President Hamon’s funeral

Early Sunday morning, our thoughtful, loving Branch President finally succumbed to the affects of Leukemia and passed away. We found out as we arrived for Sunday service in Coromandel town. He had been diagnosed nearly a year ago but had been in remission for several months. About three weeks ago he began complaining of back pain and was not able to make it to Church for the last two weeks. We had visited him last Wednesday though and he was still his usual chatty self. Even on Saturday, he had called Elder O’Neal in the afternoon to be sure we had everything figured out for the meeting on Sunday. That call made the announcement less than 24 hours later quite a surprise! He had been either the president or a counselor for the last 25 years so this will be quite a loss for our tiny Branch. He lived in Kennedy Bay about 25 minutes north of Coromandel and the funeral service was held there. We were invited inside the Marae this time so I could take a few pictures.

Each of the wooden carvings on the wall depicts a different god and each god has a story told about in the woven tapestries to the side of each carving. Above each figure is a small plaque with the name of that particular god. Even the ceiling contains murals ascending from each god to further clarify that personality.

Elder O’Neal was asked to give a small tribute which he did by telling about how “Uncle Eric” had given him a hand carved cane and how special it would always be to him.

And then after the service, his body was taken to the cemetery in his own car. What a great idea!  

It was a very special experience.

  Kia Ora, Elder and Sister O’Neal

The beautiful summer continues

We continue to enjoy this wonderful country. Our gardening days on Fridays are such a delight. Yesterday we picked lemons, avocados, plums and apples.

This is just one of many apple trees. We also had the opportunity to see the arrival once again of the Navy ship the HMNZS Mannawanui. This is technically its home port but this is its last visit as it is being decommissioned at the end of the month. Some residents are petitioning to get it sunk off the dock here so it can become an artificial reef. Here is the ship as it pulls up to the wharf:

And then, not surprisingly, we are always finding new gorgeous beaches around here. As we left the garden, we turned right instead of left (to come home) and drove to this hideaway. It’s called “Sailor’s Grave Beach” and actually has a sailor’s grave from 150 years ago over on one hill. The town of Tairua, close by, celebrates the anniversary of the man’s death every year. We did not walk over to get pictures of the gravesite but here is the beach:

This one has waves large enough for surfers and we watched a few out on their boards. Next time we’re bringing our lawn chairs so we can just relax for awhile.
Kia Ora, Elder and Sister O’Neal

Towing your Boat

The ocean is very close to everyone in this area, it allows for a different way to move the boat around. If you are not cool, then towing your boat can be done by just about anything; car, truck, four wheeler, whatever.

But.....if you Are cool, then there is only one way to get the boat to the ocean.