So... I had a few things to write about. First off, I have never seen so many people in my life without teeth. It's nuts. At least 10 people, probably way more, in my ward have all or most of their teeth missing. Another 25 or so have some teeth missing. And, quite a few people have one or two or more gold or silver teeth. I heard this Joke about teeth the other day. How do we know that the Toothbrush was invented in New Zealand?....... Because if it had been invented in any other country, it would've been called the teethbrush. So, if you don't get that joke, it's because there are heaps of people with one or few teeth to brush. :-) The Flood family, a family in the ward, made a comment about how all the Americans have such nice teeth. (Bro. Flood has no teeth.) E. Brown, from Huntly, didn't know what braces were. (He is missing a tooth.) So, Americans spend heaps of money and time on teeth. NZ does not. :-)
I thought I was the only crazy American driver on the road. Turns out I was wrong. So, there we were, driving into Hamilton for Zone Training, when we come around the corner, and lo and behold, there is a silver car in my lane shooting right at me. So, I move into the right lane, and the other driver, oblivious of my honking and the fact that he was driving on the right (wrong side. Left is correct) side of the road. It didn't register to me all at once that he was in my lane until he was about 25m ahead of me. Thankfully he didn't swerve into my right side of the road and hit us (I swerved with about 7m to spare.) Morons... :-) Another thing about driving, not a bad thing this time. They opened the Waikato (the district, much like a county in America) Expressway! It is just like all freeways in America. Straight. It is lovely. However, the speed limit is only 100, which is something like 63mph. They need to increase it. Or remove the speed limit all together (there are roads in NZ with now speed limit.). :-)
I don't recall if I wrote about this already, but this is a prophecy that a Maori chief had. He and other tribal leaders were praying to God and asking which of the churches that were flooding NZ was the religion for the Maoris. They prayed a ton, and if I remember correctly, they fasted as well. Eventually, the chief received the answer through a dream or a vision I think (I can't quite remember how his prayer was answered). Anyways, God said that the church was not yet in NZ. However, they would be able to recognize it when men came from the east, learned the Maori language, lived with and like the Maoris, and prayed with the right arm raised so that it made a square. There were also some other distinguishing features that made it clear, that when the first LDS missionary arrived in NZ, that was the church for them. Within a few years, 1/10 of the Maori people were baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The praying with the arm raised referred to the unique way that we as a church baptize people. One of the greatest missionaries in Aotearoa was Mathew Cowley. He was fluent in Maori shortly into his mission, and was until the day that he died. He served a 5 year mission among the Maoris, and later returned to serve as the mission president.
One other thing that I thought I would mention is that many people have said that the people of Polynesia are descendants of Hagoth. One of the Prophets even said so. So, these people are descendants of Lehi. There are many similarities between their cultures and with our beliefs. I want to learn way more.
So, there are a few things that Kiwi's say that I thought I would mention, just in case you care, or ever come to NZ. People say "Far Out" As an expression of disbelief. Sometimes its shortened to just be "Fa..." That's different that America, where, around me, it always meant awesome. People say "heaps" to mean a lot. As I've already explained. Also, adding Az to the end of everything to say lots of that something. (Sweet-az, etc.). Also, "Choice," to mean, very cool, very awesome, good idea, etc. "Hiding" or "Fussy" or "getting smashed." All indicative of getting a beating, or getting beat up. For example, someone would give someone else a hiding or a fussy. Or they would smash them. That's it for now, in case you actually cared. :-)
Transfers are this Thursday (Wednesday for yous). E. Ngalu got the call that he is leaving to East Tamaki (in Otara, Auckland). I will not find out until Wednesday, but I am pretty sure that I will be staying in NGA. I wonder who my new companion will be. I hope he's awesome, and I hope that he is musical, because having a musical companion like E. Ngalu was really great. :-)
One last thing, We got a new bishopric in our ward. Since our previous bishop became the stake president, we have been missing a full time bishop. His councilors have been doing great to take over, and finally, yesterday, they don't have to do as much hard work. The new bishopric will be very good. I know that all of the men that were chosen were divinely chosen, and they will do very well. We didn't get a new bishopric until 6 weeks after our old bishop became the stake president. The approval has to go to the first presidency, which is something that I didn't know. So, our new bishop is someone approved by the first presidency, who are the people closest to the words of God. So, they got it right. :-)
If any of you have a Preach my Gospel, and are planning on serving a mission, please read Ch 4 and Ch 6. They are very very important to missionaries. The things in those chapters are something that everyone should know. Pay close attention to Ch 4, which talks about the Holy Ghost in depth. It will help you, regardless of whether or not you are serving a mission. Learning more about the Holy Ghost can only help you.
Love you all. Inform my parents if you recieve your mission calls, and they will tell me. I know that a few of you have already received them. I know that Bethany has most likely put her papers in by now, so that's super duper exciting. :-) But if there is anyone else that has received mission calls, please tell me. :-)
Hope yous all have great lives. Enjoy them!
--
E. Staheli
Pictures
1. A "hike" that we went on. It was actually just a walk around Lake Hakanoa in Huntly. It's not something I will be doing if I come back to NZ.
2. A big oak tree that was a major attraction on the walk. Booring. There was an electric fence near-by that E. Beecher and E. Brown touched to shock themselves... Lol... I was too chicken. I hate getting shocked. So does E. Ngalu
3. A picture of the Lake. Pretty Ugly. :-)
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