Monday, November 17th – Sunday, November 23rd
Its definitely been a crazy week of unexpected surprises here
in Melbourne; but I guess that’s what a mission is all about… the unexpected!
Monday (11/17/14)
After our P-day was over we taught a lesson to a guy
from Indonesia. It was a really powerful lesson, but not in the way you might
expect. While the spirit was trying to convert him, he was trying to convert
Elder N and I... you can probably imagine what happened next. This guy gets in
our face and tells us that we’re going to hell because of our beliefs. Well, I
didn’t see that one coming… apparently neither did Elder N, because not knowing
what to say, he turns to the guy and says the same thing back to him!! I guess
this means we won’t be having a follow-up lesson :) . Oh well, it was sad the way
it ended, but this dude really wasn’t willing to accept the truth.
Tuesday (11/18/14)
I attended my 1st Transfer meeting today for
Missionaries going home. It was actually kind of sad… for me :) . There were 24 missionaries going
home this month, and all of them got to bear their testimonies at the end of
the meeting. They were all strong testimonies, and it gave me a comforting
feeling to hear each of them express how great of an experience their mission
was; yet at the same time express how their mission was the hardest thing they
had ever done. A mission really is a pretty tough experience for everyone! But at
the same time it’s a great experience!
Wednesday (11/19/14)
Well, I didn’t get transferred, but I did get
another companion. Today marks my 1st official day as a Missionary Trainer! I
am the youngest trainer in the whole mission! haha (scary and humbling).
Seriously, it is actually really humbling that President Maxwell has put that
much trust in me, with a new missionary, as I have just recently finished my
own training! Anyways, Elder N and myself had to be at the mission home at 12:45 pm to meet the Goldens for lunch (a Golden is a brand
new missionary from the MTC). Well they didn’t get there till around 1:45 so we got to just sit and talk with all the other
trainers… that was fun. Our new Golden’s name is Elder O. He is from around the
Denver area and he seems to be a really nice guy! Our meeting with the Golden’s
and orientation took up the whole day so unfortunately we didn’t do any work in
the vineyard today.
1st time driving in Australia! Different side of the road,
and different side of the car! It was great! We borrowed a car so we could
go pick up our new "Golden."
go pick up our new "Golden."
Thursday (11/20/14)
We taught L to start off the day today! This was
Elder O’s 1st lesson as a missionary! Apparently L thought it was SUPER hot
outside so he wore like these super short shorts and a “wife beater” tank top! I
LOVE THIS MAN! He is so funny and so laid back… He is still trying to stop
smoking, but he did tell us that he is done with all his coffee! YES! Then,
later in the evening we taught a guy named F. He is really nice but has a lot
to talk about. I think it is because he feels the Spirit and is really
comfortable with us; which is super cool for missionary discussions!
Now we are a trio! Meet the new Golden, Elder O! (he's the one in the middle).
Friday (11/21/14)
It was a little bit slower of a day today in the
city... sometimes this kind of day just happen. We did teach a man named “I”.
We actually taught him a JUMBO lesson because he is getting BAPTIZED on the
29th of November! He is so solid. He told us his goal is to be a Mormon by the
end of the year! His girlfriend is a less active member and he loves how as
members of the church we live our lives! So even though the day was kind of
slow, it was a GREAT day to be a missionary! What’s even more amazing is that
our investigator “I” already has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and
of Joseph Smith!... Pinch me I’m dreaming!
Saturday (11/22/14)
We played a little joke on Elder O today! :) When we
found out that we were going to be training a new missionary, we told J (he has
been a member for about 8 years and is a pretty funny guy!) to come and have a
lesson with us, and pretend to be an investigator. We had J ask some super hard
questions about the church that left Elder O kind of stunned!... In the end the
joke was sort of on Elder N and myself because Elder O did a pretty good job of
answering most of the question VERY well! It was great to see that “Golden Spirit”
jump out and accept the challenging questions! We all had a pretty good laugh!
Then we taught J again. This time we had a member from Mexico join us for the
lesson. We watched the Restoration video together! I have found that if investigators
can gain a testimony of Joseph Smith then they know this is the only true
Church! K, the member from Mexico, was a life saver as she bore SOLID
testimony, in Spanish, to J!
Keeping the brotherhood strong!
Sunday (11/23/14)
Whoever said Sunday’s were relaxing must have gone
to church on Saturday J. Elder N, O and I (I mean me… sorry, for the
alphabet soup but we been asked to be sensitive of people’s identities for
privacy reasons) started our day by teaching a lesson to a man from Nepal named
B! He seemed pretty solid but he wouldn’t give us another time when could
meet.. Kinda interesting... Anyways YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHO CAME BACK TO
CHURCH!!! hmmmm lets try to think back in the past!! If I say the name D, does
that ring a bell??? Yup... Ding, Ding… you got it right! It was the Drunk lady
that fell asleep/passed out during sacrament meeting! She was still a little
tipsy today, but thankfully not enough to have her pass out! HAHA :) The real
miracle is that even though D had passed out stone cold the first time she
attended our branch, she remembered where she came that day, and was drawn to
the Spirit of our Sunday services!
On an exciting note, Sister Maxwell (the Mission
President’s wife) called me on Monday and asked if I would be in a choir that
is singing at our Stake Christmas musical event on the 14th of December. Of course I said YES! We had our
first practice tonight. It’s going to be a lot of fun and bring some extra
Holiday cheer to the Christmas Season.
Things are really going great! There are hurdles
everywhere you go on the mission.. But the Lord is just testing us to see
exactly how we are going to jump over them:)
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