February 3, 2015

Tuesday (2.3.15)

We had a great lesson with "P" to start the day off. We are so glad that he is keen (Aussie for "really likes") to meet with the missionaries,  however we would love for him to progress a little faster so we can teach him even more! After our appointment with "P", we taught "I and C" together.  They are really close friends and it was awesome to see them learning about the Savior together. "C" has some issues she is working through but we talked about Temples and set a goal for her to make some changes and go to the Temple with "I" when he is ready. Then two of the investigators that the sisters have been teaching came by the branch and asked if we could teach them. Elder Lungu and I aren't missionary poachers but I will never say no to someone who asks for a lesson! ha ha!  To finish off the night we taught Tina. She is the girl that I GQed a little while ago who has been an investigator for 1 year in Finland! Man she is sooo KEEN! She knows pretty much EVERYTHING! She is just waiting for the right time to be baptized! Which is understandable but I just really want her to commit so she can enjoy all the blessings of being a member of Christ's church. 

Wednesday (2.4.15)

I went on another Exchange with Elder Ngyuen! It was really good! Because he teaches in Vietnamese I didn't understand anything he said during the lessons:) haha but I guess i am not too bad at smiling and nodding my head:) It is  hard to leave my area because there is so much to do in the city but it is important for missionaries to visit other areas too. I just wish I had more time in the day to do exchanges and work in my area too! I don't get worried about it though because I know the Lord knows everything and He is happy when we work hard.

Thursday (2.5.15)

Every Thursday we have Weekly Planning. It takes a little more time now that I am training a Golden who doesn't speak English.  Unfortunately, today we didn't get out of the flat until 2:00 pm! AGHHHH I go so crazy while we are planning and Elder L does his English and new missionary training.  I just want to go out and FIND people! But i know that if we are diligent with Planning and all other study sessions that the Lord will bless us! We did teach C today! Man he is great! He is actually talking about serving a mission quite often:) I mean it is way to early right now because he can't serve a mission until he has been a member for a year but it is just exciting that he wants to work toward that goal! Then we talked about exercising his Priesthood by Passing the sacrament. He told us he wants to do it and he is committed to pass on Sunday! Later that afternoon, we taught "P" again! It was an amazing experience. It was probably the most spiritually in tune I have ever been during a lesson. I was blessed to be able to tell what he was thinking and the things I was inspired by the Spirit to say were able to answer all of his questions and as a result he accepted a Baptismal date for the 21st of February. I am hoping that date will stay solid!  To end the night we went over to a member's house who is having some struggles. Her name is "A" and she is super nice! She called us and asked if she could have a blessing and then a little lesson! When I got the call I was like, "Yes! We would LOVE to give you a blessing!!! We went over and gave her a blessing and then taught her about the importance of Church. She said she was going to Sacrament meeting this week because she KNEW she needed to go back to church.  

Friday (2.6.15)

We had a setback with "P" and his baptismal date today. As soon as I saw him I knew that something was off. He came in and told us that he was just caught up in the moment and that he would not be able to follow some of the "Harder" commandments. This made us sad but we are going to keep working with him and hopefully be able to help him.  Then we taught another young man also named "P" and "J" They are both awesome. But they are the ones who are the sister missionary investigators though.. Soooo I still do not know what is going to happen. We might just have to tell them that we cant teach them because I don't want there to be any problems or upset feelings.  But both P and J  are super Keen and whoever gets to teach them is  sooo LUCKY! Then we taught "C" Man, she is sooo close to accepting a date for baptism! She still has a few concerns that we need to work through but then it will be smooth sailing from there! She really just needs to come to church more. It is getting nice and HOT here in Melbourne. Unfortunately, our flat doesn't  have any AC either. But we will be fine!

Saturday (2.7.15)

I think today was probably one of the hardest days of my mission so far. It just seemed like today that NO ONE wanted to talk to us and unfortunately that means no new people to teach.The companion I am training, Elder L, is struggling to make new contacts and now he has developed a habit of standing behind me...and saying only the occasional "Hello". I can't even imagine how difficult it would be to learn a new language on a mission where you HAVE to speak it all the time. I love him and I will continue to help him in every way I can. It was just a really challenging day because we set a really high Goal for the last week of the transfer and we didn't hit it! So i was just disappointed because I LOVE hitting goals! oh well! The Lord will bless us as we continue to to be obedient and serve him with all our heart, mind and might! 

Also the big news came about transfers tonight...... Drum roll please.... Yup you guessed it right I will be staying here yet another transfer! hahaha It is crazy! I will still be training Elder L and if you do the math, now i will be up to about seven months in my first area by the end of this transfer! It seems long but the Lord knows what he is doing though. So I put my full trust in him!

Sunday: (2.8.15)

It was just an awesome day:) This was my 6th Fast Sunday! Wow! I can't believe I am 1/4th done with my mission!! It seems crazy how fast time has passed.  Also "C" passed the Sacrament for the first time since he has been baptized!! I could not stop smiling:) It was such an awesome feeling to see that! To make it even better, I  got to bless the Sacrament too so I got to give it to him to pass. Yeah, you could say it was an amazing experience. As hard as yesterday was, today more than made up for it!

This week had its ups and downs for sure! It is very difficult to be a missionary that is learning English! I know Elder L is trying his hardest. I am trying to do everything I can to help him and keep our district running smooth and that can get hard too. However, I know the Lord has commanded me to do this and He knows I can do it! So I am going to do it with my head up and I will always look towards the positive!