New Zealand Hamilton Mission — Maori missionary moments
- Elder Glen L. Rudd tells the following story that occurred during his mission to New Zealand in the 1930’s: “We pushed our bikes up a steep hill and rode down to Three Bridges, where we visited and ate with Brother Wi Clark (Karaka) and his family. Wi was a great Maori priesthood man. He shared with us the following story. Two years earlier, he had just finished preparing and planting a huge new orchard, full of very expensive fruit trees. He had also done major improvements on his home, which was adjacent to the orchard. The orchard and home were surrounded by a fence. Over the course of a few days, the area where they lived received almost endless rainfall. There was so much rain that there was a possibility that a dam holding back a reservoir near the town was going to break or burst. If such a thing happened, the flood waters would come right toward Wi’s property and new orchard. The rains continued, and one day as Wi happened to be outside, he heard the unmistakable noise of the dam bursting. He knew that in just a few minutes a huge wall of water would sweep over his orchard and his home. Wi went to the edge of the orchard, just outside the fence, and stood there as the water approached. He raised his right arm to the square and using the power of the God-given priesthood that he held, he literally commanded the raging water to separate and divide, and to go down either side of his property but not across it. He stood there and watched that very thing happen. He testified that not one drop of water went past the fence that surrounded his property, his orchard, and his home. My companion and I stood with Brother Wi Clark at the very spot where this event occurred, and saw the paths and tracks where the water divided and bypassed the Clark property. I can’t fully appreciate the faith this man had in his priesthood power and in himself to bring about such a miracle.”
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