Flash, keen, & crazy in between!

My dear boy is beginning to sound more like himself! He's definitely acting like himself! We particluarly love hearing about the people, their culture, and their sweet as language skills! This particular email is loaded with some of everything.

Elder Keaton has always loved life and enjoys living it to the extreme. He never intends to live extreme in a bad way; he just loves all life has to offer. Sometimes extreme living finds him. I have seriously prayed about sharing this letter. Please be kind and don't judge harshly. :)

There are a few interesting things to know about Keaton and I have discovered that these facts will play a colorful role in his mission! He is color blind to a degree (fortunately not as bad as his older brother) so he makes up for the lack of color in his world with his colorful personality.

The second major fact of grand importance: Elder Keaton has NO sense of smell. The doctor believes a virus settled in his olfactory nerve area and left irreparable damage. It has been a minor issue before and this week we discovered it will be a major influence during the next two years! Fortunately, the Lord loves His servants, miracles are real, and my son has been blessed with both His love and His miracles.

March 31, 2013

     Easter was wonderful and the best part was that on Saturday before Easter I received a package from you! I was really excited about all the Texas things, everyone thinks its funny how Texas is the only place with pride like that. I was also very pleased to find the bike tools inside because I searched EVERYWHERE for those this week and was so frustrated thinking that I had somehow managed to lose them. You're probably wondering why I needed my tools, and I'll tell you about that soon. But what I was also excited about receiving on Saturday was my scriptures! I now have my scriptures, patriarchal blessing, and friend's addresses once again and all is well.
     That is a pretty flash swing (flash means really nice). I also did get to watch Landon jumping on the horse but I forgot to mention that in my last email, it was sweet as. I don't know if I can use the headphones here to watch Jay's mission call because that might be one of the rules that can be interpreted in different ways, and I've found that my interpretations are generally wrong. So, hopefully one day I'll watch it, but I'll wait for now. So now for that bike story :)
     I popped my front tire! I always goof off a little on my bike because its a nice bike and I think it's fun, and I don't do anything really dumb - just stuff like ride with no hands. My companion has never popped a tire and pretty much thinks I'm an egg for popping mine so soon, especially when he already warned me about popping them on curbs. What happened was we were riding pretty quick and I hit a low curb because I couldn't clearly see how high is was, and that instantly deflated my tire. But those patches you sent me with work great so I was able to fix it that night after planning. I couldn't find my bike tools because I didn't have them, but fortunately my tires are really easy and I didn't need them. Then, the next day as we were riding I hit a similar curb and I was being very careful with my front tire,  but unfortunately protecting my front tire resulted in popping my back tire. Now I know how to patch tires. :)
       Another crazy thing here is drinking and weed, both seem to be very popular. Once we were talking with a guy and he busted out some weed right in front of us, another time we saw tons of it in our investigators garage (turns out he's a dealer) and my companion can smell it at many places we go. It's still illegal here but it doesn't seem to be a very enforced law. But there is also another drug very similar to weed that is legal unfortunately. And nearly everyone in NZ drinks. And drunk people love missionaries which makes for great funny stories. The other day some drunk guy called us over to them. The one I was talking to seemed to really enjoy smelling the Book of Mormon, he said it smelled very new and fresh which he liked. Now, I know what the Book of Mormon smells like. I always knew they smelled true but now I know they also smell new and fresh. :) They wanted us to pray with them, which we did, and then they kindly graced us with the Haka before we left and gave my companion and I each our first Hangi. A hangi is what you have seen in the NZ videos where the Mauri's touch their foreheads and noses together.
     This weekend I got to ride in legit rain for the first time too. My backpack is pretty water resistant, which is nice, and the rain isn't too bad with the rain jacket except your legs get soaked from your thighs down. And, we take our shoes off before entering every house so having waterproof slip-on shoes is very nice. We haven't had to wear suit coats since I got here except to meetings, but that changes today. They have weird suit coat rules here. During the summer it's no coats and winter is always coats, but April and October we only have to wear our coats after 5:00 p.m. The work is picking up. We have more investigators now and some of them seem pretty promising. The one I'm most excited about is a family which we have been working with ever since we got here. They have been going to church nearly two months straight. It's a dad, his three kids, and their cousins. So if we could baptize them all I think that would be awesome! I think there are 6 who are baptizing age. The dad, Manu, isn't quite ready but the kids are all keen as. We think if we can just baptize all the kids within the next couple weeks then seeing that will help Manu want to get baptized as well. So, that is what we are hoping for.
     India, sorry I didn't email you back directly, emailing just once helps me save time, but I hope I answered all of your questions. Landon, thanks so much for being an example and also for continuing to do all the work even without any of us being able to help you. Oh, and on p-days (preparation days) we clean, email, shop, eat, and then we go to the chapel and play basketball. There are a couple of nice views from some of the streets in our area and before I get transferred hopefully I'll be able to convince my companion to come with me on a p-day to take pictures of them, otherwise don't worry, you'll get to see much better views when you come in two years.
     But good news! I've been out for over a month now. :) I'm practically a veteran. ;) I've got a super cool miracle I want to share with you, I thought about not sharing it till later but I want to make sure Landon gets to hear it before he leaves. I don't have much time left so I'll tell the shorter version. A man told us to get off his property, then a couple days later he called to us when we rode past and when we stopped and went to his porch he offered us some chocolate, which we foolishly took. We both knew better than to take it, but I guess we both had a brain fart and took it. Thinking Elder Denkers had eaten his, I ate mine immediately. After giving us the chocolate he was keen for us to leave. Once we were on the street Elder Denkers ate his, we both agreed it tasted funny, then he quickly spit it out. He said it tasted exactly like weed smelled. After thinking about it we realized this man had actually tricked us into eating weed. I remembered the scripture Mark 16:18 "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" and I prayed the Lord would bless me with this since I had actually eaten it. I felt a wave of highness as we walked, it felt almost exactly like the laughing gas at the dentist, and then it went away just as quickly as it had come. So the miracle was that I ate / took a harmful drug, yet it did not affect me. So remember that the Lord does protect his servants and the miracles in the scriptures are real and still occur today. I hope this story comforts you rather than makes you worry. I am grateful for the Savior, for the gospel, and for miracles. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter today. I love you :)

Learning the "massive as" slang

Monday, March 25, 2013

    Life as a missionary is still hard, but I'm getting better at it. We went on trade off with the zone leader's the other day for a few hours and I was with Elder Read from Tasmania (Australia). He helped me so much. He talked with me, taught me, encouraged me, and answered questions in a way that helped me understand them better. He was also an amazing teacher with investigators, I hope I can be as good of a missionary as he is one day. He helped me understand that it is important to be obedient with exactness and sometimes you have to make decisions to not do some things so that you can be exactly obedient.
     My companion still doesn't talk much in the flat, but I've grown to enjoy studying  and reading the Ensign during lunch and dinner instead. That story you read in the Ensign by the lady here in New Zealand was actually in my companion's last area and he knows her. Apparently that is her second story to make it into the Ensign now.
     Some funny things about life here in NZ is that nobody says "a lot" they say "heaps." So if I ate a lot of food, I'd say, "I hate heaps." So, just to let you know there are heaps of Polynesians here. There are hardly any white people at all actually in our area. It was funny in the car with the zone leaders the other day because we were looking and only saw 2 or 3 white people the whole time. There is one other white man in our ward though, his name is Bro. Christy and he teaches seminary. I LOVE the Polynesians so it's really great! We also don't have meals at member's homes, we have "feeds," so I'd say, "We're having a feed at the Tepa's tonight" or "we're going to a feed" or maybe "we had a massive feed last week." Some of the slang here is so funny. By the way, the water is all safe here. No need for shower sandals and you can drink from the tap. The hot water from the tap is also boiling lava hot. I don't think even dad would wash his hands in our hot water. As for bike riding safely, I haven't even put on my lights because I haven't felt the need to, or had the time. There are sidewalks everywhere here and for the most part we just ride on them, and it's only dark for the last hour before in for the night and there are plenty of street lamps so I haven't bothered mounting my lights yet. I have the lights that came on my bike and for right now they are plenty for this area.
     Yesterday, I got to go with one of the zone leaders to do a brief trade off in Papakura and I enjoyed that. While Elder Galt (ZL) went with a missionary to a lesson, I went with Elder Peterson (from the Marshall Islands) to visit some people. Papakura was pretty and Elder Peterson is really fun so I had a good time. I also forgot to tell you that they found my scriptures! As soon as we arrived at the mission office from the MTC the MTC called saying they found my scriptures. I guess somebody had left them in their room and they found them as the rooms were being cleaned. I don't know when I'll get them back but at least I know they have been found and will be returned to me eventually.
     I didn't bring bedding and I wasn't given and opportunity to buy it on arrival, and when we went to buy groceries our first day here I forgot my wallet. So, I slept with a sheet and a towel as a pillow the first few days, but last Pday I was able to get a real pillow and blanket. One of the older missionaries here helped me get the right kind of blanket for in this mission. We went to one of the many "Chinese shops" in the area that have cheap things and I got a massive as blanket for 35$ NZ dollars. The idea is you get a king size blanket for cheap and then in the winter you can wrap up in it multiple times to stay warm. I love my massive as blanket, it has a picture of tigers on it. Also there are heaps of cats here in NZ. Every where I go, even in our small backyard, there are cats. Plenty of people still have dogs as pets but I still see way more cats. I don't think I have even seen a stray dog here, but I have seen plenty of stray cats. Oh, and i wanted to tell you about the crazy gas prices here. Next time you go to fill up the car with gas you can at least be grateful that it doesn't cost $8 a gallon. They sell in liters here, but it adds up to a little over $8 per gallon.
     They also have fish and chips ships here like in England and meat pies! Pies are so good. You can buy them at the bakery and you can even buy them at the store to microwave and eat later. Of course the bakery ones are the best but the refrigerator ones are still good too. And last week we got to go to the temple! I think I forgot to mention that good news last week. I made it into the mission just in time to go on the mission temple trip that happens every six months. And of course we got to go to that ice cream shop on the way back. It's called Poken's and it's just like a little street side shop. We didn't have much time to stop there so nobody got the incredibly massive cones, but they had pictures displayed of the big ones. I think the biggest someone has gotten was 26 scoops? I know, crazy. I only got three scoops so it wouldn't melt all over me, and it was very good.
     We were also told tat in just a few weeks Elder Oaks and Elder Rasband and Bishop "something" are coming to our mission! I'm really excited to hear them come speak to us. I know these emails don't have much sensible structure to them, but I just try to be able to fit as much in as possible. I type whatever I want to say whenever I think of it, i hope you can still make sense of it all.
     In his talk yesterday, Brother Tukaki (pronounced too cocky, and one of the members of the bishopric) talk about how to do hard things. He said the way to do things that seem too hard to do is to find a reason to do them. We must have a reason to accomplish hard tasks. And the reason must be better and greater than the hard task at hand. I really liked that and thought you would too. So find a reason, and then do hard things. I put one of mom's wonderful little notes in the back of my White Handbook that says, "It's the hard that makes it great!" I keep it there in mu pocket so I can look at it frequently throughout the day. I still miss stories and jokes and always having best friends around, but I'm getting used to things now and studying more to become a better missionary. I think part of the idea behind not talking about things from back home is because some missionaries think it is distracting or sounds "trunky"? (as in wanting to pack your trunk and go home) I don't think it is a big deal, but hopefully someday I'll have a companion like the ones in Vidor that can talk about everything. It's not like my companion is a quiet guy, he talks plenty with the members and investigators (they all actually think I'm the quiet one because I let him talk). He just says that in the flat he is so tired from talking to everyone that he doesn't want to talk any more. I'll work hard and become the best missionary I can be, then maybe once I've been out for a while and am a good missionary I'll be able to talk more. Unfortunately right now we don't have any really promising investigators, but I think we will soon. Yesterday, we fasted for help so I'm sure things will pick up soon. I love you and hope you have a  great week! :)
Love,
Elder Moore (the Moore-Man ;) )

I have one more cool story actually. All we have in our flat for a mirror is a small square one on the outside of the bathroom door, but I found a car visor, you know for blocking sun for the driver, and it has one of those tiny mirrors on it and I set it up in our bathroom. So, we now have a car visor in our bathroom as a mirror, and that is how I fix my hair in the mornings. And the other day as we were riding our bikes we saw a small bowl outside someone's fence with a sign that said, "FREE" over it. We happened to need another bowl, so we took it. And those are the stories of how the Lord provides for the missionaries :)

Note: He was instructed to take money to purchase bedding when he arrived and the cost was expected to be 125$ NZ. Sad that it took a little while to get some bedding but no damage done. I'm not quite sure if something changed and we missed the memo but it was obviously worth the wait. He LOVES this "massive as" blanket. haha

Loving the upgraded accomodations! haha

A Mum's Perspective

I am an official missionary's mum! I LOVE IT! New Zealand culture is fabulous!

You may be wondering along with me . . . why am I even creating this blog?

This has been a struggle for me because I'm rather private and want to protect my family from any judgement. I'm so far from perfect and accordingly have yet to produce a perfect child. Strange, I know! However, I think they're rather close to perfect at times because they are good and they try. I have also prayed and honestly believe and have faith that our family is supposed to share these stories and experiences.

With Landon beginning the missionary application process I may need to start referring to them as Elder Keaton and Elder Landon. "Elder Moore" is going to get confusing really soon!

I have wondered WHY share my beloved family's letters?
Perhaps someone out there is curious about LDS missions and missionaries?
Maybe someone is preparing for a mission and this might give them a little perspective?
Reality . . . it's probably just good for me!

Elder Keaton has always been so obedient and doesn't mind following rules but it originally was a real struggle to live the letter of the law. Some of the missionaries in his mission have joked that they even count their steps on Sundays.
Exaggerated but the motto is: "We obey with exactness" and in his mission it is interpreted to be very exact. Elder Keaton is obedient.
I am so amazed with him and his growth! Every mission is different and no one should assume that all missionaries share the same experiences and feelings.

How do I handle the hard parts? For me, I won't judge or complain. The mission president is doing his very best to care for all these amazing missionaries. I can only imagine the challenges and I appreciate his love and care for my son. His companion is doing his best to teach and train. I appreciate his sacrifice at a young age to have the courage to serve. Missions are hard. Missions are also incredible!
My son is serving the Lord and how could I ask for more?

Elder Keaton really isn't himself in these first few emails in the field but keep reading as I post and you will laugh yourself silly! He gets back to normal. His personality comes through and he gets his rhythm going. It took him a few weeks to stop internalizing everything negative that was said and only be accountable to the Lord and be okay with his best.

Something good comes out of everything. Perhaps Elder Keaton has needed this solitude to really build a stronger relationship with the Lord and come to know Him in a way he wouldn't if he had a different initial experience. You'll soon see other ways our Elder Keaton has chosen to handle the situations and it's incredible! He loves the hard and crazy things!
He's doing well and loves his mission, which is all I need.

Sacrifice is . . .

 . . . leaving your beloved dog at home with your crazy mum for two years!

. . . learning to live without your extremely talkative family.
Elder Keaton had a very dear friend who stayed with us for five months or so before he left on his mission. (His fabulous friend, Jake, is currently serving a mission in Brazil!) Jake told us we talked more than any family he had ever known and said, "I think it's great that y'all talk so much. I mean, y'all actually sit around and talk instead of watching TV!"  Poor Jake! We made his ears hurt. Elder Keaton didn't leave very equipped for quiet.
This picture was taken on Elder Keaton's birthday--the day before he left for his mission. It's very candid and of course we're all talking.

   
 
 

Monday, March 18, 2013

There are some major blessings connected with sharing these emails two months after they were written because I know it gets better! The beginning weeks of his mission were a little heartbreaking for me. His bubbly personality was struggling to surface. I was very hesitant to share these personal struggles but after many prayers I believe that it might help someone else to know that it is worth it. 

My children regularly hear me tell them, "It's the hard that makes it great!" and everything in me believes it. Some parts of this email are tough to read. I'm so grateful he is strong and is living "the rest of the story!"


Monday, March 18, 2013

     Happy birthday to you India!! You'll love being fourteen and going to dances! I'm excited for you! After sending that letter and being homesick everything got better and I loved my stay at the MTC as well as all the people there, but we were all excited to get into the field. And then when we were at the mission home and in a motel the first night we were just all so excited to meet our trainers and get into the field. But now it's back to being hard. I'm losing my excitement and when we are in our flat I get depressed, especially at night. I expected it to be just like the THE mission but it's not. (THE mission is an acronym for our home mission, Texas Houston East Mission) We strive to be obedient with exactness which is great, and I thought it would be relatively easy, but as it turns out strictly following the letter of the law without exceptions for the spirit of the law is difficult. I'm not complaining about that though. The worst part though is the politics of the mission. Like I'm not supposed to ask anyone how long they have been out on their mission or how many baptisms they have had, which isn't a rule it's just a missionary political thing, and I don't understand things like that but oh well.
     The very worst part, the thing that drives me crazy, is that we don't talk and have real conversations. It's like we talk plenty and say plenty of things, but it's all about missionary stuff and never just conversation. Because we don't talk I get tired of it, I even mentioned it to my trainer but he didn't agree, said maybe I talk too much, and that talking is inefficient to the work so maybe missionaries keep it to a minimum. But oh well, I guess I'll get used to that too. However, we try to talk with everyone else though. As it said my letter from the mission president, we talk with EVERYONE. That was not exaggerated. As we are riding, walking, or even driving down the street we will stop to try to talk with anyone we see. If we are riding our bikes down the sidewalk and see someone across the street heading the opposite direction it's no worries! We cross the street and catch back up to them. For instance, the very first guy we tried to talk with on my first day just glared at us and didn't even say a word. It's not very often that people just ignore us like that, but it does happen sometimes. Everyone tells me that after you've  talked with lots of people you get used to it, it stops being awkward, and you begin to enjoy it.
     We were also double shifted into this area which means that neither of us was here before, we are both brand new. And since this area was closed for a few weeks prior to us coming, and the previous missionaries kept a bad area book, it was fun trying to figure everything out the first couple of days. We're doing pretty good now though. As you probably guessed this is a biking area, but the area is extremely tiny so it doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes to ride across it (and my companion likes to ride slow). We cover the Finlayson ward in a town called Clendon which is in Manurewa which is a part of Auckland. So I am in way southern Auckland in an area which is actually more of the Bronx from what I hear. But as far as missionary work goes it is actually a gold mine. We are currently teaching a family who are so keen to get baptized (keen is something they always say here) and the only thing that is holding them back is the dad because he thinks they are too young to get baptized (the oldest is 13) but we'll help him get around that soon. He thinks they are going to make mistakes in their younger years and wants them to get through all those mistakes before getting baptized, but they attend church every week. There are five kids out of the eleven who are old enough to get baptized, plus the dad whose name is Manu. Only 3 or 4 of the kids are actually his though, the others are cousins who are over there a lot and stay the night on Saturday so they can all be picked up together on Sunday (unfortunately  they don't have a car or a job that I am aware of).
     Or ward mission leader, Bro Soo Choon, is awesome. He is only 22 but he is so on top of it, and he was only just baptized three years ago when he was 19. With him along with our bishop, Bishop Rere, we should have a lot success in this area. Like I said, this area is very small (probably one of the smallest) but being that it is in the city it is still packed with people. Pretty much all of the people in south Auckland are Polynesian which is awesome. I think I might have seen one other white person in our ward, but we're pretty much it as far as white people go.
     President Lekias also told us that while we were in the MTC the church changed the rule for emailing. We are now allowed to email friends, so let my friends know that and they can decide if they would rather write or email. We don't have a time limit to email, so I can email for as long a s the other missionaries want to stay which will probably be for about an hour and a half or so.
     I hope I haven't sounded too negative this week, I just thought everything would be so different than it is. I am awful at being a missionary as of right now. I'm trying to be like President Gordon B. Hinckley and forget myself and go to work, but it is difficult. The hardest thing is feeling lonely, which is something you would never expect when you are with someone 24/7 and I don't know how you would prepare for that either. I doubt it is like this everywhere, but I'll have to  think of a way to make up for not having normal conversations anymore. I love Elder Denkers, but I want Elder Sadleir or Hoffman to come train me because that would be fun and we'd talk and joke, etc. Elder Denkers is 19 and he's from Indiana. I'm his first missionary to train. He's a good missionary and is very obedient. He's also very good at planning, keeping things organized, and keeping things like the area book. Unfortunately we don't have a cell or "mobile" as they say here. Only the zone leaders and district leaders and sister missionaries get mobile phones. We do have a land line though.
     Also you don't have to worry about me getting hungry with only four meals with members a week. We got here on Thursday, went to the store and bought a few things to hold us over, and despite that we still have a fridge full of food right now. We went and met the Relief Society president on Friday I  think and she sent us home with watermelon, then she fed us on Saturday (which was KFC because they didn't have time to cook) and they sent us home with the leftovers. Then last night another family had signed up to feed us but couldn't do it between five and six, so had bought pizza for us Saturday night and dropped it off Sunday after church, so we still have chicken and pizza and some fruit plus the food we bought. And we are going to buy more food after this. So, the Lord definitely takes care of us. Another weird thing is that our church meetings are backward. We start with priesthood meeting, then we have classes, and have sacrament lastly. This isn't a normal thing here, but it's how are ward has to do it. Recently they had a few Stakes split, so our mission currently covers 21 Stakes. But despite being in south Auckland I am currently in the Hamilton Mission boundaries. I don't know which mission I will be in when it splits in July, I just want to go wherever the Lord needs me. Our area doesn't have any big hills either, but most of the time we are riding up or down some sort of grade. Nothing is ever as flat as back at home and the trees are all very pretty, I love the trees here. Maybe I just like them because they are different from what I'm used to.
     Well Happy Birthday again India!!! I hope you have a great day, and week, and month, and year! :) I love y'all! I'll look forward to getting to communicate with y'all again next week. :)

Love your favorite missionary,
Elder Moore

March 12, 2013

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

     Since I am emailing you guys from the future I thought y'all might like to know that it is a beautiful Tuesday and you're going to love it. Blue skies, sunny, hardly any clouds, it's just very nice. It's actually only rained once since I got here and that was on my first Sunday here. They said we're in a drought right now because it hasn't rained for a month and the grass is all a little brown. However, the temple grounds are still absolutely beautiful and green. Tomorrow morning at 7:30 over 20 of us will be picked up and taken to the Auckland mission. Also, to make the new mission I heard they will be splitting the Auckland mission but leaving Wellington as it is. I also heard this will be done around June. I can't remember if I told y'all this but we are the very first missionaries from North America ever to come to this MTC, and I am the very first from Texas. We have also determined that I am the youngest looking missionary in the MTC right now, so while I'm definitely not the smallest my baby face keeps me looking like a kid which is funny. I still can't get over how Jay is going to Uganda, it's driving me crazy.
     My scriptures still haven't  turned up, but the MTC presidency is till convinced they will turn up eventually. It can be kind of annoying how people think theft could never be the case because this is the MTC (they think this is a mystery) but we've caught some of the Samoans committing theft on another occasion. They only stole a chocolate bar from one of my roommates, but it can still be annoying. I'm not upset about it though, I have scriptures and the Lord has blessed me not to get hung up on it I guess. I think the scriptures I bought are of the same quality, but since I lost my case as well I bought the kind with the snap button. If my scriptures aren't found and sent to me within the next couple of weeks I'll probably ask for another engraved set with a case, but don't buy them yet in case they find mine. My companion, Elder Vaiomo'unga, doesn't have his visa to Vanuatu yet so he has to go serve in Tonga for a few weeks, so this morning I gave him my neck pillow for his flights. I won't be flying again for awhile and it was taking up space, and he appreciated it. (he doesn't have many things as it is) and I also gave him on of the journals I got for my birthday. I brought at least three journals and he only has one which he was only using for his companions and other missionaries to write things in. He really appreciate the journal and has thanked me multiple times for it. He said that when friends give things to Tongans they never throw it away, even if it is a shirt that they have out grown they will still be saving it ten years later. I assured him that he doesn't have to save the pillow, but he assured me that he would because he appreciates it and wants to remember me by it. I have a pretty awesome companion. I really hope that my trainer is as awesome and easy to get along with as Elder Vai.
     I really don't know what all to tell y'all right now, it seems like I forget things when it comes time to email. Oh yeah, Elder Talia, my roommate whose house is literally right outside our window, said that the missionaries in Auckland get to email as long as they want on Pday, so I should have more time to email after this. Missionaries here also only get fed four nights a week by the members according to mission rules, and the meal must be eaten between 5 and 6 otherwise they have to decline the appointment. I'm going to try to send some pictures after this, I hope it works. And I haven't been able to take a picture every day because cameras are against the ruled here except for on Pday, but I've taken plenty of pictures when I've gotten the chance. It's good that you are trying to use members to help with the work because we spent all day yesterday learning about how members are key to missionary work and how they are the best way. Gordon B. Hinckley talked about that. It is so much more fun watching The District and other church videos with a room full of missionaries because they laugh and it's just fun. I love you guys so much and hope y'all have a great week. Always help the missionaries when they need it because I'm sure I'll be mooching off members a lot to. I'll email again soon! Bye :)

Elder Moore's MTC district (The three elders in the back, center are on a table but the elder on the back far right is Elder Brown and he really is tall!)

The view from his room 

Love the open window

Drive to the temple

Playing rugby on the hill

March 11, 2013

March 11, 2013

     Since this is our last day in the MTC and since we are the last group to email nobody cares how long we stay on the computers, so I've been on  for nearly and hour now. I uploaded loads of pictures and sent them to y'all, I hope y'all can see them all. If you have any questions about any of the pictures just send that picture back to me with your questions and I will explain it. Also, I forgot to tell you that I talked to some of the Samoans about Elder Brown and some of them knew him. I showed them a picture of him just to be sure and sure enough they knew him. Apparently he is teaching something over in Samoa, but I couldn't understand what they said he was teaching. It might have been a church class? I'm not sure. And there is a missionary here, Elder Brown, who reminds me of Elder Sadleir so much. He is about 6'2", you'll see him in some of the pictures. I even call him Sadleir for fun sometimes. Nobody can replace the giraffe man Sadleir, but for two years I'll be glad I have Elder Brown here. And Elder Larson is cool too, he has the second youngest looking face in the MTC. Brown is in my district (we are the mighty Jacob district) but Larsen is not. However, I still hang out with Larson quite a bit, like we eat together and what not.
     Man, I am still so pumped for Jay going to Uganda!!! Somebody go throw him in the pool or do some other punishment to him for not getting his call when I was at home. Most of the days here that I went to play sports I played touch rugby on the hill instead of basketball because it's really fun. And on top to the hill we had a really nice view as well as a wonderful constant breeze. And we are really close to the airport so every time we go outside we can see and hear jets coming and going. There is a nice courtyard in the middle of the MTC so sometimes we go sit at the tables out there to study or for classes and I always see some planes. The weather is nice enough that on the first day here we opened the windows in our room and they are still open right now, its awesome. I'm so pumped to go to the field tomorrow and meet my trainer and see my first area! I've been excited for every new thing. Like on the airplane I sat next to Brown and he even mentioned yesterday how I was so excited the whole flight. He said, "You're always excited. I love it" so I'm just trying to stay excited and am enjoying being a missionary. I absolutely love the MTC devotionals we get to watch here. They record them in Provo and then they re only played at the MTC's around the world. I wish you could watch them online. I absolutely love Elder Bednar's talk on how to tell the difference between your own good thoughts and the Spirit. He said, "Quit worrying about it!" and the story he shared about him as a missionary picking up Elder Boyd K. Packer at the airport. It's an awesome story. See if you can find it, but if you can't let me know and I'll write it out the best I can for y'all. I need to go pack now, but I'm glad I got to write and send this much finally! Love you guys! :) Bybsactw! ;)

(Bybsactw is a family abbreviation for a saying I repeat every time the kids leave home, text, call, or practically even come into contact with me. haha 
Be your best self and change the world!)

     When Keaton was around 8 or 9 years old he was going out to play and as usual I said, "Be your best self and change the world!" He stopped and said, "Do you really think I can??" I was on automatic pilot that day and asked, "Think you can do what?" *embarrassing* He replied, "Be my best self and change the world." I immediately told him, "I don't think you can. I know you can and I know you will. That's why Heavenly Father sent you to this earth." He happily ran out the door to play.
     A few days later, Keaton ran into the house jumping up and down exclaiming, "I did it! I did it!" I was so excited for whatever he had done and asked him, "What did you do?" With the biggest smile he could get on his face he told me, "I was my best self and I changed the world!" He proceeded to tell me about the wonderful thing he had done. He's been his best self and changing the world for years. With all of his previous experience and excitement for life, I think he's a pro.

Letter: Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday, March 10, 2013

    This is my last Sunday here in the MTC, in fact I'll be heading into the field on Tuesday. I wasn't here in the MTC very long, I think I will have only been here for 12 days once I leave, but in a way I am ready to leave. I'm just ready to start doing the real thing instead of always studying and role playing. I love the MTC though. I especially love my companion, my roommates and my district. I've already mentioned to you a little about my companion, Elder Vaiomo'unga, but the best way to sum him up is by quoting Elder Talia when he said, "Elder Vaiomo'unga is literally the most humble Tongan I have ever met." Elder Vai doesn't speak perfect English either, but he still speaks well and people understand him just find. One of my roommates is Elder Christie and he is the elder here from Alberta, Canada. Elder Christie has the loudest laugh I've ever heard. His laugh is literally the definition of a "booming laugh." Everybody here knows Christie, and they know him for two reasons. For his laugh, and for how much he eats. He's not very tall and he's not fat, he's stout and boy can he eat. He eats the most, by far, out of everyone in this MTC. And, keep in mind we have some pretty Polynesian guys here. Elder Talia is Samoan but he's from here in Auckland. His house is literally just right outside our room window, every night he just looks out the window and says, "Goodnight, mom." Talia is just like Elder Kaufusi when it comes to personality. He's one of those really fun guys. He's also a sniper in the NZ army. I am definitely the youngest in our room with Vaiomo'unga being 21, Christie being 22, and Talia being 20. We think we also have the most culturally diverse room since we have an American/Texan, a Canadian, a Samoan/New Zealander, and a Tongan. I think all the other rooms have at least two people from the same country. We love our room because we all get along so well. Talia says Christie is the dad, Vai is the mom, he is the big brother, and I am the baby.
      We have also determined that I am the youngest looking person in the MTC, I even lost to Elder Larson. So while I am definitely not the smallest, I have the worst baby face. In one of the talks during sacrament meeting today and elder shared a story about faith. Am man once hired a boy to row him across the lake. As the boy rowed, the man noticed the letter "f" painted on the handle of one oar, and on the otehr he saw a "w." He inquired of the boy the meaning of the letters and the boys said that they stood for "faith" and "works." Of you want to got straight it is required that you row with both Faith and Works. I thought that was a good story to use for a lesson over faith. My favorite video we watched was a recorded devotional given by Elder David A. Bednar to the Provo MTC about following promptings from the Spirit. He also talked about telling promptings apart from our own good thoughts. His advice was a resounding, "Quit worrying about it!" All good thoughts come from God. Try to find that video because it is a great one for FHE. (Family Home Evening) Also, I mentioned that I love my district. We have so much fun together and have had many good laughs. I wish I had enough time to write about all our good times together but I  write so slow and have so little time. I can't even write about all of it in my journal. Hopefully, I'll be able to write down some of the best times we had later fro y'all to read. It's time for a meeting so I can't write anymore this time, but I'll write again soon. I love y'all! 'Ofa Atu!
All my love,
Elder Moore
P.S. In Tongan, mom is Fa'e and dad is Tamai :)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

I don't have long to email, only thirty minutes here in the MTC so it's kind of hard to read anything super long. Hopefully I will have more time in the field. They are cutting my time down to 20 minutes today because everything else rain late and didn't work out right. This week during our exercise time I have been playing touch rugby out on top of the hill outside and it is a lot of fun. Most missionaries go across the street to the church meetinghouse to play basketball and volleyball, but my companion and I prefer touch rugby. Today we went to the temple and it was amazing to be able to do two sessions. The endowment room and chapel are much larger than the ones at Houston, at least twice the size. But they only have one of each room instead of two endowment rooms. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. They have huge palm trees that I know y'all would love. The 1.5 hour drive to the temple is gorgeous. Lots of hills, just everywhere  for the most part with large mountain like hills out in the distance. Even the farms are on hills, which is really neat. I can't wait for y'all to get to see it all one day. Not all of the accents here sound like the movies, but some definitely do. And I got a picture with Johnny Lingo! Elder Talia (roommate), his uncle works here and looks just like Johnny Lingo, so I took a picture with him today. He sounds like Lingo  too. Also, turns out being robbed isn't very cool. Someone took my scriptures on Sunday and we haven't been able to find them, so I had to spend 50 dollars on a new quad today. The debit card does not work here though, only the credit card. I love you guys and I do miss y'all. I sent a letter on Sunday, hopefully it will arrive soon. 'Ofa atu! (I love you) I don't know when I will email next since Wednesday I go to my mission. I'll email within a week or two. I love you!
Love,
Elder Moore

First letter: written March 3, 2013

We received the following two letters in the mail. That was a happy day!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Dear family,

     Today is Fast Sunday, my first Sunday in the MTC here in NZ, and on Sunday's we are given some time to write a letter to the (MTC) President as well as our families, We are provided with envelopes and they post the letters to home for us. Today was also the first time it has rained here while I have been here. The weather is nice and we have left our window open all day and night ever since we arrived here.
     I love learning from my companion, Elder Vaiomo'unga (I bet you guys are having a fun time trying to figure out how to say his name. It took me the whole first day to learn how to say it as well as remember it, and then it took the second day for me to get good at it. Now I can say it all the time just fine.)
     This MTC is very small, it is probably about the same square footage as a Stake Center back at home, or possibly 1.5 Stake Centers. But we are making history by being here because we are the VERY FIRST North American missionaries to come here. I think  there were eighteen of us who flew from San Francisco together, and that included the missionary from Canada. There are about 80 missionaries here, and as I said in my email, they come from MANY different places. The country sporting the most missionaries here though is either America or Samoa. I'm not sure which has more. The missionaries in my room are of course me and my companion as well as Elder Christie and Elder Talia. Elder Christie is the missionary from Alberta, Canada, and Elder Talia is Samoan but he is from here in Auckland. Elder Talia's house is actually RIGHT outside our window, I could literally hit it with a rock easily. Talia and Christie aren't even in our district though, they are the district leaders of another district. Our district leaders are Elder Burns and Elder Langi. Langi is another Tongan, so that puts 2 our of the 3 Tongans here in my district. Elder Larson (the one from Cali) is not in my district either, but we're still good friends and eat together at all of our meals. I really wish we could call home more often because there are so many more things and people I want to tell y'all about, but I'm trying to keep a journal every night. I don't have enough time to write everything in my journal either but it's better than nothing. I don't have enough picture either because we are only allowed to use our camera's on p-days and we haven't had one yet. But that's all okay because I'm having a great time and am loving being a missionary, two years will go by fast. I love all of you, I think about y'all everyday.
Your favorite missionary,
Elder Moore

Tell Landon to prepare for his mission by practicing studying. When we study we have to study for our investigators and their needs. We have to meet our investigator and discern their concerns during that 5-10 minute meeting then for personal study we have to study for that concern. This can all be very difficult. That is something I wish mission preparation class taught, but I guess it doesn't. Mom can teach it better than anyone anyway.

Notes:
"wh" makes an "F" sound here
President Tarawhiti: pronounced Tair-uh-fit-E
Vaiomo'unga: vI-o-mo-oonga
Talia: Tuh-Lie-uh

Monday, March 4, 2013

Dear Family,

     I have more time to write than I do to email, so I'll write a letter to y'all tonight instead of in my journal and I'll send it on Sunday when the MTC lets us send letters home. We only get 30 minutes to email while we're here. I really wish I could write as fast I talk, there are so many things and people I wish I could tell y'all about. Today was my first time to play rugby! 6 of us went out on the hill outside and played 3 on e touch rugby. It was so much fun, especially because nobody cared about points or if anyone messed up. I was probably the worst and smallest playing, so it was good nobody card about winning. We all just want to play to have fun. There was on Tongan, 2 Tahitians, and a Samoan/New Zealander playing plus me. It's crazy how many kinds of people there are here. Another thing that happened last night was that I think someone decided to borrow my scriptures and has yet to return it. At our fireside last night the MTC presidency announced that they were missing, so hopefully they will turn up soon. Perhaps I'll get a Tongan set if we don't find my own. For today I just shared with Elder Vaiomo'unga and used the hardcover Book of Mormon dad sent with me. Tomorrow we are going to get some new scriptures from the MTC so I can study better. Hopefully the new set will be temporary but if not then all is well.
     Another plus to living in a room with four awesome guys is that nobody cares if you put the seat down. I usually put it back down anyway though. They have some funny words here. Elder Talia is from here and he always says the word "as" as an adjective, like "that's sweet as!" It's just like Ryan (LeBaron) told me, and it always sounds so strange. He also always says, "true" like I tell him something and he says, "Oh, true, true" or "True!" There are some more but I can't think of everything at the moment. The "D" and "H" word seem to not be bad words I guess. Here is a funny joke I heard in our district. A man trained his horse to run when he said, "Praise the Lord" and to stop when he said "Amen." So after training his horse the man decided to put this training to the ultimate test. He got on his horse, faced towards the edge of a cliff and said, "Praise the Lord" but then in his excitement he forgot the word for stop. In his fear he said a quick prayer, "Dear Heavenly Father, please make this horse stop, Amen" upon hearing "Amen" the horse stopped RIGHT on the edge of the cliff. The man was so relieved, he said, "I'm still alive, praise the Lord!" and the horse went over the cliff.
    Oh, they also say "eh" here sometimes just like my Canadian roommate, Elder Christie. Please let me know in you email if / when you get these letters.
'Ofa Atu! (I love you),
Elder Moore

The first email: March 1, 2013

Elder Moore left on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 destined for Auckland, New Zealand. With a 19 hour time zone difference and crossing the International date line, he arrived on Thursday, February 28, 2013. We had been told that he would email us when he arrived and I anxiously checked my email for that coveted update. It finally arrived!

March 1, 2013

Kia ora! Malo e lelei! That is hello in NZ as well as Tongan. I have arrived safely, sorry it took so long for me to email you guys. They forgot to let us email yesterday, but they readily let us email tonight when we asked them. As you may have guessed my companion is Tongan! His name is Elder Vaiomo'unga, I just barely learned how to say it perfectly without saying it super slowly. He is awesome and he is slowly but surely, and patiently, teaching me to speak things in Tongan. Unfortunately he is not going to be staying with me in Auckland, instead he is going to a small island called Vanuatu. I was having a pretty rough time with being tired and a little homesick for awhile, but it got a lot better once I met up with the other missionaries and especially after Elder Larsen finally arrived. Now I'm having an even better time with my wonderful Tongan companion. The view from my window is beautiful and is possibly the best view I have seen from any window in this building. The MTC is on top of a hill and I look out my window and see rolling hills covered by houses and beautiful green trees and grass. There are so many different accents running around here due to the many different kind of missionaries here. There are only about 80 of us in this MTC, but there are missionaries here from America, Samoa, Canada, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, Papau New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania, Mexico, England, New Zealand… So many different kinds of people. Look up a Tasmanian accent, that's a pretty cool one.

Upon arriving at the airport in NZ we walked through the doors to find two huge Tongan men in white shirts waving us over, they sounded just like the people from the movies "Johnny Lingo" and "The Other Side of Heaven." If you go watch those movies then you will hear exactly what I hear from many people everyday, but there are so many other accents here besides those. I love the Polynesians and I hope to learn to speak Tongan, but the Lord's will be done not mine. I love you guys too and I pray for you guys everyday. Also, I cherish each note I find mom. I'm out of time, tell everyone I love them and that the church is true. Also, my p-day (preparation day) is on Wednesday, so expect the next email then. And we're going to the temple for 2 sessions on Wednesday!! Love you guys! Goodbye, for now :)


Arriving in Auckland, New Zealand

Elder Moore & Elder Vaiomo'unga

Airport Scene

You likely already know how emotional a mom can be and this mom is at the top of her game. There are no words to describe my relationship with Keaton (and each of my children). I cannot adequately tell you how much I love him. How truly good he has always been. Or how much I will miss him and the number of tears I will yet shed. He is a golden child. I have four of them and I never even deserved it.
I trust that you will believe me. I LOVE THAT BOY.

Many parents are happy to see their children grow up and leave on missions because they've been little rascals and the parents are ready for a break! That makes sense to me. Oddly, I have never experienced it and saying farewell is incredibly hard.

In all honesty, I enjoyed every stage my children went through and as they continue to get older it just seems to get better. Alas, before I paint and exaggerated rosy picture, life hasn't been perfect. There have been rough days. I've just loved all of it. The days were never rougher than that for which the happy moments could compensate.

Hopefully someday soon I will be ready to share some of the tear inducing moments before Keaton left. I also hope to bring one of his ideas to reality but it still kind of makes me cry so I will not be doing it today. :)

I am happy! I definitely feel I should state that. I wouldn't have him anywhere else! He loves his mission and the people.
For now, enjoy his airport scene!

Elder Keaton J. Moore

It was a huge blessing to have all of our children and family together for the trip to the airport.

Keaton was also blessed with amazing friends who have been by his side throughout his life and have shared in many adventures.

Naturally, many aunts, uncles, and cousins were not able to be in town but were so kind to send texts and video farewell messages as we waited at the airport.

Too much rock for one hand!! This boy was so excited! Our darling little airport is small and it was still all fun since the security checkpoint had yet to open.

It got a little harder when that gate opened and reality began to set in.

"Too much rock for one hand" right back at you! Keaton and Jay are going to miss each other so much!

 India didn't want us to see all the tears. She was watching a little piece of her heart fly away. 

The adventure begins! I miss him incredibly. It's worth the price to experience this adventure with him.