Miracles of Miracles

WHANAU!
How goes it!? How's life? What's new?

I hope you've all had just as brilliant of a week as we have had here in Tamaki :) It's a beautiful sunny day, and a very happy Halloween! (Even though it's definitely not celebrated the same here...and it sounds like more of a night to be terrified of than to get candy from the sounds of it.) But all is well! We have the Lord on our side. And also a Trunk or Treat at the chapel tonight, so that should be fun.

Anyhoo. Miracles!

"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles." —Mormon 9:19

HIGHLIGHTS:
1) One new investigator.
2) Finishing lessons with the Maifala girls.
3) Becoming better friends with members.
4) BAPTISMS!
5) Two more new investigators, and some great potentials :)

MONDAY was actually kind of a struggle night. Ha.
We had 3 appointments set up for the night.
And....all cancelled. But the Elders let us join in on their FHE for the night so we could feel productive. And it was fun :)

TUESDAY. A family night with the Talavave's again. Love their family, so dearly. And by "family" I mean - all the boys that show up as friends and are basically family. Ha. We're always surrounded by boys in the house, and all their cheeky comments - but they're also there to learn. It's great. And our new investigator... He's a Cook Island Deacon and preaches often in his own church, but we still were able to teach him a bit about the Book of Mormon, and we found out he's actually read it before, and asked his minister if it was the word of God. The minister's response was that it was "a book just for the Mormons" (ha) – so he asked us if it was a book from God, and we committed him to begin reading it again and ask God himself. And he said he would :) We'll be going back again this week. All the happy.

WEDNESDAY. Our last lessons with the Maifala girls before their baptism! As well as finding people who have moved and finding others who have moved in and need some fellowshipping ;)  Teaching all along the way, and being strengthened by investigators questions. Goals this week: To find scriptures to support allllll the things in the Bible. Ha. We've got an investigator on our hands who is Protestant and knows his bible - but he carries the Book of Mormon around with him too. He's a good kid.

THURSDAY. Running around meeting and visiting people, and preparing things for Friday (Baptism Day!). ...And a meeting with our Bishop, since our Ward Mission Leader is out of town...

FRIDAY! The most BEAUTIFUL of beautiful days :)
Seeing the girls all dressed in white was all the exciting. Watching them enter those waters and seeing their faces SHINE afterward was amazing. And our little Fay bore her testimony afterward as well. The Spirit was SO strong, and it was so fun to see how much they've all grown—just in a matter of a few weeks. They're all truly committed to the new life they've entered—as well as trying to get their dad on board too! Haha. A beautiful family, who I KNOW will be sealed in the temple one day :)

And to top it all off - SATURDAY we were able to meet a BEAUTIFUL couple who invited us into their home, and asked for "reading material." They've been looking at christianity and seemed to be curious (like Joseph Smith) "why there are so many churches" – so we're excited to teach them in the future :)

The MOST IMPORTANT thing I've learned on my mission? That the Gospel is true :) And that it's simple. And that we over-complicate things.  It's all about CPR—just as we have physical CPR to keep us breathing when our heart stops—we also have SPIRITUAL CPR—Church, Pray, Read.  I'm sure I've shared that before. But I love it. It's the things we need to keep us alive spiritually. And that by serving others we gain a greater relationship with Heavenly Father. All things that I knew before.....but I really KNOW it now. The difference between knowing and KNOWING. Haha. ;)

Life is grand. Miracles happen every day! No matter if they're little or big, a miracle is a miracle and they will ALWAYS brighten your day.

I hope all is well back home :) Keep swimming, my friends! (This is what Bishop Vaipulu says to us all the time. Ha.  I love it.)

P.S. Halloween pics... All the little grandkids need to stop growing. They're too big!

Alofa tele atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley