Melbourne Mission
Moments
Whoa.
Look at that date! I can't believe that I've been out for 10 months! Time goes
by so quickly on the mission! I can't believe it's already Monday again and I'm
emailing home.
Monday
last week we had a busy p-day just getting our groceries and running errands
but we did have time to go back to the flat and take a little nap which was so
great! I haven't taken a nap in forever but it felt glorious! That night we had
dinner with a family in our ward. The mum and kids are all active but the dad
is less-active. He wasn't there because he had to work and the whole time we
were eating I was sitting there thinking how we can help him. After dinner this
dear sister asked if I wanted to play the piano for a few minutes. Naturally I
said yes, because I miss playing. I sat down and started
playing around a little bit and then I had a thought to ask if this sister
wanted to do a musical number because I know she sings. She was so excited
about it. In a couple of weeks I'm going to accompany her in Sacrament meeting.
The best part about it is that it gives us opportunity to get back in to their
home and hopefully build a good relationship with the dad so we can help him
come back to church.
Monday
night right before bed I felt so strongly while I was sitting there, how grateful
I am to have such an amazing family. Seriously, I have been so blessed. Our
family is so tight-knit and everyone is strong in the gospel and I don't have
the worries that others have. I have been so blessed. I think I have kind of
taken it for granted most of my life because that's all I knew. As I've been
here and realized how different some people's family situations are, my
appreciation and love for my own family has grown immensely.
Tuesday
morning we went to district meeting and our district leader was training about
prayer. The training was perfect. I have been so impressed with our leaders
here. Without fail, every time we have a meeting they train or testify about
the exact thing that we need. You can tell that they really follow the spirit
to know how to help us. How grateful I am for the priesthood and that my whole
life I have been surrounded by worthy priesthood leaders!
After
our meeting we went to see a lady. We tried to teach a lesson but she just
kept talking about the Amish people. Seriously, the whole time. It was really
difficult. So even though she's a really sweet lady, we probably won't be going
back because she doesn't really have a desire to learn anything or listen to
us. Tuesday night we had dinner with two newly-wed couples in our ward. They
were so cute! Both got married just in December so they are in the love-birds
stage which just makes me smile. But the best thing about them is that they are
really keen about doing missionary work and want to be really involved which is
awesome!
Wednesday
morning after studies we were at the mission office for interviews with
President Maxwell. While we were waiting Sister Maxwell was showing us how to
use Family Search. We got on and I found out that I love it! I really want to
do more family history work when I get home! And also, Sister Maxwell worked it
out and found out that we are 2nd cousins once removed. Pretty cool, huh? My
interview with President Maxwell was so perfect! He is such an amazing person.
He was able to tell me exactly what I needed to hear and I just felt so good
afterwards. One thing he told me was that he has asked me to train again
because he trusts me. Which was so good to hear.
Wednesday
night we were able to have another lesson with a young investigator that has
high-functioning Autism. He is so smart. Literally anything we tell him, he
remembers it. Which is amazing. We were able to teach him the Restoration and
it went really well. I think it won't be super fast coming but he will get
baptized probably sometime in the coming months.
Thursday
morning while we were doing weekly planning we felt like we needed to call the
Elders and get the phone number for one of their investigators. Her son just got
baptized a few weeks ago and she is still working towards baptism. But the
Elders kind of feel like there is not much more they can do for her so we are
kind of taking over. We called her and were able to go over and spend several
hours helping her in her house and then we talked about her concerns in relation
to the gospel. She still doesn't feel like she has a testimony of the Book of
Mormon so we are going to go over every day and read a chapter with her and
help her try to get that testimony. Our visit with her was so good. I think she
has needed the love that we can show her as Sisters. The Elders are great but hopefully
we can show her a different kind of love, a love she really needs.
Friday
we woke up to rain and grey weather. We had two lessons that fell through so
we were feeling a bit down. We were in the car when our district leader called,
just to see how we were doing. Again, I am amazed at how perfectly they follow
the spirit. He gave us the encouragement we needed and then sent a message that
was perfect. We hit the ground running after that and decided that we were
going to have a good day. And we did! We had some good hours of finding and
then we went to visit a less-active family that has recently moved up from
Tassie. They had some friends over and they told their friends who we are/what
we do. And then we were able to teach a lesson about faith and invite these
friends to learn more. It was an amazing lesson. One guy in particular seems
particularly keen. He messaged us later that night just to say he was looking
forward to learning more and seeing life from a new perspective. It was such a
miracle that we went to their home just at the right time.
Saturday
we were able to see the sisters we have been teaching again. They were getting
ready to leave but it seemed more positive than last week and they seem more
open to learning more still which is really good. Saturday night we got
transfer news. My companion and I are both staying in this area! :) But we are
losing our amazing district leader which is really sad. I am looking forward to
the new transfer though! We really have big goals for this transfer and a
vision of what can happen and I know that we are going to see miracles!
Sunday
morning unfortunately none of our investigators came to church which was a
bummer. I feel like getting them to come to church is the hardest part. In the
afternoon we had a lesson with an investigator which was really good. We
finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation and then we were able to talk about
his concerns. He said that he had read some things on the internet about the
church which were not good but that he still wanted to meet with us
because he feels different when we talk with him. We were able to resolve some
of his concerns and he is still really keen to learn more.
This
morning we went to 1000 Steps to climb up the mountain which was
fun. It has 1000 stone steps. Hot and sweaty though. [The 1000 Steps Kokoda Track
Memorial Walk is located in the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Plaques along the trail depict the
lives of the Australian soldiers who fought and died on the real Kokoda Trail
in Papua New Guinea, during World War II. The climb is about 2.8 km and takes
about one hour to reach the top.] The rest of the day we're just
going to hang out and write letters.
One
thing I've really been focusing on this week is prayer--why we pray, how we
should pray, how I can improve my prayers, how I can help investigators
recognize answers to their prayers, etc. I learned so much. I love studying by
topic.It is truly amazing
that we can have such a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
And that we can pray at anytime, anywhere and He will hear us. And I truly know
that He does answer our prayers. I love being able to pray and tell my Heavenly
Father exactly how I feel. Especially on the mission I have learned to cherish
that. At home, I always had mom to talk to about everything, but here I don't
have that. But I think it's been a blessing in disguise because it's allowed me
to improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
I am so
grateful to be a missionary and get to share this gospel with everyone!
Love
y'all heaps!
Sister
Baker xxx
P.S.
Phillip
- Keep working hard, even in the hard times. It will be worth it. Just
remember to PUSH-- Pray Until Something Happens.
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