I've finally been transferred into "the bush." Yes! First time out of the city. It's beautiful. I had forgotten that the landscape could rise and fall in various shapes and sizes known as "hills." And they're not made of concrete....
But yes, surprise, surprise. The transfer of the ages. I was not expecting it in the slightest. With the new training program, trainers are technically supposed to stay with their new missionaries for two transfers, a solid 12 weeks. Looks like the Lord has other things in mind. My new companion is Elder Walker, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He's funny as. He's crazy. We get along pretty well. Finally someone who understands and correctly responds to sarcasm. He has been out for quite a while and I have learned a lot from him already. Should be a mean transfer. We're pretty pumped. The name of the zone I have been moved to is Tauranga/Rotorua, because there are two stakes. Fortunately, to accommodate the dyslexic, the name has been adeptly modified to Taurua. "There's no fear here in TAURUA!" We cover two wards: Mt. Maunganui and Welcome Bay. I have been very blessed, coming into the area with 13 people set with a date. A few of those need to have their date moved -- get things all worked out -- but there are still quite a few solid ones. This weekend there will be anywhere from six to nine people making that awesome first step through baptism.
I don't know too much about them yet. Sherie Dobson is getting baptized this weekend with her three kids, Trimane, Destiny, and Janae. They're 15, 13, and 11, I think. They're a great family who have made some huge changes in their lives. Chakira and Jayden, 9 and 11, are getting baptized this weekend. Chakira is annoying as. Haha, we were going over the baptismal interview questions with them and she just kept asking things like "Well, what if I WANT to drink iced coffee?" "What if I WANT to have kids before I get married?" Then when I finally got past that, she just "Yeah, duh, of course I won't do those things. They're dumb." Yeah. This 19-year-old, Thomas, might also get baptized this weekend, if he can get all the marriage papers worked out in time. Unlikely, but we'll see. He'll be marrying his less-active girlfriend, Roylene, who apparently refuses to pray with the missionaries. But she's cool. There's also one or two others for this weekend, but I haven't met them yet.
What else? Oh yeah, the weather is nice here. In Auckland it rains almost every day, especially during the winter, but down south in Tauranga it rains very little. One elder said it only rained once in the past six weeks. I might have heard that wrong, so don't quote me. Yesterday we were driving to contact a referral (I'm in a car now! Syck as. That's for you Megan.), but we saw a dude, so we halted and engaged in foot pursuit to proclaim the gospel. He wasn't keen on listening and unfortunately we walked with him for ages at a brisk pace. By the time our conversation came to an end, we were several hundred miles from the car... oh, no, sorry, that's meters... dang metric... just kidding metric is good.... So then we jogged back to the car and I was so sweaty! It was "hot as sin," as Elder Walker would say. It didn't help that I'm so fat now. I gained even more weight in South Auckland. Maybe the bushmen can straighten me out here Tauranga. Just kidding, there are no bushmen (but really, I suspect that they are amassing in hiding, waiting for the perfect time to strike -- I would guess Christmas day).
I love the dessert here. And the kumara. Excellent.
The work is great. And it shall press forward. General Conference was amazing. I loved all the talks about this great work and the huge role that each of us, young and not-so-young, play in expanding the Kingdom of God. Each calling is full of sacred responsibility and trust that our Father in Heaven has given us. Don't ever take it lightly. Remember, as President Eyring said, "I need your help." We all need each other's help. And Christ needs our help to strengthen our brothers and sisters. I love the Saviour and His gospel. Thomas Monson is a prophet of God. Your God knows you. He loves you. And so do I! Have a good week, and thank you for all you do. Thank you for your prayers!
Love,
Your friend, brother, nephew, cousin, fiancé (haha JK), compatriot in crime (haha not JK) (JK),
Elder Zachary Jensen.
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