Manurewa Week 15

Kia ora everyone!  

It has been quite the week! First off, I went on exchanges with one of our zone leaders, Elder Sua. He's the man, he's from Sydney, Australia. The next day we had zone conference, and I was able to catch up with quite a few people! I got to see Elder Borders who is doing real well! I also got to see Sister Morris! I went to high school with her in Round Valley and we were friends too! Not just some girl I knew in high school. I would've graduated with her if I hadn't moved before senior year! She's doing well and I also got to catch up with her companion! Sister Knight who I served with in Ngaruawahia. Her and I double covered for 3 transfers so I got to know her really well! It was good to catch up with them. My companion, Elder Vanva and I are doing well. The Weymouth ward is slowly but surely improving with the missionary work. We hope to be able to get the ball rolling even faster soon. 

So I really wanted to write another heart warming story but this is more just a story. So for zone conference we have to drive down to Hamilton and back. ON my way back, I stopped in Ngaruawahia to say hello to Brandon and have a light feed. It was a really good time and it was nice to catch up. The whole time I was there, I was really bubbly and being funny and what not and it really had an impact on a few people there. Brandon later texted me and told me that he noticed a change in me and that it was a good one! Another Elder that I had previously served around told me the same thing. So I think that my time in the mission has helped me grow and become a better person. I know that serving my mission has helped me improve and I know that it has blessed me. I'm very thankful for that. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 14

Kia ora everyone!

This has been a good week. My new companion and I were able to get a lot done. The ward lately has really picked up on the meal roster, it has been good! We usually just have food dropped off to us but we still have a sit down meal often enough. Most of the families in our ward are from one of the islands of the pacific so most of my sit down feeds consist of island food. I have been eating a lot of taro, otai, chicken and pig. Most large feasts or events have a few whole pigs to feed everyone. It kinda feels like what some of you may imagine a luau is. But there's no apple in the pigs mouth like in the movies and such. It is quite a bit different to what I'm used to. Most of the food here is a bit more bland then food in America. American food is very rich and flavorful while the food here has a bit less flavor. Either way, food is food and its really good! 

And yes it was really lame not to do anything for the 4th! It has always been one of my favorites. We had district meeting on that day and I tried to do a few American themed things but I was kind of drowned out by the overwhelming amount of Aussies in our district. So basically all we did was go to this mega expensive pizza place that sell NY style pizzas in celebration. But that was it.

I have a short little story that I would like to share this week. One of the few people I had the privilege to help baptize, Jasmine, came to church for all three hours (which isn't a regular thing). She is just a young girl, only nine years old, and she isn't very tall at all. She looks much younger than she actually is and she is a very kind-hearted and bright girl. Anyway, when I got into the area, previous missionaries kept trying to set them for baptism only to be pushed back because Jasmine's older brother did not fully understand what he was committing to and needed to be retaught many times. Jasmine understood but would not be baptized unless her older brother was being baptized too. The first lesson Elder Borders and I taught them was to explain baptism and confirmation and we used a simple object lesson to try and get the older brother to understand more clearly. It was a success and we were able to set them for the middle of June. In that moment, Jasmine was very happy and wanted to be baptized literally the next day. We ended up getting everything figured out and they were baptized on the 16th and confirmed on the 17th in sacrament. After her baptism, this little 9 year old girl bore one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever had the privilege to hear and had nearly the whole room in tears, I was on the verge myself. Anyway, yesterday at church, I was playing the piano in the primary room while we waited to attend ward council and Jasmine peaked her head in the door, gave me a surprised look like she didn't know I could play the piano and then without saying a word, she ran over to me and gave me a very short hug. Now it seems insignificant and actually, its not allowed because I'm a missionary. She ran out afterwards and didn't say a thing the entire time. But when she hugged me, I got that warm feeling of thanks. I was reminded of the powerful testimony she bore. I felt like she was saying thank you for helping her get to where she was. But I also realized in that moment that it is for that very reason that I came on a mission. To help people get to a good point in their lives. The spirit was very strong in that moment and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity I have had to be a part of Jasmine's confirmation. But anyway. That's my latest story. 

I hope everyone is having a good week! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 13- District Leader!

Kia ora whanau! 

This has been an eventful week! We were able to get some good things done and I got a new companion! I am still in Weymouth ward but Elder Borders has transferred to Hamilton. I am now with an Elder Vanva. We served around each other in my last area when he was getting trained. He was in my district! I was also called to be the district leader of our district. I hope I can do well in this capacity, but who knows! Time will tell. This upcoming week I will have to run my first district meeting which is pretty easy, except for I have to come up with a training for the missionaries in my district. I will definitely get a lot of good studying out of the Preach my Gospel. Other than that, the week will be really good. We will be working with the ward members to talk to a lot of less actives and get a good list going for them to better minister. But other than that not a whole lot has happened.

I recently hit my 9 month mark, and most of my district is made up of people from my intake which is a strange coincidence. But being out that long, I look back at the beginning of my mission and now and I see a lot of big differences. I know that I have changed for the better and I am learning so much. I only hope to continue to learn as much as I can and teach others! I still keep in close contact with Brandon by permission of the Mission President and I know he is getting closer and closer to baptism. The few baptisms I have got here in Weymouth are still doing well and mostly attending church every Sunday. I only hope I can accomplish more and help the people of New Zealand as much as I can. But anyway, that's me for now! Have a great week everyone!

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 11

Kia ora everyone! 

My week has been really good and I hope everyone else's was too! My companion and I were able to have 2 of our young investigators baptized this past weekend! They both have been excited for this day for a long time and when it finally happened it was very emotional for everyone involved. Young 9 year old Jasmine was crying the whole time she bore her testimony and I have to admit, it was hard for me to hold back tears. The spirit was so strong. It has been amazing being able to work with them and teach them. I hope the ward does well for them and brings them in. 

The rest of the week we had a good time working with our recent converts. We have a couple that we work with that are awesome! They have been going through a rough patch lately but they never forgot their testimony. They are finally starting to come out of the storm and its great to see. They have started making a special sauce that has mushrooms in it and a bunch of other ingredients (that they will not share) and it is one of the best sauces I have ever tasted! They give it to us often, and I don't think I can get enough. 

As a missionary in New Zealand, I feel like we get pampered quite a bit. Everyone here has major respect for the missionaries and it is hard to accept. At any event that has food, we are always told to go first, even before the women and children. It's also really hard to eat in dinner appointments when the family that's feeding you has a lot of very hungry children told they can't even hardly look at the food until we dish up first. I have a lot of respect for the people here who have always put us missionaries first despite their own hardships. They all want to sacrifice for the Lord's servants and it really is a huge example to me and how I want to be in life. The people of New Zealand never cease to amaze me. Well, that's me for the week. I hope everyone else has done well for their week!

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 10

Kia ora everyone!

This week wasn't super eventful but a few things happened. My companion and I were able to set in stone all the minor details for a baptism we have this weekend! They are two young children we have been teaching for the last while. They are the daughter and son of a less active we have been working with. The baptism has been set a few times but it kept being pushed back. This time I think that it will go through! Both of the kids are very excited and looking forward to Saturday. Every time I go to teach them, it does make me a little bit sad however because the girl, who happens to be 9 years old the same as my sister, reminds me a lot of my sister. I try not to think about it too much but I am often reminded of home and I get a little down. But each time I get down, it pushes me to work harder and put other things in mind! 

We have also been teaching the kids of our recent convert Ngaire, who we baptized about a month ago. It has been real fun! Every time we go over, we try to come up with a new gospel related game. It gets challenging because we already used up all the games I have learned this far in the mission. My trainer taught me a lot of games and object lessons when I was with him, and they are quite useful! And you get a kick out of it each time you use the punch line to each of these lessons. But other than that, not much has happened so far in the mission field. The months are turning into weeks and the weeks into days. My mission is going way too fast. I worry more and more that I'll not get enough done in the short time I get to spend among the people of New Zealand helping and teaching them. I only hope to get as much done as I can. But I hope that everyone is doing well back home! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 9

Kia ora everyone! 

This week has been a good and productive week, we were able to get a lot done. Lately we have been putting a focus on people we don't know that we see in our area books. It is a good and effective way to find new people to work with because all of these people have worked with missionaries in the past. Elder Borders and I have decided that we could get more done this transfer than we did last transfer because now we both know the area pretty well. I do have to admit though, the rain has not been helping. We have a pretty small geographical area and therefore, a very limited amount of kilometers to use. We try to walk around as much as we can but it has been raining pretty hard the last few days. Not fun! But they say on the mission that the more raindrops you catch on your badge, the prettier your future wife is going to be. So I try to catch raindrops at the same time I try to dodge them. Doesn't work super well but I try. 

Lately my companion and I have been going to this cross-fit trainer guy who has a really nice and expensive gym he made his garage into. We go on p-days and far out! I just about die after every set. My companion loves working out and will not miss out above all else so I am get to go all the time! I can't complain though. It has been good for me. I just really hope that I get a companion as workout crazy as he is in my last 6 months. Time will tell though. 

There isn't much else to report other than I am still breathing and pressing forward in the Lord's work. Hope everyone is doing well back home! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green

Manurewa Week 8

Kia ora everyone!

This week has been a pretty good week. My companion and I are trying to create a good plan for our area. We want to do our best for the area since we were blessed with another transfer of being companions. Our ward mission leader has proven to be a battering ram to the ward council about missionary work and we think that the work will progress hugely! I am learning so much about life and about myself on the mission and I hope to apply that knowledge more and more. My mission President is a huge help to me and I know that he only wants the best for all the missionaries under his stewardship. I was able to have interviews with him this week and I know for a fact that he is truly inspired. Every time I go in for an interview, he always mentions something that has been on my mind for the previous weeks. One time he even mentioned something I dreamed about! Word for word! The spirituality that is coming from my mission has made a huge impact on my life and I only hope to be able to continue that after my mission. 

Lately, we have been trying to work more with our less actives and do what we can for them. Most of them never progress and it's hard, but we pretty much sift through and drop a lot of them because they don't follow through with any of our commitments. Other than that the work is good and I love it! I hope everyone is doing well back home and that I am sharing enough information that everyone knows I am doing very well! 

Arohanui,

Elder Green