Wow what a call!!!!!

Kia Ora Family!!!! Or should i say Hola Familia?

Wow I can't believe brittany got her mission call!!! How wonderful!! Thats so awesome she's going to arizona and going to be SPEAKING SPANISH!!! What an experience it will be for you brittany!! I am so excited for you and can't wait to hear about the experiences you will have! You and Brandon will be able to communicate with one another in spanish! That will be cool!

Well this past week was a pretty dang good week once again! Let me just start out by saying conference was amazing! I realize now how much i took it for granted before! It makes me sad about how foolish i was growing up not to appreciate general conference! It really was so amazing. I just love hearing from all of the leaders of the church and how inspiring their words are! It just confirms to me that this is the true church and those men are really all called of God.

Besides general conference being a huge highlight of the week me and elder dorosan managed to find two awesome couples this week! Tai and Tisha, from the cook islands, and another couple with kids, Tiarre and Lisa. Both couples are really really keen!!! We taught a lesson to Tai and Tisha last sunday about the Restoration. On tuesday when we returned to see how they were doing we had an awesome follow up with them. When we came in Tisha was like really really excited and talking a lot. In the first lesson with them she hadn't really said a whole lot and was quiet. It turns out she was just so excited about the Book of Mormon. Before we left on Sunday we committed her and Tai to read the title page and intro to the book of mormon. When we followed up with tisha we found out that she had read both of those things, the testimonies of the 3 and 8 witnesses, joseph smith's testimony and even the first two chapters of Nephi!!! When we found this out, Elder Dorosan and i were dumbstruck! And she was just so excited and happy. She said she just really really loved reading all of it and just really felt something everytime she would read! We later explained she was feeling the holy ghost and encouraged her to keep reading. Tai also managed to read the intro but has a little trouble reading the english language so later in the week we got a copy for him in his language. They are just a really great young couple. They are actually only in NZ right now for their recently born baby who almost didnt live past birth. The medical care here in NZ is better than in the Cook islands so that is why they are here, to recieve the medical care they need for their baby. They have been here for 3 months and will probably remain for another 6. I feel really great about this young couple! The only concern with them right now is that they have some family oppostion. I can see that Tisha is a little afraid to go against what her family's religious beliefs are. i'm not too worried though, i know that if she and tai continue to read and pray, their faith will strengthen and they will know what is right.

The other couple we met is also superb!!! Tiarre was a referral from some other elders, and we had first been trying to contact him. We eventually did contact him and set up something, but when we came he was gone. We were going to give up on him, but decided to give him another chance, in fact on we randomly ran into him on the street and set up a time to come on wednesday. We managed to get hold of him again and set up another lesson. So we went around on wednesday for our lesson and he was home. So we went in and had a great lesson with just him about the restoration. Tiarre is a good man, he's a mixture of a few nationalities but more maouri than anything. He doesent say a whole lot, but does take everything in really well. The lesson we had went really great. We gave him a restro pamphlet and book of mormon before we left and said we'd come back and talk more about the book of mormon with him. We came back the next day and his wife lisa was home and wanted to join us in the lesson. Before we started the lesson Tiarre had been sitting at the table reading the pamphlet we left him. He told us he had read it through a few times and it made a lot of sense to him. It was really cool to see him studying the pamphlet! Anyways, we continued on with the lesson and his wife lisa came in eventually and joined us. Lisa is a really great lady. She is so funny and is really bubbly and funny. We had a great lesson with them about the book of mormon and explained to lisa that we would come back tomorrow and teach her about the restro. So we cam back on friday and taught lisa the restoration, tiarre was part of it also. It was also another great lesson. Whenever I shared the first vision she just said she really felt something and almost wanted to cry. We also invited them to general conference and they said they could make it to the last session. oh ya before we started that lesson with them. we also came in and their book of mormons and pamphlets were on the table and they were ready for the lesson. It was really cool to see! They both said they had read a little bit of the first chapter but would continue to read. They are both just so awesome and really really just want to keep learning! Its really amazing to just see they desire they have! I'm just astonished! Rarely do we ever find people like this!

So sunday came around and we manged to get them to the last session of general conference! As we sat and watched the conference i was completely stunned and still am as i type this email. Every single talk in that last session was completely perfect for them!!! Every single one!! L. Tom Perry's talk on the book of mormon. Ballards talk about families and also all the others were just completely perfect! I am just amazed! After the conference they told us they really enjoyed it and had a lot of things to "ponder" about haha. I know they really felt something in there. We are going to be seeing them tommorrow, and i'm so excited to see them and share with them the plan of salvation and how they can be together forver!!! I am just so thankful for the opportunity to teach them!!! Its such a huge miracle we found them! I am still in awe and wonder about how we find these people that are so prepared!

I am so pumped for this week! And the other souls we will also find and teach!!!! I just know this is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth!!!! I know Christ lives and directs this great work! I know we are all Gods children and he loves us all so much and is there for us if we just but reach out to him! I really really really love the book of mormon. Right now, i think i told you this already, but anyway, right now as a mission we are reading the book of mormon in 90 days! I am just falling in love with the book as i have read it! I am just really starting to see how it really is all about coming unto Christ and living his gospel!!! I just really am coming to understand how it is the keystone of our religion, the only evidence we have of the restoration. Without it, Joseph smith would have been nothing and could have been thrown out and rejected as a fraud. But because of the book we know that the restoration did happen. That the heavens are still open and god has revealed, will reveal, and continue to reveal great and marvelous things pertaining to the kingdom of god!!!

Well all of you just keep being awesome examples to others, and love one another. I really feel like that was a big message of the conference, and that is to just simply love one another. Be a true disciple of Christ, not to just be active in the church, but active in the gospel. Well i'll wrap this up! love you all so much! Talk to you next week!!!!

LOVE,
Elder Rawlinson

and Brandon will be able to communicate with one another in spanish! That will be cool!

Well this past week was a pretty dang good week once again! Let me just start out by saying conference was amazing! I realize now how much i took it for granted before! It makes me sad about how foolish i was growing up not to appreciate general conference! It really was so amazing. I just love hearing from all of the leaders of the church and how inspiring their words are! It just confirms to me that this is the true church and those men are really all called of God.

Besides general conference being a huge highlight of the week me and elder dorosan managed to find two awesome couples this week! Tai and Tisha, from the cook islands, and another couple with kids, Tiarre and Lisa. Both couples are really really keen!!! We taught a lesson to Tai and Tisha last sunday about the Restoration. On tuesday when we returned to see how they were doing we had an awesome follow up with them. When we came in Tisha was like really really excited and talking a lot. In the first lesson with them she hadn't really said a whole lot and was quiet. It turns out she was just so excited about the Book of Mormon. Before we left on Sunday we committed her and Tai to read the title page and intro to the book of mormon. When we followed up with tisha we found out that she had read both of those things, the testimonies of the 3 and 8 witnesses, joseph smith's testimony and even the first two chapters of Nephi!!! When we found this out, Elder Dorosan and i were dumbstruck! And she was just so excited and happy. She said she just really really loved reading all of it and just really felt something everytime she would read! We later explained she was feeling the holy ghost and encouraged her to keep reading. Tai also managed to read the intro but has a little trouble reading the english language so later in the week we got a copy for him in his language. They are just a really great young couple. They are actually only in NZ right now for their recently born baby who almost didnt live past birth. The medical care here in NZ is better than in the Cook islands so that is why they are here, to recieve the medical care they need for their baby. They have been here for 3 months and will probably remain for another 6. I feel really great about this young couple! The only concern with them right now is that they have some family oppostion. I can see that Tisha is a little afraid to go against what her family's religious beliefs are. i'm not too worried though, i know that if she and tai continue to read and pray, their faith will strengthen and they will know what is right.

The other couple we met is also superb!!! Tiarre was a referral from some other elders, and we had first been trying to contact him. We eventually did contact him and set up something, but when we came he was gone. We were going to give up on him, but decided to give him another chance, in fact on we randomly ran into him on the street and set up a time to come on wednesday. We managed to get hold of him again and set up another lesson. So we went around on wednesday for our lesson and he was home. So we went in and had a great lesson with just him about the restoration. Tiarre is a good man, he's a mixture of a few nationalities but more maouri than anything. He doesent say a whole lot, but does take everything in really well. The lesson we had went really great. We gave him a restro pamphlet and book of mormon before we left and said we'd come back and talk more about the book of mormon with him. We came back the next day and his wife lisa was home and wanted to join us in the lesson. Before we started the lesson Tiarre had been sitting at the table reading the pamphlet we left him. He told us he had read it through a few times and it made a lot of sense to him. It was really cool to see him studying the pamphlet! Anyways, we continued on with the lesson and his wife lisa came in eventually and joined us. Lisa is a really great lady. She is so funny and is really bubbly and funny. We had a great lesson with them about the book of mormon and explained to lisa that we would come back tomorrow and teach her about the restro. So we cam back on friday and taught lisa the restoration, tiarre was part of it also. It was also another great lesson. Whenever I shared the first vision she just said she really felt something and almost wanted to cry. We also invited them to general conference and they said they could make it to the last session. oh ya before we started that lesson with them. we also came in and their book of mormons and pamphlets were on the table and they were ready for the lesson. It was really cool to see! They both said they had read a little bit of the first chapter but would continue to read. They are both just so awesome and really really just want to keep learning! Its really amazing to just see they desire they have! I'm just astonished! Rarely do we ever find people like this!

So sunday came around and we manged to get them to the last session of general conference! As we sat and watched the conference i was completely stunned and still am as i type this email. Every single talk in that last session was completely perfect for them!!! Every single one!! L. Tom Perry's talk on the book of mormon. Ballards talk about families and also all the others were just completely perfect! I am just amazed! After the conference they told us they really enjoyed it and had a lot of things to "ponder" about haha. I know they really felt something in there. We are going to be seeing them tommorrow, and i'm so excited to see them and share with them the plan of salvation and how they can be together forver!!! I am just so thankful for the opportunity to teach them!!! Its such a huge miracle we found them! I am still in awe and wonder about how we find these people that are so prepared!

I am so pumped for this week! And the other souls we will also find and teach!!!! I just know this is the only true and living church upon the face of the earth!!!! I know Christ lives and directs this great work! I know we are all Gods children and he loves us all so much and is there for us if we just but reach out to him! I really really really love the book of mormon. Right now, i think i told you this already, but anyway, right now as a mission we are reading the book of mormon in 90 days! I am just falling in love with the book as i have read it! I am just really starting to see how it really is all about coming unto Christ and living his gospel!!! I just really am coming to understand how it is the keystone of our religion, the only evidence we have of the restoration. Without it, Joseph smith would have been nothing and could have been thrown out and rejected as a fraud. But because of the book we know that the restoration did happen. That the heavens are still open and god has revealed, will reveal, and continue to reveal great and marvelous things pertaining to the kingdom of god!!!

Well all of you just keep being awesome examples to others, and love one another. I really feel like that was a big message of the conference, and that is to just simply love one another. Be a true disciple of Christ, not to just be active in the church, but active in the gospel. Well i'll wrap this up! love you all so much! Talk to you next week!!!!

LOVE,
Elder Rawlinson




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