Papakura Week 11

Kia ora everyone!

This was a great week! Elder Clark and I are finally recovered from our colds and we smashed the work this week. We ended up getting quite a few referrals and people who came up to us asking if we could start visiting with them! Other than that we had a lot going on for us too needing to deal with a few little things. My companions birthday was this week so we had some fun with that and I got most of the missionaries in the zone involved with it too. I'm getting more and more worried because this past transfer went by so fast. I feel like it's zoomed by, this week is transfer week and it means my time left in New Zealand is getting shorter and shorter. I've been trying real hard not to think about it and stay focused as if I had quite a bit left. It just gets hard to stay motivated and doing things right. So far things are really good for me but I'm excited for transfer week and what will happen. I hope everyone has a great week!

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 10

Kia ora everyone!

I had a pretty good week this week! I went on exchanges with the Assistants twice this week and I got to go with my old companion Elder Rich both times. Him and I felt like we were companions again but with a bit more responsibility. But it was really good, I got to go to Taupo for a district council! It was weird serving in the top of the mission and then driving all the way to the bottom of the mission. But it was a good meeting and it was good to see Sister Morris! She finishes her mission next transfer so we kind of figured we would never see each other again on the mission. Later in the week, they came up to Auckland and Elder Rich and I were able to go out and help with a Primary activity and get a few other things done. My companion Elder Clark has been sick the last few days and this morning I woke up with a sore throat so unfortunately, I feel like this upcoming week isn't going to be any fun. But anyway, things are good and Papakura is doing well! I hope everyone has a great week! 

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 8

Kia ora everyone!

This last week was pretty eventful and had us quite busy! We had to run around the zone heaps and deal with a few different disobedient and struggling companionship situations. On top of that, we had to prepare everyone including ourselves for a mission conference on Thursday. We had Elder Nielson and Elder Nattress of the Seventy come and hold a conference with our mission and teach us a few things. I especially appreciated a few things that Sister Nielson shared with us focusing on companionship during and after the mission. She spoke about how everyone is their own person and that the most important thing you can do in a companionship that you're struggling with is to allow your companion to be their own person and love them for who they are. Instead of focusing on their faults and trying to change them into the person you want them to be, love them and adapt and learn to work together with your individual strengths and weaknesses. It's a lesson I will not forget.

Other than that, it was a mostly standard week. Papakura is looking to improve soon. The Stake President has asked us to start organizing a massive stake "blitz" where every missionary in the Stake goes on a split with a member and do some ministering for an hour in one ward. That'll be 12 missionaries in one ward at once! My companion and I are also starting to organize a stake musical Fireside and getting every ward and missionaries involved. It should be a lot of fun! Anyway, I hope everyone's week is good!

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 7

Kia ora everyone!

It was a really hectic week this past week. We had transfers and a whole lot of business to take care of. Before the transfer day we had to deal with a whole lot of random business that the mission office and the missionaries wanted taken care of before everything got switched up. We blasted through a lot of our kilometer allotment trying to get from place to place in our zone. All in all it went well. Sadly, Elder Thompson had to be moved to a new area but now I have a great new companion! His name is Elder Clark, hes a great guy. I really like him. Papakura 1st ward is good. Unfortunately our numbers were a bit down this week but we're hoping to bring them up this week. I think we are going to try a few more new approaches to finding more people to teach. This week we also got to move into a new flat, our last one was pretty small and really old and dirty. Our new one is pretty good and has a lot more space. Other than that, nothing else spectacular happened! I hope everyone has a great week!

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 6

Kia ora everyone!

 I had a really good week this last week. Elder Thompson and I really tried to focus on being exactly obedient. We were able to find a few new people to work with and the work is picking up a little more! We went on MTC exchanges this week again, I was able to take a Tongan out to hit the doors and the ward list. Unfortunately I had to run a few errands while he was with me and we weren't able to be the most effective while he was with me. Elder Thompson and his MTC companion ended up finding the MTC companions non member family. There's about 10 of them and they just happened to stumble across them as they were walking. We are hoping to go back and teach them all about what their nephew is doing in a different mission. Other than that, transfers are this week and I will most likely be getting a new companion. Itll be sad to see Elder Thompson go, him and I have got along really well. But Im sure I will be able to make the best out of any situation. I hope all is well back home! Have a great week! 

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 5

Kia ora everyone!

This has been a good week, we were able to meet a lot of new people and kind of get a basis going with a lot of them. We have been working really closely with one of the young children we have been teaching named Cortez and he has been set to be baptized this upcoming Saturday. His parents have been working hard to make a change and come back into the gospel especially to help their son grow spiritually. He's a bright young kid but really shy and soft spoken. He's had all the lessons and he knows and understands the importance of the gospel. Other than that we had zone conference and had a few really good trainings.

This last week, an Elder was trying to save kilometers in his car so he and his companion rode bikes pretty far. They were on their way back when a man ran a red light and hit him going pretty fast. He went flying and so did the bike. They called us almost immediately after and we went immediately to the scene. The Elder was almost completely fine, he was pretty bloody because he smashed the windshield and he got cut up on all the glass and he said he bruised his leg pretty bad as well as badly spraining his wrist. But one of the first things he said as we walked over was that he felt really blessed and knew that God was looking out for his missionaries. It gave me hope knowing that Heavenly Father truly looks out for his missionaries. Plus it was pretty clear that the car was much worse off than the Elder. The windshield and hood was smashed! 

It all was a little hectic but it was still a good week. I hope everyones week goes well! 

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Papakura Week 4

Kia ora everyone! 

This week was a good week, some good things were accomplished this week and we are ready to get heaps done this upcoming week. Last week we did MTC exchanges and I had the opportunity to take someone from the islands of Kiribati and show him a bit of proselyting. He was a good Elder with a strong testimony and I feel like I learned a lot from his example. Other than that, we only had a few things going on here and there but towards the end of the week we got to attend a baptism and spend the day with our Assistants. I always enjoy exchanges with them and gaining their good insights. Today, there was a big change as I got to video my family and speak with them today. It was a little weird since it wasn't on a special day but it was good to have another catch up with them. This upcoming week we have zone conference which should be really good, I'm just worried we'll get picked on for a role play or something big in front of everyone. But either way, all is well. Hope everyone has a great week!

Arohanui, 

Elder Green 

Papakura Week 3

Hello Family!

Things are well over here. Papakura work is a bit better than Weymouth work but not near as great as was the Te Awamutu work. But I think it could get there. I'm hoping to improve and work with the area a lot. So far so good. I'm just a bit worried because my companion is most likely moving to a new area in a few weeks so I'll have to take my time to learn it and work it well. 

This week was really good! We had a few things going on including having someone from the missionary department come and do an MLC with us this last week. He went in depth on a few different ways of teaching and changing the dynamic of teaching a few different principles. It was pretty cool, but it felt like I went back to the MTC trying to learn how to teach a certain way. And the MLC lasted about 7 hours of just him talking at us while we tried to keep our focus and write notes. It was interesting though. Afterward, the next day, he needed to come to Auckland so because we were coming back up anyway, we were asked to give him a ride up so we got the opportunity to have a more personal conversation with him and better understand what he taught. The rest of the week was just basic things and handling different zone business. Nothing super spectacular. I hope everyone has a great week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Papakura Week 2

I have considered on multiple occasions actually looking at the day countdown but I can't bring myself to it. The time is flying too fast.. It doesn't help transitioning from a young missionary to a seemingly old missionary. In the last 6 months the entire mission has completely reshuffled. I'm ages away from going home but my intake is now seen as the second oldest essentially. I kind of don't like it.. Especially as a zone leader, we kind of get put up in a pedestal and we really shouldn't at all. We're just the same as the other missionaries. It puts a lot of pressure on us to really be in top of things and being a proper example to the newer generation of missionaries. But yeah.. I'm getting a little scared thinking about taking on life. It seems like on a mission a lot of walls are put up protecting us from the world but after I'm released those walls will come down. It scares me quite a bit.. But it's good, I'll take those challenges on when I come to them. 

Well I hope the Rams win! Never seen them at the Superbowl before. Sounds like Caleb is getting hasty. I hope work doesn't hate you for having two sons that worked there for a short time just to quit. Sahry.... 

I live at XX Grove St in Papakura. I looked for the house we were in but I wasn't willing to go down the long driveways. It is in our area though so we did use to be in Papakura 1st ward eons ago. A bit strange.. But yeah we would be keen to see Nanny. Transfers are in about 4 weeks but either way I'm 99.9% sure I will still be here. My companion Elder Thompson is the man. He's the first Arizona companion I've had and him and I get along really well. He's a very good leader and missionary. He's been here for a while though so I feel like he'll probably be gone after this transfer. But it's good. So far my experience in South Auckland again was similar to the first time I was here but I feel like this week we're going to change that. We've got a lot planned we only hope things go as planned. 

This last week we tried to get a few visits in to a family I've recently met that the missionaries have been visiting for a while. They're very kind and very Maori. The father has the strongest accent I've heard in a long time. The son is not a member and the parents are returning less actives. We also had quite a few errands to run here and there but things are looking good for this upcoming week. I hope you all have a great week this week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Papakura Week 1 - Transfers . . . Back to the city!

Yes I am in my new area and I have been sent back to the city. There are a lot of pros and cons but it'll be good. I hope to do a lot better and enjoy it a lot more than I did last time. I think it's good because I know this whole zone backwards and forwards already. At least geographically. I think that it will be good to being here as a zone leader because it'll keep me really busy with errands and the work here. I think Papakura 1st ward is a little better off with the work than Weymouth ward was. A lot bigger boundaries too. My worry is just the work here. And I was really hoping I'd never have to serve in the city again. But it's all good, I'll manage. I'm needed here for a reason so I'll just keep my eye out for that reason. I'll have to look around and see if I can find the house and if anyone remembers them. There are a few members here that are a part of the furniture in the ward. The chapel is really old and pretty much completely wooden. The place is actually really cool, seems kind of rustic. But yeah the Church was a lot bigger back in the day it seems. Most the membership in NZ is less active. I was talking to a guy in my last area who used to operate the buildings along the East Coast for the Church office and he told me most the full size chapels out that way have been released or knocked over. The one I got baptized in they knocked over the steeple but I think the building still stands. They have built a couple brand new chapels though. There's a super flash one in Temple View. Like nicer than any chapel I've even seen in America. It's bigger than any back home too. But yeah anyway. Things are good. 

Arohanui,
Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 18

Hey everyone! 

My week was really good. I had a lot going on and some good work done. We now have about 4 people that we are teaching and progressing. That doesn't sound like a lot but here in this very developed country with people who don't need religion, we take what we can get! Sadly my time in Te Awamutu is most likely coming to a close and I won't be able to see these people, who are very close to baptism, be baptized. I do know that the work will continue on without me though and that much gives me peace. We've been running quite a few errands lately trying to make sure everything is good before transfers. Elder Rich and I have set a bunch of goals and deadlines for the zone this transfer and pretty soon here it seems like everyone is going to just about make it. It's really good to see the progress of all the areas and missionaries as well as the great people in our own proselyting area. I'm grateful for everyone's support and I hope everyone's year has started out great! I'm loving it here in New Zealand and look forward to what's next. I hope everyone has a good week! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 17

Here in New Zealand, things are well. The work in Te Awamutu has exploded lately and been doing really well. We have 4 people we are successfully teaching the discussions to. To put that in perspective, I was teaching 2 people he discussions the entire time I spent in Manurewa. We had 3 of them come to church yesterday so it was real good! They seem to be progressing quite well! We had our big zone conference with Elder Nattress and it went quite well I think. Our role play went well and we got some good compliments and a lot of laughs. We later on had to participate in a sort of activity that Elder Nattress had us do and divided us into our individual zones. So I gathered all the Elders and Sisters in our zone to one side of the chapel and stood in the middle of them leading a sort of discussion. It was pretty nerve wracking because there's about 40 missionaries all looking at me and waiting for me to give them the floor. Trying to give everyone an opportunity to speak their ideas and mold them all together was really hard especially in the short 7 minutes we had. I was hoping my companion would stand next to me but he kind of sat down and gave me the "good luck bro" look. It was stressful but I think it turned out alright. The other zone went first and while they were doing it, Elder Nattress sat next to me and told me what he wanted out of our zone that the other one wasn't doing and I had to somehow tell everyone else without making too much noise. It turned out good though so we're alright. That's me for now. Have a great week! 

Te Awamutu Weeks 15&16

Kia ora friends and whanau!

It has been a decent week and we were able to accomplish some good things for the area and the zone. We got to visit so many people and work with them this week and we are seeing the fruits of our labors with some of them. We now have an investigator out of a man who has been caretaking for a man who is confined to a wheelchair with little to no movement. The caretaker brings the man to church and has stayed a few times to talk to us and now he's staying for all of church! He even said he's trying to get his wife and son to start coming too! We've got a zone conference coming up with Elder Nattress of the Seventy on Thursday which is pretty nerve wracking because he'll be doing a lot with all of the zone leaders leading up to it. And better yet, President Cummings has called on my companion and I to perform a special role playing scenario in front of half the mission and the general authority. We are pretty scared and anxious about it but I'll let you know how it turns out. Other than that, things are good. Nothing too spectacular. I hope you all have a great week!

Arohanui,

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 14

Kia ora everyone! 

Elder Rich and I had a good week. We had a lot. Going on in the first half but we got some real good proselyting in our area for the second half. MLC was on Tuesday and the zone leaders and sister training leaders got Facebook activated for them to try it out before the rest of the mission gets it activated. We then had to go to Taranaki again and share what President wanted everyone to know with them at their district council. When we got back, Elder Rich and I immediately went back to smashing the work in our area. We met a few less actives and got a couple referrals from our Sisters in our area. All in all it was a real good week! 

Just on Saturday, we had an opportunity to teach Gregory the Restoration and he taught us about Maori culture. After our lesson, we had dinner with a member family who also invited Gregory. It was a really good time and Gregory more and more loved the church and the people of the church. He studies everything we give him and is keeping all of our commitments. He is more or less, a "golden investigator" and I feel blessed just for having the opportunity to meet him. 

I hope everyone has a great week and a Merry Christmas! 

Arohanui, 

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 12

Kia ora everyone! 

This was a pretty good week. Elder Powell and I got a lot of things done and we had some good fun. On Tuesday and Wednesday we had different district councils. It was great being with them. In the council on Wednesday, everyone prepared a musical number so I jumped in with the district leader and played the guitar to Come Thou Fount mashed with Hie to Kolob. It turned out alright but there's still a lot to improve on. Then we drove down to Taranaki and spent some time with the Elders down there. It was fun and we got some good work done. Transfers is coming up this week and we will be pretty busy. I'm looking forward to it! I hope everyone has a good week!

Arohanui,

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 11

Kia ora everyone! 

I had a pretty good week, Elder Powell and I got to do some real good work in our area. On Wednesday, we had our first teaching appointment with Gregory and it went really well! We were able to evaluate what he knows and what he wants to learn and we got to know him and his back story really well. We plan on visiting him quite a bit from now on and teaching him the discussions. He is a very intelligent guy and loves to read and learn. We look forward to building a tighter bond with him. On Thursday I got to go on an exchange with the Assistants and went to go visit with a family that was really close to my parents when they were at BYUH together. I vaguely remember them from when I was a little kid but they were awesome to talk to and catch up with. They don't live in my area but they live relatively close so maybe I'll be able to call in once in a while. Other than that, nothing spectacular happened. Transfers are coming up again in another couple weeks and we think Elder Powell will be going somewhere else and I will get a new companion. Time will tell! I hope everyone's week goes well!

Arohanui,

- Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 10

Kia ora everyone! 

I had a real good week this week, it got pretty stressful at the beginning but I am doing real good now. The mission has taught me really well how to understand and manage stress and also how to push myself to do things I didn't even know I could do. I have learned a lot about myself and the things I enjoy doing and things I am pretty good at. I still have so much to learn and I have a long ways to go on the new things I have already learned but I am working toward it. 

Elder Powell and I have been doing some real good things in our area lately and we have seen some miracles! Lately a man has been coming to sacrament meeting every Sunday and he loves it and wants to learn more. His name is Gregory and he has recently been released on parole from a life sentence hes been serving since he was 18. He listened to a few presentations given to him while he was in Prison about the gospel and loved it. We are going to start teaching him this week and hopefully progress him enough to someday enter the waters of baptism. He is a really nice guy and is just so keen to learn! It was a miracle for us to meet him and hopefully soon, be able to start teaching him.

The last couple P-days have been really fun! Last week I hiked Mt Taranaki which was a really long hike and had calf deep snow at about 3/4 of the way to the point we reached. It was near impossible to get to the summit with the amount of snow so we didn't bother trying to go all the way up. Just today, we had a zone p-day playing bow tag. It was pretty much paintball but with a bow and arrow. The arrows have big marshmallow pillow things so they don't injure. It was really fun and we got to have a lot of fun with heaps of elders! 

Anyway thats me for the week! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 9

Kia ora everyone! 

This week was pretty good! I got to get a lot done in the zone and get some good work done as well. We have a few new referrals that look really promising too. I think that this week has been a real learning experience for me. Running around the zone pretty much the whole week was starting to get really stressful as we tried to handle so many different situations. One of our district leaders lost his phone so we had to work with the Assistants and Salt Lake to try and pinpoint its location but it didn't work so he now has to buy a new phone. Until he gets it and the sim card is activated, we are trying to take care of all the needs of his district and across the zone. I became a transport truck essentially and delivered heaps of bikes and packages and mail. This whole week, Elder Powell and I were pretty much on exchanges too so that we could be in 2 places rather than one. Everything has kind of calmed down now and we are doing all good. We look forward to spending the week working on our area. But anyway, I hope everyone's week goes real well! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Te Awamutu Week 8

Kia ora everyone! 

I had a great week this last week. Elder Powell and I were able to get so much more proselyting done in our area and a lot less zone leader stuff to deal with. The lady that we are teaching, Jane, is finally ready for baptism and we plan to have her baptized this upcoming Saturday. We were also able to meet with a different person we teach named Dean and have a really good catch up with him. I realized that he and I are into a lot of the same things and we got on quite well. He has such a strong testimony of the gospel and believes in it so much but his partner won't marry him until 2020 and he rarely is at church because the members make him feel like an outsider. We are working as best we can with him to make him feel more at home in the ward and trying to teach his partner as well. We also did a lot with a couple less active families we work with, the Thompsons and the Parkes. We got to work on the farm and go out to a duck shed on a small lake. We mostly just minister in little ways to the less-actives and do what we can to fellowship them. They both are not very fond of the members in the ward but they love missionaries and take very good care of us. We had zone conference on Thursday and we learned about this years #LighttheWorld initiative. It's really cool and we as missionaries will be a big part in applying it to the many people found in Te Awamutu. Other than that, just minor other things happened this week. Hope everyone else had a great week! 

Arohanui, 

Elder Green

Ps funny story.. Totally left my badge on my study table for the first time ever. I went to a dinner appointment with no badge! I put on a jacket to hide my naked pocket and the family never noticed. I felt so unholy and empty without the badge! Never again... 

Mom's Note:  I asked Braden to please send pictures and please please have some with a normal looking face and he sent me like 8-10 pics and these are the faces I get . . . (*sigh)