South Pacific Campaign - Day #11

It was time for another round of good-byes again this morning.  That is the  #2 worst thing about campaigns - getting sick far from home would definitely be #1.  But the Odonells have been wonderful hosts and took good care of all of us.   I'm just sorry that I spent so much time sleeping that I didn't get a chance to know them better because they have 4 of the sweetest kids you would ever want to meet.  I hope we get to see them again when they come to the States in the fall.

Kent and Rachel Odonnell with Chloe, Ethan, Michael & Phoebe

The drive back to New Plymouth was in the rain again so we still didn't get to see the mountain that's on all the post cards, Mt. Taranaki.  That's a shame because the pictures I've seen are pretty amazing.  We did pause at the coast long enough for me to snap a picture of a black sand beach littered with drift wood that I found interesting. 

But the gorgeous countryside we passed with cows and sheep often perched on steep green slopes was encased in too much haze to be photogenic today.

We stopped at a McDonald's in Waganui for a bathroom/coffee break and Ron got a surprise.  He ordered coffee with cream expecting a packet of whitener with the same paper cup of black coffee that Jimmie had just walked away with.  Instead he was told that they would have to bring it to the table.  A few minutes later a huge china cup arrived that had a floating mountain of whipped cream on top.  The look on Ron's face was definitely worth the extra cost!

We arrived in New Plymouth and started retracing our steps back to the car rental agency . . . and that's when our GPS had a glitch.  Ron had been doing the navigational duties while Jimmie drove and you would think that coming back would be easy.  But Ron quickly realized that the google maps printed by the car dealer to get us to Palmerston did NOT include the section of New Plymouth we were coming back to.  We wandered about for 45 minutes or so with Jimmie making U-turns and Ron "recalculating!"  Finally, sitting at an intersection where we had been at least 4 times, Jimmie just happened to spot the name on a billboard and zipped right in.  The agency was hidden in behind a carlot and not visible from the main road. 

The New Plymouth gospel meeting began tonight with Jimmie doing the preaching.

South Pacific Campaign - Day #10

I still feel lousy, but it is a slightly less lousy than yesterday. Thankfully, the rest of the crew is healthy and able to enjoy the fellowship of the wonderful brethren in Palmerston North. Tonight Carolyn taught the ladies while the men talked about IBTM.

South Pacific Campaign - Day #9

Okay, so I'm officially sick.  I coughed so much during the night that my ribs are actually sore, and neither Jimmie nor I got any sleep.  He headed to the chemist shop first thing this morning and bought a bag full of cold pills, head spray and some liquid echinnasea.  Ron contributed an antibiotic that he always takes on campaign.  Hopefully these will put me right again.

South Pacific Campaign - Day #8

The plan today was to drive from New Plymouth to Palmerston North with the first gospel meeting scheduled to begin there tonight.  Allan Fowell had loaned us his van since he is still in Tasmania for a gospel meeting there, so we loaded up this morning all set to go.  Only nothing happened when Jimmie turned the key.  Apparently the battery on the van was dead.  The next few hours were spent trying to figure out how to fix the situation.  Carolyn and I let the guys handle it - she did laundry and I took a much-needed nap.  Finally, Kent ODonnell, in Palmerston North, got in touch with Rod Kyle in New Plymouth.  Rod took us to a car-rental place and we got hooked up with some wheels.  Unfortunately, it was then almost 4 in the afternoon, the drive to Palmerston North was said to be between 3 and 4 hours, and the gospel meeting was starting at 7.  But the brethren said they would just sing until we got there.  Fortunately, they didn't have to sing for long.  We rolled up to the building just 10 minutes late. 

I have to brag on Jimmie for just a moment.  I have to say that starting off in a car where all the controls are in the wrong place, driving roads where the oncoming traffic is on the wrong side, and a steady rain making visibility less than perfect - that would have made me more than a shade stressed.  But Jimmie handled it like a pro.  He said the only difference between driving here and in Africa was that he didn't have to watch out for bicycles and chickens here, so this was easier.  The countryside we were able to see before darkness fell was incredibly beautiful.

South Pacific Campaign - Day #7

We were at the airport this morning at 5AM for our flight to Melbourne, so it was another long, weary day of travel.  The worst bit was in Auckland.  Our flight across the Tasman Sea had been a little late in arriving so by the time we had cleared customs and immigration we had less than 1 hour before our connection to New Plymouth.  We still had sufficient time, until the Air New Zealand transfer desk refused to take our checked baggage.  Apparently any time they have less than an hour to do their job, the job becomes yours so we had to cart ALL of our baggage to the domestic terminal and check in again there.  Standing outside waiting for a transfer bus was not fun since it was raining at the time.  But amazingly we made the flight since it had also been delayed, and we reached New Plymouth only a few minutes late.  A quick bite of supper provided by the sweet ladies of the congregation, and Carolyn and I were on to the evening ladies class.  I taught, but I'm afraid I was not at my best form.  I fought a sore throat all day and by the third airplane ride today my ears were so closed that I couldn't even hear myself speak this evening.  When we got back to our home for the evening I assigned the Internet students who had enrolled since I was last able to get online and headed to bed - a mere 23 hours after getting up this morning.

South Pacific Campaign - Tasmania Photos

The Eastern Shore Church of Christ building

The Open Forum Saturday afternoon

The speakers at the lectureship

Gary & Helyn Young.  Gary is the director of the lectureship and Helyn stays very busy behind the scenes.

Our marvelous hosts, Garrett & Kate Leitch

Our campaign partners, Ron & Carolyn Gilbert

A view of the harbor at Hobart, Tasmania

The bridge crossing the harbor

The overlook at Mt. Nelson

You can't visit Tasmania without seeing at least one Tassie Devil.  Kate drove some of us out to a wild life park during our afternoon break on Sunday to see some of the local critters.

Old Man Emu - our grandson has loved the song since Jimmie's trip here last year so we HAD to have a picture of an emu!

 

We missed a very important event in America today.  Our grandson turned 5.  Happy Birthday, Cole!!!  Hope you had a fantastic day!