My New Zealand Adventure! : January 2014

Pretty Flowers

These flowers were BEAUTIFUL so we stopped and took a picture.

This little bird just let me scoop it up off of the sidewalk and hold it! I was SO happy! He was so cute. I thought he was hurt but when I was done holding him he just flew off! Don't worry mom I used hand sanitizer right after.

New Years Day 2014!

New Years Day 2014! Our zone was given permission to go on a Zone Hike. We hiked on some of those same redwood trails that we did 2 weeks ago and it was BEAUTIFUL. We have the best district and a pretty cool Zone. We all have so much fun together!

Our Zone together on our New Years Day hike!

New Years Eve 2013

New Years Eve the president also told us that we could stay up until midnight on new years and we were SO excited. We had Sparkling Cider (because come on, its not New Years without that stuff) and the three of us were going to have just so much fun. When we got back to our flat the Elders went and got us Frosties from Wendys and brought them back. We were pretty stoked about that! They are SO nice to us. After we ate them we realized how tired we were after being in Hamilton all day. We decided that we would take a nap and wake up at 11:45 to welcome in the New Year. Next thing I know The fireworks had woken Sister Simkins up and she yells "Hey, it's 12:01!!!" I woke up and yelled "Happy New Year!" Then we looked at each other for a second and in our heads decided it wasn't worth it. So we both rolled over and went back to sleep. Poor Sister Pongi slept through the whole thing. Most uneventful New Years of my life BUT I don't regret it. Sleep is precious. We are so tired all the time!

This was on New Years Eve and is the Dock right by the Elders flat. The Lake there is BEAUTIFUL. I just want to go live on the little Island that's in the middle of it.

Redwood Trees in New Zealand

Our last Monday after we left the internet cafe. We drove over to these walking paths that were surrounded by these HUGE beautiful redwood trees. We hiked around there for a little while and it was gorgeous.

Christmas 2013

12/25/2013: On Christmas morning we went over to a couple in the wards home and had a big breakfast and it was SO GOOD. They had lots of fresh fruit and bacon and sausages and --my personal favorite—croissants. For lunch we went to the Bishops house and had a big lunch there. I tried the Lamb and it actually wasn't too bad. I am pretty sure it was a lamb from their farm because they have a bunch of them but I just tried not to think about it. Overall I had a very good Christmas even though I did miss being at home! Christmas in the US I feel is much bigger and more dramatic and more fun than here. I think Americans are just more dramatic in general and the people here are more laid back for sure.

First Assigned Area

First Assigned Area: Rotorua New Zealand!

12/20/2013: From Alexis’ Mission President- “Sister Doole arrived safely to Hamilton, and is already laboring in her new area. Her companion is Sister Simkins and they will also be serving with Sister Pongi. They will be serving in the Rotorua Zone. We love Sister Doole already.”

My trainer is Sister Simkins from New Mexico and my other companion is Sister Pongi from Tonga.. I really like both of them! We share our ward with two Elders who are both super nice. One from Texas and one from Samoa. They drive us everywhere. (Oh yeah we don't have a car because both the sisters here before us couldn’t drive) We do have bikes but we can't ride them because Sister Simkins had knee surgery right before her mission and it didn't heal properly so the motion of biking kills her knee. So we walk everywhere or the Elders pick us up if we're going to the same area. The people here are really friendly for the most part. They LOVE hugs and kisses on the cheek. I feel so weird hugging complete strangers but I guess I will get used to it.

12/15/2013

12/15/2013: The weather here is PERFECT. On the days it is rainy it is a little bit Humid but when the sun is out it feels perfect. The breeze is nice and cool but the sun is warm. I already love it here. I do miss home though and I think it is starting to set in that I won't be going back for a long time. The weather is so warm it DOES NOT at all feel like the Christmas season. It's weird. Christmas is only in a little over 10 days and I could be wearing shorts.

Finally in New Zealand!

I am finally here in New Zealand! I can't believe it! The flight was LONG. I mean really long. I sat in between two very nice people from New Zealand though and we all just tried to sleep the whole way.

It was already weird to see them drive on the opposite side of the road and opposite side of the car.

When we got here they gave us breakfast and they had ham, eggs., toast, cereal, porridge, hot chocolate, and beans. (yeah beans?)

I got SO lucky with my Mission Training Center (MTC) companion! She is from Australia but lived here in New Zealand just North of here for about 8 years but then moved back to Australia about two or three years ago. She is half Mauri so she has been teaching me about the culture and things I need to know. I am going to miss her so much when we leave the MTC. Too bad she lives half way across the world because we would totally be friends even outside of our missions!