Week 13 - Summertimeeee

Wow, this week has been hectic! So busy and good! I can't imagine myself doing anything else other than the Lord's work here in Sydney! 

This week has been full of inspiration and revelation from Heavenly Father through various talks, scripture study, testimonies, and of course, the Temple. 

Monday:

We went to Centennial Park for Zone P-Day which was fun! It was gorgeous. We had pizza and went for a lovely bike ride. it was really nice.  Sister Wan was our mini missionary so she got to come. She's so great! She joined the church last year. Her testimony is very strong and I love how willing she is to share her experience in the church with our investigators. During FHE, Ray taught us and showed us the new Mormon Message which was really good. He talked about the trials in our life are made more bearable through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge of His Atonement. It's so true... I can't say it any better than that. 

Zone P-day:  Bike riding in Centennial Park

Tuesday: 

We taught our investigators on Tuesday. We have 3 investigators on date for Oct 25 to be baptized! We've been working with them and it's been great! There are people ready to hear the Gospel! I can't count how many times we've had lessons and they ask questions that we have the answers to. They're awesome. They come to church and institute, and have so much faith. It's been amazing to watch our investigators grow in the Gospel. I love them all so much. And it's crazy to see how much of a genuine love I have for them even though I just barely met them. I love working with them and being able to testify. Aside from the Book of Mormon and a witness of the Holy Ghost, testimony is the next most powerful thing for conversion. One of the Chinese members, Lainey, invited us over for lunch with some of the other Chinese members. We brought one of our investigators and we had hot pot! Oh my, that was so yummy!! The members here are great!! Most of them are converts, so they help make some of the best member missionaries because they can really relate to the people we work with.

English class is always fun! It's a fun group of people that come, so we teach them vocabulary, idioms, go over discussion questions, then play games. 

Wednesday:

We had a Zone Training Meeting. We set our goals for the month. The standard of excellence here is very high, well above the average missionary. I love it because it pushes me to do better. Everyone needs the Gospel, even those who are born and raised in the church. I gave a talk on how my patriarchal blessing can lead me into the future. I absolutely love my Patriarchal Blessing!! I can't even count how many times it has helped me on my mission. They're words of comfort and counsel from Heavenly Father for me personally. It's amazing. It was a good training. Wednesday, I had one of the best lessons I've ever hard...I was with Sister Jorgensen, a member, who comes and helps out with our lessons with our investigator from Iran. He is great. This week, we taught him about prophets and Sister Jorgensen's testimony of prophets is absolutely incredible. the spirit was so strong. I am so excited to listen to conference this weekend!!! I know that President Monson is a man called of God to direct the Church in these days. He is a living prophet of God. 

Thursday:

I had my arrivals follow up training, so we trekked to the Mission Home. It was pretty weird seeing everyone that I came in with. Everyone's had a month of their own lessons, experiences, trials, and miracles. Lots of revelation was received in our training. President and Sister Howes are the best. They always remind us that our goal is to always move up. We need to make our way to the mountain of the Lord. I don't really have time to go through all of my notes right now, but it was really good. One thing I was reminded of was to 'let my nets go, and feed His sheep'. meaning. Forget myself and go to work!!! I am a missionary of the Lord and I am set apart to teach His word.

Friday:

We had tradeoffs, so I was with sister Ho and Joanna (a mini missionary)! We had a couple of good lessons, then had Friday Forum, where the Feils, the office senior couple, spoke! They're so cute! I absolutely love them! They talked about trusting Heavenly Father, especially when it's really hard to and people around us are opposing the things that we're being prompted to do. Heavenly Father knows what's best for us, and he's the one we need to trust most. I also had language study with a Taiwanese member that day, so it was good to really practice my Chinese. I've been using it more and more. That night was Ray's surprise minion goodbye party. He looks like a minion, so it was minion themed. Everyone here loves him. It's amazing to see his impact on the members in Sydney...not only in the YSA ward. The missionaries love him too! Joanna was released and that was really sad... 

Ray's Minion Themed Goodbye Party

Saturday:

Was mostly planning and studying. We also had a lesson with an investigator from China who is getting baptized. She's great! She gets along really well with the members here. 

Sunday:

Fast and testimony meeting!! The testimonies of our ward were great, and a lot were centered around missionary work, so it helped pump up the members!! Then relief society was preparing for a mission! We have a really unique and special ward here. The members are really involved in the work here and it's great. I love their desire to invite and help bring others closer to Christ. Then we went to Greenwich for the General Women's Conference. That was excellent. Lots of prayers answered and lots of revelation. 

Yesterday (Monday) was special training by the assistants and the Howes'. That was awesome! I had to give another talk, and that was on the Book of Mormon and how we need to pray to use it more effectively on our mission. I have learned so much from my personal scripture study. It has definitely been a powerful tool in my life. It has answered question, and guided me in directions that I needed to take to help me become a better person and a better missionary. Most of the trainings were on the Book of Mormon and using it as a powerful tool. We also talked about the life of Joseph Smith. Man, he is amazing!  President Howes talked about receiving revelation and taking the time to listen. It was super neat. Afterwards, we went to a ward activity at Bronte Beach! That was so fun! We weren't on the beach, but on the grassy patch before it. It was beautiful. there was a nice breeze, an ocean view, and lots of fun with the members and investigators. I was able to teach a lesson on the bus ride there with the lady sitting next to me. Talking to strangers is slowly becoming easier. It's fun :)

Ward Activity on Bronte Beach

Me and Sister Ho

Fun day at the beach

Today was Temple P-day...so most of our day was spent at Carlingford, where the mission office is. The temple was a great session...lots of prayers answered and even more revelation. I am so grateful for temples. They are the house of the Lord. 

Things are hectic, but it means the work is moving forward! Please pray that we'll have more new investigators. that is our struggle right now. our current ones are great, but we can't find new ones.... 

I know that this Gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my saviour and that we all have a loving Heavenly Father. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet. I am so excited for General Conference!!!

I love and miss you all :)