Furthering the work in Tasmania!

Monday (3.21.16)

Today started off with our regular weekly meeting in the mission office. After that we had to run some errands in preparation for our visit to Tasmania later today. Then around 4:00 pm it was off to the Airport! It was really quite strange riding in an airplane again. I always thought the next time I was going to ride in an Airplane would be on my trip back home to Utah. However, the flight to Tasmania is pretty short and I am pretty sure that home is not just an hour away! :)  

Flying to Tasmania...I love my companion Elder Eyring, we are having a wonderful time!

It was really fun to be able to travel with Elder Eyring and President and Sister Maxwell:) We got to Tazzy  around 9:00 pm and it was off to our hotel:) 

Our temporary home in Tasmania!

Just two missionaries pondering the meaning of life!

Tuesday (3.22.16)

We got an early start to our interviews with the missionaries in Tasmania but before we left we enjoyed a bit of breakfast at the hotel! Tasmania is so extremely beautiful!!!! The chapel is perched on a hill and it overlooks a bit of a bridge that spans an outlet to the ocean. 

Beautiful view from chapel in Tasmania

During interviews, Elder Eyring and I do role plays with each companionship in the zone and we help train the missionaries on their skills and help them gain confidence. We also had a long discussion with an Elder who was deciding to go home. Thankfully after talking with him for an hour we were able to help him gain the desire to keep going and stay out on the mission! Following the interviews we had a little bit of time to go explore Tasmania with the Maxwells. First, we went to a place called Wellington Point. It is a look out on the top of a mountain and the views were incredible. 

The  amazing view at Point Wellington with three of my favorite people, President and Sister Maxwell and my companion, Elder Eyring.

After that we went into the harbor for dinner at a steak place called the Ball and Chain! It was an amazing restaurant and I got a MASSIVE steak! :)

Now this is a true Outback Steak! It was 17 ounces and I enjoyed every bite!

Wednesday (3.23.16)

We were scheduled to be in Tasmania for about 3/4 of the day today. Our flight didn’t leave until about 5:30 so we were able to go out sight seeing again! First thing in the morning we drove out to a beautiful place down by the sea. It was wonderful to be down by the water again and to be with President and Sister Maxwell and Elder Eyring.

Tasmania is beautiful!

Then we drove about 90 minutes to a place called Port Arthur. This was used as a prison from 1833 until 1853. It was very interesting to learn about the history of it. The hardest of the British convicts were imprisoned here because it was thought to be escape proof, similar to Alcatraz in the United States.  

Wednesday (3.23.16)

Port Arthur, the famous prison,....so glad I'm just a visitor and not a resident!

The prison at Port Arthur practiced solitary confinement even in church...what? How do they expect missionaries to spread the gospel?

We also went on a boat tour to see some islands that are also connected to the Port Arthur convict camp! 

Boat tour of Port Arthur

Then on the way back Sister Maxwell wanted Elder Eyring and I to have the chance to go to a petting and feeding zoo! She is so awesome…..as we were driving past it she kindly said, "President, please pull over." She ran in and found out the KANGAROO feeding was going to happen in about five minutes! Even though it was only about 2 1/2 hours till our flight she still wanted her assistants to be able to do have the experience of seeing and feeding kangaroos. I am so grateful she found a way for us to have the experience because IT WAS SOOOO AWESOME!!!!! :) I cannot wait to take you back here so we can all do it together! 

My first experience feeding a kangaroo! It was incredible, but I can't believe I got photo bombed!  I guess it's payback for all the photo bombing I've done!

Eye to Eye with a Kangaroo!

After that, it was time to head to the airport for flight back home. We stopped for some KFC on the drive home because we needed to have a meeting about some transfer issues. It was a great day but a long one!

Thursday (3.24.16)

We had Zone interviews scheduled in Braeside today and it was basically the same format as the interviews in Tasmania. It is really good to be able to get to know the Elders and Sisters on a more personal level and Elder Eyring and I enjoy our time working with them. Following the Zone Interviews we went back to the office to finish some of our duties like checking phone records and planning and revising trainings.  After that we were off to visit at Toko's house. Elder Eyring and I were overjoyed to be able to teach our first lesson of the week! We taught about Temples and what a blessing they are to our lives. It was awesome because we could feel their excitement about going to the temple again:)

Friday (3.25.16)

Today was Zone interviews in Cragieburn. I really love visiting missionaries! It is great to go to so many different areas! :) The schedule for Zone Interviews usually takes about 3/4th of the day! We arrive at 9:00 am and we don’t leave until about 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm depending on how many Elders and Sisters are in the zone. Today interviews ended around 4:00 pm and then Elder Eyring and I were dropped off at the train station so we could do a baptismal interview in the CITY BRANCH!!! 

Happy to be back on the train to the City!

It was so amazing to be back in the branch I love so much (I spent about eight wonderful months in the branch) and see some of the members there! :) It was also really nice to GQ a bit and take the train home! We took the train to the Glen Waverly station then we had some Elders pick us up there and take we us to the mission home! We are pretty much at the mission home ALL THE TIME! It is like our second home! :) I love being there with President and Sister Maxwell! Then we spent about two hours helping Sister Maxwell prepare for an Easter Devotional that we are putting on and trying to fix the computer and wifi at the mission home! 

Saturday (3.26.16)

Elder Eyring and I had a meeting with President Maxwell early in afternoon. After that we went to the Heidelberg Stake Center to figure out all the tech stuff for our Devotional on Easter Sunday. It was a crazy afternoon and evening because we forgot one of the cords we needed and so we had to run back to the mission home to get it. When we got the cord we thought we were good to go tech wise but then things stopped working!  We spent about four hours trouble shooting and finally figured out that our cable had a short and that was the main reason for all of our troubles! 

After all that tech craziness we were blessed to attend a baptism with the Chinese missionaries and that is where I saw Tina and the girls!  It was a tender mercy and a MIRACLE for me to see them! (Tag taught Tina in Doncaster and he loves her family very much!) 

So excited to see Tina and the girls!

After the baptism we went to the office to work on transfers for a bit and went back to the chapel for the final test of the devotional technology and thankfully it passed! Everything worked and it was great! Then we came back home and did some more transfer moves and we finally were able to work everything out by about 10:30! Then it was time to go home and get some sleep to start another day!

Sunday (3.27.16)

Happy Easter! We went to church this morning and Toko invited us for lunch! Following the wonderful Easter lunch we went to the mission home to meet with President and go to our Devotional. It was a great night! There were about 200 people who attended and I was asked to conduct the meeting! There was a bit of excitement because during the meeting I saw this girl that I thought was really feeling the spirit! Then as the devotional ended we came to the conclusion that A) it was probably the spirit but B) she was having trouble breathing and so we had to call an ambulance!

It was still a really great night. Elder Eyring and I projected lots of pictures as people were singing and we all felt the Spirit! Then we drove home and Sister Maxwell surprised us with an Easter Roast!  It is a tradition in their home and we loved it. 

 Sister Maxwell gave us a roast pan full of candy for our Easter present. Elder Eyring and I love their family tradition!

Both Elder Eyring and I are so happy the Maxwells love missionaries so much! It is such a blessing to me to spend so much time with the Maxwells! I am learning many important things by observing how they work and interact with each other!