Back to New Zealand

Hi everybody!! :) I hope everyone has had a wonderful week this last week! I hope and pray that all is well with you and your families!  Sounds like things are going good back home! That's what I love to hear! This last week was a really good one! So let’s start from the top shall we?!  The last week we still did heaps of service but it was finally confirmed and we got everything done for me to be leaving that Friday!! :) So the last week we visited a lot with the people.  Went to both branches to bare my testimony.  Finished up last things and than the other branch did a fiafia for me this time on Thursday night.  We had a service and than had a feed and played ping pong after ha-ha!  At the end I got a lot of gifts.  People just love giving gifts! Ha the day I was leaving a lot of the people gave me different things.  Like baskets, the kehe(necklaces like the layes!) shirts, lava lavas, etc! A lot of cool island stuff.  A member even made me a niuean cricket bat that they all carved cool designs on.  But I don't know how that thing would get back to America and I ended up forgetting it at the airport... I feel horrible! But I'm close to the airport so we'll try to get it back another time.  Anyways so it was a really fun last day.  Hard to say goodbye already.  I'm going to miss that island very much.  It's such a wonderful place there and the people are so great.  Hopefully one day I can go back again.  The Hekesi family which is their own little band we're playing as I was leaving so that was special.  Said goodbye to everyone and it was time to hop on the plane again! It's really funny cause the next times I ever thought I'd be on a plane was to go home not to travel to and from a little island! I'm so grateful for the experience I had there and all of the things that I learned.  It was such a unique once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.  

But now time to move on and to get back to work! I mean we were still working there but back to reality hard out missionary work not JUST service! :)  When i got off the plane here people in NZ thought I was getting back from my mission because of the necklaces and gifts! ha-ha  I got picked up by the Tongan zone leaders who are in my district and went back to work that night!  So about my new area it's in Papatoetoe in South Auckland again.  Really close to my greenie area.  This zone we're in is the best in the mission as far as baptisms go.  And unluckily enough the district I have is the highest baptizing district in the entire mission! This freaked me out a bit!! ha-ha I am very lucky and blessed to be serving here it sounds like an incredible area!  This upcoming weekend our companionship already has 4 baptisms on Friday and one on Saturday.  My comp is the man!! The last week since I was delayed he didn't have a comp! He'd stay with other elders but during the day he'd be with members all the time keeping our area going.  He's great.  His name is Fuataga, he's a Samoan from Australia.  He was in my greenie district I even remember going on trade offs with him back in the day.  So we were really excited to be with each other.  And definitely excited for all that's coming up!  This Tuesday I don't have a district meeting which is good because I don't even know what i"m supposed to do! Because there's a temple trip! So I get to go through the New Zealand temple finally! YAY!! I'm so excited for that!! So things are good here, just getting to know my area and district! Turns out while I was outcasted they allow district leaders to now have cell phones and also to text members and investigators! Crazy, eh?  Missionary work has to be updated I guess.  This will be a powerful tool!  Anyways Things are good here; please pray for me because I need the help!! Don't know what I'm doing but I know the Lord will take care of me! In the district we have Samoan sisters, Tongan elders, English and us English.  So good size district! my MTC companion Beckstead is in this district he now has been made a senior companion so it's a lot of fun to see him and mess with the guy again!  People made it sound a lot colder than it really is! It's not too bad but it is really cold, when it rains that's when it's really rough!  So things are great here! Excited to be back and excited to go save souls!!! :) I hope and pray you all have a wonderful week and that our Father in Heaven will watch over you all and that you'll feel the Saviors' love and mercy on a daily basis.  I love you all and wish you the best in the coming week!! :) I love you!!!!  OfaAtu!!!! :)

Love Elder Devey