Loud and Proud

Since it was a holiday yesterday on P-day, we only get 30 minutes to email so I will try to be fast.  I don't know if I will get them all read, but I will at least send you a short one.

As you saw on the weather, it has been raining and raining.  I am biking in the rain today in Masterton because I am on exchanges again!  It has been flooding and it has been so much fun!  The rivers are running fast!  I will send pictures next week, I don't have time to send any today.  We were on exchanges Friday and Saturday with the Zone Leaders which was fun.  They gave us hope and made us realize there is potential in the area, even after all the time we have been there.  We sometimes lose our vision of seeing everyone in white!  

Saturday night, Masterton had a big fireside and ward activity.  It consisted of a team quiz on the prophets and apostles and Book of Mormon and lots of little questions and activities!  So much fun!!!  It really made me miss a ward so much.  Everyone in the branch complains about coming to church and having to do everything, that we rarely have any branch activities.  So, that was quite fun for us!!!  The fireside was centered around this boy coming home from his mission.  So, his parents spoke and he did too.  It just made me think, "I hope this doesn't happen when I come home"  (ha ha)  But, it was very spiritual and made me grateful that I still have a while on my mission.  Every second is so important! 

Then, we had Easter Sunday!  I wish I could have recorded it!  It was just interesting.... our branch isn't very musical.  I really wish you could have seen it.  It made me realize how strong their testimonies of Christ are though!  The people who aren't really strong, barely sang, but the really strong people really sang out loud and proud.  It was awesome. It was like they were bearing their testimony!  So many people came to church, but none that we invited.  

The scripture I have been sharing this week is Mosiah 16:6-9.  I am just to grateful for everything that Jesus Christ has done for us and very few people recognize how important He is in our life.  Like that video on lds.org, "Because of Him", like the title says, it is all because of Him!  I am so grateful for coming to know my Savior through the scriptures and trials that I have faced on my mission.

Yes, I got your package!!!  It was awesome!  I wore the tie on Sunday, and the poptarts are gone. We got paid late, so we lived on those mostly!  That package was an answer to our prayers!  Thanks!  

Thanks for sending me Tyler's letters.  His stories remind me of  "The Other Side of Heaven"!  He is the man!!!  Send me some of Jaron's.  

I will keep you all in my prayers -- Hope you and Mary are feeling better soon!  

I love you so much!

I will write more Monday, I have got to email the President!

Love,

Elder Tuckett

Inviting for Easter....

These two weeks are really busy for us.  We have been inviting people to come to General Conference and to come and worship with us on Easter Sunday.  We have been going throughout the branch list and inviting all less actives to come to church on Easter Sunday. For conference, we invited them to come with a question in mind... I know if you do this, that your question will be answered.  We also have Branch Conference coming up with speakers from the Stake Presidency.  I am looking forward to that.  We have been working with the branch president to help him get things going.  Every week he asks us what the ward can do to help with missionary work.  We told him that we need to get the home teaching going, so we have been helping him get that set up.  We feel like that can really strengthen the branch.  

However, sadly, no one came to share in the spirit of General Conference.  Is makes me sad be cause they would of had the opportunity to be taught by an apostle and prophet.   It really made me miss the Melchizedek priesthood holders in Mesa.  In the states, most usually you ask the men to do something, and they gladly help.  Here, we can't even get them to go to church.  We had 5 people watching the priesthood session.  So sad.  

I would like to share with you my top 6 conference talks....

1. Best of course was my favorite person ever, Elder Holland.  He is definitely a motivator for missionaries.  I loved how conference started with him.

2.  President Uchtdorf -- staying true to the gospel, our branch really needed this one!  

3.  Gary Stevenson -- So sporty, and a great way to look at ordinances of the gospel.

4.  Elder Bednar -- the truck analogy was fantastic.  People always complaining of things they have to do. 

5.  Elder Ballard -- on following up... So important for missionaries,  I just loved it.

6.  Elder Hales -- everyone can be more obedient!!!

I just love General Conference!!!!

Hopefully people will come to the Easter program we have planned for next week.  

Here is a little frog that we saw hopping across the road while we driving, so we stopped to rescue him!!!

This is the view from the top of the hill at Featherston.  On the top left, you can see the steeple of the chapel.  

Here we are at the train station.... I really want to take a ride on the train...

This is a massive tree that we had to stop and get our pictures with.  I forgot my camera, so we had to use Elder Usalia'a which he didn't focus too well.  

Winter is coming..... I have on jeans and a jacket today!  

We are going to be going on exchanges this week!  We will be working with the zone leaders!  I don't know what we are going to do, every street in this town has been knock on 3 times!

Love, Elder Tuckett

P.S.   Please tell Brother Merkley congrats on his new calling.  Our branch president would love to have counselors like Bishop Garn has.  He really has no options to choose from, so he does it all himself.  He calls on us to help him a lot. 

"Who was the last person you rescued?"

Sounds like you had a fantastic missionary week Mom!!! That is exciting.  I am happy you know that it is so much better it is when members give the referrals.  You have begun a rescue effort!!!  That is one question we have really been asking people!  "Who is the last person you rescued?"  It is a deep question.  Or, it could be very simple at the same time.  It can be as easy as smiling at someone who looks lonely and sad. Or, you could invite someone to hear the missionaries and save them for the eternities.  How much do you want to save them?  We should save everyone!  Find the lost sheep, and feed them!

This week we had a fantastic Family Home Evening with this family. The mother asked us to speak on respecting your parents.  I thought, I don't know, it is just something you do. The only thing that I could think of to teach them how to have respect was to love more, so we shared everything we know about loving our parents.  Our parents are the manuals to this life.  They have taught us so much and have taken care of us all of our lives, how could we not have respect for them?  Then I bore my testimony of almost not having an awesome family to raise me up in the gospel.  You guys are so dear to me.  You are the biggest blessing that Heavenly Father has blessed me with.  A family who loves them is the greatest blessing anyone could ever have.  Then we did an awesome activity,  we broke up into teams and the parents were the captains and they gave the guidance and the kids had to listen to them.   It was an awesome lesson.  Now, another family has asked us to do it this week.

So this week I have gained a testimony of the blessings of families and how important they are in Heavenly Fathers plan. They are so important that we can be sealed to them forever.  This was so important to Heavenly Father, that this is what the first book in the Book of Mormon is about.  It's all about a family!  They have their ups and downs just like us!  I know that Moroni saw these last days and he saw that Satan's biggest target would be the family.  I love The Book of Mormon!!!!

I can't wait for General Conference next weekend!  I am hoping that our investigators come!  I got a picture from Ryan in the Conference Center at Conference.  [the young guy he baptized last year in Napier] He is so lucky to get to go to conference.   I have never been to conference, but at least I have been to the building.  

We need new investigators!!!! So hopefully this week will bring nothing but finding!!!!  I am staying here with Elder Usalai'a for another 6 weeks.  

Thank you for the thoughts that you send me each week.  I write them down and then share them with people and say that my fantastic mother helped me notice this!!!! 

Just 5 more weeks and I get to seen and talk to you on skype!!!!!  I can't wait!!!!

I love you so much!

Elder Tuckett aka....

We have some work to do....

I am so happy to hear that Jaron is back to the MTC!!!! He is going to be an awesome missionary!  

Our investigator still has a baptismal date but we didn't get to see him all week.  He keeps canceling all of our appts, we think he might be lying to us.... Not good!  We will be checking up with him this week.  Transfers are next week.  I am hoping that I will be staying here for a couple more transfers.   This is a really good place to be.  I love it here!  My companion only has three more transfers left, so I am thinking he might get moved and then stay there for the rest of his mission.  But we will see next week!  

I am glad that the Thompsons are working in the temple.  I want to be a temple worker.  Arizona needs lots of temple workers with all the new temples,  you guys will be working there soon too.  With all the new temples, Arizona is going to be celestialized by the time I get home.  I am starting a countdown.... 8 1/2 months and I can go to the temple!!!!  I miss the temple so much.  

We have been knocking on doors and inviting everyone to come listen to a prophets voice and people are not thinking that this is important.  So, we have been asking the members to invite their friends because they are more likely to listen to them.  

We had exchanges this week.  I stayed here in Carterton and was with an Elder who has been out as long as Elder Usalai'a. He was giving us some tips and different views on what we can do to help this little branch.  We are still working on getting more Melchezidiek priesthood holders in our branch.  Yesterday we were told how many Melchezidiek priesthood holders we need to for a ward, 15.  We currently have 5.  And we need 150 members attending church, we have about 35.  And, they are mostly women and children.  So, we have some work to do.    We are just praying for the area to find some new awesome families to be baptized.    Yesterday we watched a training video, and they said we are all here because of missionaries and conversion.  This church would be nothing without the missionaries.  Everyone has a missionary to be thankful for.  Without them, we wouldn't know about the restored gospel.  So, that is my thought of the day, I am one of those missionaries that are bringing people to The Lord, if we bring them to the water or not when I am here!  I love being a missionary.  

When The Lord is on our side, we are unstoppable!  We are going to make this branch a ward.  

I am so excited for General Conference!  It is my favorite time of year. 

I love you!!!!

Elder Tuckett

P.S.  No pictures this week, I am running out of things to take pictures of!!!! 

Happy Birthday, MUM

I am so glad that you loved all your birthday presents!  [My favorite present was an appt card that he sent with the date that he would be coming home -- December 17, his birthday.]  I recounted the days three times to make sure that I got it right.   So cool, right?  [He counted up the transfer days.]  

[We went over his Facebook friend requests.  He told me of the ones to friend.]  Cool story about Robert [one he told me to friend]...... We door knocked into their family.  They haven't been to church in over 20 years. And now he is back at church, and getting the priesthood again.  I FOUND THAT GUY!!!! awesome, huh?  They are an awesome family.  I love this work!  Elder Rigby told me this, and I was so happy!

We had zone conference this week.  This is the awesome list of ideas that we brainstormed of finding/talking to people!  We will be trying them all out soon.  

Here we are at zone conference.  I got to catch up with Elder Edwards, one of my closest companions yet.  He is the man!  And of course Elder Usalai'a popped in there too.  

We had a wild ride driving from Featherston to Upper Hutt. It was one of the curviest roads I have ever been on!  I filmed the whole way down.  I can't wait to come home and watch it.  We drove through the Rimutaka Range.  It was so much fun.  Look it up on the Internet.  It was definitely one of the highlights of the week.  

But here is the best news of the week....  We have a baptismal date set for our investigator.  April 15th! Or maybe the 18th, we aren't for sure yet, but it will be one of those.  We will be visiting him three times a week to really make sure he stays on track.  I am so excited.  Transfers are in 2 weeks, so I hope I am still here.  

I love the scripture you sent me this week, and your thoughts. [The first year he was gone, I mailed him a quote each week, this 2nd year, I am sharing a scripture and my personal thoughts each week] It was inspired, for the people over here.  You can see that when the people here live on the benefit and don't work, then they are grumpy, sad people.  We talk about that a lot with people.  People notice when they start working they feel better and more useful and needed.  Sweet! Now I will have a scripture and story to back me up.  Thanks mom!

[Here is what I sent him:
2 Nephi 5:15, Nephi is speaking,
"And I did teach my people to work"
my thoughts...
Hard work brings happiness.
Idleness invites tempation, Hard work brings happiness and prosperity, and invites the spirit.]  

I hope your birthday was wonderful Mum!  Thanks for being my motivation while I am on my mission!  You have made me who I am today.  I will always be in debt for everything you have done and given me.  I will love you forever!  I did not doubt my mother always knew what was best for me.  Alma 56:47-48.  

Love, 

Your son,

Elder Tuckett

Boys will be boys.....

Yes, there was a big storm in New Zealand this week.  On Thursday, we got a call from our leaders saying get your 72 hour kits and have them ready and cancel all service projects for the weekend, and prepare to help people prepare for the storm.  We were kind of freaking out.  So, we started doing all that, and then no storm came.  We did get rain, but not really that much.  I think they maybe got more up in Auckland, not sure, we are going to ask around today.  So that was the storm...we are starting to think that the stores just wanted people to hurry out and buy up all the food.  

We were able to go ahead and do our service on the weekend after all.  Friday, we mowed lawns and Saturday, we helped clean a lady's house.  

Our service on Saturday took up the whole day.  It was a blast!  We helped this part member family and they had so much junk it was ridiculous. There was so much rubbish!  We divided it into metal, bottles, wood, and trash!  The metals and bottles are going to the recycling center, but you can see what we got to do with the wood.  I was lucky enough to be the one to start the fire!  Playing with fire.... All day!  We really did work hard though all day.  

When we were cleaning we found this frog.  We are giving it to one of our investigators for his birthday today.!  He is so cool.  We have been feeding him insects that we catch in our flat!  We have named him Fredo.  

I found these goggles and cap at a members house this week.  I just had to put them on and remember the good old days.  I miss swimming so much.  It was awesome! 

 I also found out that one of our members has llamas.  They said that the next time I can jump in the pen and try to cuddle with them.  This time, there was a mean billy goat in there so I had to stay outside.  

I had an awesome exchange with my district leader this week.  We made tacos the night we were on exchanges.  It was great, but not as good as my mothers!  It was fake wanna be Mexican food.   But they tried!  We cooked everything from scratch!  I can't believe that I remembered how my mother cooked the mince!  Exciting times!  

Love you all -- I mailed you a birthday present Mom!

Elder Tuckett

Temple Week in our Branch

Sounds like you had a great Stake Conference Mom!  Thank you for the quotes on Hastening the Work.  I love them.  We have been extending the commitment to the members here to pray for missionary experiences and have had a few really good reports already.  It is awesome!  I love how well prayer works!  Ask and ye will receive!  

And I am so happy to hear about Brother Hall in the Stake Presidency -- That's my Pa!!!  [his Pa from the Trek was put in our Stake Presidency today]  Please tell him congratulations for me.  "Many are called, but few are chosen" -- He is truly one of the chosen ones.  I love him.

Here are a few highlights of my week -- 

Monday, we spent in Masterton and I got to see Sister Rose!  Do you remember her?  I was in the MTC with her.  She is doing great and we got to catch up on things which was the highlight of my week.  It was like seeing a long lost friend, even though we only knew each other for 3 weeks in the MTC.  Tuesday, was the usual, but we found an awesome investigator, however she is a single sister, so we have to hand her over to the Sisters!  There are so many single sisters that love the gospel!  I want to know where to find the down to earth men!!!!  We had a great district meeting on Tuesday.  Saturday, we went to Martinborough and they were having a brew day fair.  Who knew there were so many beer fans!  We were getting nothing done there because everyone was drunk!  

Sunday was the greatest day of the week because everyone bore their testimony on the temple because it was the temple week.  So -- that made be very jealous!  I miss the temple so much now.

Well -- I am getting kicked off the computer -- AGAIN!  This will be all for today!

Love, 

Your son Ryan!

p.s. I am so glad that Tyler got to leave for Mexico, and I am happy Olivia is on her mission now!