On Wednesday (Tuesday night), we had a trade-off with the Coromandel elders. They are in our district and stake, but they are about an hours drive away from any of the other 4 companionships in the Hamilton Zone. Anyways, we got a ride from a member who lived in that area who was down in Hamilton and going back that night. To make a long story short, he didn't really remember how to get back, and we arrived about 30 minutes to an hour later than we had anticipated. Well, the next day, we did our tradeoff. I went with E. Veamatahau (E. Vea), and E. Ngalu went with E. Fox. E. Vea and I went to Paeroa and street contacted. We took along a member named Elijah so that we could go into houses where there wasn't a Man present. Well, on the way, we got a text from one of the other Elders saying that there was a Solar eclipse. Well, we got out and looked. I took pictures. There were cars after us that also decided to stop and see what on earth we were looking at. :-)
We got to Paeroa, and E. Vea, Elijah, and I went and talked to people. We didn't have great success, but we did talk to one guy and he promised to read the Restoration pamphlet that we gave him. :-)
We went to the house of a Woman named Charise, a former Less-Active that really helps out the Elders in Coromandel. She fed us lunch and then she showed us this really cool place for hiking. Pictures are attached. There was a cave/tunnel thing, and 2 crazy bridges, and a Waterfall. The first one had a person limit of 10, and the second had one of 5. The second one was almost impossible to walk straight on because it moved with every step. We also saw this really huge waterfall. Great picture opportunities. :-)
Let me share this cool little "parable" that we heard during Zone Conference on Thursday:
Likening Popcorn unto Us
Behold at the time of harvest the ears of corn did bring forth kernels, which were dried and prepared for the popper's hand. And then it was that the popper did take the kernels, all of which appeared alike unto him, and did apply the oil and the heat.
And it came to pass that when the heat was on, some did explode with promise and did magnify themselves an hundred fold, and some did burst forth with whiteness which did both gladden the eye and satisfy the taste of the popper.
And likewise, some others did pop, but not too much. But lo, there were some that did just lie there and even though the popper's hear was alike unto them all, they did bask in the warmth of the oil and kept everything they had for themselves.
And so it came to pass that those which had given of themselves did bring joy and delight to many munchers, but those which kept of the warmth and did not burst forth were fit only to be cast out into the pail and were thought of with hardness and disgust.
And thus we see that in the beginning all appear alike, but when the heat is on, some come forth and give their all, while others faile to pop and become as chaff to be discarded and forgotten.
Popcorn is a little kernel which magnified it's calling
So, don't be the kernel that doesn't pop, or even the one that only pops a little. Be the one that explodes with promise.
Also, something cool that happened this past week with Wero. I will Quote my journal, because I wrote it when it was fresh in my mind.
"Last night, I prayed for a miracle to happen today. So, this morning... E. Jensen [,the Zone leader,] called us telling us that we were going to do a trade-off with us... We went over to Wero and April's... We talked to Wero. He seemed beat. We finally got him to tell us why he was so down. April kicked him out.... Wero started to really cry. We've never seen him cry before. We sat silent for a while. E. Jensen kept writing on sticky notes [secretly] telling me to open my mouth, to trust in the Lord, to talk, to keep talking and trusting. I really didn't know what to say. I didn't even know how to begin. Eventually, I [did. I told him that Heavenly father] is always there, listening... After I shared the story, I asked him if he would pray to ask for comfort and to know what step to take in life. He did. E. Ngalu came in and said that getting kicked out was an answer. Now he could be baptized without having to worry about [breaking the] Law of Chastity... So, we asked him if he would be baptized 'tomorrow before Church.' He almost said yes. He said he would think about it and we asked him to pray about it.... the Tradeoff Ended...."
We talked to our ward mission leader, and we talked to Wero again: "...He had prayed, but he wasn't sure if he had received an answer. He told April that he was going to go to the chapel for a baptismal interview.... We talked at the chapel. E. Ngalu got on the phone w/ the Zone leaders. He stepped outside and I began asking Wero about his prayer. How did he feel after he prayed. It sounded a lot like he didn't know what form his answer would take. E. Ngalu came in and said he had called the interview off. [We really want] to baptize the family together."
We didn't want to cause tension by baptizing Wero without April and Tyesha. We aren't even sure what April would've thought. But! April and Wero made up, and he was allowed back into the house, which was a miracle in of itself. Now, the family really might be willing to be baptized this upcoming weekend.
With Ra, he quit smoking with one of his Less-Active friends as of Saturday. We hope he is able to stick with it, and we hope he brings his friends to church. He brought his friend yesterday, and they are both coming with another Investigator to our sports at the chapel today. :-)
We are taking them to the Visitor Center today after P-day ends.
I sang Consider the Lillies at a Welfare dinner on Saturday. Everyone loved it. The food at that dinner was so bizarre, but it tasted great. Everything was incredibly healthy, including the desserts... :-)
We have a Luau coming up this Weekend, and it should be great. This weekend is going to be Busy-az! 4 Baptisms in NGA and a Luau!
Our window latch broke, so the window won't stay closed. We had a visitor a night or two ago. The neighbors cat decided to jump in our window and run through our flat. Lol... :-)
Pictures (I made them lower quality so I could send more in a single email. :-)
1. The Big L&P (Lemon and Paeroa, a drink unique to NZ) bottle in Paeroa, the place where L&P originated from.
2. Solar Eclipse, taken through polarized sunglasses.
3. Solar Eclipse, without sunglasses. You can't see squat. :-)
4. The Elders and Elijah, the member that came with us. We were just stopped on the side of the road, cars honking and getting mad at us. :-) From Left to Right: Me, E. Ngalu, E. Vea, Elijah, E. Fox
The other pictures are having issues. Will send more later.
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