Oct. 6, 2014 - Oct. 12, 2014
Hi everybody. Sounds like life is
hopping back in the 801. Thanks so much for my Halloween package!!! The Aussie’s
don’t celebrate Halloween so Elder N and I are going to LOVE having our own
personal trick or treat on the 31st of October! :) You guys ROCK!!
First package (Halloween package) as a true Aussie Missionary!
Happy! Happy! Happy!
So here’s the down low on another
week!
Monday (10/6/2014):
After sending my weekly email to the
family and to President Maxwell, the point of time in my mission I have been
dreading since leaving home was finally upon me. No longer could I push off the
inevitable. Destiny was pounding on my door and I couldn’t dodge it any
longer... I HAD TO GET MY HAIR CUT!!!... Ahhh sooo crazy!!!! I have had
the same person cutting my hair for the past 10+ years (that’s over half my
life!).To make matters even more shaky, I was going to get it cut by a Chinese
barber! WHAT WAS I THINKING! It’s not like I’m in a third world country!
Hahaha. In the end, I guess my new “do” doesn't look too bad.. BUT NO WHERE
NEAR as good as the cuts I get back home! Oh well, it had to be done! Too bad I
wasn’t a missionary back in the time of Christ; I could’ve just grow my hair
long… but then again I would’ve hated riding a donkey and living in a tent :)
I’ve always said you need to be willing to make sacrifices here on the mission
if you want to see success!
Tuesday (10/7/2014):
Hardly any of our appointments showed
today so we went GQing! (street contacting) You know how I love to GQ. It’s
such a fast way to introduce people to the gospel. In just 3 hours we got 14
new contacts!! As we were eating lunch I had this thought to call a guy I GQed
last week. His name is P and he is from Taz (Tazmania). I gave him a call and
he said he wanted to meet later in the evening! The lesson was solid! He is a
firm believer in Jesus Christ and has had some major trials that he feels
Christ has helped him through! Elder N taught the lesson so I didn’t do much
talking but at the end of our discussion I shared Ether 12:27 (“I give unto men
weakness that they may be humble… If they humble themselves before me, and have
faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”) Tears
filled P’s eyes as I continued to bear testimony of Jesus Christ. The Spirit
was so strong in that lesson! It’s amazing how a day that began so imperfectly
ended so perfectly!
Wednesday (10/8/2014):
Today started off with a guy named J.
I GQed him on Burke Street (which is like a HUGE shopping street). He is from
Malaysia and was in a coma for 1 month from a car accident. He was really nice.
We taught him about the commandments and how we all need to be baptized! He has
said he will be baptized on the 25th of October! I hope he makes that date!
However, I really feel like he will be baptized soon regardless of a date:)
We taught C again. The lesson went
great and we set a Baptismal date with him for October 18th… THIS SATURDAY! Our
next appointment was with Paul. It was our first lesson with him. He is from
Korea and he wants to believe in God and follow Chirst. During the Lesson I
found myself asking him to be baptized to fill his desire to follow Christ! It
was like the Spirit was forcing it out of my mouth! Imagine our joy when P said
he would like to work towards being baptized on the 8th of November! 3
Baptismal Dates in one day! WOW! I am always amazed how the Spirit works in
bearing witness to the truthfulness of the message we share as missionaries. My
testimony grows everyday…. Definitely a great day!
Thursday (10/9/2014):
After yesterday, today was a bit
boring. But I guess you’ve got to have the boring days to appreciate the action
packed days like yesterday! We did teach an Aussie named S who had some deep
doctrinal questions. I always approach deep doctrinal questions with caution
because I don’t want to give misinformation. But S was respectfully persistent
in wanting to gain understanding and with the help of the Lord, Elder N and I
were able to smash all of his questions out of the park!! Haha. Today was a
real confidence booster for me; to know with the help of the Lord, you truly
can do anything you put your mind to!
Friday (10/10/2014):
I gave my first Zone Training on
"How to effectively study the Book of Mormon." I focused the training
around 2 Nephi 32:3 which says it perfectly!... WE MUST FEAST on the words of
Christ!! We must first go to our Heavenly Father in prayer to obtain a greater
knowledge of the scriptures; and then totally dive into His teachings.
Elder N (one of the Vietnamese Missionaries) and I after Zone Training.
You can tell by Elder N's expression
how much he loved my Zone Training Lesson!
As for the rest of the day, we taught
two Word of Wisdom lessons… one with C and one with L. Both still want to
follow Christ and be baptized so that is killer :) However C LOVES coffee and L
smokes 30 cigs per day! Dad, I now understand what you meant by “Smokes like a
chimney.” The Lord will help them though if they truly have a desire to change.
We also taught D another lesson but had to move her baptismal date back because
she will be out of town on the 25th… With D we’ve learned to always have faith
and never lose hope!
Our last appointment of the day was
with D (different D than the one previously mentioned). We have taught him a
couple of times. However, this appointment was really sad. D says he believes
in God but is not willing to follow him... Dang, so sad :( He was
supposed to be baptized on the 18th of October. Hopefully he will have a desire
to follow his Savior at some future point in his life!
Saturday (10/11/2014):
Conference as a missionary is
seriously the most amazing experience ever... even though we are watching the recorded broadcast one week after it has actually happened! Conference is something I
definitely took for granted at home! I probably took like 10 pages of notes
just watching the Saturday session! I have never been so eager to hear the Prophet
and Apostles speak!
What an amazing blessing it is in our
life to have the knowledge we gain from being members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints! It is truly a blessing that I know I’ve taken for
granted! We must ALL invite everyone to come unto Christ, and share the
happiness we enjoy as members of His Church!
MIssion Tradition... Conference Treats! Christmas Gummies.
With no official celebration of Halloween, and no Thanksgiving,
the Aussies have already jumped to Christmas retail.
Sunday (10/12/2014):
My first General Conference in the
mission field… what an experience. Lots of talks on the importance of Sacrament
Meeting, living the Law of the Fast, and the importance of sustaining the
Prophet. I know I need to focus my studies more on the words and testimonies of
the Prophets.
Never have I gotten so much out of
Conference. Then again, it was definitely easier to focus on what was being
said while wearing church clothes and sitting on a folding chair at the church.
Not to say I won’t enjoy watching conference in our family room, lying on the
Love Sac, enjoying our traditional cinnamon rolls and bacon when I get home…
It’s just that now I will take notes between bites of cinnamon rolls and bacon
:) It was definitely weird not watching conference as a family. However, I
really did enjoy this conference as a missionary! I especially loved the
Prophet's talk "Key to Being Obedient," because as a missionary, it
is so key for me to be obedient in all things! Especially if I want to be the
4th missionary spoken of in the talk posted on-line and shared with all
missionaries in the MTC.
Love you all so much,
Elder S :)
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