These flowers are everywhere!


KIA ORA! is a traditional Maori greeting.  I love to hear it!  It is wonderful to see such diversity here in New Zealand.  There are people of Maori descent, people of European, Australian, Tongan, Indian and etc. descent everywhere you go.  In South Davis County, Utah, there is an overwhelming majority of caucasian people, so I have loved being exposed to the variety of different cultures.


We had a senior mission conference on the 24th of January.  It was very beneficial to bring in all our MLS (Member Leadership) missionaries to receive instruction about how they can help with our mission focus.  Two of our senior sister missionaries have been assigned to visit with all our young missionary districts (groups of 8-10 missionaries).  They have been doing role plays with each missionary, just to see where the teaching level is.  Now they want to focus on the missionaries who are struggling so that they can become better at teaching the gospel.  Our mission president is enlisting the help of our senior couples to fulfill this.  We are also trying to improve the cleanliness of the flats (apartments) through consistent instruction at district meetings.  Elder Folland has developed a series of short lessons to be taught so that we can improve the environment where the missionaries live.


We had a nice bike ride on our P-Day (preparation day) last Saturday.  President Erekson and Elder Folland rode from Temple View to Ngarawahia, a distance of about 21 miles.  Sister Erekson and I drove out to Ngarawahia and did a short ride there.  Then when our husbands arrived, we rode along the same bike trail with them.  It was a beautiful scenic paved trail!  After lunch, Elder Folland and I drove to Rotorua to do some deep-cleaning at a flat that we are no longer leasing.  On the way, we stopped at Mamaku Blueberry Farm to buy some fresh blueberries, muffins, and fresh fruit ice cream cones.  So delicious!  After we did the deep-cleaning (mainly the kitchen), we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant that had great food!  Rotorua is about an hour's drive from Temple View.


Family News:

We are anticipating a visit from Lucy, Dave, and grandson Rune in about three weeks!  We're so excited!!  Karl and Evan graduated from their Nuclear Power training.  Karl and Maddy will be heading back to San Diego.  Evan will be in Bremerton, Washington.  Marissa graduates from her Interior Design program in April.  Matt will receive his Bachelor of Science degree from USU in May, and he was just accepted into veterinary School.  Rachael is moving to an apartment in downtown Salt Lake in two weeks.  She's pretty excited!

It is exciting to see so many miracles happening in our mission.  Missionaries are working hard and opening their mouths to find people who want to learn about the gospel.  A young mother came in for a baptismal interview a few days ago.  After the interview, President Erekson said he has rarely seen someone so prepared to become a member of the Church.  She started learning about the Church six years ago, but had several interruptions in her life that delayed her baptism.  She expressed how happy she was to finally be baptized and progress as a member of the Church.

Sister Craig gave a talk in October 2019 General Conference that I've been studying recently.  In her talk, she answered the question:  "How can I tell when God is trying to tell me something?"  She suggested four things we could do to receive and recognize communication from God: 1) Be intentional about creating time and space to hear God's voice.  Joseph Smith taught that God reveals Himself "to individuals in private, in their chamber; in the wilderness or fields, and that generally without noise or tumult."  2) Act without delay.  When we receive promptings and act with intention, the Lord can use us.  3) Get your errand from the Lord.  The prayer Heavenly Father seems eager to answer is our plea to be led to someone who needs our help.  4) Believe and trust.  There is not just one way to fulfill a purpose.  We can receive personalized direction. 

May we all feel that we can approach God and receive our answers.  He is a personal God.  May we all feel His love and the love of our Savior Jesus Christ this coming week.  Have a great week!!  We love you!!

Elder and Sister Folland




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