Melbourne Mission
Moments
Happy
Labour Day! Public holiday here in Victoria but as far as I can tell, no one
really does anything to celebrate. It's just a day off. Kind of like our labor
day is! Good thing we still found somewhere with internet access--all the
libraries are closed.
On
Monday we had Sister's P-day with the Sisters on the east side. We learned to
play net ball. Turns out I really like it! Seriously, it's really fun. And it
doesn't take all that much athletic ability which is great for someone like me,
ha. I'll have to teach you all how to play it when I come home! :) That night
we had FHE with a family in our ward. They are such awesome missionaries! They
are working with so many friends and family members! It's awesome to see
members who just "get it."
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| At Net Ball Activity |
Tuesday
we had a huge miracle happen! So we had Zone Meeting in the morning which was
really good. I always love meetings. But the best part was that during the
meeting, one of the office sisters sneaked in and handed me a note. It had a
name and phone number for a guy named Andreas and said "URGENT.
Appointment today @ 4pm." As soon as our meeting was over, we called him.
He explained that he is a member from Western Australia and that he has been
here visiting friends for a few weeks. He explained that he had been talking
about the church with his friend and her children and that they wanted to meet
with missionaries. He was flying out on Wednesday and wanted us to meet L and
the kids before he left. So we gladly rearranged our plans so we could have a
lesson with them. L is so wonderful. She has recently realized that she needs
more than what her church is giving her and is so prepared. She has such an
open heart and just soaks in everything that we teach her. Seriously, GOLDEN.
Her four kids are also awesome! We were able to teach them the Restoration and
it went really well. The spirit was strong and we really taught in unity. At
the end of the lesson, we were able to commit three of them to baptism on April
5th. I am so excited about having a family to teach! It is an answer to my
prayers. About a week and a half ago, while we were staying at the mission
home, I started praying that before I leave, I'd be able to bring a whole
family into this gospel. Heavenly Father really does hear and answer our
prayers!
We
visited a member's home that night hoping to catch the less-active father and
his non-member wife at home. Unfortunately they weren't home but their RM son
was. We couldn't go in but we had a lesson with him out on the porch. We were
able to make a plan with him of how we can help his dad get active again. It
was breaking my heart. This son wants his father to be active so badly. I really
hope that we can help him. I've found that it brings me just as much joy seeing
someone come back to the church as it does for someone new to come.
Wednesday
morning we tried to have a lesson with a referral. She is Burmese and the missionaries
who contacted her told us that she has been here for 5 years and that her
English is really good. Turns out they were wrong. There was such a huge
language barrier. She couldn't understand anything. We ended up singing a song
and praying with her and had to refer her to the Elders in our ward. Elder S is
from Burma so he will be able to communicate with her.
Thursday
morning we had to ride the train in to the city because Sister B had a
follow-up appointment with the respiratory specialist. Her cough is pretty much
completely gone now and everything looks good so that's a relief! After getting
back to the flat and finishing studies and weekly planning, we got to go have
another lesson with L and her kids. We went over the Restoration again and
watched the DVD. Then we re-committed them to baptism. This time another child
accepted too! They are so awesome :)
Thursday
night we had ward council. I loved that for the entire hour and a half, the
conversation was about PEOPLE. They really focus on people and what they need.
It's awesome to see how much they care about individuals. I hope that every
ward council in the church is that way!
We've
been doing a lot of contacting formers this week which is always interesting.
These are people who at one point or another have been learning from
missionaries. You never know what reaction you are going to get. Some people
are really negative and really don't want to hear anything. But other people we
have met are quite open. We taught one former on Friday afternoon. He is
an older gentleman. He's very smart. His whole house is full of books and he
has written several math books and stuff. Very intelligent guy. Unfortunately,
his intelligence gets in the way a little bit. He is very hung up on a verse in
2 Nephi 26:16 because it says "familiar spirit." He said that it
means evil spirit. To be honest, it's one of those times when I have no idea
how to respond. All that we could do was bear testimony. That's one thing I
love about being a missionary. We're not required to know the answer to every
question that people have. If all else fails, you bear testimony of the Book of
Mormon. Because truly, if someone can have a testimony of the Book of Mormon,
then they also gain a testimony of Joseph Smith and of the restoration of
Christ's church. The Book of Mormon is such a powerful tool for us to use as
missionaries. I'm so grateful for it. I love it. I learn so much from reading
from its pages. Each morning I find myself wishing I could just use my whole
personal study to read the Book of Mormon. I love it.
Friday
night we were able to see an investigator again. Bishop has been working with
her a lot lately and has really helped her. I'm hoping that soon she'll be to
the point that we can start really teaching again and help her progress towards
baptism.
Saturday
we had another lesson with and her kids. We taught them about church and what
happens there, explained all the different programs, etc. We invited them to
church on Sunday but unfortunately, one of the kids didn't want to come until
he knows a little bit more. L doesn't want it to be something that separates
their family so she decided they would wait one more week to come to church. It
stinks but I understand. So we're just going to keep teaching them and help
them gain a testimony so they want to come to church.
After
that we decided to stop by and see if the sisters were home because we haven't
been able to see them in forever. We pulled up and their uncle was outside. He
told us that they were moving house that day. He said he was driving there
right then and that we could follow him. We were able to see them and help them
unload a few things from the truck and make a return appointment for this week.
It was the biggest miracle. If we had not gone to their house right at that
time, we would have had no idea where they lived and they would have just been
lost. Blessings.
Saturday
night we were waiting for transfer calls. Typically the calls come around
9:30pm so we were just waiting for it. It didn't come until 10:15pm! Sister
Burton and I are both staying in the area for another transfer. And I have
reason to be happy--we're teaching a family!
After
church yesterday we stopped by L's so that we could invite the older kids to
the youth fireside that night. One had something going on but the other came.
She actually really liked the fireside and met the Beehives in the ward who
were all really welcoming and I think she felt really good!
This
morning we had another lesson with L and the kids. We taught them the
commandments of obedience, pray often, and scripture study. It went really
well. We leave reading assignments every time and they always do them! We
invited her son to come to mutual tomorrow night. He wants to come! Even if
it's baby steps, we're moving in the right direction.
I love
you all so much. I am so grateful for missionary work and miracles.
Love
you heaps!
Sister
Baker xxx
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