November 10th, 2013

Hello everybody, 

It is finally feeling like Summer around here, it will be different to have a Summer Christmas, but I'm still excited for it. We have had a great last week, found a couple new  people and did more service mowing a couple lawns. We also had a couple really good firesides this past weekend. One was for a maori man named Tommy Taurima, who was receiving a "Living Treasure" award. He is a member who has shared the gospel through producing island dances and helped out the PCC in Hawaii a lot. The other fireside was about Byu hawaii and also The PCC. The CEO of the Polynesian Culture Center came as well. He is also a Stake President over in Hawaii and he shared some great stories from his mission and work they do there at the culture center. It is funny because he shared his conversion story, and it actually started out with him playing Basketball with a bunch of members and he just thought we were a flash church with good organization. He shared of how he took Moroni's challenge (Moroni 10:3-5) and his feelings toward the church changed and he felt that it was a good thing. It reminded me of dad's conversion story how he used to play Basketball late night at the chapel before he was a member. Well, Love you all and miss you all, Have a nice week

November 4th, 2013

Hello Family,

November got here really quick and it's finally starting to look like Spring here! The members in this area feed us a lot. I think they are trying to turn me into a Samoan. We have been doing a lot of service, mowing lawns and weeding. We got a couple new investigators that we are excited about. They are Samoans that live in the next town over from us in Flaxmere, but we get to teach all the Samoans in the zone! They have had a few missionaries in the past, but for some reason never received a Book of Mormon or had their questions answered about where it comes from. We were able to have fun talking with them and introducing how we got the Book of Mormon, why God gave it to us specifically for these last days, and how it can help us in this life. So, this area is going good and I am already starting to love the islanders, particularly Samoans, more so I can serve them better. Well, I love you all and will send pictures in the next because I forgot to put them on my usb this time. Have a great week

October 27th, 2013

Hello Family, It has been a week of excitement here in a new area. It was a little sad to Leave Wanganui, but I'm happy to be here in Flaxmere. I'm in the Samoan ward here and the members are awesome. They feed us heaps, I'm going to learn how to eat like a Samoan. We have done a lot of service since I have been here, helped build a little fence and cleaned a couple yards. My new companion, Elder Vagaia, is from American Saomoa and is a lot of fun and hopefully I can pick up on some Samoan. I love my new district and area. Well, Love you all and have a great week!

October 20th, 2013

Hello family,

It has been a great week. It was Stake Conference this past weekend and it was great. Elder Coward from the seventy and Elder Hallock from the pacific area presidency came and spoke, it was all about members and missionaries being united and it was awesome. We also did service for a couple members and helped with a big move, it was actually fun and feels good to help out. I went on an exchange and worked with Elder Keller from Arizona and that was sweet. We talked to a lt of new people and we got a couple new investigators while working in his area. Our investigator, Jacob, went to the sunday session of Stake Conference and were excited because he went to general conference as well and is getting ready to be baptized in a couple weeks. We also went around and I started to say goodbye to some of the members and investigators here because I'm getting transferred this week. Im going to a Samoan speaking ward in Hawkes bay to a place called Flaxmere. I am super excited to go because I know a couple of the elders and at the same time it's a little sad to leave all these people I have grown to Love here in Wanganui. Well Love you all and miss you all, Have a good week! It flooded here in Wanganui a little, so I will attatch one picture of that and a picture of the goofy elder I went on exchange with holding a Rugby ball, haha.   

October 13th, 2013

Hello family!

Good to hear from you all, The showleys inviting people to hear the gospel and have a meal in their home, Thomas getting big, Mom Nae and Kelli having a great experience with prayer, and Dad sharing with everybody at the football game that I'm on a mission. Sounds like everybody is doing good! Well, this last week was awesome. We have two investigators and a few Less active come to watch general conference! So it was shown saturday and yesterday throughout New Zealand. We are one week behind you guys, haha. Working with another Elder from my intake was awesome! I went on an exhange with him in Palmerston North and we had fun and had some good visits to a couple less active families and investigators. They have a little basketball hoop in their flat so we had a couple intense games after we did our planning at night haha. They stay in a garage that was turned into a house, but is still a garage so it was cold lol. We also had our second game night here in Wanganui which went very well. We had more nonmembers there than members! We have interviews with President this week and next week is transfers! So exciting things coming up, we are trying to guess who is going to replace Elder Mau to work with us here in Wanganui. I dont think me or Elder Farnsworth will move, but there is a chance. I dont mind either way. We are working great together and even though the work is very slow here in Wanganui, I love it. Well I love you all and miss you all! Have a great week! Also, Thanks for the candy and postcard from dad this last week!!!!

October 6th, 2013

Hello family,

How are you all doing. This last week was awesome. We found a few new investigators that we are extremely happy with and one committed to baptism next month, so we are doing well. The work is moving forward slowly. I went on an exchange with my District leader, Elder Aparicio, who was the first missionary from Spain here in New Zealand. He is very funny and a good missionary, I practiced the little bit of Spanish I know on him. We played tennis with a part member family in Feiding ( his area, also that is how it is spelled with the 'e' first) That was so sweet to play tennis with those guys because they are actually really good at tennis. I came out undeafeated somehow because i fought off match points against Elder Aparicio and Raukawa (who is a LA, but awesome maori guy and he is getting active again and marrying his girlfriend in a couple weeks so that she can be baptized and they can start working towards the temple) We also had two big services this week, helped with a Luao, and played Touch rugby with some nonmembers and less actives. Awesome week, but a lot of sports and service, so Im beat, but were playing touch again today and also having a bbq with bishop and some other people for FHE!! This week im going ton an exchange to Palmerston North to with with my zone leader, Elder Cuthbertson. he is from Arizona and came out with me! he is an awesome missionary and only been out 7 months like me and he's already a zone leader! So im excited to work with him. Well, Love you all and ill see if I can send a couple pictures.

 

 

from the luao, an awesome Tongan missionary who finishes in two weeks!

Sept 29, 2013

Hey family,

Last day in September already, woah. How is everything going back in New Mexico? This last week was great. We did a big service for a family here in Wanganui. I felt like I was in the Army or something, cuz we were underneath the family's house and clearing out a bunch of rubbish, fighting a bunch of spiders and spiderwebs. We also gave out the last of our books of mormon. We need to call and get more from the office, so that's a good thing. We have a few people we are teaching and helping, but New Zealanders are laid back lol. So we are trying to find creative ways to help our investigators progress.We had a games night which was awesome. We had some nonmembers and Less Actives, Karaoke, ping pong, and volleyball going on. We also had our first missionary fireside here yesterday. It was sweet. Another missionary sang a tongan song, there was really good talks on the book of mormon and we showed the mormon message on the Book of Mormon by Jeffrey R Holland. Also, bishop spoke at the end cuz there was still a lot of time and it was hilarious. He called up the primary to sing book of mormon stories with him and he was forgetting all the words, everybody was cracking up. Well, the work is moving slowly, meeting a lot of interesting people here and having really fun conversations listening to what the different kiwis believe in and what they think of the gospel. Well Love you all and Have a great week!

September 22, 2013

Hey Family,

September is going by fast, we had a great week.sounds like a lot is going on over there. Power outages and flooding, I don't know if its safer over there or over here. We met with the pacific area president and his wife, Elder and sister hamula, that was awesome. The work is going great, but slow. We found a nice new family we are going to have an FHE with tonight! It has been rainy here, too. Ive had a cold for like a week now, but still having fun doing the work. That is great you guys went to the state fair, That was always fun. We had a maori Hangi (bbq) and these two islander girls sang, woah that was awesome.Then we all watched a mormon message (cuz there was a nonmember there) which was awesome. Well, love you all and have a great week!

September 15th, 2013

Hello Family, Woah, September is already half over. Things are going good, we have been working with the two new elders that just came to our ward, one from Tonga (he is like a big teddy bear, haha) and one from Arizona who just started but is ready to work. So we helped them learn the area and have been working with a lot of Less-Actives, a few of them even came to church! The mission tour got postponed til this week so looking forward to that! Getting to know more of the members and people in the area here which is awesome. Well, that is what is going on here, love you all and have a great week!

August 25th, 2013

Another week gone by fast out here in New Zealand! It has been going good, we have been giving out Fathers day packets to Less Actives and investigators which have some cool gospel blesses families stuff in them. The Ap's are coming to work with us this week in our area! that is an awesome video of thomas dancing lol. Seminary and school starting up, that is sweet. Nae seems more excited about it then w all were lol. Heres a couple quick pictures. sorry i can never write more, never have enough time! Well Love you all and miss you all!

August 4th, 2013

Hello Family,

It is good to hear that you all are having fun. My new area is great. I am starting to love the members here, well most of them, haha. So there hasnt been missionaries here since christmas, so it is a very wierd feeling in the ward. They are excited to have us back tho and we are excited to work here! There is a lot to do because there is a bunch of Less actives and a lot of former investigators we have to get to and see if they are still interested. We have about 5 investigators right now and will probably get a few more this week, so a lot of teaching oppurtunites and work to do! We have a car and are allowed 50ks a day. So I have been driving me and my son ( mission son because Im training him) around Wanganui. This town is awesome, there is a beautiful river running right through it and it is pretty big, but has a small town feel. It feels cool driving on the wrong side of the rode! lol Well I am learning a lot while im training and am having a lot of fun while doing the work here! Love you all and have a wonderful week! oh and the Edwards are a senior coupole i was serving with in my last zone. They are awesome, except for sending a video of me bearing my testimony lol. Have a great week!

July 28th, 2013

Woah, my time here in my first area has gone quick. It is great to hear you guys are having fun. I do remember a little bit going to eat at that chuckwagon place. Also good to hear Cami and Thomas are they spending time, too! Well I am opening an area that hasn't had missionaries in 6 months. I am also training a new missionary from the states, Elder Farnsworth. I will miss Elder kavea, but Im excited for a new comp and new area. Ive been serving in Hutt Valley which is just south of the Wellington zone. now Im going to Palmerston North Zone, which is above Wellington zone! Ill be in Wanganui in the proselyting area of Fielding. I cant believe Im training already,but I am excited! Here is some pix of a hike we did, pig roasting!, and my companions so far in the next e-mail! Love you all and miss you!

July 22nd, 2013

Hey Family,

Yeah there was a earthquake, we did feel it we were at a members house and just finished dinner, it was kinda cool. Anyway, Im already training next transfer! Aug 1 the transfer day. Elder Kavea is training again too. haha he didnt really want to, this will be his 5th time training. Forgot to wish Cami a happy birthday in yesterdays e-mail, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Cami! Love you all and miss you all. Got to go back to work, cuz its not Pday but we were able to e-mail today real quick.

 

July 14th, 2013

HELLLLO Family,

That is awesome you are all going to be together when Cami and Kelli drive down to New Mexico! That is not awesome that shannae swallowed a bobby pin for her b-day! Well, the work is going forward slowly. I went on exchanges this last week and it went really well, I felt like I was training because my comp during the exchange is still in his 2nd transfer getting trained. It has been raining like everyday and really windy, I found out why they call it windy Wellington.Not too much else happened, one of our Samoan investigators said he will baptized as he comes to know the Book Of Mormon is true, thats pretty much the only progressing investigator at the moment.He also played ball with us last p-day which helped him meet a couple members and get closer with us all. Well time is going by fast but I love and miss you all! Have a good week!

July 7th, 2013

Hello family!

How are you all doing, sounds like your all doing vacations and having fun! Well, this last week was good, we had a fireside with a rugby star who is a recent convert of about a year. His name is Jonah Lomu (he was an All Black) and some of our less actives went to the fireside! That is pretty much what happened this week, the rest was normal visits and door knocking, still fun though. Yes i was able to watch the broadcast yesterday at church, that is interesting and crazy that missionaries might be using facebook and ipads and stuff next year or later this year. Wish Shannae a happy birthday for me! Well I Love and miss you all! Have a good week, time is going by pretty quick!

July 1st, 2013

Hello family,

Glad to hear you are all doing good and having fun. When did shannae turn 14? and now she is 15, woah, well wish her a happy birthday for me. Well, another week gone by, it was a very good week tho. Sorry I am writing a day late, we were very busy yesterday hiking in the next area over and helping those elders do some finding at the mall. I havnt watched the broadcast on missionary work yet, but I believe we are sunday. We had a missionary fireside this past sunday and it was awesome. A powerful young man named fred who is a recent convert of a couple years bore his conversion story, It was cool to see this big samoan Rugby player cry when sharing how he came to the gospel. my companion also spoke and read a poem about christ which was also powerful. We also had the baptism of the young maori girl, Shade, it was awesome and I was able to speak on the Holy ghost, I shared the story from Acts where simon sees the holy ghost giving through the laying on of hands for peter and john, and he offers them money to be able to give the holy ghost also, it was sweet. her grandpa actually baptized her and he also sang a maori song at the service. yes I am able to wake up on time, it is a little bit of a miracle, no it is good. That is cool tyler is getting to serve in another mission, Elder Sanchez is also, i know cuz i e-mail him almost every week as well. My comp right now is Elder Kavea, He is related to who i worked with at J lake, so it is very funny and awesome. We have fun while doing the work. Well my e-mail time is about up and I need to go shower becuse we just finished clearing a bunch of rubbish out of a man and his wifes yard. They are catholic and not too interested in learning more but we shared a scripture and a quick testimony, if anything we planted an awesome seed and gave him a good impression of members of the church. Well Love you all and miss you all! Ofa atu

June 23rd, 2013

Hello family. Another week gone by very fast. Love and miss you all but I am having a lot of fun while doing the work. This last week was very wet, windy, and rainy! We still got two new awesome investigators despite the weather! Also, the maori girl Shade is all set for baptism this Saturday. We have been meeting very interesting people this last week. Ill share an example of the different people we have been meeting. We just got done with a couple visits on and we were just about to bike around the corner and leave that street when we heard Elders!, Elders! from way down the street, so we biked back and we thought someone was dying or something, but it was just a guy stranding outside his house. He just wanted to say hi, we could tell he was a little bit special needs, so we just talked with him for a little and asked how he knew the missionaries. The best part was he had a bunch of food in his mouth and as he kept talking he got closer and closer to my companion and was accidentally spitting on him a little, and my companion kept backing up further and further, lol. Anyways I have to say it was a great week. It is good to hear what you all are doing back home. Well, time is short as always! going to go meet up with other missionaries and play some sports! Love you all and take care! also dad i got your last postcard of the castle in Ireland!

June 16th, 2013

Hello family, another week gone by quick. Anyway, first off Happy Late Fathers day to James and especially dad! Without whom I would not be out here helping the New Zealand people today. It is good to hear you are all doing awesome things back home and having fun. How is Grandma Williams doing? That is awesome about little Thomas getting a certificate to his first white sox game. Well This is transfer week and my training is over! A couple elders are leaving our zone, which is sad and exciting at the same time. 25 new missionaries are coming in the mission the next couple days! Well me and my companion Elder Kavea have a small teaching pool right now. The same maori girl who we have been working with, her baptism date is at the end of the month, the 29th. We have found a good amount of potentials through our street contacting and door knocking, now the trick is to catch them at home and have them feel the spirit and know what part of the gospel we share with them will help them. I know that comes as me and my comp. rely on the spirit. The other missionaries around me are awesome and help make it fun as we work hard. I do have the video on a disc of our happy birthday skits to President. I will ask the senior couple in my area (they are awesome) to see if they can send it to one of your e-mails. If not I will send it home later. anyway Love you all and I do miss you all, but I am loving it out here and have a great week! Love, Elder T Williams 

June 3rd, 2013

Hello Family!

So I am e-mailing on a Tuesday morning instead of Monday. Yesterday was the Queens birthday( public holiday)so a lot of things were closed.  Now that the boring stuff is taken care of I can write how things are. Well, My new companion is awesome. Elder Kavea. He is related to the Tongans I worked with! crazy but it is sweet because we are able to joke around a little and have fun, even though we are working hard. Had my first Zone Conference and that was awesome! We had an awesome FHE with one of our investigators, we reset her baptism date for June 29th! It is awesome to hear how you are all doing back home. The miracle for this week was that we caught one of our potential investigators at home. Tyson. He is a very cool, open to learn more samoan 17yr old. He is always busy though(Basketball,Rugby,school), but we had a first lesson and he said the Restoration is true. He also said when he comes to know the rest of our message is true he will be baptized! He is very active in his church, though. His father is the pastor, so that might be a concern. Anyway I am enjoying my mission and eating a lot and biking a lot! Love you all and have a great week!

May 26th, 2013

I will try to write very fast and all I can, I never have enough time, ha. Sounds Like everybody is doing awesome. Thomas looks like he is doing great and having fun hanging out with Kelli and Cami, and James. That is awesome you are in to Summer break now. Shannae will be a sophomore coming up? Woah, That is awesome Dad is helping out with the Cub Scout Day camp, I remember all the fun scouting activities. So I am getting a new companion this thursday. It is a mid-transfer, so kinda weird. A new companion will come and finish my training. I have received your postcard dad, it was about a week and a half ago, so thank you for that! Kissing the balmey stone in Ireland or something like that. There is a few investigators we have that we are working with and some less actives also. A couple less actives are coming to church again and are happy. A few others we are planning FHEs with that will be fun and really help them. Well I already got to go but Love you all and I am enjoying all my time out here on the lord's errand. Ofa Atu

May 19th, 2013

Woah another week gone by. This last week was very amazing. We helped a couple other elders in the next area over (Wainuiomata) to do a missionary fireside. We all put on Rugby jerseys and did skits about honesty and integrity for the youth! That was awesome, Then we bore our testimonies and sang "How can I be" with one of the awesome members playing guitar for us elders. After all the fun and joking with the skits, the spirit came strong to the youth and their parents, some were crying while we were singing the song. That ward has a big struggle with the youth falling away and into peer pressure, so hopefully we helped a little while also having fun and keeping the spirit there. Our baptism cancelled, but she is still coming to church, and still has a strong testimony. We are also still meeting with her and visiting her to support her and help her experience all the blessings of the gospel. Other than that I am just enjoying the work and being able to interact and talk with so many different kinds of people everyday. Well love you all and have a great week! Ofa Atu! time for some ping pong and b ball at the chapel!

May 13th, 2013

Hello Family!

That was awesome I was able to talk to most of you today. Happy mothers day! Mostly for Mom but Happy Sabbath day for everybody else. I am enjoying my time out here and starting to love the people(members and Nonmembers) The baptism last week was awesome I was able to speak on faith! Even though the little Saman boy named bryan couldnt understand me, I looked at him during the talk and he gave me a thumbs up! that was amazing The spirit can still affect between people who speak different languages! Well another baptism for saturday! Her nam is Shade and we are excited to see her get baptized. She has had a lot of family trials and it is awesome that she is turning to the gospel for peace! Well I miss all of you, but I am only out here for two short years(less now) So I am going to stay focused on this great work and work hard while I am here. Love you Mom and Happy Mothers day and happy mothers sisters day to you Cami. Ofa atu! (tongan=Love you/take care)

May 5th, 2013

Hello Family,

Woah another week gone by, It was fun though. I am getting adjusted to the missionary life and making the most of every minute. We have two baptisms coming up! One is a young boy this friday, and the other is a young women who is getting ready for the 18th of this month! I am starting to see that the Lord has a lot of work for me to do here and how he is preparing people to hear more of the restored gospel truths. Got a haircut and went on an awesome little hike with the zone. Our mission president let our zone do the hike because we had at least 10 baptisms this last transfer. i am one transfers old now! We were hiking right by the ocean it was awesome. We went to look for seals but they were all hiding for some reason, it was still a lot of fun.It is good to hear all the news about back home.I am already excited to see rory, i mean little Thomas. And you all get to see Kelli run that is sweet! So I will be calling monday here around 12. So it will be sunday there about 5 or 6. So i have an hour total, but I can call two different places. so i will call the house and also tylers house. I will try the skype if i can, but i am not sure if it will be available for me. I think it might be. I miss you all but I am happy to be able to give a small portion of my life to help this great work and build the lords kingdom on the earth. I am excited to hear all of your voices and possibly see a couple of you next week. Well have a great week! Love, Elder T Williams

April 21st, 2013

Hello Family,

That is sad to hear about Grandma...The funeral sounds like it was beautiful though. She truly is in a happy place with Grandpa now. I wish I was there for the funeral, but being out here working for the Lord is just as important. The other missionaries are awesome around here, they keep it fun as we are working hard. That is awesome Elder Perry is going there! I get to see Elder Oaks tomorrow! We are all very blessed. So the mail takes two weeks to get to the office then a couple extra to get to me, but i don't need mail or anything, I like that i can talk every week through e-mail with you all. I am very happy i get to read the scriptures so much, i have gained new appreciation for them. The weather here is ok, been a little rainy lately but we keep working through it. It is starting to be Winter it is so funny because i just got through Winter. But it is good it will make me Alaska tough like Dad. I love you all and it is good to hear how you are all doing, even though it is a sad time But God was ready for Grandma to go up to him and grandpa. Have a good week and i will too! Love Elder Williams

April 14th, 2013

Hey Family!

I am already a few days into my second month out, I think the time over here works different its going by too fast.Conference was awesome. Well the food has been good, I have been eating a lot! but it is good because we bike around so much i might just turn into a bike. We also work out in the mornings to start off the day so it is a good balance to the heaps of food members throw at us. Sometimes we are riding around and we here someone call out Missionaries! and we look and then we have a plate of food on our laps. The members here are very humble, loving, and willing to share. They look after us missionaries well! All the bike riding is making my rear quite beautiful. haha jk (thats from the best two years) Well we have been teaching some people, working a lot with the less actives sharing spiritual thoughts with them, and finding some potential investigators. we had two baptism dates, but they are struggling. they are still potential investigators, just have a couple concerns we can hopefully resolve soon. The Maori people we have met so far are awesome (theres a couple in our ward). All the tongans and Samoans are very funny and caring. Well got to go we are having a p day meeting at the zone leaders flat in thirty minutes, then going to play some rugby touch.( the zone leaders are funny using their powers to have us meet at their flat on p day)(flats are houses or apartments by the way, that is what they say around here) Also we have subway sandwiches in our bags that members bought us this morning that have been calling out me and Elder Malardes names. I hope Grandma is doing okay, hopefully no riots break out at the senior rehab if grandmas dentures are getting stolen, A la machinas. That is sweet you were able to watch Kelli run. Maybe after my two years of bikeriding i will challenge Kelli to a race. Well Love you all and have a great week! Mahalo sefua(Thank you) for the prayers
and I pray for you all to! -Elkder Williams (elkder williams is the name i got last e-mail from Mom, haha)

MTC

Hey! Thanks so much for the pictures! It has been awesome learning so much here at the MTC in Auckland. A group of us leave tomorrow and head for Wellington! I Havnt got to see much, but what I have seen is awesome and green. The trip to temple was really fun,I took some pictures hopefully I can attatch them next e-mail. That is sad news about Jay. Those pictures with Thomas are awesome. He already makes really funny faces, he will have a good williams showley sense of humor. I miss listening to music but it will be good when i listen to some motab or othe approved music when i get out in the field tomorrow.There are some goofy Elders here, but were all rerady to leave the MTC and test what we know and what we have learned here in the mtc. Already scared to meet my companion out in the field. My companion here at the Mtc is a goofball. the funny thing he said today was that his uncle was riding with some motorcyclist and some deer appeared and got mixed in, his uncle pulled out two knives and jumped onto one of the deers and stabbed it with his two knives, then was riding it and stabbing it until it fell over dead. I dont know if i can get a wierder companion than the one i have here at the MTc but we will see.....Well i got to go. Miss you and love you all. Elder williams

March 17th, 2013

Hey! i have been here like 5 days and its going by pretty fast. were learning some good stuff in the classes. Their helping us get ready to be effective missionariews. In my room there is a guy from Utah, one from Tahiti, one from Tonga, and one from Australia. It is cool because they have us in companionships already and teaching investigators and learning to interact with people better. The food has been good ive been trying to eat everything even my vegetables. Well i got to go now me and my district are done emailing and its off to physical activity. I usually play basketball. We are going to the hamilton temple wednesday i am excited for that!