Halloween in NZ

Kia Ora whanau! (Whanau is pronounced fonoe and means family in maori)

Well well well, What a week I have to tell you about. It really has been great!

first off I will tell you of the funny things that have happened. So sacrament meeting this week was crazy. Fast and testimony meeting. We had an area fast where everyone fasted for 3 purposes. 1. to increase our personal faith in Jesus Christ 2.  to be guided to identify a new opportunity to hasten the work. 3. for someone that we could invite to a special sacrament meeting at the end of the month. It really was a great spiritual experience to be united in fasting for a great cause. However, fast and testimony meeting was interesting. It started off with a man who always shares his testimony of fast Sunday. He is very bold, loud and passionate about the gospel and especially the importance of keeping the commandments. Then he was followed by an older lady who is roughly the same as him. However, she spouts off memorized scripture with it! then she is followed by a recent convert from last year. 

Molly is doing great, she really enjoyed church and is progressing well. I received a prompting from the spirit that if we involve her with members as much as we can and have them give her support that she will be baptized sooner. that was cool! so we are trying really hard. she has a smoking problem. please pray for her. She is wonderful!

Another fun experience that we had this week was on Halloween. NZ is just embracing Halloween, so they don't really celebrate it and most don't like it. But the ward had a trunk and treat activity. My companions and I wanted to go so we were trying to think of something that we could do all well. One of the members invited us over for a picnic lunch and she gave us a bunch of random stuff in which helped us out heaps. About and hour and a half before it started we ran to sister prestons to find an appropriate costume. We came out with cowboy hats! This sparked all the ideas. We ended up making signs that said " I mustache you a question" and "WANTED for your eternal salvation" and then we made mustaches and put them on what we had, paint brushes to hold in front of our mouths. Whenever people would come over they had to answer a question about the gospel in which if they didn't know the answer would have to find it in a pamphlet. We turned this into a fun finding activity. handing out pamphlets!! Hopefully the parents read it!! ha It was great! What a fun night!

also last Monday we hiked the Mount. Its like a 'mountain' about 15 minute drive from where we live. So beautiful!

So this morning I studied about the millennium. Man I am so glad that I did because now I  understand it so much better. It is definitely a time to look forward too. Satan wont be on the earth and we will still have an opportunity to have children. It will be way easier to raise them in righteousness. what a beautiful experience that would be.

heavenly father certainly loves his children. I am so grateful to be apart of His gospel and to know him. He is amazing! I am so grateful that I have this short time to be a missionary, I have never done anything so amazing and rewarding in my life.

I love you all!

love sister BIrd