This email was sent by Sister Welker on February 27th.  We received it on February 26th.  It is her account of what happened the previous week.  She couldn't get the general email to send out to everyone last week.

Week 28: S.A.D. (single awareness day), Tracking in the Rain, and Zumba

So long story short, I have like no time left to write.  But I'll do my best to summarize.

South Auckland is great!!  It's definitely not the same as Tauranga but I still love it.  Tauranga was beautiful and touristy, with the beach near by and almost everyone was white.  In South Auckland, it's a little rough around the edges, the beach isn't in our area, and almost everyone is an Islander.  But I love them both!!  The people here are great and they are all super friendly.  I'm working on my Tongan, Samoan, Maori, and Cook Island culture differences, and also attempting (but epically failing) to learn how to speak all the languages.  

So below is a pic of what Valentines Day looks like on a mission.  Your STL heart attacks your door with quotes from the prophet.  It's probably the best Valentines Day of my life!!  My companion and I might have also gone on our own night out and got ice cream to make the day of love complete haha!! <3

We also went tracking in the rain.  Some of you might wonder--wait, I though they had a car.  We do, but we still went tracking in the rain without raincoats or an umbrella!!  It was heaps of fun!! :D The life of a missionary is pretty great!! :)

We also got to go to the Zumba class offered by the ward Wednesday night and boy was it fun!!  The ward must have thought I was this really strange white missionary from Utah, that gets really excited about Zumba haha.  It reminded me a bit of my Mom going to her exercise class with her friends in South Jordan.

But the coolest part of the week had to be when we bumped into a member (Paige (names have been changed)) that wanted us to come visit her and her sister (Rachel) after church.  Long story short, they grew up together thinking they were cousins.  It wasn't till their adulthood that they found out that they were actually sisters.  The sister that is a member (Paige) has been doing missionary work of her own and talking to her sister (Rachel) about the gospel.  After a couple minutes of getting to know the both of them better, we started teaching Rachel the Restoration.  We didn't get farther than the 1st page in the pamphlet when she was filled with tears and said "That looks like my family.  I want my family to be like that.  I want to know how I can see my family again and be with them forever."  So we stopped and switched to teaching her the Plan of Salvation and explained to her how we can one day see our families again.  If we live worthily, and follow the commandments that God has given us, including baptism, we can one day live with our families forever!!  It was such an amazing experience and such an amazing spirit filled the room.  By the end of the visit, we had a return appointment, and later that night we saw both sisters at the temple fireside.  That definitely had to be the highlight of my week.

Thanks again for all your love and support.  You all mean the world to me and I can't wait to see how much more the Lord will bless each and every single one of you.  I know that the Lord has already blessed me by placing all of you in my life.

Jesus is the Christ.  The Atonement and repentance is real!  We really can be together with our families forever!!  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sister Mandy Welker

Oh and how cool there's a Riverton street in South Auckland too!!