Elder Caleb Paulson- My Two Year New Zealand Adventure: Weekly Update 9/22/13

Here are some of the details from Elder Paulson’s weekly email. It sounds like the work is beginning to take off.

We had our Special Invite Sunday yesterday, and had four investigators there. B and also V, a single mother and her daughters, who were referred to us by Sister M. We were hoping for a lot more, but this lady seems really excited about the church.

So two weeks ago we were tracting and we met this older lady who is a Buddhist and stuff. She seemed really quite strange, and had some weird ideas. But we gave her and her partner a copy of the Book of Mormon and invited them to ready 3 Nephi: 11-13, which is about Jesus teaching the doctrine of Christ to the Nephites. When we went back last week, she said she had read it and agreed with all of it, and tried to give the book back to us. We told her to keep it; a gift from us, and she was really grateful and what not. We invited her to continue reading. When we went back this week, we were just talking to her for a bit, and she told us how she has over 200 bottles of wine in her cellar, because she makes her own. I was thinking, well dang. Then she told us about this diet that her doctor put her and her partner on, and it says limit coffee, tea, alcohol, and no tobacco. When her partner came home and went in to get a beer, she told him he needed to start limiting himself. So I think teaching the Word of Wisdom might actually go over fairly well. Then she asked if we wanted to talk about the Book of Mormon. Obviously we did. She told how she had finished 1 Nephi and was on to "Enos' book. Is that Enoch?" So basically she read like a quarter of the book in a week or so. Her partner also said we are welcome any time when we were leaving and she said, "I'll see you two next Saturday?" Pretty neat.

I have finished the Book of Mormon all the way through, and am now in 3 Nephi, as of a few days ago. But then I got bored because the war chapters were over for a bit, so I decided to take a break and I've been reading Jesus the Christ. I think I'm on chapter 7 or 8 now. It’s a heavy duty book.

I think I will still be here in this area for another 2 or 3 months, but we will see. The next transfer is Oct. 24, and we think Elder Langi will probably move since he has been here 6 months, but even that isn't a given.

I got my typewriter back on Saturday. We went to visit the S family because they had gotten back from a work trip that day. They were at the store, so their son had us start moving their wood. They had a lot of wood. Sister S gave us lunch after because we had been there for probably at least 2 hours. Also, I scratched the beveled edge bit of the glass on my watch a tiny bit. Dang it. But ya, when we were eating lunch, D came and put the typewriter on my lap and told me to test it out. Apparently he cheated. Rather than re-inking the ribbon like he said he would, he just ordered another one from "some joker up in Auckland." So that was nice of him.

Dunedin was alright. It’s a big difference from quiet Central Otago. A mission tour is when a General Authority tours the mission and speaks. It was our Zone Conference basically. President Hamula was the main speaker. I ended up not staying in the haunted house. It was basically the complete opposite. Six of us stayed with an older couple in Dunedin, and they basically have a Temple house. Very, very nice. Probably very, very expensive. But very similar to a temple, just missing the chandelier and stuff.

The haunted house is apparently a huge house compared to a regular mission flat, because they hope to start having church services there. Even the way the house is built is strange. Like the bedroom that was converted to a study has the attic access in it, and the bedroom door locks from the outside rather than the inside. The missionaries will find drapes open or lights on. Even when another missionary and the Senior Elder were there, they went in the room, and when they came back half an hour later, the attic was open. And they've had dreams. It’s pretty creepy. But all they can do is pray, and bless the house, and put up pictures of Christ.

Yes, I am wearing my new glasses. It took a few days to get used to them. I look flash.

The only area of my pants getting tight is around the thighs. I'm going to be so ripped when I get home. Probably not. If anything had to be altered, it would be my suit coats. Gotta start my sit ups I guess.

Let’s just say the ticket was a lot more than I wanted to pay. Ya. Good times. {Referring to his speeding ticket}

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