"For the Time will Soon Come When Hobbits will Shape the Fortunes of All"

Sorry it is going to be another short email. The email shop we have been using has been shut down, so we only have the stake center right now and there are lots of elders that need to use it so I am pretty rushed. But I have some pictures for ya! So that is still good!

We had a pretty slow week cause everyone is out at the beach. For Christmas itself we went up to a hardcore bush area (where the Zone leaders teach) and we went out to a "beach" and had a huge feed. It was my first hongi. Which is basically like a tin foil dinner in that they just shove everything together so it all cooks right and it is amazing!! Love it. Then we played Risk with the zone leaders and two other elders. 'Twas awesome.

Otherwise we were able to catch up with [Jim] (picture included) and we have gained a lot of trust from members! Love you guys and thanks to everyone who sent me their Christmas wishes!! :)))

-Elder Clayton-

"Your Time will Come. You will Face the Same Evil, and You will Defeat it"

Hey guys! I don't have much time at all, but I will try to be descriptive as I am quick. The marriage/baptism I told you about last week went well. The only catch was that at 11 (when it was supposed to start) there was like two people there. Around 11:10, bishop shows up. Around 11:45, Brother Haika (the one baptizing) gets there. [Jim] (the one getting baptized and married) doesn't get there till about 12:05. And his bride didn't get there till 1:00. So yeah a bit of a fiasco. But oh well. Other than that, we have had some good lessons this week. And we went to the temple on Tuesday! Oh it was awesome!! Look up Hamilton, New Zealand temple it's so gorgeous. But yes it was very very cool. We went back to those caves on Monday. There was a LOT more water than last time cause of rain. What was about ankle deep last time was going almost knee deep. And I climbed up a sketchy hole like a weasel. (What a funny word) And we are going to some different ones today... XD 

Anyways, love you guys and I apologize for the shortness! It is a very jam packed day today…:D

-Elder Clayton-

PS: We got a Christmas tree!! Elder Fanger’s family sent it and every day we open up a present with ornaments to put on it! It's awesome. Also, shout out to my awesome family for the Christmas stuff. ;)

(And some pics of our flat [apartment])

(http://pixgood.com/new-zealand-christmas-traditions.html)

“A Hunted Man Sometimes Wearies of Distrust and Longs for Friendship"

HELLO!!! So it sounds like a lot of people are starting to get a bit cold. Well I sympathize, but I cannot empathize. Because it is getting quite hot here. ;) Well, mostly. These last five-ish days have been rainy and muggy and humid and wet. Most people hate it. But not me! I RELISH in it. It is so awesome! And it makes the mountains ( Haha "mountains", more like hills next to the Rockies ;D ) look way cool. They look cool all the time, because they are just covered in the greenest most rain forest-y looking trees. But when it rains, they get all enshrouded in mist. I CAN'T even describe it!! It looks just like a movie, it is so exciting.

Anyway, yes the work has been going good! We have been seeing [Jim] (the one getting married and baptized on Saturday) almost every day, because we have to teach him the lessons before his baptism. We worry we are overloading him a bit, but I think it is all good, because he is very accepting and learns quickly. It is very cool to see him change, because before last week, he pretty much wanted little to do with us. There was another time this week where we taught the same lesson to different people about 4 or 5 times in a row over the course of two days. It is awesome.

Other than that, it sounds like we are going back to Waipu Caves today. But not with our whole zone again. This time only with the elders in our district. But it will still be fun! And tonight we are going down to Auckland to spend the night so we can go to the temple in Hamilton!! I am so excited it is such a gorgeous building. I feel peacful and spiritual just thinking about it!! Anyway, it is going to be way fun. Going to try to send more pictures soon!  :) 

One thing, has anyone seen a movie called Ephraim's Rescue? If you haven't, DO IT. It is SO SO good. A lot of people have seen 17 Miracles. (If you haven't seen that one, I recommend it too. It is good and makes me cry...) Well, Ephraim's Rescue came out this year and is pretty much a "sequel" to 17 Miracles. And if the latter makes me cry, then Ephraim's Rescue makes me weep. Hard. I do not want to seem unmanly, but it does. And if you watch it you will see why. Plus, it has good acting, an amazing soundtrack, powerful effects, and camera work that I LOVE. So yes, 'tis but a recommendation. ^_^ 

Anyways, love y'all and hope you're doing well!! 

-Elder Clayton-

"Let Us Remember that a Traitor May Betray Himself and Do Good that He Does Not Intend"

Oh man, did we have a miracle. It was one of the coolest things. FIRST, some background. There is a sister in our ward named [Mary]. She has been less active but has started coming back recently. There is also our Relief Society president's brother. His name is [Jim] and he has been relatively against the church, mostly before I got here. But yesterday, he showed up on Sister [Roberts’] door (our Relief Society President), and said he was coming to church. Needless to say she was a bit surprised. Anyway, he came to church and he and [Mary] (who have known each other for a while because [Mary] is one of Sister [Roberts’] friends) came to our gospel principles class. It is just a little class taught by the missionaries for new people or people who are just trying out the gospel. Anyway, he seemed to enjoy it and the ward was pretty friendly.

Move to later on, we were talking to a family who is moving out of our ward soon. We were outside and just wrapping up, when the phone rang. Elder Fanger was talking to the mom of the family so he handed the phone to me. It was Sister [Roberts] asking if we could come teach a lesson. I said yes, and asked what she wanted us to teach on. She said to just start from the beginning. She then said, quite calmly, that [Jim] and [Mary] were getting married on the 20th. Needless to say I was surprised. She then said that [Jim] was going to get married and baptized all on the same day. We were very surprised and very grateful! He is very solid and earnest. And the story is made even cooler because I was fasting, because it was fast Sunday, that we would find a new investigator. I didn't realize till after that [Jim] was the answer, and not only is he an investigator, but he is also a set! It was so cool to see and I am so grateful for the Lord, He really does provide. 

Ha I hope you enjoyed that. Especially all the people who think I have just been partying the whole time. No I am actually working... ;) No but it is cool. We have four more that may have a date for a baptism soon. It is so exciting!! 

So I have a funny story. I was on a trade off with Elder Palmer. We were down in his area, called Bream Bay, though specifically we were in a township called Ruakaka. Anyway, we were doing rescue nights. It is basically where the elders get with some of the members of the ward and go out to visit some of the less active members. So it was me, Elder Palmer, and his branch president (a branch is like a ward but smaller). We went to go see a man named [Tim]. Anyway, we got to his house and he was sitting in his garage with a pakia (basically Maori for "white person". Used to be quite derogatory, but now, just means white person. Pronounced pa-key-uh, if you’re interested...). Assumedly they were friends. Anyway we went around and met up with them. And they were both on the bottle. [Tim] wasn't too far gone, but his friend was WASTED. He was drunk as. So it came down to the Branch President talking to [Tim] and us elders distracting the other. And WOW he was going on about the weirdest stuff. All I really remember though was him talking about why Christmas is good...I think. Anyway, he grabbed my head and gave me a big ol' kiss on the neck. And then did the same to my companion. Ugh. It was scarring. Cause it was a wet one. From an old drunk relatively hairy white man. So yeah that was interesting.

 And after that we went and saw Maori Santa Claus. He looked exactly like him, he just needed the hat and suit. Man 'twas uncanny. Haha, Bream Bay is a little hoary. 

Other than that, we have just been continuing to teach people and get to know families. It is awesome! Speaking of awesome, I got a letter this week full of a bunch of notes written by a bunch of people, so thanks guys it made me all fuzzy inside. ^_^ 

Anyways, love ya'll and keep being cool people! :D

-Elder Clayton-

(Our Thanksgiving Meal)

"Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars"

Hey guys! Once more I am short on time, so I am sending mostly just pictures. I don't know how many I can send per email, so I may send several emails... 

On p-day we went to some caves they were awesome. On Tuesday I went on a trade off with one of our zone leaders. Other than that we have had some new people or investigators and they are SOLID. We are hoping to have 4 people set for baptism next week. It is going to be awesome! Love you all! :)) (these pics are my first views of New Zealand)

New Zealand Temple

All the Americans in the MTC

MTC District

Obligatory MTC picture

New Zealand Scenery

"Even the Smallest person can Change the Course of the Future"

Hi guys! I really can't say as much as I want, cause I am crazy pressed for time. We are going to a place called Waipu caves and we want to leave in about an hour and we haven't done shopping yet. So just a quick, well-wishing update.

 For p-day we went back to Whangarei Falls and the most recent convert in our ward went with us and he showed us a little faux trail that led to a mini fall and a pool with a stream and oh it was gorgeous. Then me and Elder Palmer went all bushwhack and crossed some crazy stepping stones and it was not the easiest thing ever. Then I went behind the falls two more times, cause it is amazing.

As for the rest of the week, it was good. Nothing of much note except that we mowed a huge as lawn. It was intense. And we had another trade-off, but instead of staying in my area, I went down to Wellsford. It's like the Wyoming of our zone. There's nothing there and what is there is crazy far apart with only sketchy narrow gravel roads to get there. And it is really far away from us. And I had to drive. Which wasn't bad, just different and fun. We also had our wards most recent convert get his patriarchal blessing so that was super exciting!! 

I have had lots of requests and questions about sending pictures. I acknowledge the need and I plan to address it next week, so fear not!! Other than that, I love emailing you guys and hearing from you. Haha! There's a few missionaries out here who never email home. Including my companion. He almost never does, it's funny. Yet, he gets so many packages from the most random people. All the time!! He has gotten one almost every week from someone different every time. Haha! And apparently he even asked people to stop sending them, but I think he enjoys it. It is really fun to tease him about going home, because he leaves in February, which isn't long, but he refuses to admit. He says he's "got ages".

 Anyway, love you guys and I will talk to you more next week! With media that's worth a thousand words too! ;P Be awesome!

-Elder Clayton-

Sam and His District at Whangarei Falls

"Fear nothing! Have peace until the morning! Heed no nightly noises!"

 Life is good! Things are getting a little more repetitive, I don't think I have as many crazy stories. But that's not to say I am not enjoying myself. Because I am. IMMENSELY.

We went back to Mount Manaia. It was still sketchy, if not more so. But I loved it. Both times we went we were on there too long so we had to run down to save time and there is so many stairs. It really does a number on you. But it is cool. Haha! And when you run down, you feel like you are in one of those Nike commercials where the person is just running on a trail in a super green jungle. Then cue logo and "just do it". One of the other Elders, Elder Palmer, and I really like to climb on all the rocks and trees. We just go and find a bunch of awesome places. It's so cool. This last time we went I finally brought my camera, so I will have pictures to send out eventually. :-)

(http://nzfrenzynorth.wordpress.com/)

 After we did Mt. Manaia, we went and did a service project for a less active member of our ward. He tore his Achilles tendon, so he is pretty limited right now, so we mowed and weed-eated his lawn. He was very grateful and it was nice to be able to do something nice for someone and see his gratitude.

 We have a person we are talking to named [Tanya] and she is very interested. Right now she is living with her less active partner who is named [Richard], but they both are feeling like they need the church in their lives so we have been able to teach her and we even were able to give her a Maori Book of Mormon. Both of them are actually fluent in Maori and they are only about 21-22ish, but they are so mature it sometimes feels like talking to 30 year olds. But they are awesome and lots of fun.

They weren't at church, but a LOT of people were there yesterday. It was the fullest I have seen it. It was so awesome and it just made me smile. Other than that, we have just had more of us getting to know people and helping out everyone we can.

 But there is something you will probably find interesting. First: some background. So New Zealand has two big chocolate brands. Cadbury and Whittaker's. Cadbury is Australian and basically an equivalent of Hershey's. But Whittaker's is only in New Zealand. I don't like their white chocolate that much, but their milk chocolate is AMAZING. Now New Zealand also has a drink called L&P or Lemon & Paeroa (I think that's how you spell it), but it is fantastic. It is like lemonade but not even close and so good. 

                                               (http://gorgeouswithattitude.blogspot.com/)

But a while ago Whittaker's teamed up with L&P to make L&P flavoured white chocolate. I have tried it and I think it is good, but apparently when it first came out, it was HUGE. And now, Whittaker's has done it again. They have teamed up with, apparently, "New Zealand's best milk" to make a Whittaker's chocolate milk. And people are going crazy over it. It reaches shelves at 11, and when it first came out, it was gone by 11:30. It never even reached the shelves. They had to limit the amount people could buy to 2 containers a person. And people have been trying to trick the system. It costs 6.50 for a container that's not even a quart, but people are still trying to get as much as they can! I also heard that people have started selling it on-line for a ceiling of 1,000$, and it's getting BOUGHT!!!! So we are going to have to try some and I will tell you how it is. Because everyone who has tried some has said it's very much worth it. So yes we are very desirous to try for ourselves. There's three main supermarket stores here: Countdown, Pak'n'save, and New World. It is only at the latter two because Countdown is Aussie owned. It will get there eventually, but not yet. So it's so weird how big this is!!

(http://lollyaddict.blogspot.com/)

Anyways, on that note of amusement, have a good week and stay the awesomest!! 

-Elder Clayton-

"Dwarves' Tongues Run On When Speaking Of Their Handiwork, They Say."

HAI GUYS!! How are you? I can't hear your responses, but I hope they are good!! I have had another good week! I apologize because I forgot my journal again, and it is especially bad this time because I was quite tired this week, and I get forgetful when I am tired. But I shall endeavor to do my best!

 We finally managed to see Wellsford(the companionship in our district that we don't see often) so that was cool. Last p-day (Monday) we went to Mount Manaia. It was awesome. Not anywhere near as high as any of the Colorado peaks, but it was still demanding and sketchy as all get out. It was nice because it was indescribably green jungle the whole way, but it was quite rigorous. There were wooden stairs built in the dirt in a lot of places and I jogged up every single one. MAN that was tough. And the "summit" was nothing close to a peak, it was just this big old rock. Like, BIG. But it was so cool. And like I said, sketchy as all get out. To get to the top, we had to walk under this sloping overhang, with a trail only about two feet wide. On one side was the huge rock, and the other was a gorgeous, breathtaking, indescribable...sheer drop straight down. And then once you got around it, it was basically a sloping rock climb that many people had gone up so it was pretty worn down. But still awesome. And the view was amazing. There's actually two big rocks, but that's the one people go on. The other is like a big rock on a bigger rock. We climbed just the bottom rock and it was crazy. But there were a lot of hand/foot holds because of the volcanic nature of the rock. We want to go back out, but we don't really have cars right now, so I will tell you next week what we do later today.

 Other than that, we have taught some cool lessons. One of the coolest was with a man named John Smith (Ed.: Not his real name.  We aren’t allowed to share names of members or investigators.)  He actually used to be a pro rugby player and he was relatively famous. He is planning on writing a book and you can even google him. But his cousin [Jim Smith] is even more famous. He was talked about in general conference and he is temple president. But anyway, the whole family has been members since, his grandfather I think? He has been less active for a long time, but he is starting to come back and it is WAY cool to see the blessings he is experiencing. Apparently he sometimes has a hard time accepting lessons, but this time he did really well and he said he learned a lot. AND, apparently he even lived in Colorado for a while. He also gave us the two biggest steaks I have ever seen. Not eaten. Seen. And I have seen many things. So they were HUGE. And delicious.

Another cool thing that happened was a Missionary leadership meeting down in Auckland. Usually just Zone Leaders go, but District Leaders went this time too and my companion is a District Leader so I was able to go and learn some cool things. I apologize because usually I send more, but I guess not a lot has happened and like I said, I probably forgot something important, but that's why I have a journal (which I also forgot).

As a side note and just something interesting, we got so many oranges from people this week. I don't know why, but they are amazing, so I am not looking that gift horse in the mouth. OOH I have something else too... We got to do a couple of service projects on Saturday and one was clearing these big trees off a large hill ('twas very manly) and the other was out at that boat I was telling you about and we sanded and stained wood (also...manly.). But they were good. The family on the boat is super cool, but they are less active, so it is really good to get out there and show them that we still care about them. And we do, they are awesome.

Anyways again, I love being happy and I love all of you. Mix the two and I super love when you guys are happy! So stay joyful! (If you aren't email me cause that must be fixed) Thanks guys!! :D

-Elder Clayton-

(Ed.--The pictures are from http://www.mywhangareinz.com/mt-manaia.html because Sam has still yet to send us any pics.)

'It's The Job That's Never Started As Takes Longest To Finish"

And boy have we started! First things first. Last p-day. (Last Monday) After I sent out emails, our district all went over to Whangarei falls. At first, it was not all that spectacular. You didn't have to hike to it or anything. It was just a short walk on some grass from the road. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous(you can Google image it), but it wasn't, like, breathtaking or anything. But then we found a trail near it, and our whole district(6 of us. 6 Elders and 2 Sisters, though one of the companionship of Elders lives way far away so we hardly ever see them. Even in district meeting they had to speaker phone call in. So usually when I say district..I mean everyone except them....) went on this hike and followed all the back-trails and we really got in it. Went over fences and everything. That's a strange difference there. Back in the states, if you see and fence or a gate, you stop. Cause you aren't supposed to go there. Here, you just climb over the gate. It's funny. There was actually steps specifically built to allow you to get over a big wooden fence. And it is the same at people's houses too. Almost all of them have these big "you shall not pass" sort of looks, but then you open it and pass anyway. Heh. 

But back to Monday! So we went on a big hike, did some awesome stuff and had a great time. And after the hike, after we got back to the falls, they looked a lot more spectacular. And then I did one of the coolest things ever that was totally on the bucket list. Elder Palmer and I (one of the Elders in the other companionship in our district[that was there], with his companion being Elder To'angutu) climbed on the rocks closer to the falls, and ended up just going all the way behind them and around. It was SOO COOL. I have ALWAYS wanted to go behind a waterfall. And man it delivered. I was wearing Converse, and they do not have the best grip. Ha. So we were slipping around on the very wet rocks. One part we even had to sort of wedge in between a rock and another to climb across. (Nothing dangerous or hard. For Mom's benefit. For everyone else: yeah it was super dangerous there were thousands of alligators and native people were all trying cannibalize on us and the water was actually lava and we both had malaria and had to carry orphans) But we got really wet and muddy. OH, I super loved it. 

And then we went on trade off's with the other Elders that had come to the falls with us. For those of you who don't know, trade offs is when you swap companions with another companion ship. So, Elder Palmer and I stayed in my flat, and my companion went with Elder To'angutu down to his area, or Bream Bay. The reason Elder Fanger went down there is because he is district leader and he had to give a baptismal interview to a girl who got baptized on Saturday and only the district leader can give the interview. It did not go well because apparently her dad was drunk as all get out. Which is not surprising because the Maoris really struggle with substance abuse sometimes. It can be really hard to get people to stop smoking and drinking when they and everyone else have been doing it since they were six, UGH it's frustrating. Anyway, I tangent. So, because it did not go well, the trade off was unusually long(Wednesday morning till Thursday night, they don't usually get longer than 24 hours). 

Neither me nor Elder Palmer knew our area well. So I found a list of people in our ward that we needed to visit and I found a mostly helpful map and we just found people that lived near to each other, we drove out there, and then just walked around a bunch. Both days we did that. Wednesday went much better, but Thursday was good too. Wednesday rained HEAPS. It was torrential. All day. Like it looks like it is going to do all day. But all the days between today(Monday) and Thursday have been way hot. Actually, we were going to hike a place called Mount Manaia(sp?) today, but it is raining. So we will have to find somewhere else. 

Anyway, once the trade off was over on Thursday night, Elder Fanger came back quite sickly. So Thursday night and all of Friday he had a headache, some very minor vision junk, and vomiting, it was not the best condition. But he's all good now. But on most of Friday, he just slept it off (he had permission don't worry), so I just sort of hung around the flat and took care of things. 

We had an appointment with a family around 6 though, so we went over to their house, and it was not completely a house... cause they live on a boat. YEAH. Oh it was awesome. It was a nice boat too. A lot more space than I thought it would have. So yeah, we stopped by, ate dinner, and shared a message. We actually might go help them with some service or something on Saturday. I am actually kind of hoping, and it's actually a strong possibility, that we will actually get to "swab the deck". Holy cow. What's a chore for them, would be so cool for us. All I know though, is if we did, I would have no control over at least humming various pirate shanties. "argh!" 

But it sounds like we may do a lot of service this week, which is both good, and exciting! Saturday and Sunday were both good. Our ward, and actually, its the entire South Pacific area, had a special fast yesterday, and it was mostly for the benefit of a special church meeting that every ward is having on the 30th of November. Mostly, it is going to be all about Jesus, but after that, it is up to the individual wards to decide what else they are going to do. But it is supposed to be something we can invite everyone, both members and non, to some see. I think it is going to be really cool and not something that happens very often. So we are pretty darn excited. 

But when we got home last night, we broke our fast and went all out for dinner. We had lots of meat and eggs and such that we needed to use. So we made some of the most unhealthiest, most densest, most delicious scrambled eggs ever. There was so much sausage (the sausage here isn't as good), bacon (the bacon isn't anywhere even close to near as good as american bacon, it's mostly just like, really really good ham), eggs (12 of em), cheese (it says cheddar but it's white like Parmesan so it's also not as good. Doesn't taste as strong or just the same sort of wonderful), and butter (now that is really good here). Haha!

Actually, speaking of food being better, the food here is great (not in price), but yesterday my companion and I were just talking about food in the states. Mostly doughnuts, pizza, and Taco Bell. They just don't do it the same!  But it is all good, at least the fruit here is amazing. And the nuts are good too. We got a big bag of nuts almost two weeks ago, and she said they were walnuts, and we accepted it, but then we realized that they were not walnuts. They're still really good. We think they're Macadamia nuts. 

But anywhos, it was a good week, and I think it shall continue to be weeks of like goodness! I don't have my journal with me, so anything I missed, I apologize for, and I will either send next week, or never.  ;P Anyway, thanks guys! I love getting your emails and I am grateful for your friendships! Love you all and stay da bestest! :D

P.S.--AH. Ok, just to answer some questions that I have received or that you may not have even known you wanted to know the answer to. Yes they have Halloween in New Zealand, but it is not NEARLY as big. Which is both shocking, and disappointing. Actually though, when we saw that family on the boat, that was Halloween, and they do it mostly cause the Dad is from Canada, and it was kind of themed and nice. But it was kind of sad cause these kids would have their bag of candy and just think they got the biggest haul ever, when really, in America, that would have been like a street. And just an average one, not even one of the biggest ones. But Elder Fanger's family sent us a huge box filled with American candy and some themed decorations. We gave a lot of it to some of the kid's we have been visiting, cause they love to try the American candy they don't have here, but we ate some and already it was nice to sort of touch of home. Man I am sentimental. Hehe. 

I guess I am against the social faux pas just a bit here, because over here it isn't candy, it's "lollies", but I refuse to say that! Haha. My companion and I have talked about it several times. We aren't against the culture, there's just some things we won't change over. Lollies is one of the worst. But there are some other weird ones: Ground Beef=Mince. Soda=Fizzy. Trunk(as in a car)=boot. Hood(also a car)=bonnet. Haha! Those are just a few examples. I mostly pick up the inflections and some other conveniences. I already talked about as meaning more so. But heaps is another one people use. And a lot of people say "bro" here, but it's different. It is in a Kiwi accent, so it just sounds so different. Not in sound, just, it's hard to explain. It is definitely an interesting accent. It's quite soft, but still very recognizable. Quite hard to imitate or pick-up. Course, I can just come home and speak pretty much any accent and not many people will know the difference. ;P Anyway, all that sappy "love you guys" stuff again. ;) :) 

"A Day May Come When The Courage Of Men Fails...But It Is Not THIS day!"

HI GUYS!! Wow I have much words to give as to the current state of affairs and those that have come to pass in the last few days. So let’s start from the beginning-ish. We left the MTC Wednesday morning. It was just me and Elder Maxfield in our room the night before. (Man I loved those islanders but is was SO peaceful once they left...) We got picked up by the mission president and his wife and we headed down to Auckland. We had some orientating, and we spent the night in a motel and then a little more orientating at the mission home, and then we met our companions!!

Before I tell you about mine though, I have to say, what a time it has been for Colorado!! The mission president and his wife are from the good ol' mile high state to begin with. And one of the first missionaries I met was a sister missionary in the mission office recovering from a broken foot. Her name is Sister Camiletti, and I totally know her brother. YEAH. I know him from when I was being Senior Patrol Leader at 11 year old scout camp. He was my Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. We were like best friends. I think he moved to Kansas and now he is on his mission somewhere in South America, but he never told me he had a sister. And then there's my companion. WHO IS ALSO FROM COLORADO. Same area as me actually!! His name is Elder Fanger, and I didn't know him before I came out, but I knew his younger brother. And we have a LOT of the same acquaintances. So yeah it is pretty shweet.

We have been assigned to the Whangarei Zone! (In Maori, wh makes an f sound, and the r's all have a sort of roll. So its pronounced Fawn-ga-ray, but with the little r roll thing, it sounds a lot like fawn-ga-day) When I first met my companion in Auckland his driver's license was expired, so they threw me the keys and said I was driving. In all seriousness. That was the first time I have felt nervous. Especially since Whangarei is TWO HOURS AWAY. Luckily they found someone else to do that drive, but I still had to drive before my companion renewed his license. It's actually not that bad though. You just got to make sure you turn the right way (cause everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, bunch a weirdos) and that you remember the blinker is on the LEFT. I have given so many "American Salutes" with those stupid windshield wipers.

Anyway, my coolest experience so far was probably my first one. Me and my companion got to go up with our zone leaders to Whangaruru (Remember, Fawn-ga-roo-roo, but it sound like fawn-ga-doo-doo. He he he), it’s a looong drive on this really winding road through jungles and trees with lots of cliffs and stuff. I NEVER get carsick, but boy this one did a number. Relatively speaking. Anyway, it's waaayyy up in the bush with lots of Maoris. (They call them "hoary Maoris) But we got to go up to see a Tongi (Tawng-ee) which is a Maori funeral. They was a lot of Hongi-ing. A hongi is a Maori thing where you start like a handshake, but then you go in and put you foreheads and noses together. It's interesting for sure. We also got to see one of our recent converts do the Haka. And apparently he has been on the national team or something, cause he was good. It was really cool though. Two of the other three elders had never even done anything like that, and I got to do it my first day (YUS).

 Afterwards, we went to this little fish'n'chips shop right next to a gorgeous beach. It wasn't the water or anything, but man it was just cool. It was like a little cove surrounded, nay, hugged perfectly by two large mountainy structure things. Other than that, it has been a little slow. It has not been a lot of sit down visits. Just mostly going to people's houses, seeing if they are home, and having a little "get to know you" chat. But it's been going good, cause apparently a lot of the people who are usually mean to us have been really nice and inviting. And I am starting to feel more comfortable as well. The first few days I was more of "watch and listen/quiet Sam". Now I am getting more like "normal Sam...." ;)

 The weather here as also been very nice. Apparently. I have really enjoyed it, but lots of people have been talking about it as if it is uncharacteristic. But the nights have been COLD AS. (That's a thing they do here. If they want to really emphasize an adjective, they put as after it. It's a little weird, cause it sounds KIND OF like swearing, but if you say it right it is all good. But it goes on about anything: cool as, sweet as, in this case, cold.) Luckily I have some good blankets and super warm socks my aunt made me (awwwww).

The bed is nice though and so is our whole flat. Relatively anyway. Compared to the states, especially the rural areas I have lived in, it is downright trashy. But compared to some of the houses here, it's pretty nice... The style and standard of living is just so dang different. And the houses are weird too. They aren't in nice neat rows on defined blocks. They are all twisty and none of them look remotely similar to any other ones. But many many times we have had to get to a house by walking down a loooong twisty driveway to get to a tiny house you never would have guessed to be there. It's got a very strange appeal though. So it has been pretty cool and I haven't even been out here a week! But of course I remain in high spirits and reckless optimism. (Is there an alternative?) It will be very interesting to see how things go.

I am sorry I haven't sent pictures yet. I have not had many chances to be in wifi, and I haven't found a charger for the weird outlets. yet. But I will I just haven't gone to the store. Other than that, I don't know how often I will be able to email. We go to this little cyber cafe thingy to email and it is expensive as, man! So I will do it when I can, and it will probably be every week, but if I am not able to, then you know why! And in my next transfer, I will probably go someplace it will be cheaper, but that could be a while. Have a good time at all the times and email when you can! I love to hear from you even if I don't respond with a novel. ;) Love you guys and I will see you in two(ish) years! :))

-Elder Clayton-

It's a Dangerous Business Frodo, Going Out Your Door...

Hallo! This is the last letter I am going to write from the MTC! It is Tuesday the 21^st, and we drive 
out to Auckland tomorrow morning right after breakfast. It has been fun but man I am ready to get 
out there.  Two of the guys in our district left this morning and one of them was going to leave as well but he is headed back to Tonga while he waits for his visa, and his flight was delayed by a lot. 

We have had some good experiences though. We went to the temple and it was awesome.  The other night we were all headed to bed after a draining devotional thing (We tried to stay awake but we were so tired), and when we all went back to our rooms, we heard loud noises from outside. When we looked out the window there were these HUGE fireworks. Everyone was excited, but us “yanks” really let our American show.

 One of the funniest things that has transpired was during one of our closing devotional thingies (elders and sisters go back to their respective halls and have one last little spiritual thought and business issues), and the zone leaders asked if there was any problems anyone had been having. Elder Moy, who has the most stereotypical Australian accent (he is the one who calls us yanks) just said quite loudly “yeah, our room is starting to smell like bloke?”. Man, with the way he said it and how tired we were, it was one of the funniest things I have ever heard. We have started to use “bloke” as a negative term for describing smells, as lots of the things here do smell like bloke from time to time.  Our room isn’t bad though…. 

So I had written down in my journal stories to tell you, but I don’t have it on me, so if there’s any that you REALLY should here, I will let you know. J I will say, the candy here is great. I don’t know if I would say better, just different in a really good way. The fruit though. I cannot even describe how much better just the canned fruit in the cafeteria is. I love it. 

I am excited to get out there tomorrow and experience more of it though. The weather here is pretty darn weird though. It has been pretty cold the last two days, but it is pretty warm today. But we have these humidity explosions. It is always pretty humid here (in the best possible way, I love it), but we will just have times where everything fogs up, like on our windows, and then is gone within the next ten minutes. I love it though. Otherwise, I would love to hear from you guys when you get the chance! Haha when everyone else opened up their email they had like 30 letters. I had 4. Good thing I am so emotionally detached. ;) I remain with high hopes and resolute determination. I plan on sending some pictures very soon, so if you have any questions about them, let me know. 
:D

Elder Clayton

PS: I had a question about what kind of food I have been eating so far. Most of it has been about the same as the food I have been eating in America, just with slight differences I can't explain. Like, we had hamburgers today(t'were amazing) but they were just slightly different. One of the biggest differences is the ketchup. They have Ketchup here, but it's weird. It seems slightly thicker and sweeter. I can't decide which I like better. Another thing is fruit that I mentioned. And as for the candy(or should I say: "lollies"), you have heard of Cadbury? Well here they are pretty much Hersheys. Everything to do with anything chocolate is Cadbury. What seemed like really fancy stuff in America is just normal, everyday chocolate here. It definitely seems less special. But still good! I love it, but there's honestly something about a plain Hershey's chocolate bar that I love. Something I thought was fun, and you probably will too, I have had fish'n'chips at least four times. Each time it was prepared different though. But it's still a funny thing cause it is probably one of the most stereotypical things about these countries though. Next time I talk to you, I will have been out in the field! But for now, see ya!!!!