Slow week!

This was the slowest week on my mission, and hopefully the last slow week ever.  Elder Rigby was sick almost every day this week. [he has had some asthma issues]  I felt so bad for him and couldn't do anything for him.  However, I did get a lot done around the flat, like updating our area book, reading scriptures, and writing letters and writing in my journal. 

I loved getting to talk with you on Christmas.  I am glad you think I am getting a little accent!  However, I am sure that I won't keep it.  Our American accent is so strong to everyone here in New Zealand!  

I am having so much trouble with this computer.  I can't upload any pictures or do anything, so this will be short.

I love my mission.  My favorite part of the mission so far is when I was training.  I love focusing on just my area, and helping a new missionary see the best ways to do the work.  

Love, Elder Tuckett

Mom notes from our call:

He is doing wonderful.  He is so positive in all that he had to say. Not one negative thing.  He has worn out a pair of shoes, and his belt, and one pair of pants.  

He will come home either two weeks early or four weeks late --  as much as he wants to come back late, he will probably end up coming home early so he can return to school.  He has decided that he is probably just going back and continuing at BYU-I.  

He is one of the "older" missionaries now.  There are more that have come after him than before.  

We could detect a small accent in a few things that he said.  

We loved our call and it was the highlight of our day.  An hour of pure heaven!  

Happy New Year to all ---  Let the COUNTDOWN begin! 

My Christmas Package Arrived!

It is looking like Christmas.  People have been putting up lights.  Not everyone celebrates Christmas or puts up lights or trees.  It is like optional here, which is weird.  And if they do have a tree at all,  it is really small and they put it on a table to make it look bigger!  Ha ha!

Thank you so much for my birthday presents!  I love my new tie!  And the watches are perfect and very flashy!  I love every present you gave me!  Thanks!   Not much exciting happened on my birthday, someone in my district had the same birthday as me.  I baked the brownies that you sent me, but they only really cooked on the top so they were extra fudgy!  They were good.  

I got the Christmas package this week.  I love the new socks!!!!  I haven't opened any of the presents yet.  On Christmas we are having breakfast with the Sr couple.  Then, we are going to some peoples house to sing, or do service or something.  Then we are hopefully going to eat Christmas dinner with a less active family who are Americans.   And we have a teaching appointment that night!  Then on Boxing Day we are skyping you!  The family where we were going to go are now going to the beach, so we are going to our ward mission leaders house.  

We had a wedding this week.  Some of our investigators got married. We are now going to re-teach them and then they can hopefully get baptized.  We haven't been able to see a lot of our investigators because everyone has been so busy with Christmas things.  So we are kind of in a slow spot.  I thought that it would be the exact opposite at Christmas, and everyone would want to hear the message of the Saviors birth.  Oh well, we just try to remind them that the reason for Christmas is not for presents, but to celebrate the birth of Christ.

After the wedding this week, there was a huge feast.  They dig a hole in the ground and they put wood in, and then cover it with dirt.  It was pretty cool, it tasted like dirt though, maybe they did it wrong.  It was great though.

I am so excited for Grandma to be a missionary!  [my mom is going to do a service mission, working in the mission office of the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission] Tell her to take a picture of her badge and send it to me.  I am so excited for her!  Those grandma missionaries are the best! 

I have just finished studying Matthew this week.  I really have received a testimony of the scriptures.  I have gained a greater love of the Savior and his life here on the Earth and how he showed us how to live.  I love Jesus Christ and I am so glad I could gain this strong witness right before Christmas.  I know this is the true church and this is his work. 

Merry Christmas!

Elder Tuckett

It's hot!

I have been getting lots of letters and boxes this week.  Sadly, they are mostly for Elder Foremater.... Who is now in Napier...  I have got to get them up to him.  I did get your birthday present.  I am so excited to open it!!!  We will be on exchanges for my birthday tomorrow so I will be with a different Elder.  I haven't told anyone that it is my birthday, but I am going to get some of my favorite ginger beer with the money you put in my account and we will have fun!  

This is the first week of my whole mission that I have ever felt homesick.  It sucked!  I got through it because I got some great letters from Ryan and Kylie!!!!   Their letters made my day.  

The lady with the cancer that we have been teaching got some good news this week.  Her cancer is not spreading!  The cancer is in just one spot and they are going to do surgery in January.  Hopefully she doesn't have to do chemo or any other terrible treatments.  She said God still wants her to live and I have to agree because He wants her to taste the beauties of the church.  We got to see most all of our investigators this week.  But it is getting harder and harder because school is out now and everyone's schedule is very busy.  We were knocking on doors this week and ran into a Mormon that had converted to Jehovah Witness.  We took a member over that knows her and he taught he whole lesson in the prayer!  He talked about repentance  and prophets and almost everything that they don't believe in.  It was great!

On Monday we got to help someone move, and I got to drive a trailer and it was so much fun.  I got to take three trips with the trailer back and forth to their house,  it was so much fun.  

I found this cactus plant while door knocking this week and it reminded me of home.  

It was so hot this week that on our way home we had to stop and get an iced hot chocolate!

Every town has some sort of statue in town to take your photo at.  We have this big carrot statue here in Feilding.  

This is the new Elders area.  We spent all day Wednesday helping them get started at moving the work along.  The mountain in the back is an active volcano,  it was blowing smoke when we first got there.  

We are going to a members house to skype you on Christmas.  We will be calling on your Christmas.  (The 26th for us.). Hopefully, in the morning.  I love you so much. Thank you for being on the computer today when I emailed.  

Elder Tuckett

It's beginning to look like Christmas!

We got your package and the tree is already up!!!!  Now we are just waiting for the 12 days of Christmas so we can open the packages.  It is starting to feel like Christmas with the tree that you sent up.  I will be calling you on Boxing Day, (26th).  But I am worried about skyping because the Internet cafe will be closed.  I will see if there is a member that has a computer with a camera we can use.  If not, it just might just have to be a call.  Sorry!  This weekend, the youth had an auction to raise money for the youth to go up north.  I got a Christmas tie for $8!  Awesome!  

My new companion is Elder Rigby and he is from Sandy.  Do we know anyone from Sandy?  He is a lot like me, we both did swimming, life guarding, and both love cars.  We talk too much about these three things. He is very relaxed and easy going.  

MOM...Really?  I can't believe that you got to go into the Gilbert Temple. [I had the opportunity to go inside the Gilbert Temple this week and do a service project on the elevator doors, and got to see the beauty in the temple.  It was a wonderful most exciting day!] That is so exciting!  And now... You and Kati have "your own elevator door".... I am so jealous.  That is the very first thing that I want to do when I get home.  Go to the very first temple session that is available.  I can't wait to be able to go to the temple again.  

I think we are hitting a little rough patch in Feilding right now.  I was so surprised this week that my companion got transferred.  I thought we were going to be together for another week!  All is good though.  However, I am having a hard time remembering everything with our 12 progressing investigators and what they need next.  But things are going great and I know if I trust in The Lord everything will be taken care of as we follow the spirit.  We have had some great lessons this week and have felt the spirit.  I have been studying Moroni 7 and dissecting it this week.  It is one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon now.  

I am sorry if you are all freezing in America.  I'm burning up down here, it is fantastic.  The sun goes down at 10:00 pm now and comes up at 5:00 am.  I LOVE being at the bottom of the earth!  

Love you, 

Elder Tuckett

Good bye to my old companions!  They left me here to fend for myself!

More goodbyes!

Thanksgiving in New Zealand

I was  in Wanginui at the beginning of the week for exchanges and had a blast working down there in that big city!  They had a baptism this weekend and really wished I could have gone for the baptism, but it was just too far.  We are getting two new Elders in our District!  We will have 8 total now in our district, not counting the Sr. Couple.  The two new Elders will be in a small town up north.  There is a small little branch with about 25 members and it will the the first time ever that they will have missionaries!  So much fun! 

We have been in a threesome this week.  Elder Toomalatia has been with us as his companion went home.  I felt bad for him being with us while the ward members in his area, and the sisters were working with his investigators.  However, he has really helped me and Elder Formaster out!  He has also been falling in love with our area and is now sad to go back.  Everything happens for a reason, he has touched some people here in Feilding which was cool to see.  I am going to miss him as well as Elder Formaster who is being transferred this week.  

We celebrated Thanksgiving this week.  They don't celebrate it in New Zealand! [did his miss the lesson about the pilgrims and the mayflower in grade school, and that it took place in America?]  However, the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader made a Thanksgiving celebration for us and even got a little turkey.  We invited some of our investigators and it was so much fun.  Our senior couple gave the whole history of why we have Thanksgiving and the importance of the restoration of the church.  It was cool!  It just shows that God was preparing the world for the restoration of the church to bring to pass the right way and so that it could grow like wild fire!  We had this at our Bishop's house.  I just love the ward here for helping us out, and doing little sacrifices that make all the difference!

  

We had a Zone Conference with Hawkes Bay and Palmerston North this week.  There were so many missionaries there.  I did get to see my old companion, Elder Godinet!  He trained both of us here in the picture!  We are all family!  

I love you!  I get to talk to you in 5 weeks! [clearly, he has lost track of time in the mission, its 24 days, but who's counting?]

Elder Tuckett

No time to email!

We got a new companion this week.  So we are in a threesome right now.  Elder Tomaliti!  He is my mission brother!  He was trained by Elder Godinet too.  He has like 5 months left in the mission.  We are having a blast!  Right now I am on exchanges at Wanganui and will be here until Wednesday.  I am with Elder Keller.  

It looks like you had a great week in Utah.  I seriously only recognized 2 people in that cousin picture that you sent me.  I am so glad that you got to meet Ryan.  I want to hear more about that.  

Here is the picture of Ryan, and us after we had a great visit.

We were able to get on family search for an hour this week.  Tell Mary that I was able to link up with Dad's family so that the fan chart is all filled in now.  I was so excited,  and if you go on dad's grandpa, you will see that there are stories and pictures and it is really cool.   I knew that someone on dad's side had things done!  Mom, you should encourage Dad to get on there and fill out all the info on there and do family history.  

I am sorry that I do not have time today.  I only have 30 minutes to email today, and I have to do my letter to the President.   

Love you,

Elder Tuckett

Friendly Feilding!!!

See, Friendly Feilding!!!!

It is so hot here!  We wear short sleeves all day too, and it's still warm.  Enjoy your trip to cold Utah this week!  I am excited that Bishop Garn is having you meet your neighbors!  I want to hear all about the neighborhood party next week!  Tell Bishop Garn he is doing good work by pushing you all out of your comfort zones!  I also can't wait to get Ammah's letter this week, we have a girl in the ward here that is going to the Phillipines!  Scary Stuff over there!

We have started a new way of journaling.  Our zones leaders suggested for us to try video.  So every night, we video each other and we tell about our day.  I am using my iPod to do this,  we will see how it goes.  I think it is better than a boring old book.

We found out this week that one of the ladies that we do service for has cancer!  That is so sad because she is like our grandma.  She is the best!  Then, we have another investigator that has told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true just by reading the first two books.  She is re-reading  now, so that she can figure out the family tree of everyone in the book.  She knows more than me!  It is so amazing to see this one book affect so many peoples lives.  This sister says she knows it it true, "it just hit me!  It is a wall of spirit and it just hit me!"  She is going to be baptized this next month.  I just know it!  Her husband though, he stands in the door drinking and smoking every time.  He says he agrees with everything, but we have some work to do there.  

I am so excited for you to meet with Ryan this week.  He is just the best!  You are going to love him!  Tell him how much I miss him! [The young man Ryan baptized is now in Salt Lake City as a foreign exchange student, and we are going to get to meet him this week when we are in Utah, he also has a link to Ryan's cousin Holly who is serving in Germany, his host family has a son that is also serving in Germany and he and Holly are in the same district, and they put everything together from Elder Tuckett's letters, small world!]

Here is a great quote that our Mission President sent us this week:

Fix your fears.

Destroy your distractions.

Workout your worries.

Focus your faith. 

Rejoice in your referrals. 

Study your scriptures.

Prepare your planners.

Consecrate your covenants.

Sing your songs.

Motivate your members.

Select your sacrifice.

Serve your Savior.

Inspire your investigators.

Appreciate your area.

Don't you love that?  I DO!!!

Love you,

Elder Tuckett

Busy Week!

Here is the best picture that we could get on a Saturday night after a busy week.  Sorry for the bad pictures, but there is nothing to take a picture of in this town.  It is just another boring farming town.  However, it is the best place for missionary work!  

I feel that ever since I have gotten in this area, time has just flown by.  I don't know where the time goes.  It sounds like you have had a fun this week too with with lots of family visiting.  I can't wait to hear how the storm is in the Philippines and to hear from Ammah.  I hope she is okay.  I love getting to read my friends emails when you send them. But now I am so busy, it will take me longer to get them read.  
 

I am still loving my new area and new companion.  The people here are fantastic.  They are definitely more friendly. We do get fed more here during the week.  

If you get one of those family history books, will you send me one?  We only have 8 for our whole ward and the senior couple is hoarding them.  Our new senior couple has really been pushing family history so I have really gotten in the spirit of it too.  Our mission president wants us to become familiar with it so we can use it as a way of finding.  I forgot to tell you that I did that family history fan on family search too when I was stuck in Christchurch, and it was awesome, but dad's family has a lot to catch up with, there is nothing in there for them.   

This picture is from our backyard.  Nothing but little daisy flowers for grass.  One thing that I had a hard time getting used to here is that you can walk on the grass and it doesn't matter.  You know how at home, you walk on the grass and it is rude or whatever because grass is hard to grow?  Here, grass grows everywhere, and in cheaper neighborhoods, there are no sidewalks, just grass.  Anyway...Arizona problems!  

When we were door knocking this week, we knocked, and no one was home and we were pretty sure that we could hear a baa coming from the inside and getting louder.  We are convinced that the man living there has a sheep for a pet. I would love to bring one home, they are so cute!  That was the highlight of my week!  One investigator dropped us, and some came to church, but most did not.  We did find some new ones, so hopefully we will hit the nail on the head.  The work is going forward here and  everyone is still talking about the Hamulas visit.  I see quotes all the time from them everywhere now!  It is a great reminder of their visit.  

I think of you guys and pray for you nightly and can't wait until Christmas to talk to you again!

Love,  Elder Tuckett

Welcome to Feilding Ward!

I am happy to announce that I am in a ward again!  You know what that means?  MEMBERS!  Good, faithful members that help missionary work!  It is because of our members, and all of their help and everything they do that we have 12 investigators that are progressing and 4 baptismal dates that are set and that we are working for!  We are going to set a lot more this week too!  Our week is really full trying to meet with all of these 12 investigators, plus the meetings we have, plus the service we are doing for people, and we still must try to talk to 150 people a week!  This is why I have no time for writing letters or anything these days.  The time is flying by, it seems like I was just here emailing you.  I love this area!

This is Feilding!  That was the highest hill we could find last Monday.  This is a flat and windy place.  I like to call it "Friendly Feilding".   I can't believe that Mary got a blender for her birthday.  You wouldn't believe it, but I have been going to the thrift store here to look for one for the flat here.  We have a lemon tree and someone showed me how to make some fast and easy lemonade.  

Yes, I have got your letters that you have sent to the flat so you have the right address.  I also got a package from the singles ward.  It was really cool!  I don't have as much time here to write back to people.  I just don't have time like I had in my last area.  I am really loving my calling too!  I am lucky to have an amazingly obedient district (at least that I know of).  We need to be reminded over and over of the blessings that come from being obedient.
 

This is me and my companion.  He has only been out for 7 weeks.  He is basically running this area while I am still trying to learn all of our investigators names!  This is the biggest flat that I have been in.  You can see the kitchen in the background, and we have a garage, and 2 bedrooms.  Our laundry room is in a room outside.  Being larger means that there is more to clean with our busy schedule.

I am so grateful for all of this work that I get to be a part of.  This week I got so tired that I started to fall asleep in a lesson.  This is some hard work, and so much different from my last area where we were begging people to listen to our message.  The field is white here and over grown and I am loving it!  

I love you!  

Elder Tuckett

Life in the Big City

I can't believe that there are no pictures on my memory card!  I wonder if it could have gotten deleted in the mail?  I am so sad about losing all of my pictures from the last 9 months. [he mailed a memory card home this week and it was blank]. I had thought about backing it up, but I didn't have time, I thought, what could go wrong?  Oh well.

Here is a picture of my new city.  I am loving it here!  It is so fantastic.  Queenstown is beautiful, but the missionary work stinks, lots of finding.  But here the ward is huge. And we got 7 new investigators this week.  So, man the work here is great, and I am loving the people here!  I can't tell you how excited I am to be working here.  I love it!  District leader is really fun as well.  I feel like I get to know more of what is going on.  My district has really cool people who are all hard workers!  I love them and I love this place!  

Here is a picture of my family.... I trained Elder Richardson (my son), and now he is going to be training his new companion (my grandson).  I left Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after Elder Richardson's companion arrived.  This is taken outside our flat!  I flew to Christchurch and I went on the same plane to Palmerston North, so I didn't get to set my foot in Christchurch this time.  The flight was really windy into and out of Christchurch, so we had to take off and land sideways.  It was a bit scary.  All and all, it has been a fun week!

We do have a car here in my area but we share it with the sisters each week.  We don't get as many kilometers as we did in Queenstown, because we have a smaller area.  It is all good, we mostly just use it to drive to district meetings.  Elder Foremater is the bomb!  He has been out for only 6 weeks and has just finished his training, so I will be completing his training as well. We like the same types of things.... CARS!  And he is going into mechanical engineering too.  He is just great and is a hard worker so we are going to have some baptisms sometime soon!  We have 4 baptismal dates already set with people.  I am so excited to be here.  This week or next week we will be settings dates with those 7 new people that we found.  We are going to be really busy here!  I love it!  

Thank you guys for all your love and support!  I love you all so much!  

Elder Tuckett

Heading up North!

On our way to the Internet shop.... It's beautiful, a little cold, but I have shorts on today!  

It feels great!

Sadly, I am leaving Queenstown.   I am going to miss this place!  I took videos all the way to the Internet shop today.  No more living on the side of a mountain with a beautiful view, it's back to boring city life for me.  I am going back up to the north island to Palmerston North, and I'll be in Fielding.  Elder Richardson got a call from the AP's that he is staying in Queenstown and will be training.  I am not worried about him with the spiritual stuff.... It's just the physical stuff that worries me.  He did buy a GPS, so he can get around, but I don't know how that will be working out on the bike, and I hope he remembers to clean the shower, and do all the things that he needs to do.  I know that The Lord will strengthen him and all things will be great!  

I have been called to be a District Leader.  So, hopefully The Lord will strengthen me spiritually and I will be able to look over the district and know the things that we need to do.  We are called to these positions to make our weaknesses our strengths, right Mom?  So, next week, I will be writing you about being a district leader.  I will interview people to see if they are worthy to enter the waters of baptism.  Or if a missionary stays out too late, then I will be busted too.  Fun times!

I leave on Thursday.  I mailed a package home this week.  It has a lot of goodies in it, so don't throw anything away.   I am sending things that I can't be carrying around.  

Love you,

Elder Tuckett

This is a miniature horse!  It is even smaller than a pony!  We do service for a blind lady every week and this is her horse.  We walk it once a week.  The lady is great and I am going to try to get a picture with her this week.  

I am going to miss the sunrises and sunsets here.  The views are so pretty.  

Everything is so green now, we went to Dunedin again this week. 

 Lots of beautiful scenery.  

Peace out Queenstown, I will miss you... I'm headed back up North!

I LOVED General Conference

 

The flowers are every where here!!!!  Monday we went to the Queenstown Gardens.  It was just unbelievable!  I could not of asked for a better place to serve my mission.  The people are fantastic and there are so many cultures here, and the land is just unbelievable!  I am definitely planning a trip back to Queenstown!  This week I ran into an Elder who served in Queenstown, and he is now back there visiting with his wife!!!  He just went home in March too!  It is just so beautiful here!

It is really starting to warm up down here!  However, we are still in between seasons as one day it will be warm and everyone will be out on the lake, and then the next day, it is freezing and there is snow on the mountain.  

Elder Richardson got his drivers license this week so he has been driving me around a bit.  We have almost died a couple of times.  I am sorry to Mary for telling her she was a bad driver... She is not...  I now know what bad is.  We were driving to Gore on Tuesday, and he was still getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, so he got too close to the edge a couple times and went in the dirt.  It was so scary!  All is well though, no car flipping or anything like that.  He has gotten heaps better just this week, so we are okay now. 

This week was amazing.  I loved General Conference!  I am pretty sure it was the best General Conference of my life.    I loved Elder Dube's talk so much.  It was great to hear him speak with such enthusiasm.  Saturday conference was my all time favorite.  We got two of our investigators to come to both sessions.  They are so into the bible and love reading it and they read it with the spirit which is the most important!  They have found so much through the bible, it is just crazy!  Since following the spirit and reading the bible, they have learned about the godhead, and they totally understand the plan of salvation and use bible verses to back it up.  They already live the word of wisdom, and they told us that if they had talked to us a year ago, they would of said that we were crazy,  but since they have found out truths for themselves, through the spirit, they believe the things we teach them are true.  It is really cool to see how The Lord prepares people to come unto his fold.  This couple have definitely been prepared to meet us on the path about a month ago.  After all of this, we asked them if they would be baptized, and they said "Let us learn more about your church and we will decide".  They came to the first session of conference and learned about tithing, and heard from our prophet welcoming them to the meeting, then learned about the Holy Ghost, and then the last talk from Elder Uchtdorf put the cherry on top!  He said, come and join the Church of Jesus Christ and help with the work.  It was so amazing!  They were so impressed by what they saw that they were now asking when they could be baptized!  They said "this is the best organization that I have ever seen!, and the last talk made us feel so welcome and wasn't pushy at all!  We really enjoyed it".   

I am so grateful for General Conference and it  opened my eyes of how powerful and beautiful the church is.  I am so grateful for the apostles and prophet and that we get to hear from them every 6 months!  This was seriously one of the best weekends of my entire mission!  I can hardly explain it!  I am so grateful to be part of this church and know that Jesus Christ has restored it to the earth today so we can all be a part of it in the latter days.  We are here to help one another and to endure to the end until the Savior, himself comes again!  

I love you guys so much!

Elder Tuckett

Hanging out by the lake -- the weather has been so nice!

My companion and I. [they take these photos and then they print them up as thanks you notes]

Spring Has Sprung!

Everything is turning green, and flowers are popping up everywhere!  The pictures just can't take in the beauty. Today, we are going to go walking through the city gardens.  It is staying light longer too,  which is nice.  It doesn't get dark until around 8 pm.  I love Queenstown so much.  I don't know how much longer I will stay here though, I have been here four months.  Transfers are on the 24th.  

After 4 months of being here, I finally got to meet the branch president!  He came back from vacation!  Today we are having a welcome home party for him down at the water front.  It will also be a good bye party for our winter visitors.  Yesterday we spent all day inviting less actives and investigators.  Hopefully people show up.  

Not much happened really this week.  However, it did fly by like no other.  We did our district meeting differently.  Instead of driving for three hours each way, we did a conference call.  It saved a lot of time, but I didn't get as much out of the meeting, but it was good, just the same.  It was a fantastic meeting!

A lot of our investigators are struggling right now.  Hopefully they can just jump over these hurdles in the road.  Salvation is and never will be easy.  So, everyone that is a member, just keep enduring to the end, it will be just a small blip in the eternal life!  Thank goodness!  

Thanks so much mom for putting my letters on the blog.  I love you so much, you are the best mom ever!

Love, 

Elder Tuckett

There are flowers popping up everywhere!

Here we are at the water front. 

Just keep knocking...

It is spring now, everything is green and there are flowers everywhere!  I found your favorites Mom, tulips!
 

We found some new investigators this week!  We knocked into 16 year old boy that is friends with  one of the less active members.  We have started teaching him and will hopefully set a baptism date this week.  He is so excited to get baptized.  Hopefully, this will help his less active friend to come to church.  He says he doesn't come because all there are is old people.  I feel so bad for the youth here. 

 

We also have another investigator that really knows the bible.  We invited him to be baptized and he said "I have already been baptized" so we got to explain the priesthood to him. He still hasn't been able to find out where his priest got his priesthood.  He is being difficult now, but he is still letting us come over and he says he will keep reading the Book of Mormon.  

 

We also have this German couple that we keep running into on the Queenstown trail.  They love and follow the bible like no other, it is great.  They learned not to drink alcohol and how the male is the head of the household spiritually, as well as many other things.  They believe the Sabbath is on Sunday still.   We are meeting with them for the first time this week. We also told them we have a living prophet and invited them to watch General Conference.  

 

We met a guy while knocking a while ago and he said that he was going on a vacation so we couldn't go back for like a month, and we went back this week and we met his wife and we were welcomed in and they gave us hot chocolate and trail mix, and we had a great conversation with them,  we gave them a Book of Mormon and they said that they will read it! It is hard to explain, but the conversation went so well and they were so nice that my companion thinks they have the most potential to be baptized.  I love our investigators!  
 

This is an area we were knocking doors.  That little boat is the Earnslaw and it is as old as the titanic.  This neighborhood was so fun to knock in.  Their houses are so cool.  A lot had 4 wheel drive cars too so I loved it even more.  This is where I am going to live when I move here.  

 

I am so excited for General Conference!  President told us to get things set up at the branch to watch conference, he told us to do it because the branch here doesn't like to watch.  Last time, they watched one hour, then decided to have Sunday School and Priesthood.  I was like WHAT?  What about hearing from our prophet?  

I love you so much and miss you!  Keep up the good work that you are doing.  Everyone tells me that you are good at keeping up the blog, Facebook, and Instagram and that you are awesome!  I got mail this week from the Meyers and the Burdens!  

Love, Elder Tuckett

This is the view from the top of our flat!  

Climbing the hill behind our hous

This street is so steep, they have to cut out steps.  

 

Trip to Dunedin

Here I am in Dunedin 

This was a wonderful week!  Mostly the beginning of the week.  We got to drive to Dunedin in that nice new car that we got!  We got to see the Hamulas and I got a hug from Elder Hamula.  I haven't had a hug in a really long time!  It was wonderful!  That made my day right there!  Also, hearing their wonderful talks to us.  Sister Hamula still is wonderful with teenagers and making things great.  Everyone loved her and said she was great.  When she was speaking, she kept saying things to me all the time.  For example, she was making an analogy about a boats with oars and she asked if we knew how water works, and she said "I know Elder Tuckett does!"  She was so funny.  She was amazing and reminded me so much of you.  Then, Elder Hamula.... He knows so much it is crazy, I want to be as knowledgeable as him.  He carries a spirit with him just like the prophet does, it is so cool.  He entered the room and you could just feel it.  He gave some great advice on missionary work.  I was in awe of everything he said and it was all things that I needed to hear for sure.  I just loved it.  When Elder Hamula bore his testimony you know without a doubt his love for the gospel and you could feel the power of it too!  I loved his testimony.  I wish that I could have recorded it so that I could listen to it over and over again.  Again, it was so powerful, one of the most powerful things that I have ever heard.  I loved it!  And then after the meeting, I was the only person to be interviewed by the Hamulas!  Woot, party for Elder Tuckett!  We just sat down and basically talked about life.  It was so wonderful.  I miss them already.  I am so grateful that I got to see them,  it was the first time I met someone from home on the mission, and most likely the last!  They brought me the most awesome package!  Sister Hamula said that she carried it all over the entire mission until she got it to me.  It had heaps of food, a New Zealand flag, sticky notes, and some foot powder so my feet won't stink!  I loved it for sure!  

It is turning so green here.  It is spring now, and it is warm!!!!  I love it because we have four appts to  cut people's lawns this week!  I am wearing short sleeves today, and it feels great!  Another button popped off my shirt, and I haven't even got the one sewed on from last week!  

Things are going great.  I love you so much!  Keep up those great letters you are sending me!

Love, 

Elder Tuckett 

I hope he can drive when he gets back after being on the wrong side of the car and road!  

Mid-week Surprise!!

Having a best friend in New Zealand has it's benefits!  Elder and Sister Hamula did a mission tour this week to Ryan's mission.  Joyce and I were texting all week and we were giddy with excitement about her trip.  She was busy shopping all week getting the perfect package together, then hauled it with her all over his mission until she reached the bottom of the South Island where he was.

If I can't go see him, then having your best friend go is the next best thing.  I love these little treasures
that she sent me after meeting with him yesterday!

Saying good bye with his package 

Surprise!

I guess I lied last week and told you that I would be emailing on Tuesday.  President told us that we would be meeting with Hamulas today, but it is not happening until tomorrow, it was obviously a mix up.  So, I am emailing you today!  [what he does not know is that the Hamulas were sick, and They were going to cancel their trip, but Joyce said, NO, we have to go see Ryan!  So, they just waited until they were feeling better and postponed their trip a couple days, which I am sure is what caused the change of days for Ryan.  Joyce and I have been texting all week and she can hardly wait to see him.  I know he is going to be so happy to see them.  If I can't be there, the next best thing is sending your best friend, whose husband happens to be the Area President of the Pacific. ]. Anyway, we are leaving for Dunnedin right after emailing.  We will spend the night with members, then have meetings in the morning.  I am so excited to see them.  I hope they just run up and give me a hug, and everyone will be like wow... You know the Hamulas!  [what he also doesn't know is that Joyce is bringing him a big package, I just got a picture of his mission presidents wife holding it and he is going to be so surprised!!!!]. I am also excited that Julie is going to Japan tomorrow.  So exciting.  [Julie is Hamulas daughter and Mary's best friend]. 

I got some mail from you this week.  I love getting mail.  Thank you so much for sending me mail!  Send me Paula's address, I want to thank her for all of the postcards I am getting from her.  I got the church magazines you sent and Cameron's letter.  Again, I love the mail, even though my companion is feeling like his family doesn't love him.  Maybe you could write a letter with his name on it.... Ha ha... 

If you can in the next package, I need some razor blades, I looked here, and the refills were $50.  I could also use some of my pens and deodorant.  My clothes are doing good, much better than my companions who just came out.  My white shirts are still white, but are starting to get a bit wrinkly, I might have to iron.  One of my long sleeve shirts button broke, so I will sew it back on.  My pants have a few cuts on them from the bike chain, but they are still good.  Some of my pockets have holes, but I am learning to sew, don't worry, they are an easy fix!  Shoes are getting worn, but still good.  You can just put money in my account if I have to get something, and I could also buy some ginger beer which is my favorite drink in New Zealand!  

I have started reading Jesus The Christ.  I really got into studying it this week. It is the best book in the world!  I am reading in the middle now where it is talking about all of the apostles individually.  It is so cool. I now make free time for reading that book!  

I love you so much Mom, I miss you too!   But I love this work. The work is still going great!  The meeting today and tomorrow has cancelled about 5 meetings that we had, but hopefully we can get them all re-scheduled.  My companion is doing great and is growing a lot.  He wishes that he was in a high baptizing place and a place that teaches every hour of the day, but he is slowly learning that New Zealand is the place to be!  

And guess what?  Springtime is here!!!!

I love you all!

Elder Tuckett

Pics for the week... Most of these are from a little city called Glenorchy where we were this week.  There were a lot of Lord of the Rings sights.  

  Can you see how blue this water is?

I think this is the biggest sheep I have ever seen!

This is a cat on my lap where we have been teaching a blind lady.  She also has a mini horse that we take on walks.  She is a wonderful lady and has had many trials in her life!