Kia Ora 7-16-17

This week we spent 9 hrs proselyting online because we couldn't be outside, and we had the CRAZIEST experience. There was a man who came on that was a "Christian Theological Man" and was really into His studies of Christianity. He asked us to explain the fall of Adam and Eve, and so we did, he then said, "I had a dream last night and the Lord explained the fall to me, and it was explained exactly the way that you two sisters explained that now.. I have never ever heard the fall described how you two just did, besides in my dream, I know that this is the true Christian Church." He then gave us his address, we were able to send the local missionaries, and it was seriously such a crazy experience, to be used as the hands of the Lord to someone that truly was seeking the truth. 

I had a really beautiful sacred experience this week, I was quite down about a few things, and being sick being one, and I just felt so disconnected from Heavenly Father, I prayed that I might feel his love and connection again, and that I may be able to overcome this trial, and learn what he would have me learn, I gave one of the most sincere prayers, and as I prayed, I literally saw the words, in my head "D&C 58:2" I immediatley ended my prayer, and ran to grab my scriptures, and I turned to this verse,  2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

I know truly that Heavenly Father is aware of us, and our every trial, I learned a beautiful lesson this day, and I know that he truly is aware of the circumstances we each find ourselves in, he loves us, we are HIS children, and he wants to help us. 

Ryan is progressing so well, we had an amazing lesson with this week, and His whole countenance has seriously changed, he is amazing, we are truly seeing the light of Christ resinate with someone who is so hungry for the gospel, it's such a blessing to be able to teach him, we love him so much, after our lesson we were talking about how great of a missionary he would be, he would be the best. We felt so grateful, yesterday 6 of our investigators came to church, and for us that was a huge miracle, seeing that is truly showing their faith, and desire to learn more. We are having a wonderful time here in the Frankton Ward, and are continuing to see miracles daily. 

I love you all so much, I know that Heavenly Father is aware of you, and truly will answer your prayers!! KIA KAHA

Arohanui,
Sister DeLoach 

FAMILY 7-16-17

Another week, AH CRAZY. This week went SO fast, I had strep throat and the flu, and they MADE me stay inside for a few days, and it was SOOO boring. It made the week seem really fast though. I was quite angry I felt like everyone was taking away my agency, because I really did feel fine, but then they shared this analogy or story with me, "There were 3 men who were in a race to cut down tree's two went as fast as they could, and one took the time to sharpen his ax, when the race nearly ended he cut faster, and quicker than both because he had the sharper ax." It sounds silly, but I guess it helped me realize that to fulfill my calling I also need to take care of my body, that houses my spirit. I am feeling heaps better this week, and I am finally able to teach/ talk to others again!

This week we spent 9 hrs proselyting online because we couldn't be outside, and we had the CRAZIEST experience. There was a man who came on that was a "Christian Theological Man" and was really into His studies of Christianity. He asked us to explain the fall of Adam and Eve, and so we did, he then said, "I had a dream last night and the Lord explained the fall to me, and it was explained exactly the way that you two sisters explained that now.. I have never ever heard the fall described how you two just did, besides in my dream, I know that this is the true Christian Church." He then gave us his address, we were able to send the local missionaries, and it was seriously such a crazy experience, to be used as the hands of the Lord to someone that truly was seeking the truth. 

I had a really beautiful sacred experience this week, I was quite down about a few things, and being sick being one, and I just felt so disconnected from Heavenly Father, I prayed that I might feel his love and connection again, and that I may be able to overcome this trial, and learn what he would have me learn, I gave one of the most sincere prayers, and as I prayed, I literally saw the words, in my head "D&C 58:2" I immediatley ended my prayer, and ran to grab my scriptures, and I turned to this verse,  2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

I know truly that Heavenly Father is aware of us, and our every trial, I learned a beautiful lesson this day, and I know that he truly is aware of the circumstances we each find ourselves in, he loves us, we are HIS children, and he wants to help us. 

Ryan is progressing so well, we had an amazing lesson with this week, and His whole countenance has seriously changed, he is amazing, we are truly seeing the light of Christ resinate with someone who is so hungry for the gospel, it's such a blessing to be able to teach him, we love him so much, after our lesson we were talking about how great of a missionary he would be, he would be the best. We felt so grateful, yesterday 6 of our investigators came to church, and for us that was a huge miracle, seeing that is truly showing their faith, and desire to learn more. We are having a wonderful time here in the Frankton Ward, and are continuing to see miracles daily. 

I love you so much family, I am so grateful for the beauty of the gospel and the opportunity we have to have a heavenly father who really does want to hear from us, I know he loves you, I LOVE YOU, and I cannot believe I get to see you so soon. KIA KAHA!! I LOVE YOU!

Arohanui,

Sister DeLoach

Kia Ora (friends) 7-9-17

This week WAS UNREAL with miracles. We had a lesson with Vicki, who the one who is set for baptism with her son Zaid, on August 12. When we went for the lesson she shared how she already sent in the divorce papers and they should come quickly, and she talked with her partner, who we are teaching separately because they are separated, and they want to be baptized as a family unit. She told us that the Divorce papers will take about 3 weeks, and then they would like to get married, and baptized, as soon as possible, she asked if we could move it sooner than August 12. We then set Kevin, and His Son Noah for baptism also, and now a WHOLE family is getting baptized, but that is not all, in one year they can be sealed in the temple. They are amazing, and they each came to church on Sunday. It's been such a blessing to truly see the spirit work in their lives, even in the short 4 weeks that I have known them, I have seen a HUGE change, it's true that true doctrine understood changes behavior faster than a study of behavior changes behavior. I am so grateful that they have come to understand true doctrine. 

Zone Conference was amazing, President Cummings talked about a quote "being worthy when an opportunity arises, is a lesson it's taken me my whole life to understand, but I have come to see that it's what having a good life is all about." I truly love this. I remember that someone from general conference spoke about how we should learn to love being worthy. Of course, it will be something new for us, we are not all worthy all the time. BUT we can be as we come to follow Jesus Christ. I truly have come to see that NO MATTER what steps you have to take to become worthy, DO THEM, it's what having a good life is all about, it's what having a free life is all about. I know this from my own experience, and I can really testify that we never know what opportunities will arise. Remember, a Saint is a sinner who keeps trying, and Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect, just perfect at trying. 

We had a lesson with a former investigator named Marcia Kingi, she is really sick, and requested a blessing, THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG during the blessing, and after we testifed of the truth being restored to Earth, she then said that she has NEVER felt anything like she feels now, she literally felt peace, forgiveness, and weight lifted off her shoulder, we felt prompted to invite her to be baptized, and she asked when the soonest was she could because she KNOWS that this is the truth. We have set her for July 29th, and we are SO excited for her. SHE IS AMAZING! 

I read a scripture this week, and it really stood out to me.. The scripture is in Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Pray and ask Heavenly Father what time you are on, and I know he truly will answer you, weather now is a time to laugh, heal, or dance, he will always be with you, and that is a love that never changes. :) 

Arohanui,

Sister Maddie DeLoach 

HAPPY 4th

Hello 7-9-17

Hi family! Well today I am sick with Strep Throat, so I will be quick while I am contagious! This week was AMAZING!!! We had Zone Conference, and it was amazing. I am always blown away that whatever is talked about seems to feel like it's just for me, my companion, and our investigators! We had a great 4th, all the SR couples are from America, so they got sparklers, and we went outside the back of the VC, and lit them and sang the National Anthem, I am proud to be an American! 

This week WAS UNREAL with miracles. We had a lesson with Vicki, who the one who is set for baptism with her son Zaid, on August 12. When we went for the lesson she shared how she already sent in the divorce papers and they should come quickly, and she talked with her partner, who we are teaching separately because they are separated, and they want to be baptized as a family unit. She told us that the Divorce papers will take about 3 weeks, and then they would like to get married, and baptized, as soon as possible, she asked if we could move it sooner than August 12. We then set Kevin, and His Son Noah for baptism also, and now a WHOLE family is getting baptized, but that is not all, in one year they can be sealed in the temple. They are amazing, and they each came to church on Sunday. It's been such a blessing to truly see the spirit work in their lives, even in the short 4 weeks that I have known them, I have seen a HUGE change, it's true that true doctrine understood changes behavior faster than a study of behavior changes behavior. I am so grateful that they have come to understand true doctrine. 

Zone Conference was amazing, President Cummings talked about a quote "being worthy when an opportunity arises, is a lesson it's taken me my whole life to understand, but I have come to see that it's what having a good life is all about." I truly love this. I remember that someone from general conference spoke about how we should learn to love being worthy. Of course, it will be something new for us, we are not all worthy all the time. BUT we can be as we come to follow Jesus Christ. I truly have come to see that NO MATTER what steps you have to take to become worthy, DO THEM, it's what having a good life is all about, it's what having a free life is all about. I know this from my own experience, and I can really testify that we never know what opportunities will arise. Remember, a Saint is a sinner who keeps trying, and Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect, just perfect at trying. 

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. We had a lesson with a Former Investigator named Marcia Kingi, we felt prompted to see her, and when we did she was quite sick and wanted rest, so we set a return appointment, when we went back she was still quite sick, and told us how she has kidney failure, and lose of eye sight, she asked if there was anything we could do and we asked if she would like a priesthood blessing, we called the Zone Leaders,  and they came and gave the most beautiful blessing, afterwards they left, and we were able to talk with her, and she said, "I have never in my life felt the peace I feel now, I feel like a whole weight has been carried off my shoulders, I know this is the true gospel." The spirit was so strong, and we testified to her that indeed it was, and felt prompted to set her for baptism. We are looking forward to it, and she asked if it could be in exactly 3 weeks, because she cannot deny what she felt. I LOVE THE PRIESTHOOD. It's such a blessing that Heavenly Father loves us enough to continually allow his authority on Earth. I seriously have the strongest testimony of the power of the priesthood. I love being a missionary, it's such a blessing that Heavenly Father would allow someone so imperfect as myself, to share his happy message. I read a scripture this week, and it really stood out to me.. The scripture is in Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Elder Peterson sent me this about our Savior, and I want you to read it. "He did not personally experience a broken marriage, but He felt the pain and consequence of those who do. He did not personally experience rape or schizophrenia or cancer or the loss of a child, but He felt the pain and consequence of those who do, and so on and on through the litany of life’s burdens and broken hearts.That view of how the Atonement works suggests the only divine example of empathy the world has ever known. Obviously no word does justice to the universe’s most consequential act, but I don’t have a better substitute so I will use it.

Empathy is defined as “the action of understanding … and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present.” As already noted, that is actually a reasonably good statement of the atoning process, especially if we add “future” to “past” and “present.” To feel what He felt, to walk where He walked, to face what He faced and care the way He cared is the only kind of discipleship I understand. May we strive to be such disciples."

I love you family, I am so excited for this week, and the weeks to come to continue to serve my Saviour Jesus Christ, I love this sacred calling. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! 

Arohanui,

Sister DeLoach 

sorry I didn't take many pics this week

Time is Flying 7-2-17

Another week has come and gone, they are going too fast. Can't believe it's already July 4th this week, it's so crazy to me. I swear June never happened, and in saying that I feel like the past 16 months never happened. This was an interesting week, we REALLY felt Satan's influence this week in our missionary work, particularly on Tuesday. We went to visit a Less Active member who obviously has some unhappiness and anger in her life, and she took it out completely on us, it was so scary, we literally felt as if Satan himself were yelling at us, it was quite sad to leave, feeling so sad for someone who's heart has been so hardened, we just got in the car and cried, and felt so bad that she won't accept Jesus Christ, that she won't allow him to heal her... It was a rather interesting experience, specifically she said certain things to me and as we left I just looked at her, feeling so sorry for her, and said, "I forgive you." In a sense, I knew that Heavenly Father was there, it was a testimony to me that we truly are walking the saviors path, was he mocked? Yes, was he spit on? Yes, was he cast out by his own people, Yes. After Sister Smith, and I opened the Book of Mormon, and we decided to read together wherever the page stopped, we know that Heavenly Fathers hand intervened because it stopped on 3 Nephi 4, which is the most random thing I have heard of, but we decided to read anyways, and these are a few verses that we came upon, my testimony GREW TREMENDOUSLY that day, have a question, and turn to the Book of Mormon, I promise you will find your answers. 

3 Nephi 4:8-10&33

8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites(missionaries), when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi(enemy), had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.

10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites(the missionaries) did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.

We truly felt all of this, we realized that day when it shares that they thought they had given up so the enemy began to rejoice, how Satan truly thought we could have given up at that moment, but what he doesn't know is that us falling to our knee's and pleading with Heavenly Father isn't a sign of weakness but of strength, it really was such a tender moment to experience, and made my testimony grow heaps. I know Christs  mission wasn't easy, I cannot expect mine to be. 

We realized later this week though, WHY Satan was working sooo hard on us. We had the opportunity to be asked by the Assistants to the President, if they could video us role playing and use it as they tour the mission on Zone Conferences, it was quite awkward, but it was a great experience, we spent a lot of time with them this week, and it was crazy because it helped us role playing so much. Like I mentioned this area has been dead, WELL this week after our role plays, we went to see our investigator Vicki, and while there we literally said exactly what we had practiced in the role plays, it was so inspired, and the lesson seriously was SO guided by the Holy Ghost, we really don't know what was said, but we do know she felt the spirit, and she and her son have accepted baptism on August 12. It was SUCH an amazing experience, we left knowing that the spirit had taught, that Heavenly Father truly did know her by name, and I will never forget the look on her face as we explained the peace and happiness as she is baptized by someone who holds the priesthood authority from God. She really is amazing, and is so sincere. 

I read a scripture this week that really changed my life, I want to share it, it's in Hebrews 11:25.

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

I love this scripture, I know that sin and the joy of it is only for a season, but I know as we come to be with the people of God, and learn to suffer with them, we will have happiness for eternity. I feel that on my mission I have come to truly understand and love to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoying sin for a season. This has been the best choice I have made, and it's gone so fast. I am striving to enjoy every single day, and I know that these will be great memories that I will cherish forever. How grateful we are to have a loving Father in Heaven who allows us to suffer affliction, so that we may have eternal JOY! I love and miss you all, hope it's a wonderful week, HAPPY JULY 4TH AMERICA, and SEE YOU IN 2 MONTHS!!!!!!!

Arohanui,

Sister Maddie DeLoach

Another Week 7-2-17

Another week has come and gone, they are going too fast. Can't believe it's already July 4th this week, it's so crazy to me. I swear June never happened, and in saying that I feel like the past 16 months never happened. This was an interesting week, we REALLY felt Satan's influence this week in our missionary work, particularly on Tuesday. We went to visit a Less Active member who obviously has some unhappiness and anger in her life, and she took it out completely on us, it was so scary, we literally felt as if Satan himself were yelling at us, it was quite sad to leave, feeling so sad for someone who's heart has been so hardened, we just got in the car and cried, and felt so bad that she won't accept Jesus Christ, that she won't allow him to heal her... It was a rather interesting experience, specifically she said certain things to me and as we left I just looked at her, feeling so sorry for her, and said, "I forgive you." In a sense, I knew that Heavenly Father was there, it was a testimony to me that we truly are walking the saviors path, was he mocked? Yes, was he spit on? Yes, was he cast out by his own people, Yes. After Sister Smith, and I opened the Book of Mormon, and we decided to read together wherever the page stopped, we know that Heavenly Fathers hand intervened because it stopped on 3 Nephi 4, which is the most random thing I have heard of, but we decided to read anyways, and these are a few verses that we came upon, my testimony GREW TREMENDOUSLY that day, have a question, and turn to the Book of Mormon, I promise you will find your answers. 

3 Nephi 4:8-10&33

8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites(missionaries), when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi(enemy), had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.

10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites(the missionaries) did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.

We truly felt all of this, we realized that day when it shares that they thought they had given up so the enemy began to rejoice, how Satan truly thought we could have given up at that moment, but what he doesn't know is that us falling to our knee's and pleading with Heavenly Father isn't a sign of weakness but of strength, it really was such a tender moment to experience, and made my testimony grow heaps. I know Christs  mission wasn't easy, I cannot expect mine to be. 

We realized later this week though, WHY Satan was working sooo hard on us. We had the opportunity to be asked by the Assistants to the President, if they could video us role playing and us it as they tour the mission on Zone Conferences, it was quite awkward, but it was a great experience, we spent a lot of time with them this week, and it was crazy because it helped us role playing so much. Like I mentioned this area has been dead, WELL this week after our role plays, we went to see our investigator Vicki, and while there we literally said exactly what we had practiced in the role plays, it was so inspired, and the lesson seriously was SO guided by the Holy Ghost, we really don't know what was said, but we do know she felt the spirit, and she and her son have accepted baptism on August 12. It was SUCH an amazing experience, we left knowing that the spirit had taught, that Heavenly Father truly did know her by name, and I will never forget the look on her face as we explained the peace and happiness as she is baptized by someone who holds the priesthood authority from God. She really is amazing, and is so sincere. 

I read a scripture this week that really changed my life, I want to share it, it's in Hebrews 11:25.

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

I love this scripture, I know that sin and the joy of it is only for a season, but I know as we come to be with the people of God, and learn to suffer with them, we will have happiness for eternity. I feel that on my mission I have come to truly understand and love to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoying sin for a season. This has been the best choice I have made, and it's gone so fast. I am striving to enjoy every single day, and I know that these will be great memories that I will cherish forever. How grateful we are to have a loving Father in Heaven who allows us to suffer affliction, so that we may have eternal JOY! I love and miss you all, hope it's a wonderful week, HAPPY JULY 4TH AMERICA, and SEE YOU IN 2 MONTHS!!!!!!!

Arohanui,

Sister Maddie DeLoach

Kia Ora 6-25-17

KIA ORA! I hope it's been a great week for each of you. This week, was once again amazing, I am loving my time as a servant and representative of Jesus Christ. 

This week we were walking to visit a Less Active lady, and literally about at her door, I had the most subtle prompting, which whispered quietly, "Shacelle", I knew she was a potential investigator who's name we saw in the area book, and I said Sister Smith, what if we see Shacelle, she said, that sounds so great. We didn't walk any further, we turned around, walked to our car, and drove to see Shecelle, when we got to her house, she wasn't there but her brother-in-law answered, and told us how he is dating a mormon, and she lives in temple view, we kept talking with him and found out that when he was 5 His mum died, and he has since lived with His brother. We shared with him the plan of happiness, that death really isn't the end, and you could see tears in His eyes, we set up and appointment with him, and the Assistants hooked us up and went to see His girlfriends family in temple view and invited them to the lesson. Well, yesterday we were supposed to have the lesson around 2, and it was 2:10, and we were about to give up when RIGHT THEN THEY WALKED IN THE DOORS!!!!! It was SO exciting, and we had an amazing lesson with Him. His name is Ryan. We found out he has no knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he really wants to. We taught him WHY a Savior is even important, and WOW, we take so much for granted. To see someone have hope in their eyes for once in their life was absolutely amazing. It was definitely a testimony builder for Sister Smith and myself.

We had Missionary Leadership Council (MLC) this week, and it was so great to see so many missionaries that I love so much. 3 Sisters that I covered in Papakura, are now Sister Training Leaders, and it IS THE BEST! I loved seeing them, it was funny when they asked me how they be a sister training leader, and I said, I have no idea, I am still figuring that one out. One thing I know you do is JUST LOVE. Aimee Keen-Laird came to church again this week with her kids, and they are so naughty, hahah. One is named Madden, and makes me think of little Mado (not that mado is naughty, haha they just look a lot alike). As she sat there all frustrated that her kids were acting up, the only words I felt to say to her were, "at least you are here." I think for me I think back to when kids scream and cry at church, or when someone is wearing something "immodest", that so often those are judgments we make for people who are truly trying their best. I think from now on, I will feel, "WOW, that is amazing, that they are HERE." I think truly that we each have so much power and worth in us to spread goodness, and I know as we strive to be more positive and less judgmental seeing that we are each on our different levels of relationships with the Savior, but all in need of the same infinite Atonement. I love a quote which says, "Repentance isn't a burden; Repentance lifts burdens." I love you each so much, and pray we can strive to be a little kinder, and have the mindset, and ability to look at others and think, as the spirit whispered to me, "At least they're here." 

I LOVE YOU!!! KIA KAHA, KIA NGAWARI

Arohanui,

Sister Maddie DeLoach 

p.s.. 2 miles done, one for Cathy, and another for Whitney!