New Companion!!

Hello! I am now into my 4th transfer! Still in Christchurch but I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Pulsipher! She is From Arizona and has been out on her mission for 7 months now! This is her second area and man are we having a BLAST! She and I are a lot alike so we are always laughing together!

This week started with Sister Hiatt's and my last P-Day together so we decided to get out and go see some of New Zealand! We went for a hike up in the mountains and had a beautiful view of Christchurch and Lyttelton Harbor! It was amazing!

On Tuesday I ATE HORSE! Yes, horse! It is kind of a joke that if you eat food at a Tongan's house they will cook you horse, so the Elders had dinner in a Tongan less- active's home and ate horse, took the leftovers and made us sisters eat it! HA! it actually wasn't bad! It tasted like.. meat. The way they cooked it was good though so I actually liked it! I just couldn't think about what I was eating while I ate it! HA!

Wednesday was transfer day! So I drove Sister Hiatt to the airport bright and early, then awaited the arrival of my new companion! When she arrived we hit it off right away and have been having a blast ever since! It's been a fun week!

This week we got to visit a member, Sister Whippy, so that she could meet Sister Pulsipher! Her husband is a professional basketball player for Christchurch and was down in Dunedin for the semi-finals. During our visit Sister Whippy told us that she felt that every time her husband was away playing basketball we stop by to see her! She said that day she was sitting at home wondering of we would show up and then we did! She went on to say that she felt it was us acting on behalf of the Lord to come and check in on her, bless her, and brighten her day. It was so sweet and it is so nice to know that the members feel like the missionaries are blessings to them.

This week we had to drop Steve. It was really sad! But, it needed to happen. He just was not progressing. He had attended addiction recovery the day before and liked it but when we asked him if he would continue going he said he had already done something like it before when he went to AA. So I asked if he would do it for Cigarettes and Coffee instead and he said he wasn't convinced he needed to give those things up. We kindly told him we loved him and loved getting to know him, but our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ and prepare them for baptism so we wouldn't be able to come see him anymore. He took it really well and said he would still read his Book of Mormon so we were glad to hear that!

On Friday we had a sports night and got to play volleyball! Islanders LOVE volleyball and they go hard so it always turns out to be way fun for me! It's always nice to be able to take a break and play some sports and it's a plus cause members, less actives and non members always come!

This week I was studying the Book of Mormon a lot and a scripture that I like is in 3 Nephi Chapter 18 verses 19-21. It is Jesus Christ instructing the Nephites to pray. I love that He says that whatever we pray for, if it is a righteous desire, we will receive it. He then says to pray in our families, and if we pray in our families we will be blessed. Prayer is such a simple, wonderful thing and I love knowing that communication with my Heavenly Father is as easy as getting on my knees and just addressing Him. I know that He does answer our prayers, and will grant us our righteous desires.

It was a great week! Today, New Zealand is celebrating the Queen's birthday so there are tons of people bustling around on holiday! It is crowded! They love their queen! haha:)

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

Love you all!
-Sister Golden