New Zealand's Most Wanted

Oh my goodness, HEAPS of experiences I want to share with you this week. It was full-on, but good.

Onto the good news of the week: Hong actually got baptized! This whole experience was a HUGE tender mercy. It all went so ridiculously smooth. We were able to teach him everything in a couple days since he's home for school holidays. We were waiting for Satan to make an appearance, and Sunday morning I thought I wasn't going to be able to get a hold of him to make sure he was up for church and coming to get confirmed...he didn't answer the first time, but he answered the second time. I feel like my more recent baptisms have been huge because they're part member families or Tongans, but his was small, but it seemed just right for him. Oh, the only thing that didn't go as planned was that we were planning on showing a DVD while he was changing, but the chapel doesn't have a DVD player, so we had to use a VCR....does anyone remember what those are? And then we found a random, old, 16 minute VHS in the closet. It was still good though, thankfully the church teaches the same things as it did 30 years ago, haha. One of the highlights for me was that we had one of the young men in the ward baptize Hong and it was just fun to be able to give him the opportunity to baptize someone. And also to get the young men to speak at the baptism as well. I love good, young men. Nothing gets me excited like seeing young men who are going on a mission soon.

Speaking of going on missions: we were SHOCKED that they changed the age! Wow sir. A random member sent us a text in the morning, and then had it confirmed by our ride to church. It was a cool experience though, just knowing that I already have that solid foundation that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, so whatever he says is game and it is from God. So I could instantly accept it without even trying to debate. Might sound dumb, but it was a testimony building experience for me. Just a reminder that I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and no matter what I hear about him or whatevs, I know that he's a prophet and no one will change my view of that. Of course we've been talking about if we would have gone when we were 19. Me, probably not. But I've also had to many confirmations that this is the mission experience I needed...after I was 21. And I'm also so thankful for the experiences I had from my earthly years of being 19-21. Plenty of bad experiences that I would have rather skipped, but I still made some great friends and had experiences that got me to where I am today. I figured if I needed to go when I was 19, I would have been born in a different year. One elder kept telling me, "what are we going to do with 19 year old sisters?" & I kept saying, "What are we going to do with 18 year old ELDERS??" I don't think I'll really see the effects of it as a missionary, but I am anxious to see the effects. I definitely think it means more sister missionaries...woot woot. Girl power.

So we had a training as a zone this week from our mission president about the way we talk to people on the street and making more normal and talking WITH them instead of talking TO them. It was great and I learned heaps, but I felt like it should have been called "Missionary Social Skills 101." Haha, seriously. I said something I learned was that we even though we're missionaries, we don't have to give up all social skills and be awkward... even though we mostly are and do things that are not acceptable unless you have a nametag. Does anyone remember when I said a member told us, "I've never seen a missionary be natural?"

Something I've been thinking of is how great it is when you are living the gospel to be able to have that hope that there are always good things in the future. Yeah, you might have to walk through some nasty as mud to get there, but it will be good in the end. There will still be blessings along the way. And after this life, life will be wonderful and only full of great things! Ahh, I love it. I love being able to look to the future and know that things will ALWAYS get better from here, as long as we are doing our part and keeping our covenants. I guess, in a way, that applies to me finishing soon. Ouch. I really said that. But it's true. So it's just important to remember that there are still great things waiting in the rest of my life, even though I won't be living in the beautiful land of the long white cloud that has become my home and I'll have to go back to listening to ugly American accents, haha. Really though, I hate the way I sound sometimes.

Something I've also noticed is the growth in the missionaries around me: my companion (Sister Somma), especially Sister Chan (the sister I trained), other missionaries around me, and this elder that has been one of my zone leaders for the last 4 transfers. And it's been great to see that. But I also wished it was easier to see the growth in me. There is this member who stopped in the VC,  I served in his ward one transfer and he said that I'm not the same person I was 4 months ago. Yeah, I know I've grown heaps, but sometimes it's not so easy to see and I feel like the same ol' spastic Ally who makes really weird noises sometimes and thinks she's pretty funny sometimes...and likes to party.  All I can say is that I've loved being a missionary. Without a doubt the best decision I've made. There have been some ultimate highs, and some ultimate lows, but it has all happened for a reason.

Ah, one more thing: a less-active came into the VC on his way from Hastings back to Auckland. He wants to come back and knows he needs to, and specific experiences I've had allowed me to really click with him and share certain things with him and I felt like I was definitely the one who needed to talk to him. Feels good knowing that I specifically needed to help someone. Hope he really did go to church like he said he was going to.

Random story:
-We were trying to contact a part member family that lives out in the country, and as we were knocking their door, they're two little piggies and two mommy piggies (maybe one was a daddy piggy) came up and surrounded me. Momma piggy was sniffing/licking my legs and the baby piggies were licking my feet and trying to eat the tassels on my shoes. LOVED it. Haha, they're so ugly, but so cute at the same time.

Quite a long email, but it was a good week! And I have so much more I could tell. I'm like changing my life over here...naturally I should have a lot to tell, right?

Love you heaps, have a fantabulous week!

Anxiously waiting for conference,
                 Sister Mullen