Kel te pai! (Very good!)
#LearningMaori
#ExcitingThings
Yesterday and the day before, my answer to that first question was the following:
Kei te mawiwi ahau (I am not well.)
and
Kei te nge nge ahu (I am very tired.)
Sickness, man. It gets ya. I used to never get sick! But, alas—a different lifestyle, climate, and food (and parasites?)—all go hand in hand in changing things within the body I guess. But all is well now, and we'll get to that in a bit :)
PONDERISE:
"Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen." —2 Nephi 4:35
AND... a quote of the week that I got from our "specialised training" this week:
"Don't let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities." —President Thomas S. Monson ("Living the Abundant Life" Ensign Jan 2012)
It's been a good week :) Regardless of getting sick—because the fact that we have prayer and the Priesthood within this gospel makes all things better. I can't imagine life without it.
MONDAY. Dude. The insanity but funnest of P-DAYS!! Emails, Shopping, then: Zone P-Day. "The Amazing Race: Henderson!" Haha. We had a grand time. We were split up into teams, given clues, and then GO! We ran around the church grounds and around Henderson (in cars) doing different tasks and competing against one another. All the excitement! The Samoan Sisters (Liataua and Pita) set it all up, and it was truly brilliant. We had to do tasks (and document with photos along the way) such as basketball shot-making (I let the other sisters do this one. Ha), getting our car washed, getting a picture on a slide in a park, pictures hugging mannequins at the mall, going to the bowling alley and getting one of us to get a strike, going to the Falefatu's house and doing the "Weet-bix Challenge" [where you try to eat as many dry Weet-bix—a popular breakfast cereal made from shredded wheat—as you can in one minute, without spitting it out or drinking water), ...and other things that aren't coming to mind right now. Haha. Basically, it was a super crazy exciting day. And.... we even came in second :) EVEN WITH BEING GIVEN A "ROAD BLOCK" - aka: One of the other teams got to sabatoge us to slow us down. The extra challenge given? To go to Mackers (McDonalds), get LARGE frozen drinks (luckily a "large" here isn't as big as at home. It's maybe the equivilent of a medium, if not a small drink at home....) and drink them while sitting at McDonalds. Aka: very fast! #BrainFreeze But... like I said, we still came in second. And just BARELY. We saw the red team just getting out of their car as we drove into the chapel... so by the space of a few minutes we were beat. But - it was all fun and games and exciting! :)
Sister Hobbs and I ended the night trying to find a few potentials in the area around the Masiasomua's home (we originally had a plan to have a lesson with them... but, alas: They ended up all having to work and whatnot). And...apparently it truly wasn't the right night for us to meet them. 'Cause most people weren't home. OR in the case of the main referral we were looking to find: We couldn't remember where the street was. So we called the Elders to look at a map for us. And...well, the directions that both sets of Elders gave us were the exact same, and ....were both incorrect! So we ended up going in a really large circle. Ha. But - all is well. We tried. And then we moved forward. We tried to find someone at this point to help us in getting home, because it would have taken... probably an hour and a half to walk home from that side of our area. But: alas, once again, no one we called in our ward was answering. So... we started walking! At about... half to 9, we were still on Sturges Rd. ...when who drove up? Sister Masiasomua :) She was on her way home from work. And this was a miracle moment when we all knew the spirit definitely works within us and all around us. Because Sister Masiasomua was telling us that normally she would have just stayed at work to finish up the few things she had left to do, but this night, she thought, "Nah - I'll leave it for tomorrow." And came home. #Blessings #LittleMiracles 'Cause... Sister Hobbs and I were exhausted. She graciously drove us home and we were able to plan and get ready for the next day in a timely manner, rather than an hour later than we would have wanted!
So... BLESSINGS!!
Phew. (A man that definitely smokes just came and sat down by me. Fun times!) #InternetCafeLife
TUESDAY. We had District Meeting! Then lunch. And ..cancelled appointments. *Sad face*. We met with a less-active, and with Ivan. Ivan is just wonderful. We were supposed to have dinner wtih the Sekona's this night, but - Sister Sekona was taken by sickness... so they purchased food for us and dropped it off. #ButterChicken #Spoiled And... we had our final lesson AND the interviews for Eli and Hakeian's baptism :) Yes, they passed, and yes, we had a wonderful lesson. They're just ....so fun! :D
Also: BUGS. They need to stop biting me. I have over 13 bites just on my left arm right now, 7 of which surround my elbow. We think they're all coming from my bed suddenly... and it got worse AFTER we sprayed the bed down with Permetherine on Tuesday. So...that's fun. Apparently it just angered, rather than killed the bugs this time around. I'm confused as to what makes them suddenly appear. It's fine. I'm over it. I apparently just need to start lathering myself in oils before I get in bed, rather than in the day when it would make more sense to get bitten. :P #TheBuggyLife
WEDNESDAY ...Sickness. Truly. I never got this sick at home. Or at least not as often as I feel sick here. But - we stayed in the flat at the beginning of the day - but still made it out for the night, attempting to meet some referrals - with one success! She wasn't able to talk with us then, but we did make an appointment for this week. So... good things :) We also met another member who lives in our area, but attends... Sunnyvale! (I think) Ward. Anyhoo. The Singh family. Apparently the sister of the Singh girl we met works at the MTC! I... honestly don't remember her. Haha. She was never one of my direct teachers. But I'm sure I'll recognize her when I actually see her again. They're a wonderful family :)
THURSDAY started out differently than usually - with weekly planning, because Friday we knew we would be in a training meeting with president.... So - we planned, and we went out. This time with COURTNEY from Sunnyvale Ward. OH she's adorable. She met a potential with us - Yami. He's... definitely an interesting potential! He's muslim - but still open to learning new things. Ah. And he doesn't blink. Ever. That's what kind of weirded me out about the whole situation of talking with him. Ha. Literally doesn't blink when he's lookin at you. Eyes WIDE open. So - it'll be fun to see where that goes. He WANTED a Book of Mormon to read though, so we'll see!
We also visited Aroha and her family, and went to the Millers for dinner. I feel like she always feeds us some sort of American-ish meal. Ha. It makes me laugh. This time it was burgers. Really good burgers though! And chocolate mousse. #Mmm
We had her drop us to Sturgess Rd. so that our dear Danni Butler could pick us up at the edge of our area and it wouldn't be so far for her to drive :) It was a good time with the family. We went over the Restoration, and I think it was good. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I wish I could do more for them. They're the best people and make our lives so happy.
FRIDAY. "Specialized Training" Day at Sunset Chapel! It was a good training, it really was. We got together with Waterview and Harbour Zones and were just given some council from President and Sister Balli, and the assistants. Our dear Elder Hunter and Sister Cluff from our Zone also gave a talk! So that was fun. Ah - and Elder Clark, Saulo, and Peihopa sang a BEAUTIFUL verson of How Great Thou Art together. So, yes. I got to see Elder Clark again - and it was wonderful. I also met another Elder - Elder Fermanis. Haaaaaa. #BiggestFlirt #ElderWeAreOnAMission We had gotten there early—before the chapel was even open, so we were out chatting for a bit, and this is when I met Elder Fermanis. After he found out where I was from (he's from NZ), this is how the conversation went:
Elder Fermanis: "Are there any beaches in Utah Sister Ottley?"
Me: "Yes! ...Well, I mean, there's Bear Lake."
Elder Fermanis: "Is it nice?"
Me: "Yes!"
Elder Fermanis: "So - is that us?"
Me: *Silence, but thinking, "Wha?" *
Elder Fermanis: "Ah - but wait. we coudlnt' be alone. Hey, Elder Shannon! You're from Utah, do you know Sister Ottley?
* Elder Shannon, who I was talking to before Elder Fermanis, comes back into the conversation *
Elder Shannon: Yeah!
Elder Fermanis: Is Bear Lake nice?
Elder Shannon: Yes!
Elder Fermanis: Is it clear?
Elder Shannon: Yes!
Elder Fermanis: Ah - so is that all of us? Going to Bear Lake?
*And this is where Elder Shannon just kind of left me hanging... there with Elder Fermanis. Ha.*
Elder Fermanis: "Ah - so when do you go home?"
Me: "December."
Elder Fermanis: "Ah... it's not meant to be."
Me: What?
Elder Fermanis: I'm coming to visit Utah - in October. And I LEAVE in December.
Me: *laughs* thinking - "Who does this Elder think he is?"
...And it continued through to the beginning of the meeting, with him trying to get me to come sit by him and whatnot. Haaaaaa. #ToughLuckElder #ProbablyThinksI'm19. It's truly classic to see Elder's faces when they find out i'm 24! Sadly, I didn't get to a point in the conversation that I could have told him that. Ah well.
Moral to the story: I'm on a mission. And I learned (more like, FULLY realised) in this moment that I do indeed have my head set IN THE MISSION - 'cause I had no idea what the flirting life was anymore. Lol. I did receive word from a Sister afterwards that he really is a good Elder and a great missionary - he just likes to "act" like that. Also - he's going home next transfer. Thus... there's gotta be some trunky-ness in there. Silly Elder. Oh. Wait. I have a maori word for that. Porangi Elder ;) (Silly, giddy, or "Blonde")
Ha. Life. Fun experiences meeting different kinds of missionaires. Ah - he's also Maori. I think Maori/Greek.
The Training Meeting was grand though. That's where my "THINK BIG" title and the quote at the beginning of my email came from.
"Don't let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities." —President Thomas S. Monson ("Living the Abundant Life" Ensign Jan 2012)
And... here's the thought that I got from this quote. It doesn't mean just not letting OTHERS convince you that you're limited in anything — but it's about not letting even YOURSELF convince you that you're not able to do anything. I thought of it this way because I've started realising that sometimes I think "this must be what this person is thinking about me right now, because that's how they're acting to me" ...if that makes sense. Sometimes I bring myself down by thinking about things I think others are thinking about me. And then I drive myself crazy, and it's never worth it.
So: YOU CAN DO IT! It's going to be a great year....or 11 months, almost now 10... of missionary work :) I can feel it!
Ah - and the Goal of Baptisms for the mission this year? Is 950. Last year we accomplished: 522. But... can we get 950? YES. Why? 'Cause it's just under 5 people per missionary. Psh..... TOTES possible! [Normally unlikely, but totally doable!] And, our Heavenly Father needs us to bring His children to Him. And I need my Kiwi, Maori, and Islander brothers and sisters in the Celestial kingdom, man. I love them all so much.
Continuing with the rest of Friday. We HAD an appointment set with a potential for after the training... but it fell through. 'Cause the training went a bit longer than we had intended, sadly enough. But... hopefully soon! We WILL get to meet Vale one day!
And this is the point in time when I ACTUALLY started feeling legitimately ill. As we were walking around, nope, BIKING around the area, and our appointment with Marion also fell through. So we stopped by the Leato's. They fed us, 'cause they love us, and I was grateful. However.... alas, it didn't help the sick feeling. It made it a lot worse. Probaby partially because it was Chinese takeaways (all of which here I'm beginning to gather are rather similar to "Panda Express" back home... the taste, at least, and... the fact that I can taste the MSG life.) Anyhoo. We made a last visit to Aroha Henare - whom I love, SO dearly, and then... we went home. Somewhat more slowly than I usually bike, but... my body was just done. Done done. I slept that night - but... definitely not well. I honestly felt like I was going to puke all night long, and literally prayed and talked to myself the entire night – that I wasn't going to throw up. (Yes, that's how much I hate it. Reasons I could never be bulimic!)
I didn't. But... I still felt absolutely disgusting and SO TIRED SATURDAY morning. But... we still got up and got ready and whatnot, 'cause, well, we had ELI AND HAKEIAN'S BAPTISM. #Win. :) So - like I said, I felt gross, and mostly pretty much everyone could tell. Luckily, they just kept asking if I was tired... rather than ill. So I guess that was good in a way! But - I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it - I knew I HAD to, 'cause - I wasn't missing the baptism! But... I was struggling. So, Sister Hobbs said a prayer for me that I would be able to make it through the next few hours. Anddd.... I did! :) Prayer is REAL, folks! Love it :) Ha.
So... Eli and Hakeian are adorable, and they're now baptised :) It was a fun baptism program with a lot of family surrounding and happiness. And... because I didn't know if I would be able to stand for longer than 5 minutes without wanting to pass out, our lovely Elder Hunter and Gulliver took over talking about the Restoration for us ('cause, that's what we do for baptisms while the baptised people are getting changed after the actual baptism).
Then - at the end of the baptism program, I had my head down on a bench, and the Sisters came over to figure out what was up - and then said, "We have 6 Elders here who could all give you a blessing." ... Yup. Done. Priesthood power is real. I think, along with SO many other things, I've learned this most on my mission. I received a blessing from Elder Hunter, annointed by Elder Saulo. And it was one of those miracle moments when I felt peace in a different way than I thought I would during the blessing. It was in the simplest of phrases. "Heavenly Father is proud of what you have done on your mission." ...It was one of those moments that I honestly hadn't fully realised it was an answer I was looking for - until I got the answer.
Heavenly Father looks out for us. He HEARS our prayers, and sometimes... He hears the things in our thoughts that we don't even realise we've been asking for!
The rest of SATURDAY was spent at the flat. 'Cause... like I said. Illness. I slept a lot, ate ...nothing, and just tried to not be exhausted. The Elders (Hunter and Gulliver again) loved us enough to bring over dinner - as Sister Hobbs had none, and... I was finally feeling up to some broth of sorts at least. What did they come over with? A pasta dish and soup for me—both homemade! #Spoiled and #Delicious I only had... like half a bowl... of the soup, but it was filled with veggies and happiness. Which made my stomach grateful for the lightness.
SUNDAY was better. Still stayed in during the morning time - as... my stomach still wasn't happy with the moving life, and I couldn't stand for long. I slept it off more and luckily was much better by the time church time came around. Eli and Hakeian were confirmed, and were given some pretty grand promises within their blessings. The Holy Ghost is cool, right? I just love it.
We went to the Joseph's for dinner - which was like a dinner from heaven. LIGHT, and like home. (Can you tell I'm getting sick of the heavy meal/meat life? ...I still like it, but... I think it's just become hard on my stomach.) Quiche, salad, and Maori bread. (Which I found out is made with a potato base, and a "fermintation" process, similar to Dad's yeast thing. So I'm excited to get that recipe :) Sister Jones (Sister Joseph's mum) has started teaching us Maori, and I"m defintiely excited for continuing lessons. :) She said she'll teach us a full prayer next time! Haha.
The rest of the night was spent trying to find some potentials again, and me struggling to push my tired body up hills. So, Sister Fischer lovingly picked us up, and dropped us at the flat so we could pick up my whiteboard and markers for the lesson we had planned for the Donnaldson's.
We love them, they make us happy. And we become better friends with them a little bit more aech time we visit. I just love all our ward.
I'm finally getting better. I actually got up and moved around like a normal person this morning - and... I'm insanely grateful. I hate being sick. It WILL be overcome though. We WILL find new people to begin fully teaching this week, and.... we WILL set someone new for baptism. Sister Hobbs and I have decided that for us, a goal of one baptism a month is definitely doable. And we're excited. We just have to work hard to find that golden one for next month ;)
Another quote I got this week that I really like:
"Sometimes FEAR SHOUTS SO LOUD in our ears, that it almost drowns out our FAITH. ... But God knows who we are. We cannot go anywhere that he cannot find us." —Emma Smith: My Story
IT'S TRUE! We have to let FAITH overcome the fear in life! :)
I hope you all have a most amazing week. I know that our Heavenly Father watches out for us in every move we make, and LOVES it when we talk to Him about anything and everything. Prayer is beautiful, our GOSPEL is beautiful, and Missionary Work is super exciting!
ALL THE LOVE, from your dear Kiwi Missionary —
Arohanui,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
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