"Never Before had he Been so Suddenly and so Keenly Aware of the Feel and Texture of a Tree's Skin and the Life Within it. He Felt a Delight in Wood and the Touch of it, Neither as a Forester nor as a Carpenter; it was the Delight of the Living Tree Itself."

Wow, it has been an adventure. So, after taking the bus down to Auckland, we all piled into a small minivan (there were three elders and two sisters, all with luggage...) and drove very squished to the mission office. After waiting there for all the missionaries going home to do their final interview with the mission president, some zone leaders from an area called Harbour came and picked us up. So we stayed in their flat and played touch rugby early in the morning. Then Elder Fanger left and I stayed in that flat for a couple more days. I was just in a trio with two elders named Elder Hann and Elder Burgess. It was fun.

We went to a driving range for lunch one of the days. It actually got me really pumped. I wanted to just go and talk with everyone. I guess being on my own really made me want to keep doing the work of the Lord. It was awesome. I did a TWE (talk with everyone) with this Asian couple, they weren't interested, but it was still really cool and I felt very successful doing it, so SWEET!

Haha it was funny, we went to a rescue night (where we go with members of the ward to go visit other less active members) and it was actually really weird! They were all white....ha I am so used to the brown ones now. And when there were none I felt a bit discomforted. Cause Harbour is all the rich white people. And heaps of Asians. Bottom line, it is very slow missionary wise, but it is still pretty cool! 

Anyway, on Thursday we didn't hear our alarm, so we woke up a bit late and had to rush to meet one of the mission couples at the office cause they were taking us to the Airport. So we picked up the other Elder going out. His name is Elder Taimani. He is Tongan, but from Salt Lake... Anyway, we got on the airplane all good, and after a three hour flight, we finally ended up in the lovely Island of Rarotonga!!

 We met our companions. Elder Taimani is with an elder named Elder Manarangi (I think I am struggling to remember his name...or anyone's here, these island names are tricky...And usually I do well with faces, but man. Again, I am not doing the best...oh well!!) He is half Tongan and half Cook Islander, so he has heaps of family here, it is a pretty big name. He actually lived here for 5 years till he moved to Tonga. Anyway, my companions name is Elder Nonu. He is half Samoan and also half Cook Islander, but he lived in Australia. He has heaps of family here too! Haha. It is interesting, he actually started in my last area, where I started. And one of the elders that left, Elder Adams, was transferred to there. XD

 Anyway, Elder Nonu is cool, but a bit quiet. He is the District Leader here, and that is about as high as our leadership goes. We have a senior couple that is pretty much our mission president, but that is about it. It is a totally different mission. We have pretty much no connection to New Zealand. They told me to buy a hat, and when I got here, I was told that I won't hardly wear it. And I have only worn it once. Meh. Anyway I will survive. If all of my stuff doesn't mold or I don't get eaten. Apparently everything molds here and there are heaps of bugs everywhere. We have lots of ants, though we have a few cockroaches and I had to kill heaps of big maggots this morning. There are a lot of geckoes in people’s houses, and there are so many chickens walking around. Whereas Whangarei had heaps of random cats, there are just so many chickens here. I even caught a chick the other day. There are also a lot of big dogs that all look similar. So fun!

There are also heaps of fruit trees. I thought everything grew in New Zealand, then I came here. My gosh. I am getting fruit that I haven't even heard of. My first day I got coconuts, star fruit, passion fruit, mangoes, papaya (or pawpaw as they say here), coco (sp?) (it is not chocolate), and avocado. Man it was heaps. I have drank out of a coconut every day I have been here. Members just machete one up for you. Haha we even have a machete for them. So it is cool!

We bike everywhere. And our bikes are quite dodgy. Weird tires, rusty parts, old. I dunno. Haha we don't have any lights on our bikes, so at night we just bike in the VERY dark night. Haha, it gets dark here fast. So much adventure! And the seat. Oh my goodness. Probably the most uncomfortable thing I have ever sat on. The day after I woke up, my legs were sore and my backside ripped to shreds. But I am getting used to it...hopefully.

 On Saturday we had a marriage baptism. It was fun. But in the other elder’s Branch. There are 3 branches here, and we cover two of them, but we hardly get out to the other one cause we only have push bikes and it is far. It is funny, almost everyone here has a motorbike or predominately a motor scooter. There are HEAPS of them. For them a trip round the island is mostly nothing. For our push bikes it takes a bit. And it is very frustrating cause there are no addresses or street names here. So all the directions are like "go past the food shop to the bus stop and it is the big house next to the freshly painted house by the coconut tree". It is really frustrating, but aw well.

We also went to the market on the island. Usually, in NZ, we aren't allowed, but here we can. It was super cool. They have the black pearls here that apparently are a big Cook Island thing. So I will have to see if I can find a cool one. I also want a ukulele....

Also, it is SO HOT. Man. I am just covered in a constant rainy blanket of sweat. When I take off my tie at the end of the day, it is soaked, THROUGH my collar. So it is how. We are the only island mission other than Niue that isn't allowed to wear Sulu (those formal skirt things that they usually have on those missionary island pictures) but we are seeing if we can. :)) The churches here are so weird. They are all out door complexes. So to get to anywhere you step outside. Our baptismal font is outside too. It is crazy!! 

Anyway...I THINK I have said everything I can think of in that surplus of information. But yes it is awesome but still hard work! :)))

Love y'alls! 

-Elder Clayton-

"Home is Behind, the World Ahead, and There are Many paths to Tread Through Shadows to the Edge of Night, Until the Stars are All Alight"

Hey all! Sorry for the lateness of the email. I was on a bus heading down to a major New Zealand city when I usually do emails, but here is my one now! 

This is it. This is the real test. My first area, my birthplace, my first exposure to the mission, my "home" if you will. I am leaving it. No more trainer, no more comfort of familiarity. I am headed to the big world now!!

But what happened in the week I left? 

Well, we almost got into a fight. After Elder Fanger’s last district meeting, the Zone leaders kidnapped him so we could buy him some lunch. Then afterwards we were driving to their flat when we saw a guy and a girl on the sidewalk. It looked like she was trying to get by and he wouldn't let her. So we drove by again and it looked like he was apologizing. So we turned back around and it looked tense again, this repeated a couple times until we saw him kick out her legs from under her and push her on the ground and then start kicking her. Well we weren't having that. Elder Jorgenson peeled the car over and parked and we all got out. At this point he was trying to apologize again, but she was crying. So we were talking to him and we were asking why he did that. He swore at us, gave us dirty looks, and said he treats her like a princess. And when we brought up the fact that he just kicked her onto the ground he made up some crap excuse about him being "mental". I think he was just a druggy. But I shouldn't judge. You could just tell he was a tool though. So as we were there the cops pulled up and started talking to him and we left. So we weren't really looking for a fight, all of us were just the type of people that won't stand for girls getting abused. Man, we were not happy. But oh well. Everything turned out right, and I am glad I was able to help. :)

Then we went and did some service helping build stables for horses. It was cool, but man we got burned. Which led to the next day. Elder Fanger was so burned that he was very fatigued and threw up a couple times. So he rested for a bit, but we were still able to get out some and we went to [Paul's] and he taught us more of the Haka. 

On Thursday, we went out to a place called Dargaville. It is quite infamous for being an interesting town. There is heaps of different churches. Pretty much all they grow is Kumara, and heaps of it. And there's even a story that ages ago, when the mission first opened, some missionaries went there and the people in Dargaville killed them. So a guy named Mathew Cowley (eventually and apostle) went and cursed the main river they have and made it turn upside down. And I believe it. I have seen that river and it is one of the muddiest, dirtiest things I have ever seen. Anyway, it is a bit dodgy (the missionaries there are moving cause all of their neighbors want to kill them basically. Not that bad, but they called the cops on one of their neighbors for beating his wife, and they are all family...) Anyway, Elder Fanger was born (started) there so we took him there to see it before he died (finished). It was awesome! :))

Then I went on a trade off with one of the elders in Bream Bay. Then the next day a trade off with the Zone Leaders. On Saturday we went to a little bushy town called Pipiwai. There's not much there. Anyway, they were having a burnout.  Just doughnut and smoke your car till your tires explode basically.  So we went and talked with some of the people there. It was actually very big.

 On Sunday, we had a big potluck at the chapel after church cause all our members knew we were leaving, so they cooked us a feed. Anyway, that day and the next were mostly just us saying good bye to people. So I got some pics too. Anyway, it was actually really sad to leave, but hopefully I will come back!! :)) 

--Elder Clayton--

"If More of Us Valued Food and Cheer and Song Above Hoarded Gold, it Would be a Merrier World."

It has been a good week! I am a tad rushed, but I have some entertaining stories for you. On Monday we went back to Mt. Manaia. It was cool except me and Elder Palmer tried to bushwhack and find the trail, but we ended up on pretty much a cliff face. With him pulling me up on a rope. That we found. And he is a climber (I am not), and he even said we need to turn back. So yeah that was dodgy. And I twisted my ankle pretty bad when we got back to the trail. But oh well. 

We have a recent convert named [Paul], and he was on all the Capa Haka teams, so he is teaching us a couple of Hakas!!! I am excited, I will send a vid when I can. :) 

Tuesday night we went over to a member’s house and he pulled out smoked fish heads. Big old snappers. The meat was actually very good, and I don't usually enjoy fish, but it was good. Then we had the eyes and I had a brain. They didn't taste bad, the eye was quite ok. But the brain. Wooh. Like I said, not to bad taste, but the texture... ugh. It felt exactly like I imagine brains to be. Slimy and tubey. Man. Aaaannndd, there's pics for you. (I had a video, but it is too big to send...) ;) 

On Wednesday, I went on a trade off with an Elder named Elder Dearden. He is awesome! We ate fruit, fed some to a cow and a goat, saw some piggies, looked extensively for an address we never found, and got a gun pointed at us. Ok, not really, but kind of. We walked up and there was a .22 rifle sitting on the couch pointed towards the door. So there was a gun pointed at us, just no one behind the trigger. XD 

On Thursday we went back to the boat for dinner. Man those kids love us. You know how kids are, all crazy and energetic when company comes around. :)

 On Friday we went back to the house of the person who gave us the fish heads. He had two nonmember nieces there, his 25ish year old daughter's nonmember boyfriend, and a less active member Elder Fanger knew when he started his mission. We had an awesome lesson with them. They asked heaps of questions and it was really spiritual. :) 

We had a member baptism on Saturday and then a dinner with some of the most normal people in our ward. Because everyone in our ward is weird. But in a hilarious way. And this family is still strange, but very laid back. They told me my name in Maori, and apparently my name in Maori is Hame (hah-may). So, AWESOME!! 

Then on Sunday we had church and dinner at [Chad Brown] 's house. His brother is our temple president and was actually spoken about in general conference. But he was less active for a while, and he has been coming back. He is the man! He is simultaneously one of the most prideful yet humble people I have ever met. But he feeds us every Sunday. Then we went to see another family we see on Sundays. The [Miller] family. They have 6 kids, all members, but he isn't a member. But he is hilarious and really likes us. I love that family they are so cool. Anyway, we talk about lots of things, including weird foods. One of the Maori delicacies (though most Maoris don't even eat it) is rotten corn. And he finally fed us some last night. It was actually pretty good. Everyone was hyping up the terrible smell, but when I finally smelled it, it wasn't too bad. You know the smell of a farm? (Or Greeley if you live in Colorado?) It kind of smelled like that but less strong. Anyway, it is sort of a porridge and we had it with cream and sugar. It was not the best thing I have ever had, but it is good. And now I can say I have done it! :))

 Otherwise, the Wellsford Elders stayed at our flat last night cause they live far away, and we stayed up lateish playing UNO. It was awesome. :)))

                                         

Anyways, I love y'alls! 

-Elder Clayton-

"His Old Life Lay Behind Him in the Mists, Dark Adventure Lay in Front."

Hello all!! 

First off, for PDay we went back to Abbey Caves, got wet again, but got more muddy because we discovered a little secret place and it went on for ages!! So we might go back today.

We went up to the zone leaders area a lot this week. Which isn't bad, cause that's where the bush is. So yes it was very cool! 

On Tuesday we had interviews with our mission president. Which was cool. He is the man. 

On Thursday we got to go to another Tongi!! It was so cool!! For those of you who don't remember, that's a Maori Funeral. Speaking of remembering, do you remember what a hongi (Sp?) is? It's the greeting where you basically put your forehead and nose to another person’s. It is actually pretty cool. (Warning, I am probably going to do it to a lot of you when I get back. Although it's only for men usually. Women and men greet with a kiss on the cheek...). Anyway, at a Tongi, you give the dead body a hongi (or a kiss on the cheek it doesn't matter as much if they are dead). Anyway.....I did that. I touched my face to the face of a dead person.... AND IT WAS SO COOL. Who can say they have done that? Ha! That is why I love being out here.

 On Saturday, Elder Fanger was sick, so I mostly just watched a bunch of old church videos. You know those old cheesy ones from the 90s? Yeah those.

And on Saturday night, we went to the zone leader's area (more than just twice, we went almost every day this week for different reasons) to a camp-out our ward was having. We went up and were able to have a big Hungi (again: Sp?). Basically, they dig a big hole, throw a bunch of sacks of food in there, and cook it. A lot of people have special cookers for it now, but this is my first ground one, and I gotta say, it was GOOD. Very filling. :))

As for our teaching, I think our highlight would have been seeing a girl named [Tara]. Her mom is less-active (though trying to come back) and she is investigating. She is probably the smartest 9 year old I have ever met. So yeah she is cool! 

I apologize, I have no pictures this week, but I will try to get some next time. I will send one of me doing a hungi so you know what it looks like. :)) 

Love ya and stay awesome! 

-Elder Clayton-

(http://www.bobandjanette.com/trip-reports/new-zealand-trip-report-05.html)

"The Board is Set, the Pieces are Moving. We Come to it at Last, the Great Battle of our Time."

Not much time! SORRY......

Not much has been happening. Played basketball last pday, it was actually pretty good. Haha, you know me I don't usually enjoy Bball, but I got into it. ;)

 We have been having a good, but pretty average week. We got to swab the deck of a boat on Tuesday, it was AWESOME!! Then we had transfers and our district is pretty much the same. Only one of the sisters left. SO all goodsies.

We helped our ward mission leader's family move (into the sisters ward because that's where everyone is moving to...) and apparently their house is haunted. Hm. We saw the Zone Leaders a bunch.

We have an investigator named [Tanya] who we have been teaching for a while. We weren't able to see her for a while, but we caught up this week, I asked if she wants to be baptized, she said yes! No date yet, but it is still cool!! :))) We went to one of our recent converts house (won't say who) to teach his wife and help her with some word of wisdom things. When we got there, there was smashed window. Her kids said they had a fight, he broke the window, and she smashed his windshield with a 2x4. So that's fun....

Otherwise, it is all actually is fun! Love ya and let me know if you need anything! :))

-Elder Clayton-

"'There's Something Mighty Queer Behind This.' He was Quite Right, but He Never Found Out Anymore About it."

Not a lot of time, because everyone wants to go do stuff, but that's ok, cause not much happened this week. I think the most exciting thing we did was service out at a farm thing. There was this field of hay, and it was all being turned into bales, so we went out to go throw them all onto a truck, drive over to a nearby place, and take the hay off and store it into a barn. When we first got there we just threw the bales up. But on our first ride over, we all rode on top of it. Like a legit hay ride. It was like 10 feet tall. Then Elder Fanger and I threw the bales off to everyone else and rode back in the bed (standing too...) so we could get more bales. I ended up being the person in the truck that stacked the bales as people threw them up and I rode back on it every time. It was amazing!! Wish I had pics, but we didn't have a camera. So next time. But we are going out to "swab tha deck" of a boat on Tuesday, so hopefully we will get some then. Otherwise, I am rushed, so I gotta go. But love all of you and let me know if you need anything! :)) 

P.S. One of the worst things here are the fleas. They are awful. We killed one so there's a pic. ;P Nasty little buggers. They jump about 6 feet high and they are very hard to kill.... 

"Deeds will not be Less Valiant Because They are Unpraised"

Greetings! :) Pretty darn slow week this week. Almost everyone was out at the beach. So there was a lot of "no one home"s. But we will start from the beginning. Monday. Not much happened. All I can say is if you go to the McDonald's here, and buy the Reuben, it is gross. So disappointing. Not nearly as good as all the other ones I have had. Then we went and saw [Jim] and his new wife. We taught them simply about the temple. Which was cool, but they are a little weird about it.

 Aw well, I think they will be all good! :) Tuesday my companion was sick again, so I just studied a bit and read up on some "deep doctrine" stuff. LOVE IT.

 On Wednesday, not much weird happened, but we did go to our Ward Mission Leader's house, and when we got there he and his wife were working on a car. And they couldn't get the fan-belt on. So, in our nice clothes..., we got down and helped. Haha it was awesome. Even though we got one on, struggled to get the other one on, aaannnddd, never got it. Oh well.

 On Thursday it was New Year's Day. So we went up to the Zone Leader's area again. (Pictures included if you forgot) Then went back to the Zone Leader's flat and had the most intense deep doctrine talk ever. IT WAS CRAZY. Just saying, if you’re reading this, STAY A GOOD PERSON. :) Haha then the next day we talked about it again, and then that night we started a trade-off. 

On Saturday me and Elder Donaldson (the one I was trading with) went and walked almost everywhere. We didn't see a lot of people because, again, they were all gone on vacation, but we walked almost everywhere and knocked the doors of a lot of potential and former investigators from the Elders before us. We even got a return appointment. But Elder Fanger seemed a little judgmental for our low number of TWE (Talk With Everyone). But, in my defense, no one has really taught me how to count it, so I don't care if people judge. :P I refuse to get discouraged ever. ^_^ Oh and we were able to see 17 Miracles with an awesome family. YAY!! Anyways, rushed like always, so I will see you next week! Love Y'all!!!! :D

-Elder Samuel Clayton- 

P.S.: Oh, and those last pictures are our mirror. We came back one day and it was completely shattered. So I put every last piece in and taped it up. Heheheh...