Week 38

Hello Everyone

I don't have very much time this week because we had to do a bunch of surveys so that took up most of the time (I've got about 30 mins left and usually your email takes 50......) so it'll probably be a short one this week

 

Pops came out and tracted this week, we tried to find some new investigators but only found potentials. it's been hard to get around too bc Elder Semu's Bike is broken so we're going to try fix that. Dry cleaning is a rip off here - $27.50 for 1 suit with 1 pants. Funny thing this week we 'tracted out' a member who moved in, they're active. Bro + Sis M we found them on Fri and they found out we didn't have a dinner on Sunday so typical Tongan they fed us on Sunday. :D

The photos -  you just jump and hope it takes the photo at the right time :)

I will enjoy the conference :)

Maybe some of those 15 minute meals or 30 minutes meals from Jamie Oliver. it would probably be good to send it in paper because printing is confusing at these internet shops.

some photos of the fog...

Scriptures

Moroni 9:25 Here.

Moroni 10:25 Here.

LOVE YOU ALL :D

Elder Cox

Fog.

More fog.

Fog clearing.

Week 37

Hello Everyone :D

Yeah... everyone said happy birthday and I knew it was you who put it on fb because how else would everyone know had dinner at the WML's (brother S). oh yeah Sis Rudd HAHA she called on sunday "I can't believe I forgot to call you on your Birthday!!" 

Yes.... Elder Morley got transferred sadly .... and I got Elder Komi Semu from Samoa. Elder Phillips is gone and now we have Elder Gish he seems pretty cool. and Sis Tilley is training so haven't met her comp yet we will at Zone meeting. Elder Gummow moved as well and we have Elder Griffin who served with Elder Joseph after me. Also new Zone Leader Elder Smith, Elder Romney went to Taranaki to be Zone leader there. The other District, Elder Wangsgard shifted in and is with Elder Selma (both from Manurewa zone) it's like they just keep putting the same people in the same zones. I think Elder Prasad is still in the zone other than that don't know about the other district.

No ward activity on Saturday it was late afternoon (prevening hahah :P) when we were at bishops. before we went to dinner at the S's 

Yes Elder Fili will never trust me again with lollies HAHA. The cupcakes we very sweet if Dad tried to eat them he wouldn't of even eaten his half as he does. 

Well this week was kinda, Elder Morley "Bye members" then Elder Semu "Hi members" but we did teach (finally) the chinese family with the Sister who can speak mando and then we went the next day to do some service for them (see photos) Neru seems to like being able to talk to Elder Semu in Samoan.

And yes, It is Elder Bednar who is coming to the mission... our mission conference is on the 24th!!!!!! 

One of the members said a Sister Smith will be going to Syd north mission march/april so I figure you'll be feeding her if you see her, it was the K's who said they know her.

Here are some photos of me and Elder Morley having a little fun before he got transferred and a cool cloud thing I thought (one of them was on his camera so that's why it looks weird bc I took a photo of it on his camera)

Love you all

Elder Cox

Nice clouds

Reilly and Elder Morley playing around!

And again!

A photo of a photo on Elder Morley's camera.

(Don't know how they pose like that!!)

Reilly and Elder Semu.

Elder Semu and their investigator.

Week 36

Hi EVERYONE :D

Yep I got my box......I GOT A BOOMERANG!  Got some funny pics about the box too haha 

No news with transfers.... we never hear till Tuesday night or even wednesday 

but new rules; district meetings are weeks 2-5 and week 1 is a zone meeting and week 6 is transfers so if you are getting transfered no meeting for you that week so we took our district photo this week

Bit of a slower week ( I was going to write slow but no week seems to be slow haha), I think everyone has gone back to work and school bc it's been alot harder to catch them. M haven't heard from despite texting her. The chinese family were at an ultrasound on Tuesday and they just said to see if the car is there, that means they're there but that doesn't really help us seeing we don't speak mando but we keep trying, we actually tried to teach them the restoration in english but we lost them at prophets... so we just going to try and catch them while we have the member with us. We had dinner at the V's last night but it was only Ni and J and his 1yo boy S haha S (big S) just stayed in his room. J says your name is familiar Dad he worked for the church while he was in PNG and when I said you work at church offices he said that might be why, so let me know if you know him.

We've been doing this thing called 'scripture of the day' / 'pass it on' so we pick a scripture for the day and we go share it with members/LA and tell them to go share it with another member and then either a non-member or LA member and tell the person they share it with to do the same. so hopefully we'll get a chain going but we'll see how it's gone this week.

Monday evening guess what we saw; forget a double rainbow, it was a QUAD RAINBOW!!!!!!! but I don't have a pic, I didn't catch it in time wasn't there for long :/ 

So we went on trade offs this week and our DL has a car so we went to the country part of our area to see if anyone was interested, we managed to give someone a Book of Mormon and not too many others were interested but we had never been out that way before so we thought we would give it a shot. (some photos of that)

So Elder Fili (a Tongan) decided he wanted to try some of the Aussie lollies you sent HAHAHAHA lets just say he doesn't like ginger or musk and I don't think he'll want to try anything else you send me hahahaha (Terri here: I think this is just a ploy, so no one will eat his "good stuff", like his pineapple M&M's. hahahaha)

I got the family history I'll copy it out. (Thanks, Poppy.)

Yes... I do need something.... could you send those recipes.... I've only got pancakes and tuna mornay 

Love you  :D

Elder Cox

I GOT A BOOMERANG!!!!!!!!

(I think he's excited much!!)

Elder Fili trying Ginger bears.

Elder Fili's face after trying Ginger bears!!

Where they went in the country!

And another!

Sunset.

A photo of the missionaries in his district.

Week 35

Hello Everyone

Week was good. I should probably say great! :) we caught up with the Chinese family; the husband was home with the kids (not sure if the wife was home or just asleep) and so he came out and got me to talk on the phone to his insurance or repair place not sure which I think it was the repair shop about his windscreen it had a chip, and he didn't know what to call it in english so after talking to company about the windscreen and setting up a time for him to go in and get it fixed hahaha he invited us inside and we chatted a little bit (his english is a bit better than his wife) and set up a time to go see them on tuesday. The ward's doing well we're trying to catch S (Sis V's bro) he's been very busy with work. 

We met M this week she seems quite interested. Funny how we found her I think it was no coincidence (pls it never is a coincidence really) so we took Logan , one of the YSA's, with us to an appt but our wasn't home so we knocked on the house across the st and met her and she invited us in, and so if we didn't have Logan we wouldn't have been able to go inside (bc of the missionary rules) and she said after we had taught her the restoration "I was wondering how to know which church was you know... true" I don't think its just per chance that that's usually what we teach first.

Interviews was good, the training was on the Book of Mormon and how we can better use it in our teaching and the importance of our investigators gaining a testimony of it. We also talked more about the Standards of Excellence but really just focusing on the Book of Mormon. 

Yes February already. not sure that I want to be 19 tho :P hahaha

No we aren't near Hobbiton I think that's in Rotorua Zone

We are seeing N and A tmrw night Wednesday they were taking their girls to the park so we only said hello. 

Ask Neil Cummings about Moses Lasalosi; he served in the same mission so he might remember him we talked with him in the park Moses isn't in our ward but he's looking to move into it. 

More spies hey :P...... they just keep on enlisting.... yep South Auckland seems to be the 'training ground' most of the newbies end up there to start. I'm sure I'll meet her at some point....  (Someone has moved into our ward and their daughter is in Hamilton Mission!!)

Pops.... Pops (bro C) is our assistant WML, he practically lives at the temple :P hahaha and so one morning on the way to the temple he knocked on our door to tell us about our dinner appts for the week..... only thing was it was 4.30 in the morning..... yes I still answered the door and we had been at the temple lights the night before so I was really tired that Tuesday hahaha but he's good. Always has a story to tell as well. oh yeah the salad tasted fine haha

Very cool experience from Bond sounds like he was ready (Alma13:24)

oh yeah we found this house with steps to the wall.... no door hahaha so we took a pic (that's Logan)

Photos of me cooking.

Scriptures this week:

Alma 29:9 Here.

Alma 33:14, 22-23 Here.

Alma 36:3 Here.

Hope you guys have a good week :D

Love You 

Elder Cox

Where's the door?

Cooking pancakes!

Oop! Forgot to oil the pan!!

That's better! YUM!

Week 34

Hello Everyone :D

This week was good Elder Morley didn't get sick from me being sick last week, but his bike did haha we had to fix a flat and buy a tyre (yes tyre and a tube) there was a rip down the side of the tyre so we changed that over and stuck a new tube in as well (it had a slow leak we had to pump it up at the petrol station all the time) 

No appt with the Chinese family I think her husband is still in Auckland. L has been busy this week or so she says in the texts I really hope it is busy and not "busy" but we'll keep trying and inviting them to activities. So we taught this family this week, we found them a while ago; knocked on their door and set up an appt but then they were out so we popped round again and they said to come this week; actually we met him playing volleyball in the park with some Samoans one night and before you ask, of course we played with them hahaha creative finding :P and we met her walking on the street one afternoon last year but she said maybe another time. so when we knocked on their door the other week (wait did I tell you about them??? N and A) anyway we were like hey its you.... oh and you too.... haha so we finally got to teach them this week on Wednesday and on Saturday we went to invite them to a baptism but only A was home and she said that they felt happy after we had visited with them and their kids (V and Al) were playing nicer with each other and kept asking when we were coming back hahahahaha. so we're going this Wednesday. We've been trying to work with Sis V's brother S (btw I weighed myself there and I'm  65kg......) 

Sis H (the one who speaks Mandarin) has been busy and us going over by ourselves is just like "Hi... you doing good? ok, see you" Elder Morley was just thinking when I was lying down on the ground last week...."What are you up to?? get up."  

Yeah I was going to say HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI what's funnier is its a public holiday here too (auckland anniversary or something) but I'll just tell em its for Australia Day hahaha.

Speaking of the Sierra's, Tasmin emailed good to hear from them hahaha you better keep that blog updated now :P

@ DAD: speaking of food hahhaha guess what Pops (did I tell you who Pops is???) put into a salad....... banana.... this wasn't a fruit salad mind you. leaves and cucumber and all AND BANANA hahahaha

oh and I'll send some photos of our p day at the Hamilton Gardens

gotta go reply to everyone else now 

Love you all

Elder Cox

Week 33

Hello Everyone :D

This week's been a funny one haha the New Zealander's all think I'm crazy; "How are you wearing a long sleeve shirt in this heat!!??!?" "uhhh... it's not hot......" it was probably like 25 or something hahahaha or we'll be at dinner appt and they'll say its hot and get a fan and point it at us bc yknow we're the Elders to which I say "you're the ones who need the fan, I'm used to this heat in Australia" 

another night we had 'pudding' (dessert) first and then dinner... I don't know why they all say that here instead of dessert bc we weren't eating any pudding, it just confuses me; I think we're going to be eating pudding and then they bring out ice cream or some other dessert thing that isn't a pudding. anyway we went over and the chicken wasn't ready so we just had dessert first while we waited for the chicken to cook hahaha

Talked with a lady from Canberra was doing some gardening so we asked if she'd like some help "only if you're not going to charge me" hahaha we laughed at that "nah free" "but you're in nice white shirts" "it's alright" so we helped her out, she started asking us questions about the church but yeah she's from canberra just staying for a week so we can't really go back to teach her, but we left her with a Book of Mormon.

We caught up with that Chinese family this week, well the wife, the husband wasn't home so we couldn't go in, but that was a good thing..... funny story that.... they won't forget the Elders now that's for sure haha.  So we took our member who can translate, they had set up an appt and all bc well it's kinda hard for us to do that when we don't speak mando. (Mandarin) so it was in the evening and earlier that day my stomach was feeling a little off but yknow missionary life just get out there and stay busy so we ride to their place and meet the member there and we get there and I'm feeling a bit sick but didn't want to cancel bc we've really been trying to get to teach them. So we knock on the door say hello and we're talking for a little bit and then typical me when I'm not well or anything goes wrong with me, guess.... go on guess....... of course, I feel dizzy, so I sit down, that doesn't work so I keep going and lie down on their driveway (see, good thing we couldn't go inside) now Elder Morley, the investigator and our member we're probably wondering what I was doing but idk I'm not them, anyway I blacked out for like a split second (lucky I had already lied myself down in the recovery position) and came back round and threw up on there driveway...... yup they're not going to forget us Elders haha. she was ok tho, she got some tissues so I could wipe my arm clean we got the hose and cleaned up the driveway, but we gave a restoration pamphlet (in chinese) and asked her to read the first vision and pray about it and said she would. (well our member asked her). After that we went back to the flat and I proceeded to empty the rest of the contents of my stomach (I don't think you want me to send that photo :P (and yes there is a photo of it haha)) not sure if it was something I ate or a stomach bug but I'm feeling better now.

L liked church didn't come yesterday :/ we'll catch up this week tho, she knows the Hendersons so we've tried to organise a FHE kinda thing with them.

Yup I got part one last night hahaha got a call from Matt Tini's brother and he came and dropped it off to our flat hahaha. (Part 1 of birthday box!!)

Yeah Siale sent me an email " I'm so spiritually up lifted and have a stronger testimony it's not funny like I could break bricks with my testimony!" the man. hahahaha Good to know how he's doing. 

Elder Morley needed some pants and we found this ugly suit so here's a photo of Elder Phillips wearing it (they we're with us at the shop) the pic doesn't do it justice - its even uglier than it looks in it

Scriptures this week

2 Nephi 27:23 Here. a God of miracles

2 Nephi 28:30 Here.

2 Nephi 33:12 Here.

Romans 8:16-18, 31 Here.

LOVE YOU 

Elder Cox

Week 32

Hey Everyone :D

increasing sunshine???? never heard that before....

Hey.... that's the scripture I was going to send you guys this week... 

I even wrote it down in my planner; Romans 8:28. Here. coincidence... I think not hahahaha 

L and her kids came to church this week and they said they would be there next week too. YAY :) B has disappeared off the radar. G a bit of the same but hopefully we'll catch him this week. We took an investigator; C, to the VC (visitors centre) for a fireside and then afterwards they showed Meet the Mormons have you heard of / seen it ?? its a nice little movie. he enjoyed it but we don't think he's in our area.. (just out of) he came to church and he said he lived off P rd (in our area) so we'll probably pass him to the other Elders who cover his area we'll see.

Zone meeting this week as well (see photos) they did an object lesson about using tools we have as missionaries to find new people to teach so I started off eating the icecream with a pin (I think I did better than they had hoped at eating it) then moved up to a lollypop stick as everyone started to list some tools and then the list got massive so they gave me a shovel/spade haha anyway point was we need some tools to use bc if we don't they don't get any icecream but it we try use everything the other person just gets overwhelmed and can't "eat the icecream" (accept/learn from our message) so we need a balance (a spoon). I was just happy to eat the icecream hahaha. the Zone was pretty shocked when I ate it off the rusty shovel but hey just some extra iron into the diet :P hahaha (My boy will eat icecream any way he can!!)

There'll be a General Authority tour in march. don't know who, but we've been asked to read the book of mormon before and ponder the question "how does the Book of Mormon fulfill its role as Another Testament of Jesus Christ?" i'm up to 2 Nephi 21. I should be able to finish it in time. 

We went and did some more service for the lady Sis H again except it was more of us this time. 

Met a Hipolite (however it's spelt) apparently big name in the church. He served in Melbourne west mission and in Tassie for a bit so he laughed when I said I was related to the Woolleys "HAHA half of Tasmania".

I don't really know what to put in the my family book... so yes please the more stories the better :) its alright... hasn't rained very much anyways and I have that jacket thing for now we'll see how well it works when winter hits hahaha

I thought about a boomerang for my box hahaha :P nice big park to throw it around on. any flavour licorice, just Darrael Lea bc those things the Yanks call Twizzlers are NOT licorice, more like flavoured plastic (we've had some of those...)  (Answers of what to put in his birthday box that we are sending over) 

Scriptures

Rom 8:28 Here.

2 Nephi 10:23 Here.

Love you

Elder Cox

Zone Conference.

Eating Ice-cream with a spade.

Service, doing gardening...or is it just playing in the dirt??

He looks like he's having fun, I can see a grin on his face!!

The Elder, Sister H, and the Sister missionaries.