June 17,2012 Kia Ora!!

Hi everybody!! Elder Devey here!! :) Good to be back once again! I hope you all had a wonderful week this past week and that the Lord is blessing you greatly!! :) a quick couple of shout outs!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! :) My ol man deserves it!! Love you pops!!! Also congrats Krystal and Ben on the new baby girl on her way!!!! :) LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! This week was yet another eventful week to say the least!! Lotta things happened!! It was quite crazy really! One of the craziest for that matter!! Startin from the beginning pday was super fun!! :) We had a barbeque with one of the districts! The elder told his ward he was getting transferred even though he wasn't so that members would bring over a feed! haha so we had a massive bbq and than went and played touch! It was super fun!! :) A really really good pday!! Than on Tuesday we had to do another zone training again!! lol it was really fun though because I really love our zone! The missionaries are all so awesome! So we had that big meeting and than after that we got pics with the whole zone that i'll have to send! They're such an awesom bunch!! That day was another good day! Super busy with appointments and other things! Just getting things ready for transfers!! And than we got the call early as usual!! Elder Afa was to be leaving over to Tamaki and I'm staying here!!! :) I was pumped because I absolutely love this area and ward!! It's been my favorite hands down!!! My new comp was to be Elder Whipple!! :) haha I was absolutely shocked by that!! He was in the zone for ages and was a district leader. We got super close with each other and heaps of fun!!! When I heard it was him I was like no way!!!!! So it's going to be super fun being with him! He's a hard worker and I've already enjoyed my time with him heaps thus far so we're really looking forward to it!! :) Finding out the news on the other transfers throughout the zone was quite sad though. A lot of missionaries that are just incredible were to be leaving:( So it was really hard to see them go! Wednesday the day before transfers was special! Elder Afa saying goodbye to all of our peeps was really sad! Hard to see my little tongan go!!! We were with each other for 3 months so it was tough to see my hombre depart!! I'll miss him that's for sure! but pumped to be with Elder Whipple! Elder Janson, Sister Perry, Elder Hibbard, some of my all time favorites left!!! So that was very sad and hard to see... But it's all good!! We're all super good mates now so i will see them again some time soon!! We were invited by members in Sister Perry's ward to go have lunch so we had a little goodbye lunch with those sisters!! Had some incredible, memorable times with them!! :) Than we got to eat heaps of Horse as well1!! Yay!!! My favorite!! Oh by the way tongans love to eat horse and dog!! I've had both many times on my mission and I'm not gonna lie it's sooooo good!!! :) Anyways so we gotta lot of food since Elder Afa was taking off and also he got him some gifts from our converts which was fun:) Than there was a massive baptism wednesday night in the tongan ward that we went to which was really fun!! Than transfer day came!!! So we did our usual gettin our wee little trailor and cruising around getting all the missionaries! Transfer meeting was really good!! I thouroughly enjoy those! Very exciting change is that's for sure!! I've learned that many times in the mission field. Elder whippie and I were ecstatic to be put back together! Trouble it is! Na jokes we're gonna work hard that's for sure!! :) And it was fun seeing all the amigos as always at transfers! Been awhile since I'd seen quite a lot of them! Was reunited with past companions that it will probably be the last time I see them before the end!! So that was special as it tends to be! Than Elder Whipple and I hit the ground runnin!! Went out there and did what we know best to do and that's to save souls!!! :) It's been super fun we really push eachother I feel so it's going to be a wonderful experience to grow and to finish strong!! I hope he's the one who gets the honor of pulling the trigger on me! just kidding that's a cruel way tosay it!! lol but seriously it'd be fun to finish with him!!! So it's been good!! One of the nights we had a pretty crazy experience!! So a few weeks back i chased this guy down on a bridge near our flat and we had a very intense conversation. Not in a bad way but his whole family basically passed away in the last few weeks and he's a Christian man but was very much so questioning God and his plan. So i had a great opportunity in teaching and testifying of the beautiful plan of salvation. We had a very good conversation and he was very sincere about reaching out and grasping one last resort of hope. Had a long lesson with him right than and there. Anyways we were to see him again sometime soon and the other night, because he only lives a few houses down, he came and knocked our door. We answered and he was drunk.. Obviously turning to alcohol to cope with his losses. But it was so strange the things he was saying and we felt hopeless because there was nothing we could do. He was saying how he was going to kill himself and in order to save his life we had to baptize him and there or else he would be damned, in his words!! He basically commanded us to dig a hole and to baptize him right than at 10 at night in our backyard!! We're like what the?! So we're trying to help him and get him out of there without him doing something serious and he starts getting hostile and even gets into our flat!!! It was crazy as!! But we were finally able to get him out of there!! But we're gonna go try to catch him sober and than we'll baptize him in the coming weeks hopefully:) but that was pretty exciting, guess you'd have to be there, so i thought I'd tell you about it!! So many crazy things happen on the mission it's not even funny!! Everyday I swear!! The experiences are SOOOOO much fun I can't get over it!! You see a lot as a servant of the Lord that's for sure... But I LOVE IT!!! :) And the experiences and situations are intense as!! They're very much so real! You learn so much oh my I can't get over it!!! Everyday of my mission I have cherished! How I love it so much!!! :) Elder Whipple is a full on cowboy to say the least!! :) haha it is SO funny!! He's just like Elder Spence! The other day what we did is we took a mower and weed wacker around with us in our car and in our shirts and ties we just got out there and mowed investigators lawns!!! :) haha but stubborn whippie wouldn't use the weed wacker so i had grass all over me all day!! But he likes to get down and dirty and is very good and doing service and things! So that softened quite a few hearts and we're having a baptism again in 2 weeks now because of it!!! Yeeehaw!!! :) haha So it's been super good!! I'm enjoying it very much!! I loved Elder Afa and all but it's nice to have someone I can legitly talk to! My islander comps haven't been the best at English so not much venting or discussing would happen! But Elder Whipple and I get a long great so we talk heaps it's great!! So I'm looking forward to this transfer that's for sure!! And also on Saturday we went to quite a few baptisms throughout the zone which was really fun!! Nothing I love more than watching the Bappis!!! :) Oh!!! Than on Sunday!! It was a very good sunday!! Experienced quite a few miracles as always I suppose!! :) But at out Stake Center here we had I swear the biggest come and see fireside New Zealand has EVER seen!!! Jonah Lomu, a legendary New Zealand All Black, was baptized a few months back and he spoke! The chapel is MASSIVE and it was completely and utterly packed! People we're stuck standing outside and there were cars as far as the eye can see!! People showed up 4 hours prior!! And why it was so crazy it was up to Elder Whipple and I to set everything up!!! Took ages and than we also had to take everything down as welll it was pretty intense!!! So it was a late night last night:) It was super fun though! Great experience he's a good man!! But I recall general conference at the same stake centre where the prophet spoke and I don't remember that many people... Come on New Zealand!!! A bit worldly I suppose!!! I'd rather listen to a prophet than a sports star any day!!! All good though so it was fun:) And I'm gettin sick!! :( Haven't been sick in ages so that's no bueno!!! Oh well all else is well!!! Well I love ya'll heaps!!!! OFA LAHI ATU!!!!! :) Arohanui Elder Devey