E-Mail dated 12/10/12

Kia Ora, Well, it's been another great week in Whangarei! So you all wanted more information on the area so here it goes. We cover two units. ONe is Whangarei 2nd ward and the other is Te Horo branch which is out in a little town called Pipiwai. Whangarei is part of what they call the Northland and is very hilly. I'm grateful to be in a car for that reason. There is a lot more to do here in Whangarei for P-days than there was in Gisborne because it is much bigger. Last P-day we went to Abbey Caves and that was heaps of fun. We took a few pictures but I can't get them to you yet because my hard drive isn't working on these computers for some reason. It was nice and cool down in the caves which is a contrast to outside because it is just like Virginia here except a little bit cooler. It's been a lot of fun in this area because we are teaching so many good people. We've made a goal as a companionship to invite someone to be baptized everyday. Since I've been here we've only missed one day. We had 3 people set with a date for this month but two of them have fallen through because they didn't come to church. One of them, named Pucki, is a 9 year old boy whose parents are less active and are a bit lazy to come to church. The other is named Avin and he is in his twenty's and knows the Book of Mormon is true. He is a good guy but loves to talk. We still have one person set. That is Nancy! She is awesome! She's given up her smoking and is doing so well. She knows just about everything and is just a really nice lady. She's already practically a member. She even signs up to feed us every month. She's getting baptized this Friday at 7:30 PM and we are so excited. We are also teaching a few other people that are really good as well. It was funny this last weekend we were teaching these two sisters that are in their late 20's and one of their sons. Khaviarn (the son) and Katarina (the Mom) committed to coming to church but the other sister said she wasn't going to. We organized a ride and everything for them and then on Sunday when we were making all of our last efforts to get people to church we got a phone call from the ride and they said that Katarina wasn't coming. We also found out that the other sister was. We later asked her what changed her mind and she said she didn't know. She just did. I know that is the power of the Spirit to change the hearts of men to their carnal state to their spiritual state. We also had a mean miracle this last week. We were trying to contact a potential investigator named Makayla and we knocked on her door but it was her sister that answered. Neither my companion or I had ever met her before and so we talked with her and ended up teaching her about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration.She then taught us it back! She had apparently just moved up from Whakatane which is near Gisborne and she had been going to church with her friend down there, but no one had actually told her about the Book of Mormon. She had heard of it but didn't know anything about it. She was so excited to hear that it meant that God's church was on the earth again. We were just so amazed by how prepared she was. It's just been an awesome week. What tops it off is that my companion, Elder Johnson and I get on so well. We have so much fun while working. Even though he's been out for about 3 months, he's the man! He is way better than I was when I was a out for 3 months. I'm not sure if I told you but he's from Adelaide Australia and is into martial arts. He's a pretty stocky fella. He's hilarious. So being here in Christmas isn't all that weird anymore. It's pretty nice. Getting to go to bbq's at christmas time is quite nice. I love being in New Zealand. People still have Christmas trees here with little snowflake decorations but I don't much notice Snowman decorations. So I'll try and look out for it. Love you all heaps, Elder Lee