Well, as you can tell from the picture Elder Matua shared this week, the weather is getting colder. They're heading into the winter months over there and so he has to bundle up. It was so good to talk to him on Mother's Day. We talked for about 55 minutes and he sounded great. The bridge pictured below is where he called us from. Our conversation consisted of questions we asked him and then he'd ask us some questions. One of the questions he asked was, "OK, which room am I going to use when I get home?" We couldn't give him a definite answer, but I think we'll have a room ready for him downstairs (fingers crossed). He laughed about that one because he said, "Well, maybe we can just knock out the wall between the rooms and we (all 3 boys) can share a room." Can you say missionary flat? Ha Ha

A question we asked, "How is the area?" He said that the work is really slow, hard to find investigators, it's a more affluent area and he said that people aren't as humble. But he also said that it's great working with Elder Fine, and that he really loves him because he's so humble and works hard. He talked about his appreciation for his family, something that he said he took for granted and that he's learned how important his family is to him. That really made our day!!!! He had words of encouragement for Tai and Garrett, expressed his love for his MOM, of course, and his love for his ward and extended family. He was kind of bummed that he didn't get a chance to talk to his cousin, Ean, who recently returned from his mission in Samoa. Mostly because he wanted to rap in Samoan. He was also excited to hear about the return of another cousin, Braden, from serving in Mexico (his younger brother, Cole, will be leaving for Iowa in July). He was blown away that Duncan, Kingston, and soon he-himself would be home, He said that he's feeling sad because he feels like he's leaving "HOME" to come home. His experience has been a real life-changer, mostly spiritually. He hasn't changed much physically, he has maintained his weight, which for him is a big thing because the people were always so willing to feed them. But definitely his testimony has grown and he's grateful for the gospel in his life.

Mother's Day Bridge

As we concluded our phone call, he shared his testimony with us in Samoan. The beautiful country of New Zealand and it's wonderful people have definitely filled a space in his heart. We are excited to have him home but it's a bitter-sweet feeling. We're going to miss his emails and especially the BLESSINGS that come from having a missionary in the field.