"New Zealand is not a small country but a large village"
--- Peter Jackson (Film Director and Producer; 1961 - Present)
I'm very proud of my heritage. But I can't say that it was at the forefront of my mind until I was a young adult. It wasn't until people started asking where I was from that I saw myself as anything more than Caucasian. I consider myself very blessed to share in such a beautiful culture. I've never heard anyone from anywhere on the planet have a bad thing to say about New Zealand. It was miraculous that I would meet someone else who shared in my mixed heritage, and so early on in Mexico too as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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SPECIAL TRANSFERS
On day twelve with Elder Howard (See "Testimonies and Trainers"), we got the call for special transfers. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Elder Howard explained how I would be getting a new companion. Thinking it was only a "for the day" thing I asked, “When will we meet up again?”. “We won’t. They’re permanent”. I was startled! I barely knew the area well enough to get home at night let alone lead the work in the area (See "1st Area: Monterreal, Rio Bravo"). Give me a break! I’d been there a dozen days! I imagined we’d be walking in circles without Elder Howard to lead the way.
The addresses in Mexico are near impossible to navigate logically. A house numbered 13 could be neighbors to number 236 and number 95; there was usually no correlation. We only had brick phones and no GPS or internet capabilities. Maps were not easy to find and were often inaccurate showing nonexistent streets or missing existing ones just because land development was so rapid. Locals referred to landmarks instead of addresses like “left at the 7-Eleven five houses down” or “blue house with a white fence and a mango tree” to give us directions. I don’t know how the mail system worked but it seemed like the only real mail anybody ever got was the utility bill. We’d get lost and ask for directions (and use that as an icebreaker) but even if they’d lived there their whole lives, they still wouldn’t know the names of streets or neighbors alike, only referring to things or people by general terms or first names only; ignorant of their best friends’ last name, etc. The best way to "navigate" was just walking around and familiarizing oneself in good time. I think we knew the cities better than the locals at times because we were on the streets hours on end, day after day after day.
I was forced to teach my new companion, companion number three, who we were working with and how to get there. I was caught off guard and I wasn’t the only one; there were many transfers going on throughout the mission at that time. But I trusted my Mission President and I knew that it was for the best. God wanted me to learn something from this.
My new companion, companion number 3, Elder Lopez from Ecuador, arrived on the 1st of October, 2014. He was thirteen months into his mission. He was a colorful character. He was taller, bulkier, and spoke no English. Imagine being me. How I understood him in and of itself was a wonder but I did understand 95% of what came out of his mouth despite having very little Spanish experience; I have no idea how he understood me. That was indeed a manifestation of the Gift of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. When he was with friends, he was a clown. His laugh and exaggerated expressions were comical and positively contagious. But his work ethic was less than worthy. I will not give details but suffice it to say that I, the new gringo, took the initiative in our companionship. All I could do was pick a door, knock, look at Elder Lopez and hope what he said got us in the house. It was not successful. But even when the one companion struggles, the other can learn patience and the importance of working hard, and above all, what not to do. Lessons both good and bad.
ELDER HARVEY
But I had good examples in the mission too. Elder Harvey was assigned to be our new Zone Leader. I'd gone to Reynosa with one of my old Zone Leaders, Elder Saldaña, because he was due to go home and it was the best way to coordinate our Special Transfers. We were in the awful mission house that night (See "First Mission Home"). I was apprehensive, sitting on my bunk bed in silence, wondering what I would do with this new companion I'd never met in this confusing area with this language barrier. That's why I really appreciated the simple acts of kindness and reassurance Elder Harvey represented.
Elder Harvey came over and asked, “Hey, are you from New Zealand?”. I told him how I was born there but hadn’t been back since. He was super excited. Turns out that Elder Harvey was also part Maori! It's amazing to meet another missionary from Utah with Maori heritage in Mexico, in that awful house of all places! It was such a lift to my soul when he told me he was my new Zone Leader! There it was again, my Heavenly Father being aware of me and putting special people in my life. We were two Maori-Americans in Mexico. Or as I've heard my family once say, "A-Maori-Cans" in Mexico.
Elder Harvey was from West Jordan, Utah and it turned out that we had quite a lot in common. He quickly became one of my favorite missionaries. I don’t believe that we ever confirmed it but he had a hunch that his last name "Harvey" was a derivative of my mom’s side of the family "Harawira". I wouldn’t be surprised if we are related in some way. If not by blood, then definitely by bond. Our families met up around Christmas while we were in Mexico for dinner. And my family went to his homecoming when he spoke at church after he got home.
He came to work with me for a day in Monterreal and he taught me how to use the "subjunctive tense” in Spanish. I bet you don’t even know what that means. Not only was that a crucial language tool to master, but he taught me in such a straightforward way that I picked it up in about fifteen minutes. It was the quickest and best Spanish lesson anyone has ever given me.
It was a miracle—to master a whole grammatical tense in fifteen minutes! Again, there was a perfect example of teaching simply and to the point. Not only did he explain plainly, but he also let me practice until I saw the pattern for myself. Apart from that single Spanish lesson that one morning, I never had another companion sit down with me and teach me Spanish, at least not officially. For those next twenty-two months or so, I was self-taught. I scrutinized the dictionary until it fell apart, jotted down new words to practice throughout the day, asked for verbal clarification when needed, and listened but other than their emotional support, I taught myself Spanish.
After the mission, I ran into Elder Harvey again on BYU campus. He told me of a Polynesian club and encouraged me to join the New Zealand section, which I did. Elder Harvey was one of the group leaders as well as his sister who I then got to meet. It was such a positive experience and one that would not have happened had God not put Elder Harvey in my path in Mexico two years before. I was never one to put myself on a stage and perform and had I not met Elder Harvey and gotten to know him and to trust him, I doubt I ever would have. What an excellent new experience that was! To make friends, and to put myself out there and try new things in BYU’s Lu’au group.
I am happy to report that Elder Harvey ended up marrying another New Zealand section leader about a year later. What an awesome duo!
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