Day 1: Auckland, New Zealand
After 3 flights, many different time zones, and 24 hours of
traveling, we finally made it to New Zealand. The 11-hour flight wasn’t as bad
as we thought after most of us slept through the entire thing. We arrived in
Nadi, Fiji where we had a three-hour layover. Who knew Sam was the king of the
card game “Scum!” We are excited to stay in Fiji on our way home and exercise
our new Fijian vocabulary “Bula!” Our trip to Auckland seemed extremely speedy
considering our prior lengthy travels. In the Auckland airport, while eating
lunch, we met the sweetest LDS girls Sara and Lisa. They taught us some New
Zealand slang to prepare us for our endeavors here. We also got to witness the
“Haka” performed by a YSA group for a missionary homecoming. When we got in our
rental vans, we were shocked that the steering wheel was on the right side! We
are still trying to get used to Scott’s driving…Wish us luck! We were fortunate
enough to visit the local hospital in Auckland to see Sam’s Cousin, Sam. Also,
we got to meet an “Angel” along the way- Sam’s aunt. It was such a memorable
experience to meet some of Sam’s family, and it made us really grateful for
what we have. There is so much we take for granted and as this trip goes on I
think we will recognize that more and more. After the hospital, we went and
practiced at a nearby gym. Then we got to meet Elder Hallack and his wife
Sister Hallack! They shared some words of wisdom with us, asking what we hoped
to gain out of this trip. I think it made a lot of us question what we truly
want to get out of being here. He told us to most importantly enjoy the people
especially in Samoa because they are so happy with very little. Then, we got
picked up by our host families! We all love them, and are already sad thinking
about leaving in a couple days! We can’t wait for the many amazing experiences
to come!
-Cassie Wahlin
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