A week full of TRAVEL! New places, new people... all the adventures. And also me realizing why the Lord hasn't sent me to South Auckland. I'm knocking on wood (perks of wearing Dad's wooden heart necklace he made for Grams when he was a boy!) that saying this to you-all won't get me transferred there... Haha. But it's all goods :)
MONDAY. We had some of the sisters coming from Kaikohe to stay with us (because of a conference on Tuesday) - and it was lucky that they got to our flat right before we left, or they would have been there waiting for us! Haha. But - it came with many blessings. Sisters Turner and Ratukulou came to us from Matauri & Paihia :) [First area up North.] So.. perks in that I got to catch up on my beloved north! BUT the even greater blessing came from the fact that Torbay [current area] was Sister Turner's first area.
And she came out with me this night to visit Wilma and Rachel :) We've been trying to figure out better ways to get Rachel back to church and more involved, and so seeing Sister Turner helped with lifting her spirits again a bit. Blessings and we're most grateful :)
TUESDAY. Mission Tour! (Aka: Multi-Zone Conference) with ELDER HALECK (Quorum of the 70). And it was a lovely morning and afternoon of learning about having more effective companionship studies, teaching by the spirit, working diligently, inviting, and building FAITH. Lots of good things, and many blessings. It was also a struggle day - but so goes things sometimes. Especially when you have a dairy intolerant companion... #StruggleIsReal But.... it was truly a blessing day too. Our Zone was combined with Kaikohe, Whangarei, and Henderson! So.... I got to see Elder and Sister Clements, AND Sister Anitema, AND Sister Lott and Elder Clark and ...all the people that make me so happy, basically. Haha.
WEDNESDAY! The adventures continue. Otara! Aka: South Auckland. Like... Downtown Salt Lake. But the scary side. Okay. In MY mind it's the scary side. But....also lovely people. But also....VERY DIFFERENT from the areas I've served in. Hahahaha. Sister Lemalu had a dental appointment, and that's where the dentist was. So - adventures! And for our little lunch break after, Sister Lemalu introduced me to new island foods I hadn't tried yet ('cause you can get them SUPER CHEAP in South Auckland). Adventures! We had the blessing of a member offering to pay for our lunch! And... perks to being south... Everyone knows who the missionaries are! Verrrrrrry different from where I am now. Haha. Lovely people though! For real!
After our adventures in South Auckland, we went to Hibiscus for some visits, and saw the Heaps' for dinner :) AND Sister Heaps gave me one of her PAINTINGS!! ...I'm sorry, I didn't take a picture of it. But - I will for next week. It's a gorgeous poppy field, painted with oils with a pallette knife! (Daddy-o - have you tried oils yet? This is "goals of things Sister Ottley wants to try when she gets home.")
We arrived home that night and began a trade off with our dear Sister Training Leaders --- I got to travel (back south-east) to Panmure :)
New things eaten: (and some that I've already had) but...delicious!
Taro and faiai eleni (coconut cream and fish cooked in a coconut shell).
Weird milk biscuits
Faiai ula (crab in coconut cream). And, German Chop sui in a bun!
THURSDAY. Panmure day with Sister Soderberg. It's always a blessing to go on trade offs. It just has it's own special way of "reviving" your mind in a way - jumping into a different area so you can find ways to keep going in the one you've been in for a while. And Sister Soderberg is just a brilliant example and light in all things she does. I got to meet some lovely people, and be a part of a lesson with a woman named Kim. She's brilliant, and she's going to be baptised. I know it! Keen as. Love it.
FRIDAY - planning, and another appointment for SIster Lemalu. This time at the regular doctor. Just a check up.
We got to stop by and visit Philip up in Hibiscus, met a couple people, and taught a lesson with Sister Matla. I love Sister Matla. SO MUCH. She just brings all the joy and happiness into our lives.
SATURDAY. An "Ah-hah!" moment day in my personal study. I was studying about resurrection and perfection in Alma 40, and it led me to this...
James 1:3-4. "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
Explanation: Patience is something in my life that I feel like I've had to learn over and over (and over and over) again. To the point that I've thought MANY TIMES, "Okay Heavenly Father. I get it! I'll be patient! I've learned it in many different ways, and it's time to move onto something new!" And yet - I would still come across challenges that would result in learning more patience. But - the thing that this scripture helped me learn this week is this: By learning and gaining patience - our FAITH is strengthened. I've always had a lot of faith in my life too, but it's also something that I've been trying to figure out how to strengthen even MORE. So - I've now learned to LOVE the idea of my patience being TRIED at times. Because it helps my faith grow from the little plant it is now, into that (hopefully) perfect tree of life one day.
BLESSINGS. The SCRIPTURES are beautiful. Don't ya think?
SATURDAY became our "visiting and meeting less-actives" day - which was really quite fun, before our ward activity on that night. Mexican fiesta! Yayyyyy chili! I miss mexican food.
SUNDAY. A day in Hibiscus. (It was also a day of "Sister Ottley suddenly feeling like a failure later in the day and not understanding why," but life moves on.) I'm happy today. It's fine. HaHa.
The mission is grand. I'm loving every minute. I also never knew time could go so fast. But that's life!
I love you all, and hope you have a most amazing week :)
Alofa tele Atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Showing posts with label Zone Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zone Training. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
Be of Good Cheer!
VISION. Something we've been focusing on A LOT in our mission—how to "Raise Our Vision" to do the work. It's actually been really cool, and we're all currently in the process of bettering/writing our vision statements. Fun fact: I never actually WROTE a legitimate "vision statement" for my mission. But - I've been writing one now, and I'll let you know when I finish. It's based on Moroni's Title of Liberty, and a bunch of other things. It should be good.
Also: this may have to be a short email, as we have to go get my license... Yes, as in my NEW ZEALAND DRIVERS LICENSE. I get one!! My American one is still fine for another two years, but once you've been in New Zealand for a year, you have to get a NZ license to drive legally. :D Am I excited? YES. YES. I AM! Silly, I know. But you know.... #Memories
This week has been good though. Lots of visitng less-actives and helping out the Sunset Sisters to meet some of their appointments. (They get sick quite often, so we help them out by doing tradeoffs for appointments sometimes.) Which means I also got a bit of extra study time this week, which was nice and needed.
We've visited some former investigators (Brian & Jo), and have already become great friends with Jo! So we'll be dropping by to see them again soon.
ZONE CONFERENCE is always wonderful. This transfer's theme was a lot on "focusing on the doctrine" and teaching simply, but making sure you get in all the points needed for our investigators. So there was a lot of role playing and talking - and it was good :) And it makes sense you got pictures on Facebook from Ashley's neighbor who was visiting NZ, 'cause I think it was the Relief Society in her mum's stake that made all the food and things for us :)
We've been able to meet some more lovely members (well - getting to know them better at this point). And helping out with more moving-out things, and all the service :) I love it. We've also received a new referral from a lady the Elders met in our area one day —who sounds pretty keen! Woo!! We still haven't met her, as she wasn't there when we popped in. But - all goods. She'll be there soon enough :)
And then: The day all missionaries wait for. Haha. Sunday morning we had Ward Council in Hibiscus at 8am - and then, before church around 9:30, one of our bishopric counselors asked us, "Would one of you like to give a talk for me?" Haaaaa... And then he asked me, specifically. So - impromptu talk! First time. It was good. Short and simple on how the Book of Mormon strengthens our testimonies :)
So...more things to come. Yes, it's true. The mission is hard, but more miracles coming our way. And this week we're going to Warkworth! (North part of Hibiscus area) so that should be exciting. One of our members is bringing us so we don't have to get lost or use our km's! :)
And I definitely look at the happy cards the girls sent me a lot... This week? I think - I opened the "When you need a lift" one - with a minion in it that says "Sometimes you just gotta hold on!" It was hilarious, and definitely made me happy! :)
Love you alllllll and miss you all heaps :)
Hope you have a most brilliant week!
Ofa Atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Also: this may have to be a short email, as we have to go get my license... Yes, as in my NEW ZEALAND DRIVERS LICENSE. I get one!! My American one is still fine for another two years, but once you've been in New Zealand for a year, you have to get a NZ license to drive legally. :D Am I excited? YES. YES. I AM! Silly, I know. But you know.... #Memories
This week has been good though. Lots of visitng less-actives and helping out the Sunset Sisters to meet some of their appointments. (They get sick quite often, so we help them out by doing tradeoffs for appointments sometimes.) Which means I also got a bit of extra study time this week, which was nice and needed.
We've visited some former investigators (Brian & Jo), and have already become great friends with Jo! So we'll be dropping by to see them again soon.
ZONE CONFERENCE is always wonderful. This transfer's theme was a lot on "focusing on the doctrine" and teaching simply, but making sure you get in all the points needed for our investigators. So there was a lot of role playing and talking - and it was good :) And it makes sense you got pictures on Facebook from Ashley's neighbor who was visiting NZ, 'cause I think it was the Relief Society in her mum's stake that made all the food and things for us :)
We've been able to meet some more lovely members (well - getting to know them better at this point). And helping out with more moving-out things, and all the service :) I love it. We've also received a new referral from a lady the Elders met in our area one day —who sounds pretty keen! Woo!! We still haven't met her, as she wasn't there when we popped in. But - all goods. She'll be there soon enough :)
And then: The day all missionaries wait for. Haha. Sunday morning we had Ward Council in Hibiscus at 8am - and then, before church around 9:30, one of our bishopric counselors asked us, "Would one of you like to give a talk for me?" Haaaaa... And then he asked me, specifically. So - impromptu talk! First time. It was good. Short and simple on how the Book of Mormon strengthens our testimonies :)
So...more things to come. Yes, it's true. The mission is hard, but more miracles coming our way. And this week we're going to Warkworth! (North part of Hibiscus area) so that should be exciting. One of our members is bringing us so we don't have to get lost or use our km's! :)
And I definitely look at the happy cards the girls sent me a lot... This week? I think - I opened the "When you need a lift" one - with a minion in it that says "Sometimes you just gotta hold on!" It was hilarious, and definitely made me happy! :)
Love you alllllll and miss you all heaps :)
Hope you have a most brilliant week!
Ofa Atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Thursday, May 5, 2016
May of Miracles!
Kia ora!
Yes, I'm much later today than usual....the power was out this morning in our area! Ha. Luckily it's back now :) I'm doing splendid! Love all the things about my new area :) Love my Sister Gila :)
MAY OF MIRACLES. This is our "Theme" for the month of May in our mission. We're reaching for "100% baptizing!" – Aka: Every companionship having a baptism! I have to admit when they first proposed it to us, Sister Gila and I were like, "....um...we just got double-shifted in." But: The Lord provides miracles, and we have to have FAITH in HIM. Because... with HIM, "ALL THINGS are possible!" —Mark 10:27
PONDERIZE:
"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of MIRACLES; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their FAITH." —2 Nephi 27:23
EVERYTHING is according to our FAITH. Have you realized that? Reading this scripture this week was kind of like a, "Come on Sister Ottley - you can FIND the miracles, because you have me!" from Heavenly Father. So.... Miracles WILL happen. And Sister Gila and I are excited :)
And a miracle we have FOUND already :) ...To come. On Thursday night :)
TUESDAY was a bit more...slowish, in the way of actually seeing people that is. But, that happens during holidays. People go away. But all's good :) We still had a lovely MCM meeting with our Torbay WML and ward missionaries, and it was all very exciting :) One of the many things Sister Gila and I are LOVING about these areas is how INTO MISSIONARY WORK they all are. They're so keen - and Hibiscus is just constantly more and more excited to have us (as....the previous sisters definitely favored going to Torbay to work, apparently. There's been a lot of people in the Hibiscus Ward that have said, "Oh! We have sisters again!???" ...Sad. Just sad. They've had sisters for the last 6 months. But apparently quite a few of them didn't even know!) Anyhoo. Good things happening :)
Oh. Also: I found out the RS President in Hibiscus is a hair dresser..... #Win #HairNeedsACut #It'sBeenAlmost11Months
WEDNESDAY. Fun fact: Hibiscus ward does a volleyball night every Wednesday night. And NON-MEMBERS COME. Recently, apparently, HEAPS of them have been coming (non-members) and we got to meet some of them this week :) One who's name is TeAroha, and she's adorable, and has lived more places than me in her short 15 years of life. She's from the Solomon Islands, but has lived in New Zealand, America and....somewhere else. She's adorable. And I'm hoping she comes again this week, 'cause even though she wasn't keen on the playing volleyball part (like me!) I told her that I could teach her a little bit of piano if she'd like! So....here's to crossing fingers :)
THURSDAY. We had the most BRILLIANT Zone Training of my life. Sister Balli apparently suggested to President that we all "climb a mountain" - like, PHYSICALLY, actually climb a mountain. (Eh - well, as "mountain" as you can get here....haha.) Because this year we've had this ongoing "theme" of sorts of things we're focusing on that will help us achieve our goal of 950 souls being baptised in the year of 2016. It's all about increasing our four "pillars"—our FAITH, OBEDIENCE, PMG (Preach My Gospel) SKILLS, and VISION.
So - we climbed a mountain for zone training! And had little stops along the way with different questions to write down in our journals to help us reflect on how we can be better, and then with our brilliant zone leaders (Elder Summers and Cowley) we also had object lessons to go with each pillar. And it was exciting :)
FAITH: "Faith can move mountains. Doubt can create them."
OBEDIENCE: "Stop talking about your mountains and start climbing."
PMG SKILLS: "Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."
VISION: "Keep climbing...the view is amazing!"
And the view from the top was definitely beautiful!! I love my Aotearoa Home :)
That afternoon, we met with a few different people that we had put into our plans from the area book – one being Brendon Thomas. Fun fact: He has a BAND. Anyone wanna look him up for me and tell me if they're any good? Haha. Apparently his band came in third place on X-Factor a while ago! Sweet things! They're called, "Brendon Thomas & the Vibes." We're excited to get to know him better! He's possibly the most CHILL person we've EVER met—Sister Gila and I both agreed on that. And you meet some pretty chill/relaxed people in New Zealand. But we're excited to get to know him.
Then – THURSDAY NIGHT, our little miracle :) We were searching for someone to visit after our plans hadn't really worked out. So, we opened up the Torbay household records to look at which members lived around where we were sitting in the car. We found the name of a less-active and said, "Sure! Why not?" Then we went to said house, and came to find out it wasn't actually the right one (Ha). But we started talking with the guy who answered—who said he wasn't particularly interested—but his other flat mates might be! He said, "Just a minute!" and stepped back inside to ask others. And then our little miracle :) Her name is Gabbie, and we have our first lesson with her TONIGHT! SO super stoked. She seemed pretty keen on learning - so those are the best kind :)
FRIDAY. Planning. ULTIMATE PLANNING. I WISH I had pictures of the nearly-finished product of the map on our wall that's helping us plan so much more effectively each night. Haha. Organization. It's also helping us to SEE the area(s) and have that visual of where we go for people.... that was really repetitive. Sorry 'bout that. Anyhoo. (Gilmore Girl reference "repetitive - and redundant! Repetitive - and redundant!") We also had a lovely dinner with Sister McIver in Torbay, and met Sister Landeg who lives above Sister McIver. And fun fact: They have a TARDIS MAILBOX. But, sad thing about having the COOLEST mailbox around? Someone had recently tried to STEAL it. So it was kind of broken and torn up a bit. So there's pictures of the part they had put back together. It used to have the whole top that says "Police Box" and it had a light and everything! They're trying to repair it now.
SATURDAY. We had a Zone Service project! But - I didn't go :) Sister Gila and I did a trade-off with Sister Taylor and Sister Rarawa, because Sister Rarawa wasn't well - and it was someone in their ward that we were doing service for. Apparently they helped in stripping and sanding paint off walls in prep for new paint! Exciting things! Haha. But it was good - it gave me some time to finish setting the goals for things I want to do/finish before I come home at the end of the year.
The rest of the day was a bit slow as well, helping out the other sisters however we could. Sister Taylor had basically been in the flat alone for the last couple days with Sister Rarawa just sleeping.
And SUNDAY :) Hibiscus Ward Day. And the classic "before we start off our testimony meeting, we'll invite our new sisters to come up and introduce themselves and bear their testimonies." Haha. Classic. #NewWard But I love them all already. It's just grand. :) We had dinner at Bishop Rapata's, even though he was sick (sad face), but we love their family (Torbay bishop). They're just lovely. And so into missionary work! It's so exciting!
So...the miracles are to come. And it'll be grand :)
Tell my little nieces I'm so proud of all of them ;) I so wish I could have been there to see them perform! But I'm so proud of Acacia, the little show-stopper ;) And her adorable Alice in Wonderland mock-turtle self! Ohhh and my little Madds ;) THANK YOU for learning to email! What I would have GIVEN to see you as one of the screaming, fainting Birdie girls!
Love you all. Hope all is well back home. And I hope ALL your dreams and wishes come true :) And yes, we get to SKYPE AGAIN!I love you and I can't wait to SEE YOU SUNDAY! (Your Saturday.) Hopefully I can show off my accent to you all ;) 😁😂😘😘😘
Ofa lahi atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Yes, I'm much later today than usual....the power was out this morning in our area! Ha. Luckily it's back now :) I'm doing splendid! Love all the things about my new area :) Love my Sister Gila :)
MAY OF MIRACLES. This is our "Theme" for the month of May in our mission. We're reaching for "100% baptizing!" – Aka: Every companionship having a baptism! I have to admit when they first proposed it to us, Sister Gila and I were like, "....um...we just got double-shifted in." But: The Lord provides miracles, and we have to have FAITH in HIM. Because... with HIM, "ALL THINGS are possible!" —Mark 10:27
PONDERIZE:
"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of MIRACLES; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their FAITH." —2 Nephi 27:23
EVERYTHING is according to our FAITH. Have you realized that? Reading this scripture this week was kind of like a, "Come on Sister Ottley - you can FIND the miracles, because you have me!" from Heavenly Father. So.... Miracles WILL happen. And Sister Gila and I are excited :)
And a miracle we have FOUND already :) ...To come. On Thursday night :)
TUESDAY was a bit more...slowish, in the way of actually seeing people that is. But, that happens during holidays. People go away. But all's good :) We still had a lovely MCM meeting with our Torbay WML and ward missionaries, and it was all very exciting :) One of the many things Sister Gila and I are LOVING about these areas is how INTO MISSIONARY WORK they all are. They're so keen - and Hibiscus is just constantly more and more excited to have us (as....the previous sisters definitely favored going to Torbay to work, apparently. There's been a lot of people in the Hibiscus Ward that have said, "Oh! We have sisters again!???" ...Sad. Just sad. They've had sisters for the last 6 months. But apparently quite a few of them didn't even know!) Anyhoo. Good things happening :)
Oh. Also: I found out the RS President in Hibiscus is a hair dresser..... #Win #HairNeedsACut #It'sBeenAlmost11Months
WEDNESDAY. Fun fact: Hibiscus ward does a volleyball night every Wednesday night. And NON-MEMBERS COME. Recently, apparently, HEAPS of them have been coming (non-members) and we got to meet some of them this week :) One who's name is TeAroha, and she's adorable, and has lived more places than me in her short 15 years of life. She's from the Solomon Islands, but has lived in New Zealand, America and....somewhere else. She's adorable. And I'm hoping she comes again this week, 'cause even though she wasn't keen on the playing volleyball part (like me!) I told her that I could teach her a little bit of piano if she'd like! So....here's to crossing fingers :)
THURSDAY. We had the most BRILLIANT Zone Training of my life. Sister Balli apparently suggested to President that we all "climb a mountain" - like, PHYSICALLY, actually climb a mountain. (Eh - well, as "mountain" as you can get here....haha.) Because this year we've had this ongoing "theme" of sorts of things we're focusing on that will help us achieve our goal of 950 souls being baptised in the year of 2016. It's all about increasing our four "pillars"—our FAITH, OBEDIENCE, PMG (Preach My Gospel) SKILLS, and VISION.
So - we climbed a mountain for zone training! And had little stops along the way with different questions to write down in our journals to help us reflect on how we can be better, and then with our brilliant zone leaders (Elder Summers and Cowley) we also had object lessons to go with each pillar. And it was exciting :)
FAITH: "Faith can move mountains. Doubt can create them."
OBEDIENCE: "Stop talking about your mountains and start climbing."
PMG SKILLS: "Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."
VISION: "Keep climbing...the view is amazing!"
And the view from the top was definitely beautiful!! I love my Aotearoa Home :)
That afternoon, we met with a few different people that we had put into our plans from the area book – one being Brendon Thomas. Fun fact: He has a BAND. Anyone wanna look him up for me and tell me if they're any good? Haha. Apparently his band came in third place on X-Factor a while ago! Sweet things! They're called, "Brendon Thomas & the Vibes." We're excited to get to know him better! He's possibly the most CHILL person we've EVER met—Sister Gila and I both agreed on that. And you meet some pretty chill/relaxed people in New Zealand. But we're excited to get to know him.
Then – THURSDAY NIGHT, our little miracle :) We were searching for someone to visit after our plans hadn't really worked out. So, we opened up the Torbay household records to look at which members lived around where we were sitting in the car. We found the name of a less-active and said, "Sure! Why not?" Then we went to said house, and came to find out it wasn't actually the right one (Ha). But we started talking with the guy who answered—who said he wasn't particularly interested—but his other flat mates might be! He said, "Just a minute!" and stepped back inside to ask others. And then our little miracle :) Her name is Gabbie, and we have our first lesson with her TONIGHT! SO super stoked. She seemed pretty keen on learning - so those are the best kind :)
FRIDAY. Planning. ULTIMATE PLANNING. I WISH I had pictures of the nearly-finished product of the map on our wall that's helping us plan so much more effectively each night. Haha. Organization. It's also helping us to SEE the area(s) and have that visual of where we go for people.... that was really repetitive. Sorry 'bout that. Anyhoo. (Gilmore Girl reference "repetitive - and redundant! Repetitive - and redundant!") We also had a lovely dinner with Sister McIver in Torbay, and met Sister Landeg who lives above Sister McIver. And fun fact: They have a TARDIS MAILBOX. But, sad thing about having the COOLEST mailbox around? Someone had recently tried to STEAL it. So it was kind of broken and torn up a bit. So there's pictures of the part they had put back together. It used to have the whole top that says "Police Box" and it had a light and everything! They're trying to repair it now.
SATURDAY. We had a Zone Service project! But - I didn't go :) Sister Gila and I did a trade-off with Sister Taylor and Sister Rarawa, because Sister Rarawa wasn't well - and it was someone in their ward that we were doing service for. Apparently they helped in stripping and sanding paint off walls in prep for new paint! Exciting things! Haha. But it was good - it gave me some time to finish setting the goals for things I want to do/finish before I come home at the end of the year.
The rest of the day was a bit slow as well, helping out the other sisters however we could. Sister Taylor had basically been in the flat alone for the last couple days with Sister Rarawa just sleeping.
And SUNDAY :) Hibiscus Ward Day. And the classic "before we start off our testimony meeting, we'll invite our new sisters to come up and introduce themselves and bear their testimonies." Haha. Classic. #NewWard But I love them all already. It's just grand. :) We had dinner at Bishop Rapata's, even though he was sick (sad face), but we love their family (Torbay bishop). They're just lovely. And so into missionary work! It's so exciting!
So...the miracles are to come. And it'll be grand :)
Tell my little nieces I'm so proud of all of them ;) I so wish I could have been there to see them perform! But I'm so proud of Acacia, the little show-stopper ;) And her adorable Alice in Wonderland mock-turtle self! Ohhh and my little Madds ;) THANK YOU for learning to email! What I would have GIVEN to see you as one of the screaming, fainting Birdie girls!
Love you all. Hope all is well back home. And I hope ALL your dreams and wishes come true :) And yes, we get to SKYPE AGAIN!I love you and I can't wait to SEE YOU SUNDAY! (Your Saturday.) Hopefully I can show off my accent to you all ;) 😁😂😘😘😘
Ofa lahi atu,
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
It Takes Faith to Overcome...ANYTHING!
Kia Ora my sweet Whanau!
It's been....a week. Ha. But there's always things that overcome sadness and help you to move on. And there's always this point of looking back when I realize that sometimes things are better than they seem in the moment of frustration and trial. Also: I'm convinced I'm just allergic to fleas. Or whatever is in my body that's tasty to fleas and makes them want to eat me... Yeah, bugs!
Last MONDAY night was a simple one - stopping in to the Papali'i's for a visit. We had texted them earlier to see if they were still planning on us for FHE, but never got a reply (or so we thought). Ha. So we decided to stop in anyway. Sister Papali'i was the only one home in the family - Bishop and the boys were all out at a movie. But we had a lovely chat with Sister Papali'i and heard about the trip they had for Easter weekend :) As we left their house that night, we dropped our phone — and in the process discovered about eight texts had come in that were responses/other messages we had received...but not actually received in the last two days. Hahaha. #PhoneStruggles And a couple of these messages were from Bishop and Sister Papali'i telling us that they had just gotten back and were all pretty tired/Sister Papali'i was a little sick.... So we then felt bad, but also blessed for having such a loving family that still lets us in, even when we don't know they've told us not to come in the first place :) Haha. And we had a few nice laughs with them as well - so, good ways to start a week!
We finally got over to visit Ivan on TUESDAY and brought our beautiful Alisha Gaitau with us :) And.... I love fun activities :) We went over the Plan of Salvation with him again, but this time we DREW pictures! Originally we came up with this idea to entertain Grace (Ivan's daughter Grace.... it's confusing having two Graces in my mind to talk about now). Haha. But litttle did we know that it would entertain Ivan even more than Grace! Haha. Apparently he really quite likes drawing. So...good things to know. A lovely afternoon, and a lovely time leading into dinner at the Pauna's :) —Which we also brought Alisha to. Love our RM :) We also had a mini lesson with Grace - overviewing the Restoration via doing the "Cupstoration" song. (Sorry, still haven't recorded it.) And it was exciting :)
WEDNESDAY.... my companion was sick again :( Sad face. And so I marked scriptures, and crocheted, and wrote letters, and tried to not start talking to myself. Ha. But all goods. :) She's....starting to feel better a little by little each day, so that's good. Oh. And this was also the morning that I woke up with bug bites, not having slept well 'cause I could feel them biting me....all night long. So when I woke up I tore off the sheets, put them in the washer, and Permetherined my mattress and box spring and covers and all the things. Fun fact: It didn't actually help. Still getting bitten. I just have clean sheets while getting bitten. Which is sad, 'cause they don't stay clean long 'cause of the lame little bugs that get blood spots everwhere. #Gross #OneDayTheyllGoAway
THURSDAY my ill/in pain companion had to force herself up so we could go to Zone Training! Wooooo! ...Also a training of quite a bit of "YOU CAN DO BETTER!" True. True. We can ALWAYS have more faith, and we can ALWAYS talk with more people. It was good though. I think...also just hard in my mind since Sister Anitema and I have spent so much time in lately, trying to figure out her illness and overcome the pain life. So, when we got back to our flat to have some lunch, Sister Anitema was spent again. And by the time lunch was over, it was just...still a struggle. So I decided we were still going to meet people somehow, even if it's from our couch! (We discovered our couch was a fold-out bed...which was helpful for Sister Anitema to lay out on!) How did we do this? We CALLED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE! Old phone numbers in our phone, people in the "former investigator" section of our area book... etc. And it was great fun. We also learned at the very beginning that we both have serious phone anxiety. Haaaa. It's one thing if you KNOW the person on the other end of the phoneline. It's another if you don't.... So, we made a script :) A script with many options like if they said "yes" or "no" to certain questions and whatnot. It was great. And we talked to a bunch of different people and weeded out numbers on our phone that no longer worked, and even got a RETURN APPOINTMENT, and a few people that said we could come around! #WINNING! Blessings. Miracles, and ....it made me feel productive again. Love.
We still got out to visit a member for dinner that night, and again later on to visit our dear Sister Frost and Avery - Brother Frost was out working. It was fun to have a little Plan of Salvation lesson with the two of them though, beginning with a brilliant Mormon message called, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father." (It's beautiful!)
Link --> https://www.lds.org/media-
It's just a grand reminder of how even though day-to-day life can sometimes get repetitive, we have a Heavenly Father who's always watching over us. He's always there and always helping us along in everything we do.
FRIDAY — Happy April Fools! Yeah... Gullible Ottley day! Yay! Ha. So it started off with companion study with the Zone Leaders (Elder Saulo and Nielsen), which was grand! Until the end when they came out with the bad news... "Sisters, we were going to tell you this yesterday at the training meeting, but we felt it wasn't something we thought everyone needed to know... There's a Sister in the mission who has hurt her back and needs a car in her area. And so.... yours needs to be sent to her. The assistants are coming down before dinner tonight to pick it up from you." ...And then of course stress set in. Why? Because we had three appointments that night - in VERY SEPARATE PARTS of our area, with the NEED of a car to get there! (Sad faces.) But we said fine.
And they seemed oddly "not sad" for us as they left. And then... we received their text: "APRIL FOOLS." The Elders. They're so lame. So, yes, we still have our car. And her name is Tina, and we love her.
That night we helped Sister Papali'i set up a single adult activity during our dinner break, before going out to visit and get to know a new less-active family as well as one of our potentials that we had called the day before! Win! Sadly we weren't really able to stay, as he had family show up that day, so he told us we could come back Monday. So we'll be seeing him later on tonight :) Party. Excitement! Anyway, after our appointments we dropped by the chapel again to see if they needed help cleaning up. They had finished up their movie, and instead, asked us if we wanted to draw some pictures for their last Pictionary game! Haha. Love our ward :) They're all lovely.
SATURDAY was spent mostly running around visiting people for short times and inviting many to the Women's Broadcast :) HAPPY! And at the last home we visited, Sister AhHong gave us ribs—literally wrapped them up in glad-wrap for us and said, "Here! For your dinner!" Haaaa... and here's where Sister Ottley has changed. Yup. I like ribs. Not that I didn't before. I just laughed at myself as Sister Anitema and I gladly chowed down on ribs in the car before going to Women's Conference. #CompRibs That's what our day was called. Comp Ribs. Love it. And then the broadcast. Happiness and joy and gladness. And peace and calm and just....loving forgetting everything for a bit to focus on words from such wonderful people. Sister Neill F Marriott will never cease to make me smile with her adorable southern accent! :D
And then yesterday. SUNDAY. We contacted some referrals - one which was actually a very young child. We were both expecting a grown man! Haha. So hopefully more comes of that and we can actually meet the whole family/parents' 'Cause, the two kids we talked to said that there's TEN in the household! Exciting :)
We had a lovely church time, a lovely time in gospel doctrine ('cause no one was there for the principles class yesterday), and then we got to go help teach in YOUNG WOMEN'S! Win :)
Alisha Gaitau was given an assignment to teach for YW, so she invited us to come help. We taught the Restoration and then Sister Anitema and I did the Cupstoration again. LOVE it. Also terrifying in front of more than 4 or 5 people. ...#ShyOttley Yup. That kicked back in. But it was good. Love them all :) It was also great because we got some of the YW saying they want us to come to their house to show their families! Haha. Good times :) Love my musically talented comp!
Sister Anitema then got to meet the Hakaraia family :)
One of my favorite families to visit in the ward, purely because it's always entertaining. Their less-active son always complains how we ruin his night when we show up and he has to turn off his game - or whatever he's watching. HaHa. Always in joking though. Basically, anything he says you don't take seriously. But they're just wonderful and make us happy. And they invited us to start teaching the lessons to the family as well. Yay for building up member trust and happiness in Missionary work!!
And then....to finish off the night with a bang of HAPPINESS, we had a lesson with Birgette's family. Her daughter, Ivy, and partner, Jason, aren't members, nor is her Korean home-stay boy, Harem. Harem didn't stay for the lesson last night, but it was a fun night with the rest of them! Ivy is just a ball of excitement and actually knows the teachings of the gospel quite well, so we're excited to keep teaching their family.
So.... like I said. The week was a struggle, but also somehow not. It must just come from being in the flat that turns my mind into a struggle and makes me start feeling like a failure. But.... Heavenly Father hears prayers, and he helps our faith grow by putting people in our lives just at the right moment—helping us overcome sadness. I love getting hugs from my Heavenly Father, and little whisperings of Him telling me that I've done better than I give myself credit for. And this is why I love night prayer. 'Cause... Friday I just felt kind of like I'd failed all day. Sister Anitema and I had a good weekly planning - but part way though I found out she felt it wasn't going the way it needed to and she was getting impatient and ... bored. Sometimes it's like she has a switch of "happy" and "bored" that takes me by surprise and once the happy and excited is gone - well, it's just.... struggle. And my mind doesn't know how to handle the change between the two sometimes.
ANYHOO... Rambling. That night as I started my prayer before bed, starting to tell Heavenly Father how sorry I was for the things we didn't get done that day or this week really.... when I was almost "cut off" in a way with this whisper that said, "You HAVE done what I wanted you to do today. Now just keep going tomorrow." I love HUGS from Heavenly Father. And from His angels ALLLL around me. It's one thing in my life that I know I've always had, but
probably never fully realized until I came here. And that's another reason why I needed to come on the mission — after the fact of all the brilliant people I know I needed to come meet, and I constantly feel like I've already known long before we met.
Our Gospel is true. The teachings of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, are REAL and BRILLIANT, and if we let them, they can change our lives. Because that's really all our Saviour and Heavenly Father want for us, is to be safe and happy. So that's what I'm striving to be. Safe and happy, and to share that happiness with others around me :) And I know that as we STRIVE to increase our faith, MORE miracles happen, little by little each day. All the knowledge and strength and FAITH we gain as we move forward comes together in our little jigsaw puzzles called life :)
(Btw: I may become obsessed with doing puzzles when I get home. It just sounds like something that would be a lot of fun to do right now... Haha.)
I LOVE you all, and I hope you have a most WONDERFUL week. May you see beautiful blessings and miracles in your life as you apply the things you've learned in General Conference this weekend! ...And I'll join you next weekend in the happiness when I've seen it as well ;)
ALLLL the LOVE from the other side of the world, Arohanui,
Your Favorite Kiwi Missionary —
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley ;)
It's been....a week. Ha. But there's always things that overcome sadness and help you to move on. And there's always this point of looking back when I realize that sometimes things are better than they seem in the moment of frustration and trial. Also: I'm convinced I'm just allergic to fleas. Or whatever is in my body that's tasty to fleas and makes them want to eat me... Yeah, bugs!
Last MONDAY night was a simple one - stopping in to the Papali'i's for a visit. We had texted them earlier to see if they were still planning on us for FHE, but never got a reply (or so we thought). Ha. So we decided to stop in anyway. Sister Papali'i was the only one home in the family - Bishop and the boys were all out at a movie. But we had a lovely chat with Sister Papali'i and heard about the trip they had for Easter weekend :) As we left their house that night, we dropped our phone — and in the process discovered about eight texts had come in that were responses/other messages we had received...but not actually received in the last two days. Hahaha. #PhoneStruggles And a couple of these messages were from Bishop and Sister Papali'i telling us that they had just gotten back and were all pretty tired/Sister Papali'i was a little sick.... So we then felt bad, but also blessed for having such a loving family that still lets us in, even when we don't know they've told us not to come in the first place :) Haha. And we had a few nice laughs with them as well - so, good ways to start a week!
We finally got over to visit Ivan on TUESDAY and brought our beautiful Alisha Gaitau with us :) And.... I love fun activities :) We went over the Plan of Salvation with him again, but this time we DREW pictures! Originally we came up with this idea to entertain Grace (Ivan's daughter Grace.... it's confusing having two Graces in my mind to talk about now). Haha. But litttle did we know that it would entertain Ivan even more than Grace! Haha. Apparently he really quite likes drawing. So...good things to know. A lovely afternoon, and a lovely time leading into dinner at the Pauna's :) —Which we also brought Alisha to. Love our RM :) We also had a mini lesson with Grace - overviewing the Restoration via doing the "Cupstoration" song. (Sorry, still haven't recorded it.) And it was exciting :)
WEDNESDAY.... my companion was sick again :( Sad face. And so I marked scriptures, and crocheted, and wrote letters, and tried to not start talking to myself. Ha. But all goods. :) She's....starting to feel better a little by little each day, so that's good. Oh. And this was also the morning that I woke up with bug bites, not having slept well 'cause I could feel them biting me....all night long. So when I woke up I tore off the sheets, put them in the washer, and Permetherined my mattress and box spring and covers and all the things. Fun fact: It didn't actually help. Still getting bitten. I just have clean sheets while getting bitten. Which is sad, 'cause they don't stay clean long 'cause of the lame little bugs that get blood spots everwhere. #Gross #OneDayTheyllGoAway
THURSDAY my ill/in pain companion had to force herself up so we could go to Zone Training! Wooooo! ...Also a training of quite a bit of "YOU CAN DO BETTER!" True. True. We can ALWAYS have more faith, and we can ALWAYS talk with more people. It was good though. I think...also just hard in my mind since Sister Anitema and I have spent so much time in lately, trying to figure out her illness and overcome the pain life. So, when we got back to our flat to have some lunch, Sister Anitema was spent again. And by the time lunch was over, it was just...still a struggle. So I decided we were still going to meet people somehow, even if it's from our couch! (We discovered our couch was a fold-out bed...which was helpful for Sister Anitema to lay out on!) How did we do this? We CALLED A BUNCH OF PEOPLE! Old phone numbers in our phone, people in the "former investigator" section of our area book... etc. And it was great fun. We also learned at the very beginning that we both have serious phone anxiety. Haaaa. It's one thing if you KNOW the person on the other end of the phoneline. It's another if you don't.... So, we made a script :) A script with many options like if they said "yes" or "no" to certain questions and whatnot. It was great. And we talked to a bunch of different people and weeded out numbers on our phone that no longer worked, and even got a RETURN APPOINTMENT, and a few people that said we could come around! #WINNING! Blessings. Miracles, and ....it made me feel productive again. Love.
We still got out to visit a member for dinner that night, and again later on to visit our dear Sister Frost and Avery - Brother Frost was out working. It was fun to have a little Plan of Salvation lesson with the two of them though, beginning with a brilliant Mormon message called, "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father." (It's beautiful!)
Link --> https://www.lds.org/media-
It's just a grand reminder of how even though day-to-day life can sometimes get repetitive, we have a Heavenly Father who's always watching over us. He's always there and always helping us along in everything we do.
FRIDAY — Happy April Fools! Yeah... Gullible Ottley day! Yay! Ha. So it started off with companion study with the Zone Leaders (Elder Saulo and Nielsen), which was grand! Until the end when they came out with the bad news... "Sisters, we were going to tell you this yesterday at the training meeting, but we felt it wasn't something we thought everyone needed to know... There's a Sister in the mission who has hurt her back and needs a car in her area. And so.... yours needs to be sent to her. The assistants are coming down before dinner tonight to pick it up from you." ...And then of course stress set in. Why? Because we had three appointments that night - in VERY SEPARATE PARTS of our area, with the NEED of a car to get there! (Sad faces.) But we said fine.
And they seemed oddly "not sad" for us as they left. And then... we received their text: "APRIL FOOLS." The Elders. They're so lame. So, yes, we still have our car. And her name is Tina, and we love her.
That night we helped Sister Papali'i set up a single adult activity during our dinner break, before going out to visit and get to know a new less-active family as well as one of our potentials that we had called the day before! Win! Sadly we weren't really able to stay, as he had family show up that day, so he told us we could come back Monday. So we'll be seeing him later on tonight :) Party. Excitement! Anyway, after our appointments we dropped by the chapel again to see if they needed help cleaning up. They had finished up their movie, and instead, asked us if we wanted to draw some pictures for their last Pictionary game! Haha. Love our ward :) They're all lovely.
SATURDAY was spent mostly running around visiting people for short times and inviting many to the Women's Broadcast :) HAPPY! And at the last home we visited, Sister AhHong gave us ribs—literally wrapped them up in glad-wrap for us and said, "Here! For your dinner!" Haaaa... and here's where Sister Ottley has changed. Yup. I like ribs. Not that I didn't before. I just laughed at myself as Sister Anitema and I gladly chowed down on ribs in the car before going to Women's Conference. #CompRibs That's what our day was called. Comp Ribs. Love it. And then the broadcast. Happiness and joy and gladness. And peace and calm and just....loving forgetting everything for a bit to focus on words from such wonderful people. Sister Neill F Marriott will never cease to make me smile with her adorable southern accent! :D
And then yesterday. SUNDAY. We contacted some referrals - one which was actually a very young child. We were both expecting a grown man! Haha. So hopefully more comes of that and we can actually meet the whole family/parents' 'Cause, the two kids we talked to said that there's TEN in the household! Exciting :)
We had a lovely church time, a lovely time in gospel doctrine ('cause no one was there for the principles class yesterday), and then we got to go help teach in YOUNG WOMEN'S! Win :)
Alisha Gaitau was given an assignment to teach for YW, so she invited us to come help. We taught the Restoration and then Sister Anitema and I did the Cupstoration again. LOVE it. Also terrifying in front of more than 4 or 5 people. ...#ShyOttley Yup. That kicked back in. But it was good. Love them all :) It was also great because we got some of the YW saying they want us to come to their house to show their families! Haha. Good times :) Love my musically talented comp!
Sister Anitema then got to meet the Hakaraia family :)
One of my favorite families to visit in the ward, purely because it's always entertaining. Their less-active son always complains how we ruin his night when we show up and he has to turn off his game - or whatever he's watching. HaHa. Always in joking though. Basically, anything he says you don't take seriously. But they're just wonderful and make us happy. And they invited us to start teaching the lessons to the family as well. Yay for building up member trust and happiness in Missionary work!!
And then....to finish off the night with a bang of HAPPINESS, we had a lesson with Birgette's family. Her daughter, Ivy, and partner, Jason, aren't members, nor is her Korean home-stay boy, Harem. Harem didn't stay for the lesson last night, but it was a fun night with the rest of them! Ivy is just a ball of excitement and actually knows the teachings of the gospel quite well, so we're excited to keep teaching their family.
So.... like I said. The week was a struggle, but also somehow not. It must just come from being in the flat that turns my mind into a struggle and makes me start feeling like a failure. But.... Heavenly Father hears prayers, and he helps our faith grow by putting people in our lives just at the right moment—helping us overcome sadness. I love getting hugs from my Heavenly Father, and little whisperings of Him telling me that I've done better than I give myself credit for. And this is why I love night prayer. 'Cause... Friday I just felt kind of like I'd failed all day. Sister Anitema and I had a good weekly planning - but part way though I found out she felt it wasn't going the way it needed to and she was getting impatient and ... bored. Sometimes it's like she has a switch of "happy" and "bored" that takes me by surprise and once the happy and excited is gone - well, it's just.... struggle. And my mind doesn't know how to handle the change between the two sometimes.
ANYHOO... Rambling. That night as I started my prayer before bed, starting to tell Heavenly Father how sorry I was for the things we didn't get done that day or this week really.... when I was almost "cut off" in a way with this whisper that said, "You HAVE done what I wanted you to do today. Now just keep going tomorrow." I love HUGS from Heavenly Father. And from His angels ALLLL around me. It's one thing in my life that I know I've always had, but
probably never fully realized until I came here. And that's another reason why I needed to come on the mission — after the fact of all the brilliant people I know I needed to come meet, and I constantly feel like I've already known long before we met.
Our Gospel is true. The teachings of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, are REAL and BRILLIANT, and if we let them, they can change our lives. Because that's really all our Saviour and Heavenly Father want for us, is to be safe and happy. So that's what I'm striving to be. Safe and happy, and to share that happiness with others around me :) And I know that as we STRIVE to increase our faith, MORE miracles happen, little by little each day. All the knowledge and strength and FAITH we gain as we move forward comes together in our little jigsaw puzzles called life :)
(Btw: I may become obsessed with doing puzzles when I get home. It just sounds like something that would be a lot of fun to do right now... Haha.)
I LOVE you all, and I hope you have a most WONDERFUL week. May you see beautiful blessings and miracles in your life as you apply the things you've learned in General Conference this weekend! ...And I'll join you next weekend in the happiness when I've seen it as well ;)
ALLLL the LOVE from the other side of the world, Arohanui,
Your Favorite Kiwi Missionary —
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)