PONDERIZE for the week: Alma 26:27. "He will grant us success." :) It's grand! :)
It's still amazing to me how certain days—or WEEKS, in this case—can seem long. But.... the mission still is just flying by. 13 months? What? Where did that time go? Was it not just January 2015 yesterday? Weird.
Anyhoo. Regardless of how long the week has been, it's still been good. Just chaotic with transfers and moving people and saying GOODBYE to people, and alllll the things! "Killing" missionaries [saying goodbye] is still the hardest of things for me I think. But it's part of life :) And it's all good. And if you haven't already guessed by now, Sister Lemalu and I have not been transferred.
Last MONDAY we went BOWLING. I'm still really bad at it, but I enjoy it :) It's always nice to just get out and do something to shake things up a bit. It was also the wish of Sister Taylor to DO something for her last P-day :) Saying goodbye is....always hard. Especially with Gila, and now Rarawa and Taylor. But, we have pictures. So that's all okay :) And... it just means that I'll have to go to Melbourne and Fiji one day now, so..... #WorldTravels
TUESDAY we picked up my dear Sister Boiteux from the Sunset Sister's flat as she was dropping her companion (my granddaughter, Sister Fonua) there to be picked up by Elder Garth. Because... Sister Fonua finally got her Visa to go to Mississippi! Wooooo Visa's! So, my posterity is officially being continued on in a new mission :) Exciting things! So we were lucky enough to have Sister Boiteux with us for the day, until she got her new companion at transfers. We all went to District Meeting - to find.... Sister Anitema!!! (She was companions with Sister Hoiesi for the day, since Sister Taylor and Rarawa were at orientation at the Mission Home before leaving.) So... Anitema and Hoiesi decided to come to our district meeting instead of chancing missing Anitema's in Henderson. We also said our goodbyes to the elders leaving the zone... specifically our district.... Chatwin and Murdock. Gonna miss them!
Then we had lunch after district meeting, and I got to catch up with Sister Anitema on the Hendo life, before they were off to their crazy lives, of moving flats!
Tuesday afternoon. NEW INVESTIGATOR! Brendon :) Yes, as in New Zealand's "Brendon Thomas and the Vibes!" [Look them up.] Hahaha...... We've been dropping in to say hi, and last time we stated our real purpose and he said it was "cool" and that we could totally come around and share things! We haven't actually met his mum yet, but his dad is lovely and we're hoping to meet all of them :) They're South African like so many in this area. He's actually the most CHILL person you'll ever meet, but he's also keen to LEARNING - so power to him!! And there will be interesting things in the future. He's already brought up the Word of Wisdom thing so we'll see how continuing things go! :) Ha. He invited us into his house (and since there were THREE of us that day, we could, even though his mum didn't seem to be home). And then he invited us into his part of the house - aka: his bedroom. He told us to "make ourselves comfortable" (in his super chill surfer-dude type voice). Haha.. He's hilarious. And so... we awkwardly sat on the floor. But he's good. And he's understanding more now what our purpose of missionaries actually is. So that's all good too :)
Tuesday night....we had to say our LAST GOODBYE to our dear Sister Taylor. Gonna miss that one! But she's served a brilliant mission, and it's her turn to go about the new adventures back home in Melbourne now ;)
WEDNESDAY. Transfers! And all the confusion thereof. Dropping Sister Boiteux off, picking up new sisters — originally thinking we would end up having to drive back to Panmure to pick up MORE sisters after driving out to Waterview.... but no worries. It all got sorted out and we only had to do a little bit of crazy running around. It was a bit sad in the sense of "I didn't get to bring my baby (Sister Boiteux) to the bus stop to pick up her new companion" — aka: Sister HOBBS. But it's all good :) Ha. I love how all my companions have been companions with each other for the most part now. It's great.
Later we had volleyball in Hibiscus with a couple of the potential investigator non-members, and ....they even got me to play this week. Haaaaa. Struggle is real. Haven't played in AGES. But, they were all very supportive and loving and cheered me on, even though....well...me and sports. Enough said! Ha.
THURSDAY... struggle. Sickness. It's fine. No worries. And to answer the question you asked last week — no, no aches or pains anymore, just get itchy still :) Ish. A little. No worries. It's nothing the clear pills you sent aren't taking care of for me :)
FRIDAY! Planning. Saw Philip, and Sister Lemalu's family – Hahahaha. And with Sister Lemalu's parents "waltzing in," as you put it, no, it's definitely still not allowed. It's just a thing with Islander families "happening to be in the right place at the right time" Haaaa.. But it's all good :) If I somehow do run into the Ostenson's when they come, then, ya know - power to it! Haha. Aaaand... We had a sort of appointment with our NOW, NEW INVESTIGATOR. Her name is Linda. She called us about a week ago, asking if we would have any use for an air hockey table at our church. We asked around and found someone to take it (Sister Lemalu's family) so -we all went to pick it up :) We were able to stay a bit after and get to know her a bit. She said we should come by again soon for a "cup of coffee or something" (hot chocolate? ha.) But, apparently neither of us felt prompted to actually set a for real appointment.... But it was a blessing in disguise, because later that night she texted us asking if we "could come over tomorrow for some takeaways or something, and to chat" .... :) The Lord's timing. It's the best when people get to act for themselves, instead of us just prying into their lives. (Okay, not prying, but sometimes prying.) A lovely member lesson with our dear Sister Erin Matla followed :) And it was just grand. Love her to pieces.
SATURDAY our lunch date with Linda — and this is how prepared her heart is. We went out to Pita Pit, and her first sentence to us as we sat down to eat was, "So.... tell me about your faith." :) She's brilliant, and we're just so excited to keep working with her. :) Miracles always abound. It's true. And they keep us going and going :)
Oh. And Torbay Ward activity. I learned to check the oil and change the tyre of a car. Haaaa. It was good :) (The whole activity was based on self-reliance with little workshops on education, health, car maintenance, food storage, etc. complete with a bit of zumba and a potluck at the end!)
SUNDAY. President Balli came to the Hibiscus Ward to speak :) And it was exciting and brilliant and according to Brother Maire, he's already seen a bit of change in excitement to get into the life of missionary work from some of the members. So.... all the excitement :) There was also a brilliant talk given by one of our members (Sister Greening) in which she mentioned a portion of this quote....and it's just one of those things that you NEED sometimes.
"You are LOVED. You are dear to your heavenly parents.
The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! ... He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you TODAY with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. AND STILL HE LOVES YOU." —President Uchtdorf, Ensign November 2014
Brilliant. Isn't it? We are LOVED, no matter what. And that's what He needs us to know. Through His servants and apostles. So - Sunday was good. We also had a brilliant dinner with our dear Elli Duncan :) (less-active, with many-a-goals in coming back), a brilliant meal (but also with a lot of dairy, which resulted in Sister Lemalu being...rather ill, regardless of the tablet she took. Ha. Sad things. But also not surprised). And... it was just good getting to know her and her needs even more.
One of the main things I would say I've learned on this mission is just how IMPORTANT the LITTLE THINGS are. It's not the big things we do that keep us strongly standing within this gospel—I mean, no doubt that the big things are what help us grow and gain the most—but it's the LITTLE THINGS that keep us grounded in order to gain that little bit of strength that we need each day. CHURCH. PRAY. READ. Our SPIRITUAL CPR. Church: for us to renew our covenants, and to uplift and strengthen us each week. Pray: to always have that connection with our Heavenly Father and to learn through personal revelation. And Read: Well - 'cause we need that knowledge and revelation through the scriptures DAILY, for our testimony and foundation in Christ to be strengthened. It's so simple. And I KNOW that these are the things that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to return to him. I still have yet to figure out/remember/go back through my notes to figure out what apostle said this - but, "If you read the Book of Mormon EVERYDAY, you will never go less active." (I'm fairly sure it was shared at either a mission conference, or the regional conference...or some sort of conference we had.) But I DEFINITELY have gained a testimony of that. It's there for us for a reason, and we need to STUDY it's brilliant words.
Anyhoo. You're all lovely, and wonderful and I love you and miss you heaps. I hope your upcoming week is filled with joy and happiness, and that all your wildest wishes come true ;)
Alofa Tele Atu, (This one's Samoan for "I love you all heaps!") #SamoanCompanion
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Showing posts with label Sister Boiteux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sister Boiteux. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Oyster Pearls!
[To all of you wonderful Kiwi family and friends, who hang in there each week with Kenzie's incredibly long, detailed letters, we LOVE you. Thank you for sharing her life and for the meaningful influences you have been. This one is SHORT! Plus TRANSFERS are coming this week! Reply with your GUESSES!!]
OYSTER PEARLS!
This may be a quicker email than usual, as we have Zone P-day today - so.... less email time :P Ha.
But ....TRANSFER WEEK! What? Another one? How!? Also: Today's my 10-month mark. WHA>???? Time is speeeeeeeding past my dear whanau. I can't even believe it. And I know I say this every time I hit a new month mark, or possibly every week, but... it's true. It's just crazy in my mind.
Elder Le and I were talking last night about how fast time goes - and sometimes we have to look back through old pictures to realize, "Oh yeah! That really was a thing!" It's allllll like a DREAM sometimes!
Anyhoo. It's been a grand week :) ... Significantly better than last week. And also great insight in learning about how to set goals, and put them in a VISUAL form that acutally... makes me remember them :) Haha. 'Cause that's one thing I've realized on the mission... and in my life in general. I'll make goals - but then....>I forget about them. Ha. But I've made artsy things to make me less forgetful now, and I'm just excited!
MONDAY was pretty normal. It was SUPPOSED to be Zone P-day, but... due to mixups with people getting flu shots, and then not, and whatever... it was postponed. But it's okay! It just means we get a grand day today! Also, we experienced a miracle Monday night when visiting with Kokea, Paua and family. We were on our way to their appointment after our p-day dinner, and realized.... we didn't have enough copies of the Book of Mormon on us for the whole family. We debated between being late and getting the Book of Mormons or just going without them. And man - are we glad we went back! Ha. We messaged Kokea to tell him we'd be a bit late, which he was all goods with — his family is super chill. It's nice. Them we ran back to the flat, grabbed alllll the BOMs and went to Kokea's. We had a little catch-up moment, and then Kokea asked how long we were going to be there that night. We said we had another appointment (which was actually cancelled) - but we also just didn't want to take up their whole night. But he surprised us when he said, "Oh - it's fine. My cousin is just on his way back from work, and HE wanted to be here for the lesson too!" And that's when we realized the miracle connection. (Originally we were worried that he didn't really want us there! Ha.) Nope! It was just 'cause someone else wanted to hear the gospel too! :) Brilliant!
Anyhoo. So - this is where the blessing came from our appointment with the Papali'i's being cancelled came in - 'cause instead we were able to wait for Kokea's cousin to get back, and shared the message of the Restoration with ALL of them! And MAN is he KEEN. I LOVE people who are searching. They're just golden, and intent and REAL in their learning. Anyhoo. We had a brilliant, spirit-filled lesson and testimonies of Christ and the ways we are helped in our lives through prayer and study. And we committed them all to begin reading the Book of Mormon. Oh - also: plot twist. We found out Paua (the wife) is actually a member! She said she was baptised back when she was in intermediate school. So... fun things! Their family is just so lovely though. We're excited to see them again :)
TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY were spent visiting, getting help from Alisha to choose a song for our Sister's Conference (because Sister Anitema was asked to do a musical number), MCM, ward council, and all the fun :) Ah - and companion study with Elders Hunter and Raymer. Haha. Always a joy with those two!
And THURSDAY. Sister's Conference. Aka: Like another "Time out for Women" thing - but with just the sister's of our mission :) LOVE. Apparently they've started doing this once a year. So that's fun :) And uplifitng and happy. The theme for our conference was "We Need Women Who..." - based on a talk Elder Nelson gave last October conference ("A Plea to My Sisters"). And Sister Balli put a visual symbolism to it of how we can all become pearls. Pearls are made layer by layer over the course of 10-15 years in an Oyster - thus, likened to how we all become pearls little by little by doing things that please our Heavenly Father. I LOVE visuals and all the exciting things :) A brilliant day. :) Also: I got to see all my Sisters. Aka: O'Reilly, Pointer, Hobbs, Boiteux, Lott, Christiansen... All the peeps :) OH. And to go along with the theme of our pearls - a poem called, "The Oyster," which, fun fact: Sister Donnaldson actually showed to Sister Hobbs and I two transfers ago! Haha. We laughed with each other when they started reading the poem. Love it!)
I love Sister Conference things - 'cause, while there are pieces of council that are like, "You can be better at doing this!" There's also just a lot of "You're great. Keep up the good work." And it just gives... a better sense of peace and less anxiety in life during moments of feeling like a failure.
Anyhoo. Life is good :)
SATURDAY I overcame a fear—ish. Ha. More like - the Lord blessed me in an unexpected way. Last week when I told the story about the Singh's and how I was stressed and felt like a failure and then we were late and Sister Singh chewed us out so I stopped talking.... yeah? Yeah. So... just thinking about her, let along being in her presence, stresses me out now. Like... really anxious. But Saturday was a blessing. We had an appointment with them and Rachit. So there was lots of preparation so I would have a line of focus to go to, even though we've taught the Restoration SO many times. But - when we got to their house, Sister Singh (Joy) was nowhere to be seen.... just her sister and their parents and the boys. We taught the lesson and during the last... 5 minutes?ish - Joy came out. She had been asleep 'cause she wasn't feeling very well that day. Sad that she wasn't feeling well - but also a blessing for me because.... my anxiety of teaching there went away! So... the Lord definitely blesses us in different little ways. He KNOWS each and every one of us, and blesses us in the way that is needed. At all times :)
That's....the main events of my week :) Little miracles, and lots more to come. Just... praying that I get to stay in Henderson a bit longer..... the anticipation of transfers kind of kills me. I dont' wanna leave... Struggles :P Haha. But all's well :) I'll let you know what happens next week! Reply to mum with your guesses! ;)
Anyhoo. I must be off :) Tell everyone I"m printing and reading their letters over the week and I'll attempt to reply to ALL the things next week :) I miss you and LOVE you all, and I hope you have a most MARVELOUS week full of miracles and happiness! :)
Ofa Lahi Atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
The Oyster
Author Unknown
There once was an oyster
Whose story I'll tell, Who found that some sand
Had worked under his shell.
Just one little grain,
But it gave him a pain.
For oysters have feelings
That are very plain.
Now, did he berate
The harsh working of fate
That left him in such
A deplorable state?
Did he curse the government,
Call for an election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?
No! He said to himself
As he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I think I'll improve it!
Well, the years passed by,
As years always do,
Till he came to his destiny,
Oyster stew!
And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral;
For isn’t it grand,
What an oyster can do
With a small grain of sand?
And what couldn't we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.
OYSTER PEARLS!
This may be a quicker email than usual, as we have Zone P-day today - so.... less email time :P Ha.
But ....TRANSFER WEEK! What? Another one? How!? Also: Today's my 10-month mark. WHA>???? Time is speeeeeeeding past my dear whanau. I can't even believe it. And I know I say this every time I hit a new month mark, or possibly every week, but... it's true. It's just crazy in my mind.
Elder Le and I were talking last night about how fast time goes - and sometimes we have to look back through old pictures to realize, "Oh yeah! That really was a thing!" It's allllll like a DREAM sometimes!
Anyhoo. It's been a grand week :) ... Significantly better than last week. And also great insight in learning about how to set goals, and put them in a VISUAL form that acutally... makes me remember them :) Haha. 'Cause that's one thing I've realized on the mission... and in my life in general. I'll make goals - but then....>I forget about them. Ha. But I've made artsy things to make me less forgetful now, and I'm just excited!
MONDAY was pretty normal. It was SUPPOSED to be Zone P-day, but... due to mixups with people getting flu shots, and then not, and whatever... it was postponed. But it's okay! It just means we get a grand day today! Also, we experienced a miracle Monday night when visiting with Kokea, Paua and family. We were on our way to their appointment after our p-day dinner, and realized.... we didn't have enough copies of the Book of Mormon on us for the whole family. We debated between being late and getting the Book of Mormons or just going without them. And man - are we glad we went back! Ha. We messaged Kokea to tell him we'd be a bit late, which he was all goods with — his family is super chill. It's nice. Them we ran back to the flat, grabbed alllll the BOMs and went to Kokea's. We had a little catch-up moment, and then Kokea asked how long we were going to be there that night. We said we had another appointment (which was actually cancelled) - but we also just didn't want to take up their whole night. But he surprised us when he said, "Oh - it's fine. My cousin is just on his way back from work, and HE wanted to be here for the lesson too!" And that's when we realized the miracle connection. (Originally we were worried that he didn't really want us there! Ha.) Nope! It was just 'cause someone else wanted to hear the gospel too! :) Brilliant!
Anyhoo. So - this is where the blessing came from our appointment with the Papali'i's being cancelled came in - 'cause instead we were able to wait for Kokea's cousin to get back, and shared the message of the Restoration with ALL of them! And MAN is he KEEN. I LOVE people who are searching. They're just golden, and intent and REAL in their learning. Anyhoo. We had a brilliant, spirit-filled lesson and testimonies of Christ and the ways we are helped in our lives through prayer and study. And we committed them all to begin reading the Book of Mormon. Oh - also: plot twist. We found out Paua (the wife) is actually a member! She said she was baptised back when she was in intermediate school. So... fun things! Their family is just so lovely though. We're excited to see them again :)
TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY were spent visiting, getting help from Alisha to choose a song for our Sister's Conference (because Sister Anitema was asked to do a musical number), MCM, ward council, and all the fun :) Ah - and companion study with Elders Hunter and Raymer. Haha. Always a joy with those two!
And THURSDAY. Sister's Conference. Aka: Like another "Time out for Women" thing - but with just the sister's of our mission :) LOVE. Apparently they've started doing this once a year. So that's fun :) And uplifitng and happy. The theme for our conference was "We Need Women Who..." - based on a talk Elder Nelson gave last October conference ("A Plea to My Sisters"). And Sister Balli put a visual symbolism to it of how we can all become pearls. Pearls are made layer by layer over the course of 10-15 years in an Oyster - thus, likened to how we all become pearls little by little by doing things that please our Heavenly Father. I LOVE visuals and all the exciting things :) A brilliant day. :) Also: I got to see all my Sisters. Aka: O'Reilly, Pointer, Hobbs, Boiteux, Lott, Christiansen... All the peeps :) OH. And to go along with the theme of our pearls - a poem called, "The Oyster," which, fun fact: Sister Donnaldson actually showed to Sister Hobbs and I two transfers ago! Haha. We laughed with each other when they started reading the poem. Love it!)
I love Sister Conference things - 'cause, while there are pieces of council that are like, "You can be better at doing this!" There's also just a lot of "You're great. Keep up the good work." And it just gives... a better sense of peace and less anxiety in life during moments of feeling like a failure.
Anyhoo. Life is good :)
SATURDAY I overcame a fear—ish. Ha. More like - the Lord blessed me in an unexpected way. Last week when I told the story about the Singh's and how I was stressed and felt like a failure and then we were late and Sister Singh chewed us out so I stopped talking.... yeah? Yeah. So... just thinking about her, let along being in her presence, stresses me out now. Like... really anxious. But Saturday was a blessing. We had an appointment with them and Rachit. So there was lots of preparation so I would have a line of focus to go to, even though we've taught the Restoration SO many times. But - when we got to their house, Sister Singh (Joy) was nowhere to be seen.... just her sister and their parents and the boys. We taught the lesson and during the last... 5 minutes?ish - Joy came out. She had been asleep 'cause she wasn't feeling very well that day. Sad that she wasn't feeling well - but also a blessing for me because.... my anxiety of teaching there went away! So... the Lord definitely blesses us in different little ways. He KNOWS each and every one of us, and blesses us in the way that is needed. At all times :)
That's....the main events of my week :) Little miracles, and lots more to come. Just... praying that I get to stay in Henderson a bit longer..... the anticipation of transfers kind of kills me. I dont' wanna leave... Struggles :P Haha. But all's well :) I'll let you know what happens next week! Reply to mum with your guesses! ;)
Anyhoo. I must be off :) Tell everyone I"m printing and reading their letters over the week and I'll attempt to reply to ALL the things next week :) I miss you and LOVE you all, and I hope you have a most MARVELOUS week full of miracles and happiness! :)
Ofa Lahi Atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
The Oyster
Author Unknown
There once was an oyster
Whose story I'll tell, Who found that some sand
Had worked under his shell.
Just one little grain,
But it gave him a pain.
For oysters have feelings
That are very plain.
Now, did he berate
The harsh working of fate
That left him in such
A deplorable state?
Did he curse the government,
Call for an election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?
No! He said to himself
As he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I think I'll improve it!
Well, the years passed by,
As years always do,
Till he came to his destiny,
Oyster stew!
And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral;
For isn’t it grand,
What an oyster can do
With a small grain of sand?
And what couldn't we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Mission Conference!!!
Longest email ever, now coming your way!! :)
Haha... I accidentally wrote "weed" at first instead of "week" in the subject line. Although, there was also a rebellious/stubborn weed we worked on this week as well.
Kia Ora, my dear Whanau! (Clearly you can tell how the "learning Samoan" is going.... haha. I'm just stuck to my Maori forever!)
It's been a nice week. I still have moments of feeling like we're not as busy as we could be though... so there's that. But, regardless, it's still been a very good week :) Many miracles and fun things, and.... meetings of exciting people :D
MONDAY—P-day, began the week as a "day with the Butlers" – loveeeee. We went to Bethel's Beach, and I saw BLACK SAND. Cool? Yes. I don't really know why it's so cool to me, but it is! And Conan and I have become even more like siblings now, so that's great. And he's helping me to learn new things about lighting each time I see him. So that's lovely to keep my mind from forgetting! We also went back to their home at the end of Monday's P-day and had Family Home Evening with them, and watched The Best Two years. Fun fact: First time I"ve ever seen the whole movie all the way through in one sitting! It's a good one! Haha.
When we returned to our flat Monday night, we still hadn't heard from Elder Long (Zone Leader) about transfers—whether we were staying or whatnot. ...Guesses?
Haha. I started thinking, "Ah, we must just be safe since we haven't heard anything." ...And then the phone rang. "Zone Leaders" – And my stomach jumped a little.
"Sisters! Would you like transfer news? Well... You'll both be staying!" Ha. All that for telling us we're staying ;) But we're excited, and ready to continue in our lovely Henderson Valley area!
TUESDAY — Happy Australia Day! (And our dear Australian Sisters definitely let us know it was Australian day. Bashing on America included. Fun times? ...Sure? It's fine. Whatevers'.) However, Tuesday was definitely a bit of a testimony builder for me in losing myself in the work again. I was struggling that morning with... just thinking too much. Worrying too much, and not knowing how to truly focus my mind on anything. We had our last district meeting together as "that district" on Tuesday and it was good. It was sad, but good. I'll definitely miss the Elders who left us to go out into other parts of the land! We had a little testimony meeting and that was good. We had a training on TWE and "Finding People" (again — it's really being hit hard throughout the whole mission... apparently we're all struggling in finding new people and really teaching lately). But it's good to have these trainings. Building ourselves up and just... learning to rely more on the spirit, and focusing on the work instead of the "social" side of things. (There's was actually quite a bit of drama in the last mission transfer... a lot of Emergency transfers of missionaries in South Auckland and whatnot. So...
President's kind of seeming to be hard on us lately. But for good reasons. I've learned that Islanders really kind of like to party. Thus... why I feel like my companion, Sister Hobbs, may struggle with laziness sometimes – since most of her companions have been islanders! And so... that's how things have been for her.) Anyhoo. #TangentMuch? Testimony built of losing myself.
After district meeting we got back to the flat, had some lunch, and went out to work. I was honestly still a bit down – just trying to refocus my mind. We stopped by DORA'S house. I'm fairly certain I've talked about her before - when we first met her. We had knocked on her door, originally looking for someone else, but she said she was interested! We assumed she was older because she had a baby in her arms. Well – we all know what assuming does! We went back Tuesday, and found her at home again – with the baby. She invited us in and we started getting to know her. Fun fact: The baby is her LITTLE BROTHER. And she is 15. Yup. She's FIFTEEN years old. So... technically, in order to teach her, we need someone 18 or older and permission from her parents. But... she still had us stay and teach her about the Restoration. And she LOVED IT! She told us beforehand how she's really come to know how Christ has helped her in her life, and how she knows that she's alive today because of Him. (Why can't everyone be like her?) And then, as we told her about the First Vision, she was literally in awe. And THEN. She loved it even more when we brought out the Book of Mormon and told her she could have the copy we handed her. I've never seen someone SO EXCITED to read it! She kept saying how she wanted to read it "right then." TOO cute. So... we're hoping to go back and see her soon and meet her parents :)
After that lesson, we wanted to conquer the world!!! So we went to see Kathleen Va'a – who we had a scheduled appointment with. I hadn't officially met her yet, 'cause she's hard to catch – but Sisters Hobbs and Fornaro had finally caught her when they were on trade-offs and made an appointment. Unfortunately, when we went by she said it really wasn't actually a good time, but we still talked for a bit. Sweetest girl, and we're excited to get to know her better. We also stopped by Aroha Henare (less-active) before dinner with the Pauna's. I just love Aroha. She's so talkative and wonderful. And I have faith that she really will come back to church soon!
That night we stopped by Ivan's because... Elder Christiansen had to see him one more time before he was transferred to Whangarei on Wednesday morning :( (Gonna miss that Elder! – and so will Ivan!) So we went over as well. The Elders couldn't stay long, but we did get to share a little message and talk a bit with him and Grace! (Yes, she's finally home.) It's amazing how much Ivan opens up to us now. It's like there's no worry for him anymore. He just tells us all things. He's definitely had a life full of experience, that one! And: He spoils us. There was one day last week we stopped by his house to fill our water, 'cause, man, it's been hot lately. And he gave us an ice-pop (like an ottor pop) to go with it! So on Tuesday night he gave us our very own ice-pops to put in our freezer! Haha. He's the best!
WEDNESDAY! Another struggle day for me. Just 'cause... we definitely didn't see as many people as we could have. But – still good. Emere and Arihia Joseph brought us out to lunch, and it was lovely to spend some time wtih them again. We did a bit more service in the Frost's garden – and I finally got the giant THISSLE out of the garden! I definitely got stabbed a few times, but it was exciting. Also: Amazing how easy the root comes out once you clear all the pokey stuff away!
After our afternoon service, we definitely had to go home and shower quickly... 'cause once again, hotness. And the Frost's invited us over for a quick dinner before Ward Council. We also got to witness Avery trying his first little bit of curry! Haha. It's hilarous watching babies faces trying real food. Brother Frost put a little bit on his binkie — and he was no longer fussy! He likes his food ;) Ah. Another thing I learned this day? It's amazing how fast you can feel the air get humid here. It rained for a bit – then suddenly stopped and the sun was out. And then: It was like you could feel the water evaporating around you. Crazy.
THURSDAY! (I really wish I could type faster than I already can...) "The BIG MOVE." So... once upon a time we found a little couple named Nellie and Richard. They live in a house on Newington Road. We had stopped by a couple weeks ago, and Richard mentioned they were moving – just down the street on Great North Road. So we offered our help. Wednesday night we brought it up in Ward Council, hoping we coudl get some of the ward involved to make Nellie and Richard known! But... alas, people really weren't available. So... we called upon the missionaries! And man, are we glad we did! It was a MUCH bigger move than we had anticipated. Why? Because apparently the house they live in is actually a house that belongs to an organization of sorts that houses people with disabilities (Nellie has Down Syndrome, and Richard... something else?) SO... there were actually about 4 other people also living in this house! Aka: HEAPS of stuff to move! A good portion of our Zone showed up, and it went much faster than the residents thought it would (it easily could have taken them two days...) and we had HEAPS of fun with service life :)
The exciting thing about this is: Through this service, Sister Hobbs and I were able to introduce the Book of Mormon to Richard, share a little more with Nellie, and share some with their care-takers as well! The sad part: Their new house is BARELY OUT OF OUR AREA. So.... at the end of the day, we very reluctantly handed them over to the Elders to teach :P But. We're also excited for them, and we've also been given permission to VISIT them. Not really teach... but visit. And the Elders said they'd let us know when they go over, so that's good :)
We also discovered on Thursday that our District's have been swapped around a bit! Elder Hunter is now our district leader, and we're in a district with the Samoan Sisters, rather than our Sister Training Leaders. In complete honesty: Sister Hobbs and I are rather excited about the change. We love (okay... well, I love) our Sister Training Leaders, but ... we do kind of feel like they look down on us a lot, rather than trying to build us up and help us to be better. So... I think it'll be a good change to be separated a bit more from them so when we have trade-offs it'll actually be telling them things they don't already know about our area (because they would hear about it all in district meeting every week...). And hopefully it'll be one of those "distance makes the heart grow fonder" types of relationships.
Later in that afternoon, we stopped by Julie's house. Julie is a ....sort of potential. Haha. She always says that she's not interested, but we still go over just to talk, and to see all the new artsy things she's up to! She claims to not be an artsy person... but alas: She definitely is. She does MOSAICS. Like – brilliant things. She loves all things that are colorful, and her yard and home is FULL of it. — All things she's purchased and repainted and made her own. I love it. And I want to learn how to do mosaic tiling things when I get back now :) Anyhoo. She makes pots (as in flower pots) — mosaics them and makes them colourful and pretty. She had made one for Sister Hobbs to buy, and... now she's making me one too!!!! SUPER excited. Hopefully photos to come. ...Clearly we're still working out the glitches on that!
We were invited Thursday night to go over to the Butlers for one last night before school starts up again. We roasted marshmallows, and I tried to help Conan not be a teenager and not be mad at his mum for lame things. I'm hoping we figured it out a little? Who knows. And his mum Dani needed to talk too, so it was good for the family I think. They're all just wonderful.
FRIDAY we went to Marion's home (less-active). I talked about her in church last week. She's lovely, but ... it's interesting how much more you can see into a person's life when you actually visit their home. They struggle, they really do. And we found out her son was actually taken from her about a year ago – due to him being home alone too much I suppose (he was 6 at the time and turns 8 this year). We met her partner officially, and .... it just makes me sad when you feel like someone you know and love is with a partner who is clearly just taking advantage of her being there, and also that they don't feel like they're good enough to be with someone else. Aka: Her partner is just... not really there. Fairly certain he's always drunk, or looking for drugs. And she's been with him for 13 YEARS. Anyhoo. It was good to see different things we can help her with and whatnot. Ah:
Also, she has a dog... It's a Pitt Bull! His name is Broncs. And he's a little terrifying. :P
CAROLINE. Ohhhhh how I love Caroline.
She was actually one of the first people we met when we came out – a woman who's been investigating for... over a year now.
Haha. She knows lots of missionaries. But we actually got to have a real conversation and whatnot with her Friday evening, and it was lovely. She's the SWEETEST. She's partners with a less-active, and has an 18-year-old son. And man. We can tell that she really feels goodness from our Church — but, fun fact: she hasn't actually been to church yet. So, *crosses fingers* we're hoping that changes. She said she'll come this next week. So... we'll be working for that! And then to continue teaching lessons and whatnot :) Glorious. Little miracles.
Our Dinner appointment Friday night was supposed to be with the Pattersons, but they called us up and said, "Hey! We're going to the Halaapiapi's for dinner because they're having a High Priest's dinner with wives and family, and they said you could come!" Ha. Meaning: Island food! I love island food. And everything at the Halaapiapi's (or involving them in general) is going to be a party. Love them all so much. We also got to catch up with the Masiasomua's – who hopefully have someone for us to start teaching They're a crack-up. Ha. Also because they remind me of you, mum and dad, more and more each time I get to know them. This time? Learning Sister Masiasomua is super OCD, and President's favorite dessert is Apple Pie and Ice-Cream (HOT Apple Pie, he said). Love it. :)
SATURDAY. Man. Saturday is the day to live for. Why? We had a MISSION CONFERENCE. And not only our mission, but with Hamilton Mission AND the MTC as well. "Why?" you ask? ...Well, ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON WAS THERE. AND Elder Pearson (South Pacific Area President) and their wives. So... we all (my mission) first met at Fergueson Chapel in Otara (the "dodgy" part of South Auckland)—we were told to "STAY IN YOUR CARS!" —unless you needed the toilet. Sister Hobbs and I did. And... during those few moments, I was lucky enough to get to see Sisters Pointer, Lott, Boiteux, Christiansen, AND O'REILLY!! [Sister O'Reilly was my trainer that I call, mum.] It's been too long, folks. I know the Mission isn't about the social life and about seeing other missionaires. But... it was good. Just to see, hug and say hello for a few minutes. I missed my Mum, HARDCORE. And guess what? She's a Sister Traiing Leader now! In Panmeur! (Or... maybe she said Penrose, actually...? Too many Zones that start with P. — Hey, Liz. Leesh. "P is yellow" Remember? Hahaha.) Anyhoo, so apparently it "runs in the family" — so I'm probably next! Terrifying. Ha. We'll see there.
After that, we all (the mission) went together to Redoubt Chapel (in Hamilton! We got to be "REBELS" and leave the mission! Haha). #RebelliousMissionLife We settled in, were warned soundly by the Hamilton Mission President, and then Elder Christofferson came. Before we even started the meeting, he wanted to shake all of our hands! GAH! Excitement!! And then... we had much council and enlightenment from Sister and Elder Pearson, and Sister and Elder Christofferson. Heaps on "Focusing on the Work" and our purpose as missionaires. Good for all of us :) ...I'm hoping to write a letter with more things in it... so we'll see when that comes to you. But it was brilliant! And man. Elder Christofferson is one HAPPY person. Haha. Crack-up, he is!
After the mission conference, we went out. And we met the Samuelu's. :) A Less Active family that converted... I'm not sure when. But I assume sometime after the parent's first two children were born. 'Cause... all the rest are named after missionaries! Haha! So, they love the Church. They still follow everything as they should, they just struggle with actually coming to church lately. "Laziness" they say. But: Their son wants to go on a mission.
So, last week they decided to start coming again so that their son feels their support. (Amazing what missions can do, isn't' it?) So we decided to go over and properly meet them all. And they're the SWEETEST family ever. So super humble, and definitely the New Zealand way of relaxed life. Haha. We shared a message about church, and we know they know what they need to be doing (repetitive and redundant much?). We're excited to get to know them better. It'll be grand :)
After the Samuelu's, we were looking for another person on a potentials list... didn't find him, but found another! His name is Mata. And does he have some cool tattoos? Yes. Yes, he does. Including a giant one of Christ. So... ya know, it helped in bringing up gospel topics! Also the fact that he's talked to missionaries before. That helped. He also told us he wouldn't convert, but... we definitely see potential with different things that are going on in his life. He's grown up Catholic — but not currently going (that seems to be a trend among most Catholics I've met here in in Henderson!). But definitely believes Christ has done everything for him and helps him every day. We're excited to see him again. Also: A little miracle that we even met him, 'cause... it was his ONE DAY of the week he has off! And the first day he's had off in a while. So... blessings :) Ah: And
HE has a dog... A Rottweiler! (Yup. A Rottweiler.) His name is Harley. And he is the NICEST ROTTWEILER I've ever met. I was a little terrified at first, and Sister Hobbs is still terrified. But... so cute. Weird to say that I petted and played with a Rottweiler without my hand being bitten off. Ah – he's also only a year old. So that helps, 'cause Mata has raised him to be a cuddle dog ;) Love it.
[Not sure what's with me and telling you about everyone's dogs this week too... apparently it's been a big thing. Haha.]
SUNDAY. We finally got to teach Liberty again! Woot woot! "How did we make it around him not wanting other people to come to lessons and trying to make us bend the rules of his partner not being there?" You ask? ...Well, we brought along Naynay Taumafai. Haha. She's about our age, and lovely. So she came to the lesson with us and we taught the Plan of Salvation. It was good. Though... as Sister Hobbs and I taught, we seemed to have different thoughts of who the people are that are able to be taught in the Spirit World........ #Awkward. But it's good, 'cause it's giving me something to study up more on now. Currently reading D&C 138. Any other suggestions? :D Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Church was lovely yesterday, we taught a primary class! A class full of BOYS, as... all the girls were on holiday. And come to think of it, I really don't think we have that many girls within that age group. Anyhoo— They're all a crack-up though—8-11 year olds. We taught about the Liahona, Nephi breaking his bow, and how prayer and faith help us to know where to go. Good times. We had them act out the story :) Love it.
TASH and MOTTI (Natasha and Mordihai)—the CUTEST little couple we met that lives on our street. We've talked with them a few times now, and we know they're going to make the cutest members one day... But it will also take some time. She used to be christian, and he's Isralie ...so Jewish? Jewish. But he's not practicing either. And they've both chose that keeping away from Religion is the better lifestyle for their marriage. (Yes: I repeat, they are indeed, actually MARRIED! When does that ever happen?) But they also tell us how they "look for our church" sometimes ....so we're hoping they decide to just show up one day. Haha. We got to teach them a little bit about what our church service is like – so that was fun. We'll just keep praying for little and subtle opportunities with them :)
So.... A lovely week. Many blessings, and many people. But.... I know there's still more. More we can still find, more we can help in different ways. We're excited for the less-actives that we've been meeting with, that are starting to come back though. So.... life is good :)
Missions are crazy. In a good way. I don't think life has EVER gone this fast before. Ha. Sometimes I truly wonder if someone has actually just moved the clock hands to make it a little faster because nothing is slow anymore. I mean – 7 months. I'm closer to half-way than not. Weird, yea? Yeah.
Life is good. Things continue to look up. I know through focus and diligence, miracles happen. And focus and diligence come through obedience and faith. It's great, isnt' it? Ah – and studying and praying. Those both bring about amazing things!
I love and miss you all HEAPS, but... I know this is but a small moment for me to not be with you ;)
Arohanui,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Haha... I accidentally wrote "weed" at first instead of "week" in the subject line. Although, there was also a rebellious/stubborn weed we worked on this week as well.
Kia Ora, my dear Whanau! (Clearly you can tell how the "learning Samoan" is going.... haha. I'm just stuck to my Maori forever!)
It's been a nice week. I still have moments of feeling like we're not as busy as we could be though... so there's that. But, regardless, it's still been a very good week :) Many miracles and fun things, and.... meetings of exciting people :D
MONDAY—P-day, began the week as a "day with the Butlers" – loveeeee. We went to Bethel's Beach, and I saw BLACK SAND. Cool? Yes. I don't really know why it's so cool to me, but it is! And Conan and I have become even more like siblings now, so that's great. And he's helping me to learn new things about lighting each time I see him. So that's lovely to keep my mind from forgetting! We also went back to their home at the end of Monday's P-day and had Family Home Evening with them, and watched The Best Two years. Fun fact: First time I"ve ever seen the whole movie all the way through in one sitting! It's a good one! Haha.
When we returned to our flat Monday night, we still hadn't heard from Elder Long (Zone Leader) about transfers—whether we were staying or whatnot. ...Guesses?
Haha. I started thinking, "Ah, we must just be safe since we haven't heard anything." ...And then the phone rang. "Zone Leaders" – And my stomach jumped a little.
"Sisters! Would you like transfer news? Well... You'll both be staying!" Ha. All that for telling us we're staying ;) But we're excited, and ready to continue in our lovely Henderson Valley area!
TUESDAY — Happy Australia Day! (And our dear Australian Sisters definitely let us know it was Australian day. Bashing on America included. Fun times? ...Sure? It's fine. Whatevers'.) However, Tuesday was definitely a bit of a testimony builder for me in losing myself in the work again. I was struggling that morning with... just thinking too much. Worrying too much, and not knowing how to truly focus my mind on anything. We had our last district meeting together as "that district" on Tuesday and it was good. It was sad, but good. I'll definitely miss the Elders who left us to go out into other parts of the land! We had a little testimony meeting and that was good. We had a training on TWE and "Finding People" (again — it's really being hit hard throughout the whole mission... apparently we're all struggling in finding new people and really teaching lately). But it's good to have these trainings. Building ourselves up and just... learning to rely more on the spirit, and focusing on the work instead of the "social" side of things. (There's was actually quite a bit of drama in the last mission transfer... a lot of Emergency transfers of missionaries in South Auckland and whatnot. So...
President's kind of seeming to be hard on us lately. But for good reasons. I've learned that Islanders really kind of like to party. Thus... why I feel like my companion, Sister Hobbs, may struggle with laziness sometimes – since most of her companions have been islanders! And so... that's how things have been for her.) Anyhoo. #TangentMuch? Testimony built of losing myself.
After district meeting we got back to the flat, had some lunch, and went out to work. I was honestly still a bit down – just trying to refocus my mind. We stopped by DORA'S house. I'm fairly certain I've talked about her before - when we first met her. We had knocked on her door, originally looking for someone else, but she said she was interested! We assumed she was older because she had a baby in her arms. Well – we all know what assuming does! We went back Tuesday, and found her at home again – with the baby. She invited us in and we started getting to know her. Fun fact: The baby is her LITTLE BROTHER. And she is 15. Yup. She's FIFTEEN years old. So... technically, in order to teach her, we need someone 18 or older and permission from her parents. But... she still had us stay and teach her about the Restoration. And she LOVED IT! She told us beforehand how she's really come to know how Christ has helped her in her life, and how she knows that she's alive today because of Him. (Why can't everyone be like her?) And then, as we told her about the First Vision, she was literally in awe. And THEN. She loved it even more when we brought out the Book of Mormon and told her she could have the copy we handed her. I've never seen someone SO EXCITED to read it! She kept saying how she wanted to read it "right then." TOO cute. So... we're hoping to go back and see her soon and meet her parents :)
After that lesson, we wanted to conquer the world!!! So we went to see Kathleen Va'a – who we had a scheduled appointment with. I hadn't officially met her yet, 'cause she's hard to catch – but Sisters Hobbs and Fornaro had finally caught her when they were on trade-offs and made an appointment. Unfortunately, when we went by she said it really wasn't actually a good time, but we still talked for a bit. Sweetest girl, and we're excited to get to know her better. We also stopped by Aroha Henare (less-active) before dinner with the Pauna's. I just love Aroha. She's so talkative and wonderful. And I have faith that she really will come back to church soon!
That night we stopped by Ivan's because... Elder Christiansen had to see him one more time before he was transferred to Whangarei on Wednesday morning :( (Gonna miss that Elder! – and so will Ivan!) So we went over as well. The Elders couldn't stay long, but we did get to share a little message and talk a bit with him and Grace! (Yes, she's finally home.) It's amazing how much Ivan opens up to us now. It's like there's no worry for him anymore. He just tells us all things. He's definitely had a life full of experience, that one! And: He spoils us. There was one day last week we stopped by his house to fill our water, 'cause, man, it's been hot lately. And he gave us an ice-pop (like an ottor pop) to go with it! So on Tuesday night he gave us our very own ice-pops to put in our freezer! Haha. He's the best!
WEDNESDAY! Another struggle day for me. Just 'cause... we definitely didn't see as many people as we could have. But – still good. Emere and Arihia Joseph brought us out to lunch, and it was lovely to spend some time wtih them again. We did a bit more service in the Frost's garden – and I finally got the giant THISSLE out of the garden! I definitely got stabbed a few times, but it was exciting. Also: Amazing how easy the root comes out once you clear all the pokey stuff away!
After our afternoon service, we definitely had to go home and shower quickly... 'cause once again, hotness. And the Frost's invited us over for a quick dinner before Ward Council. We also got to witness Avery trying his first little bit of curry! Haha. It's hilarous watching babies faces trying real food. Brother Frost put a little bit on his binkie — and he was no longer fussy! He likes his food ;) Ah. Another thing I learned this day? It's amazing how fast you can feel the air get humid here. It rained for a bit – then suddenly stopped and the sun was out. And then: It was like you could feel the water evaporating around you. Crazy.
THURSDAY! (I really wish I could type faster than I already can...) "The BIG MOVE." So... once upon a time we found a little couple named Nellie and Richard. They live in a house on Newington Road. We had stopped by a couple weeks ago, and Richard mentioned they were moving – just down the street on Great North Road. So we offered our help. Wednesday night we brought it up in Ward Council, hoping we coudl get some of the ward involved to make Nellie and Richard known! But... alas, people really weren't available. So... we called upon the missionaries! And man, are we glad we did! It was a MUCH bigger move than we had anticipated. Why? Because apparently the house they live in is actually a house that belongs to an organization of sorts that houses people with disabilities (Nellie has Down Syndrome, and Richard... something else?) SO... there were actually about 4 other people also living in this house! Aka: HEAPS of stuff to move! A good portion of our Zone showed up, and it went much faster than the residents thought it would (it easily could have taken them two days...) and we had HEAPS of fun with service life :)
The exciting thing about this is: Through this service, Sister Hobbs and I were able to introduce the Book of Mormon to Richard, share a little more with Nellie, and share some with their care-takers as well! The sad part: Their new house is BARELY OUT OF OUR AREA. So.... at the end of the day, we very reluctantly handed them over to the Elders to teach :P But. We're also excited for them, and we've also been given permission to VISIT them. Not really teach... but visit. And the Elders said they'd let us know when they go over, so that's good :)
We also discovered on Thursday that our District's have been swapped around a bit! Elder Hunter is now our district leader, and we're in a district with the Samoan Sisters, rather than our Sister Training Leaders. In complete honesty: Sister Hobbs and I are rather excited about the change. We love (okay... well, I love) our Sister Training Leaders, but ... we do kind of feel like they look down on us a lot, rather than trying to build us up and help us to be better. So... I think it'll be a good change to be separated a bit more from them so when we have trade-offs it'll actually be telling them things they don't already know about our area (because they would hear about it all in district meeting every week...). And hopefully it'll be one of those "distance makes the heart grow fonder" types of relationships.
Later in that afternoon, we stopped by Julie's house. Julie is a ....sort of potential. Haha. She always says that she's not interested, but we still go over just to talk, and to see all the new artsy things she's up to! She claims to not be an artsy person... but alas: She definitely is. She does MOSAICS. Like – brilliant things. She loves all things that are colorful, and her yard and home is FULL of it. — All things she's purchased and repainted and made her own. I love it. And I want to learn how to do mosaic tiling things when I get back now :) Anyhoo. She makes pots (as in flower pots) — mosaics them and makes them colourful and pretty. She had made one for Sister Hobbs to buy, and... now she's making me one too!!!! SUPER excited. Hopefully photos to come. ...Clearly we're still working out the glitches on that!
We were invited Thursday night to go over to the Butlers for one last night before school starts up again. We roasted marshmallows, and I tried to help Conan not be a teenager and not be mad at his mum for lame things. I'm hoping we figured it out a little? Who knows. And his mum Dani needed to talk too, so it was good for the family I think. They're all just wonderful.
FRIDAY we went to Marion's home (less-active). I talked about her in church last week. She's lovely, but ... it's interesting how much more you can see into a person's life when you actually visit their home. They struggle, they really do. And we found out her son was actually taken from her about a year ago – due to him being home alone too much I suppose (he was 6 at the time and turns 8 this year). We met her partner officially, and .... it just makes me sad when you feel like someone you know and love is with a partner who is clearly just taking advantage of her being there, and also that they don't feel like they're good enough to be with someone else. Aka: Her partner is just... not really there. Fairly certain he's always drunk, or looking for drugs. And she's been with him for 13 YEARS. Anyhoo. It was good to see different things we can help her with and whatnot. Ah:
Also, she has a dog... It's a Pitt Bull! His name is Broncs. And he's a little terrifying. :P
CAROLINE. Ohhhhh how I love Caroline.
She was actually one of the first people we met when we came out – a woman who's been investigating for... over a year now.
Haha. She knows lots of missionaries. But we actually got to have a real conversation and whatnot with her Friday evening, and it was lovely. She's the SWEETEST. She's partners with a less-active, and has an 18-year-old son. And man. We can tell that she really feels goodness from our Church — but, fun fact: she hasn't actually been to church yet. So, *crosses fingers* we're hoping that changes. She said she'll come this next week. So... we'll be working for that! And then to continue teaching lessons and whatnot :) Glorious. Little miracles.
Our Dinner appointment Friday night was supposed to be with the Pattersons, but they called us up and said, "Hey! We're going to the Halaapiapi's for dinner because they're having a High Priest's dinner with wives and family, and they said you could come!" Ha. Meaning: Island food! I love island food. And everything at the Halaapiapi's (or involving them in general) is going to be a party. Love them all so much. We also got to catch up with the Masiasomua's – who hopefully have someone for us to start teaching They're a crack-up. Ha. Also because they remind me of you, mum and dad, more and more each time I get to know them. This time? Learning Sister Masiasomua is super OCD, and President's favorite dessert is Apple Pie and Ice-Cream (HOT Apple Pie, he said). Love it. :)
SATURDAY. Man. Saturday is the day to live for. Why? We had a MISSION CONFERENCE. And not only our mission, but with Hamilton Mission AND the MTC as well. "Why?" you ask? ...Well, ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON WAS THERE. AND Elder Pearson (South Pacific Area President) and their wives. So... we all (my mission) first met at Fergueson Chapel in Otara (the "dodgy" part of South Auckland)—we were told to "STAY IN YOUR CARS!" —unless you needed the toilet. Sister Hobbs and I did. And... during those few moments, I was lucky enough to get to see Sisters Pointer, Lott, Boiteux, Christiansen, AND O'REILLY!! [Sister O'Reilly was my trainer that I call, mum.] It's been too long, folks. I know the Mission isn't about the social life and about seeing other missionaires. But... it was good. Just to see, hug and say hello for a few minutes. I missed my Mum, HARDCORE. And guess what? She's a Sister Traiing Leader now! In Panmeur! (Or... maybe she said Penrose, actually...? Too many Zones that start with P. — Hey, Liz. Leesh. "P is yellow" Remember? Hahaha.) Anyhoo, so apparently it "runs in the family" — so I'm probably next! Terrifying. Ha. We'll see there.
After that, we all (the mission) went together to Redoubt Chapel (in Hamilton! We got to be "REBELS" and leave the mission! Haha). #RebelliousMissionLife We settled in, were warned soundly by the Hamilton Mission President, and then Elder Christofferson came. Before we even started the meeting, he wanted to shake all of our hands! GAH! Excitement!! And then... we had much council and enlightenment from Sister and Elder Pearson, and Sister and Elder Christofferson. Heaps on "Focusing on the Work" and our purpose as missionaires. Good for all of us :) ...I'm hoping to write a letter with more things in it... so we'll see when that comes to you. But it was brilliant! And man. Elder Christofferson is one HAPPY person. Haha. Crack-up, he is!
After the mission conference, we went out. And we met the Samuelu's. :) A Less Active family that converted... I'm not sure when. But I assume sometime after the parent's first two children were born. 'Cause... all the rest are named after missionaries! Haha! So, they love the Church. They still follow everything as they should, they just struggle with actually coming to church lately. "Laziness" they say. But: Their son wants to go on a mission.
So, last week they decided to start coming again so that their son feels their support. (Amazing what missions can do, isn't' it?) So we decided to go over and properly meet them all. And they're the SWEETEST family ever. So super humble, and definitely the New Zealand way of relaxed life. Haha. We shared a message about church, and we know they know what they need to be doing (repetitive and redundant much?). We're excited to get to know them better. It'll be grand :)
After the Samuelu's, we were looking for another person on a potentials list... didn't find him, but found another! His name is Mata. And does he have some cool tattoos? Yes. Yes, he does. Including a giant one of Christ. So... ya know, it helped in bringing up gospel topics! Also the fact that he's talked to missionaries before. That helped. He also told us he wouldn't convert, but... we definitely see potential with different things that are going on in his life. He's grown up Catholic — but not currently going (that seems to be a trend among most Catholics I've met here in in Henderson!). But definitely believes Christ has done everything for him and helps him every day. We're excited to see him again. Also: A little miracle that we even met him, 'cause... it was his ONE DAY of the week he has off! And the first day he's had off in a while. So... blessings :) Ah: And
HE has a dog... A Rottweiler! (Yup. A Rottweiler.) His name is Harley. And he is the NICEST ROTTWEILER I've ever met. I was a little terrified at first, and Sister Hobbs is still terrified. But... so cute. Weird to say that I petted and played with a Rottweiler without my hand being bitten off. Ah – he's also only a year old. So that helps, 'cause Mata has raised him to be a cuddle dog ;) Love it.
[Not sure what's with me and telling you about everyone's dogs this week too... apparently it's been a big thing. Haha.]
SUNDAY. We finally got to teach Liberty again! Woot woot! "How did we make it around him not wanting other people to come to lessons and trying to make us bend the rules of his partner not being there?" You ask? ...Well, we brought along Naynay Taumafai. Haha. She's about our age, and lovely. So she came to the lesson with us and we taught the Plan of Salvation. It was good. Though... as Sister Hobbs and I taught, we seemed to have different thoughts of who the people are that are able to be taught in the Spirit World........ #Awkward. But it's good, 'cause it's giving me something to study up more on now. Currently reading D&C 138. Any other suggestions? :D Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Church was lovely yesterday, we taught a primary class! A class full of BOYS, as... all the girls were on holiday. And come to think of it, I really don't think we have that many girls within that age group. Anyhoo— They're all a crack-up though—8-11 year olds. We taught about the Liahona, Nephi breaking his bow, and how prayer and faith help us to know where to go. Good times. We had them act out the story :) Love it.
TASH and MOTTI (Natasha and Mordihai)—the CUTEST little couple we met that lives on our street. We've talked with them a few times now, and we know they're going to make the cutest members one day... But it will also take some time. She used to be christian, and he's Isralie ...so Jewish? Jewish. But he's not practicing either. And they've both chose that keeping away from Religion is the better lifestyle for their marriage. (Yes: I repeat, they are indeed, actually MARRIED! When does that ever happen?) But they also tell us how they "look for our church" sometimes ....so we're hoping they decide to just show up one day. Haha. We got to teach them a little bit about what our church service is like – so that was fun. We'll just keep praying for little and subtle opportunities with them :)
So.... A lovely week. Many blessings, and many people. But.... I know there's still more. More we can still find, more we can help in different ways. We're excited for the less-actives that we've been meeting with, that are starting to come back though. So.... life is good :)
Missions are crazy. In a good way. I don't think life has EVER gone this fast before. Ha. Sometimes I truly wonder if someone has actually just moved the clock hands to make it a little faster because nothing is slow anymore. I mean – 7 months. I'm closer to half-way than not. Weird, yea? Yeah.
Life is good. Things continue to look up. I know through focus and diligence, miracles happen. And focus and diligence come through obedience and faith. It's great, isnt' it? Ah – and studying and praying. Those both bring about amazing things!
I love and miss you all HEAPS, but... I know this is but a small moment for me to not be with you ;)
Arohanui,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
NO BUGS, TRADE-OFFS, DOGS, & NEWS!
Phew! It's definitely been a week! One of those kind where you look back and think, "That was last Monday? How did we fit ALL of THAT in just one week!?"
MONDAY. It started on Monday with Zone Devotional, which was going to be a beautiful testimony meeting, but instead turned into Sister Boiteux and I hurredly running back to Kerikeri from Kaikohe because our flat was being sprayed for bugs! So....exciting and frustrating. I probably told you about this before but - all is well! Haha. Our flat is officially clean and there shouldn't be anymore scabies attacking our poor little Utah selves. :) The rest of p-day was nice though, playing Volleyball with the District and ending the night visiting Aunty Lydia. (I truly need to get pictures with these members and people so I can show them to you.) They're just my heart and soul.
AND MONDAY NIGHT: BRIGHT ORANGE MOON! And it was GIANT TOO. There's pictures... but they only kind of-ish capture it. Not really actually. Hah... Ah - and another result of Monday: "RIP to our poor little phone." Sister Boiteux dropped it accidentally - and in spite of ALL the times it's been dropped before (MANY... that poor little thing went through a lot), this one single time resulted in it never again turning on.... Ha. So, we've been phone-less for the week. Unfortunate, yes - but also nice in some aspects.... :P
TUESDAY started off with District meeting (as usual) and should have gone straight into Trade-offs with the Sister Training Leaders (Sister Allen and Sister Paasi). However, Sister Pointer and Tapuala have been struggling as of late - so they ended up having a bit of a meeting with the STL's to figure out some things about their companionship. As a result - we had trade offs with them as well! So I spent the day with Sister Allen and Sister Tapuala. :) We went to Matauri Bay while Sister Boiteux covered Paihia with Sister Paasi and Pointer. And it was definitely a beautiful day - beginning our trade off with some Fish 'n Chips all together at Vinnie's in Paihia for lunch and a little bit of frozen yogurt from Kababulous ("kabobs" are definitely different here, by the way. haha). I was able to visit, find, and learn some more from being with Sister Allen and Tapuala for the day - and gained new "light" of how to tract.... Tracting is a struggle for me. Because - knocking doors is just difficult. However, it's easier than just talking to random people on the street I suppose. All things that I know will continue to come better in time!
I always love showing new people around Matauri Bay - just because their faces are priceless with joy as they see the beautiful Bay when we drive down. :) We spent our dinner break on the grassy side of the bay and enjoyed the breeze. I was also able to meet with our investigator Jemmeka that night - who is finally seeming to get over a bit of the girl drama she's been going through lately. YAY! AHHHHH! **Literal rejoices from the angel choirs above!** She also committed to me that she'd start doing her reading and whatnot - and I told her we'd plan a fun activity of making chocolate oreos to go along with the gospel of Jesus Christ. *Excitement!*
When WEDNESDAY came around, Sister Boiteux and I picked up our dry cleaning (coats are clean and definitely bug free!) and went back to our flat - which ended up being a good thing, because sister Tapuala and Paasi showed up, asking if we could go on a bit of an "extended trade offs" for the week with the sisters. So - Sister Boiteux packed up all her stuff and went over to the other Sister's flat to be with Sister Tapuala, and I took in Sister Pointer. Honestly - I get along with Sister Pointer really well. She's been struggling on the mission with some depression which she's never had to deal with before. And I guess her and Sister Tapuala have just been struggling with not the best companionship ever lately. Anyhoo — We traded for a bit. And I think it gave Sister Pointer a bit of time to re-focus. A bit of time to talk with me, and time for us to also get to know each other better. I actually came into this area with Sister Pointer - she's from Cedar City and technically in the Samoan speaking program - but has been in the English program for a while now. But she's wonderful - and we actually get along really well. We have a lot in common with theatre and happiness and joy. :) So that's lovely because I got to "nerd-out" a bit with her.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT we also caught Aunty Apiata (we were supposed to have a lunch date with her but she wasn't home... due to having to go to the dentist! sad things). But we caught her at night - and she taught us FLAX WEAVING. Flax plants... I failed at actually taking a picture of one for you. But look it up! And then they get turned into CRAZY COOL things! We learned how to make a a Sting Ray flower and a fish. :) And technically a headband too. But neither Sister Pointer nor I can remember how to actually start that one... so I'll have to relearn. :)
Anyhoo. THINGS I LEARNED from Sister Pointer: To not be scared. To just talk to people. Go up to their doors and say 'hello' and know that YOU ARE IN CONTROL. And if the Spirit says otherwise, then follow that instead - obviously. We taught really well together, and have the same level of patience with people - which was also nice. Ha. Random thing I learned from her: Vicks Vapor Rub TAKES AWAY THE ITCH OF BUGS. Whaaaa? Yeah. I know. But it's grand. Try it.
THURSDAY we were back in Matauri - Finding some people, and actually getting to know Eddie Jones for the first time. He's a somewhat new(ly activated) member who's been quite sick up until now, so he's been in Auckland for different treatments. But he's wonderful! We got to hear a bit of his story - and: *drum roll* he WENT TO THE TEMPLE THIS WEEKEND TO GET HIS ENDOWMENT. Definitely excited to hear how that went for him!
At the flat that night Sister Pointer and I had some herbal tea together - because, once again - we learned we're more of the same person than we knew before. And listened to music and had a relaxing night before bed.
Because... FRIDAY was a big day!
ETHAN IS SET FOR BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...I couldn't handle it anymore. We taught Ethan after their Mutual activity - Brother White and Sister White helped us set it up, because it's difficult to get President to be there with us. And I ASKED HIM IF HE WANTED TO GET BAPTIZED AND HE SAID, YES! Honestly: We already knew this before, but he's apparently been going to church for SIX MONTHS now. (I definitely didn't know it had been that long.) And he's just "GOLDEN." He's set for the 26th of this month. SWEET AS! RIGHT?? It was a great feeling. And it also felt so right to be teaching that lesson with Sister Pointer. We needed that moment of encouragement together - and it was grand! :)
SATURDAY we traded back to our normal companions. :) But not until AFTER Personal, and Companion Study, and .... "Language Study!" :) - Because Sister Pointer is in the Samoan program. And so she taught me some Samoan!! And it's wonderful! :) "Talofa" means hello! ...That's what I remember right now. But I can some-what read it a little now, so that's pretty "sweet as" too!
Then Sister Boiteux and I, having learned new things about ourselves, as well as new things to do... We tracted Turner Street in Kaeo, met a few new people - and found some potentials! Then we went to Aunty Luanas for dinner - good and sad thing. Ha. 1) I've learned I don't like muscles. Not a great food in my life. 2) The rest of the food was delicious! And she sent us home with more! 3) The bad part: Her dog ate my shoe. Favourite shoe. The grey, comfy, sketcher. :( But... It's just a shoe. And life will move on. Even though Skechers are INSANELY EXPENSIVE here. But: once again, I'll live. :)
After dinner we decided to continue on, to find a referral in the Te tii area. So we went to this house, knocked on the door - and DOGS came BARRELING to the door. Then the SLIDING GLASS DOOR started SLIDING OPEN - to which I said, "SISTER! THE DOOR!" and she pushed it shut. We immediately both didn't feel anything was right after standing there a few more seconds - and decided it was time to leave. The Spirit prompting you "where to go and what to do" is true!
On SUNDAY we arrived at church - and the first thing Sister White said to us is, "Hey! There's a family visiting and they're from Utah!" Small world? Yup. So we went over to talk to the Sister: "Oh, where are you from?" Sister Boiteux answers, "I'm from Herriman - where are you from?" "Highland!" Me: "What!? ME TOO!" And then there was rejoicing, and we talked with the Fackrell family for a bit and sat with them during Sacrament Meeting. :) They are on vacation, which started in Australia, and then they had to try out New Zealand as well! They take all their kids on vacation after they graduate and before university. :) We were also able to teach Ethan again - by teaching all the Young Men! Brother White had us come and teach the Ten Commandments, which went over really well. I actually came up with sign language things that helped me in the MTC, but have now switched it up a bit to make sense for other people. Ethan honestly taught and answered more than the others, because: once again - he's Golden! Haha.
The White's also invited us over for dinner - because they love us. And who else had they invited? The Fackrell family! All the joy! It truly was a blessing and MIRACLE to have them show up to our little Paihia branch - and the fact that we went to the Paihia branch this week as well! Had we kept with the "every-other-week" thing, we would have been in Matauri this week. But - it was inspired that Brother White asked us to teach their class. And it was nice to have a little piece of home, even though I didn't know them before! Their daughter, Serena Fackrell just graduated from Lone Peak High School and is heading to BYU-I where she'll be studying Nursing (Phew!) And she's wonderful. And adorable. And thinking about serving a mission!!! So we got to talk, and tell her stories about university and how to prepare for a mission and all the joys. And I say: "Watch out world! Serena's comin' your way!" Because she's Golden, and truly ready for whatever is coming her way next! ;)
Anyhoo. So... that's my week. In a nutshell. And it was grand.
Weird obsessive things in my life:
- I've started collecting shells. - That's actually not new. But it's exciting. (Big shells here!) And I've got the couple sister missionary, Sister Clements, who helped us with our massive wash issues last week, also helping me—since she's actually "allowed" on the beach itself... I just reach for shells and find them in places that aren't actually the beach! (Ha)
- And also... Dominoes obsession. There's a grocery store called Countdown - and they do promotional things to capture your heart and make you spend money. Currently: Dominoes. There's 50 of them. And they're DISNEY! So I currently have 4. So... we'll see how that continues on.
Scriptures and things I've found/learned this week:
Alma 17:13-14 - <3 Missionaries!
"They separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord. ... Great was the work which they had undertaken. ... For they had undertaken to preach the word of God." —Alma 17:13-14
Alma 13:28 - Things to pray for.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering." —Alma 13:28
Alma 14:26, 15:10 - Everything in life is "according to our faith which is in Christ." ... It's so true. And I'm continuously learning more and more about it every day!
"How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." —Alma 14:26
"O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ." —Alma 15:10
1 Cor. 13 - CHARITY. It's a beautiful chapter. And just... happy. Charity is definitely something that continuously comes up in my studies, and I'm grateful for it.
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. ... is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. ... rejoiceth in the truth. ... Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ... Charity never faileth!" —1 Cor. 13
CHALLENGE: One more thing I want to share, that can be kind of a "challenge" for all "yous" at home. :) This week I've started writing in a little "gratitude" journal book 3 different things daily. 1) Something I was grateful for that day, 2) A miracle, no matter how small, that happened, and 3) Something I learned. It's helped me realize there are truly exciting things even in the smallest of moments! :) It's also helping me realize the things I learn everyday. Because each of us learn something new everyday. Plus it's also a nice way to make your mind work a bit!
Life is good. It's all about learning.
MUCH LOVE!!
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
MONDAY. It started on Monday with Zone Devotional, which was going to be a beautiful testimony meeting, but instead turned into Sister Boiteux and I hurredly running back to Kerikeri from Kaikohe because our flat was being sprayed for bugs! So....exciting and frustrating. I probably told you about this before but - all is well! Haha. Our flat is officially clean and there shouldn't be anymore scabies attacking our poor little Utah selves. :) The rest of p-day was nice though, playing Volleyball with the District and ending the night visiting Aunty Lydia. (I truly need to get pictures with these members and people so I can show them to you.) They're just my heart and soul.
AND MONDAY NIGHT: BRIGHT ORANGE MOON! And it was GIANT TOO. There's pictures... but they only kind of-ish capture it. Not really actually. Hah... Ah - and another result of Monday: "RIP to our poor little phone." Sister Boiteux dropped it accidentally - and in spite of ALL the times it's been dropped before (MANY... that poor little thing went through a lot), this one single time resulted in it never again turning on.... Ha. So, we've been phone-less for the week. Unfortunate, yes - but also nice in some aspects.... :P
TUESDAY started off with District meeting (as usual) and should have gone straight into Trade-offs with the Sister Training Leaders (Sister Allen and Sister Paasi). However, Sister Pointer and Tapuala have been struggling as of late - so they ended up having a bit of a meeting with the STL's to figure out some things about their companionship. As a result - we had trade offs with them as well! So I spent the day with Sister Allen and Sister Tapuala. :) We went to Matauri Bay while Sister Boiteux covered Paihia with Sister Paasi and Pointer. And it was definitely a beautiful day - beginning our trade off with some Fish 'n Chips all together at Vinnie's in Paihia for lunch and a little bit of frozen yogurt from Kababulous ("kabobs" are definitely different here, by the way. haha). I was able to visit, find, and learn some more from being with Sister Allen and Tapuala for the day - and gained new "light" of how to tract.... Tracting is a struggle for me. Because - knocking doors is just difficult. However, it's easier than just talking to random people on the street I suppose. All things that I know will continue to come better in time!
I always love showing new people around Matauri Bay - just because their faces are priceless with joy as they see the beautiful Bay when we drive down. :) We spent our dinner break on the grassy side of the bay and enjoyed the breeze. I was also able to meet with our investigator Jemmeka that night - who is finally seeming to get over a bit of the girl drama she's been going through lately. YAY! AHHHHH! **Literal rejoices from the angel choirs above!** She also committed to me that she'd start doing her reading and whatnot - and I told her we'd plan a fun activity of making chocolate oreos to go along with the gospel of Jesus Christ. *Excitement!*
When WEDNESDAY came around, Sister Boiteux and I picked up our dry cleaning (coats are clean and definitely bug free!) and went back to our flat - which ended up being a good thing, because sister Tapuala and Paasi showed up, asking if we could go on a bit of an "extended trade offs" for the week with the sisters. So - Sister Boiteux packed up all her stuff and went over to the other Sister's flat to be with Sister Tapuala, and I took in Sister Pointer. Honestly - I get along with Sister Pointer really well. She's been struggling on the mission with some depression which she's never had to deal with before. And I guess her and Sister Tapuala have just been struggling with not the best companionship ever lately. Anyhoo — We traded for a bit. And I think it gave Sister Pointer a bit of time to re-focus. A bit of time to talk with me, and time for us to also get to know each other better. I actually came into this area with Sister Pointer - she's from Cedar City and technically in the Samoan speaking program - but has been in the English program for a while now. But she's wonderful - and we actually get along really well. We have a lot in common with theatre and happiness and joy. :) So that's lovely because I got to "nerd-out" a bit with her.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT we also caught Aunty Apiata (we were supposed to have a lunch date with her but she wasn't home... due to having to go to the dentist! sad things). But we caught her at night - and she taught us FLAX WEAVING. Flax plants... I failed at actually taking a picture of one for you. But look it up! And then they get turned into CRAZY COOL things! We learned how to make a a Sting Ray flower and a fish. :) And technically a headband too. But neither Sister Pointer nor I can remember how to actually start that one... so I'll have to relearn. :)
Anyhoo. THINGS I LEARNED from Sister Pointer: To not be scared. To just talk to people. Go up to their doors and say 'hello' and know that YOU ARE IN CONTROL. And if the Spirit says otherwise, then follow that instead - obviously. We taught really well together, and have the same level of patience with people - which was also nice. Ha. Random thing I learned from her: Vicks Vapor Rub TAKES AWAY THE ITCH OF BUGS. Whaaaa? Yeah. I know. But it's grand. Try it.
THURSDAY we were back in Matauri - Finding some people, and actually getting to know Eddie Jones for the first time. He's a somewhat new(ly activated) member who's been quite sick up until now, so he's been in Auckland for different treatments. But he's wonderful! We got to hear a bit of his story - and: *drum roll* he WENT TO THE TEMPLE THIS WEEKEND TO GET HIS ENDOWMENT. Definitely excited to hear how that went for him!
At the flat that night Sister Pointer and I had some herbal tea together - because, once again - we learned we're more of the same person than we knew before. And listened to music and had a relaxing night before bed.
Because... FRIDAY was a big day!
ETHAN IS SET FOR BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...I couldn't handle it anymore. We taught Ethan after their Mutual activity - Brother White and Sister White helped us set it up, because it's difficult to get President to be there with us. And I ASKED HIM IF HE WANTED TO GET BAPTIZED AND HE SAID, YES! Honestly: We already knew this before, but he's apparently been going to church for SIX MONTHS now. (I definitely didn't know it had been that long.) And he's just "GOLDEN." He's set for the 26th of this month. SWEET AS! RIGHT?? It was a great feeling. And it also felt so right to be teaching that lesson with Sister Pointer. We needed that moment of encouragement together - and it was grand! :)
SATURDAY we traded back to our normal companions. :) But not until AFTER Personal, and Companion Study, and .... "Language Study!" :) - Because Sister Pointer is in the Samoan program. And so she taught me some Samoan!! And it's wonderful! :) "Talofa" means hello! ...That's what I remember right now. But I can some-what read it a little now, so that's pretty "sweet as" too!
Then Sister Boiteux and I, having learned new things about ourselves, as well as new things to do... We tracted Turner Street in Kaeo, met a few new people - and found some potentials! Then we went to Aunty Luanas for dinner - good and sad thing. Ha. 1) I've learned I don't like muscles. Not a great food in my life. 2) The rest of the food was delicious! And she sent us home with more! 3) The bad part: Her dog ate my shoe. Favourite shoe. The grey, comfy, sketcher. :( But... It's just a shoe. And life will move on. Even though Skechers are INSANELY EXPENSIVE here. But: once again, I'll live. :)
After dinner we decided to continue on, to find a referral in the Te tii area. So we went to this house, knocked on the door - and DOGS came BARRELING to the door. Then the SLIDING GLASS DOOR started SLIDING OPEN - to which I said, "SISTER! THE DOOR!" and she pushed it shut. We immediately both didn't feel anything was right after standing there a few more seconds - and decided it was time to leave. The Spirit prompting you "where to go and what to do" is true!
On SUNDAY we arrived at church - and the first thing Sister White said to us is, "Hey! There's a family visiting and they're from Utah!" Small world? Yup. So we went over to talk to the Sister: "Oh, where are you from?" Sister Boiteux answers, "I'm from Herriman - where are you from?" "Highland!" Me: "What!? ME TOO!" And then there was rejoicing, and we talked with the Fackrell family for a bit and sat with them during Sacrament Meeting. :) They are on vacation, which started in Australia, and then they had to try out New Zealand as well! They take all their kids on vacation after they graduate and before university. :) We were also able to teach Ethan again - by teaching all the Young Men! Brother White had us come and teach the Ten Commandments, which went over really well. I actually came up with sign language things that helped me in the MTC, but have now switched it up a bit to make sense for other people. Ethan honestly taught and answered more than the others, because: once again - he's Golden! Haha.
The White's also invited us over for dinner - because they love us. And who else had they invited? The Fackrell family! All the joy! It truly was a blessing and MIRACLE to have them show up to our little Paihia branch - and the fact that we went to the Paihia branch this week as well! Had we kept with the "every-other-week" thing, we would have been in Matauri this week. But - it was inspired that Brother White asked us to teach their class. And it was nice to have a little piece of home, even though I didn't know them before! Their daughter, Serena Fackrell just graduated from Lone Peak High School and is heading to BYU-I where she'll be studying Nursing (Phew!) And she's wonderful. And adorable. And thinking about serving a mission!!! So we got to talk, and tell her stories about university and how to prepare for a mission and all the joys. And I say: "Watch out world! Serena's comin' your way!" Because she's Golden, and truly ready for whatever is coming her way next! ;)
Anyhoo. So... that's my week. In a nutshell. And it was grand.
Weird obsessive things in my life:
- I've started collecting shells. - That's actually not new. But it's exciting. (Big shells here!) And I've got the couple sister missionary, Sister Clements, who helped us with our massive wash issues last week, also helping me—since she's actually "allowed" on the beach itself... I just reach for shells and find them in places that aren't actually the beach! (Ha)
- And also... Dominoes obsession. There's a grocery store called Countdown - and they do promotional things to capture your heart and make you spend money. Currently: Dominoes. There's 50 of them. And they're DISNEY! So I currently have 4. So... we'll see how that continues on.
Scriptures and things I've found/learned this week:
Alma 17:13-14 - <3 Missionaries!
"They separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord. ... Great was the work which they had undertaken. ... For they had undertaken to preach the word of God." —Alma 17:13-14
Alma 13:28 - Things to pray for.
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering." —Alma 13:28
Alma 14:26, 15:10 - Everything in life is "according to our faith which is in Christ." ... It's so true. And I'm continuously learning more and more about it every day!
"How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." —Alma 14:26
"O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ." —Alma 15:10
1 Cor. 13 - CHARITY. It's a beautiful chapter. And just... happy. Charity is definitely something that continuously comes up in my studies, and I'm grateful for it.
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. ... is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. ... rejoiceth in the truth. ... Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ... Charity never faileth!" —1 Cor. 13
CHALLENGE: One more thing I want to share, that can be kind of a "challenge" for all "yous" at home. :) This week I've started writing in a little "gratitude" journal book 3 different things daily. 1) Something I was grateful for that day, 2) A miracle, no matter how small, that happened, and 3) Something I learned. It's helped me realize there are truly exciting things even in the smallest of moments! :) It's also helping me realize the things I learn everyday. Because each of us learn something new everyday. Plus it's also a nice way to make your mind work a bit!
Life is good. It's all about learning.
MUCH LOVE!!
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
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| Me and my Companion and the Fackrells |
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| Trade-offs with Sister Pointer |
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| Big Bright Orange Moon. Seriously, the picture doesn't begin to capture the beauty! |
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| Missionary Lego Me!! Thanks Leesha! |
Monday, August 31, 2015
#QUARANTINED-LIFE
Quarantine / n a period of isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease; the time or place of this. vt to put or keep in quarantine.
Scabies / n a contagious, itching skin disease.
=> Scabious / adj covered with scabs; of or resembling scabies.
These definitions describe my life this week! Haha. BUT - no worries. We're good. We've lived, and we're MOVING FORWARD! It's just... cost us a bit of money. And lots of time in the way of cleaning.
It all began on Tuesday morning: Sister Boiteux waking up and saying, "Um... I have more bug bites. And they're starting to look like yours." So, we called Sister Beckstead. And this was the beginning of our conversation with her:
Me: "Hello Sister Beckstead! It's Sister Boiteux and Sister Ottley."
Sis B: "Hello Sisters! Is everything okay?"
Me: *Laughing.*
Sis B: "Sister Ottley... I don't like that laugh!"
And then she got Sister Boiteux a doctor's appointment at Kerikeri Medical Centre. And, of course - I knew right where it was! So no need to drive around finding it this time! So I now have pictures of my cute daughter in the doctor's office - (sad face) and me somewhat laughing at her... but all out of love, of course! Her doctor entered the room, shook our hands, asked what was wrong with us, and so we told him about the bites. And because we'd been told by many people at that point that "it could be scabies!" (skae-bees) we asked our doctor (Dr. Matthew Brook) if that's what it could be. He then took another look at it, gave a gross-face look, and said, "Yes, yes it could be... I'm going to go wash my hands now." ...Good times! Haha... But Sister Beckstead told us it's not spread as simply as just shaking hands - so no worries for the BAJILLIONS of people I've shaken hands with in the last 4 weeks! So he then gave us a perscription - for a lotion and (another) antihistemine.
Sister Boiteux & Me Crying/Laughing after the Doctor. Hahaha...
Our New Prescriptions!
At this point Sister Beckstead told us we then had to gather EVERYTHING we own, and WASH it (all the joy!) ...So the Clements took pitty on us and let us bring all our things to their flat and wash there (because they have a dryer). We also took our coats and things to the dry cleaners. (Um.... EXPENSIVE. What?? $50+ for just my coat and the zip-out part!) Then we took ALL our bedding to a cleaner place. (Another $34 each to use their big washers and dryers!)
So therefore, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent mainly at the Clements' flat—washing all the things we owned, and at our flat—cleaning like mad women and getting our lives back together. We thought we'd have a bunch of time for personal study, and putting together more things for our Plan of Salvation lesson - but alas, WE CLEANED. But it was good. Our flat is now free of things that weren't useful, or were just nasty and old...
Then Thursday came around, and we were allowed out again! We had a Zone Conference which was lovely - and which I was *lucky* enough to share the spiritual thought at AND Sister Boiteux and I taught a part of our training for the day. Haha... We laughed a little when the Zone Leaders called us Wednesday night asking if we'd prepared things. It was a lovely Zone Conference though. All about "experimenting" on things we can be better at. This is something that Presient Balli has been stressing lately - starting at mission conference - "experimenting on our testimonies and how to gain more in three areas: The Doctrine of Christ, Obedience, and Expanding our Visions." So, like I said, we taught a part of this training. We taught The Doctrine of Christ. I found a scripture in D&C 88:77-80 (and 81-82) that we focused on in our few minutes. It brought some lovely discussion, and Sister Boiteux and I ended with telling an experience of how we've gained a testimony of the Doctrine of Christ and different ways we felt we could use to experiment more upon it. Good day. :)
Later that night we were stopping by a less-active family's home, when we were greeted by two men, who, as they walked up to us said "Hey! Are you the Mormon missionaries? We're the Jehovah's Witnesses. We don't like you!" —And this is where I have to explain. It was REALLY dark outside this house.. Ha. So, I couldn't see their faces. But they shook our hands and then the family let all of us into the house... Sister Boiteux was saying, "Oh, we don't want to bother you! We'll come back later!" ...And then, in the light - I realized. Brother Ngakuru. Hahahaha.... Yup. Brother Ngakuru and Brother Netzler are their home teachers - and were dropping by pictures of the Saviour and Temple!... #
Anyhoo. It was a good day - and SISTER BALLI called us that night to see how we were doing. Isn't she sweet? We love her. :)
Friday brought a WHOLE NEW adventure. Starting off in Kaikohe (Thursday also started in Kaikohe with zone conference!) with .... DRIVER'S TRAINING. Basically, the Reeve's came down from Auckland because people are reckless drivers, and so they came to lecture us a little. But no worries - I passed, and all is grand! For the rest of the day we were in the Matauri Bay area, and dropped into Te tii for the day. We have a less active (?) sister out there, so we decided to drop by to say hello. And what does she ask? "Hey - do either of you cut hair?" "Um...no?" "That's okay - I'll go get my scissors." So... we cut her hair!! (Just one of the many missionary services we do.) It definitely wasn't the best haircut ever — her scissors struggled in actually cutting straight... But we "got the curls off" as per her request!
Aunty Luana and Her Haircut Day. :)
That night Sister AND President Balli called us to check in - but our flat still hadn't been fumigated at this point, so they were a little disappointed. Let's just day there was a lot of struggles in trying to get the Kerikeri fumigator to our flat...
Saturday we headed to Matauri Bay again, seeing a couple of people in Kaeo, and Daniel down Martin Road. Then - when we actaully got into Matauri, we found that there were LESS than ANY people home because there was a funeral going on at the Marae. Soooo - President Himiona and his family also happened to be at the chapel - so we stopped by to say hello. They told us to go over to their house because no one would be home. So...we did. And had cake, and talked to President about the less actives that we didn't know where they lived. Good times and productive!! Oh! And... we also had a fun time with a possum on the way to President's house! Haha... So I was driving along, and there's suddenly this little animal (about the size of a squirrel/chipmunk) that dives into the road in front of the car.... So I break. Sister Boiteux reaches over and honks the horn at it. What does it do?? ...RUNS TOWARD THE CAR. Why? Why stupid little animal? So - we both burst out laughing, she gets out of the car - it's STILL under the car. She gets her camera, and takes a picture. It then HISSES at her - so she jumps back into the car. And we drive off. It was STILL in the middle of the road behind us... #struggles. We get to the Himiona's and ask "What is this?" "It's a POSSUM. They're pests! RUN THEM OVER!" ...Yup. This is their response.
Sunday was spent in Paihia - figuring out better ways to get lessons with one of our investigators who I've still never actually taught... he's a 14-year-old boy who comes to church every week and has expressed a desire to be baptized... but has a hard time talking with his mum about it I guess. So - hopefully something will move along with that this week. :) "Fingers crossed!*
OOH! Ahh... And how did I forget the happiest part of the week! Haha... THURSDAY, along with Zone Conference, WE GOT MAIL! :) Soooo finally all the packages! And letters. And one from Julie Muelleck! All the excitement!! And I'm SO grateful and excited for all the things in the packages. Thank you, thank you, thank you! It was honestly JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS. Little pieces of home and happiness. You're so sweet! I don't even know how to express how grateful I am... All the nutritional supplemental things are beautiful, and I'm excited to have some again! ...So many things I've taken for granted in my life living with you people! ;) And Sister Boiteux was definitely most excited for the bag of penny candy that was given to her from the family Stay-cation. She didn't even know what "penny candy" was - but I explained it, and then she ate it. :)
Again, I LOVE love, love all the things. I love your poem - I laughed out loud. And the little "lego missionary me?" AH! Laughed so hard! And there WILL be pictures taken. And the CHAPSTICK Leesh made - and the makeup and the mini primary song book... all the things!
BTW: Our flat finally got fumigated THIS MORNING. (Which was an adventure... because we were originally told he would be able to get a key from someone else... but then that was false. So we had to drive back to the flat from Kaikohe - which was depressing, because we were having a really great Zone Devotional...:( ) So... we're just not allowed back in it until 3-ish or so. But that's not too hard.
Anyhoo. It's definitely been an adventure of a week. Struggles on my part of feeling like a failure because of the lack of work (missionary related work) that got done... but then we also needed time to get ourselves cleaned up from our scabies. (Even though they didn't really seem super positive that it truly is scabies either.... But we've now been treated for it regardless!) And my stupid scabs and bites and whatever are finally going away. *Angel choirs sing!*
So - life is good. Definitely a new adventure every day. But good. :)
MUCH LOVE, PEACE, AND JOY! —
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
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| Making Chicken Divine! |
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| The Tua Children |
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| And CUTE LITTLE BISHOP with his Boxing Gloves on. He's President Himiona's youngest son. |
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| THE POSSUM... On the Asphalt Under our Car. |
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