6/28/10 LETTER

Hi,

I can't believe I'm saying this---tracting is my favorite thing to do.
I love the days of hours of tracting, especially when we tract into inactive church members who aren't on the records. New this week:
Rita, an 85-year old Dutch mother of five living on a farm, who joined the church in Holland, and got all five of her kids baptized while her husband was away fighting in the navy. All five of her kids are inactives who are floating around the Gold Coast. We'll find them.
Rita said we could visit her again this week. as long as we come before 3:00 pm---that's when her programme, Judge Judy, comes on. A'ight!

Our baptism date with Russell fell through due to spousal objection---what can be done? We've already weeded her yard twice! Pray for him please!

I've started eating cereal with water. It makes breakfast so much cheaper. And since we only have a car every other day, I'm becoming better and better at biking every day! These factors are the only two things standing between me and grotesque weight gain, haha.

This week. I got to start the Book of Mormon, third time out here.
There is something so interesting in the Lord's direction to Nephi in
1 Nephi 17: 7---"Arise, and get thee into the mountain." Nephi prompty arose and went up into the mountain, and there, he talked to the Lord.
In the mountain, the Lord commands and directs him to build a ship to sail to the Americas. The Lord asks us often to arise, and go to certain places---sacrament meeting, church activities, institute, the temple---and there is wisdom in that simple directive. If we cannot heed the initial first command, to go to the specific places where His spirit can abide, then he cannot give us further direction---direction to build the ships we need to progress on our individual journeys.

Our new mission president and his wife get here this week. Sweet as!

6/7/10 LETTER

Hi All,

So we have 17 sisters in the mission, and today, every companionship got switched around. My new companion's from New Zealand (sweet as!) and it's exciting. This past Sunday made my life complete as a missionary: every fast Sunday, the Milnes in the ward hosts a Come On Over Evening. A COOE. A potluck, with nonmember friends, and us, the missionaries, giving a nice message. And the theme of every COOE they've hosted for the past five years: Chinese people. Only Chinese people are invited. It was like hanging out with all my aunts and uncles, over fried rice and prawn crackers and pork dumplings. Next fast Sunday can't come sooner.

In other news, we met Ben tracting. Ben accepted the Book of Mormon and a return visit. Ben told us he is a 31-year old father of 2. He even introduced us to his youngest daughter. We went to visit Ben again, but he was not home. His stepfather was home. His stepfather, who informed us that Ben is a 15-year old father of no one. Ben. Can you believe him?

Here's a breakdown of what a typical tracting day is like. Gippsland Avenue: 3 Anglicans, 1 Muslim family, 2 Catholics, 5 not homes, 1 lesson on the Plan of Salvation and prayer for her recently deceased dog at doorstep, 2 "I'm already Christian!", and 1 white South African university student, who accepted a Book of Mormon and a return visit.

Australia!!!!

5/31/10 LETTER

Hi All,

One of the best things about the Helensvale ward is that it's a ward of converts. Most of the individuals and families are converts---some joined when they were 14 years old, like I did, and others a lot later in life, even at age 59. Some by themselves, and others with their entire families. That's one of the most rewarding parts of having dinner every night with members, apart from the dinner part---hearing their conversion stories, which are all different. Some joined because of missionaries at the door, some because of distant and close family members, and others even from watching our ad on television, like our aboriginal family in the ward. They've joined in New Zealand, in Australia, England, and all different parts of the world. The Holy Ghost is the same everywhere in the world.

In other news, I got violently ill last week. Haha. Fun. And we went to see a colony of bats living in the neighborhood. And tracted into a man with a pet goose. Met the goose. Learned how to sing "Love at Home" in Samoan. Yes!