Hamilton Temple Trip

Morena katoa! Hope you have all had a great couple of weeks. I know it's been a lil bit. Sorry we've been pretty busy. 

Anyways, these last 2 weeks have been pretty wild. Honestly, it has been a lot of fun. 2 weeks ago we went on a road trip up to Dannevirke for a baptism. It's about a 2.5 hour drive. We were going because my companion taught the people getting baptized. I was just along for the ride. So, that was already pretty wild for being on the mission. The same day we almost got in a fight with this mongrol mob gang member. It was me and 3 other missionaries, the other 3 are massive islanders, and this one guy tried started a fight with all of us. He was getting up in our faces and we just stood there and tried giving him a hug🤣. He kept threatening us for like 15 minutes but he never actually did anything so we just walked away after we got our food. This all happened in the same day. That was a pretty wild week honestly.
Then, just a few days later we had MLC. Which is a meeting with some of the missionaries in the mission. But, this time it was in Hamilton, which is way out of our mission. We got to do a temple trip with the MLC. So, Monday afternoon we flew up there. Then, we landed and drove from the airport to Templeview (which is where the temple is). It's actually super cool because it's in the middle of nowhere. The whole drive is basically just farms and flat ground. Then, after 20 minutes of driving you can see this big beautiful white building from the distance up on a hill. It was one of the coolest sights. All the missionaries in the van began to sing "I love to see the temple" and the spirit was so strong. It was a pretty special moment for me because this was the first time I'd seen a temple in about a year and a half. Anyways, we arrived at the stake center which is right by the temple. Which honestly was the craziest and coolest chapel I have ever seen. It looks like the conference center in Salt Lake. It has a full sized nba court inside. It's got really fancy lights and design. We had dinner there and then had a meeting.Then, after the meeting we all got ready to go to our cabins where we were going to stay the night. We had a bonfire and a testimony meeting where the spirit was super strong as well. Then, we all went to bed. Most of us slept outside because it was like 90 degrees with 90% humidity. Then, we woke up early in the AM to get ready and go to the temple. We were able to do endowments, baptisms, initatiories, and sealings. So, it was a full on day at the temple. But, I loved every minute of it. The spirit was so strong and it was refreshing to feel that special feeling that can be felt in the temple. The whole time I was in the temple I was just thinking about family. As I participated in sealings I was able to see families that have passed on being sealed together forever. It was such a special experience to be apart of. I'm grateful that I have been sealed to my family and that we will be with each other for eternity. After the temple trip we had another meeting and then, we all flew home that night. So, that was it for the temple trip. I just want to quickly say how much this meant to me. I hadn't been to the temple in 16 months. It has actually been one of the things I've missed the most on my mission. I was able to see what it is like for all of the members that are here in New Zealand. Going to a temple is a huge commitment. It isn't like Utah where you can drive 5 minutes to the nearest temple. There is only 1 temple here in New Zealand. For everybody in our mission it is either a plane ride or an 8+ hour drive. But, I will say that no matter how long the drive or expensive the plane ticket, the temple is totally worth it. There is no better feeling on earth then being inside the house of the Lord. And that is because it is the closest thing to heaven on earth. I just want to say to you all, especially if you have a temple nearby, to do whatever you can to go the temple as often as you can. And for those that don't have a temple recommend, I would invite you to do all that you can to be worthy to enter the temple. I'm sorry this is so long but It's hard to talk about the temple in a few sentences. 
Alright that's it, I'm still trying to get used to the new area and ward. Also, my companion is in his last transfer and is extremely trunky. So, it's been really fun trying to work with that😐. It's all good though. I'll catch you guys up next week!
Aroha Elder Larson

some pics of the temple. This has got to be the most beautiful temple in the whole world. Not being biased





                                                                    pics at the bonfire



                                                    a pic of the stake center by the temple

                                                        some pics around Wellington




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