Dear Family, August 21, 2011
I am so excited to e mail you all this week. How is everyone doing? I can’t believe the summer is pretty much over for all of you. Wow sometimes the weeks just fly by haha. Sometimes I just can’t believe I’ve been out on my mission for this long already. In some ways it went way too fast....and others it seems I’ve been on my mission for an extremely long time. I’m just doing my very best to serve the Lord my very hardest and I want to stay strong until the very end. I love this work so very much....I feel such a great desire to work so hard for our Heavenly Father and bring as many of his children into the gospel as I can.
My week was a really great week. The elders in our zone are doing much better now and we didn’t have to go to the hospital at all this week. So we got a full week of proselyting this week which was a blessing. We worked so hard and we taught so many lessons. We also talked to a ton of people on the street and just everywhere we went. We had some really wonderful miracles and had some very spiritual lessons. We had 7 investigators come to church and the wade family got confirmed!! YAY!! They are all Maori (like half white/Maori). It was a great week. We had some miracles in the zone and we also had some trials....some fall throughs with some of the baptismal sets and things like that. Last Monday we went bowling with the zone and it was really fun!! Guess what? I won both of the games!! haha.
So right now we have Nadia (Jerry's cousin) set for baptism for this coming Saturday! And we have Stephanie, Formen, and Alexis's baptism also for this Saturday. We are also hoping for a miracle with a lady named Linoa. She is so ready for baptism and wants to be baptized this Saturday! But the only thing stopping her is her partner isn’t really having an urgency about marriage. But she can’t get baptized until after they get married. So today we are fasting with her that the Lord will soften her partner's heart and that he will want to be married. Please keep that family in your prayers because they are a great family. This week we also had some incredible miracles. We met a lady on the street named Lisa and she invited us back to her house. We had a really great lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and talked to her about becoming clean from her sin, repenting, changing her life, and getting baptized. The spirit was so strong and it told us to set her with a baptism date. So we did. She has set a goal for next month...September 10. Wow and she came to church yesterday and a fireside we had. She is just great!! On Saturday we had a trade off with some missionaries in our zone. Me and this other missionary from Tonga, named Elder Pohahou had an incredible day in our area. We just worked so hard. We were able to set two more people for baptism for next month! Their names our Nick and Claire. They are both Maori and just want to change their lives. I just love meeting people and helping people change their live and follow Jesus Christ. I love seeing people stop drinking, smoking, and doing things like stopping breaking the Law of Chastity. It is just amazing to watch people do so much for the Lord! Sunday was just amazing. All 4 of the Wade family were confirmed members of the church today. It was such a wonderful site to see all of them up at the front and us laying our hands of their heads in front of everyone at sacrament meeting. I was able to confirm Arna and Daesharn. And Elder Chandler confirmed Quinton and Xazier. Wow I just love that family so much. Church was good I taught a powerful lesson on the life of Jesus Christ in gospel principles class. Last night we had a Come and See Fireside. They have them a lot but only the City Zones can come to them. So this was my first one because I’ve served my whole mission in the Country. The come and see fireside is an incredible event. It is put on by our mission president and the APs. All the missionaries in the City are invited to attend if they bring some investigators. It’s a fireside focused all on people that are learning about the gospel. There was a lot of beautiful musical items, a video presentation, recent converts bearing their testimonies, singing, and some a presentation/talk given by our mission president. He talked all about the Restoration, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. It was so powerful. There were SO many people there!! There was one part where our mission president had all the full time missionaries stand up and go into the isle and sing called to serve. Wow the spirit was overwhelming. Missionary work is so powerful and it is only a once in a life time opportunity to be a full time missionary like this. I just love it!
Well Transfers are this Thursday so we will see what happens....I probably will stay here....but I think my companion might go because he has been here in the zone for a long time. I’m going to be sad if he does go because I will miss him. We get along so well. We laugh and know how to have fun while doing the work. He is such a great missionary and I’ve learned a lot from him. We also have had so many wonderful miracles together and have been able to baptize a lot. He is from Idaho and so I hope to see him after the mission someday haha. Elder Chandler is from a very big family. There are 10 people in his family, he is really funny and all his family looks way cool. I hope to meet them someday.
MOM!! I'M SO happy you got a job!!! :D CONGRATS!!!!! That is so wonderful and it makes me so happy for you....I’m sure your just overwhelmed with joy. I know it truly is a blessing from the Lord. He has blessed you because your faithfulness and prayers. I’m Sure you already have but remember to show the Lord gratitude and thank him for that incredible blessing. Wow that’s perfect...4th grade is a good grade to teach. And Lehi isn’t far at all so you are close to home. I’m thankful you have finally got a job and you'll be able to start working now. I bet you guys had fun setting up the room and getting ready. If I was there I would have loved to help you. I love you mom....your just a wonderful mother and you deserve this so much. You'll be an incredible teacher and I’m sure the kids will love Mrs. Kitchen :) haha. I can’t wait to see your room and watch you teach when I get back haha. I will be praying for you mom and that you will have a great start to the year.
Okay so about the New Zealand Trip thing.....I will tell you my preference but really mom and dad it’s up to you and I will be happy with whatever you decide. I understand about time and also the expense. Well my first preference is the one where I go home and then we all come back around Christmas and stay for about 16 or so days. But really if that doesn’t work out then maybe we can all come back in a year or whatever. But really if it works out because of money and everything I would still absolutely love if you came here and picked me up. It is just a blessing that you can come to New Zealand. I would still have a wonderful time and would love every second of it. So really I don’t mind what you decide to do :)
Well I’m so happy that Ryan is having his interview with Bishop about becoming a missionary. Wow that makes me so happy. I’m excited for him!! I’m just thankful for everything that is going on with everyone. Well I got to go now....I will try and send a couple of pictures on this and then hopefully I can send that DVD home. I love you all so much. You’re always in my prayers.
Love Elder Kitchen
Happy heart day
We love you too!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Kia Ora Whanau! August 14, 2011
Wow what a crazy week we just had. It is definitely a different experience being a zone leader. This week me and my companion felt like zone parents hahaha, I’ll tell ya why. So first off. On Monday we had a great family home evening with the wade family and the Dennison family. Aw I just love the wade family so much. So on Tuesday we went on a trade off with one set of missionaries in our zone. I was with Elder Ji (from China) in our area. Well we were having a great day and then another missionary called and said his companion was really sick and needed to go to the doctor. So I took him to the doctor and then the doctor said he needed to go to the hospital because she thought he might have meningitis (sorry for spelling). She asked if he wanted an ambulance....so I was freaking out haha. I drove him to the Emergency room. It’s a long story but I was in the hospital the rest of the day waiting for him. I felt so bad for him. His name is Elder Finau. The doctors had to do some tests but they found out that he doesn’t have any serious thing. He just had a very bad flu. It was a crazy experience being in the Emergency Room and helping them and stuff. The Nurses were cool and I was able to talk to some of them about the gospel. I gave the Elder a blessing too. He stayed the night but I went home with elder chandler. President Lekias said we should do that. The next morning we left his companion there and went to zone conference all day. We had a zone meeting before and myself and elder chandler did it was zone leaders. Wow there was so many missionaries haha. Then we had zone conference!! It was so good and I felt the spirit so strong. I really like President and Sister Lekias!! They are great! Sorry I can’t go into that much detail....I don’t have much time today.
Then on Thursday we went on another trade off because Elder Chandler had to take another missionary to the doctors in north shore because he had to get an infected ingrown toe nail removed. Then on Friday I had to sit at elder Finaus flat because he got sick again and couldn’t work. Elder Chandler went to another zone conference so elder Finaus companion could go to one. Then guess what?! We got a call from a member that was with elder Utai on trade off. He said that elder Utai was in the Emergency room in north shore hospital and was taken there by ambulance. He had a bad bike crash. So we drove over there and helped him out. He is better than we thought he would be. Luckily he was wearing his helmet....or I don’t know.....but he got out Friday night at like 930 and we took him home to our flat and helped him out. Saturday we were going crazy all over taking missionaries different places. Elder Finau had to go back into the hospital. Wow it was so crazy!! And then some other missionaries had a baptism we needed to help them go to. It was so stressful and crazy to figure everything out because you’re the leaders. WOW this letter is only going into a tiny bit of detail of everything that happened this week. Anyways long story short we have been back and forth to the hospital and running missionaries around this whole week. We haven’t had hardly any time to work in our own area. But the Lord has blessed us because of our sacrifice. We somehow were still able to have a lot of lessons and get new investigators and have a lot of miracles. The Lord truly blesses those who sacrifice for the helping and service of others.
Okay so I have to tell you about an incredible experience we had. So the WADE family ALL got baptized this Saturday! A MIRACLE!! Wow it was seriously overwhelming to see all their family in white! One of the best moments of my entire mission. They got married and then baptized right after!! So they all get to the chapel all dressed up in tuxes and nice dresses. Bishop Chase was able to marry them. Then they all changed into white!! We took pictures don’t worry! it was the best site to see. That family is so converted to the gospel and is seriously a golden family sent from God to us. I feel so blessed to have been a part of their lives and conversion experience. I was able to baptize Arna Wade (the mom) and Xazier (the oldest son). Elder Chandler baptized Quinton (the dad) and Daesharn (the other son). The spirit was so incredibly strong. When Elder Chandler was in the water first baptizing them....Arna was getting so emotional. She was so happy. She said it was the best and happiest day of her entire life. Wow when I baptized them I was so happy. When she went down in the water and came up I could literally feel she was a different person. I had a very spiritual and sacred experience. Then she put her hands up in the air for joy because she was so happy. After they got dressed I watched the family hug each other and just express how they were feeling. Words cannot describe how amazing it was. I was over whelmed with the sprit. They expressed that the gospel has completely changed their lives and they are so much happier than before. They expressed that they cannot wait to be sealed as a family for time and eternity and they will be getting sealed in a years’ time. For some reason guess what? They want to come to America and get sealed in the Salt Lake City temple!! So I told them that if they really do that that they can stay at our house and everything....wow wouldn’t that just be a wonderful experience!! This mission has just been life changing in every way...I love it.
Yesterday was stake conference. The wade family came and loved it. They will be confirmed this week at church. And then from one year from now they will be able to get sealed as a family!
I have to go.....I love you so much.
Elder Kitchen
Wow what a crazy week we just had. It is definitely a different experience being a zone leader. This week me and my companion felt like zone parents hahaha, I’ll tell ya why. So first off. On Monday we had a great family home evening with the wade family and the Dennison family. Aw I just love the wade family so much. So on Tuesday we went on a trade off with one set of missionaries in our zone. I was with Elder Ji (from China) in our area. Well we were having a great day and then another missionary called and said his companion was really sick and needed to go to the doctor. So I took him to the doctor and then the doctor said he needed to go to the hospital because she thought he might have meningitis (sorry for spelling). She asked if he wanted an ambulance....so I was freaking out haha. I drove him to the Emergency room. It’s a long story but I was in the hospital the rest of the day waiting for him. I felt so bad for him. His name is Elder Finau. The doctors had to do some tests but they found out that he doesn’t have any serious thing. He just had a very bad flu. It was a crazy experience being in the Emergency Room and helping them and stuff. The Nurses were cool and I was able to talk to some of them about the gospel. I gave the Elder a blessing too. He stayed the night but I went home with elder chandler. President Lekias said we should do that. The next morning we left his companion there and went to zone conference all day. We had a zone meeting before and myself and elder chandler did it was zone leaders. Wow there was so many missionaries haha. Then we had zone conference!! It was so good and I felt the spirit so strong. I really like President and Sister Lekias!! They are great! Sorry I can’t go into that much detail....I don’t have much time today.
Then on Thursday we went on another trade off because Elder Chandler had to take another missionary to the doctors in north shore because he had to get an infected ingrown toe nail removed. Then on Friday I had to sit at elder Finaus flat because he got sick again and couldn’t work. Elder Chandler went to another zone conference so elder Finaus companion could go to one. Then guess what?! We got a call from a member that was with elder Utai on trade off. He said that elder Utai was in the Emergency room in north shore hospital and was taken there by ambulance. He had a bad bike crash. So we drove over there and helped him out. He is better than we thought he would be. Luckily he was wearing his helmet....or I don’t know.....but he got out Friday night at like 930 and we took him home to our flat and helped him out. Saturday we were going crazy all over taking missionaries different places. Elder Finau had to go back into the hospital. Wow it was so crazy!! And then some other missionaries had a baptism we needed to help them go to. It was so stressful and crazy to figure everything out because you’re the leaders. WOW this letter is only going into a tiny bit of detail of everything that happened this week. Anyways long story short we have been back and forth to the hospital and running missionaries around this whole week. We haven’t had hardly any time to work in our own area. But the Lord has blessed us because of our sacrifice. We somehow were still able to have a lot of lessons and get new investigators and have a lot of miracles. The Lord truly blesses those who sacrifice for the helping and service of others.
Okay so I have to tell you about an incredible experience we had. So the WADE family ALL got baptized this Saturday! A MIRACLE!! Wow it was seriously overwhelming to see all their family in white! One of the best moments of my entire mission. They got married and then baptized right after!! So they all get to the chapel all dressed up in tuxes and nice dresses. Bishop Chase was able to marry them. Then they all changed into white!! We took pictures don’t worry! it was the best site to see. That family is so converted to the gospel and is seriously a golden family sent from God to us. I feel so blessed to have been a part of their lives and conversion experience. I was able to baptize Arna Wade (the mom) and Xazier (the oldest son). Elder Chandler baptized Quinton (the dad) and Daesharn (the other son). The spirit was so incredibly strong. When Elder Chandler was in the water first baptizing them....Arna was getting so emotional. She was so happy. She said it was the best and happiest day of her entire life. Wow when I baptized them I was so happy. When she went down in the water and came up I could literally feel she was a different person. I had a very spiritual and sacred experience. Then she put her hands up in the air for joy because she was so happy. After they got dressed I watched the family hug each other and just express how they were feeling. Words cannot describe how amazing it was. I was over whelmed with the sprit. They expressed that the gospel has completely changed their lives and they are so much happier than before. They expressed that they cannot wait to be sealed as a family for time and eternity and they will be getting sealed in a years’ time. For some reason guess what? They want to come to America and get sealed in the Salt Lake City temple!! So I told them that if they really do that that they can stay at our house and everything....wow wouldn’t that just be a wonderful experience!! This mission has just been life changing in every way...I love it.
Yesterday was stake conference. The wade family came and loved it. They will be confirmed this week at church. And then from one year from now they will be able to get sealed as a family!
I have to go.....I love you so much.
Elder Kitchen
Sunday, August 14, 2011
I posted 3 letters today from the last 3 weeks. I have had computer trouble so to read them in order, start 2 letters below this one.
Malo Se Fua!! (it means hello in Samoan) August 7, 2011
This week has been an incredible week full of experiences. I don’t know where to begin but I should first of just simply say hello how is everyone doing? Sounds like your all having a blast at cousin camp and I’m glad everyone is having so much fun! The reason why I said hello in Samoan is because here in Henderson there is SO many Samoan people. There are a lot of members in our ward and so we go over to their house to have dinner sometimes and they teach us how to speak their language. Sometimes I feel I’m back in the Islands with all these islander feeds! haha.
Our week has been really good. We have had some new missionaries come into the Zone and some of them are training so it’s cool to see some brand new missionaries and the fire burning desire they have to work. The Wade family is just doing absolutely incredible. We teach them almost every day. They are seriously the most prepared family I have ever met. They keep every commitment we give them. They are reading the scriptures and saying prayers every day. They came to church and loved it again. They are starting to keep all the commandments. They are pretty much living the Word of Wisdom now which is incredible. They just love the gospel so much and every time I go into that home I can feel the spirit so strong. They even fasted yesterday as a family. Wow I can’t even tell you how amazing they are! We might need to push their baptism back until the 20th because their stake conference this weekend. Oh yeah so guess what. I heard that Stephanie Rogers and Azailla (the only two non-members in the incredible family I was working with in Whangarei) are getting baptized...I think they did just barley but I’ll have to find out. What that means is the two most incredible family’s I’ve been able to work with The Roger Family and the Wade family will be getting sealed one year from now. So like in August next year!! I want SO bad to come back and be able to go to the temple and witness their sealing’s! That would be amazing.
Well Wednesday I had my very first Zone Leader Council. Wow it was something really cool. We started really early and it was at the Mission Home in North Shore. I hadn’t been back to that home for a long time. It was cool to go back in and see the place I started my mission. We had breakfast with President and Sister Lekias. We then had some very powerful training, video presentations, and a lot of instruction from our mission president. I learned so much and took a lot of notes. It was a cool experience to get to know President Lekias so well. It was a great experience to be able to sit with all the other zone leaders in the entire mission and just learn from all of them. The spirit was extremely powerful.
On Thursday we had Leadership Training. It was with all the Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and Trainers. The Training was at a chapel in Down Town Auckland! It never has been there before. It was a crazy experience to go in such a big city when I’ve been out in the country so much. We had breakfast and had a powerful testimony meeting before. Then we had a lot of training and really inspiring and uplifting presentations. Then guess what?! We all went out to Preach by the Way on Queen street. It’s one of the main streets in down town Auckland. It was so crazy. There were about 50 missionaries that just went crazy and were talking to EVERYONE. We just started sharing the gospel, handed out Book of Mormons, and did all that we could to talk to people about the gospel. It was crazy....so many people were just so busy and wouldn’t even take the time to look at you. We talked to almost 75 people in 1 hour! Wow we got some referrals....and some people were interested. It was just a cool experience to see SO many missionaries all over the streets of downtown Auckland. One companionship set someone for baptism on the street!! Miracles!
Then on Saturday we went on an investigator Temple Trip to Hamilton. We got permission from President to take our investigators as well as some of the missionaries in the zone and their investigators. It was really cool. We had about 9 investigators come just with our companionship. The other missionaries had a lot of investigators too. There was about 35-40 people total that went. A member in our ward works for a bus place and so he got a bus and drove us down there. It was SO fun. We all went to the Visitor Center and spent a couple hours there. We got to go around the temple grounds and just feel the spirit so strong. We watched the Joseph Smith movie and all the investigators loved it. It was such a wonderful experience to be at the temple grounds with our investigators. The sister missionaries at the Visitor Center gave a powerful presentation about the temple, forever families, and Jesus Christ. It was just an amazing experience for me and for our investigators. To be there with the Christis Statue and the beautiful pictures of Christ. It really touched the heart of a lot of our investigators....one of them wants to get baptized now. Her name is Nadia. Another one named Venus also is having a desire....she came to church yesterday. She is from Niue!! Cool eh?!
Sunday was great. We had 13 investigators come to church. In our investigators class we played a church Jeopardy game. It was really cool. We also have been working with this lady name Linoa. She is just amazing. Her partner is a less active member. We set her for baptism on the 27th. She came to church and loved it. We went to a family home evening at their house last night. There was a lot of other family that were members. It was an extremely spiritual FHE. Linoa bore her testimony and said that she knew the Book of Mormon was true. Wow it was just incredible and I felt the spirit so strong.
Well we have Zone Conference this Wed! I’m excited! We are trying to take the zone to the next level. Please keep the zone in your prayers and that we will all be able to baptize a lot of Heavenly Fathers children and SAVE SOULS!!
I have to go now....sorry if I didn’t answer any of your questions.....
I love you all so much.
Love Elder Kitchen
This week has been an incredible week full of experiences. I don’t know where to begin but I should first of just simply say hello how is everyone doing? Sounds like your all having a blast at cousin camp and I’m glad everyone is having so much fun! The reason why I said hello in Samoan is because here in Henderson there is SO many Samoan people. There are a lot of members in our ward and so we go over to their house to have dinner sometimes and they teach us how to speak their language. Sometimes I feel I’m back in the Islands with all these islander feeds! haha.
Our week has been really good. We have had some new missionaries come into the Zone and some of them are training so it’s cool to see some brand new missionaries and the fire burning desire they have to work. The Wade family is just doing absolutely incredible. We teach them almost every day. They are seriously the most prepared family I have ever met. They keep every commitment we give them. They are reading the scriptures and saying prayers every day. They came to church and loved it again. They are starting to keep all the commandments. They are pretty much living the Word of Wisdom now which is incredible. They just love the gospel so much and every time I go into that home I can feel the spirit so strong. They even fasted yesterday as a family. Wow I can’t even tell you how amazing they are! We might need to push their baptism back until the 20th because their stake conference this weekend. Oh yeah so guess what. I heard that Stephanie Rogers and Azailla (the only two non-members in the incredible family I was working with in Whangarei) are getting baptized...I think they did just barley but I’ll have to find out. What that means is the two most incredible family’s I’ve been able to work with The Roger Family and the Wade family will be getting sealed one year from now. So like in August next year!! I want SO bad to come back and be able to go to the temple and witness their sealing’s! That would be amazing.
Well Wednesday I had my very first Zone Leader Council. Wow it was something really cool. We started really early and it was at the Mission Home in North Shore. I hadn’t been back to that home for a long time. It was cool to go back in and see the place I started my mission. We had breakfast with President and Sister Lekias. We then had some very powerful training, video presentations, and a lot of instruction from our mission president. I learned so much and took a lot of notes. It was a cool experience to get to know President Lekias so well. It was a great experience to be able to sit with all the other zone leaders in the entire mission and just learn from all of them. The spirit was extremely powerful.
On Thursday we had Leadership Training. It was with all the Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and Trainers. The Training was at a chapel in Down Town Auckland! It never has been there before. It was a crazy experience to go in such a big city when I’ve been out in the country so much. We had breakfast and had a powerful testimony meeting before. Then we had a lot of training and really inspiring and uplifting presentations. Then guess what?! We all went out to Preach by the Way on Queen street. It’s one of the main streets in down town Auckland. It was so crazy. There were about 50 missionaries that just went crazy and were talking to EVERYONE. We just started sharing the gospel, handed out Book of Mormons, and did all that we could to talk to people about the gospel. It was crazy....so many people were just so busy and wouldn’t even take the time to look at you. We talked to almost 75 people in 1 hour! Wow we got some referrals....and some people were interested. It was just a cool experience to see SO many missionaries all over the streets of downtown Auckland. One companionship set someone for baptism on the street!! Miracles!
Then on Saturday we went on an investigator Temple Trip to Hamilton. We got permission from President to take our investigators as well as some of the missionaries in the zone and their investigators. It was really cool. We had about 9 investigators come just with our companionship. The other missionaries had a lot of investigators too. There was about 35-40 people total that went. A member in our ward works for a bus place and so he got a bus and drove us down there. It was SO fun. We all went to the Visitor Center and spent a couple hours there. We got to go around the temple grounds and just feel the spirit so strong. We watched the Joseph Smith movie and all the investigators loved it. It was such a wonderful experience to be at the temple grounds with our investigators. The sister missionaries at the Visitor Center gave a powerful presentation about the temple, forever families, and Jesus Christ. It was just an amazing experience for me and for our investigators. To be there with the Christis Statue and the beautiful pictures of Christ. It really touched the heart of a lot of our investigators....one of them wants to get baptized now. Her name is Nadia. Another one named Venus also is having a desire....she came to church yesterday. She is from Niue!! Cool eh?!
Sunday was great. We had 13 investigators come to church. In our investigators class we played a church Jeopardy game. It was really cool. We also have been working with this lady name Linoa. She is just amazing. Her partner is a less active member. We set her for baptism on the 27th. She came to church and loved it. We went to a family home evening at their house last night. There was a lot of other family that were members. It was an extremely spiritual FHE. Linoa bore her testimony and said that she knew the Book of Mormon was true. Wow it was just incredible and I felt the spirit so strong.
Well we have Zone Conference this Wed! I’m excited! We are trying to take the zone to the next level. Please keep the zone in your prayers and that we will all be able to baptize a lot of Heavenly Fathers children and SAVE SOULS!!
I have to go now....sorry if I didn’t answer any of your questions.....
I love you all so much.
Love Elder Kitchen
Dear Family, July 31, 2011
I am so just happy to e mail you all today! This seriously is the best two years of my life! I just can’t even describe how much I love every second of my mission. Whenever people ask me how long I have left I feel bitter sweet feelings....because a part of me really doesn’t want to leave. I love my mission so much and I love New Zealand and all the people here. I love the missionaries and just everything about being a missionary. But there also is a part of me that wants to be home.....because I miss all of you so very much. But I know I am going to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength and give it my all until the very last day! I love this work so much and I’m very grateful to be about saving souls!!
I really love my new area and my new calling from Heavenly Father. I love being a Zone Leader. It is so cool and you get to experience so many wonderful miracles. I love going on trade off with the other missionaries and just meeting all the investigators and get to see how everyone is progressing. We also got to go to a lot of baptisms this week for those getting baptized in the Zone. It was such a wonderful spiritual experience for me to have been able to witness so many of Heavenly Fathers children get baptized. I love how close I become to the missionaries whom I serve. I know them all so well now and they are all some of my best friends. They are all incredible missionaries. I love my companion, Elder Chandler. He is so funny and we get along so well. We are both extremely hard working missionaries and have a strong desire to save souls. We know how to have some fun while doing the work too. I love being with a missionary who just knows how to teach really well and work with the members and is just great. I have learned a lot about him and we have become good friends. The Zone did pretty good last month in baptizing people but we are looking very strong going into next month! I’m learning so much every day and I’m just trying to improve as a leader. We drive a Toyota Yaris car....it’s nice not riding a bike haha. Our flat we live in is way nice too. Probably one of the nicest I’ve ever lived in. West Auckland (Henderson) is incredible. I love the people here. The ward we are in is called Massey ward. It is a huge ward and the members are so cool. You can see the Sky Line of the Auckland City right out from our front door! The weather here is pretty cold....rainy....but not as rainy as Whangarei.
Our week was just amazing! It was probably one of the greatest weeks of my mission. We had so many miracles from Heavenly Father and just worked SO hard! This has been probably one of the most spiritual weeks ever. I have felt the spirit So much this week and have just been able to have incredible experiences. So just to let you know we have 10 people set with a baptismal date for the month of August and its only August 1st! We have been so blessed by Heavenly Father and he has led us right to people who are ready to receive the gospel. On Monday we had a lesson with this girl we were lead to on the street. We went to her house and had a powerful lesson on the restoration. We taught the Doctrine of Christ and set Stephanie, Ryder, and Formen for baptism. They are a great family. And now I have to tell you about Anna and her family. So she came to church last Sunday and loved it. We started teaching her two young sons (ages 10 and 11) and we set them for baptism on the same day as their mother (Aug 13). Well guess what? The father Quenton said he would live the listen to the lessons also!!! So we had a powerful lesson on the restoration. He is a Catholic but when we taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon he felt the spirit. We talked about temples and being a forever family. We also asked him to be baptized the same day with the rest of his family and he said YES!! Everything just worked out perfectly. I know we only opened our mouths but it was ALL Heavenly Father. He has done everything and it’s all a complete miracle. The whole family came to church yesterday and they loved it! We are working with them to get married and they have to give up some things to live the Word of Wisdom but they are just a GOLDEN FAMILY! I love helping entire families come into the gospel. We also have two Samoan lady’s also set for this month and I’ll have to tell you about them also. And we also set Stephanie’s boyfriend named Ryder! I just love this work so much.
Jerry was baptized and confirmed a member this weekend. The baptism was just amazing. I spoke at the baptism and there was SO many people. A lot of his nonmember family came so that was good. Jerry was so happy getting baptized. Then yesterday at church I was able to confirm him a member of the church. Our mission President was also there at our Sacrament meeting so he joined in on the circle as I confirmed him. Wow the spirit was extremely powerful. That’s one thing so cool. As Zone Leaders and because President lives in our zone....we get to see him so much. I have really got to know President Lekias and I really like him. He is an incredible man of God and I know he is supposed to be our mission President. The Lord has blessed me so much. Every trade off I’ve been on with the Elders in my zone so far we have been able to set someone for baptism. This week we also went on a trade off with the Assistants to the President (APs) Wow! They are incredible missionaries. I was in our area with Elder Greening. He is Maori (born in Gisborne) but moved to Utah. He went toTimpview. He played Football for Dixie State. He is one of the greatest missionaries I’ve ever met. I learned a lot from him. We were able to set two young teenagers for baptism but they didn’t come to church so they're not set anymore. This week was just amazing....I wish I could tell you a lot more about the week. But I just wanted to say a couple more things about yesterday. One of the Elders in our zone was sick. So my companion stayed with him in the flat and I went with the other missionary to their sacrament meeting. They had one of their investigators that was just baptized on Saturday get confirmed in church. But guess what? Sherry Dew, Brad Wilcox, and Elder Watson (from the Seventy) were there. Sherry Dew is the CEO of Desert Book. She is an incredible speaker. Mom I don’t know if you know her or not. The Sacrament meeting was amazing! And guess what I shook her hand just for you mom.
Well it sounds like everyone is doing great with all of you. That would be weird to have no children home eh? haha. I’m glad Jami and Kaylee loved Girls camp. And that’s cool Ryan is in Texas....he is probably really close to James! The Cousin Camp sounds like it will be really fun. That’s awesome.
Well about guys coming to New Zealand. A lady from the mission Office actually called me this morning and was just making sure on some details. I asked her if she knew if I could be released here in New Zealand and she said she doesn’t think so. It sounds like in order for me to get released as a missionary I will need to go to our stake president. So if you guys come get me I will probably be a missionary. But it really is totally up to you. What ever you guys decide I will be happy with. But in order for me to be able to do things we would have to have me come back to the States first. Just let me know but if you need to purchase tickets and stuff and I would make arrangements with the mission.
Well you all are always in my prayers. I put a lot more of my pictures onto a DVD and I will send it home. So you can get a lot more photos. Sorry I wish I could just send them through the computer but it takes so long. Thanks for everything. I love you all so much.
Love Elder Kitchen
I am so just happy to e mail you all today! This seriously is the best two years of my life! I just can’t even describe how much I love every second of my mission. Whenever people ask me how long I have left I feel bitter sweet feelings....because a part of me really doesn’t want to leave. I love my mission so much and I love New Zealand and all the people here. I love the missionaries and just everything about being a missionary. But there also is a part of me that wants to be home.....because I miss all of you so very much. But I know I am going to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength and give it my all until the very last day! I love this work so much and I’m very grateful to be about saving souls!!
I really love my new area and my new calling from Heavenly Father. I love being a Zone Leader. It is so cool and you get to experience so many wonderful miracles. I love going on trade off with the other missionaries and just meeting all the investigators and get to see how everyone is progressing. We also got to go to a lot of baptisms this week for those getting baptized in the Zone. It was such a wonderful spiritual experience for me to have been able to witness so many of Heavenly Fathers children get baptized. I love how close I become to the missionaries whom I serve. I know them all so well now and they are all some of my best friends. They are all incredible missionaries. I love my companion, Elder Chandler. He is so funny and we get along so well. We are both extremely hard working missionaries and have a strong desire to save souls. We know how to have some fun while doing the work too. I love being with a missionary who just knows how to teach really well and work with the members and is just great. I have learned a lot about him and we have become good friends. The Zone did pretty good last month in baptizing people but we are looking very strong going into next month! I’m learning so much every day and I’m just trying to improve as a leader. We drive a Toyota Yaris car....it’s nice not riding a bike haha. Our flat we live in is way nice too. Probably one of the nicest I’ve ever lived in. West Auckland (Henderson) is incredible. I love the people here. The ward we are in is called Massey ward. It is a huge ward and the members are so cool. You can see the Sky Line of the Auckland City right out from our front door! The weather here is pretty cold....rainy....but not as rainy as Whangarei.
Our week was just amazing! It was probably one of the greatest weeks of my mission. We had so many miracles from Heavenly Father and just worked SO hard! This has been probably one of the most spiritual weeks ever. I have felt the spirit So much this week and have just been able to have incredible experiences. So just to let you know we have 10 people set with a baptismal date for the month of August and its only August 1st! We have been so blessed by Heavenly Father and he has led us right to people who are ready to receive the gospel. On Monday we had a lesson with this girl we were lead to on the street. We went to her house and had a powerful lesson on the restoration. We taught the Doctrine of Christ and set Stephanie, Ryder, and Formen for baptism. They are a great family. And now I have to tell you about Anna and her family. So she came to church last Sunday and loved it. We started teaching her two young sons (ages 10 and 11) and we set them for baptism on the same day as their mother (Aug 13). Well guess what? The father Quenton said he would live the listen to the lessons also!!! So we had a powerful lesson on the restoration. He is a Catholic but when we taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon he felt the spirit. We talked about temples and being a forever family. We also asked him to be baptized the same day with the rest of his family and he said YES!! Everything just worked out perfectly. I know we only opened our mouths but it was ALL Heavenly Father. He has done everything and it’s all a complete miracle. The whole family came to church yesterday and they loved it! We are working with them to get married and they have to give up some things to live the Word of Wisdom but they are just a GOLDEN FAMILY! I love helping entire families come into the gospel. We also have two Samoan lady’s also set for this month and I’ll have to tell you about them also. And we also set Stephanie’s boyfriend named Ryder! I just love this work so much.
Jerry was baptized and confirmed a member this weekend. The baptism was just amazing. I spoke at the baptism and there was SO many people. A lot of his nonmember family came so that was good. Jerry was so happy getting baptized. Then yesterday at church I was able to confirm him a member of the church. Our mission President was also there at our Sacrament meeting so he joined in on the circle as I confirmed him. Wow the spirit was extremely powerful. That’s one thing so cool. As Zone Leaders and because President lives in our zone....we get to see him so much. I have really got to know President Lekias and I really like him. He is an incredible man of God and I know he is supposed to be our mission President. The Lord has blessed me so much. Every trade off I’ve been on with the Elders in my zone so far we have been able to set someone for baptism. This week we also went on a trade off with the Assistants to the President (APs) Wow! They are incredible missionaries. I was in our area with Elder Greening. He is Maori (born in Gisborne) but moved to Utah. He went toTimpview. He played Football for Dixie State. He is one of the greatest missionaries I’ve ever met. I learned a lot from him. We were able to set two young teenagers for baptism but they didn’t come to church so they're not set anymore. This week was just amazing....I wish I could tell you a lot more about the week. But I just wanted to say a couple more things about yesterday. One of the Elders in our zone was sick. So my companion stayed with him in the flat and I went with the other missionary to their sacrament meeting. They had one of their investigators that was just baptized on Saturday get confirmed in church. But guess what? Sherry Dew, Brad Wilcox, and Elder Watson (from the Seventy) were there. Sherry Dew is the CEO of Desert Book. She is an incredible speaker. Mom I don’t know if you know her or not. The Sacrament meeting was amazing! And guess what I shook her hand just for you mom.
Well it sounds like everyone is doing great with all of you. That would be weird to have no children home eh? haha. I’m glad Jami and Kaylee loved Girls camp. And that’s cool Ryan is in Texas....he is probably really close to James! The Cousin Camp sounds like it will be really fun. That’s awesome.
Well about guys coming to New Zealand. A lady from the mission Office actually called me this morning and was just making sure on some details. I asked her if she knew if I could be released here in New Zealand and she said she doesn’t think so. It sounds like in order for me to get released as a missionary I will need to go to our stake president. So if you guys come get me I will probably be a missionary. But it really is totally up to you. What ever you guys decide I will be happy with. But in order for me to be able to do things we would have to have me come back to the States first. Just let me know but if you need to purchase tickets and stuff and I would make arrangements with the mission.
Well you all are always in my prayers. I put a lot more of my pictures onto a DVD and I will send it home. So you can get a lot more photos. Sorry I wish I could just send them through the computer but it takes so long. Thanks for everything. I love you all so much.
Love Elder Kitchen
Faka Lofa Lahi Atu!
July 24, 2011
Heeeeeyyy!! How is everyone doing?! Sounds like everyone had a really great time at the trip to Bear Lake! I’m glad everyone is doing great! Thanks for the e mail. I’m glad that Ryan loved my letter I wrote him. Everything what I said I meant it a lot. I also took some time today to write Ashley a letter. Well I had just an incredible week! Wow the life of a zone leader is a lot different than a normal missionary....well not that much but a little.
We have a lot more responsibility. We also have to account to the Assistants to the President about how well the Zone is doing. That is one thing I would love if all of you could add in your prayers. To pray for the Harbour/Henderson Zone, all the missionaries and people that are set for baptism this month. We have so much potential and we are so close to saving a lot of souls but we need all the help from Heavenly Father that we can get. This week I have been relying on the Lord so much. We as Zone Leaders go on a lot of trade offs with the other missionaries in our zone. And I know I need the Lords help to help us have many miracles. We did have so many miracles from the Lord this week!
I will tell you a little about the zone: So there is me and my companion Elder Chandler (ZL) and there are two districts. They cover Henderson (Which is west Auckland) and the North Shore and Walkworth. (which is North Auckland.) So they are pretty big areas with a lot of people! In the Henderson Zone there are 5 companionships including us. And in the other zone there are 4 companionships including the Assistants to the President, but they don’t report to us really. They are in the mission office a lot and are extremely busy. The missionaries in the Zone are just wonderful. They all work really hard and know how to exercise their faith in Jesus Christ. The District Leader in Henderson is named Elder Espino (from Australia) and his companion Elder Tomasi (from Australia). Then there is Elder Middleton (from Oregon he is a very recent convert, got baptized about a year and half ago. He got baptized and then had to wait one year and then he is on a mission!) His companion is named Elder Finau (from Lehi Utah he came out the same time as me). Then there is Elder Uthi from Samoa and his companion Elder Whipple from Nevada. Then there is Sister Mahas from Utah and her companion is Sister Mouata (from Kitibas islands) She was in my district in Whangarei. And then they just got another companion because they are in a 3 some right now. She is Sister Sitthidomrong from Thai land. She was also in my last district. In the Harbour District there is Elder Ales from California (District Leader). He was in my district in Rotorua. Then Elder Pohahou from Tonga. Then there is Elder Valupe from Tonga and his companion Elder Tokealau (from Australia). And then Elder Abegg from Utah and his companion Elder Ji from China. They are in the Chinese Speaking program! Well that is the Zone!
Well a little about last week: We played Rugby Touch last Monday. Wednesday and Thursday I went on tradeoffs with some Elders. We worked so hard and we witnessed so many miracles. We were able to set investigators with a baptism date both days. We have been working with this investigator named Jerry. He is so cool. He is 19 years old and he is getting baptized this Saturday! He is totally changing his life. We also were led by a member referral to this really nice Maori lady and we had an incredible lesson on the Restoration. We set her for baptism on the very first lesson and she came to church too! Her goal is to get baptized on the 13 of August. We also were lead to this choice family from the Solomon Islands. We had a lesson with her whole family, her and her children. We taught a very powerful restoration lesson and we asked them to be baptized. They said they would if they found out the Book of Mormon was true. We have been blessed so much this week. I have felt the spirit so much and I just love it. We were able to attend a baptism of some elders in our district and it was amazing!
Well we have a car and we have to drive around a lot sometimes to help all the missionaries in our zone. We get to go to the mission office sometimes to get supplies and we have a lot more interaction with President Lekias!
Well I wanted to write more and also answer some things to your e mail but I got to go now....I’m sorry. You’re the best! I love you all so much.
Love ELDER Kitchen
Heeeeeyyy!! How is everyone doing?! Sounds like everyone had a really great time at the trip to Bear Lake! I’m glad everyone is doing great! Thanks for the e mail. I’m glad that Ryan loved my letter I wrote him. Everything what I said I meant it a lot. I also took some time today to write Ashley a letter. Well I had just an incredible week! Wow the life of a zone leader is a lot different than a normal missionary....well not that much but a little.
We have a lot more responsibility. We also have to account to the Assistants to the President about how well the Zone is doing. That is one thing I would love if all of you could add in your prayers. To pray for the Harbour/Henderson Zone, all the missionaries and people that are set for baptism this month. We have so much potential and we are so close to saving a lot of souls but we need all the help from Heavenly Father that we can get. This week I have been relying on the Lord so much. We as Zone Leaders go on a lot of trade offs with the other missionaries in our zone. And I know I need the Lords help to help us have many miracles. We did have so many miracles from the Lord this week!
I will tell you a little about the zone: So there is me and my companion Elder Chandler (ZL) and there are two districts. They cover Henderson (Which is west Auckland) and the North Shore and Walkworth. (which is North Auckland.) So they are pretty big areas with a lot of people! In the Henderson Zone there are 5 companionships including us. And in the other zone there are 4 companionships including the Assistants to the President, but they don’t report to us really. They are in the mission office a lot and are extremely busy. The missionaries in the Zone are just wonderful. They all work really hard and know how to exercise their faith in Jesus Christ. The District Leader in Henderson is named Elder Espino (from Australia) and his companion Elder Tomasi (from Australia). Then there is Elder Middleton (from Oregon he is a very recent convert, got baptized about a year and half ago. He got baptized and then had to wait one year and then he is on a mission!) His companion is named Elder Finau (from Lehi Utah he came out the same time as me). Then there is Elder Uthi from Samoa and his companion Elder Whipple from Nevada. Then there is Sister Mahas from Utah and her companion is Sister Mouata (from Kitibas islands) She was in my district in Whangarei. And then they just got another companion because they are in a 3 some right now. She is Sister Sitthidomrong from Thai land. She was also in my last district. In the Harbour District there is Elder Ales from California (District Leader). He was in my district in Rotorua. Then Elder Pohahou from Tonga. Then there is Elder Valupe from Tonga and his companion Elder Tokealau (from Australia). And then Elder Abegg from Utah and his companion Elder Ji from China. They are in the Chinese Speaking program! Well that is the Zone!
Well a little about last week: We played Rugby Touch last Monday. Wednesday and Thursday I went on tradeoffs with some Elders. We worked so hard and we witnessed so many miracles. We were able to set investigators with a baptism date both days. We have been working with this investigator named Jerry. He is so cool. He is 19 years old and he is getting baptized this Saturday! He is totally changing his life. We also were led by a member referral to this really nice Maori lady and we had an incredible lesson on the Restoration. We set her for baptism on the very first lesson and she came to church too! Her goal is to get baptized on the 13 of August. We also were lead to this choice family from the Solomon Islands. We had a lesson with her whole family, her and her children. We taught a very powerful restoration lesson and we asked them to be baptized. They said they would if they found out the Book of Mormon was true. We have been blessed so much this week. I have felt the spirit so much and I just love it. We were able to attend a baptism of some elders in our district and it was amazing!
Well we have a car and we have to drive around a lot sometimes to help all the missionaries in our zone. We get to go to the mission office sometimes to get supplies and we have a lot more interaction with President Lekias!
Well I wanted to write more and also answer some things to your e mail but I got to go now....I’m sorry. You’re the best! I love you all so much.
Love ELDER Kitchen
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