My Testimony.

Kia ora everyone,

I'm almost there...1 more week! It feels so weird! I'm nervous, excited, happy, devastated, pumped, freaking out, sad, and confused all at the same time! I think I have a reason for each one of those as well! Today I was asked by my sweet mother to bear my testimony. So being obedient (of course),  I thought I might as well! :) 

So, my mission has changed my life. It's as easy as that! It was easily the hardest thing I've ever done, but also the most rewarding. 

I learned a lot on my mission. Like how to do the dishes without a dishwasher (I thought people only did that in the 1500's,) and how to crack open a sea urchin with 2 spoons then suck out the middle. (people call that "food" here in NZ, I call it "disgusting.") But the most amazing part about my mission was, no doubt, looking back and seeing how my testimony has grown over the past two years. It's been truly incredible! I thought I was perfectly fine back home... I thought my testimony was solid! But I quickly realized that it needed work, and now it's greater than I ever imagined, and it can only get better from here! 

So whanau back home, I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know that he suffered and died for each and every one of us. It brings me sorrow knowing that I caused him so much pain, but I am truly grateful for everything that He went through for me! I know He atoned for, not only our sins, but every pain, heartache, disappointment, and negativity that we'll ever experience! He did that so He could know perfectly how to help us, and I know that he is always ready and willing to do so. I love Him!

I know that Joseph Smith was/is a prophet of God. I know that he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as he was praying to know the truth. He translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God! I love the Book of Mormon! I've read it 5 times now and I've loved it more and more each time! I know that it is true. I know it! 

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is true. The Church is wonderful. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when applied in our lives, can help us return to live with our Father in Heaven again someday. I know that the Plan of Salvation was designed to bring happiness to our lives. We all have the opportunity to partake of these wonderful blessings if we are obedient! 

So, I guess on a more personal level... my testimony of personal revelation has been strengthened. Conversion and personal revelation will always be an ongoing process, but I feel like I'm heading down the right path. I have received many feelings/thoughts these last few years that I know are from God! The spirit testified to me that the apostles and prophets are true, I have learned of things that I need to do when I return home, my eyes have been opened to understand the scriptures more fully! These are only a few of my experiences, but I have many more, and I will cherish them forever! 

In a few short paragraphs, there is my shortened version of my testimony! I hope you feel as well, as you read this, that these things of which I have spoken are true! 

I love you all! I can't wait to see you next week! I am so excited (and every other emotion that I mentioned before!) 

Love,

Elder Butler 

Bros

Cleaning the church after a baptism. 

"Light Refreshments"

This is Elder Butler......

Great week! (like usual)

Thank you for all the emails this week! You went to Sister Chudleigh's homecoming? So lucky! She's wonderful! I'm so jealous that you got to see the whole flippin' crew...the Taylors, the Rudds, the Thalmans. MAN...flippin' jealous!

Also--mean lunch with Sister Lifferth? (I think her name is Hanna, but she's still in the missionary zone, so I'll call her Sister Lifferth!) ;) 

I've got nothing but trunky emails lately. Haha, I'm shocked that people actually want me home. I mean, mother you will obviously not be the "ping pong champion" any longer. Dad, the pantry will be empty, and the term "left overs" will not exist anymore. Jaycee and Baylee, I'm still going to tackle the crap out of you both, and tickle you to death! So don't be too excited! ;) I still have ages though, but I'm doing just fine! (A little nervous though!)

So this week we went to a few baptisms. They were really solid! We got permission to leave the zone and take one of our elders to a baptism where he could baptize his former investigator. It was awesome--especially because it was in the Samoan ward. So there was HEAPS of food! Man, Samoans know how it's done when it comes to "light refreshments." I'm pretty sure they don't even understand what that means. After a baptism, the person conducting should say, "Thank you all for coming to the baptism. After the closing prayer, we will meet in the cultural hall for a 9 course meal where we will all eat until we've hit 'throw up point'... thank you again for coming."  I hope you get to experience this for yourself someday so you know what I'm talking about! ;) 

We tracted out two mean families these last few weeks! One is a South African family, and the other is a Maori family! They're both so nice, so hopefully we can help them in the next few weeks so I can tell you more stories! :) 

Well, I have a bit more, but it's not important. So I'm done typing for today, unless you want to email me back and forth...all good! But I love you all heaps! Keep being wonderful! 

The gospel is true!

Elder Butler 

Cool Little Miracles and Heaps of Gifts

Kia ora whanau!

What a hard week! Transfers is always great and sad at the same time! Especially because I know that I probably won't see these fellas again. The hardest thing was when Elder Muli left. He's been our next-door neighbor since day one of Kura! He gave me a sweet Tauvala when he left which is something I've wanted for a while! It was so cool! Love that fella!

This transfer is weird. I wasn't all that pumped for it because I knew I would be gone in a few weeks anyways. But Elder Johnson has now been named my longest companion throughout my whole mission. We'll be together for 4 months, and it's been flippin' solid! I love the bro, and I'm glad he's killing me off! He's a Zone Leader now as well, so I'm not alone in the calling! ;) #relief

We played another mean game of footie at the park on Monday. It was a mean P-Day to finish the transfer off with! We're playing some volley today as well! :)

The work lately has been a bit difficult. Currently we're going through all the former investigators and trying to see if any of them still live there, and are still keen. We've gone through heaps, and haven't found much success. But the other day we had a pretty mean experience. We were walking in the POURING rain, and we saw this lady about 200 ft. ahead of us. We wanted to talk to her, but she was walking too fast, and not very many people like to stop and talk to us in the rain. Then, the heavens literally started dumping, so she hid underneath a tree. It was the perfect opportunity to talk to her, so we rushed over and hid as well. We talked to her for a bit and she was decently keen. Literally the second we finished writing down her details and said our goodbyes, the rain completely stopped and the sun came out. It all happened so fast. It was a cool little miracle! The rain allowed us to talk to her! :) 

We had a funny experience a couple days ago. We were walking down the street and saw this lady who waved at us. So whenever that happens, you immediately go talk to them! ;) We talked to her for a bit, then her husband came out. Long story short.. they were flippin' crazy! Haha, they were from South Africa (obviously crazy) and they talked for EVER! Then she went inside and brought us a gift. It was a little box with heaps of scriptures inside. Then the husband said something to her and she ran back inside and literally brought out every Christian thing in her house for us as gifts! Ha it was hilarious! I have pics, so I'll show you! ;) 

That's about it! I'm doing just fine! I've learned heaps the last few weeks! It's great because I'll study for a little while, then feel like I know heaps, then I'll think of something else to study and realize that I have a ton that I don't know, which allows for more study! It's great! Right now I'm focusing on the Tribe of Judah. I thought I'd study it a bit to realize why I'm from that specific tribe! So hopefully I get some sweet info!

So yah...that's all! I love you heaps! Talk to ya'll next week!

Arohanui,

Elder Butler 

SUMO!!! This is me getting wrecked!! :/

So the SUMO mat is right behind me, but after Bauder wrecked me.. He hobbled over to the stairs and body slammed me off the stage! :) It was so much fun!  

Another pair of kicks down!

Lunch with the bros

Me and the Bro, Muli!

Bus station

Okay.. my face looks ridiculous. I couldn't see! :/ But here's all the stuff that South African lady gave us! ;) 

Best/Worst of Times...The Church is Still True

Kia ora whanau!

Well, I don't have too much to say this week. 

Starting off though--P Day. Oh my goodness...funniest P Day ever! We had a waffle party and a member brought sumo wrestler suits. It was absolutely hilarious, but I got wrecked every time! My socks were way too slippery (good excuse) and I would slip and fall, then just get body slammed by my opponent! It was a great time though. Heaps of people from the zone said it was the best/funniest P day they've ever had! **note from Robin: I will post these pics next week. :) 

We had one of the worst days of all time though a couple days ago. We had heaps of stupid disobedience all at once that we had to deal with. We literally didn't work the whole entire day. We had to go and interview missionaries close and far away, and we didn't get back until about 7pm. We were so emotionally drained, we just went to a member in our bishopric and he cheered us up! It was very, very sad and hard! :( Especially when you love these missionaries a lot, and you really have to get into them and rip them apart! It's just not me, you know? 

Other than that, we had 2 baptisms. It was a beautiful service! Elder Johnson's camera got a virus, and it isn't allowing us to send anything, so it's really bumming me out! :/ But it was a mean as baptism! 

We also had the weirdest Sabbath day of all time. There were so many false/weird things taught during class. It was hilarious! Finally, Elder Johnson and I just had to get up and "go to the bathroom." The struggle is real on the mish...it's always nerve racking bringing investigators to church ESPECIALLY during Fast and Testimony meeting. Oh my dear goodness, testimony meeting is the worst. I shake with fear the whole time. When someone starts walking up to the pulpit, I'm thinking/praying in my mind, "Please don't say something stupid, please don't say something stupid!" Our poor investigators are wondering why everyone goes up to the pulpit and just starts bawling! :) It's flippin' hilarious.. but bad at the same time. Luckily, the church is still true! ;)

Well...Hanna killed her talk! It was awesome! Thank you for sending it to me, and I'm glad you guys got to go! 

I miss you heaps! I hit my 1 month left mark a couple days ago...that's weird. But all good...I'm still pushing along just fine! 

So yah...that's all! Love you heaps!

Elder Butler 

#baptism

Penguins out! 

The Bros! 

Hokimate :)

Kia ora everyone!

I shouldn't tell you that I've gotten trunkier in the last 5 minutes, but I have! ;) The mish life is flippin' mean as, but honestly, I can't even remember my life back home almost. I feel like I've been in New Zealand my whole entire life, and knocking doors is the only thing I've ever known! I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I was telling Elder Johnson about some of my stories from back home with my friends, and I couldn't even remember what their last names were! What the flip?! :/ Oh well... It's all good though! 

Alright, trunkiness is gone... 

Okay... flippin' Hanna got home! My goodness! Also President & Sister Rudd, Elder Zesiger, Elder Tibbitts, and heaps more! MAN!!!!! Okay... NOW my trunkiness is over! 

So, this week was pretty solid! We had a pretty cool experience with a lady named Hokimate (Ho key ma tay). We were tracting the other week when we found her. She wasn't very nice to us in the beginning, so we weren't too keen on returning. But, we went back to her house a few days later, and she was the same. So a week went by and we were in the area, and we decided to stop by again...who knows why? This time, she was completely different. She was a less active for about 40 years, and she wasn't too excited when she saw us coming over, but then she said she felt the spirit for the first time in 40 years when we walked through her gate. So it must have been time for her to start making her way back. It was a wonderful thing to hear! We continued to visit her throughout this week, and she loves us. We finally shared a message with her, and she's working on coming back to church! We'll get her there!

 Also, we've been playing 5x5 ball on Friday nights at the Rec center for our 8:00 finding activity. It's mean as. And we've been balling with this fella named Jordan. We've gained a really solid relationship with all of those fellas because we have been playing really well! :) But one day, we went and knocked on Hokimate's door, and Jordan answered. It's her flippin' son! So we found a mean part-member family!

Also during ball, I became good mates with a North-African fella. He's a Muslim, but he's nice as. He said to me, "Man, I really respect what you guys do. These fella's have heaps of good things to say about you as well!" He was nice as. He just moved here from Denmark, so he's the flippin' man. Good baller as well! 

So we have a new Mission President now. I haven't even met him yet. But I have an interview with him tomorrow, so that should be sweet! He's from AUS, so he has to be a bit weird! ;) I'm going to miss President and Sister Rudd though, they were the flippin' bomb! I love them so much! 

We're having a 4th of July waffle party today. That should be pretty solid.. all thanks to the FACs (Fun activities coordinators) aka Elder Butler & Elder Johnson. Elder Bauder was the FAC for a while but we had to release him because he wasn't magnifying his calling, but all good! ;) Also, one of the Stake Leaders is bringing over the massive SUMO suits for us to fight each other with.. It should be flippin' solid! ;)

Alright.. That's about it. I can't remember much more because I forgot to write down my "email moments" throughout the week. :/ But I hope you're satisfied with this email! ;) 

I love you all heaps! 

Elder Butler 

Well, poo...

Hello, Hello!!!

That was honestly one of the meanest weeks of all time! It was just so good! 

Let me start out by telling you a wonderful story. We live next door to the Tongan elders, and one night, Elder Finau came over when we were in bed because he needed to grab something. So we just chilled in bed while he talked to us for a bit at the door. Then he turned off the light and said goodbye, and left (we thought). About 5 minutes later the lights turned on and we heard this horrific scream. Scared the living crap out of us.... and sadly for Johnson, it literally scared the crap out of him! Haha the fella pooped his pants on accident because he was so scared! It was absolutely hilarious! So that was my funny moment of the week! ;)

The protocols were taken away a couple of weeks ago. So we don't have as many rules, as of right now. So we've been jamming to Disney music. Talk about trunkiness... "Can... you feel... the love tonight?!" It's been pretty sweet though! ;)

We had the greatest Sunday of all time yesterday. So many investigators came to church! And I was the final speaker. It went very well! Our investigators talked to us after and said they loved church! Elder Johnson and I were so happy! It was just a wonderful day, and everything went perfectly as planned! 

The Scanlan's! Remember Lakopo Scanlan? I baptized him in Manurewa. Well, they took me and Elder Johnson out to lunch the other day! It was so amazing to see them! They're still doing so well, and they're planning out their date for the temple! They are such an amazing family!

We did service for our Bishop this week. He's moving, sadly. I flippin' love our bishop! He's the absolute man! But it was heaps of fun. He gave me HEAPS of encouragement and info about becoming a doctor! He's so sweet!

We met the nicest family of all time the other day. They're from Zimbabwe. We're giving them a Book of Mormon in the Shona language. They're so wonderful! But on the way to their house, Elder Johnson stepped right in a massive dog poo. So I started cracking up! I was dying.... and all of the sudden I looked down on my jacket, and a bird pooped on me! So you could say that it was a pretty crappy day...but it was actually all good! ;) (sorry for all the poo stories this week!) :)

That's about it for now. We're working hard as! We're having heaps of success. I love the people here. I love the ward. I love my companion. I love our zone. Everything's just going great!

I love you guys heaps!

Elder Butler  

The Scanlan's after lunch!! :) 

The fellas!! Zesiger and Tibbitts going home on Thursday! I love these fellas heaps! They've been with us the past few days, and I'm gonna miss them! Luckily we all stay pretty close though!

My cuzzie!

Pops...My Main Bro!

Kia ora!!!!!

Mean week. 

This week we had Zone Conferences with President and Sister Rudd. I love them heaps! It was hard to say goodbye, but let's be honest... I'll see them again in a month and 1/2. So it wasn't too depressing. But they have truly played a huge part in changing my life. Every time I listen to President Rudd, the Spirit is always unbelievable! I'm so glad he was my mission president for the majority of my mission! 

Last Monday we went to the Waiuku beach and played 6x6 football with the bros. It was flippin' mean as! All the sisters came as well, so it was a nice party! We were tied up at 6 touchdowns apiece, and we were playing to 7... so I walked over to line up, looked down, and there was a pool of blood around my foot! So the bros ran me over to the ocean water to clean it up. (Not the best feeling of all time!) I think I sliced it on a shell or something and it bled HEAPS!  I had to steal Elder Danhof's sock and tie my foot to make it stop bleeding. Then we got back to the flat and called Doctor Main (our bishop). So long story short, I ended up at the doctor's office for most of the night, for a little tiny cut on my foot. :/ But it was totally worth it...mean game of footie!

Honestly fam... I don't have much to tell you this week! Just know that I'm doing fine. I have heaps of pics though, and I'll talk about them. I'm excited to come home, but not too trunky yet. Hopefully I don't get trunky ever though...but all good! My companion and I get along great still. I'm hoping they'll let him kill me off. We're having success. The members seem to love us. We play ball all the time!! We work hard, and we're obedient...so life's all good! 

Also.. Pops.. my main bro! It's not Father's day here in NZ, but I heard that it is in America! So happy flippin' Father's Day my friend! You're the absolute man! I love you heaps and hope you have a great day! Because of your example, I have been able to serve a long and hard mission, and heaps of lives have been blessed! I owe that success to you dad (and mama of course!) ;) So thank you so much!

I love you all heaps!

Arohanui,

Elder Butler 

We made the bros some steak and egg burritos the other day! Mean... 

Me and the Bros. Johnson and Christensen 

Zone conference :)

We made another Title of Liberty, this time with the Gregory family. This picture is funny because we took 3 of them. And in every single picture, someone different isn't smiling. So I'm sending the one that I remembered to smile in...but sadly Alan and Faasolo forgot!! ;) 

Footie on the beach

This is my little cut that caused me so much grief!! It was a flippin' bleeder!! :/

Elder Butler wins the prize for the biggest burger. 🍔

Elder B can EAT! 

President Rudd-One of the Greatest Men to Walk the Earth

Kia ora, Kia ora!!!

Well, it was another pretty mean week. Nothing too crazy to write about though...but it was soild!

MLC on Tuesday...Wow! I traveled down to Hamilton to have our usual meeting after transfers. It was honestly so amazing. This was president's last MLC ever in the Hamilton mission! So it was very sad, but so spiritual at the same time. He is honestly one of the greatest men to walk the earth. His testimony always blows my mind, because of how strongly the Spirit testifies to me that what he is saying is true! It was wonderful seeing all my boys again as well. Elder Lingwall, Fellingham, Fameitau, Bowman, and heaps of others.. I love them all! 

After MLC we went to the distribution center at the visitor's center by the Temple. I told the bro's I was riding with that I'd be so fast...but then I looked over, and there was triplet #1 (Sister Chudleigh). It was so awesome to catch up with her. And I can't wait to get all three trips back together! ;) So I ended up not being really fast in the distribution center like I thought! ;)

Mom??? I didn't know that you knew the style these days. I was going to ask for some nice Stance socks and Penguin ties, but you beat me to it! Those are like my two favorite things! My new ties and socks are mean as! Also, I didn't bother asking you because, you know, you being 1/2 century old, I thought you might send me some knee-high Converse socks or something on accident. I should have had more faith in you mother dear, because you nailed it! ;)  

We had another mean game of 5x5 football on Monday. My team got absolutely wrecked though, even though we had Elder Finau on our team. You remember Elder Finau? We talked a bit before the mish because we both got our calls together, same day, same place. And now I'm his Zone Leader here in Kura, and he's my next door neighbor. It's so sweet! 

Okay... Funniest thing ever happened on Saturday. Elder Johnson had a gay guy in his last area that was driving him crazy. He told me heaps of stories about him. All of the sudden we're sitting there in the car and we got a call from an unknown number. So I answered, and when this person started talking, immediately Elder Johnson said, "Oh my gosh...I know who this is." The fella flippin' got our number and asked Elder Johnson out! Haha, it was honestly so funny!

We had some pretty ridiculously mean lessons last night. We accidentally double-booked our appointments, so we had to go on trade-offs. Me and my companion at that time had a solid lesson. When we finished, we met up with the other elders and both of us invited our investigators with a baptism date, and both families said yes! It was mean as! Miracles are happening in Kura! The work is getting really hard, but we're still having success...and it's amazing! 

Well that's about it for now! I love you guys heaps!! 

Love,

Elder Butler 

If anyone is looking at buying a massive ship... I know where you can go!! ;)

Family photos!! #thebros

This is the BIG BIKKIE. It is the greatest ice cream bar on the planet! It's unbelievable. When I introduced the Bikkie to Elder Johnson for the first time, he spent around 30$ in one week...on pure Bikkies! ;) Ha!

We all wore our fat clothes on the same day... I hate this suit!! It's flippin' fat as! #slim=sexy ;) Lol! 

Mother...you should be so proud. I made French Toast. Well I tried to make it. Also, I made some steak this week, and we made these delicious steak sandwiches! Wow...it was phenomenal! ;) 

The Fruits of Our Labors

Kia ora everyone,

I can't say too much today. It's another public holiday in New Zealand, so I have to write this email on the computer, and do the rest on a member's Ipad (which is a pain in the butt). 

We had a pretty solid week though, to be honest!

We had transfers on Thursday. Elder Johnson and I are staying here. We were pretty excited to hear that. Sister Inia left though, so that was disappointing. The zone is much quieter now though without her! ;) Ha!

We had some pretty mean lessons this week. We taught a Fijian family early in the week. It was funny because the father invited us in, and made his whole family come in because he wanted all of them to hear our message. It was so awesome. We taught the restoration to six Fijians that seemed very interested in what we had to say. 

We had another mean lesson last night. We taught a Hawaiian family more about the Book of Mormon, and the father said multiple times, "I'm just so keen to learn." It was so awesome. And at the very end, as we were shooting off, they gave us a plate of food. Flippin' delicious! It was hilarious... because their little boy named Joel wanted to share his food as well, so he went into the kitchen for a bit and made me and Elder Johnson a ham sandwich with "2 hams." They're such a nice family.

I have received some great news this week. If you look back to my emails in Taranaki, you'll see in my last few photos a man named Bob, from Canada. I found him with Elder Canoy, and taught him with Elder Van Thiel. After I left, a few months later, he fell away because of bad material about the church. I was pretty disappointed until this last Thursday when I talked to Elder Christensen (from Bountiful). He told me that he was looking through the former investigators and found Bob. They started teaching him... and he's now getting baptized! 

I don't know if I told you about Nora as well. We found and taught this little old lady named Nora in Hamilton. Same situation as Bob...found anti stuff, and kind of fell away. We recently learned that she just got baptized as well by Elder Meek. It's so wonderful when you look back and see the fruits of your labors! :)

We received a pretty funny call from Elder Danhof over in Pukekohe the other day. He said, "Hey, a member called us and they want their 12 year old son to be baptized today." So we had to rush down to Pukekohe and interview this little fella and he was baptized just a few hours later. It was quite funny! ;) 

That's about it this week. Transfers took up most of the week, but for a transfer week, we smashed it! I love you all, and miss you heaps! Just a few more months and I'll be comin' on home! But until then... I love you... from the other side of the world!

Arohanui,

Elder Butler 

I Wouldn't Trade This For Anything!

Kia ora whanau,

We had a flippin' mean as week! Definitely the usual rollercoaster though!

Starting off, we had 30 minutes to spare before we needed to head down to Pukekohe so I could do a baptism interview, so we decided to visit with some less-actives. First, we saw a Samoan family, so we were keen and went over. We walked into their home and they were in a rush, so we said we'd be really quick. Just before we were about to leave, they said, "Elders, come (pointing to the kitchen table) we will just have a quick one." So we were all good with that. We weren't hungry at all because we just ate right before we went over. So they brought out a cup of milo and some toast. So again we were like, "Oh yep, all good." Then they brought over about 8 more pieces of toast. Again we were all good! Then when we were almost done with our little feast of toast and hot milo, they brought out a whole plate of Casava (very dense, Potato type starch thing). Then we got a bit worried... 1. because we didn't have much time, and 2. we were so full. After we shoved our faces with all of that, they open the blimmin' oven and bring out a whole pig head. I honestly almost started crying. It was so terrible, but so awesome. I love how giving these people are, it's amazing! ;) 

Okay, we had the weirdest experience of all time the other day. We saw this guy that was either possessed by the devil or on some crazy drugs. We hopped in our car that we parked on the main street and looked over at this bro, just staring at the sun through this little metal nut. We were so confused! So we kept watching. After moving his head around all over the place while staring at the sun, he started moving his arms all over the place like he was trying to gather in the energy from the sun. It looked absolutely hilarious! Then after about 5 minutes of watching him, he started shooting the sky with his hand guns! Haha, it was honestly hilarious! 

Also... going along with the weird stuff that happened this week, we saw a police chase as we were tracting before lunch. We heard heaps of cops, and saw Cohor (police helicopter) in the sky. All of the sudden we saw this bro driving a car on 2 wheels, (the other 2 were popped) being chased by 12 cop cars. (yes, we counted) So we quickly ran back to the flat and hopped in our car and followed them. It was pretty mean! #crimeinvestigation 

While going to an appointment around 7:00 at night, we met this fella sitting outside of his house. We started having a pretty solid little discussion with him, just small talk and other stuff, then he said something that surprised me a bit. He said, "Man.. why are you guys wasting your 20's? These are times that you will never get back." I sat there thinking for a few seconds. The only thing I could tell him was, "Oh man, I wish you understood... I wouldn't trade this for anything!" Then he said, "Well, if you ever change your mind, come on over." In a way it was a pretty cool experience because I thought about it after. Am I honestly wasting my 20's? If only that fella knew what we had to offer, that would have never even crossed his mind. I just wish I had a better chance to explain it to him! 

We've had to deal with a lot of Anti-Mormon stuff lately. We've had some pretty devastating lessons these last few weeks--some that have brought tears of sadness to my eyes (don't worry though, I sucked them back into my eyelids so Elder Johnson couldn't see.) But it's been pretty tough! But we've had some amazing success as well! We knocked on this lady's door the other day and she was so happy to talk with us. She told us how she was friends with one the recent converts in our ward and how she would love to have us over again, and even have a lesson at this member's home! It was beautiful! Some random lady we met while tracting scheduled a member present lesson for herself--that doesn't happen every day! ;) 

Well that's about it!! I love you guys heaps! It's transfers this week! I'll honestly be so disappointed if one of us gets transferred. I want Johnson to kill me off! It has been an amazing transfer though.. but I'll find out today what's going down! :) Love ya'll heaps!

Elder Butler 

One of the Weirdest Weeks Ever!

Hello Hello!!

Mean week! 

I'll start off with the good stuff... So we had an awesome baptism on Saturday. We baptized a few Samoan boys. The oldest of the 3 brothers is a member, and the 2 younger brothers were not members. Their mom and dad, who were also members, passed away a while back, and they're now living with their auntie. They are the coolest bros ever! The baptism service went really well... it was a very hectic week though trying to prepare for it. Baptism weeks usually stink I've noticed. But it was definitely worth it! 

New Zealand has been SO HOT lately...until this week. It finally decided to become winter this week. We had some of the most ridiculous storms of all time! We had a thunderstorm that kept us awake for ages! The lightning destroyed our power, and lit up the room! It was pretty sweet. But... exchanges. Talk about the worst time in history to plan exchanges. I was with Elder Totau in the Tongan Program (with no flippin' car) on Wednesday. We got absolutely smashed with rain. Wind was blowing the trash cans over... it was unreal, and very miserable! ;) 

This was kind of weird.  We were walking back to our car one day, and we saw a couple teenage fellas near where we were going. We know them quite well, because one of the turds was the one who stole the sister's bikes. When we got up closer, we noticed that they were all high. They started talking to us while we were walking away when one of the bros pulls out a freaking gun (It looked real, but not quite sure... but wouldn't be surprised at all!) . So we hopped into the car and drove away... it didn't really hit us that we were in a bit of danger until we were driving for a few minutes. It was pretty funny, but nerve racking at the time! Luckily he wasn't too lost in space to pull the trigger on us! ;) 

Also... on Friday, we were parked on the side of the road talking to Tamihana when some drunk bro comes up to my window and starts yelling at Tami to leave. He said some other things that didn't make any sense, then he got into his van and left. So weird... It was honestly one of the weirdest weeks ever! 

We went bowling on Monday.. I got destroyed.. but I did win lunch for beating Elder Bauder! ;) 

I got the trunkiest letter ever from my mother! ;) Haha, all good! 

It rained.. and rained some more, then rained again, then it was burning hot, then rained a freezing rain, then it hailed, and now it's freezing! 

That's about it! ;) Also, we made these Mexican chicken wraps with vegetables.. it was beautiful.. But now we're in the mood for some chocolate chip pancakes.. so mother, please send us a good recipe! ;) Thanks! :) Love ya'll heaps!

Ka kite,

Elder Butler 

BAPTISM!!! If you're wondering if we're the only white people in the picture.. the answer is Yes. ;) 

We had Mexican food in Pukekohe on Tuesday, which inspired us to make Mexican food a couple days later. Our meal was much better though! ;) 

A Week of "Fighting Through It"

Hello there everyone!

Sorry to start off with a downer, but this week was probably one of the worst weeks here in Kura. We honestly could not find a single keen person! We were dropped by some of our solid investigators because of Anti-Mormon material, we got cussed out a few times, and just heaps of other things went wrong. But that's alright... Elder Johnson and I just fought through it, and we're all good! 

On a good note though, our companionship is the bomb! We work very well with each other, and we're good mates as well, so it's pretty mean! We have decided to wake up at 5 something every day besides Sunday and play ball at the Rec center. So I'm slowly getting it back. Elder Johnson has whipped me into shape! ;) 

Another up for the week was on Saturday morning. I was at the Sister's baptism and walked around the corner and saw my main man Clinton, who I baptized December 2014!! He's still smashing it! I have probably already told you, but he's the Ward Mission Leader now, and he's gone through the temple. He's going through again to get sealed to his son soon, and said that I can come. So hopefully I can get permission from President Rudd! 

We had a pretty cool lesson this week with one of our new investigators. He's an 18 year-old Tongan fella, and he's genuinely interested! We had a beautiful lesson about the Book of Mormon! It was probably the best lesson last week! It was pretty amazing how all of his questions were answered as we taught the lesson. The spirit was definitely present, and it was just a cool experience!  

Skype last Monday was so mean! I love seeing my little fam, and miss them heaps! Too bad the internet stinks here and the wifi kept disconnecting so I had to call them back 5 times! :/ But all good...I was satisfied!

We had this bro last week tell me my future. Weird. He told us that he had the power to see the future and predict things, or something along those lines. So being cheeky, I asked him to tell me about my wife! Haha, it was so weird...but almost scary how real it seemed! :/ That's why it says in the Gospel Principals manual that fortune telling is of the devil! ;) 

So overall my week wasn't too bad. It stunk because of investigators. But I'm still doing just fine. I'm happy to be here in Kura. Our zone is still smashing it. Life's good! 

That's all for now! love you all heaps!

Arohanui,

Elder Butler   

FHE. 

Another million dollars worth of Burger Fuel again. Here's (some) of our feast the other day!

PAPAKURA ZONE!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Kia ora whanau!

Today is Mother's Day back home. So first of all... Happy Mother's day to the best mama ever! She is the greatest... probably because she's the female version of myself, but all good! ;) I hope you have a wonderful day mother dear! We sang the best song ever yesterday during sacrament for mother's day as well. We just happened to sing my mama's favorite song, "Each Life That Touches Our's For Good." I loved it! :) 

I had the flippin' meanest week ever. It was just pure success! Honestly, new investigators were coming out of nowhere! We were blessed heaps! We set 2 new people for baptism, found 20 new investigators, and just heaps of other stuff! Great week to be a missionary! 

I'm reaching the final months of my mission, and Satan obviously knows that as well! I've had the trunkiest dreams of all time lately! I don't know what's up! :/ Oh well...

We played a mean game of 5 on 5 Gridiron on Monday, and it was so fun! Elder Sialaoa landed on my leg though, and it was swollen like a flippin' golf ball! It's now bruised from my knee to my ankle almost! It's pretty sweet! 

I went on Exchanges twice last week. Once with Elder Holmes and the other with Elder Anhder. They were both full of success! So many miracles! 

Alright, let me tell you a story that happened the other day. I don't know if it was legit, or just a coincidence, but it was unreal! So we were teaching this really nice Tongan fella outside of his house. He was obviously keen as, judging by his questions and the amount of attention he was giving us. It was relatively quiet most of the lesson, until we began talking about the restoration. Elder Johnson was in the middle of talking about the prophet Joseph Smith when someone pulls into their driveway and totally interrupted the lesson. Then when she finally left, he continued until he was reciting the first vision. He got through about two sentences, when a very loud airplane flew right over our heads, forcing him to pause until it was far enough away. After we could hear again, he continued. And all of the sudden, this dumb fella on the street decides to have a blimmin' drag race around the block with the car that you can probably hear all the way in Australia. It was unbelievable.. Satan was trying to stop that lesson! When we finally finished, and made our way back to the car, we laughed about it for a bit, both knowing that our testimonies were strengthened that day! ;) 

Well that's about it for now fam! I love you heaps! Again.. mama I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! And all the other mothers out there, and even Jaycee and Baylee.. Happy Mother's Day! :) 

Arohanui,

Elder Butler 

Mother's Day skype sesh! 

Me and Elder Johnson at a Mother's Day breakfast we had on Saturday morning.