2nd E-Mail Dated 9/10/12
Here are some more pictures. They're old but they are from someone else's camera.
E-Mail Dated 9/10/12
Kia Ora,
Sorry Mom that I haven't sent any pictures lately. We just haven't done anything exciting lately or that I had my camera for. But I attached some today. Dad, I'm not entirely sure what you mean but I'm guessing you are reffering to how I spell things with s's instead of z's. I don't think it will matter too much though because if it was that easy to break a habit of typing z's when I've done it for my whole life I don't think it will be hard to go back. Anyways, It sounds like you all have had a very busy week! How was Rexburg? Did you like it?
This week was a pretty mean week. Transfers were this last week but neither my companion or I went. We are staying in Gisborne for another transfer! I really like it down here because of the people and the scenery for sure, but it is hard at times. But hard was put into perspective to me by our Mission President when he came down this last weekend for Stake Conference. He made my definition of hard seem like child's play. When he came down the first night he came to our nightly planning and helped us out a bit and told us that he wanted to come to our companion study the next morning. It was quite a nerve racking experience having him at our flat, but we made it through. It was actually a really good learning experience for me. He told me some things that I could improve on. One of those things is being more bold. This week is going to be me applying it. Also this last week we had another missionary with us for a day because his companion was being shifted. It was pretty interesting having him with us because he's like 26 and is very bossy. It was a pretty mean week though. Hope this week is just the same. Hope you all enjoy your weeks. I love you all.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-mail Dated 9/3/12
Kia Ora,
Wow! It sounds like a lot of people are getting married! It's so crazy to hear about all of these people getting married so suddenly. I hope everything goes well as you go out to Idaho. This week wasn't all that great of a week. Down here in Gisborne, it's very hard to wok in this area because the missionaries in the past have ruined our relationship with the invesitgators because they were too pushy so we're just trying to find ways to get back on their good sides. We have been getting a basketball night organised for every Friday Night at 7. It was really fun this last friday because there was about 10 people playing the whole time but the teams were uneven in number and in skill. It was 3 on 7. The three were my companion and I and a member. It was funny because we still were keeping up with them and we were even smashing them at one point. It was a lot of fun though because everyone was just playing around to have fun not to be serious. We also were blessed to see one of our investigators at church for the 1st time and it sounds like she's going to start coming more often. It's cool because she's 16 but she's doing it for herself and to follow Jesus Christ not because of friends or anything. She has the desire but we're going to see how much soon. That's our week in a nutshell. Love you all.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 8/27/12
Kia Ora,
I hope everything went well back home this last week but here everything is going great. In answer to the questions that I've been asked. 1. Transfers is not this Thursday but the one after that. (To be honest, I don't think either my companion or I will be shifted, but you never know). 2. I will hit my year mark on Sept. 14. I've been told also that the 2nd year is faster. I hope not because the 1st went too quick! But anyways, this week was really cool because we got to travel up to Auckland for the Mission Conference. We were able to hear from Elder Craig Christensen and Elder Kevin Pearson. Elder Pearson is the 1st counsellor in the Area Presidency here as well as in the Seventy. It was so good! they gave some mean talks! The common theme seemed to be about becoming Disciples of Christ and not just acting. They were very bold in speaking so it made it hit home more. I am trying to apply what they said because I want to make a permanent change and not just a temporary one. They said that our Identity leads to our Belief/Values which leads to our Actions which makes our Reality. If we want to change our Reality then we need to understand our Identity. Of course all of us are Sons and Daughters of God and so we must embrace that and change to become like Him. I thought it was a mean conference. Nothing much happened this last week besides that. Oh I don't know if I told you this but our ward has 4 missionaries in it (Us and aother companionship). They had a baptism on Saturday of a family of 7 but only the 5 kids got baptised for now. The parents are getting baptised in December because they want to get married on Nov. 27th or something like that. It's been an exciting week! Love you all!
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 8/20/12
Kia Ora,
This week has been a really fun week. We had a lot going on out of the ordinary so it was a lot of fun. Last Monday for my B-Day P-Day we went to the top of Kaiti Hill (not the hill I wanted but it was still fun). We got some mean pictures and just had a lot of fun because it was also a bit of a hike. We also had our Zone Conference this last Thursday and since we're in Gisborne and the conference was in Hamilton, we had to leave the day before and stay the night in Hamilton so we could be there on time. It was a fun exerience because we got to stay at "The Mansion." It's the biggest flat in the mission and it was nice as! It had stainless steel appliances and lots of space. It's because it's part of a member's house. The sad thing about these trips is that we have to eat out a lot and so we have to save up a lot of our money to survive. We have another long trip this week to Auckland for our Mission Conference. Elder Christensen of the 70 is coming to speak to us. We also were able to get a fair bit of work done in our area even though we've been gone so long from our area. We have one investigator that is so keen! She is 16 and her name is S. She is Maori and she wants to be baptised and come to church. The only reason she hasn't come to church so far is because the first week she didn't want to go alone and her cousin wouldn't go with her. Also, this last Sunday she was at a Kapa Haka competition. Kapa Haka is a traditional Maori dance that is very big in New Zealand. They dress up and everything. The Haka is mainly just guys and Kapa Haka is with the girls. I believe that's how it works any ways. Apparently her school is ranked like #3 in the Nation and she says that they should've been 2nd. She's really cool though. Other than that not much happened this week, but hopefully I can share more next time.
Love you heaps!
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 8/13/12 (his birthday)
Kia Ora,
It's hard to believe that I've been alive for 20 years now! I can now say I'm not a teenager! It sounds like everyone has been having an adventure lately (except Dad, sorry Dad your days just don't sound fun. Haha Allguds though). Gram is busy with Grandpa and you all are just all over the place. Anyways, it's been an interesting week. Last P-Day was probably the funnest/meanest P-Day I've had on my mission. We went to a beach and went fishing. We didn't catch anything but we made a "fort" and a fire. In the picture, Elder Lamb (the red haired one) and I were the ones that made the fort out of sticks. It started off as a joke but became serious. It was pretty cool though. Later in the week though I got seriously ill. I couldn't go out for practically 2 days. I was vomitting and had a high fever. I couldn't walk straight. It was the worst I've felt in a very long time. Other than these two things there was nothing special that really happened this week. Oh, haha, I was asked to give a talk on this last Sunday and it was the same week that a General Authority was supposed to come and speak at the ward but something happened and I ended up not speaking and the GA wasn't even there. I was a bit nervous about my talk because the GA was going to be there. Oh well! Elder Rangi and I are still getting along well. We know how to work and have fun at the same time. It's been good though. Today we were planning to climb the mountain in one of the pictures called Little Nick's Head, but it's rainy today so it seems like we might be stuck playing Risk! How fun! Haha, not, but as long as I get to climb it before I leave, I'm fine.Love you all and thank you all for the birthday wishes! Tell the Kunz's and the Olson's thank you as well.
Love,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 8/6/12
Kia Ora,
Today is a beautiful day in Sun City. (Gisborne is also known as Sun City because it is the first place to see the sun in either the world or New Zealand. I can't remember which). The ironic part is that Gisborne has not seen sun until yesterday since I've been here. I spent a week and a half in the rain! It was not fun! But we were able to see miracles this last week. At the beginning of this week we were going to visit a family when my tire went flat. We had to turn around and start walking towards the flat. While we were walking back a couple guys pull up next to us in a car and asks us to come and visit the passenger. His name is D C. When we first talked to him, my companion recognised the name and was told by his last companion that he was a less-active member. We had set up an appointment for this last Thursday. The morning of the appointment we were joking around saying things like, "He's not going to be a member and when we get there he is going to say Elder's, I want to be baptised. I've already been to church a few times and I've got a few kids as well." When we had gone to the appointment he came and met us and told us that he wanted to be baptised and that he had a few kids and he was already giving up smoking, drugs, and drinking. It was a massive miracle. The Lord really does bring people to our paths! Miracles happen in the great New Zealand Auckland Mission! I love you all. It was very gutting when I heard that Abby died, but it's a stage of life. too bad we can't have our pets sealed to us in the temple! Haha Jokes! So does Ryan now own a dog? or was it just a random dog? or a dog that you're just looking after? Any ways talk to you next week on my Birthday! I'll be 20! Wish Zach a Happy Birthday for me if you can!
Love,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 7/30/12
Kia Ora,
This has been an interesting week. First, I forgot to tell you all that last Thursday was transfers! It turned out that I got shifted out. So last week I told you about a missionary who came from Gisborne. This week I'm serving in his ward. It was so weird but exciting. The travel was long but fun. We had our transfers meeting on Thursday which we show up to at about 10 and then it starts at 11. After the meeting we went to the Wendy's down the street for lunch before we embarked on our long journey to the South. The drive from Auckland to Gisborne usually takes about 7 or so hours. We left at 1-1:30 in the afternoon, but the trip took longer than expected because the trailer was slowing us down. We stopped in Whakatane for dinner with a member family that the Zone Leaders knew. After that we began again on our journey and when we were getting close to the gorge which means another 2 or so hours drive it was about 8:30 and so we didn't want to risk going through and not being back before 10:30 at the latest. We were told by our AP's to go back to Whakatane and stay with the missionaries there for the night. We got up early the next morning and began again at 6. We got to Gisborne at about 8:30 in the morning. It was a lot of fun experiences. There was so much scenery on the way too so I got a good amount of pictures. My new companion is Elder Rangi. He is Cook Island but was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. He is crack-up. We are bringing the miracles to Gisborne. (Gisborne is usually known as exile because most people spend ages here and there isn't usually a lot of success but we are going to change that). The last week has been a lot of fun. But it's sad to hear that Grandpa hurt himself again. I attached some pictures of the gorge and of the trip down.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 7/23/12
Kia Ora,
This week has been a not too good week. We were able to have a few good days but we also had some bad ones. We had a ward activity on Friday Night and so we took some investigators and had a lot of fun. The activity was Zumba and Karaoke. It was really funny so see some of the members up doing zumba and also our investigators. The members even had me sing a song so I sang Jason Mraz "I'm Yours." It probably wasn't the best decision but it was fun. I think that God punished me for sinning that night when I woke up half way through the night to throw up. It was not a good day on Saturday. I felt so sick and couldn't do anything. I couldn't even eat anything. We had a few trade-offs also through out the week. We went with the Zone Leaders on Wednesday afternoon for a lesson. We also had a trade-off in the evening with the ward to go out and invite everyone to our Ward conference yesterday. We then had a trade-off on Thursday with the MTC missionaries. We were with them for most of the day. I was with a missionary named Elder Villiamu who was from Wellington and my companion was with an Elder Veae who was from Gisbourne (the southern most part of our mission). It's funny though because they were both called to serve here. It's weird to think that we will see them again. Our ward conference yesterday was pretty good though. Our Bishop and Stake President got up and spoke about Family Responsibilities. It was rather enjoyable. Unfortunately everyone that we have had set for this entire month has fallen through for one reason or another. It's sad but I guess it's the Lord's will for us to suffer for a period of time. Hope everything is going well back home.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail 7/16/12
Kia Ora,
How is everyone doing? Sounds like it's been a busy week. It's been a busy week here as well. Haha, well, as busy as it can really get. We went on a couple trade-offs this week. We went with our Zone Leaders on Wednesday. It was good. We were able to really stretch ourselves. We have been working on listening with love. Love is so important. It's the single greatest commandment. Who would have guessed it would be so influential in bringing people into Jesus Christ's Church? As we listened with love we were able to understand their concerns and help them to overcome them and feel comfortable, even on the street. We also went on trade-off with our district leader on Saturday. It was productive trade-off. We were able to go and see heaps of people and we had a big miracle in the evening. The last person that we talked to on our way to trading back was a guy named T. We invited him to come to church the next day and he accepted. When we went by the next morning and we knocked on the door, he was just putting his shoes on and so he came to church! AT church we got to teach him quite a bit. We taught him the P.O.S., Resto, and the Gospel, and the Word of Wisdom. It was pretty big. We found out that he actually lived in a lot of different foster homes and so he used to go to our church with one of the families he lived with. We invited him to be baptised and he agreed. He is going to be baptised on the 28th of this month. We are so excited because he is very sincere. We also had a fireside last night which was really good. It was one of the missionary firesides for all of the missionaries in Auckland to bring their investigators. I got to see some old companions and some members from my last ward. It was really good. It was a pretty good week. Hopefully we can keep our sets and have a baptism this Saturday for A (M's son). Hope all is well back home though. Tell everyone I say hello.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 7/9/12
Kia Ora,
What all has changed? It sounds like heaps! This week has been another hard week. We have been helping our investigators but it's so hard to get the ward to help. We can only do so much in this work. I still stay happy and cheerful but it is hard when you do all you can and nothing seems to come of it. We did get to have some fun times this week though. We watched a movie called "Mountain of the Lord" with some of our recent converts. They loved it so much that they asked to get a copy and so we got it for them the next day. We love them so much. I am so happy for them because they are planning to go to the temple as soon as they can. There wasn't really any thing to report. Oh and I have found out that I am lactose intolerant. Dad- when you go are you still going to be able to email? I can't remember. Love you all. Praying for you. Hope everything is going well back home.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
Life here isn't crazy pretty much at all. The craziest it ever gets is when you have to plan like 3 different groups to meet throughout the week and sus it all out. (Sus is what we say when we want to say sort). Also, I did hear about the storm but I didn't hear really how bad it was. I just heard that it happened. We went into a member's home one time to give a blessing and it was on the news and I was like, "That's right next to my house!" I'm not actually sure where exactly it was but I knew it was in Virginia. I can't believe that Brandon's an Elder! He doesn't act old enough
E-Mail Dated 7/2/12
Hello Everyone,
This week has been a really good week. We were able to see heaps of miracles. We were able to set a total of 7 people for baptism in the month of July. It was so exciting to see the people accept the invitation. The only sad part is that they don't come to church so they can't qualify for the day that they are set for. We were able to work well with the members this last week and so we taught a lot more with the members and were able to have more visits with them. One of the biggest miracles this week was that S is back! He's the one who we had found and set for that same weekend we met him because he was baptised in 1975 but was never confirmed. So we set him for this next Saturday. It was a really good week for teaching but it almost seems like it doesn't lead to an end when they don't come to church. We do everything we can but they just never come. It's a sad thing but there's nothing that we can do about it. It's all in God's hands. I was sick this week end. It was no good. I just came down with a cold. I hate having to blow my nose constantly. There's not much to tell this week because nothing really happened, but I hope that you all had a good week. I love you and pray for you.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 6/25/12
Kia Ora,
It sounds like the race was fun Dad. I don't think I would have even attempted it. But good luck doing the COPE course now. This was a very productive week. We were able to have many miracles as we also had two trade-offs this week, and gave our ward a training on how to do missionary work basically. We went on trade-off on Wednesday evening with the Zone Leaders and we were able to learn so much and to make the most of every opportunity. I was left with the commitment to find specific fellowship for each of our investigators. So far I have found this to be a challenge with our ward. At times our ward is very unwilling to help us, but I feel the training we gave yesterday was very productive though. I feel they really felt the Spirit and even the spirit of missionary work. After the training we had our MCM and the members were providing us with heaps of part-member families that have people that are ready to be baptised. We are looking forward to saving souls weekly in July! I also went on trade-off with our District Leader this last Friday and we were able to see heaps of miracles. As we would talk with everyone we would be able to teach them at their door and be able to set them for baptism. It's now our job to make sure they come to church to experience the blessings of the Sacrament and feel the Spirit. We are excited for this week because we plan on going and seeing all these people that are ready to be taught and baptised in July. We also had a baptism on Saturday. S got baptised and he was so happy. It was cool because he said that when he was going into the water he felt like crying but he held it back. He got confirmed yesterday and received the Aaronic Priesthood. It was so cool to see. The only sad part that the only people there were the people who were participating in the program. It was maybe a total of 9 or 10 people including us. But other than that it was a great week. Hope everything is going well back home. Love you all.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 6/18/12
Kia Ora,
Happy Father's Day! (I think). Father's Day here isn't until September so I am just making a guess based on your emails. So as you all guessed transfers was this last week. Fortunately, I was not shifted. I'm still in the beautiful land of Tamaki, South Auckland. My companion, Elder Sorensen, however, was shifted to the next stake over (Manurewa). My new companion is named Elder Singh. He is from Fiji, close to the capital Suba. He is Indian, and he is hilarious. He is like an Indian, member version of Sean. I love him already. Oh and he's my junior companion. So I am now a senior companion! This week has been a great learning experience. Taking the lead in this area has been a very daunting task with a lot of worry, but we pulled through and even had a successful week. We were working hard to build people's testimony's in the Book of Mormon by reading with them and showing how it works with the Bible. It was really amazing to see how the people would really open up and seek to read more to know if it's true. We had this awesome lesson with a Filipino man named P who is Catholic but is looking for the truth in his heart. At the end of the lesson he said that he would pray about it when he had some time to ponder on it and wait for the right time. I learned from Elder Singh a great way to address the concern of not praying right then. He explained that there will never be a perfect time to ask and when we procrastinate our prayers then it shows Heavenly Father that we don't really want to know the answer. Also, our set, S P (he's related to our Bishop) came to church yesterday so now that he's been for a total of 3 times he can be baptised this weekend. We are so excited for him. He also came with us to the Come & See Fireside in Mangere. It was a massive one. So many people were there. We were standing about halfway in the gym because there was no room in any of the classrooms or hallways or on the stage or anywhere. The reason why it was so full was because the main speaker was Jonah Lomu. He is a famous as rugby player! He is a recent convert. He got baptised in March. It's so crazy! I can't imagine being the missionaries that taught and baptised him. It was an awesome fireside and it was a great week! I love you all and thank you Gram for the emails.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
Mum- I think I would like the money in my account better that way you don't have to send anything. I don't even know what I would want for my Birthday. And yes it is weird having my birthday in the winter. Also, could you ask Katelyn if she got my letter, I just don't want her thinking I didn't write. I think I'll probably write her again today. Thanks Mum. Love you.
E-Mail Dated 11/10/12
Kia Ora,
Man, it's so crazy that Brandon is graduating on Tuesday! He is free to use whatever I left in that Tupperware with Ryan. He would need to ask Ryan where it is though. Also I had my graduation party at the Goodfellow's I believe. Any ways, we had a great week this week in some aspects. We had a miracle where we had received a referral from our Mission Office and so we were trying to contact him all last weekend and we didn't get a hold of him until Wednesday this last week. His name is S and apparently he called the Mission Office to know how he could get baptised in the Mormon church. When we finally met him, he told us his story about how he used to live in West Valley, Utah and had been to see the temple and the Conference centre. He then got deported for a felony and was living in Mangere which is a little bit West of where I am now. When he was in Mangere he met with the Tongan missionaries and went to church with them a couple times but eventually said he's not ready. Later after he moved to our area he was in the city one day and just bought some smokes but when he stepped outside he saw our church family services building and so he threw the smokes away and went and asked how to get a hold of missionaries. We went and taught him and found out that he was already quitting smoking and drinking before being taught the Word of Wisdom. We then set him for the 16th of this month. It was a huge miracle. The only sad thing is that he ended up not coming to church for some reason and so he can't get baptised this weekend. Next weekend though for sure. We also went on trade-off this week with the missionaries that are in the MTC. I went with a missionary named Elder Tehei. He is from Tahiti (I always end up being with the Tahitians) and we had heaps of miracles. We had a few lessons on the street and had a few new investigators from it. After that trade-off we had another one with our zone leaders. I was with Elder Walker for the 3rd time in a row but this time we were in my area. It was only for a couple hours but we had some really amazing experiences. We taught a guy named A (we taught and set him before but he seems to always dodge our appointments and so he didn't get baptised). When we taught him that night we invited him to be baptised as he put his focus on the temple. He agreed to the 30th of this month but unfortunately he didn't come to church either. We are really having a hard time getting our investigators to church. But on the other hand we brought a random guy to church that we met 10 minutes before church. His name is T and I believe he is the uncle to one of our investigators. So that was our week. It was good but unfortunately we didn't get anyone else to church. Love you all.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 6/3/12
Kia Ora
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!!!! This is the first time I've been able to email on somebody's birthday. Today is actually the day we celebrate the Queen of England's birthday as well so it's public holiday. That means everyone is out of school and almost every shop is closed except the Chinese shops. It sounds like you've been having a good birthday weekend though. That's pretty cool about how Rockefeller preserved Williamsburg. I didn't know that he even owned it. So this week wasn't one of our best weeks. It wasn't terrible but it just seemed very unfruitful. We had heaps of lessons fall through this week which is a sad thing. We also had A tell us that she received an answer to her prayers. She said she felt good but she also talked to her mum and she talked her out of it. Luckily we had a member with us who we found out is actually a former Catholic and so he could feel exactly where she was coming from. He truly saved the day. So she's still willing to have us over because she considers us friends now and so she's happy to have us over. We even committed her to come to church but unfortunately her cousin was having his first communion so she had to go to that. It was quite depressing. We thought we would have a lot of people at church but then only two showed up. One of them was R who is still doing well. He is looking to change and so he is very willing to keep commitments. The other was F'a (the boy that didn't get confirmed last week or the week before). He got confirmed yesterday so it made us happy. It was so much work though because if we didn't go over there and help him to come to church then he probably wouldn't have come. Missionary work is so hard sometimes. I find myself wondering very often what more can I do? Love you all. Sorry it's not longer but I don't have much to say this week.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Haha, I'm not sure if I told you but our heater broke for a while and so Elder Sorensen and I have been freezing our butts off this week in the mornings. In New Zealand there is no such thing as central heating. We have only one small heater for our entire flat. Luckily we got a new one on Friday so it hasn't been nearly as bad but it's still pretty cold. One day during the week it was 8*C in our flat and we could see our breath! It was so cold!
E-Mail dated 5/27/12
Kia Ora,
So the first question I have is: What happened to the family tradition of camping every year on Memorial Day Weekend (Not that I knew it was Memorial Day Weekend cuz we don't have that here so I completely forgot about it.)? Well, anyway, this week was a really good week. It was a little bit un-organised but it was a lot better than weeks past. We had a huge miracle and were able to find a choice as investigator who was prepared by the Lord. We were just going through some of our lists that we have and there was a name on the "Men who haven't served a mission yet" list that we wanted to try and when we went by we were knocking on the door but no one answered but we heard someone in the garage and so we knocked on the garage door. He said that the person who we were looking for didn't live there but he said he would open the door for us. When we went in and talked with him he told us that his family members are members and he is not. He told us that he used to meet with missionaries back in 1975. He said he used to sneak out to meet with them and he even got baptised on a Saturday night. When he told his dad that he was going to church the next day, his dad told him that if he went to not bother coming back so he didn't get confirmed. We met him on Wednesday and set him for that Saturday. It was so cool because we taught him the Restoration and he just felt right then and there that it was true. The sad part is that the next day when we went by for our appointment, he wasn't there because his older brother unexpectedly got really sick and couldn't walk and so he had to take care of him. So he was not able to be baptised but we are looking forward to this weekend for him. Also, the boy we baptised the other week at the Stake Baptism didn't get confirmed this last week. They said they slept in. I was a little frustrated because we asked our Ward Mission Leader to go by but we think he just called the mom and talked to her instead of going by to make sure they were up. We did get to teach another person this week. Her name is A F. She is a single mother with 2 little girls. She is Catholic but she's been meeting with missionaries for a while. This last Monday we were able to get out of her, through inspired questions, that she basically knows its true but she's afraid of changing because of her family but we committed her to praying to know if changing is the right thing to do. We scheduled to come back today, but also to follow up and see what her answer was on this last Thursday. We went by on Thursday and she seemed very smiley and happy and she told us that she was going to make us wait until Monday for the answer. We were so gutted but at the same time excited and happy. We know she got her answer and I don't think she would make us wait until today just to tell us not to come back. So June is looking very good right now. Also, our set R is amazing. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and also the Law of Chastity came up so we taught him that as well. He is taking it well. He is so sincere about a change in his life. We took him some clothes to borrow for church until we can get him some he can keep. He was so happy. He really enjoyed church as well. It's just been a really good week. I say it was a bit un-organised because we missed out on a lesson on Saturday because we didn't have proper communication, but all is well. Hope everything is still going well back home. Love you all.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-mail Dated 5/20/12
Kia Ora,
It was good to hear from yous last week. I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well. Dad, given your families' reputation of hurting themselves you might want to ask if you can do something easier like the crafts at girls' camp. Haha jokes, it sounds like fun. Mom, what were the questions asked in Sunday School? Just curious, who knows maybe I know the answer. Grandma, thank you so much for writing last week. I only had time last week to check to see what time I should call so I didn't have time to respond. I really do appreciate the stories. Well this week was great because we had a baptism! I attached a picture of the Stake Baptism that we had this weekend. That was everyone that was baptized in the Stake. Only 2 of the 10 wards in the Stake participated. Our ward and our Zone Leaders ward. It was so good. It was one of the best baptisms I've been to. It was really cool to see 5 people get baptized in one service. So, the boy, who got baptized by my companion, his name is F I F F. He is a 13 year old boy whose record was lost but we were more than happy to re-baptize him. It was a lot easier than having them look for the necessary information. It's so good though because they are a returning less-active family. We also had a miracle this week. One day we were at the bus stop trying to get shelter from the wind to make a call and after we hung up we stepped outside and talked to the first guy that walked past us. His name is David (in English, his Maori name is R). When we talked to him he was going to the bus stop to catch a bus to the hospital. He just found out that his mom was in the hospital. We shouted (spotted) him some change so he could pay for the bus, but we also taught him about repentance and baptism. He was so excited when we talked to him about that because he was looking to change his life around for his wife and kids that he was separated from. We invited him to be baptized on the 9th of June. He agreed and we set up another lesson. We went later in the week and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We committed him to come to church and also read and pray. We picked him up early on Sunday so we could give him a tour of the chapel. We showed him around and when we got to the baptismal font he asked if it mattered if he was already baptized. We taught him the restoration right then and there. It was a very spiritual lesson because we had a random kid in there playing the piano at the same time in the background which was actually pretty good. He is so keen to be baptized and have a new start on life. We are so excited for him. We just pray that no challenges come up that will pull him away. Oh and this week was actually Stake Conference. It was a special broadcast from SLC specifically for NZ. It ended up being Elder David A. Bednar and some other speakers from the First Quorum of the Seventy. It was way good. It's things like that that make me think that I'm supposed to be in NZ at this time in my life because I felt like it was specifically for me. We also had Zone Conference which was amazing because we got to receive trainings from Elder Hamula from the Quorum of the Seventy. The biggest thing I learned is that teaching is a pattern.
1. Ask Questions
2. Observe (Watch/Listen)
3. Discern the needs
4. Act/Invite
We were told that in the near future all teaching in the church is going to become like this and it won't be possible to read the lesson during Sacrament and then go and teach Sunday School. That just blew my mind. I just love the gospel. It is the medicine to everyone's illnesses and ailments. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I love you all and keep working hard.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
No E-mail this week. Talked on phone
He is doing well and is loving his mission. He says "Hi" to everyone. He has not picked up much of an accent yet, but is working on it. Could hear some every now and then. He has learned some phrases in several island languages down there. He has about 7 investigators right now. His area is small which is good since it's a biking area. He says it is mostly flat here too, which he likes while on the bike. Has not eaten any more strange foods, but is enjoying the food.
E-Mail Dated 5/7/12
Kia Ora,
It's so good to hear from all of yous. It's so crazy all the things that are changing. Congratulations, Brandon, on everything that you are getting done! It will bless you so much in the near future. I hope you keep working hard!
So an update for this week. This week was transfers and I am happy to report that Elder Sorensen and I are still together for another 6 weeks at least. We are so excited because we get along so well and we are seeing a lot of success. This last week we were feeling like we weren't getting hardly any new investigators and so on Saturday we decided to go tract a neighbourhood that we hadn't tracted very much. It was awesome because the morning we talked to maybe 20 of those people and only a few said they weren't interested and the others we got heaps of potential investigators and about 7 return appointments for this week. We are so excited to go teach these people. Oh yeah so funny story, I got hit by a car this week. Well I'd say I got hit by a car. Some people might say that I hit a car. So we were just going to meet the sister missionaries in our district because they needed to use our phone and so we hurrying over. As we were going we were riding along the foot path and coming up to this driveway where there is a fence that is impossible to see around so right when I got to the end of it this car pulls out of the driveway and I didn't have enough time to stop cuz it was less than half a meter away. So I ran straight into it. I wouldn't say it was really either of our faults cuz there was nothing either of us could have done to avoid it. I'm sure that a pedestrian would even run into it. It was funny though because there was a girl and a guy in the car. The guy was driving and when I hit it, the girl started to scream, and the guy seemed unphased. Then they didn't even get out to see if I or the car was ok. They just resumed backing up. I was fine though. I didn't get even a scratch. It was just a funny experience. So that's the story of the week.
As for the phone call. I will be calling on Monday here which is Sunday there. So please give me an email next week and tell me exactly what time you want me to call.
Now for the spiritual thought, I would like to share a scripture that can apply to us all but especially for youth. It is the story of the 2000 Stripling Warriors.The key to understanding how the Stripling Warriors were so successful is found in Alma 56:47.
The verse reads: "Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them."
There are 2 keys to success found in this verse. 1) When our parents teach us in righteousness we can always turn back to the things they taught us for support. 2) When we do not doubt and put our trust in God, He will deliver us from our trials. I think the one thing that I have expressed most in my letters home is that we need to put our trust in God. This is so important. Don't worry about what is going to come ahead of you because God always provides if we put our trust in Him. Well I love yous all. Hope yous are doing well. And I would still like the Harpers address.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-Mail Dated 4/29/12
Kia Ora,
It's so good to hear from you. That's awesome that Brandon finished his Eagle Project! Keep working hard, Brandon! It pays out in the end. Also, tell Rich and Ashley I said hello, and I need their address so I can write them. Send me pictures if you can. I love to see pictures. So just to tell you about my week: It was a great week. We have been working really hard to find more people to teach and we have found a few more people to teach that are solid as. They are asking the most choice questions. We had a dinner with the Tuala family this week. Brother Tuala's dad is not a member. It was funny though because they arranged it so that it would just be us and him. We went over and had a massive feed (It was delicious, but not new). We then found out that Sister Tuala (the Primary President and return missionary from Guam) was home as well. So we got to have a really good lesson with him after. He has been coming to church these last few weeks and is really curious. We had a commitment from our lesson to study the rest of the chapter in Gospel Principles, that we didn't finish, on the Life of Jesus Christ. We were reading through it with Brother Tuala Sr. and when we got to the part about Jesus calling his Apostles he started to ask some really good questions. He even asked us why we say that we are the only true church? So we were able to teach him a bit of the Restoration. It was a very Spirit led lesson. We also had a lesson with another Part-Member family, the Tufuga's, where the wife is a member but the husband is not. We again taught a very Spirit led lesson and invited him to be baptized and he said that he would prepare for it. He only said that after we pulled all of his concerns about baptism out through inspired questions. He asked us if you need to be baptized to be a member. We are planning to teach him tonight about the Gospel and how baptism is essential not just for the purpose of becoming a member but also when it's done through God's authority it actually cleanses us of all of our sins. It was a really good week. Unfortunately it's coming to the end of the transfer and so transfers is on Thursday. (Transfers happen every 6 weeks). I hope that neither of us goes because we get along so well and we have fun while working our hardest, but nevertheless God's will be done not mine. I will let you know what happens with transfers next week.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. the pictures of some members and recent converts that were killing some pigs to have a hangi.
E-Mail Dated 4/22/12
Kia Orana, (Cook Island for Hello)
Peha koe? (Cook Island for how are you). You would then respond Me Taki. (Cook Island for good). Man serving in Tamaki is so much fun! The people here are mainly islanders. So we mainly talk to people from the Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga. I love picking up bits of each language. I can now say Hello how are you, and good in Cook Island, Samoan, and Tongan. Most of the people here though are Cook Island. It's been a really good week. We worked really hard this week and we were also able to save 3 souls this week. The P family got baptised on Saturday and loved it. So Elder Sorensen baptised A, I baptized C, and Brother Tongamana (a member in the ward and also M's brother-in-law) baptised M. It was such a spiritual experience. There were 5 musical items but they weren't all intentional. One of the groups was supposed to do one song but they got announced twice so they did another song which happened to be the same song that our cottage evening group was going to do. We did it any ways and it was a very good baptismal service. We also have B who was planning to be baptised this last weekend but his mom is very anti missionaries and so she won't meet with us and talk to us. But she is friends with a member so they've agreed for him to be baptised on the 19th of May. We're just happy that he can still be baptised. We are also teaching a few other people that we have recently learned live outside of our boundaries. We didn't know this because they are friends of a returning less active and so the lessons are always at her house. We are having a family home evening with them tonight. It's going to be fun because we have heaps of people coming over. We are going to teach L's (the LA returning) friends until they are comfortable with missionaries and then refer them on. I hate it when that happens because they are so choice! Overall, it has been a great week! Oh and Ryan, did you know an Elder Walker on your mission? My zone leader said that his brother served in Birmingham as well at about the same time as you. Dad- the reason I write short emails sometimes is because I have limited time and money to pay for emails because we have to go to an internet cafe. Brandon- Keep working hard on that Eagle Project. It is definitely worth it!
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-mail dated 4/15/12
Another Great Week in the Land of Tamaki!
Kia Ora,
So this week has been great! We were able to see a lot of miracles. We had a baptism on Friday. His name is P and he received the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood on Sunday. It was so cool to see. I just love it. We also got to have our other investigators that are set interviewed for baptism and they all passed! We are looking forward to their baptism this Saturday at 6. We also had a huge miracle. Each week we have a cottage evening where some families get together and have a big family home evening. This week was at a member's house who just lives right outside our area but happened to be in another stake as well. So because she lived outside the area we had to go to the Assistants to the President to get permission to go. They let us go and we had a great time and we set one of our investigators for this Saturday as well so we now have 4 people being baptized this weekend. The one we set is named B. He is probably 9 or 10. He asked me to baptize him so I'm way excited. We are praying that everything will work out. Also on Sunday we had a Come and See Fireside. These firesides are where recent converts speak and share their experiences in coming into the Church. We also got to hear from Gary Wilkinson. He plays for the New Zealand Breakers. Its a basketball team. He gave a really good talk. Then I got to see 3 of my recent converts. R and A and L were there. It was so great to see them again. I love them all so much and I wish I could see them more often. Since I last saw them, R and A had their baby and named him T. A got baptised and I asked her how she felt and she said it was totally different. I'm so happy for them and am excited to see them go to the temple and be sealed as a family for eternity in a years time. It was such a great week! Hope all is well back home. Grandpa, if you read this, Stop hurting yourself! That goes for you too Gram! I love you all heaps. Talk to you later.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
Kia Ora,
So this week has been great! We were able to see a lot of miracles. We had a baptism on Friday. His name is P and he received the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood on Sunday. It was so cool to see. I just love it. We also got to have our other investigators that are set interviewed for baptism and they all passed! We are looking forward to their baptism this Saturday at 6. We also had a huge miracle. Each week we have a cottage evening where some families get together and have a big family home evening. This week was at a member's house who just lives right outside our area but happened to be in another stake as well. So because she lived outside the area we had to go to the Assistants to the President to get permission to go. They let us go and we had a great time and we set one of our investigators for this Saturday as well so we now have 4 people being baptized this weekend. The one we set is named B. He is probably 9 or 10. He asked me to baptize him so I'm way excited. We are praying that everything will work out. Also on Sunday we had a Come and See Fireside. These firesides are where recent converts speak and share their experiences in coming into the Church. We also got to hear from Gary Wilkinson. He plays for the New Zealand Breakers. Its a basketball team. He gave a really good talk. Then I got to see 3 of my recent converts. R and A and L were there. It was so great to see them again. I love them all so much and I wish I could see them more often. Since I last saw them, R and A had their baby and named him T. A got baptised and I asked her how she felt and she said it was totally different. I'm so happy for them and am excited to see them go to the temple and be sealed as a family for eternity in a years time. It was such a great week! Hope all is well back home. Grandpa, if you read this, Stop hurting yourself! That goes for you too Gram! I love you all heaps. Talk to you later.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-mail dated 4/8/12
Kia Ora,
So this week has been a great week especially because we were able to see General Conference. Conference this time was sooo good! I loved Saturday Morning. I think that one was my favorite. This week has been a bit of a slow week though. We weren't able to teach many lessons this week but we did get to have a fun experience. In the middle of our week we were told out of the blue that we were going on trade off the next day with the missionaries at the MTC. The missionary who I went with was originally from Tonga but had been living in Provo for a couple years. He was pretty cool. His name is Elder Tautu'a. He seemed a bit shy and was a bit hesitant to talk to people on the street at first but when we went out he got used to it. We had a lot of fun and a lot of miracles. We had a few walk in lessons that day. It was so much fun. We even got to give a blessing. I don't have much to report on thought but it has been a great week.
My spiritual insight for this week is found in Alma 12. I really like verse 11 because before I never knew that the chains of Hell actually had a meaning. Verse 11 reads, " And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell." So not knowing God and His mysteries is what being bound with the chains of hell really means. There are so many people out there that don't know God and thus are bound by those chains. It is so important for us as members of the Restored Gospel to help them break those chains. As was shared at General Conference so many times, "Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us." I loved what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said about our Heavenly Father. He said, "The thing God loves most about being God is the thrill of being merciful." Let us help God to be merciful by helping him bring people into the church. What greater act of mercy is there than to help someone access the blessings of the Atonement? This is God's work and no power or force on Earth can stop the work from going forward. Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
I know this is Jesus Christ's church on the earth today. I know Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior and Redeemer. Don't ever forget that!
I love you all and hope you have a great week this week.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Dad- I'm getting your emails and stop hurting yourself!
Mom- I got the package and I love it. I haven't had Mac & Cheese in ages! It was so good as well as the Sweet and Salty Bars and the PEZ. I've been sharing equally with my companion and he is super grateful as well. We have also been giving a bit to our investigators A and C (The twin 8 year old girls). They are so funny. I love their family.
So this week has been a great week especially because we were able to see General Conference. Conference this time was sooo good! I loved Saturday Morning. I think that one was my favorite. This week has been a bit of a slow week though. We weren't able to teach many lessons this week but we did get to have a fun experience. In the middle of our week we were told out of the blue that we were going on trade off the next day with the missionaries at the MTC. The missionary who I went with was originally from Tonga but had been living in Provo for a couple years. He was pretty cool. His name is Elder Tautu'a. He seemed a bit shy and was a bit hesitant to talk to people on the street at first but when we went out he got used to it. We had a lot of fun and a lot of miracles. We had a few walk in lessons that day. It was so much fun. We even got to give a blessing. I don't have much to report on thought but it has been a great week.
My spiritual insight for this week is found in Alma 12. I really like verse 11 because before I never knew that the chains of Hell actually had a meaning. Verse 11 reads, " And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell." So not knowing God and His mysteries is what being bound with the chains of hell really means. There are so many people out there that don't know God and thus are bound by those chains. It is so important for us as members of the Restored Gospel to help them break those chains. As was shared at General Conference so many times, "Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us." I loved what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said about our Heavenly Father. He said, "The thing God loves most about being God is the thrill of being merciful." Let us help God to be merciful by helping him bring people into the church. What greater act of mercy is there than to help someone access the blessings of the Atonement? This is God's work and no power or force on Earth can stop the work from going forward. Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
I know this is Jesus Christ's church on the earth today. I know Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior and Redeemer. Don't ever forget that!
I love you all and hope you have a great week this week.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Dad- I'm getting your emails and stop hurting yourself!
Mom- I got the package and I love it. I haven't had Mac & Cheese in ages! It was so good as well as the Sweet and Salty Bars and the PEZ. I've been sharing equally with my companion and he is super grateful as well. We have also been giving a bit to our investigators A and C (The twin 8 year old girls). They are so funny. I love their family.
E-mail dated 4/1/12
Kia Ora,
This week has been a great week. We had the opportunity to go to the temple. It was an amazing experience. I love the New Zealand Temple! We also got to see our investigators at church. We have 4 people set for this month of April and we plan to have more soon. The 4 people set are named P A, Ma' P and her twin daughters named A and C. They all came to church this Sunday and loved it. We have been teaching Pange this last week mostly the commandments so that he will be ready for his baptism on the 13th and he is so willing to keep them. We have also been going to a lot of member's homes and visiting with them to have them help us in missionary work. We went to one house and we got dog! That's what one of the pictures is of! It was soo good. It has the texture of pork but the taste of beef. I loved it! Now all I have left to try is horse. It's very rare to get horse and dog because I'm pretty sure it's illegal here to kill them. Elder Sorensen and I are having a lot of fun together and we work very well together as well. A little correction that I accidentally typed last time is: Elder Sorensen is from Logan not West Valley. I accidentally put that last time because another missionary is from there. It's been a really fun week. Also, Elder Sorensen saw the shirts that my companion and I made before and he wants to make one because he had already designed a shirt and was planning to go and get it done somewhere but then I showed him how easy it was to make his own. This is all I can remember that is interesting about my week. All is going well!
Hope everything is going well and keep putting your trust in the Lord because he will strengthen and help you as you turn to him. I don't have a spiritual thought this week but just know that I love each and every one of you and thank you for all of your support. May God bless you in all that you are doing.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S.
1) We watch General Conference this coming weekend and we watch it at our chapel. I'm way excited for it!
2) It does rain often but not like heaps. It only rains like 1 or 2 times each week.
3) I love my companion and this area. It is so amazing and fun. The people are awesome. I hope I stay here for a while.
Not sure what this last picture is suppose to be.
This week has been a great week. We had the opportunity to go to the temple. It was an amazing experience. I love the New Zealand Temple! We also got to see our investigators at church. We have 4 people set for this month of April and we plan to have more soon. The 4 people set are named P A, Ma' P and her twin daughters named A and C. They all came to church this Sunday and loved it. We have been teaching Pange this last week mostly the commandments so that he will be ready for his baptism on the 13th and he is so willing to keep them. We have also been going to a lot of member's homes and visiting with them to have them help us in missionary work. We went to one house and we got dog! That's what one of the pictures is of! It was soo good. It has the texture of pork but the taste of beef. I loved it! Now all I have left to try is horse. It's very rare to get horse and dog because I'm pretty sure it's illegal here to kill them. Elder Sorensen and I are having a lot of fun together and we work very well together as well. A little correction that I accidentally typed last time is: Elder Sorensen is from Logan not West Valley. I accidentally put that last time because another missionary is from there. It's been a really fun week. Also, Elder Sorensen saw the shirts that my companion and I made before and he wants to make one because he had already designed a shirt and was planning to go and get it done somewhere but then I showed him how easy it was to make his own. This is all I can remember that is interesting about my week. All is going well!
Hope everything is going well and keep putting your trust in the Lord because he will strengthen and help you as you turn to him. I don't have a spiritual thought this week but just know that I love each and every one of you and thank you for all of your support. May God bless you in all that you are doing.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S.
1) We watch General Conference this coming weekend and we watch it at our chapel. I'm way excited for it!
2) It does rain often but not like heaps. It only rains like 1 or 2 times each week.
3) I love my companion and this area. It is so amazing and fun. The people are awesome. I hope I stay here for a while.
Not sure what this last picture is suppose to be.
E-mail dated 3/25/12
Kia Ora,
So this week has been a really fun week. So the news about transfers is: I was shifted down to South Auckland! I am serving in Tamaki Stake in Tangaroa Ward and my companion is Elder Sorensen (The one in the pictures). The week has been so busy and crazy!. The weekend that I got into my new area I got to participate in a Baptismal service! I got to give a talk at the Baptism of M and D Te. This family is awesome. They are a less-active returning family and the 2 youngest kids got baptized. After church on Sunday we went over to their house and had lunch. I got to try some smoked fish and this thing called Puke (Poo-Kay) its banana mixed with coconut cream. It was interesting because the texture is a little weird but it wasn't bad. New Zealand is amazing! We also have 4 other people set for baptism for the weeks coming up. This lady M and her twin daughters A and C are planning on getting baptized this week but Elder Sorensen and I don't know if she'll be ready for this weekend but maybe the next. We will work with her to see if we can prepare her for this weekend but we'll see. Then we also have someone named P set for the 13 which is a Friday because he is busy on the Saturday. I actually haven't met him yet. From what I've been told the only thing thats keeping him back from baptism is his partner. He is living with his partner and she won't marry him until he takes care of his anger problems. He is getting professional help and the gospel so it should happen soon. His family is also against having us over and they kicked the missionaries out last time and so now we have to do lessons at the chapel. It's an amazing ward though. I love it already. The area is really flat and very small so not much biking compared to my last area. Also the ward is really good at fellowshipping. There is this thing each week called Cottage Evening and it basically is FHE but with a few families. The ward is really big for New Zealand. We meet at the stake center and the ward is probably the same size as our ward back home if not bigger. I love it! My companion Elder Sorensen is the Man! He is also the District Leader which means we get a cell phone again. (Oh how I missed it from my first area). Cell phones make missionary work so much easier but we also have a lot more responsibility. We have been working so hard these last few days. Elder Sorensen is from West Valley Utah and he did a year of Uni at Snow College before he came out and he is majoring in music. This next month of April we have a goal of saving 8 souls together. It will be hard but I'm excited because I know the Lord can do all things and I know He will provide if we are worthy and willing.
My thought that I would like to share with you this week comes from Alma 37:37.
"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings..."
We are not able to do everything on our own. The Lord knows everything and can help us in all that we do. Even the little things we should bring to the Lord because it is a way that we show our humility. By taking all of our questions to Him it is acknowledging Him as the one person that can do all things. He loves to hear from us and get to know us. Understanding that God is our Loving Heavenly Father is the most essential thing to know because if we know this then we know all the many things that He has blessed us with and we know that we can take our problems to Him and he will help us.
I just want you all to know that I love you and that Heavenly Father loves you. Keep working hard in all that your doing and keep the commandments and Heavenly Father will bless you.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
This looks like a blue ladybug. He didn't say.
So this week has been a really fun week. So the news about transfers is: I was shifted down to South Auckland! I am serving in Tamaki Stake in Tangaroa Ward and my companion is Elder Sorensen (The one in the pictures). The week has been so busy and crazy!. The weekend that I got into my new area I got to participate in a Baptismal service! I got to give a talk at the Baptism of M and D Te. This family is awesome. They are a less-active returning family and the 2 youngest kids got baptized. After church on Sunday we went over to their house and had lunch. I got to try some smoked fish and this thing called Puke (Poo-Kay) its banana mixed with coconut cream. It was interesting because the texture is a little weird but it wasn't bad. New Zealand is amazing! We also have 4 other people set for baptism for the weeks coming up. This lady M and her twin daughters A and C are planning on getting baptized this week but Elder Sorensen and I don't know if she'll be ready for this weekend but maybe the next. We will work with her to see if we can prepare her for this weekend but we'll see. Then we also have someone named P set for the 13 which is a Friday because he is busy on the Saturday. I actually haven't met him yet. From what I've been told the only thing thats keeping him back from baptism is his partner. He is living with his partner and she won't marry him until he takes care of his anger problems. He is getting professional help and the gospel so it should happen soon. His family is also against having us over and they kicked the missionaries out last time and so now we have to do lessons at the chapel. It's an amazing ward though. I love it already. The area is really flat and very small so not much biking compared to my last area. Also the ward is really good at fellowshipping. There is this thing each week called Cottage Evening and it basically is FHE but with a few families. The ward is really big for New Zealand. We meet at the stake center and the ward is probably the same size as our ward back home if not bigger. I love it! My companion Elder Sorensen is the Man! He is also the District Leader which means we get a cell phone again. (Oh how I missed it from my first area). Cell phones make missionary work so much easier but we also have a lot more responsibility. We have been working so hard these last few days. Elder Sorensen is from West Valley Utah and he did a year of Uni at Snow College before he came out and he is majoring in music. This next month of April we have a goal of saving 8 souls together. It will be hard but I'm excited because I know the Lord can do all things and I know He will provide if we are worthy and willing.
My thought that I would like to share with you this week comes from Alma 37:37.
"Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings..."
We are not able to do everything on our own. The Lord knows everything and can help us in all that we do. Even the little things we should bring to the Lord because it is a way that we show our humility. By taking all of our questions to Him it is acknowledging Him as the one person that can do all things. He loves to hear from us and get to know us. Understanding that God is our Loving Heavenly Father is the most essential thing to know because if we know this then we know all the many things that He has blessed us with and we know that we can take our problems to Him and he will help us.
I just want you all to know that I love you and that Heavenly Father loves you. Keep working hard in all that your doing and keep the commandments and Heavenly Father will bless you.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
This looks like a blue ladybug. He didn't say.
E-mail dated 3/18/12
Kia Ora,
This week was a week of miracles. We found out this week that my companion Elder Evans is training this next transfer. So I got to stay with another missionary while he went to his training meeting with another missionary. But all of this means that I'm being transfered this Thursday. Where I'm going and who my companion will be is still a mystery. We don't find out until the night before. This week we've been working hard to get our investigator M ready for baptism on the 23rd (this Friday). She is so difficult because we always schedule appointments but when we go over she almost always cancels on us because of her health. She has diabetes and she doesn't really take care of herself. We try to teach her a little bit each time. We are praying that we can prepare her for her baptism. This week we also received a huge miracle from the Lord. We received a referral from a member of a family whose Mom and Daughter have been going to church for the last 4 weeks. The mom is a less active member and the daughter isn't a member and so we were able to meet with her and her family yesterday evening with our Zone Leaders. Her name is N and she is now set for the 24th of this week which is Saturday! We are so excited and are praying that we will be able to prepare her as well. We are going to have a Family Home Evening with her family and another family in the ward tonight. I'm excited! We even had 2 investigators come to church yesterday. Their names are A and V. They are from Zimbabwe and are super keen. We taught them the Restoration and now the Plan of Salvation and they really want to know if what we share is true. It's been a huge miracle with them. Hopefully we can resolve A's concern about being baptized already in her church. We tried explaining it before with a bowl of water, pepper, and dishwashing liquid. I don't know if she really caught on that our church is the ONLY church with the power of God!
This week Elder Evans and I actually even got asked to give surprise talks in one of our wards this Sunday. The topic was missionary work so it wasn't too hard to make one up on the spot. It was basically a massive friendshare though. (A friendshare meaning a visit with members to share a spiritual thought and ask for referalls). Overall, that's my week. At least all that sticks out in my mind. Oh yeah, I ripped my blue suit pants this week because they came out of my sock when I was riding my bike and they got caught in the chain. I was so upset for about half a second then I had to keep biking to my dinner appointment. Hopefully they can be fixed.
Now, I just want to share something I learned this week from the Book of Mormon in our 90 day reading of it. I was reading in 2 Nephi 33:1. Now I don't have my scriptures on me this week so I can't quote it but Nephi shares with us that he has weaknesses. I feel that people tend to make Nephi out to be this perfect man. It's not quite like that. Nephi was not very strong in writing as he was in speaking. Now this is a mean thing to think about because. The converting power of his writings are so strong that anyone who reads and prays will know the truth of the Book of Mormon. And so if his speaking was stronger than his writing then imagine what it would have been like to be in his time and to hear his words. The other aspect of this verse that I like to consider is that Nephi still had weaknesses just like all of us and he put his trust in God and was strengthened. I know that as we put our trust in God our weaknesses can become strong through the power of God. When I first started this transfer I did not work out really at all. I found it so hard just to wake up and work our immediately. As I prayed for the desire and the strength to work out every morning, God blessed me and I have worked out every day (except for Sunday) since.
Hope everything is well and I love you all and want to hear from you.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
This week was a week of miracles. We found out this week that my companion Elder Evans is training this next transfer. So I got to stay with another missionary while he went to his training meeting with another missionary. But all of this means that I'm being transfered this Thursday. Where I'm going and who my companion will be is still a mystery. We don't find out until the night before. This week we've been working hard to get our investigator M ready for baptism on the 23rd (this Friday). She is so difficult because we always schedule appointments but when we go over she almost always cancels on us because of her health. She has diabetes and she doesn't really take care of herself. We try to teach her a little bit each time. We are praying that we can prepare her for her baptism. This week we also received a huge miracle from the Lord. We received a referral from a member of a family whose Mom and Daughter have been going to church for the last 4 weeks. The mom is a less active member and the daughter isn't a member and so we were able to meet with her and her family yesterday evening with our Zone Leaders. Her name is N and she is now set for the 24th of this week which is Saturday! We are so excited and are praying that we will be able to prepare her as well. We are going to have a Family Home Evening with her family and another family in the ward tonight. I'm excited! We even had 2 investigators come to church yesterday. Their names are A and V. They are from Zimbabwe and are super keen. We taught them the Restoration and now the Plan of Salvation and they really want to know if what we share is true. It's been a huge miracle with them. Hopefully we can resolve A's concern about being baptized already in her church. We tried explaining it before with a bowl of water, pepper, and dishwashing liquid. I don't know if she really caught on that our church is the ONLY church with the power of God!
This week Elder Evans and I actually even got asked to give surprise talks in one of our wards this Sunday. The topic was missionary work so it wasn't too hard to make one up on the spot. It was basically a massive friendshare though. (A friendshare meaning a visit with members to share a spiritual thought and ask for referalls). Overall, that's my week. At least all that sticks out in my mind. Oh yeah, I ripped my blue suit pants this week because they came out of my sock when I was riding my bike and they got caught in the chain. I was so upset for about half a second then I had to keep biking to my dinner appointment. Hopefully they can be fixed.
Now, I just want to share something I learned this week from the Book of Mormon in our 90 day reading of it. I was reading in 2 Nephi 33:1. Now I don't have my scriptures on me this week so I can't quote it but Nephi shares with us that he has weaknesses. I feel that people tend to make Nephi out to be this perfect man. It's not quite like that. Nephi was not very strong in writing as he was in speaking. Now this is a mean thing to think about because. The converting power of his writings are so strong that anyone who reads and prays will know the truth of the Book of Mormon. And so if his speaking was stronger than his writing then imagine what it would have been like to be in his time and to hear his words. The other aspect of this verse that I like to consider is that Nephi still had weaknesses just like all of us and he put his trust in God and was strengthened. I know that as we put our trust in God our weaknesses can become strong through the power of God. When I first started this transfer I did not work out really at all. I found it so hard just to wake up and work our immediately. As I prayed for the desire and the strength to work out every morning, God blessed me and I have worked out every day (except for Sunday) since.
Hope everything is well and I love you all and want to hear from you.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
E-mail dated 3/11/12
Kia Ora,
This week has been an unusual week for sure. We had a few interesting lessons. On Monday my companion and I had just a great day and so we went out and talked to everyone. We ran into this one guy who was an Islamic person that said that he was looking for the "best apple in the market." We thought sweet because we have "the best apple," so we set up an appointment for the next day. When we went by he let us in and gave us some biscuits (cookies) and lollies (candy) and talked for ages. This guy wouldn't let us talk and he was just talking about how Jesus Christ isn't God and a whole lot of stuff that didn't make sense and so we told him that we had to go because we did. As we were leaving he gave us some "literature" to read that "disproves" the Bible. When we went home that night we looked at it and half of the stuff didn't make sense and the other half agreed with what we said. He even gave us a pamphlet of frequently asked questions of Islam. I didn't know there were frequently asked questions. We also as a district have made a goal of praying with 30 people each week. This is pretty hard but it is definitely enjoyable. We talked to one lady who when we asked if we could say a prayer she actually asked if she could pray for us and we said sure and so she asks if she can put her hands on our shoulders and we just said alright. It was a very weird experience but this week has definitely helped me to see from the perspective of the investigator. Being asked to pray is weird!
Even though we had some interesting experiences we also got to have some very spiritual experiences. This last week we had the privilege of going to a city wide conference and so we were able to hear from Brother and Sister Beck (General Young Men's President), Brother and Sister Osguthorpe (General Sunday School President), and Elder and Sister Watson (2nd counselor in the area presidency, member of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy, and Secretary to the First Presidency). It was an amazing opportunity to be taught by the Spirit. I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I learned so much in one meeting. I think that's partly because life is progressing and everything always gets harder and better.
One of the many things that I took away from this conference was something I learned from a scripture. Alma 26:27 is a great scripture if you are ever going through a hard time. Now, in this scripture Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are reflecting back on their missions and Ammon is speaking here and they are thinking back to a time where they were facing a lot of persecution and hardship. The scripture reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
Now it isn't very comforting to be told to go back into the hardship and the trials and deal with it. But it was explained to me that if you go back far enough in the root of the word comfort, it means strengthened and so if you read it again replacing the word comforted with strengthened it reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord strengthened us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This means that the Lord strengthened them as they went to bear their burdens and made it so that they could overcome them. He also blessed them with success so if you are ever having a hard time just remember that the Lord will strengthen you as you bear your burdens with patience and will give you success.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Mom-
Getting a package ready for you, anything you want in there?
1) Mac and Cheese and no chocolate please. I've given up chocolate but I'm more than happy to receive Sweet and Salty Bars.
What are you enjoying most about your mission?
2) I am loving getting to know all these different types of people and hearing their experiences.
Have you done any sight seeing on your p-day?
3) I have not done any sight seeing. Most P-days are spent emailing, shopping, and volleyball/basketball.
Gram-
I did get your package and thank you so much! I loved it. I never even tried the Maple and Brown Sugar one before, and it was delicious.
This week has been an unusual week for sure. We had a few interesting lessons. On Monday my companion and I had just a great day and so we went out and talked to everyone. We ran into this one guy who was an Islamic person that said that he was looking for the "best apple in the market." We thought sweet because we have "the best apple," so we set up an appointment for the next day. When we went by he let us in and gave us some biscuits (cookies) and lollies (candy) and talked for ages. This guy wouldn't let us talk and he was just talking about how Jesus Christ isn't God and a whole lot of stuff that didn't make sense and so we told him that we had to go because we did. As we were leaving he gave us some "literature" to read that "disproves" the Bible. When we went home that night we looked at it and half of the stuff didn't make sense and the other half agreed with what we said. He even gave us a pamphlet of frequently asked questions of Islam. I didn't know there were frequently asked questions. We also as a district have made a goal of praying with 30 people each week. This is pretty hard but it is definitely enjoyable. We talked to one lady who when we asked if we could say a prayer she actually asked if she could pray for us and we said sure and so she asks if she can put her hands on our shoulders and we just said alright. It was a very weird experience but this week has definitely helped me to see from the perspective of the investigator. Being asked to pray is weird!
Even though we had some interesting experiences we also got to have some very spiritual experiences. This last week we had the privilege of going to a city wide conference and so we were able to hear from Brother and Sister Beck (General Young Men's President), Brother and Sister Osguthorpe (General Sunday School President), and Elder and Sister Watson (2nd counselor in the area presidency, member of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy, and Secretary to the First Presidency). It was an amazing opportunity to be taught by the Spirit. I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I learned so much in one meeting. I think that's partly because life is progressing and everything always gets harder and better.
One of the many things that I took away from this conference was something I learned from a scripture. Alma 26:27 is a great scripture if you are ever going through a hard time. Now, in this scripture Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are reflecting back on their missions and Ammon is speaking here and they are thinking back to a time where they were facing a lot of persecution and hardship. The scripture reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
Now it isn't very comforting to be told to go back into the hardship and the trials and deal with it. But it was explained to me that if you go back far enough in the root of the word comfort, it means strengthened and so if you read it again replacing the word comforted with strengthened it reads: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord strengthened us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."
This means that the Lord strengthened them as they went to bear their burdens and made it so that they could overcome them. He also blessed them with success so if you are ever having a hard time just remember that the Lord will strengthen you as you bear your burdens with patience and will give you success.
Ofa Atu,
Elder Lee
P.S. Mom-
Getting a package ready for you, anything you want in there?
1) Mac and Cheese and no chocolate please. I've given up chocolate but I'm more than happy to receive Sweet and Salty Bars.
What are you enjoying most about your mission?
2) I am loving getting to know all these different types of people and hearing their experiences.
Have you done any sight seeing on your p-day?
3) I have not done any sight seeing. Most P-days are spent emailing, shopping, and volleyball/basketball.
Gram-
I did get your package and thank you so much! I loved it. I never even tried the Maple and Brown Sugar one before, and it was delicious.
E-mail dated 3/4/12
Kia Ora,
This last week has been a great week. We have been working hard to stretch ourselves and we have been able to increase all of our stats this last week. Elder Evans and I have been so blessed this last week but the only hard thing is that after we do everything we can to get people to keep commitments they still have their agency and so we had planned to see13 people at sacrament including investigators and less actives. Unfortunately only 1 expected one showed up and 1 unexpected 1. It's pretty hard at times because you really want them to want the change for themselves but they don't always see the blessings that come from living the gospel.
This week one of the things that really helped me to stay positive is a scripture found in 2 Nephi 2:8 then verse 6. Verse 8 says, "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known..." What things? Verse 6 tells us, "Wherefore, redemtion cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth." The joy that comes from sharing the gospel is so great and the desires of my heart are that every worthy man who is able and willing to serve a mission do because the blessings are far greater than not serving. I wish there was a way to express to my friends back home that there is nothing that I would rather be doing right now in my life, and I pray that each one of them goes out and experiences this happiness for themselves.
If there is ever a time that you don't feel as though you can or you don't feel as though you are important, remember YOU ARE! Scott Simons said this about the individual worth, "Remember that the greatest price ever paid for someone was paid for you!" If we can just understand this little concept then everything else just falls into place, and we will understand how much God loves each and every one of us.
Hope you are all doing well. Ofa Atu!
Elder Lee
P.S. I told my companion to send more pictures home. He wants to know how you got in contact with his parents. I told him it was through missionary moms but that was a complete guess. Oh and here are some of my pictures. 2 of them are my district because Elder Leong (the one in the front) is being emergency shifted down to Hamilton. The other two are pictures of cool scenery in the city because I'm in a threesome for today with Elder Matthews (Back right) who is a chinese missionary that serves in the city.
This last week has been a great week. We have been working hard to stretch ourselves and we have been able to increase all of our stats this last week. Elder Evans and I have been so blessed this last week but the only hard thing is that after we do everything we can to get people to keep commitments they still have their agency and so we had planned to see13 people at sacrament including investigators and less actives. Unfortunately only 1 expected one showed up and 1 unexpected 1. It's pretty hard at times because you really want them to want the change for themselves but they don't always see the blessings that come from living the gospel.
This week one of the things that really helped me to stay positive is a scripture found in 2 Nephi 2:8 then verse 6. Verse 8 says, "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known..." What things? Verse 6 tells us, "Wherefore, redemtion cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth." The joy that comes from sharing the gospel is so great and the desires of my heart are that every worthy man who is able and willing to serve a mission do because the blessings are far greater than not serving. I wish there was a way to express to my friends back home that there is nothing that I would rather be doing right now in my life, and I pray that each one of them goes out and experiences this happiness for themselves.
If there is ever a time that you don't feel as though you can or you don't feel as though you are important, remember YOU ARE! Scott Simons said this about the individual worth, "Remember that the greatest price ever paid for someone was paid for you!" If we can just understand this little concept then everything else just falls into place, and we will understand how much God loves each and every one of us.
Hope you are all doing well. Ofa Atu!
Elder Lee
P.S. I told my companion to send more pictures home. He wants to know how you got in contact with his parents. I told him it was through missionary moms but that was a complete guess. Oh and here are some of my pictures. 2 of them are my district because Elder Leong (the one in the front) is being emergency shifted down to Hamilton. The other two are pictures of cool scenery in the city because I'm in a threesome for today with Elder Matthews (Back right) who is a chinese missionary that serves in the city.
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