaching car coming down the right side of the road. I have even been able to drive a bit during the last few weeks. I am not ready for the long stretches yet but I do alright coming home from the beach each evening. The cool water really seems to help Merle's feet.
One day we were out for a visit about 1/2 hour from town and we were early for our next appointment so we stopped and snapped pictures of the beautiful flowers and shrubbery. This day we also drove up one of the "mountains" and were amazed at the view and farmland below. From the roadsides you see a lot of brush and not so much of the fields. This is such an amazing country, so rugged and beautiful.
On Saturday there was a priesthood service activity. Above are who showed up; Elder Archibald and Reg Barrell and Chaz. I took the picture. I also wheelbarrowed the all that stuff behind them. They crawled among the shrubs and plants and gathered all the deadfall and loaded it in the wheelbarrow and I wheeled it to the pile. We worked hard but it was such a beautiful day.
The Tasman Sea was angry when we drove to and from Greymouth this past week. Sometimes it is tranquil but often times it is angry. I love to watch the waves. We should have stopped at Punakaiki this week as the tide was in and the sea was angry. I am sure we can find it one day when it is not raining.
The picture below is in Karamea. We drove up to visit with Maraea and had an enjoyable visit. Karamea is only about 15 minutes further up the road so we continued on. What a beautiful place. It is almost at the end of the road and so pretty. They can grow lots of tropical plants and fruits here. This was one of the large palm trees. Sorry, I am in the shade which felt so nice. It was quite a warm day and the sun seems quite intense.
Below, is our guest, Flat Stanley. We are taking him visiting for Daniel Hoffman. I hope he enjoys his time with us. Behind him you can see the beautiful view from our trip over Karamea Bluff. If you look really far back you can see the sea. We have had a great week and have been very busy.