Machete Mowing

Why are you getting so much rain?  That is crazy!!!!  I thought that God promised that he would not flood the Earth again!  It  has been rainy here too, but today it is going to be a sunny spring day.  

The time is flying by.  Rebecca wrote me this week that I have less than 80 days.  I can hardly believe that!  It is crazy.  Shannon sent me some pictures of Maggie and it reminded me how much I miss her. I wish I could take her to school with me.  

This week is Temple week for our stake.  Everyone is going to be gone for the whole week while they are gone to the temple.  I don't know what we are going to do without them!!!  General Conference is coming up too, so it is going to be a really spiritual couple of weeks for our ward.  

This week we were helping an older lady with service and I was just thinking about you!  I was hoping someone was able to help you too this week somehow.  [I love how he equates me with the old people]. We were able to pull all of her weeds and move some wood for her.  This is a picture of Machee with the machete, he says that is how they cut the lawn in Samoa.  He has some crazy machete skills.  

We had heaps of miracles this week.  Since the transfer ended this week I have been really pushing Elder MaChee to lead the area more and do what he wants to do.  It has been cool to see him follow the spirit and see him do all of these miracles.  So last night, I asked him what he wanted to do and he said to visit this one guy that I would have never thought of visiting and so we went there.  He had a friend over that used to meet with the missionaries but had stopped.  So we met him and he said that he really wanted to be baptized.  We had a great lesson with him and his less active friend that we went to see.  So, we got another new investigator.  I love this work so much, and the spirit that God has given us to guide us in these last days!

I love you all so much!

Elder Tuckett

I got another lava lava.... I love them!!!!

Bipolar Weather

This week's weather has been bipolar.  One day it is spring, and then the next we are back to cold rainy winter,  it is no good!  And.... An Elder took my nice rain jacket, so I am wearing a crappy one that just barely gets by.  It is all good though... 3 months.  I am away staying here in Porirua this transfer.  This transfer is only going to be 4 weeks.  I am staying with Elder Machee and I am still district leader.  I like being district leader.  I have it figured out now pretty good.  We are also getting 3 new elders in our district which will be fun.   The other benefit of not getting transferred is that you don't have to pack up.

This week I learned a lot about repentance (it wasn't for me, I promise, it was for one of our members). I am just so grateful for the tender mercies of The Lord that he shows on us.  We get to repent for things we do every week when we partake of the sacrament.  It is the whole reason we go to church to show humility to The Lord that we will remember him and follow him.  

I also found out that's one of the recent converts from about a year ago went to the temple this week and got sealed to her husband.  (I think that this was the sister he baptized in Queenstown) This was the greatest news to hear.    This reminded me of how grateful I am for this gospel and that I am sealed to my parents that I love, and my sister too.  

Well, we are going to play basketball today at the chapel.  We are going to play against the other district.   I love basketball so much now,   It is a good game!!!!

We go on daylight savings time next weekend, we lose an hour of sleep.  I really don't like all this changing of times every season.

I love you!!!

Love, Elder Tuckett

Changes!

This week has been Mission Changing!  We had Zone Conference and were able to meet with President Hudson!  It was so great to see everyone again.  So, at the meeting President Hudson announced that we can teach girls now as long as a responsible adult is there.  This means that the sisters don't get all the baptisms and aren't having to travel everywhere to teach everyone!  This was so great to hear, and we are really excited to see this change the mission and see more baptisms!  We are able to teach everyone that is in our area now and we know that we will be able to get more members involved in teaching too as we use them to help teach the sister investigators.  Already this week, we have been given 2 new investigators and a couple of other potential investigators that the sisters were never able to catch up with.  I am really looking forward to this week.  

Elder Christensen and Vimahi had a baptism yesterday and we got to go because one of our investigators said he was coming, however, he didn't show up though, even though his wife sounded so excited for it... UGH!!!  So this baptism was a wife getting baptized by her recent convert husband who got baptized about 2 months ago.  It was so spiritual as we got to see this recent convert baptize his own wife.  Their two children were sitting and watching.  It was so cute!  Plus, his brothers came and it was just so awesome,  I love to see families enter the gospel!  

There are also two 9 year old girls that we are going to start working with that we can teach now!  They are both so awesome!  I just had this great idea for them to become friends and we can teach and baptize them at the same time,  they both have great families to help them but they are both on the edge of whether they want to be baptized,  so, lots of work to be done with the members and less actives.  I love these new changes!!!!

Love, Elder Tuckett

 More from Zone Conference

Elder Machee holding the full moon this week!

Have a great week!!!

Exchanges this week!

I think I might be getting transferred this month, but I don't know.  Transfers are in two weeks.  So, do not send any more letters to this address for now. It's not for sure, but just in case.  President Hudson is still pretty new, so I don't know for sure what will happen this transfer.  But most likely, Elder Machee or I will be leaving.  I am really hoping to go to the Nelson district.  I have heard that it is just beautiful and I want to drive again.  I miss driving.  This week, someone asked me what the first thing that am doing when I get back to America.  I told them that the first thing that I am going to do is to go straight to the Gilbert Temple.  I want to see the new temple and I haven't been to the temple in 2 years.  If that is not possible, I want to take my truck out for a joy ride! So fill up the tank!  

This week we had a district meeting and Elder Angilou taught the lesson.    He came the same time as Elder Machee.  It was so cool to hear him talk after 2.5 months.  What an improvement!  I know that we have the gift of tongues in this church, and especially as missionaries.  

I have been reading the D & C a lot lately.  It is an amazing book.  It proves that God loves us and sent a prophet to set up the church on the earth today!  I am so grateful for all the trial and tribulations and hard work they went through. There are so many revelations that the prophet asked for and received, and they all still apply to us today.  

I love this church.  I know it to be be true!  I am grateful for my Father and everything he has done for me and given me. Both my earthly Father and my Heavenly Father.  They have both provided me with a home and a way to return to them. They both love me more than I can imagine and I feel that love every day.  I can't wait to see the both again and give them a big hug and tell them how much I love them!  In about 100 days I will see one of them!

I love you so much! 

Elder Tuckett

These are some pictures from exchanges this week....  We found an Indian guy that is interested in learning about Jesus and we were able to teach him this week.  Our other investigator is running away from us, but we are going to catch him later today!

I was being like Jesus and walking on water, no big deal, just keep your eye single to the Lord!

Pretending to go for a swim!

This is a Tui bird.  We were able to get really close to one this week.  You should look them up, they make really funky sounds.  

Elder Machee made me a gift yesterday because it was Father's Day, was it Father's Day for you?  I can't remember when it is in America.  

I love you!!!!