New companion and Meeting an Apostle!

 So the big question is the Transfer question. It seems like that is always the big question and it always comes so fast! So I did not get transferred this time, but both Elder Willardsen and Elder Neria were transferred to new areas. Elder Willardsen went down south and is a district leader now, and Elder Neria is in Waterview in the Samoan ward! My new Comp is Elder Chi! He is Chinese but from Malaysia. He is a pretty cool guy, but a whole lot different then what I am use to... He's really quiet and so I do like 90% of all talking, so I will get use to that I guess. But he is really cool and we will see how this transfer goes.  He has been out for 3 months. This is my first time not doing "missionary 12 week training" though. So that is strange...  I'm still the District leader!

      So this week we spent the first half of the week just visiting members that Elder Willardsen wanted to say goodbye to. He didn't have that hard of a time I guess. I think that it was harder for me when I left. But its all good! It was cool because both Elder Willardsen (My step-son) and Elder Inglis (My son) are both District leaders now and in the same Zone so I guess I feel pretty proud of my sons! 

       Well we had kind of a hard week. We didn't get to see most of our Investigators this week. Most of our appointments fell through, which is one of the worst feelings. So there isn't a huge update on our investigators. Although we got 2 Potential Investigators this week! The first one I was on trade off with Elder Le because both our companions were transferred and we were waiting for our new Comps and we just went and Door Knocked for like and hour and a half. So after a long time of basically no success we got to a house and a girl answered the door and we talked for a while then we told her about what we do as missionaries and she was REALLY interested! When we told her that we taught lessons about Jesus Christ she was so excited. Like it was so cool! So we gave her our number and she will call her when her work schedule finalizes in a few weeks. Then the next one was yesterday we were just walking around because we needed to talk to people and so we would just walk down the street and knock on random doors. Well I said a little prayer after we had no success for a while and I got the impression to knock on the doors that I normally wouldn't, whether that be ones with big gates or ones that look freaky/dirty as.  So we had no success with that either until the last house that I almost walked away from....then I remembered what I thought and so I just walked up the drive way and we met Danny. He is from the UK and he grew up Roman Catholic. We started to chat and eventually we led into our purpose and we talked about the church and he knew right were our church was and he said to come back and teach him the lessons we have. He said you aren't going to convert me but I would love to listen and it sounds interesting! So we are excited about that!

      The next thing that happened this week was probably one of the coolest things to happen. On Monday night we (Me and Elder Long, we were on trade off) got the call that we would be having a Mission Conference. The last mission conference was when I first got into the mission, and that is when the Time Out For Women came. Well this time was even cooler. Elder D. Todd Christofferson was going to Vanuatu and the flight was cancelled because of bad conditions. So he was coming to our mission and was having a meeting with us! So we got to meet him and he shook hands with all of us before he started and it was so fun! He is one of the Apostles that I have never met and one that I really like. He just let us ask questions and he answered them for us. So we talked a lot about Christ and blessed us that we would have success and have the spirit so we would be able to teach and preach the right way. It was such a cool experience! 

Its amazing how the gospel can apply to every person in every circumstance. I think that trials come to make us stronger. These things happen so that we can learn and grow. It's amazing the things that the Lord will put us through so that we can grow how we are supposed to grow. He loves us enough to let us suffer a little bit....because He knows that the suffering will lead to us growing. 

     So that is what I have for this week! Great to hear from you! Love you!

              Love Elder Seelos

More bowling fun...we have a great time on our P-days!

Beach Caves

Heaven!

The beaches here are amazing!

It's hard to describe how beautiful it is here.... 

Learning a lot....

Hey everyone!

     So this week has been good! We had interviews this week! We were able to talk to President Balli about our work and what is going on in our area. So that has been really fun to get to talk with him. He was able to give me advice on how I can become a better missionary! Then that night we came in for dinner about 5:30 and Elder Neria went right to bed and was asleep so fast! When it was time to go back out he said he wasn't feeling good and so we called Sister Bath and she said to just stay in for the night. So Elder Willardsen and I were sitting there bored...and then we found the game LIFE. So we played LIFE for about an hour, and yes, I wasted him. Then we started doing a puzzle and we finished that later that night then went to bed.

      On Friday we had a missionary broadcast by the missionary department and the 12 Apostles. So we went to a chapel and there were a lot of missionaries there.....about 5 Zones. So we watched that and it was really cool to see! It was titled Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts. So they talked about the importance of teaching repentance to our investigators and how that would lead to them getting baptized. One thing I took out of it was the fact that we need to baptize CONVERTS, not just people who are interested. They really need to be converted before they are baptized or the baptism will not be worth as much and will usually end up failing.

      Then on Saturday we were asked by the stake to help them with a "Missionary Prep camp" that they were doing with the youth. So we had a good group of missionaries take out all the youth from the stake at for the day. It was cool to get to see how excited they were. Elder Willardsen and I were each given a young man and we went together into our area and were just knocking doors. Then they saw a lady mowing her lawn and wanted to try to talk to her without our help. So they started talking and she ended up being interested and we are going to go teach her some time this week! So it was awesome to see the energy and the desire they had. 

      So our Investigators are doing really well. The biggest one we are working with is Maui and Vienne'. They are Cook Islander, and related to a family in our ward. So they were a potential that we were FINALLY able to contact. We have taught them The Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Plan Of Salvation. We meet with them on Wednesdays, but that is the day Elder Neria was sick. So we went over on Friday night and saw them and we talked about The Book of Mormon. They really loved it and Maui was really interested in reading it! So we then got talking and Vienne' makes Cook Island Donuts every Saturday. So they then said they would bring some over to us. So the next morning there was a knock on the door and Maui was there with a bag of donuts!!! It was so cool! They are really progressing well and are doing so well!  

     So that's what has happened to me this week!  Transfers is this week. We will figure out where we go tonight! So I'll tell you all next week!  Great to hear from you! Love you! 

                  Love Elder Seelos
 P.S.  Having a hard time getting pictures to upload this week...sorry.

Shoveling lots of dirt...and nerf wounds!

Hey Family! How is everyone doing?

      So now about my week! First off Monday was sooo much Fun!! We went Bowling with one of the Sisters and one of the Elders. So that was good to get to know them better! We really had a great time! And for Haley's sake, just saying, I got more then 13! Then after that we went to the Semu's for FHE and Dinner! We love them! They have 2 boys that just got engaged. They are like 25 and 27. They are so cool! It's interesting being in a threesome! Its really fun though! Its easy because Elder Neria is very laid back! Its good!

       We had District Meeting on Tuesday. Just saying I think I am getting better at leading District Meetings, I still don't really love it. So Its been Interesting... We talked about "Finding", and we basically listed a huge list of ways that Christ was able to "Find" people. Then talked about how we can obtain those attributes. The Attribute I am working on is Diligence. I want to be better at just doing everything 110%. I want to do the best that I can.

    We did see the Koai Family this week! We saw them on Friday night! They are the New Investigators we found that are 7th day! They invited us over to open there Sabbath with them! They are a really cool Family! We sang heaps of songs and we sang them a few hymns! The only issue is that we don't really see them progressing all that much... So its all good to see them but we don't really know where that will go...The other family is Maui and Vieni. They are doing good. They are hard to teach because they are very into their church! So we are just talking with them because they are interested. We will see where it leads but we really hope that they are actually interested in changing and following Christ more in their lives!

         So I don't know who remembers this, but I smashed my finger in the car door about 3 months ago. Well this week I finally got my gross blue finger nail off! I was so done with it that I basically ripped it off! It is pretty gross... But its kinda cool!

         Last Sunday our Bishop asked us to help him with some service at his house some time this week. So we ended up going over on Wednesday to help him. So we show up and he has a MASSIVE pile of dirt that he wanted our help to move. So we ended up spending the afternoon's of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So we were extremely tired every night.... It was a long few days. I don't think I have ever been more sore in my entire life... 

       On Saturday we went to a place in our area called Hellensville. Its about 30 minutes from our flat. So its a big trip, but we have people to visit up there so we went. On our way up there was a crazy amount of traffic!!! So it took us about 45 minutes to get half way there! The cool part though was that mixed in with the cars there were heaps of really cool, old cars! About a quarter of the way there I noticed that 1. We had about a quarter of a tank left. 2. There was a 60's Mustang in the Gas Station right next to us. So of course I pulled in and started to talk to the guys about there car. They didn't really want to talk to us cuz you know, we are missionaries. But out of the conversation we found out that there is a car show going on in a place called Kumu. So we got there and we went to this car show and were walking around, and there were REALLY cool old cars there! AND we also left with a lesson with someone and meeting like 5 members and talking to heaps of people! So it was a win-win!

       So last thing about the week. We have been playing with the Nerf guns a lot! So this week I got to thinking and I figured out how to put Tacks in the tips of the darts. So we spent a while shooting boxes and then of course as 3 18-19 year old boys we started to turn to each other. Me and Elder Willardsen decided that I would shoot him in the butt then he could shoot me. Well it ended up that it really didn't do anything through clothes. So then after more messing around we got some pipes and were shooting through them. They were more powerful! So I was in the bathroom and all of a sudden the door opens and Elder Willardsen shoots me with the dart in the pipe. Well he missed and so then I came out and grabbed the other pipe and a dart and aimed at his side and shot. Well as I shot he moved and the dart ended up sticking right into his bare fore arm and stuck in his arm... So then he was freaking out so I turned and Elder Willardsen then shot me back in the arm and then we were all goods!

My thought this week...It is amazing how important the Sacrament is. It was cool... I was able to bless the Sacrament yesterday at church. It really is so personal.  It is the same all around the world, but it means something completely different to every person. 

Love you! Thanks for the Prayers!

From Mason's mom-  I asked Mason to share a quick testimony this week to put in our ward newsletter, I thought you might like to read it.

Hey Reading Ward! Its been great to hear about what is going on in the ward from my family! It has been interesting being away from my ward family and going to other wards. It has been really strange to see the differences that every ward has! I have really missed the Ward Family that I have grown up with, but it has also made me realize that the Church is the same all across the world! The things that are taught in the Reading Ward are the same things being taught in my ward in New Zealand half way across the world! It also has made me realize even more who is at the head of this Church! Heavenly Father is the one leading this Church. He is guiding and directing every leader of wards, stakes, and areas across the world. He is talking to them all specifically to lead them and guide them to help the people of the Church all over the world. It has also increased my Testimony of the Prophet. The Prophet Thomas S. Monson is leading this church on the Earth. He is lead and Guided by the Lord to help this Church not only in Utah, or to Americans, or to people that speak English! He is leading this Church for everyone that is living on this planet! He knows what we as Followers of Christ need! And that is the message that I get to share with everyone that I meet! I get to tell people that Christ still speaks, and that the Heaven's are most definitely not closed! Jesus Christ speaks to a Prophet to bless everyone on this planet. I get to tell people about how they can be happier in life and how God loves them! Being a missionary has changed my life! I know that this Church is true and is lead by Leaders that are inspired by God himself to direct us all across the world! I love you all so much! Thank you to everyone who has been great examples to me, and all of the teachers that have dealt with me from time to time, preparing me for this stage of my life. I love you and I love this Gospel, But most of all I love our Loving Savior Jesus Christ for everything that he did for me, you, and everyone who ever has or will live.

The 3 Amigos! 

Bowling!

Ouch!!  & Disgusting!!

Elder Wilardson's nerf wound

My sweet souvenirs!  I had this mask made.  It is so sick!  And I also got this cool New Zealand Greenstone necklace.  New Zealand tradition says you can't buy a Greenstone for yourself, it has to be given as a gift. So,  I bought one for Elder Wilardson and he bought one for me!

6 new investigators and 1 new companion, and a cramped but clean flat!

  Hey everyone! So this week is going great! We had a lot of interesting things that have happened! So to start off we have 6 NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!!! 6!!! That is a LOT! Like that is a crazy amount! The first 2 is an older couple that were on our potential list. Apparently they have been taught by sisters before then when the sisters left missionaries just kind of stopped coming. So we have been knocking on there door for a few weeks and no one was ever home. Then one day the daughter was home! So we talked to her and she said that her mom always loved it when the sisters came over so we should come back for her. So we went back again a few days later and we knocked and the Dad answered the door. After chatting he said he would be great with us coming back and teaching them. That was last week. So we went back on Wednesday and were able to teach Maui, and his wife Vania. They are both Cook Islanders and go to a local Methodist Cook Island Church. They also have some family in our ward that we know well so we talked to them and they were really surprised! Like really surprised! They said that Maui had never shown interest in the missionaries before. The Member that we know just had a stroke, and a big part of his recovery was the fact of his faith and he made that known to everyone that came to visit. So we are thinking because of that Maui is a bit more interested!

       The other 4 New Investigators is a family. We went to go see a Former Investigator and they had moved but we were talking to the guy there, his name is Leo, and him and his family are all 7th day. He said that they would love us to come visit and share a message though. So on trade off a few weeks ago they went to see him and they saw the family, but didn't really share a message. Then we were able to catch them on Saturday, after Church (totally didn't think about the fact that they were 7th day when we went there). So they invited us back for Sunday night. We were able to see Leo his mom and his 2 sisters and teach them about Jesus Christ and his Gospel and then they invited us back for Friday night to open there Sabbath with them! The only issue is that they want us to sing.... We are terrible singers... So that will be interesting! 

        So they other BIG thing is that Elder Willardsen and I now have another companion. His name is Elder Neria. He is from Samoa and has been out for a year. There were some issues in his area with obedience between a few different Elders, so they were all Emergency Transfer'd out. We got the call on Saturday morning from President that we would be getting a new comp and then we went to pick him up and now we have about 0% extra room in our flat. We now have 3 beds and 3 Elders stuff... So we are getting creative...

        I guess the other thing is what we did last Monday. We first went shopping for Elder Willardsen and Elder Long. Then we bought some Island Mats for the flat to try to help it out. So at 9:30 we started to DEEP CLEAN our flat and put them down. So the flat is about 1000x better. I spent about 30 minutes scrubbing the shower with bleach to clean out all of the mold and crap that was in it. Now it actually almost looks usable... The Senior couple in charge of flats came over to give us the 3rd bed and he said that they are looking and are trying to get a new bigger flat for us. We also fount out that the Church has had missionaries in our flat for 12 years, and in that 12 years not one thing has been fixed/replaced/repaired. We also found out that our wallpaper has been up for 21 years... So yeah. Our flat is old...

       So this week I have been thinking a lot about Grace. I have spent a few days devoted to studying Grace. So that is where I have some questions for you. What does Grace mean to you? That is one thing that a lot of religions have struggles with and we have different stances on. So one thing I have learned is the Idea that grace isn't the one dose fix all. It is a whole prescription that we need to take everyday. It is what makes up the difference when we don't fully make it to the top. It is the help and strength to finish with Christ as our crutch. He promises that if we try our best that we will make it. He doesn't say that he will move the finish line for us, or give us shortcuts. He says that he will carry us through the finish like. No matter how far away it may be. 

Love you so much!!

                  Love Elder Seelos!

Me and Elder Long

My MEAN district meeting!

Baptism and Family History...

    This week was really exciting! It has been good to be able to try to refocus on the work this week. It has still been pretty hard to find people home because everyone is still on Holiday. So we just had a slow week!

    So the biggest highlight of this week was the fact that we had a Baptism! It was a girl named Manhaia Thompson. She's the 13 year old Daughter of a less active lady, and the Granddaughter of a semi-active couple in the ward. She has been taught for like 6 months now and everyone was finally good with her to be baptized. So that was cool! We got her to decide on getting baptized last Monday night so then it came really fast! We had the interview on Tuesday and we worked on the program all day that day. Then we got her ready through out the week and she was baptized on Saturday, and then confirmed yesterday. What was really cool though was on the first time I met her she asked me to Baptize her. Elder Willerdsen was a bit mad but She wanted me to do it. So I was able to baptize her! 

      This week we have had Elder Long with us a lot. He has been spending a lot of time with us because his companion is having a hard time. His companion is almost going home so he is starting to shut down and Elder Long was going crazy last week. He slept with us 4-5 out of the 7 days last week. So that has been fun to get to spend so much time with him!

       We went to visit a lady this week named Tabita. She is a less active lady from Tuvalu. She lives on a farm a ways out in the country. So we don't get to stop by that often. We were actually kind of scared to stop by and see her because last time we tried to see her, her boss came out and started to get really mad at us and ordered us to leave. He really didn't like us. So we were a bit worried that he would be there again and get mad. But it ended up he was in the house asleep, so we were able to talk to her and she said she would try to see us this week!

      So that was my week! One thing I learned about this week was Family History! Its amazing the things that can happen when you will trust the Lord and start to do the work for people. The Lord will put things, people, and memories in front of you to help you find people that want their work done.   So we had dinner Sunday night at the Semu's. They are the family I Skyped at.  We ended up talking about Family History and we were there from 5 tell 9 talking about it. Like for me, Elder Willardsen, and Elder Long it was an amazing experience and we all had a lot of cool feeling and learned a lot. We all left saying that we all tried to say that we needed to go but every time we were about to say it, it would get stuck in our throat and it just wouldn't come out. We decided that we all needed to have that time to be able to learn something.   So I want to challenge everyone to spend some time looking at Familysearch.org.

Love you so much!

                       Love Elder Seelos!

p.s. Thank you for the Christmas cards! I loved those! 

Weird things we find in the church

Elder Willardson, Elder Long and me in my sulu

Elders and David Brown at the Baptism. What a Thug.

Me, Elder Willardsen, and Manhaia at the baptism!