"Carol Brown"

EH!!!!!!

Pretty slow week here in Tokoroa, Elder Jensen got sick on Monday so we were out till Wednesday so not a very good week. We had a couple pretty good lessons and we got like 6 of our investigators to commit to coming to church on Sunday but only 1 actually came. We have been doing a trade-off the past 2 weeks on Sunday where one of goes to Putaruru and the other stays here in Tokoroa. Its been working pretty well because last week while I was in Putaruru we had an investigator come to church in Put and Tok so we got 2 member presents at the same time!!!! We need to push extra hard to make up all the ground that we lost this week but I know that we can do it.

Elder Bednar from the 12 is coming to speak to the Hamilton and Auckland Missions tomorrow so I am super excited! I have been studying a couple of his talks that I have printed out but we have to drive up to Auckland which is like 300 kilometers away but oh well. I have just finished the New Testament and now I'm starting again on the Book of Mormon but I have really appreciated all the doctrines that Christ taught and I think I have a pretty good understanding on most of his parables but there is a few that I may have questions with. It has also helped me to answer any questions about some controversial doctrines such as that whole "saved by grace alone" and many other questions brought up about certain doctrines. 

Another thing that I have been reading is a transcript entitled "In Defense of Truth". Its a fictitious courtroom setting where there is a group of leaders of other religions and they try to prove the Mormon Church wrong and the defense is 2 LDS Elders serving a mission in Missouri and they defend the Church using the Bible. Its a pretty interesting read and it points out a lot of good points. I printed it all out and have been looking over it while I eat dinner and lunch.

My studies have gotten better the past few days even though our comp study is non-existent but I just need to push a little harder to get things done.

Hope everything is going alright back home, I sure do miss you guys but there is no place I would rather be then serving the Lord!!!

Elder Cash Flow.

"Pencils in the Wind"

Been a pretty slow week here in Tokoroa and not much has happened except for we did manage to get one of our Investigators to come to church in Putaruru. She has two sisters, one is a member and the other is not and on Sunday we met with all 3 of them. I didn't get transfered out of Tokoroa so I'll be here another 6 weeks but there is definintely plenty of work for us to do. My companion woke up feeling sick today so I had to clean the whole flat by myself but thats just how it goes I guess. I have been trying to run at least 5 times a week and each time I make sure I stretch plenty although I never usually go over 8k. Its been tough to wake up at 6:30 each morning because my companion will not wake up unless I shake his bed. Elder Jensen got called to be the new DL here in Tokoroa which should be good because now he has to be more obedient. I don't really have much to say about the work that is going on down here but I do have some pictures from this monday at the Cinema's where we met with the mayor and some other church leaders to screen "Meet the Mormons".

That's all I have for this week, I couldn't get on until just a couple minutes ago because of some computer difficulties.

At the screening of "Meet the Mormons"

"Bowies in Space"

Dear Family and Friends:

Been a pretty good week here in Tokoroa. We went to Mangakino and met a really funny Atheist guy who tried to convince us that "it is silly to believe in God" and that "praying is speaking to someone who isn't there and you can get locked up for that" HAHA!!!!! It was an interesting time we had but it just made me sad to know that people like him exist in the world. The rest of the week went well and I think I am really improving on my teaching skills. I have just read Our Search for Happiness and let me tell you, that is one of my favorite books of all time. I felt the spirit "hard out" (haha New Zealand slang) when I read it and Ballard is definitely a man of God. I am so thankful for all the study resources we have as members of the church because if I was limited to the Bible I would be lost. My testimony is growing day-by-day and I hope that it continues to grow throughout the rest of my time here.

The fashion here in New Zealand is insane. Not that the clothes people wear are really cool but that they make them look like they should be in a mental asylum.

 

Here is a list of things people wear....

-Rugby Shorts ( at all times)

-Safety Vests ( like the ones that constuction workers wear, with no shirt on underneath)

-Woolen Tank Tops ( yup. I need one)

-Puffy Coats ( Its summer over here, and they wear Rugby Shorts on underneath)

-Gum Boots ( basically just rain boots)

-Jandals ( just really budget (budget means really poor quality) sandals)

These are just a few of the things people wear but for the most part they wear styles similar to things you see in America. I'll try and take some pictures of people but I'm not sure how that will go.

We have transfers on Thursday this week and I might be getting transfered or getting a leadership position but I am not sure on either one. The Zone Leaders keep hinting that I am going to be the DL for our District (because our DL got sent home this transfer for..... things.....) but I don't know.

Elders Mitchell

"Demon Woman"

Dear Family and Friends

This has definitely not been a normal week. We had a pretty normal P-day but the next day we decided to go door knocking and at the first door we knocked on we met this guy who looked like he was on drugs and after we started to introduce ourselves he spat out all this Anti-Mormon stuff and I asked him if he has read the Book of Mormon and he claimed to have read it 4-5 times and didn't believe it. After asking about what he thought about the Bible, he said it was compiled by the Illuminati and that it compels people to worship Satan and that members of the church worship him as well. I realized that he wasn't anti- Mormon he was just crazy so I said goodbye and left. Apparently that's not the first time that has happened to Elder Jensen which is not really surprising. We knocked on a couple more doors after that but I was just distracted at what that guy had said so we stopped and went to visit some people.

We went by one of our investigators homes and she had some people over and one of the ladies there started to say some of the same things that the first guy had as well so we bore our testimonies that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and left. She was an interesting lady because she has been attending this church that's just up the road from ours and they believe in speaking in tongues but she thinks its bogus and doesn't believe a lot of the things that they teach and I wanted to ask her why she still attends that church but whatever. We ended up being somewhat productive with the rest of the night but I was a bit confused at why we were having so much trouble and why everyone we were meeting was somewhat negative but I remembered the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and I took it to mean that because the people were so wicked that they became as the Wayside and didn't give it a chance to grow within themselves. 

On Saturday we had our ward activity and when we first got there we had some rain but it wasn't too bad. We were doing a game called The Amazing Race and my team ended up winning so we decided to play soccer with the few amount of people we had there and because I know how competitive I get, I decided to be goalie. The ground was pretty slick because of the rain fall which made the game pretty hard to play and because my offense was lacking and I was having to block a lot so I took the ball and went on the offense by myself and I ended up crashing into Tara (one of our Recent Converts) because it was so slippery and later I found out that I put her in the hospital and gave her a concussion (not good). We gave her a blessing and I went and bought her chocolate to say sorry but she said it was fine and she wasn't mad but I still feel bad.

The next day was Sunday and Tara brought with her a friend who was not a member and she convinced her to take the lessons from us later that day. The lesson went pretty horribly, I felt fine but some of the things my companion brought up were not really relevant to the Restoration. At the end he asked her to be baptized and that freaked her out and as we were leaving he asked if there was another time we could see her and she said she would think about it. We got a call about 30 minutes later rom Tara saying that she didn't want to take lessons from us and that she might not come back to church (her friend, not Tara). I was sad at first but I decided to not let it bug me but I could tell it bugged Elder Jensen the rest of the day.

That's basically what happened this week and I have been trying to keep strong but its been a pretty tough last couple of weeks. I know that the Lord is with me as long as I stay obedient and have a testimony of the things that I am teaching and other people cannot change that. 

Thanks for all the support you have given me.

Elder Mitchell