09/11/2016: Kia Ora Dad

Kia Ora Dad.  Tena Koe.

How are things going over there?  How's the work?  How is the Gospel Principles class? Everyone still coming?  Did you go to the gym lately?

The mission is going awesome.  I'm loving it so much.  I felt like my highlights of my day was my daily workout or coming back to the flat to have a feed but now I'm just hoping that we will be able to see all of the people and families that we planned to see and that we won't have to drop anyone.  I just really want to get a baptism.  The investigators are enjoying the lessons when we are able to catch them.  

I love you Dad.  Thanks for always keeping me under your wing and making sure that I made the choice of going on a mission.  Dad, you taught me so much and I am glad that we are all sealed together for all eternity and for raising me in this gospel and being worthy to go to the temple and hold the priesthood and give me a blessing.  I hope to go to the temple with yous heaps more times when I get back.

Talk to you later, ka kite ano.

Elder Mortensen

09/11/2016: Aloha Brother

Hey Kahali,

How are yous!!!

How has the 'ohana been?  I do miss you guys. . . hanging out with yous. . . going to the beach. . . it's hard to be away from yous all.

This week we have really been getting lots of potential baptisms.  We got a set date for BP.  He will be ready at the end of the transfer and we have about 3 others who are going in the lessons so it's cool.  I was sick on Tuesday and had like a small cold so me and my comp stayed home that day.  We got hit by the outside of one of the storms that passed Hawai'i so it was raining, windy, and freezing in Wairoa.  We still tried to work but it was pretty bad.

Miss you all, love you, stay cool!!!

PHOTOS:  We went to some caves on P-Day.  It was pretty cool.  Got pretty dirty.

09/04/2016: Tena Koe Teina

Hey What's Up!

All is good in Wairoa.  No tsunami threats.  Yah, Kahiwa is getting really MOMONA, but he is still cute!  I am getting down lots of songs in Maori and some sentences, but not too much.  Hopefully I will be able to continue my language speaking after I leave Wairoa but all is good.  Just some advice for your calling. . . don't forget to do it because it make the missionaries mad if you don't do it and it helps out a lot with the work when you do it.  
Love you and Ka Kite Ano

Carrying this 200lb bradda

09/04/2016: How was that Earthquake!?

Kia Ora Whanau,

It was a pretty interesting week.  It went by pretty fast but it's all goods.  We did have that instant of the earthquake and it happens at four in the morning.  I was sleeping and me and my companion woke up to our beds shaking.  We got up and right away went to the nearest doorway and stayed there for a good 45 minutes.  It was shaking the entire house.  Nothing was damaged in the house so we were good.  We packed a fast get away bag ready to go just in case but there was no siren and President didn't call so we were all goods.  I stayed awake for another hour after that just listening and then there was two more earthquakes after that.  They were small ones though.  We woke up that morning and went on our morning run down the beach and the tide was really high and rough but no tsunami or threats.  The only thing we were counseled to do was stay away from the water for that day which we only found out about after we got back from our run to the flat.

That same day, we did some service from the Wairoa college (High School).  After that we were invited to attend the music concert they were holding there that night.  They paid for it and all.  It was sweet as and surprisingly reverent.  It was the college students and their bands and some soloists.  It was cool.  There are some really talented students there but that wasn't the highlight of the night.  We were able to teach three object lessons.  One on baptism, one on faith, prayer and Heavenly Father, and one on the Book of Mormon.  There was about ten youth and one adult there.  There was a lot of lessons that day.

We also had Stake Conference that week up at Gisborne.  We drove the Nuhaka Elders up there.  Us and the Mangapapa Elders stayed at the Zone Leaders flat.  The Saturday session was awesome just as well as the Sunday's one.  I was so excited!  President Cummings and his wife was there and they spoke and they rallied the members in a nice way about doing their missionary work and so did the Stake President.  President Cummings explained about the story of the lost sheep and how sometimes we just get lost and don't know better.  Then the story of the lost coin on how we lose things because we are just careless and then the story of the prodigal son and how we just want to get lost sometimes.  With all of these stories, he related it to finding our less actives and finding new investigators and when we do like all of these stories, He rejoices because we found the lost or brought back the lost.  I love President Cummings.  He is FOTI as ("flippin on to it")!  The cool thing is that we talked to some of the members back in Wairoa and they were working already.  Lots of referrals and two new investigators to teach already.

I hope to make this area of Wairoa better as I work to make President Cummings proud and most important our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I love you and hope you are all doing awesome.  Stay safe.  I pray for you all the time.  

Ka Kite and Ofa atu.

PS-We made cookies with Harold

Thanks Mom

Letter from the Mission President, Missionaries are safe and well.

Aloha friends and family,

There was a 7.1 earthquake reported this morning in New Zealand, near Gisborne.  (Elder Mortensen serves in a ward in the Gisborne Stake.)

Here's what the news is reporting.  Below is the letter from Elder Mortensen's Mission President.

*Note from Mom:  

We're looking forward to Elder Mortensen's next email home to hear his experience with the earthquake.  Mahalo for your prayers and support of our Missionary.

Civil defence authorities asked people in the Tolaga Bay area to leave their homes after a 7.1 quake struck 169km (105 miles) north-east of Gisborne.

People in some coastal areas were told to go to higher ground.

The quake caused a tsunami but it has had no noticeable impact.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii tweeted that only a 21cm (8in) wave had been measured.

The quake occurred at 04:37 local time (16:37 GMT) at a depth of 19km (12 miles),US monitors say.

Residents across North Island said they felt shaking and rattling as the quake struck but there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

Dear Parents and Family,

You may have heard news reports of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck 100 kilometres off the northeast coast of New Zealand with possible tsunami like activity and aftershocks.

I want to assure you that all of the missionaries in the New Zealand Hamilton Mission in the affected areas have been spoken to and are safe and well and in no immediate threat of danger.

We will continue to monitor the situation with the appropriate Civil Defence authorities and take any further action that may be necessary.

We have a great love for all of our missionaries and are thankful for their dedicated service.  Thank you for your love and support.

Yours sincerely,

President Jeffrey D. Cummings, New Zealand Hamilton Mission President

Staying Positive and Busy

August 28, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!
My first transfer is over already and on to my second one.  I am staying in Wairoa and so is my companion for another six weeks.  Our zone is really struggling with baptisms.  Our goal was 10 and we got 2, so we all are struggling.  We had a MCM meeting on sunday and we focused on faith.  We all agreed on 15.  It's a big number but our faith will determine how great it will be.  How great is your faith?  As for me I am going to make sure that we put in our numbers of baptisms this transfer which is 2.  I know that our Heavenly Father will help us, and our fasting and prayers are going to be on as.

I am loving the work I am doing.  I am having so much fun our in Wairoa.  My companion is an egg but we always have fun in our studying and in our teaching.  Our ward mission leader is THE MAN!  Brother Akarangi, he needs to go on a mission of his own already.  This past week he went out with us for lessons every day!  He is inspired as!  We continue to knock doors and we found two new investigators:  Amy and Angus and we are hoping to continue to help them this week.  I am looking forward for this new transfer.

Aloha wau ia oukou pakahi a pau.

PS.  I got the box of goodies on Sunday when we went to the MCM meeting.  Thanks for all the goodies and the journals and the calendars.  They're gonna help out heaps.  Got the cards, glasses, and the photos.  Makes me feel pu'ipu'i lol!  Mahalo nui!!!!