10/11June 2012

Tena Kotou Whanau!

Things are good in the 'hood of Wainui!

We'll begin with the most exciting news. We had a baptism on Saturday for a man named Peter! His wife has been a member for a while, and his son got baptized last year, and now he's finally made the decision for himself. So it was great, and they're already talking about going to the temple next year! I, of course, didn't do anything to make it all happen, but it's definitely a great start to boost me for the rest of my time here. He was so happy on Saturday and Sunday, and it will be wonderful to see the impact it will have on his family.

We also had our zone conference on Friday. Fantastic as expected! Zone conferences are always a Spiritual treat, especially when you no longer are in charge of organizing them. Actually, it was really weird, but wonderfully relaxing not having to be responsible for anyone or anything but yourself. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy being responsible. The Kezerians put a picture of my zone on their blog. See if you can spot me and my special haircut.

The Wainuiomata ward is great. I feel like I know everyone already. Sort of. Hopefully by next week, I'll know everyone's names. That's because one, I'm really good with remembering people's names, and two, the ward isn't that big--about 70 active members. There are a lot more Maori's in my ward than in Palmy, and like most small towns in NZ, all of them seem to be related. Just like in Levin, most of the sisters in the ward are referred to as Auntie and then their first name. So it's hard to find out their last names.

One hard thing about trying to get to know the members better, is that a lot of the members all live near the end of a really long street, which is slightly uphill and is always windy, with the wind blowing the wrong way, of course. I'm still getting used to biking everywhere. I think my bike has shrunken over the past few months because I have to put my seat real high, and sit far back on it, otherwise I'm leaning over the handlebars farther than desirable. You can picture that in your head if you wish.

I really enjoy working with Elder Maas, sorry i haven't sent any pictures yet, the computers here are special. Elder Maas and I get along really well, and always have something to talk about with the other. I think that comes with being American, and not understanding Rugby (because that's what other missionaries talk about). But I don't know if I told you, but Elder Maas is a musical genius. Seriously. Name any song that he's heard before, and he can play it on the piano. Anything! But the funny thing is that he can't read music, so playing for church or meetings is a bit of a challenge.

gotta go bye!