New Zealand-Bound

Elder Rowe left for New Zealand on Monday, October 12. We spoke with him briefly during his layover at the San Francisco airport. A word to the wise: If you are sending out a missionary, equip them with a calling card for those airport phone calls. Our plan to have him call collect and then call him back on the pay phone didn't work out so well. But it was good to hear his voice and hear how happy and excited he sounded.

We waited eagerly (and anxiously) to hear from him. We knew that he was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand at about 1:00 p.m. our time Tuesday afternoon (8:00 a.m. Wednesday New Zealand time). We hadn't heard from him by Thursday night, so Bob thought it would be a good idea to call the mission home. We had a brief but wonderful chat with Sister Joliffe, the mission president's wife. She told us where David was headed for his first area (but we'll keep you in suspense until his first email). And in her beautifully British way, she commented that he is lovely.

An email arrived later that night with photos from his time at the president's house. You'll notice that he and Sister Palmer (the sister he traveled with from Provo to New Zealand) picked up a few friends upon their arrival in Wellington. We don't know much about them, but look forward to hearing about them soon!