Sunday

Sunday morning started off  being a little cooler than usual particularly as we were down on the beach at St Helier's while it was still overcast and there was a breeze from off the sea. Zoe getting ready Beach Run Togged Out The reason that we were there was to watch Zoe start her City Nippers course. The aim of the course is to give children of her age a grounding in surf and sea safety. The children gathered in a gazebo to meet the life guards. They were give a bag,  t-shirt and hat. We watched the introductions, the beach run and the first lesson from the life guards. Rips seem to be the main danger on the beach in this area. Ian came down with Emily and they played on the beach. After about an hour we borrowed the car and set off to church. We got the timing a little wrong. We were late, but made welcome. The church is in a converted car showroom and a large part is still multi-storey car park.They began work on the building in 2010. The auditorium was set out with cinema style seats and has three large screens. The congregation at Mount Wellington already number around 1000.  The pastors, Peter and Bev Mortlock had founded the church on North Shore with 20 people in 1982. They now have a campus the size of a shopping mall, with a school and many social facilities in Brown's Bay. This church has around 8000 members. After the meeting we were invited for coffee and tea in the cafeteria. There were big solid tables with comfortable leather upholstered chairs around. As in all NZ places coffee was ordered and a table marker given and the coffee and tea delivered by serving staff. We returned home to find that Zoe had gone off with a friend who had done City Nippers and Emily had her friend home. Emily and Tomy Train I spent some time with Emily building Tomy train tracks.