Feb 23, 2014

This first part he sent out to a bunch of his friends for an update.

hey guys,

so just a little update on what's been happening. 

1- it's my birthday tomorrow, so if anyone wants to send me anything...haha jokes you don't have to.

2- well, another transfer has come and gone, 6 months on the mission and my time has now come. I am being made District Leader in the Hastings District, and I will also be training a new missionary coming in. So, lots of responsibility coming up, but I am very excited and willing to take on this new challenge to help me grow and be a better missionary. 

3- I have a baptism date set for May 10th for this guy John we have been teaching, and he is progressing very well, always comes to church, and I think he's going to want to make it happen sooner than May. He just has WOW problems, but he is going very well and doing good. 

4- anyways, just a heads up on what's been happening, still doing the work, still going hard, and still trying to learn and grow every day. 

Always remember to be obedient to the principles of the gospel, it will help you in everyday life and help you to become better. Attend the temple if you are worthy and able to as much as you can. Here on my mission, the temple is inaccessible, and so I miss it a lot. Take advantage of it. Read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover if you haven't yet. That book contains so much that we can all use for everyday life. I have such a great love for it and the material and wisdom it contains. It is an inspired work of God, and I know that we can get closer to God with that book than by any other. 

I love this work, I love this gospel, I know it to be true, without a shadow of a doubt. I miss and love all of you, and remember, KIA KAHA! 

Love,

Elder Passey

The package actually already arrived, so I have balloons galore and candy!! haha thanks!!
It's so crazy, almost seems too much, but I know if that's what the Lord thinks I can do, then I'm going to do it! It will be hard I know, but I'm really looking forward to it! (his response back to me about becoming District Leader)

Besides that, my week seems slow I guess...

Had an exchange with Elder Pelo in Napier, that was really fun, Elder Pelo is the man! It was pretty hot up there, like 26 C, but on saturday, I was going to die...35C!!! That's like 100 F! We had our Stake Helping Hands on Saturday too, so we were out in the sun for 3 hours...I put sunscreen on, I didn't get too sunburned, but I still just felt the sun killing me....It was the hottest temp in the country on Saturday, so pretty bad....some members made us Cafe Rio though! It was good, but not as good as home..I think she took out too much of the juice so it was a bit dry, and no home made tortillas, so not as good, but tasty still. Also, yesterday we were in town street contacting, and a member, high council man, from Flaxmere talked to us, drove down the road, then turned around and asked if we had lunch. we had eaten a bit earlier on, but he said come on I'll come buy you something. So he took us to this Asian place, we ordered, and then he left, he was going down to Wellington. So Elder Taufa and I sat in an Asian restaurant on Sunday eating Asian satay. Pretty great. Only on my mission in New Zealand. Besides that, just the training call and being DL, so lots of work for me now. I'm excited though, and I hope I can do good. I loved all those picture quotes too! I'm going to put them on my signing journal for the cover. 

Anyways, still doing good, it is a lot cooler today too, so lots easier to be outside. Going to have a District P day today, playing touch rugby at the park, which I love! It's so fun! 

Hope you all have a good week, miss and love you all! 

Elder Passey

Had to send him some birthday balloons!

The crazy Hastings District

Elder Passey and Elder Taufa

Feb. 16, 2014

Dear Family

Yes my week has been AMAZING!!! Wow, so much!!! Fantastic exchange with Elder Langi, I uploaded pics, so cool, so much good stuff. He's so powerful, and knows exactly how the mission life is, he's the man!  I also almost found my other street! It was Plassey instead of Passey though, dang...so close!! Maybe someday I will have my full name in Streets! We did have rain the beginning of the week, then it stopped and got super hot! I was dying all day, but then I came back to Hastings and got the car again, all good now :)  The exchange was in Havelock North, which is a rich little village like a mile out of Hastings. Kinda hard area, but hey, gotta do it,. and it was fun anyways.

 The next best thing this week was a leadership training we got to attend that had Russell M. Nelson there! It was a broadcast from Auckland, but so cool!! That was such a powerful meeting, and I gained and learned so much to use as a missionary, even when it was for church leaders, so powerful!! I hope we have more of those! 

Elder Nelson said this, three things we as missionaries do to help hasten the work.

1-Gather Israel using the Book of Mormon

2-Seal families in the holy temples, or get them there

3-Prepare people for the second coming. 

Loved it, the whole thing was so awesome! I hope we have more down the line. It was funny as well, Elder Hamula got up after him and started describing how Elder Nelson is almost 90, 90!! and Elder Nelson gets up again and says, you know, in the word of wisdom it says you can walk and not be weary, walk and not faint, and ski with your grandchildren! haha so great! They are just normal guys inspired of God.  

Behind us? Probably just orchards and paddocks, there is so much fruit in Hawke's Bay right now, so much, and it's all so good!!! Variations and breeds of plums and apples, delicious!

I told him about our Stake Youth Conference coming up this summer that is all about missionary work....

Wow that sounds great!! that should be good for the youth to do that, it helps prepare a lot when you experience it more back home. So nice to be able to have those opportunities too! The noble generation moving forward! well, all seems well back home.

The bishop here in the ward just gave us a challenge, well, the ward, to read the Book of Mormon twice this year, I'm already at one, so I'm going to surpass that by a lot. I love that Book now, so much. More than I ever have. 

Well, I'm a bit out of time now, well, we are heading out, Taufa has been done for like 20 minutes. I have too many emails haha :P oh could you send me the recipe for cow pies? I thought of that one this week. Love and miss you all, thanks for everything!! 

Love,

Elder Passey

Elder Passey and Elder Langi

Feb 9, 2014

Dear Family, 

well, it's been a rainy and wet week here in Hastings, but at least I haven't been able to be sunburned this week! :D Yay! Miracles do happen :) anyways, had a busy but great week this past week. We set a new baptismal date with John  for the 10th of May, so whether I am here to see it or not, he's on the right track! Maybe we will do something to help him move it up. I hope so.

That's what the whole world is trying to push, open your mouth to be able to share the Gospel. I actually do get nervous sometimes, it gets so nerve racking when all these people are around you and you are trying to share a message, it just feels really overwhelming. I gotta do it though, and some days are better than others. Some days I get real intimidated, and others I just go hard and talk to everyone, but it works.  

 I had an exchange with Elder Vagai, (van-yai) and I again did not get a picture with just us, but he's in our district photos I put on. We had Waitangi day here in Clive, just outside of Hastings, which is the celebration of the day when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, the Treaty for peace between the Maori and Europeans I believe. It was cool, lots of people, lots of food, we had ice cream on a watermelon all cut up, that's really good! Just take half a watermelon, take a knife and cut diagonally inside it a few times, mix it up a bit, then plop ice cream on the top, delicious! I have a picture that I will get from Elder Purcell to show you all. Oh yeah it was his birthday, and so at District meeting we had cake and ice cream, and then celebrated with him yesterday with more cake, we got him a NZ scarf. It was pretty great. We walked around in the rain for a good 5 or 6 +hours this week, just for fun, we walked around trying to street contact and into Ton, which is a good half hour walk, but then three or 4 besides that, so lots of rain, and we got pretty much drenched. Fun stuff, look forward to that one Jaydon! Other than that, just pretty much more street contacting, visits, and doing missionary stuff. Hoping for more great people who are willing to listen and doing the good work here in Hastings! Hope you are all doing good, and have a great week!

Elder Passey

Buildings in downtown Hastings