New Zealand is fantastic! I love it. :-) I think that I could easily live here in New Zealand. The people are mean (awesome), and everyone is nice. Unless they live on Semple street in Huntly. Then, not so much. :-)
Weeeelll! So, there were not any baptisms this past weekend. They all fell through. However! There could be 5 this upcoming weekend. April, Wero, Tyesha, Chantelle, and Rahiri. Chantelle is kinda set, and Rahiri is kinda as well. Rahiri and his family got a call that there is work in Auckland for a week or two. They have to jump on these offers ASAP. New Zealand may be a fairly wealthy country, but the amount of people that are in poverty by American standards is huge. Almost all of my investigators have fallen under the category of poor. So, if you think you have it bad in USA, you are rich compared to quite a few of these people. So, Rahiri and his family had to take off. Therefore, he couldn't be baptized last weekend. We tried to realize he would be blessed if he stayed home, but he went anyways. He is basically all over his Word of Wisdom problems. Well, if he gets back soon, we will check and see if he has still been strong with his word of wisdom problems. If he has, we will re-set him for baptism.
With April and Wero, we had the interview and found out something. Since they are not breaking the Law of Chastity, and they are solely living together, President Higgins (the 1st councilor in the Mission Presidency) gave to OK for them to be baptized without being married. Wero is just classified as a boarder, essentially. So, that is a great miracle. April gave up smoking. She had her last cigarette yesterday, and told us to not be offended if she is really grumpy today. :-) Wero, as always, is super keen. Oh. It's Wero's birthday, and we're gonna get him a really really lame gift. :-)
Now comes the family drama part. Well, I don't recall if i have said anything about Sis. Richards, Shane, Chantelle, and Mickey. Well. Sis. Richards is the mom. She drinks heaps and doesn't care for her children. Heaps of times, the cupboards have been empty for days. So, the kids have to go to Wero and April to be fed. That has been happening quite a lot these past days. We found out from Wero and April that this family's power had gotten shut off. Before I go any farther, let me explain something. There is this place called WIN's (Workers INcome) what is just about the same thing as Welfare in America. They give you food grants on a credit card thing that can only be used at certain places to buy only certain things, i.e. not alcohol or cigarettes. So, Sis. Richards had to go to town to WIN's to try to get the power turned back on. There is this great member of the Ward named Bro. Lockeyer who has been helping this family out immensely. Especially Shane. But Sis. Richards has been taking advantage of his help. Shane has been only staying with his mother to keep Mickey safe. However, he finally decided to move out and stay with Bro. Lockeyer. Chantelle as well decided to leave and stay with Wero and April, most likely temporarily. Sis. Richards, instead of using the money she got from WIN's for food, would do someone else's shopping, and collect a cash sum from the other person. This way, she was not restricted from buying Alcohol and Cigarettes. Well, Chantelle had enough of that and stole the card and gave it to April, and they took them shopping for food. Well, Not sure what will happen, but there is a chance that Wero and April will become their legal guardians so that they are under better care. But! Chantelle has not been too keen on baptism until recently. E. Ngalu basically told her that she was being baptized this weekend. She turned to Tyesha and asked her if she was getting baptized, and that she would get baptized if Tyesha would. :-)
Tyesha went with her birth father and Step Mom to a Nikki Minage concert in Auckland this past weekend. She always comes back in a mood when she spends the weekend with her father. So, hopefully she will still be keen on baptism.
Oh Shopping malls! Well, if you have ever shopped in a shopping mall in America, chances are you have shopped in a mall bigger than the mall in Hamilton, the Base. The Base looks to be about the size of The University Mall in Orem or the Provo Towne Centre. We are going there for P-day today. I'm gonna buy a jacket for myself as a really early Christmas present. :-)
By the way, We didn't get out mail from the Zone Leaders this week. So hopefully we will get it tomorrow if they come to District meeting. :-)
We had a combined Huntly/Ngaruawahia Luau and fireside this past weekend. I took some videos of the Luau, and most of the acts were really funny. We had about 18 or 20 investigators present, which was really good. Something like 10 from NGA and 10 from Huntly. So, that was really good. The members are really the big help for us. Let me tell you about 3 types of referrals. There is that bad kind, which is where someone gives us a referral and says, oh. Don't mention my name. That is a terrible referral and usually will not help the missionaries out much. Well, there is a good referral. This referral is where the person gives us a referral with lots of info about this person, including hobbies and stuff. These referrals are good. But we want great referrals. The great referrals are the ones where the members give the referrals with all the info of the previous referral, but they also include their own name and contact information and address so that they can have the lessons with the investigators at their house. This last type of referral is the referral that all missionaries love to receive and wish to receive. More than 70% of these referrals turn into baptisms. So, my friends and family, I have a commitment from you. And this type of commitment will be one that you can only either answer Yes or No to. No sneaky way of answering it. Just Yes or No. Will you find a friend who is not a member, and then refer them with your own name saying that you will have the lessons in your home? Who knows, you might be helping someone to enter into the Celestial kingdom. I can promise you, as a servant of the Lord, that if you do this, Heavenly Father will bless you immensely, and you will taste a bit of the joy of participating in saving a human soul. Give D&C 18:10 a read and find out how much it will mean to you and to our Father in Heaven if you help someone to be baptized.
On Sunday, we had a fireside at which Recent Converts, the former bishop (he became the Stake President yesterday), and President Higgins (the 1st counselor in the mission presidency) all spoke. Also, there were musical items. My companion and I did a duet with the song Come Thou Fount. It is really good. The family that helped us out by playing the Cello and Piano for it took a video while we were practicing, and I will see if I can get a hold of that video to send home. It was really great and the Spirit really slapped everyone in the face with that song. :-) It was a great fireside, and it really touched Wero and April. They are so excited to come to church, and to participate with all the other ward members in other activities.
Stake Conference was yesterday. We had a seventy there, and also the 1st counselor in the Area Presidency come. E. Pearson, the latter of the two, spoke about people serving missions. He gave the statistic that says that the families those men that serve missions, in 50 years after they serve, account for about 53 faithful members. Conversely, if a young man does not serve a mission, his family in 50 years will only account for .8 faithful members. So, at all costs, send young men and women on mission. A huge factor of whether or not a couple is married in the temple is missionary service. So, those that serve missions marry in the temple. Those who marry in the temple have many kids. These kids are greatly influenced to go on a mission if their parents went on one. So. If you are between the ages of 8 and 24, and have not served a mission, and are not married, and are capable of serving a mission, Serve a mission. It will bless your lives so incredibly much.
As for pictures, I tried to get a picture with Wero and April, but I still have none. I will most definitely get pictures at their baptisms. And, I only took videos of the Luau and other related events, and I certainly wont be able to email videos. I can hardly send pictures! I will see if I can reduce the quality to send them. So, maybe they will be sent in a later email... We shall see.
Love you all,
E. Staheli.
P.S. Drinking a raw egg is gross. E. Ngalu pretty much almost puked. :-)
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