Dear Family!

I thought I should e mail you guys first this time so I can give a good e mail. Well here in Whangarei it is most definitely Fall. It has been like this for a while now. Yep like you said mom its starting to get colder and colder...especially in the morning times. You'll have to remember that the houses over here are not insulated like they are over where we live. There is no heaters and so its really cold. Some of the trees have turned different colors and the leaves are starting to fall to the ground. Its nothing like where we live though. I miss those beautiful leaves and trips up to the canyon. Its starting to rain a lot here too. Well other than the cold weather everything is doing great. well I don't know what I'm saying its not that cold...only in the mornings. Its kinda still hot during the day. I was glad to get to read your e mails this week. It sounds like you had a wonderful time in St George. I loved the Picture...wow it looks beautiful where you guys hiked. Man from being here in New Zealand and then looking at a picture like that...its a completely different world. They both have their own unique beauty.

Well this week was just great. I want to tell you about a funny experience I had. This Tuesday I went on a trade off with the one of the companion ships in my District. There names are Elder Davis and Elder Hussain. I was with Elder Hussain for the day over here in our area. He is from Austria but is a Fijian Indian. He is really great and funny. Well he is terrified of dogs....and let me tell ya there are HEAPS of huge, mean, scary dogs over here in NZ. Especially in the parts where we do most of our work. Its usually in the humble more poor areas and so they have the Pit bulls and mean dogs guarding their houses. Well I have had some pretty crazy experiences with dogs on my mission. Sometimes I've almost gotten bitten a couple of times. This one was a close one for me and my companion. So we were just riding our bikes along this road and I knew there was this house that had a mean dog that would bark like crazy. Sometimes the gates open so we got to be careful. This Dog like literally chases after you and tries to bite you. Well Elder Hussain is already SO scared of just any dogs. So we went past and I saw the gate was closed so I thought we'd be alright. And as we rode past the dog JUMPED the FENCE and bolted after us. OH MY I was pedaling So fast I thought I'd burn a hole through my tires. The dog was like snipping at my feet. Well I was able to bike up the hill because I'm kinda in shape now. Well Elder Hussain is not in shape and isn't used to riding up the hill and when the dog went after him.......well lets just say you should have been there....I almost pee-d my pants laughing. He flipped out and rode is bike down the hill screaming and then he flew off his bike and ran. Luckily the dog had stopped chasing him by then...awwe it was just a really funny experience.

Oh yeah guess what! I got a cell phone to use for our missionary work! President Porter has just made it okay for District Leaders to have cell phones. Its so nice to have while doing missionary work. You can get a hold of your investigators and members so must easier. He also has allowed texting. So we can text our investigators sometimes and see how they are doing with their commitments and stuff. We have a baptism coming up this weekend. His name is Naina...he is an unbaptized 9 year old and his dad is a Less Active...we are trying to help come back. We also have 2 investigators set for baptism for next month! Caleb and Azailla! We are working with a lot of investigators right now. We had a lot of bike trouble this week. Ugh flat tires are the Worst! My companions bike just kept getting flat and we'd fix it then flat again. We had to buy a new tire and tube! There is a Lamb of God DVD campaign going on now. People watch a add on TV to order a free DVD. We then deliver it to their house and try and teach them the gospel. Its really cool and we've found some new investigators that way. We helped a old Maori lady scrap up her vinyl on her kitchen floor a couple days ago. We do some service sometimes. It's great to help people. We taught 25 lessons this week and so we did a good job teaching a lot. We are always talking to everyone we see on the street and a lot of times knocking on their doors. I know what you mean dad...its hard to go tracking in rich areas. we tend to not go up to the rich parts. In this area I'm in its kinda a more poor area...so we usually can track and do a lot of finding our selves. We are trying to get the ward more involved too. Transfers are coming up soon. I wonder what is going to happen to my district.

Yes it rains a lot here and rain or shine we are still out working. Sometimes we get soaked!
My District is doing pretty good. We had a little of a struggle this week but we are starting to see a lot of miracles and do better. My companion and I get a long pretty good. We have some moments where we don't, just like most companions. I like Elder Daniels though. He is a hard working missionary. He really loves the people we serve and has a strong desire to help them get baptized. His family are from Nevada. His dad is a convert to the church. He is the only boy in his family. He did a lot of Track and Cross country back home. He went to BYU Hawaii for a year before his mission. He loves the beach and just chillin. He and I teach the gospel pretty good together and we work hard. He's taught me a lot about the area.

I'm glad to hear you all had a good time in St George. I'm sure it was nice to go golfing dad. That's great Grandpa Kitchen went with you. I'm sure it was a great experience. Mom you looked like you had a great time hiking. I'm sure you loved the warmer weather...I'm sad you guys have been so cold for so long.

Well I got to go now. But I'm glad I've been able to e mail you this week. Its always a high light to my week. I love you all so very much and I'm grateful to be apart of our family. I miss you ya all heaps and heaps! I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. I am so grateful to be able to celebrate the time when our Savior Jesus Christ gave his life for us and was Resurrected! What a blessing it is to know we too can live again and be able to live with God again if we are faithful. I am so grateful to know I can spend the rest of eternity with all of you...my family. Because it wouldn't be heaven without you. I love you so very much. Know I'm always praying you each of you and hoping that your all safe, happy, and healthy. I pray the Lord will continue to bless you as I serve him in the great work. Have a great week!

Love Elder Kitchen