A Completed Journal, A Talk in Church, and Dinner

This week was really good! I got hammered with a cold, but it is getting better. (: Our Ward Mission Leader gave me a really nice blessing and I have definitely noticed an improvement! I have gained such a testimony of the priesthood being out here. But I have also learned that it controlled by faith. I have been striving to gain more faith in everything this week. Especially in myself, in other people, and in the Gospel. It has been a really good experience for me. And I can definitely feel my faith growing. It's not quite an oak of knowledge yet, but it might look like a little bush right now. (; 

I finished a journal this week! Actually, it is the first journal that I have ever finished...in my life. It was a rather joyful and momentous occasion...(: I was reading back over it and I realised that there were many things that I wanted to change and things that I wish I would have done differently, so I am going to start implementing them into my new journal. (: One of the things is at the beginning of every entry I am going to write at least 5 things I was grateful for that day. It has been going really well and it makes me recognise the blessings that come from being grateful for the blessings that Heavenly Father gives me each day. 

Well, Saturday night rolled around this week and we were just doing what we do when we got a call from a member of the Bishopric...everyone in the church knows what it means to get a call from a member of the Bishopric. It either means a talk in church or a meeting. For missionaries it usually means a talk in church. Brother Wotherspoon asked all of the missionaries in our ward (there are 5) to give short, 3 minute talks, about what we did to prepare for our missions and a little bit about how our parents prepared us for baptism. It was really cool for me to think about how I prepared and how my parents had prepared me. (: It was awesome to stand in front of the ward I have come to love so much and tell them how much I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been in this ward for 6 months. This week is transfers and I hope that the Lord continues to need me here. But I am so excited to serve wherever the Lord sees fit. (: 

The weather this week has been a total blessing. The sun has been shining for the past 4 days. Now, let me explain Aotearoa a little bit. When the sun comes up in the morning it is a beautiful thing. If you don't see the sun in the morning, it usually means...really cold and rainy. But sunshine could also mean cold and rainy 5 minutes later. It's a lottle bi-polar. (: But when the weather is like it has been these past few days, everyone is in Heaven. It has been sooooo warm. We don't even have to wear jackets during the hours of like 9:30 to 5:45 at night. But the second it hits about 5:45 the temperature drops dramatically. Sometimes into the negatives. So, if you're not prepared, you are going to get really really cold. It is such an adventure! I love it with all of my heart. (: 

We had dinner with the coolest family EVER! I think I might have talked about them before, but I can't remember...they are the Swamys. They are from Fiji and they are Indian. But don't mistake it. They are not Indians, nor are they Indians from Fiji. They are Fijian Indians and they are very passionate about their nationality. (: Well, anyway. We had dinner with them and they cook the meanest food. It is similar to Indian food, but a lot less spicy, which is good for my weak mouth. (: As Dad can attest to. But man, it is literally the best food on the planet. (: I love it. They taught us to make Roti and the curry dish that they made, so I'll make it when I get home! 

Well, that's about it for this week! (: The photos are as follows:

0110 -> We needed to wash Sister Uele's huge blanket, which can only be hand washed in warm water and we only had our rubbish bin that was big enough, so we had an adventure washing it. Welcome to New Zealand!! 

0073 -> Brother Swamy wanted to show off his great cooking skills!

0077 -> This is all of us, Sister Uele, Me, Sister Swamy, Brother Swamy. (: 

I love you all! I am growing in faith, hope, and charity and I am loving it! There are so many good changes that I have seen in myself and I will literally never go back to what I was before. This life is beautiful! This Gospel is beautiful! We are all Heavenly Father's children and he loves us more than we know! I love you!!

Sister Pearce (: