Week 22

Kia Ora Whanau,

First off I just want to say that all the missionaries are safe. The events in Christchurch were horrible and we are praying and fasting for those affected by the actions of others. We are grateful for all of your prayers and concern. 

This week not much happened. Sister Crichton got sick on Wednesday so we spent the majority of the week inside. It was pretty boring but I got a decent amount of stuff done.

One thing that I got done while she was sick is I finished the Book of Mormon! I read for like 4 hours straight and finished the whole thing. There is a special witness of its truth that comes when you read it all the way through. You don't have to finish it to know that it's true, but when you finish it and then act on the invitation in Moroni 10:3-5 to pray and ask Heavenly Father if it's true, you get a special confirmation that is undeniable. The Book of Mormon is a special volume of scripture that testifies of Christ all the way through and really brings you closer to Christ and Heavenly Father. If you aren't currently reading it with a sincere heart, I would encourage you to start. It will help you in ways you could never imagine. 

Another thing that I got done was a deap clean of the flat. I don't think this flat has ever been cleaner and more organized. It's good though because in the last zone conference, President Soloai really got after the missionaries for not taking good enough care of our flats. 

A third thing that I did on the third day that Sister Crichton was really sick and still in bed, was make a really cool sign for a zone service that was happening on Saturday. I spent lke 5 hours on it. I free handed it all and it turned out really good considering I am not artistic at all. I figure it turned out so well because of how many parabolas I had to draw in highschool math. 

On Friday night, there was a convert baptism in another ward that Seiara was coming to, and Sister Crichton was still really sick, so we went on a mini exchange and Sister Tauru and I went to the baptism with Seiara. At the baptism she told us that she is 100% ready to be baptized. She says she feels prepared and that now the only thing we are waiting for is her parents' permission. It was really exciting to hear that she is prepared! Now we are just going to be working with her parents so that she is able to be baptized and confirmed a member of the church! 

On Saturday we had a zone service at the Tumeke Taita festival. The Hutt Valley zone and the Wellington zone were all there and the missionaries' job was to basically keep the area clean and organized. We also had a family history stand where we had Book of Mormons and Family Search information and pamphlets to give away. At first not very many people were coming to the booth, and the MC at the stage kept saying that our booth was a lost child station because we had a sign that said "Family Search". A member that was there was not okay that we weren't attracting a ton of attention so she went home and made a big bucket of otai and then brought it to the booth for us to start giving away. It worked so well and so many people came to the booth and we were able to talk to heaps of people and we gave away all of our Book of Mormon's. Sister Crichton was killing the game with talking to people and getting them interested. We got some pretty solid potentials. One of which is a friend of Seiara's and when she saw that he was interested she was like "What the heck, he goes to AoG, I wouldn't have thought he'd be interested." Thats when I said to her "Sis, everyone is interested in finding the truth." She hadn't really thought about it like that before but it made sense to her. 

We had a couple of lessons Saturday night. One was with a potential named Sarah. She doesn't live in our area but she requested that sisters teach her. She says she wants to be baptized but it's going to take a little while for her to feel prepared for it. When she told us that, she was worried that it would make us not want to teach her lol. Sister Crichton and I were both like, nah that's all good, slow and steady wins the race. 

We also had a lesson with Seiara. We taught her about prophets and how Russel M Nelson is the prophet living on the earth today. We watched Sister Nelson's witness of the prophet which was really powerfull and we committed her to pray and ask Heavenly Father for a confirmation that President Nelson is the prophet called of God on the earth today. She was very thoughtful and said "This is one of two things that I think my testimony is a little weak on." It was cool to hear that because during weekly planning, we both felt that we needed to talk about prophets with her. It was totally revelation from Heavenly Father on what we needed to do to help Seiara progress. The Lord really does direct his work. We just have to be humble enough and have faith enough to be an instrument in his hands. 

On Sunday we had heaps of less active and people we are teaching come to church. It was pretty awesome. Even though we weren't able to go 100% this week, the Lord kept his work moving forward. 

My spiritual thought this week is just my testimony of the Book of Mormon. When I finished the Book of Mormon and then prayed and asked for a confirmatin of the truth, the answer I recieved was not spectacular by worldly standards. I did not recieve fireworks of any kind. I just felt peace and comfort and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it is true. It really is another testament of Jesus Christ. All the way through it teaches and testifies of Jesus Christ. It helps you understand who you are and what your purpose is. It helps you know what direction to go in and how much Heavenly Father loves you. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is written for everyone in this day and age no matter who you area nd where you come from. It is evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that he really did restore Jesus Chrsits gospel and church. It is evidennce that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Heavenly Fathers true and living church. The Book of Mormon teaches you how to be happy in this life and how to prepare yourself for everlasting joy in the life to come. Please read it. I promise it will change your life for the better.

Ofa Atu

Sister Olson 


A selfie of me being super bored while Suster Crichton was sick


Sister Crichton and me and brother Fale


Elder Tonumape'a, Rowllings, Afele, sister Crichton and me at the service

Me and Sister Crichton at the service

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