ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

Almost a year has gone by since the content of our last blog.  Time has flown by and we have been busy.  There is so much to share.  We have learned so much about ourselves, our faith and and our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our Mission to New Zealand was not a vacation, but it has definitely been life changing.  And now it is time to return to Utah.  

We will fly into St George on October 28th and will travel to SLC around November 14.  We will speak in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, November 15 at 10am in the Wasatch 5th Ward, 8100 Top of the World Drive, Cottonwood Heights.  We will stay in SLC until we travel to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with Taylor's family and then to San Francisco before Christmas to see Alex's family.  We are hoping to settle in to St George by the first of the year and a new chapter in our lives will begin.

We look forward to seeing you soon....Arohanui

  

Elder and Sister Beckstead

NZ South Island Travel

Beauty everywhere!

From Dunedin's Scottish influence...

 ... and Lochner Castle

To the Moeraki boulders on the east coast (Pacific Ocean)...

Over land to Queenstown...

Wild flowers were everywhere. Such spectacular colors!

Driving from the summit down into Queenstown

A beautiful countryside

We rode the tram to the top of the mountain

From a top the tram

Looking down on Queensland, a beautiful sight!

Made totally from Jellybeans. Tram gift shop

Jellybean map, guess where we are!

                                     Next a boat trip into Milford Sound 

Where the Sound meets the Tasman Sea

Road trip from Queenstown to Franz Josef to Greymouth

Post card beauty!

Sea rock messages on the Tasman Sea

A quick overnight in Franz Josef and then off to Greymouth and a traintrip to Christchurch

Time to catch the Tranzalpine Train to Christchurch

Getting ready to catch the beauty from the train

Sheep......

...and more sheep

Visions of times gone by

Trains are a relaxing way to travel and enjoy the scenery.

Wild flowers abound.

Our final stop was in Christchurch and we flew home to Auckland.  We had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful South Island of New Zealand and will always remember the stunning difference from the North Island and how individually beautiful they both are.  We are go grateful for the opportunity we have had to see this beautiful country.

Just couldn't resist this picture.  We weren't sure if Santa's demeanor was due to his long night of Christmas deliveries or the fact that he had raided the contents of he store building he was resting upon.

2015 A Brand New Year!

KIA ORA

A Brand New Year!

Merry Christmas

Couldn't resist sharing a couple of nativities.  From our flat....

...to the grounds of the Hamilton, NZ Temple
CHRIST IS THE GIFT


Christmas meant a trip to the Hamilton Temple for all the young missionaries in the New Zealand, Auckland Mission.  Six bus loads of Elders and Sisters made their way down to Hamilton, over a three day period.  They had a wonderful time and even a little rain didn't dampen their spirits as they stopped for a traditional ice cream on the way home.

Love the smiles!                                    

30+ Flavors to choose from, $1.50 a scoop, a NZ Deal!

Happy even without ice cream!

Elders at the temple

Christmas away from home is a different experience.

The Pacific Area Office closes over the Christmas holiday for almost two weeks.  A skeleton crew mans the building.  Everyone in NZ goes on "summer vacation" during this time.  The weather is warm and the sunny beaches call everyone to come and enjoy.  Christmas is associated with barbeques and the beach.  We took advantage of the time off to take in the sights of NZ South Island.  We traveled by plane, car, boat and train and saw wondrous  sights.  Keith and Carol Wallace, Public Affairs Missionaries from Cottonwood Heights were our travel companions.

Christmas dinner at the hotel, complete with English "Cracker" paper crowns.

More of our travels continue on next blog.