Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas, and that they are now enjoying a good new year!  i am so glad to hear that everything is going well at home.  That you had a good Christmas Day, bingo party, and that kelly and Jessie's wedding was wonderful - I wish I could have been there; it is weird to think that I now have a sister-in-law, but I never got to see or experience the wedding celebrations.

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions for me.  some days are really good, while others have been very depressing.  on Wednesday I got a really bad stomach ache as we were riding our bikes to the Ngahooro's house to drop something off.  i was to a a point where I couldn't bike any farther, and it hurt to sit down.  we called the Elders to come and pick us up in the car.  Elder Ross and Elder Florian came and took us to the Ngahooro's house where we dropped of what we needed to drop off, then they gave me a blessing.  After the blessing I felt a little better, it didn't hurt as much as it had before.  then they took us to our flat where we called Sister Kezerian about how I was feeling and then I went and took a nap so that I could get feeling better.  we spent the rest of the day at the flat with me laying down most of the time.  Sister Hemi and I got to know each other a little better, which was good - but I am having a hard time with being able to really connect with her.

I was feeling better on Thursday, we had our district meeting, which was good.  We then too Elder Ross and Elder Scicluna with us to an appointment we had with Miles, he is Sam's brother.  he is on home detention for some things that he has done in his past - I don't know what they are.  We taught him the Plan of Salvation because he had questions about why God would allow things to happen to us if we are either not responsible for them at all, or we are only partially responsible for them.  he had many questions about the Plan of Salvation and I hope that we were able to answer them so that his faith was able to grow in jesus Christ and the Atonement.

On Friday we met with Urmila, our investigator who is here on Holiday from Fiji - she goes back home this Sunday.  We talked with her about temptations and why we have trials in life.  i told about an analogy that was given in Elder Johnson's general conference talk last spring - about how our trials are like when we are climbing a mountain; each steep little incline is an obstacle that we have to get over and the hardest part to climb is that last incline just at the end of the trail.  But once we make it over that last hard part of the hike we can look out over the amazing view that is before us - made even more beautiful because of the things we have endured in making the climb.  i have tried to apply that analogy to my own life now; knowing that the beginning of my mission is one of those obstacles in my climb to the top of my mission mountain-I just hope that I can continue on without feeling like giving up every step of the way.  I want to push forward so that at the end of my mission when I look back at the view it will be even more beautiful because of how strong it has made me.  (I just wish that the time wouldn't pass so slow.)

We had to be at our flat on Saturday by 6pm for safety reasons.  We stopped by and visited Miles because we had an appointment fall through on us.  We gave him a Finding Faith in Christ DVD to watch, and then we talked to him and his sister a little bit about what missionaries are allowed to do and not allowed to do.  We had dinner at the Kerr's house, they are a really nice family and I am so grateful to have them in our Branch.  That night we made a fort in our room- out of our mattresses and some extra sheets we had (don't worry, I took pictures).  Then we laid on our beds and ate snacks while we watched a mission approved movie before going to bed (remember, we were at our apartment at 6pm).

Our New Year's Eve fort 

Yesterday was a really rough day for me.  it was really windy and I had a hard time biking fast enough to be able to catch up with my companion - I really hate having to catch up. But it was mainly really rough because it's hard being at church where nothing feels familiar - or like home.  The meetings ware the same, but the branch is so small that I have a hard time feeling comfortable there.  It's just that I'm used to a pretty big ward, but I really wish that something here was like home so that maybe I could adjust more easily.

We were supposed to have exchanges today with the missionaries from Dunedin.  i was supposed to spend a few days in Dunedin with Sister Tito, but those plans have changed.  now we don't know when the next time we will have exchanges, especially for the sisters since we are so few in number.

I know that many of you have been blessed by obedience to the law of tithing and also the word of wisdom. I was wondering if you could email me how obedience to these laws has blessed you and your families in you life.  Some of our investigators are struggling with these laws and it might be helpful to have a few stories that I could share with them on how obeying these laws has blessed other people in their lives.  it would be much appreciated.

I hope that this email reaches all well and happy.  I love and miss you all.  Have a wonderful new year.

Love,
     Sister Jami Huffaker

P.S. Mom (or Krista) could you go into my facebook account and change the settings on who can find me on facebook, and who can see my page?  Make it so that anyone can find me and anyone can see my page, that they don't just have to be a friend or a friend of a friend.  hopefully that makes sense.  Some people here want to add me on facebook but they are not able to find me or see my page.  Also, if you could make sure you accept any friendship requests that I get-that would also be great.  Thanks!

Also mom, if you could also send me some calcium pills in the package, I am going to run out soon and things are pretty expensive here.  Also, can you email me Micaela's dance?   I would love to see it, and I will make sure to as for permission to watch it this week.

Thanks again for everything - for your love, support, and prayers.  I love you so much.