It's Conference Time, It's Conference Time...the leaves are falling down.

The weeks are FLYING by. The week has gone really fast, but slow at the same time...as it always does leading up to transfers because I'm anxious to hear about it. Start praying that I stay here til the end. Love this area, love the VC, want to be here for Christmas lights. So pray for me :)

We were struggling to have lessons this week and didn't really find any new investigators, but still ended the week with a miracle! So it balanced out. Last Sunday, a member came up to us and said he had a cousin who's daughter was planning on getting baptized soon and he found out she lives in our ward...but she's been meeting with the elders. We hadn't heard anything. Talked to the Zone Leaders, said they would find it out. Took them a week to get back to us. Turns out they thought she lived in the other sisters'  ward, but it's actually in ours, so that's why they never told us that the elders were teaching them. So Sunday morning we get a call that we have two people getting baptized on Saturday, Jessica (the daughter) & Pesi (the mum). The elders started teaching them because their fellowship who introduced them to the church is in the elders ward. That's not how it's supposed to work, so now that they're kind of being pushed to us, it's a little bit of a drama because of  course the investigators don't understand what's going on and why it's a big deal to go to a different ward, blah blah blah. They're fine getting baptized in our ward ,but want to keep going to the other ward after they get baptized. I tried explaining that we were "in charge" now when we were trying to set up a lesson and the interview, but they are (naturally) a little attached to the elders. ANYWAY--dramas. But they're getting baptized on Saturday. And it was cool talking to them, they were definitely prepared by the Lord. Especially the Mum. She said she's been going to heaps of churches, and they all talked about baptism, but no one ever specifically invited her to get baptized ,so she took it as a sign when the elders DID invite her. Woot woot. Like it says in good ol PMG, people are not likely to change unless invited to do so. The mum also had 3 questions before she even met with the elders, and the elders answered those questions in the first couple of lessons. I know the Lord is preparing people...it's just hard to remember on those days when NO one wants to see you, including your investigators, and the people on the street don't want to talk to you either. We had more than one day like that this week.

We also have another baptism on Sunday, Landy, who's married to an RM and been involved with the church for 8 years who finally decided she's ready to get baptized. Yes, please! Can't wait for hers!!

Conference-FINALLY! Ahh, loved it. I took some questions to Conference, and I always try to answer my questions with what I know/think I should be doing anyway, but I was trying to stay open and trust that the Lord would answer my questions as I watched Conference and I definitely got answers I was not expecting, but still what I needed. Pres. Uchtdorf was definitely one of my favorites. To be honest, one of my questions was some goals for the post-mish life and I feel like that talk was written just for me. Just a reminder to have fun when I go back. I know I have fun in the math lab, but my math lab days are over. I need to have fun just for my social sake so I interact with people other than nerdy engineers, haha. Oh my gosh, I'm going to be an engineer. But also to have fun now, which I am. Life is great, even if people don't always want to talk to us. This past week I've been overwhelmed with the love I have to be a missionary at this time. It's a great time to be doing the Lord's work...especially in New Zealand.

Themes that I noticed throughout Conference: living and studying the gospel principles, doing the Lord's will, tragedies (didn't it seem like a lot of people were telling sad stories of kids dying??) & having faith through those tragedies and trials, service, temples, temples, temples. (I hope you aren't taking for granted having access to the temple. I hope I don't do that when I go home. I have sat outside the temple almost everyday for the last 10 months...and it is so out-of-bounds for me. I hate it. So take advantage and go!), being converted in your heart and letting the doctrine go deep down, family and marriage. I feel like trials and family are always themes of Conference. Satan is definitely attacking the whanau ("family" in maori) and trials will always be apart of this life, so it makes sense. And my FAVORITE thing that stood out to me again and again in Conference was how much God is aware of each and every one of us. Saturday morning during personal study, I came across D&C 84:116, "Let him ^atrust in me and he shall not be ^bconfounded; and a ^chair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed." And then I heard heaps about how much God loves us and is aware of us. And it's true. I don't even know all the hairs on my head! They fall out all the time and I don't even see them. God is more aware of us than we are of ourselves. He loves us, what a comforting thought that is. He loves us more than we realize.

Well that's long enough. Have a great week! Love yous!

Ofa atu,
            Sister Mullen

PS Finally had a hangi. It's a maori thing. Cooking the food in an underground oven. Real unique NZ food: chicken, pumpkin, kumara, and potatoes. It was really good and some of the best chicken I've had in NZ...but my goodness, I can't take anymore of that meal! We had it three times this week. Like most other weeks. That's all they feed you in NZ. I feel like I'm becoming a pumpkin connoisseur because it all. the. time. Love it though. I'll definitely miss pumpkin and kumara.