Going to Challenge You...Cuz I Love You

Kia Ora Katoa.

Or in other words Hello People!

Haha. Yeah, I am pretty pumped to be in this new mission... Some missionaries are being real girls about it though... IN all fairness though I was kinda a girl when I first got to New Zealand. Yup, President Lekias is doing a goodbye tour all this week. I will say my last goodbye this week on Friday... Sniffle sniffle. I am going to miss that man to pieces. Mom, that letter you sent me, a little more than half of those points are pretty true! Some though I have not seen as much, like being called a Yank I have only gotten 2 or 3 times, but I think that can depend on where you are serving. Oh and yes, it is not the worst thing to have a bishop say hell or damn over the pulpit. Sounds like you’re having a good effective summer vacation. Especially Collin, way to stay busy!!! You will be able to pay for your mission in no time. That is something this stake is STRICT about. You absolutely have to be able to pay for half your mission before you go. So good luck with that... How much do you have saved anyway? Personal question I know, but just want to make sure you’re doing good. 

Dad HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you heaps! I read your talk. I loved it. That sounds like it will be the talk of the year! Oh and I laughed pretty hard about your comment about Grandpa and “Jeepers.” It's funny because it is true. J Also yeah, I remember that Ava story. That's a good one. That's always good to explain what you’re doing wrong so that you can help others do something right. When Dallin H Oaks came to speak to us he referred to it as a "Dark Example." He said when we are in the dark it is a lot easier to see the light. So I always get a kick out of dark examples now.

Well well well, what is new with me? Crazy news! This week I got rejoined with my MTC companion Elder Wachob!!! We only got to spend 4 hours with him at night time, but yeah he and Elder Alder are the assistants for the Hamilton mission so they came to do a trade off with me and Elder Lamb. That was Awesome!!! That same day I did half a trade off with the only new missionary in the Zone; Elder Ipson. He is straight from Utah. He even lives a block away from the temple. I love the boy to pieces. He just finished his 3rd month in the mission and is still pretty fresh, and in this mission we have to talk to heaps of people on the street and stuff like that. He is working on doing that... I warned him that I was going to challenge him that day and help him do things he didn't want to do, but the whole reason I was doing it was cuz I loved him and want him to be happy serving his mission. SO we started off trying to talk to a few. It was tough. I pulled him aside to a member’s house and gave him a quick blessing. Then by the end of the day we decided to try going smaller so I just told him to CONFIDENTLY go up to people and just say in an audible voice “HI!” or “HOW ARE YOU?!” I promised I would not leave him hanging and I would do the rest. 

Elder Lamb and I have got a lot on our hands right now with our zone, but I think we had one of the most effective weeks of my mission teaching 40 lessons, finding 14 new investigators and building the ward a lot higher so I was pretty stoked about that. We also got to do a split last night with the members and I went with Ryan Seymour. He is 19 and ready to go on his mission and has been for awhile. He just needs the money to go. Anyway, I took him to a few lessons and they were a ways out so I got to talk to him for a good half hour about my mission, the ups and the downs and really how the downs have even, in the long run, been ups. It was cool being able to talk to him... I think he appreciated it too and helped motivate him to work a little harder to start earning as much as he can for his own mission. 

Sorry thoughts are short today.  Love you heaps family!

Elder Ward