Day #5

Today was super chill... 

We woke up at around 6 am to head to church which was at 8 am. 

Today fast and testimony was really nice. I was glad I had the opportunity to bare my testimony of our Heavenly Father's love. 

After the meeting, a very nice old lady grabbed me by my arm and told me she loved my testimony and that she wanted me to find a missionary who many years ago had asked her hand in marriage but she declined because at the time the was divorced and had two kids who she wanted to give her full attention to. Admirable in my opinion. I even mentioned that I was impressed by her sacrifice and she just looked at me with a smile on her face and said "it was the right thing to do". 

After Sacrament meetibg we went to Sunday school. It was pretty cool that for their stake they begin each class reading the BOM for 5 minutes. It's great because there is really no excuse to not read your BOM and you can quickly invite the spirit and prepare for the class! Great idea for sure! The class was interesting. We studied 2 Samuel Chapter 11 and 12. We mostly talked about the sin David had committed before the eyes of God. It was very interesting to see David a man the Lord had protected and even blessed make the wrong decision that lead him to go through a lot of pain and sadness. I definitely learned something new during class. 

Insight: 

1) Yes the Lord does forgive us but he will not stop us from enduring the consequences of our bad decisions. David lost his son even when he had fasted for days because that was the consequence to his decision. But once we go through the repentance process, however hard it may be, we can rest assure that we will come out better because of the new knowledge and strength we have acquired. 

2) Repentance is not just saying sorry. Repentance is a godly sorrow. Now what is a godly sorrow? In my opinion it's a feeling of sadness because we have in a way hurt the relationship that we have with Heavenly Father. What it comes down to is what lies in your heart. Are you repenting because YOU feel bad? Or because you feel bad you damaged the relationship with Heavenly Father? If your answer is yes to the second one... Great! The Lord seeks those of humble hearts who are seeking to change their ways and to continually strengthen their faith and hope in Heavenly Father.  The repentance process should not be intimating or scary instead it should bring joy!!! How blessed are we to know Heavenly Father's arms are always reaching out to us :)

Relief Society was good. We talked about the Sabbath Day. It's definitely a blessing to have a day to rest and to be able to put time and effort to strenghten our relationships with others and Heavenly Father.  :) 

After church we came back to the hostel and we had lunch. I had some sushi which was really good. It was spicy and it had chicken yum :) 

After lunch a few people went out to get a scenic tour of Wellington but I had a headache and on top of that I got this nasty cut! Seriously I just keep hurting myself and I don't know how or why! 

So while everyone was out Franklin and I did laundry, I talked to my sister and got my stuff ready for tomorrow. 

                                                                  Hey Ana Banana!!!

After several hours, the rest of the crew came back and a member of the ward we attended earlier that day offered to take us to the highest point in Wellington to see the city lights and then go zip lining. 

This drive up the mountain was crazy but the view was spectacular. 

Here is are some pics...

Sadly, the picture doesn't do it justice but it was definitely beautiful. Wellington is such a pretty place. It's like a mix of Greece and San Francisco (at least in my opinion). I'm glad I got to see the view at least once before we left :)

At first I thought we were zip lining from the top of the mountain but the man from the ward took us to this park where we were able to zip line and do all this other challenges. What a park! Hahaha we do NOT have parks like that in the states and we should! It was so much fun. I was scarred to zip line at first but because I was Iin New Zealand I had to try it! I mean how cool do I sound saying "my first time zip lining was in NZ". I screamed so loud but I had so much fun :) I'm so adventurous! Hahaha

Then we said our goodbyes and came home to finish packing for our next location: Kaikoura

I am so looking foward to our next place because we will be there at least more than a day and I am so ready to settle at least for a bit longer..

As usual here goes two things I learned today....

1)  I now understand Mosiah 3:19. 

Today during fast and testimony a little boy bore his testimony of the Holy Ghost. He talked about a camping trip he took with his dad and how a current took him and he felt that the Holy Ghost told him to stop and let go and then he said "then then Holy Ghost told me to hold on to a log which I did and that's how I know the Holy Ghost is real. Amen". This boy was no more than 9-10 I believe. He did not over analyze the situation he just came to know and eventually gained a testimony for himself of the Holy Ghost. His testimony was simple and powerful!

2) The bishop at the very end concluded with his testimony. It was quite powerful but one thing that hit me the most was when he said, "the hardest thing to do is love one another". During this trip I have had a hard time clicking with some people and learning to love them. But I will try. I know I'm not on this trip by coincidence. I know I can learn a lot from everyone on this trip which I intend to. Loving someone is hard but why should I let this moment pass. What if Heavenly Father were to ask me "did you love your brothers and sisters even those you didn't have much in common with?!" What would I say? I guess I have to start by using the skills I have such as my ability to serve. Now the key is to not expect anything in return. 

So let the challenge begin. :)