Prayer

Kia Ora Everyone

Seems like just yesterday i was emailing crazy how the weeks just fly by!

This week well it was a little rough sometimes there are weeks where there is just nobody home.  We had the opportunity to go to a Tangi this week though that was really cool I hadn't been to one for a whole transfer so it was about time we were invited to one.  And we got to see a little performance of the Haka which was awesome cause who doesn't love that!

Anyways we really didnt have to many visits this week but the few we had were incredible, we had made a lesson plans for all our visits and each time the spirit took us some other way and they turned our way better than they would have, we had a visit with one of the less active members and we were going to talk about the oath and covenant of the priesthood, after talking to him for a little bit the spirit had us start talking about confidence and what not and we were just jumping from scripture to scripture in The Book of Mormon to help him, at one point in the lesson he stopped us and looked at me and said "how are you finding all these scriptures" and I said honestly i have no idea this all by the spirit.  it was a really cool experience for me personally to see how the spirit can work through me.  We were then talking to the bishop on sunday and he told us that in comparing his visit with this member last sunday to this sunday the difference was like night and day, he is so much more sure of everything this week its incredible.  That makes us as missionaries feel really good knowing that we are making a difference in the peoples lives that we teach.

Like I said really not to much happening this week, we were supposed to have a baptism this saturday but it had to be postponed because of some things.  But its all good because the lord know best and his timing is better than ours!

I want to end this email by bearing my testimony on prayer, I know that prayer works I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that he does answer our prayers. I know this Gospel is true it is absolutely 100 percent true and i can say that very confidently.  Thomas S. Monson is Gods prophet on the earth!

I love you all thanks for all of the love and support, and for all the prayers thank you all so much!  Have a wonderful week!

Those of you starting school this week hope you all have a good first week!

Dax and his companion, Elder Brunson

Dax and Elder Rios

Finally, some REAL fish and chips for this boy.

Raining Outside

Kia Ora Everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful week, this first week of transfers was a little crazy but nonetheless we hit our goals that we wanted to reach this week and it was awesome!

To start off we had emails with President Rudd on thursday and those were awesome I love President Rudd! Him and Sister Rudd actually came down to Wairoa on wednesday to pay us a little surprise visit so we went back to our flat to see them and when we were talking to them they told us they left us a gift on our porch, so after they left we look on our porch and there is a pringles can! And then we look inside and there was nothing in it!!!! hahaha that is classic President Rudd.

But because of interviews we were a little behind on some of the goals we had set this week so yesterday we still had heaps of things we needed to do so after church we took lunch and then went to work we were out tracting in the rain from about 3:30 to 5:00 and it was miserable nobody was home(or they knew the mormons were knocking...) we had planned to just knock one street and ended up doing the entire block!  

There were a few times while we were knocking doors that i was thinking to myself what am I doing I'm wet and I'm cold i should be inside instead of outside.  Of course that would be the logical thing to do its raining stay in side.  But on a mission we are not here to do the logical thing we are out to do what the Lord wants us to do! 

I can promise you all that sometimes it may be "raining outside" and it will be hard to go outside and we may get wet(in some cases very wet) and we may get cold but as we do what Heavenly Father wants us to do we will be warm and dry no matter what the conditions "outside" may be. 

Once again I want to share my testimony with everyone who is reading this from the group email or on the blog.  I know this church is true.  I know that Jesus is the Christ and that he lives today.  I am so grateful for the opportunity that i have to be a missionary and to preach this gospel to the people of New Zealand, I am also grateful for the trials that Heavenly Father places in my life because they make me stronger!

I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week, thank you for all the prayers, they really do give me added strength each day!

A little NZ snow

Wairoa sunset

Trials

Kia Ora Everyone

Well the big news of the week i am now training a new missionary down in Wairoa! his name is Elder Brunson and he is from Washington!  

I really dont have to much time this week so sorry this is going to be really short but we didnt get to visit our family of five this week because they were sick and they had some other things come up so pray that we can meet with them this week!

We had a really fun time driving up to transfers it takes about three days out of our schedule to get up to Hamilton but we made it there and back safely and we still had a really good week!

Sorry the events of this week are so short but my message for you all this week is about trials!

I know we all do not look forward to the trials that we will experience in our lives and i know alot of times it is hard to believe that anything good can come from trials.  But I testify that good things do come and that when the end comes we will look back and realize that trial made us grow that it changed!  And when we trust in God and do his will our trials will be made light because God will be right there with us helping us to bear the weight which has been placed upon our shoulders!  I know this to be true I know the Gospel is true!  I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Saviour and Redeemer! I know it.

Last P-day with Elder Stephens