For my miracle it would have to be working with one of our most
faithful, investigators. When we first started teaching him he was a
bit shy and timid. Didn't say to much, but I do certainly remember the
spirit that we felt as we knelt down and he prayed after the
Restoration lesson that my companion and I taught. It was strong, and
everyone in the room felt it. Something that I will never forget.
Ever since then, our investigator was faithful with keeping his
commitments to pray, and read the scriptures everyday. He did and you
could see within him something changing. It warmed my heart of the
experiences that he would have, and how he felt as he would pray and
keep the commitments that we gave him. In particular the Word of
Wisdom was challenge for him. Not being able to attend Church has also
been a challenge for him as well, making it difficult for him to gain
the spiritual recharge that he needs to over come the challenges that
he has had to face. He struggled for the longest time but focused on
reading from the scriptures, and praying faithfully. he came to church
when he could. Our YSA representative mentioned to us that in an YSA
activity he bore his testimony about his experience with the Restored
gospel and how it has blessed his life. It stunned everyone when he
mentioned that he was simply an investigator. "It was so simple and
yet so powerful" it was described to me.
Our investigator really let the spirit in his life work and the Lord
blessed him so much, because of his simple desire to follow the
example of the Savior. He failed a few times, we kept up lifting him
and encouraging him to keep trying. He kept improving and changing. I
can only imagine how hard it must be to break a lifetime habit that
has been used to make someone simply feel normal and happy. Last
Sunday (21-Sept-14) our faithful investigators was able to come to
church. Something that he is still working on, as work is very tedious
and demanding. Having not seen him for while, he told us that he had
not smoked for 1 whole week, and he thanked me for helping him change
his life. I simply said "It is not me it is our Father in Heaven". Our
investigator thanking me for the gospel in his life really touched my
heart, and I felt like I had really fulfilled my purpose as a
missionary in bringing him closer to his Savior, and becoming more
worthy to one day make an eternal covenant with his Father in Heaven.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Spaghetti....
Teaching wise things have been a bit of a struggle. We have lost contact with Caroline since our last awesome lesson. Not to sure what happened. We have knocked nearly everyday, and we know she is home and busy, however no one comes to the door. We are suspecting it is the Family. Not sure we will have to find out for sure. Howard we got to talk with him as well he said that he would be coming to church for sure this week, he even promised! But he didn't come..... so that was a bit disappointing. Pretty sure that something came up, but Howard is still doing alright he is struggling with the Word of Wisdom but he is making improvements.Still a long way to go, because in order to get baptized he is going to need to get married as well. And his partner doesn't seem to excited about coming back to the gospel as well. I think a lot of comes down to his work schedule as he is very busy, and gets little sleep. Often times has to rely on smoking to keep him awake. So we will get there but it may be a long path. This week I would have to say is a bit tough. Didn't get a whole lot of chances to teach. I send another e-mail with my "Miracle moment" They have us send one in for a book that they make at the end of the year for all the missionaries. So this is what I sent in about Faa. He is doing really good and it has been a privilege to work with him for sure. He came to church last Sunday which was great. Now the only hurdle that we have to jump is getting Sundays of work. Then he should be able to get baptized as long as the Word of Wisdom is in order which so far he is really doing great! That was certainly the highlight of my week.
So for what happened with the experience similar to Dad's. Well I was on trade off one time with another Elder.This was the day before transfers last about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We where biking when all the sudden my poor 1/2year worn and torn bike decided to freak out on me. The chain slipped behind the gear sprockets in the rear and got stuck. This has happened before and I have fixed it. I had recently installed a breakable chain-link as well because my chain kept braking at one of the links that had gone bad. So I was going to take apart the chain and then slide it out and back into position with my trusty Leather man. When I took apart the breakable chain link one half was flung in the street because of the chain tension gears! I heard it bounce in the street... My companion only saw the direction that it flew. I looked for it in the street and couldn't find it. It probably was not 5 min when 3 YSA aged girls pulled up in a car and asked if we needed help. I explained what I was looking for and they parked and came and helped us look for it. Within less 2 min on of them found it and I was able to put the bike back together. Turns out they where members, and one of them was an RM as well. They watched me put it back together to make sure that we where all good. They saw that my hands where black and they ran and grabbed a bottle of water to rinse them of with. I thought we where in trouble and that we where going to be walking to our next appointment with a LA Lady, but within 5 min help was sent. within another 2 min the part was found, and we where back on the road. Elder Utia my District Leader was amazed at what happened so quickly and easily. Certainly an answer to a heartful prayer. I was certainly amazed as well. Clearly he was watching.
Elder Fell and I are not use to each other at all. He really liked his last area a lot and is certainly missing it. I have been doing my best to show him around the area, and continue to teach the investigators that we have. We don't really get along mainly do to obedience. He isn't as gun hoe as me. I will usually set the alarm 10min early and get up then at about 6:20 to make sure I get up on time and get a jump start on shaving and brushing taking care of all that daily stuff before I go exercise. My companion doesn't really like that, and doesn't like getting up on time either. This bugs me a bit. All of my companions in the past have had no issues with that so I have never had issues. I have talked a bit about it with him. But its not really a big deal to him. Anyways I have tried to show love and ask if there is anything I can do to help out, but haven't really gotten anywhere. He is improving, he is using his planner and he hasn't really used it much before. We do have our laughs though, he does teach well. So all I can really do is set the example and show love and encourage him.
Anyways things are good, and as for the spaghetti on toast question... I think i have been served 1 time. I don't think it is to popular among the Islanders. So I am not to sure. Maybe in other areas that I will serve in the future. I haven't heard that about that the Moari language doesn't have curse words either.... Haven't been around them to much though in the Central area of Auckland.
Hopefully the car gets worked out, that must have been real scary! Weird to.....
So glad Eric is ok, that must have been really scary!
Take care love you all and thanks for the e-mails,
Love, Elder Ward
So for what happened with the experience similar to Dad's. Well I was on trade off one time with another Elder.This was the day before transfers last about 1 1/2 weeks ago. We where biking when all the sudden my poor 1/2year worn and torn bike decided to freak out on me. The chain slipped behind the gear sprockets in the rear and got stuck. This has happened before and I have fixed it. I had recently installed a breakable chain-link as well because my chain kept braking at one of the links that had gone bad. So I was going to take apart the chain and then slide it out and back into position with my trusty Leather man. When I took apart the breakable chain link one half was flung in the street because of the chain tension gears! I heard it bounce in the street... My companion only saw the direction that it flew. I looked for it in the street and couldn't find it. It probably was not 5 min when 3 YSA aged girls pulled up in a car and asked if we needed help. I explained what I was looking for and they parked and came and helped us look for it. Within less 2 min on of them found it and I was able to put the bike back together. Turns out they where members, and one of them was an RM as well. They watched me put it back together to make sure that we where all good. They saw that my hands where black and they ran and grabbed a bottle of water to rinse them of with. I thought we where in trouble and that we where going to be walking to our next appointment with a LA Lady, but within 5 min help was sent. within another 2 min the part was found, and we where back on the road. Elder Utia my District Leader was amazed at what happened so quickly and easily. Certainly an answer to a heartful prayer. I was certainly amazed as well. Clearly he was watching.
Elder Fell and I are not use to each other at all. He really liked his last area a lot and is certainly missing it. I have been doing my best to show him around the area, and continue to teach the investigators that we have. We don't really get along mainly do to obedience. He isn't as gun hoe as me. I will usually set the alarm 10min early and get up then at about 6:20 to make sure I get up on time and get a jump start on shaving and brushing taking care of all that daily stuff before I go exercise. My companion doesn't really like that, and doesn't like getting up on time either. This bugs me a bit. All of my companions in the past have had no issues with that so I have never had issues. I have talked a bit about it with him. But its not really a big deal to him. Anyways I have tried to show love and ask if there is anything I can do to help out, but haven't really gotten anywhere. He is improving, he is using his planner and he hasn't really used it much before. We do have our laughs though, he does teach well. So all I can really do is set the example and show love and encourage him.
Anyways things are good, and as for the spaghetti on toast question... I think i have been served 1 time. I don't think it is to popular among the Islanders. So I am not to sure. Maybe in other areas that I will serve in the future. I haven't heard that about that the Moari language doesn't have curse words either.... Haven't been around them to much though in the Central area of Auckland.
Hopefully the car gets worked out, that must have been real scary! Weird to.....
So glad Eric is ok, that must have been really scary!
Take care love you all and thanks for the e-mails,
Love, Elder Ward
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Progressing Still Miracles as Well...
This week has been crazy. We had transfers and Elder Rogers
unfortunately had to go. It was great to have him as a companion
because he was just as motivated and hard working as me. He supported
me in my personal goals to become better and I did as well. I can't
say that we liked each other all that much. We both did things that
just annoyed the stuffing out of each other, but we had some really
great moments on the mission that I will cherish most certainly.
My new Companion is Elder Fell. He is an Aussie, and he has been out
in the mission just a transfer( 6 weeks) more than me. So I am showing
him around the area doing my best to introduce him to all the
investigators and Ward members that we have. It's different.. Elder
Fell and I are gonna need some getting use to. I was with Elder Rogers
for 4 1/2 months so ya you do find your comfort zone after a while.
Well I have a new District and Zone Leaders now because our ward that
we serve in is now part of a different Stake. So I can say now that I
have served in 2 different Zones! and only 2 areas, haha. But that is
all good, some really great things are happening.
We saw Howard last week, and he has been working hard to get in line
with the word of Wisdom, it has been a challenge. After all you are
asking them to change life time habits. But he has been trying for
sure. Last week at the lesson we taught him more specifically getting
a witness that the Book of Mormon was true. Because we know he wants
to quit for Health Reasons, and as well as financial reasons(If you
thought they where expensive in the States, you should see how much
they are here, like $20 a pack), but we want Howard to quit also
because he knows God is out there and he loves him. Reading and
praying about the BoM is one of the best ways. So after a whole week
of practically hearing nothing form him(He is always losing his phone)
We saw him last night. He was happy to see us, he even introduced
himself to Elder Fell which says something! But we chatted for a bit
to find out that he had relapsed quite hard, we didn't condemn him or
tear him down, we told him his Father in Heaven still loved him and
wanted him to keep trying. He said he wanted to be honest with us
which we appreciated because it makes it so much easier down the road.
Anyways, I guess you could say we re committed him to it and to keep
trying. We did ask him about the BoM and if he has prayed about it.
The answer he gave was amazing. He said "Ya I did, and I felt peace
inside, the only way I can describe is like rough water becoming calm,
and I just felt peace full inside". That really humbled me, he then
went on to describe that he felt as if Joseph Smith was giving us more
to apply to our day and learn from, he gave us more than the Bible. I
was amazed that he came to this conclusion, because we haven't really
even taught him that! He also mentioned how it has applied to his
life. He talked about how it says that we should not rummer against
our fathers in relation to Laman and Lemuel, and how he thought of it
one time when he was murmuring against his own Father. I though it was
great, because he is getting a testimony of how the scriptures apply
to our lives. We are going to be teaching him this evening. Probably
the biggest hold up is the partner. She is Less Active and she isn't
very motivated to do anything at all. Hopefully she comes because we
want her to get involved of course. Tonight we are going to teaching
bit about the temples, as well as raising our children in
righteousness. It should be good, we have taught Howard just about
everything, we are now just filling in the cracks, and giving him a
more full picture of what we are teaching towards.
Caroline has been doing well. We had a lesson with her at a members
home this week and we also had Katrina there (a really strong recent
convert), this was the day Elder Fell got transferred into the area,
and we taught more around the gospel of Christ, we talked a bit about
baptism. Eventually during the lesson Caroline mentioned that she
wanted to be baptized, and that she simply wanted to understand more
about how whether "Mormon" is for her. Thats where Katrina butted in
and bore a beautiful testimony about how she felt and how she came to
know it was true and was for her. The main reason being because it
brought her closer to Savior. We are excited, we have been able to se
her and how she has been doing. But we do need her to come to church.
In fact we need all of our investigators to come to church! Faa,
Howard, and Caroline. That has been an issue. But we know that once
she does, things will begin to click a lot better, and will straighten
there testimony.
Faa is doing good, we just need him to come to church. We should be
seeing him this week, we will be finding out how things have been
going for him and work as we did fast that he could get Sundays of or
find a new job. but church is what all of our investigators need right
now! We have been working with them for a while now, especially Faa,
sometimes I feel like they will never get there! Just got to have
faith, and keep working, and serving. That's all that we can do.
I had a miracle similar to Dads this week I don't have much more time
to type though so I will right about it next week for sure it was
really cool, and it was obvious that it simply was the hand of God in
what happened, similar to what happened with Dad. Next week for sure.
No pics, I am getting the camera memory fixed because of the viruses
finally. Next week for sure!
Love you all take care,
Love, Elder Ward
unfortunately had to go. It was great to have him as a companion
because he was just as motivated and hard working as me. He supported
me in my personal goals to become better and I did as well. I can't
say that we liked each other all that much. We both did things that
just annoyed the stuffing out of each other, but we had some really
great moments on the mission that I will cherish most certainly.
My new Companion is Elder Fell. He is an Aussie, and he has been out
in the mission just a transfer( 6 weeks) more than me. So I am showing
him around the area doing my best to introduce him to all the
investigators and Ward members that we have. It's different.. Elder
Fell and I are gonna need some getting use to. I was with Elder Rogers
for 4 1/2 months so ya you do find your comfort zone after a while.
Well I have a new District and Zone Leaders now because our ward that
we serve in is now part of a different Stake. So I can say now that I
have served in 2 different Zones! and only 2 areas, haha. But that is
all good, some really great things are happening.
We saw Howard last week, and he has been working hard to get in line
with the word of Wisdom, it has been a challenge. After all you are
asking them to change life time habits. But he has been trying for
sure. Last week at the lesson we taught him more specifically getting
a witness that the Book of Mormon was true. Because we know he wants
to quit for Health Reasons, and as well as financial reasons(If you
thought they where expensive in the States, you should see how much
they are here, like $20 a pack), but we want Howard to quit also
because he knows God is out there and he loves him. Reading and
praying about the BoM is one of the best ways. So after a whole week
of practically hearing nothing form him(He is always losing his phone)
We saw him last night. He was happy to see us, he even introduced
himself to Elder Fell which says something! But we chatted for a bit
to find out that he had relapsed quite hard, we didn't condemn him or
tear him down, we told him his Father in Heaven still loved him and
wanted him to keep trying. He said he wanted to be honest with us
which we appreciated because it makes it so much easier down the road.
Anyways, I guess you could say we re committed him to it and to keep
trying. We did ask him about the BoM and if he has prayed about it.
The answer he gave was amazing. He said "Ya I did, and I felt peace
inside, the only way I can describe is like rough water becoming calm,
and I just felt peace full inside". That really humbled me, he then
went on to describe that he felt as if Joseph Smith was giving us more
to apply to our day and learn from, he gave us more than the Bible. I
was amazed that he came to this conclusion, because we haven't really
even taught him that! He also mentioned how it has applied to his
life. He talked about how it says that we should not rummer against
our fathers in relation to Laman and Lemuel, and how he thought of it
one time when he was murmuring against his own Father. I though it was
great, because he is getting a testimony of how the scriptures apply
to our lives. We are going to be teaching him this evening. Probably
the biggest hold up is the partner. She is Less Active and she isn't
very motivated to do anything at all. Hopefully she comes because we
want her to get involved of course. Tonight we are going to teaching
bit about the temples, as well as raising our children in
righteousness. It should be good, we have taught Howard just about
everything, we are now just filling in the cracks, and giving him a
more full picture of what we are teaching towards.
Caroline has been doing well. We had a lesson with her at a members
home this week and we also had Katrina there (a really strong recent
convert), this was the day Elder Fell got transferred into the area,
and we taught more around the gospel of Christ, we talked a bit about
baptism. Eventually during the lesson Caroline mentioned that she
wanted to be baptized, and that she simply wanted to understand more
about how whether "Mormon" is for her. Thats where Katrina butted in
and bore a beautiful testimony about how she felt and how she came to
know it was true and was for her. The main reason being because it
brought her closer to Savior. We are excited, we have been able to se
her and how she has been doing. But we do need her to come to church.
In fact we need all of our investigators to come to church! Faa,
Howard, and Caroline. That has been an issue. But we know that once
she does, things will begin to click a lot better, and will straighten
there testimony.
Faa is doing good, we just need him to come to church. We should be
seeing him this week, we will be finding out how things have been
going for him and work as we did fast that he could get Sundays of or
find a new job. but church is what all of our investigators need right
now! We have been working with them for a while now, especially Faa,
sometimes I feel like they will never get there! Just got to have
faith, and keep working, and serving. That's all that we can do.
I had a miracle similar to Dads this week I don't have much more time
to type though so I will right about it next week for sure it was
really cool, and it was obvious that it simply was the hand of God in
what happened, similar to what happened with Dad. Next week for sure.
No pics, I am getting the camera memory fixed because of the viruses
finally. Next week for sure!
Love you all take care,
Love, Elder Ward
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Ahhhh they're Moving!
This week felt a bit interesting. I felt a bit stressed this week in
regards to a lot of things. I have been praying a lot on my own time
(When Elder Rogers is in the Shower hehe) because the mission is
tough. It's crazy, the mission is really just about finding that
perfect balance between all the principles that we are encouraged to
follow. "All goods though I am doing" as a New Zealand Yoda would say.
I am trying to be funny, an attempt I would suppose. haha!
For this week we saw some good things happen. Faa, Howard, and
Caroline are are progressing! We did have some bad things happen. Ana
I think I e-mailed you guys about her last week unfortunately dropped
us. Since the beginning I thought I could tell that there was a little
something off. We had a chance to teach the restoration last weekend
that felt real good. This week however we received a text saying that
she wasn't really all that interested, and just wanted to know what we
had to share. She expressed that she wasn't really willing to act on
what we have showed(the acting would be to be baptized, or follow the
commitments that we give her) That was a pretty big bummer. I felt
like she was pretty sincere, but at some points it did feel like it
was a bit to sincere, Ah to be honest I can't really describe it, but
anyways she dropped us, we may pop around and say hello, ask if her if
she felt a bit to pressured, or see if she is still interested.
For Caroline this week, her countenance has changed a bit. Caroline
has always been shy to us, but we think that she has warmed up. As we
have continued to teach her she has pondered it quite a bit and
considered what we have taught. We asked on one of our door step
visits if she has been praying much at all. She expressed to us that
she had not been really. We encouraged her to continue to continue to
exercise her faith in reading the scriptures and of course begin to
pray on a more regular, and sincere basis. She also described to us
that the Kids can be a bit crazy with her at times, and we committed
her to do her best to have family prayers in the evening because that
always unites a family in there standing with there loving Father in
Heaven. Even if it was just her and her little ones. Doing so would
invite the spirit and will let Heavenly Father work in the home to
make it a happier and more loving place. She is doing great, and we
are planning on having a lesson at a members home this week with her
where we discuss a bit more on the covenant of baptism and what it can
mean to her, especially as she strives to build her relationship with
the Savior. She was unable to make it to church though. Her sister was
in the hospital for unfortunate reasons and was a bit occupied,
speaking of church we had stake conference!
Stake conference was a pretty big deal, the stake boundaries where
adjusted. I have spent my mission in Mt. Roskill my whole mission so
far. They adjusted the stake boundaries and had the Mt. Albert
Ward(the one that I serve at) join Water View Stake. So now I can say
that I have served in 2 different Zones! haha! So that was a neat
change. Transfers is coming up this week so this area will have
different Zone Leaders as well as a different District Leader. It is
going to be an interesting week. For what we know Elder Rogers or I
are going to be staying in the Area. Most likely me due to the fact
that Elder Rogers ahs spent 6 months of his mission her in the Mt.
Albert area. Lots of little interesting things happening in the area.
Oh! did you know that here in New Zealand the first Stake was
organized outside of the United States? It was of course called the
Auckaland Stake, but I thought that was a really cool little fun fact.
It is suppose to have happened around 1958 when the New Zealand Temple
was built. Pretty cool stuffs. Oh and President Sid Going was at the
conference as well, I got to shake his hand, as well as his wife hand
Sister Going. President Going is the temple President for the New
Zealand Temple. Pretty cool! I remember watching this video before
going on my mission!
http://www.mormonchannel.org/youth-videos?v=1450710916001
Back to investigators. Howard has been doing well also. He has been
struggling with the word of wisdom. But he has made some great
progress. Because of the word of Wisdom not allowing Tea(what he has
used in the past to try and replace smoking when he has tried to quit)
he now just drinks a glass of water and he finds that helps him out
quite a bit. Really good stuff. We should be having a lesson with him,
bu the Tonga Family is a bit busy though this evening so we are going
to have to work out those details today. Fun!
Faa has been doing awesome. His main concern is getting church. There
is no point in baptizing if they can't come to church to be confirmed
a member of the church the next day, or continue to come to nourish
their testimony. When we had the lesson with Faa that day I was on a
Trade off with Elder Smith our Zone Leader, we had a 24 hour trade off
so it was like a sleep over. The best. Elder Smith has been a Zone
leader of the Mt. Roskill zone for quite a while. I have had chances
to go on trade offs with him before. He has been an awesome example
for me to follow and look up to. He was great to have in the lesson,
and the day went really well, we had 3 great lessons with
investigators other than the progressing ones that I have been talking
about. Each with there different out comes. There are a few in our
area that haven't really progressed nor are willing to. Faa was
highlight. it had been a while since we had seen him last due to the
fact that he has been working so much. He is still facing challenges
with the word of wisdom. Elder Smith and I taught that coming to
church each Sunday is very important, not only in renewing our
baptismal covenants, but keeping our selves more unspotted form the
world as it says in D&C 59. That was the only part that we emphasized
with him. We didn't read the section or go into more detail we simply
told him that he would be strengthened if he could make it to church
in his desire to come in line with the word of wisdom. That was
something that I learned form Elder Smith is just teaching simply and
plainly, I think sometimes Elder Rogers and I try to go into the
doctrine and pull out all the scriptures and through them at the
investigators. During the day I found out that Elder Smith was
actually on his last week in the mission. I was so surprised and a bit
shocked, because I didn't know that he was going home so soon! I happy
though that it was such a great day and did thank him for spending one
of the last days of his mission with me on a trade off. He thanked me
for providing him with such a great day, which I was very happy about!
Anyways so we fasted for Faa this weekend that he would work it out
with work or find a new job that would let him come to church, we will
be following up with him soon!
That's about it for our really good investigators, it has been a
blessing to actually find new people and teach them and watch them
exercise there faith in the gospel, and continue to build more of it.
It builds my testimony of the gospel and the power it really has.
Especially as I and the people we teach really on the Savior more and
more.
So for questions, how far form the mission home? I don't really
know.... Not to far maybe about a half hour drive if I remember
correctly. I have only been there once and that was at the beginning
of my mission! But I know that I am not far. that one tree hill
monument they took us to at the beginning of my mission has always
been near by where I have served
The Temple? probably about 2 hours. It is outside of the NZAM
boundaries actually. It is in the Hamilton mision, as well as the MTC.
I went through it in the MTC as some missionaries, a few from Papa Nue
Guini had not received there endowment. and then at Christmas I will
have the chance of going to Temple, I should be able to go at the end
of next year just before I go home as well. That should be cool!
Thanks so much I love you all! Glad to hear that things are going
well. I think the change with Seminary is brilliant. I wish that it
would been like that for me, because I would have been much more
diligent with my reading and gathering of scriptural knowledge.
Love, Elder Ward
regards to a lot of things. I have been praying a lot on my own time
(When Elder Rogers is in the Shower hehe) because the mission is
tough. It's crazy, the mission is really just about finding that
perfect balance between all the principles that we are encouraged to
follow. "All goods though I am doing" as a New Zealand Yoda would say.
I am trying to be funny, an attempt I would suppose. haha!
For this week we saw some good things happen. Faa, Howard, and
Caroline are are progressing! We did have some bad things happen. Ana
I think I e-mailed you guys about her last week unfortunately dropped
us. Since the beginning I thought I could tell that there was a little
something off. We had a chance to teach the restoration last weekend
that felt real good. This week however we received a text saying that
she wasn't really all that interested, and just wanted to know what we
had to share. She expressed that she wasn't really willing to act on
what we have showed(the acting would be to be baptized, or follow the
commitments that we give her) That was a pretty big bummer. I felt
like she was pretty sincere, but at some points it did feel like it
was a bit to sincere, Ah to be honest I can't really describe it, but
anyways she dropped us, we may pop around and say hello, ask if her if
she felt a bit to pressured, or see if she is still interested.
For Caroline this week, her countenance has changed a bit. Caroline
has always been shy to us, but we think that she has warmed up. As we
have continued to teach her she has pondered it quite a bit and
considered what we have taught. We asked on one of our door step
visits if she has been praying much at all. She expressed to us that
she had not been really. We encouraged her to continue to continue to
exercise her faith in reading the scriptures and of course begin to
pray on a more regular, and sincere basis. She also described to us
that the Kids can be a bit crazy with her at times, and we committed
her to do her best to have family prayers in the evening because that
always unites a family in there standing with there loving Father in
Heaven. Even if it was just her and her little ones. Doing so would
invite the spirit and will let Heavenly Father work in the home to
make it a happier and more loving place. She is doing great, and we
are planning on having a lesson at a members home this week with her
where we discuss a bit more on the covenant of baptism and what it can
mean to her, especially as she strives to build her relationship with
the Savior. She was unable to make it to church though. Her sister was
in the hospital for unfortunate reasons and was a bit occupied,
speaking of church we had stake conference!
Stake conference was a pretty big deal, the stake boundaries where
adjusted. I have spent my mission in Mt. Roskill my whole mission so
far. They adjusted the stake boundaries and had the Mt. Albert
Ward(the one that I serve at) join Water View Stake. So now I can say
that I have served in 2 different Zones! haha! So that was a neat
change. Transfers is coming up this week so this area will have
different Zone Leaders as well as a different District Leader. It is
going to be an interesting week. For what we know Elder Rogers or I
are going to be staying in the Area. Most likely me due to the fact
that Elder Rogers ahs spent 6 months of his mission her in the Mt.
Albert area. Lots of little interesting things happening in the area.
Oh! did you know that here in New Zealand the first Stake was
organized outside of the United States? It was of course called the
Auckaland Stake, but I thought that was a really cool little fun fact.
It is suppose to have happened around 1958 when the New Zealand Temple
was built. Pretty cool stuffs. Oh and President Sid Going was at the
conference as well, I got to shake his hand, as well as his wife hand
Sister Going. President Going is the temple President for the New
Zealand Temple. Pretty cool! I remember watching this video before
going on my mission!
http://www.mormonchannel.org/youth-videos?v=1450710916001
Back to investigators. Howard has been doing well also. He has been
struggling with the word of wisdom. But he has made some great
progress. Because of the word of Wisdom not allowing Tea(what he has
used in the past to try and replace smoking when he has tried to quit)
he now just drinks a glass of water and he finds that helps him out
quite a bit. Really good stuff. We should be having a lesson with him,
bu the Tonga Family is a bit busy though this evening so we are going
to have to work out those details today. Fun!
Faa has been doing awesome. His main concern is getting church. There
is no point in baptizing if they can't come to church to be confirmed
a member of the church the next day, or continue to come to nourish
their testimony. When we had the lesson with Faa that day I was on a
Trade off with Elder Smith our Zone Leader, we had a 24 hour trade off
so it was like a sleep over. The best. Elder Smith has been a Zone
leader of the Mt. Roskill zone for quite a while. I have had chances
to go on trade offs with him before. He has been an awesome example
for me to follow and look up to. He was great to have in the lesson,
and the day went really well, we had 3 great lessons with
investigators other than the progressing ones that I have been talking
about. Each with there different out comes. There are a few in our
area that haven't really progressed nor are willing to. Faa was
highlight. it had been a while since we had seen him last due to the
fact that he has been working so much. He is still facing challenges
with the word of wisdom. Elder Smith and I taught that coming to
church each Sunday is very important, not only in renewing our
baptismal covenants, but keeping our selves more unspotted form the
world as it says in D&C 59. That was the only part that we emphasized
with him. We didn't read the section or go into more detail we simply
told him that he would be strengthened if he could make it to church
in his desire to come in line with the word of wisdom. That was
something that I learned form Elder Smith is just teaching simply and
plainly, I think sometimes Elder Rogers and I try to go into the
doctrine and pull out all the scriptures and through them at the
investigators. During the day I found out that Elder Smith was
actually on his last week in the mission. I was so surprised and a bit
shocked, because I didn't know that he was going home so soon! I happy
though that it was such a great day and did thank him for spending one
of the last days of his mission with me on a trade off. He thanked me
for providing him with such a great day, which I was very happy about!
Anyways so we fasted for Faa this weekend that he would work it out
with work or find a new job that would let him come to church, we will
be following up with him soon!
That's about it for our really good investigators, it has been a
blessing to actually find new people and teach them and watch them
exercise there faith in the gospel, and continue to build more of it.
It builds my testimony of the gospel and the power it really has.
Especially as I and the people we teach really on the Savior more and
more.
So for questions, how far form the mission home? I don't really
know.... Not to far maybe about a half hour drive if I remember
correctly. I have only been there once and that was at the beginning
of my mission! But I know that I am not far. that one tree hill
monument they took us to at the beginning of my mission has always
been near by where I have served
The Temple? probably about 2 hours. It is outside of the NZAM
boundaries actually. It is in the Hamilton mision, as well as the MTC.
I went through it in the MTC as some missionaries, a few from Papa Nue
Guini had not received there endowment. and then at Christmas I will
have the chance of going to Temple, I should be able to go at the end
of next year just before I go home as well. That should be cool!
Thanks so much I love you all! Glad to hear that things are going
well. I think the change with Seminary is brilliant. I wish that it
would been like that for me, because I would have been much more
diligent with my reading and gathering of scriptural knowledge.
Love, Elder Ward
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Progressing Investigators.....
For this week we had an opportunity to see a returned missionary come
home. The Tonga Families Daughter came home this week form her
mission. She served in Australia, and she is awesome with missionary
work! We got to go attended her homecoming party as well hoping to
find some non-members there to talk with. Wasn't to successful as we
really didn't know anyone there to talk with. They do things a bit
strange in my eyes. They had chairs setup around the outside of the
Gym, and had a dance floor in the center that no one wanted to dance
on. So everyone just sat and talked with their neighbor. All good
though, we had a great sacrament meeting. Some powerful testimonies
where borne and the spirit was their. It was a bit interesting seeing
a returned missionary fresh form the field. She was a bit sad, and
really wanted to do all she could to help us with our work which is
great!
So for our investigators. none where able to make it to church this
week :/ It was a real major bummer, we where hoping that Howard was
going to be able to make it, as well as Caroline. We aren't to sure
what happened with them. Despite having cell phones often times
communication still is an issue. Hopefully we will be able to see
Howard this evening again. WE had a lesson with him last Monday
evening and it was fantastic. We have taught Howard all the main
important lessons, now we talked specifically about the Wow. One of
the Tonga Families daughter was present and was able to bear testimony
of Wow wisdom and the blessings that we are given as we as we obey it.
She her self knows form personal experience. It was perfect she
practically taught the whole lesson by her self even! Howard felt
great during the lesson and we have been in touch with him through out
the week to see how he is doing. He is improving which is fantastic!
He told that he is listening to the scriptures on his phone and that
our texts with scriptures haven been really helpful to him.We are
hoping that this evening will work out now so we can follow up and
begin to work out the details of the him and his partner. Howard is
grateful for the guidance that we have shown comes from the gospel. He
really wants to see this bless his life and his daughters life.
Hopefully we can get his partner on board.
Faa has been working like a mad man. He worked for 2 weeks straight!
We will be getting a chance to meet with him tomorrow finally. He
needs to be able, to come to church the next day so he can be
confirmed a member of the Church otherwise we can't really baptize
him. If he can get Sundays off that would be best. It is always better
to get all the concerns worked out before Baptism so there are not
even bigger problems down the line that other missionaries and Ward
members will have to fix. Hopefully and prayer fully he will be able
to get Sundays off. Apparently he has been getting frustrated with the
Word of Wisdom. And we don't want him to beat himself up over it,
because then he will get even more discouraged and then moving
forwards will become even harder.
We had another great lesson this week as well with one of our newer
investigators Ana I have e-mailed about her before, but she is doing
great. WE taught her last time about the Plan of Salvation, but this
week we taught her about the Restoration and what everything about
Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon about. She was blown away! We taught
her how she can know if it is true, and that is simply by prayer. WE
shared with her Alma 32:28 as well as few other scriptures to do with
felling the spirit. We asked her if she would kneel and pray with us
to know if the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a
prophet of God. She was a bit hesitant, but we taught her how to pray.
She said a wonderfully heart felt prayer and asked her Father in
Heaven the question. When she said a Amen, she then exclaimed"Oh,
really feel it now!" She said that she would read and be looking into
the Book of Mormon now more than ever. The spirit was so strong,
another highlight of the mission for sure! She didn't make it to
church though, not to sure why, there has been a bit of a lack of
communication and what not. We are hoping to introduce her to the
Tonga Family to get that fellowship going. That is something that
Elder Rogers and I have been working hard to do. Getting members out
with us to visit our investigators.
We had Katrina Taylor come out with us this week as well. She is YSA
and she was baptized at the beginning of the year. She has a wonderful
testimony of the gospel and we introduced her to a few of the people
that we know. Members especially Recent Converts are the best
missionaries, because they are the ones living it in a matter that
relates to those investigating the church. We introduced her to
Caroline this week when we had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and
it was fantastic to hear of her conversion story. Katrina was
originally Catholic, her parents resent her a bit for being Baptized
and changing churches, however she has been able to stay strong all
though her parents aren't to pleased. It's was great to have her come
with us to a few appointments. She has been debating whether she
should serve a full time mission or not, and apparently her time with
us and teaching investigators relight that fire within her to go and
serve! Hearing that form both her and the 1st councilor of the ward
really made Elder Rogers and I pleased or satisfied with the work we
do our best in.
So Mom to answer a few of questions... We get few 4 times a week by
members. Other wise missionaries would get seriously over weight. I
have met a few with even 4 feeds a week have put on a lot of weight!
No good. For myself I don't think I have put on much. I put on some
jeans that I brought form home wand they still fit just like they use
to! That's good news. I think I have gotten a bit bigger, I can do a
lot more push ups now and with all the biking that has been helping me
with over all health for sure. Our members are mostly Tongan here in
this ward as well as my last. I have spent all of my mission so far in
the city suburbs/ ghetto to put it straight in some areas, so I meet
lots of immigrants, especially Indian and Chinese. Lots of Islanders
are members. Depending on where you go, from what I understand about
Auckland, some ward's have more Samoan, others more Palangi(White),
and some more Tongan. There are Moaries here. Often times they are
mixed with other nationalities, and what not. However up North I have
been told that there are a lot more Moari members of the church. Every
so often we do bump into people form Britain, however they are hardly
ever interested. Accents vary from the mild Kiwi accent which is very
similar to Aussie accent mixed with a bit of American. So ya it is
pretty interesting. Often times Islander Families fly form NZ to Tonga
or Samoa, and they have there own distinct accents as well. Some have
it stronger than others depending on how good their English is.
So I got the package from you guys! I was quite excited to see it. I
forgot however that it was my Birthday package.... So opened it and
then realized it may have been better to save till the my Birthday. To
late. I looked through it and I love all the goodies. I haven't eaten
any, but I did have to grab one of those spoke lights and throw it on
my bike haha. I will probably read the letters for when my birthday
does role around, because that was when they where written for. As
well as the goodies. Oh and I like the tide markers, I had open that
up and give it a shot, haven't had a real good chance though to try it
out though. So it is a bit unpredictable with the mail. I'd say about
2 months is safe.
So for P-day today we aren't doing to much. It is pouring heaps of
rain, so sports isn't really an option, hope fully next week. Today is
probably going to be a bit more of a relaxing day.
Sounds like the Family is doing good including the bird Jelly! he must
have a real personality for sure! I certainly miss you all. Wish we
could go out and do some family activities! I miss them and all those
good times. The mission is going by quick it's scary!
Love you all do take care, read the scriptures as well. Please do ask
questions, I will try to help you guys know more about what its like
to be in the field!
Love, Elder Ward
home. The Tonga Families Daughter came home this week form her
mission. She served in Australia, and she is awesome with missionary
work! We got to go attended her homecoming party as well hoping to
find some non-members there to talk with. Wasn't to successful as we
really didn't know anyone there to talk with. They do things a bit
strange in my eyes. They had chairs setup around the outside of the
Gym, and had a dance floor in the center that no one wanted to dance
on. So everyone just sat and talked with their neighbor. All good
though, we had a great sacrament meeting. Some powerful testimonies
where borne and the spirit was their. It was a bit interesting seeing
a returned missionary fresh form the field. She was a bit sad, and
really wanted to do all she could to help us with our work which is
great!
So for our investigators. none where able to make it to church this
week :/ It was a real major bummer, we where hoping that Howard was
going to be able to make it, as well as Caroline. We aren't to sure
what happened with them. Despite having cell phones often times
communication still is an issue. Hopefully we will be able to see
Howard this evening again. WE had a lesson with him last Monday
evening and it was fantastic. We have taught Howard all the main
important lessons, now we talked specifically about the Wow. One of
the Tonga Families daughter was present and was able to bear testimony
of Wow wisdom and the blessings that we are given as we as we obey it.
She her self knows form personal experience. It was perfect she
practically taught the whole lesson by her self even! Howard felt
great during the lesson and we have been in touch with him through out
the week to see how he is doing. He is improving which is fantastic!
He told that he is listening to the scriptures on his phone and that
our texts with scriptures haven been really helpful to him.We are
hoping that this evening will work out now so we can follow up and
begin to work out the details of the him and his partner. Howard is
grateful for the guidance that we have shown comes from the gospel. He
really wants to see this bless his life and his daughters life.
Hopefully we can get his partner on board.
Faa has been working like a mad man. He worked for 2 weeks straight!
We will be getting a chance to meet with him tomorrow finally. He
needs to be able, to come to church the next day so he can be
confirmed a member of the Church otherwise we can't really baptize
him. If he can get Sundays off that would be best. It is always better
to get all the concerns worked out before Baptism so there are not
even bigger problems down the line that other missionaries and Ward
members will have to fix. Hopefully and prayer fully he will be able
to get Sundays off. Apparently he has been getting frustrated with the
Word of Wisdom. And we don't want him to beat himself up over it,
because then he will get even more discouraged and then moving
forwards will become even harder.
We had another great lesson this week as well with one of our newer
investigators Ana I have e-mailed about her before, but she is doing
great. WE taught her last time about the Plan of Salvation, but this
week we taught her about the Restoration and what everything about
Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon about. She was blown away! We taught
her how she can know if it is true, and that is simply by prayer. WE
shared with her Alma 32:28 as well as few other scriptures to do with
felling the spirit. We asked her if she would kneel and pray with us
to know if the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a
prophet of God. She was a bit hesitant, but we taught her how to pray.
She said a wonderfully heart felt prayer and asked her Father in
Heaven the question. When she said a Amen, she then exclaimed"Oh,
really feel it now!" She said that she would read and be looking into
the Book of Mormon now more than ever. The spirit was so strong,
another highlight of the mission for sure! She didn't make it to
church though, not to sure why, there has been a bit of a lack of
communication and what not. We are hoping to introduce her to the
Tonga Family to get that fellowship going. That is something that
Elder Rogers and I have been working hard to do. Getting members out
with us to visit our investigators.
We had Katrina Taylor come out with us this week as well. She is YSA
and she was baptized at the beginning of the year. She has a wonderful
testimony of the gospel and we introduced her to a few of the people
that we know. Members especially Recent Converts are the best
missionaries, because they are the ones living it in a matter that
relates to those investigating the church. We introduced her to
Caroline this week when we had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and
it was fantastic to hear of her conversion story. Katrina was
originally Catholic, her parents resent her a bit for being Baptized
and changing churches, however she has been able to stay strong all
though her parents aren't to pleased. It's was great to have her come
with us to a few appointments. She has been debating whether she
should serve a full time mission or not, and apparently her time with
us and teaching investigators relight that fire within her to go and
serve! Hearing that form both her and the 1st councilor of the ward
really made Elder Rogers and I pleased or satisfied with the work we
do our best in.
So Mom to answer a few of questions... We get few 4 times a week by
members. Other wise missionaries would get seriously over weight. I
have met a few with even 4 feeds a week have put on a lot of weight!
No good. For myself I don't think I have put on much. I put on some
jeans that I brought form home wand they still fit just like they use
to! That's good news. I think I have gotten a bit bigger, I can do a
lot more push ups now and with all the biking that has been helping me
with over all health for sure. Our members are mostly Tongan here in
this ward as well as my last. I have spent all of my mission so far in
the city suburbs/ ghetto to put it straight in some areas, so I meet
lots of immigrants, especially Indian and Chinese. Lots of Islanders
are members. Depending on where you go, from what I understand about
Auckland, some ward's have more Samoan, others more Palangi(White),
and some more Tongan. There are Moaries here. Often times they are
mixed with other nationalities, and what not. However up North I have
been told that there are a lot more Moari members of the church. Every
so often we do bump into people form Britain, however they are hardly
ever interested. Accents vary from the mild Kiwi accent which is very
similar to Aussie accent mixed with a bit of American. So ya it is
pretty interesting. Often times Islander Families fly form NZ to Tonga
or Samoa, and they have there own distinct accents as well. Some have
it stronger than others depending on how good their English is.
So I got the package from you guys! I was quite excited to see it. I
forgot however that it was my Birthday package.... So opened it and
then realized it may have been better to save till the my Birthday. To
late. I looked through it and I love all the goodies. I haven't eaten
any, but I did have to grab one of those spoke lights and throw it on
my bike haha. I will probably read the letters for when my birthday
does role around, because that was when they where written for. As
well as the goodies. Oh and I like the tide markers, I had open that
up and give it a shot, haven't had a real good chance though to try it
out though. So it is a bit unpredictable with the mail. I'd say about
2 months is safe.
So for P-day today we aren't doing to much. It is pouring heaps of
rain, so sports isn't really an option, hope fully next week. Today is
probably going to be a bit more of a relaxing day.
Sounds like the Family is doing good including the bird Jelly! he must
have a real personality for sure! I certainly miss you all. Wish we
could go out and do some family activities! I miss them and all those
good times. The mission is going by quick it's scary!
Love you all do take care, read the scriptures as well. Please do ask
questions, I will try to help you guys know more about what its like
to be in the field!
Love, Elder Ward
Here is a picture of us for dinner at the Tongas home. That is Brother
Tonga cutting the pig! The pig was cooked it on a spit! They put it on
a stick and cook it over the fire very traditional, it was pretty darn
good, very juicy, certainly a first for me!
Tonga cutting the pig! The pig was cooked it on a spit! They put it on
a stick and cook it over the fire very traditional, it was pretty darn
good, very juicy, certainly a first for me!
Letter to Grandpa
Elder Ward's grandfather has the wonderful opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. for a WWII memorial event. On the flight, the WWII Veterans will receive "mail call". We, as his family were asked to write letters of appreciation for Grandpa and his service in and out of the war. We asked Elder Ward to participate. This is his letter to Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa served two missions as a senior couple. Elder Ward is on a mission due, in part, to their wonderful example. Here is his letter:
Dear Grandpa,
I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me. As well as
all that you have done for the country. I am amazed with the things
that you have been able to do in your life. The stories of your
childhood, as well as when you served in the military. From what I
remember you where unable to serve a mission for the church, however I
do think that you have set a wonderful example for me and my family in
being a wonderful patriarch of the home. I have always looked up to
you and sought to follow your example in how you treat others with
charity.
I remember when I was young I always looked forwards to going to
Grandma and Grandpas house. I looked forwards to playing in the
backyard and seeing what Grandpa was doing with his garden. I was
spoiled with the attention I got as I ran around the home getting
chased, caught, and tickled half to death. Those are some of the best
memories that I hold on to and cherish throughout my life. It has been
a blessing to have such wonderful grand parents! Of course then there
is the candy cannon. What child is so privileged to have chance to
play/learn of course with such a wonderful creation? I loved spending
evenings together playing card games and building our love for one
another. Maybe sometimes we got a bit to competitive haha. I can never
thank my Father in Heaven enough for giving me a chance to grow up in
such a wonderful family.
Things have been good on my mission. I have learned so much about the
gospel. Especially as I teach to those that want to know of it and
apply it in there lives. The Book of Mormon has really blessed me on
my mission. I have been given an opportunity to learn it study it and
get familiar with it every day I am on my mission. It has been a
blessing. I am doing my best to use the time that I have been given
and come home with a knowledge that will continue to bless me in my
life as I continue to live the gospel and teach others about what I
know to be true. It has been nothing but eye opening for me, and
learning and getting know members of the church here in New Zealand
has been a privilege. Here in New Zealand I have met members form
India (I have met some that may have known you and Grandma. One is
named Johnson Dunna I will be getting more details for sure!), Tonga,
Samoa, Moari, as well as European decent. So many backgrounds, so many
different testimonies of the truth!
Thanks again Grandpa for all that you have done for me and my family.
For the wonderful example that you have set. I miss you and love you.
Your Grandson,
Elder Ward
Dear Grandpa,
I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me. As well as
all that you have done for the country. I am amazed with the things
that you have been able to do in your life. The stories of your
childhood, as well as when you served in the military. From what I
remember you where unable to serve a mission for the church, however I
do think that you have set a wonderful example for me and my family in
being a wonderful patriarch of the home. I have always looked up to
you and sought to follow your example in how you treat others with
charity.
I remember when I was young I always looked forwards to going to
Grandma and Grandpas house. I looked forwards to playing in the
backyard and seeing what Grandpa was doing with his garden. I was
spoiled with the attention I got as I ran around the home getting
chased, caught, and tickled half to death. Those are some of the best
memories that I hold on to and cherish throughout my life. It has been
a blessing to have such wonderful grand parents! Of course then there
is the candy cannon. What child is so privileged to have chance to
play/learn of course with such a wonderful creation? I loved spending
evenings together playing card games and building our love for one
another. Maybe sometimes we got a bit to competitive haha. I can never
thank my Father in Heaven enough for giving me a chance to grow up in
such a wonderful family.
Things have been good on my mission. I have learned so much about the
gospel. Especially as I teach to those that want to know of it and
apply it in there lives. The Book of Mormon has really blessed me on
my mission. I have been given an opportunity to learn it study it and
get familiar with it every day I am on my mission. It has been a
blessing. I am doing my best to use the time that I have been given
and come home with a knowledge that will continue to bless me in my
life as I continue to live the gospel and teach others about what I
know to be true. It has been nothing but eye opening for me, and
learning and getting know members of the church here in New Zealand
has been a privilege. Here in New Zealand I have met members form
India (I have met some that may have known you and Grandma. One is
named Johnson Dunna I will be getting more details for sure!), Tonga,
Samoa, Moari, as well as European decent. So many backgrounds, so many
different testimonies of the truth!
Thanks again Grandpa for all that you have done for me and my family.
For the wonderful example that you have set. I miss you and love you.
Your Grandson,
Elder Ward
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