Ka-BOOM with Joy!

Hahaha. Ohhh - my little Aryan Kumar :)  One of the cutest kids you'll ever meet. And also one of the most energetic missionaries there will ever be one day! (He's still got 10 years until that day though.)

It's always funny looking back on another week, and always good too.  'Cause, sometimes you start to see all the things that you WEREN'T able to do - when in reality, it's because it's physically not possible to put in all the things you want to do in a single day sometimes.

Last MONDAY we had FHE with the Kumar family—Brother and Sister Kumar and their adorable kids, Amysha and Aryan.  Aryan—the one I mentioned at the beginning of this letter—is getting baptised this coming week, and he's the most keen 8-year-old I think I've ever met! As we taught the Restoration to their family last week, he started talking about how he's grateful for the gospel because it makes him "Go KA-BOOM! with JOY!" Hahahaha. We CRACKED UP laughing! The energy! We all agreed that he's going to be a grand missionary one day, and will make many people smile from ear to ear! :)

TUESDAY, in the beginning, was honestly one of those "this is the longest day ever" kind of days. We were both exhausted, and we weren't sure why - and no one we planned to see was home.... #StrugglesOfMissionaryLife But - it perked up. We were SPOILED WITH LAUGHS at the Amende's home for dinner, and spoiled with a chat and mini message lesson with Jo that night :) And then Sisters Anitema and Holt showed up to our flat, as they had MLC meeting Wednesday morning, so they stayed the night instead of driving down from Whangarei at some ridiculous hour of the morning. And they were another laugh for us, as we showed up to the flat a bit later than we had planned, but there they were already there - perched on our doorstep with a cardboard sign that read, "HOMELESS. Looking for shelter or bus fair," or something along those lines. Ha. Love 'em :)

WEDNESDAY! The MIRACLE of the day was getting to catch up with Brother Maire when we went to our volleyball night. Apparently that past SUNDAY (while we were in Torbay Ward) there was a 16-year-old boy named Brandon who showed up to church — following the meeting he met with Bishop, asking HOW COULD HE GET BAPTISED INTO THIS CHURCH! *MIRACLES!* ...More to be continued on this story later ;)

And also on Wednesday, we had dinner with the Viljoen family. FUN FACT: We're related!! Brother Viljoen's 2nd cousin is Jarold Ottley! Small world :) CONNECTIONS.  Also: they have the cutest children ever. Teina, Ana, Sian, and Kimball. LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

THURSDAY we had Zone Training! All about (or mostly) Accountability. It's an interesting one to study on. You should all do it! We learned more about the importance of being accountable for the things we do—not only to ourselves, but to our leaders—and most importantly to our Heavenly Father. So, we've now been challenged to be better at giving an accounting to Heavenly Father of what we've done each day in our nightly prayers. It's been interesting to realize how perspective changes as you learn new things. I just love learning :) Also: this has helped me greatly even in the last couple days in simply gaining an even better relationship with my Father. So... steps :)

Also: Dinner at the Rapata's. Here's a question posed in the form of a joke:

Q: What do you get when you have 2 RM's in a room who are engaged (love birds), and they find out that you and your companion don't have "that long" to go on the mission?
A: You get a WHOLE BUNCH of questions about the "guys back home!"

Yes, folks, that's what you get! But - luckily I didn't get drilled as hard as Sister Tcheou, since, well, I don't have a special someone! Ha! Perks? But then Fred (Libby's fiance) was like, "Wait - where are you from again?  ---- Oh. You'll get married in NO time!" Haha. #UtahAssumptions

FRIDAY. I've titled this day as "DON'T BLINK" in my journal.  'Cause... it was literally that fast! (Also: Dr. Who reference.) We planned, we visited, and it was gone! Just like that! I don't even understand. The weeks just move faster and faster! It's crazy! I've got Sister Tcheou to remind me now, almost daily, the amount of months and days until I go home. Ha. It's pretty weird.

SATURDAY. The Adventures of.... KAUKAPAKAPA! We got lost. Ha. Issues with only having a little tiny map of such a large area. But it was fun :) We helped in narrowing down the ward list a bit with some people (less-actives) that don't actually live at the addresses listed anymore. But, yes, at some point we did  take a wrong turn, and ended up in a dead end with a dodgy, empty/broken-down van and a railroad track... But we always find our way home, so it's all good :) It's super pretty out there though. All the green hills, and the ADORABLE LAMBS. FYI: I also learned something new this day about lambs.... They actually start off with long tails (clearly I never grew up around a farm). Sister Tcheou educated me on how when they're young, they cut off part of their tail so it doesn't get in the way! (Poor lambs.) And people apparently eat the tail too! #ThingsINeverKnew

SUNDAY was FATHER'S DAY here in NZ :) (Sorry I don't get to call/Skype you dad.... But only 3.5 more months until I get to see you in person!) And Sunday a new face showed up to church :)  .....This is the continuing story of BRENDON, the 16-year-old young man who walked into church and asked how he could join our Church. :)
Sandra Walker is the mother of Brendon, and they BOTH came to church!! Apparently last week Brendon asked her if he was allowed to go to church. She then asked, "What church?" He said it was ours, and she said, "Yes! Go for it!" She's a member! :)  However, she's been less-active for quite a while, but she told us her cool story about how she always knew there would be a time when she would come back. So when Brendon came to her asking about our church, she got her answer! And we're so excited to be a part of her journey :) Brendon is friends with some of the YM in our ward, so that's how he found out about the Church and now we get to teach him!! :)

We also did some service most of that night, helping out at Love Soup with dish duty :) And then we visited the Knox's. LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Members are really a blessing in missionary life sometimes. Because sometimes you just need a few minutes to laugh, and Brother and Sister Knox have definitely been that for me, from the first time we met them upon coming into this area.

So.... that's the week. Learning more and more each day, and trying to figure out how to fit everything in that we need to. I was reading in Helaman 10 this morning about when Nephi (young, young Nephi. son of all the sons) departs from the people, once they divided themselves from him. And in this moment I can only imagine how tired he probably was...
Preaching all day—almost finally getting to the hearts of some people—but then they all depart.
As he's walking home, he's given this:

"Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou has done; for I have beheld how thou has with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but has sought my will, and to keep my commandments.  And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will."

...And then I thought about my own missionary life. Because after this came to Nephi, he TURNED BACK to the multitudes. Even when he was probably exhausted. I thought about how - even though I've made up my mind already that I'll never let missionary work ESCAPE from me again - I want to have that same thought, feeling, and ability to keep going even when I return home. To continue bringing families into this gospel so that they can be blessed forever, just as I have been blessed in mine :)

My companion and I are grand :) She's been a member her whole life, even though she's presently the only active member of her family. It's got to be hard. She's MY AGE (born 5th of December 1991)! Haha. We always get "pep-talk" type advice from our dear Brother Maire :) I love his knowledge and the love he shares all the time—mostly a lot of "If you EVER go less-active, you'll be hearing it from ME!"  Hahaha. He's so great. We had a lovely talk with him Sunday, which I think helped lift my companion's spirits a bit too.

I had a night this week of multiple dreams, all about going home. There was a lot of me crying in that dream. Weird, weird things.

Anyhoo. Lots of words today. Haha.
But I love you all :) I hope all is well, and I hope that you're enjoying the sunshine! (Soak up some from me, 'cause I'm gonna be freezing when I get back.....)

Love you and miss you HEAPS!

OFA LAHI ATU,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley