Well pday again. We had service at 6:30 a.m. though with the elders from the other ward. We went and helped this guy move a pile of sand from his backyard. We had to shovel it into a wheelbarrow and then put it in a trailer and go dump it out in the boonies and we did like 4 trailer loads. Now we are emailing.

So...what is a miser? I don't know what that is. But I haven't taken any money out cause i haven't really needed to, although i have lost weight which is probably from not eating enough, although there is enough food, and biking around. My pants are a bit big now and sometimes the belt has to go pretty tight and so the pants and kind of just wrinkle in around the waist..ya know what i mean, but good think i kept that kind of small belt. I may be taking some money out soonish though possibly...did i tell you i got a parking ticket a week or two ago? 100 bucks for parking facing the wrong way!!! Our ward mission leader said that like in the 80's or something the city council took a vote and people voted that cops can't give tickets or something i didn't really understand what he was saying but the point is that he said i could probably get out of it somehow. So he sent a letter to try and fight it i guess, he also mentioned that i was american and that i was confused and ignorant...jk about the confused and ignorant part. But it actually was pretty stupid on my part, i knew i shouldn't have done it and was debating it in my head at the time but i ended up just going with it and failed...but learned a very valuable lesson. So yeah might have to take some money out for that. Also I really wish i would have brought my other shoes now...shoes are way expensive here for some stupid reason, and i'll probably need another pair done the road some time. My church shoes are great though and not having any comfort issues or anything with them (knock on wood).

So my blog is alive and hip hoppin along. Don't think i'm that interesting, but sweet. I guess if my emails are going in it i better start writing better emails, and not mention breaking the law in them. I still have yet to send you guys any pictures, sorry. I guess there's not that many and i keep forgetting to bring my camera/sd card. But one day...one day.

So last week was a pretty good week, except that mary didn't come to church. Like she has a crazy strong testimony and wants to get baptized but her two grandchildren are a handful and she is always busy taking care of them...so the next time she comes to church she'll probably be baptized the next saturday. Adam and Ana are good...adam is still the man...he tried to give us $50 but he got very denied. We still need to teach him one more lesson but Ana is in brisbane for the time being and we are going to wait for her to get back. but yeah so he has come to church every sunday since we first visited them. And he is already talking about how and when to bare his testimony, and he wants to have a hangi (don't know how to spell it but it is like a maori barbecue i guess with a special barbecue thing that cooks the meat...you know anything about that dad?) after his baptism, and they've been having family home evening, and its amazing how much he loves the gospel after such a short time. Also Ana might have to get baptized again cause they can't find her records and she has been less active for like 13 years. but so adam's baptism is on the 13th and so they want to get sealed in the temple on valentines day next year, that'd be pretty cool. Oh and we went to a baptism with matt, adams brother-in-law, that our zone leaders had at the stake center so that was pretty cool. I reckon he'll get baptized too (knock on wood) because he lives with matt and ana and has been coming to church with them every week as well. other than that everyone else has kind of stayed the same or aren't progressing, so i guess we need to work harder.

Also i mentioned awhile back about the parata's and how they are cousins to the taurima's and i met another one, jarom parata. and i guess he met jenn at pcc. Like he went with his family to hawaii and utah and stuff and so while they were at pcc their mom was like "oh so you're dating paxman" to jenn and so yeah, i guess jenn never really said anything back to me when i last talked about the parata's...thanks jenn. or maybe she did say something and i just didn't catch it.

We don't have much going on this week except for zone conference, or so i think...i'm sure the Lord has a lot planned for us this week as he probably does the next two years. But I guess we'll find out next week. Well love and miss you all.

Elder Salakielu

well family sorry this email is a bit late, its temple week this transfer so today (wednesday) is our temple day. its about 11:45 a.m. and we will be going through the temple at 2. then we have a dinner appointment with some members at 5:30. so thats whats going on for today.

Man there was some stuff that i was going to say but my mind just went blank and i can't remember anything.

oh yeah another thing was that i totally never mentioned earlier about the visit from elder cook from the quorum of the twelve...or at least the time leading up to it. we had a meeting with him just this last saturday with just the missionaries. it was sweet. he gave an apostalic blessing that serving a mission will bless not just our investigators, or families, or are friends, but everyone we come into contact with and our future spouses and families. Although that may have already been a promised blessing it was good and comforting to hear it coming from an apostle...one of the people on this earth closest God and the savior (one way one of the other elders described it).

well my mind is kinda blankish now, but i'll be back in a couple of days since we'll have monday pday again next week so i will talk to you then. love you all.

Elder Salakielu

I gave Sis. Tata your email but i guess someone was talking to her on my facebook which i guess was jenn so i guess thats how that happened. Also the Tata's are an awesome family, as well as sis. Tata's parents...as well as this whole ward. everyone is just so awesome. It reminds me a lot of the ward in hawaii and there are just so many people that i think you's all would get along with very well. Especially the family we're teaching, adam and ana wairepo i can see the girls being best friends with ana and their 5 kids. they are just the best family ever i'll have to send a picture. also i can never remember what i've said before, so did i tell you that adam has a baptismal date for the 13th of february. and ana will probably have to get baptized as well, they can't find her records from over in sydney.
Well thats sad about the puppy...foolish foolish mele...no jk. anyone could have seen that coming from what i'd say as quite a few miles away. maybe when she moves out oh say in the next 10 years she can have a puppy. but maybe it will be sooner than that since she will soon be the only one left at home...besides mom...who usually not there anyways...oh haha and roger i forgot about him still being there (sorry roger if you read this).
So elder leota is from New Zealand (Aucklandish),but his family lives in brisbane now. He is a pretty big fella, but he is also a giant marshmellow. except for when little girls stick gum on his shirt (and on my pants and wipes her dirty chocolate grubby mitts on my white shirt)..just kidding we didn't care. but really that little girl, chloe, is pretty off the wall crazy shes an investigators granddaughter (mary's granddaugter did i tell you about her, she had the baptismal date for 2 days ago but never came to church so its been moved) anyways the good news is that they came to church yesterday.
I remember dad showing me a pretty big lizard/chameleon one time just this last summer and i was thinking about keeping it but let it go instead. but haha Cecil thats a pretty sweet name, i don't know about bernard though i hope its not tainting to the bernard family name.
Well i have a really big favor to ask. I was wondering and hoping that maybe you could gather together some like lessons i guess...like object lessons/family home evening lessons/home and visiting teaching lessons/ fun and creative little thoughts and ideas. and maybe even some ideas of how to thank members for when they help a lot. sometimes its the same members who help with over and over again with lessons and fellowshipping and stuff...and just for being awesome...like the Tata's (you know they fed us 4 times in like a 10 day period) But so yeah just something to keep your eyes open for and to think about. Like there's already a bunch of ideas and stuff that go around and throughout the mission but more never hurts.
Well this is some pretty hard work and had one of the hardest days so far this last week but the Lord helped me through it and I know he wouldn't have me any other place even at my sisters wedding so i guess i'll have another brother when i get back. Well congratulations Meliss (despite my other email). I'm happy and glad for you and i have 5 min lefts so i better finish up. I Love and miss you all and will talk to you next week.

Elder Salakielu

well it is pday again but its 5:00 pm here and we didn't get to email earlier cause it is transfers so transfers are every 6 weeks, so i made it through my first transfer. Anywho i stayed and my trainor left so we were busy doing other stuff and exchanging companions at the transfer meeting. my new companion is elder leota and he is pretty cool, he's half samoan and half maori. its wierd though cause the two other companionships in our district had transfers as well and only one of the elders has been out for more than a year, and this is actually his last transfer. and that elder actually gave me his bike because his area is country (its like 4 hours north, the city is geraldton) but they have a car up there so he let me have his bike.
The no sugar thing has ended thank goodness and it is the end of the 7 day quit smoking program today so we are going to have a little party tonight at the ward mission leaders house for the 3 people that were participating. 2 of them were members and 1 isn't but is a new investigator for us now.
Oh well if no letters have come. I've written a few and will be sending them all together within this next week or so. I got Christmas letters on friday from a few people in the ward and dad's christmas card. i also get a letter from mason telling me he is going to the Hong Kong China mission. That is pretty sweet Dallin is going to Romania. I wouldn't mind going there and learning another language. I guess it will probably get pretty cold there...i dunno. And Lupe as well, I had no idea she was going to go on a mission, and to new zealand too that is awesome.
Well new years eve and new years sounded pretty fun...and lazy. but i forgot to say there's heaps of fireworks in the bottom right drawer of my dresser...i guess its too late now. Good to hear the cowboys and byu won. also why didn't mele go skiing/boarding with dad...thats a darn shame.
well today was kinda of busy and crazy cause of transfers and so we haven't had as much time and we haven't even been grocery shopping yet and we only have half an hour on the computers cause the library closes soon and so we'll go shopping tomorrow and maybe stop by here again for another half an hour but we'll see. I love you all and talk to you soon.also we sent another baptismal date.Elder Salakielu

Well hows it going? things here are alright i guess, same old same old. Church is at 1:00 here now so i guess thats not the same. we had 6 investigators in church yeseterday so that was cool. the person who was going to get baptized did not come yesterday however. so now her baptism has to be pushed back a week. but apparently she had a flat tire and then her daughter started to have a seizure when they were about to leave for church so yeah. she actually wants us to come over and bless/dedicate the her house. last night we were over at the ward mission leaders house going over some stuff and then his neighbor asked for a blessing and so we helped with that and it was pretty cool.
Well this is the last week of the transfer and it seems to have came pretty quickly but there is still a ton more to go so its alright. I probably won't go to a new area or get a new companion for a couple of different reasons. for one you usually stay with your trainor for at least two transfers. the mission president also said to not expect any changes at zone conference because there aren't any new missionaries coming in this month. But that is okay cause this area is pretty sweet and the ward is cool.
So this last week we have been on a sugar diet because we are doing this quit smoking thing and it asks us to consider quitting something to "understand how they feel"...gayest thing of my life. for one it wasn't just candy and stuff it was like if it had sugar in the ingredients at all...it didn't even matter how much there was, if it had added sugar we couldn't eat it. which was just about the stupidest thing ever cause there was pretty much nothing to eat and it probably wasn't to healthy but everyone else wanted to do it. like if it was candy or cookies or cake or something that was supposed to be sweet on purpose i understand, but not like regular food that has a tiny bit of sugar...like pizza.
Still haven't gotten a new bike. might be getting one soon or not until the end of next transfer. this guy in the ward is going to a police auction where he says they have a bunch of good bikes and is going to try and get one for himself and me at the end of this week so hopefully that goes through and if it doesn't, one of the elders in the area next to us is leaving next transfer and said i can have his...but it isn't very good.well i'm gonna send this and update the page and then probably write some more.