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