Independence day

Fellowcitizens,

 

It's a good day here in Auckland. It's kind of freezing and I almost forgot it was the Fourth of July. The only reason I remembered was because an American member in our ward mentioned something about rootbeer yesterday. Okay, is that a thing? To have rootbeer on the Fourth of July? I can't remember that ever being a big thing. I mean, I know we have rootbeer floats sometimes, but I didn't think that was an American thing. Apparently it is. I haven't had rootbeer since the MTC. How sad is that? Not that sad. But still.

 

To be honest, some people overuse the phrase, "to be honest." I sometimes feeling like saying to them, I do not think that phrase means what you think it means.

 

This week wasn't too bad. We have been meeting with our sets for the 16th of July -- John; Neashia, John's partner (I know, it's a disgusting word and the plague of NZ); and Moe. They're pretty much our only investigators. We've got one other guy named Bucks set for the 30th, but we have only seen him once, unfortunately. Moe is doing great. He reads heaps of the Book of Mormon every day. He's somewhere in 2 Nephi after a couple weeks of teaching him. His less active wife, Alisha, is now planning on coming back to church, and they hope to be sealed as a family in a year. They both have strong testimonies of all that we teach them. Their kids are just crazy. Haha, just a few days ago, Elder Cunniffe taught the parents and the more mature kids while I looked at pictures with three younguns; just like we had done the day before with John and his kid, just flip-flopped -- I taught John and Neashia while Elder Cunniffe looked at pictures with Ioane (that's an "i" -- pronounced yo-on-eh).

 

So I was just trying to think of something else to tell all yous guys. Haha just kidding. Nah, but then I remembered... my our bikes were stolen last night while we were in a members home! We walked outside and there was Elder Cunniffe's helmet just sitting on the ground. Haha, funny huh? The zone leaders weren't too happy with us, but since we had just reported some good stats, they couldn't rebuke us too much.

 

So we were sitting in sacrament meeting, listening to one of the last testimonies, when this little (I think five-year-old) kid comes up and sits down right in between us, squeezing on in. He sat with us till the end of the meeting, copying everything I did. I helped him follow along with the song, then, after the prayer, he got up and left with a handshake and a salute, followed by a "Yes sir!" which he always says. Haha, he's a funny little kid. His name is Siosaia Takataka. That really cheered me up. I had having a hard week. We talked to over 200 hundred people on the street, had a lot of lessons, and set one more for baptism, but for some reason it was just hard.... All of our appointments with new people fell through, except one on Monday -- probably 15 to 20 lessons. Little Siosaia made my day. Seriously, sometimes in this work you find solace in the smallest things.

 

The New Zealand name for ground beef is mince. Is that the same in America and I just didn't know it? And bell peppers are called capsicums. Here in South Auckland, the people are not nearly as anti-American as they seemed to be in Hamilton. The people here are so humble -- lots of islanders who are way nice. I have developed a strong distaste for white people. This will surely be a problem post-mission, but we won't worry about that now.

 

One thing I learned this morning as I studied is that it is so important to study the scriptures every day to the point that we feel the Spirit and He gives us a greater hunger and thirst for righteuosness. That is what keeps us strong and healthy members of the church. That, and diligent prayer -- really talking to your Heavenly Father -- and going to church with the right mindset. I promise that your faith will grow and your concerns and doubts will be resolved as you do these things. Test it. Love you guys. Have a good week. Thanks for all your prayers and emails and love.

 

Love, or in Elder Whiting's terms, bitterly,

Elder Jensen