Melbourne Mission Moments
"O
that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go
forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth and cry
repentance unto every people!" Alma 29:1
I
feel a lot like Alma lately. I love being a missionary and I wish I could
just shout the message we have from the rooftops and that everyone would
listen!
Sorry
about not emailing until later last week. Monday was crazy and we were in
doctors’ appointments a lot of the morning. The appointment with the
respiratory specialist was in the city so it took us about an hour and a half
to drive in there. Then we had to drive in the city. I was stressing out
because there is so much traffic and there are trams driving everywhere and we
were trying to interpret all of these signs to find out where we could park
without getting our car towed away. Haha it was crazy. But yeah, after we got
back from the city we tried to email but then the internet connection went
kaput so I had to wait until Tuesday evening when I could use a computer to
finish emailing.
The
doctor ended up having Sister B take a pretty high dosage of cough syrup so she
basically slept non-stop all of Tuesday and all of Wednesday. Seriously, she
was awake maybe four hours total. Tuesday President and Sister Maxwell were
gone at meetings from 8 am until 6:30 pm and since Sister B was asleep all day,
I literally had the entire day to myself. I studied A LOT, did some laundry and
made some beds, etc. Tuesday evening after their meetings, Sister C and Sister
R came to the mission home and they stayed the night. It was so fun to see
them. They are Sister Training Leaders in Tasmania right now and they were up
on the mainland for MLC.
Wednesday
I got to go out and do missionary work for the first time in 14 days! I have
missed it so so much. Sister B had to stay in but the STLs came and did
exchanges with us. Sister F stayed with Sister B at the mission home all day
and I got to go work with Sister R. I love Sister R so much! Seriously, it is
such a blessing to have her in my life. We spent the morning doing some service
for one of their investigators. Then the rest of the day we were pretty much
teaching all day. I had missed teaching so much! We had some really good
lessons. It was also really fun to teach with Sister R again. We have come a
long way since the MTC! We had some good laughs about how much we stressed in
the MTC and how we were convinced we would never be able to actually teach real
investigators. Turns out we can. The lessons we had that day went really well!
 |
| Really fun to teach with Sister R again! |
Thursday
morning Sister B was feeling better! HALLELUJAH! We had Zone Conference most of
the day on Thursday. It was such a good meeting. I learned so much. We had
Elder and Sister Taylor visiting the mission and they did some really good
training that has changed my mission for the better. Elder Taylor is the area
mental health doctor for the Pacific Area. I wish I could tell you all that I
learned in Zone Conference but I will try to summarize some of my favorite
points.
Elder
and Sister Taylor
- Matthew
11:28-30--has your burden been lightened? They talked a lot about this
scripture and it means more to me now than ever.
- What
you're thinking will determine how you feel. Make sure what you're
thinking is true. Challenge your negative thinking.
- Unnecessary
stress leads to distress.
- The
Lord judges on efforts not on results.
- It's
never as bad as it seems. Look at what's right, not at what's wrong.
- Tell
myself, "I will just keep trying to do the right thing and be patient
for as long as it takes."
- Ask
myself, "Do I want to or do I have to?" If you're are doing
something because you want to do it and not because you have to do it, it
will be much more enjoyable and be easier to do.
- There
is value even in the worst day as a missionary: sometimes it proves you're
not a "fair-weather" disciple
- You
are swearing when you make a categorical, black and white statement about
something or correct others in a negative way.
- If
it's not important, let it go.
- My
job is to be the best companion I can be, not to fix my companion's
problems or make her into a great missionary.
President
Maxwell
- He
talked a lot about worldly success vs. true success
- We
already have the faith to serve, now we need the faith to succeed.
- He
shared about Eric Liddell, the runner in Chariots of Fire. I loved this
quote from him, "For the first 10 meters I run as fast as I can. Then
for the last 100 meters, with God's help, I run faster."
- As
missionaries, we have to run hard and finish strong.
- Don't
let other people or circumstances determine your success.
- "Don't
let yesterday keep tomorrow hostage."
- If
we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always
got.
I can't
even adequately begin to share all that I learned. Needless to say, it was a
wonderful meeting! After the meeting we ran back to the mission home to quickly
pack up our things and then we left to go back to our area. Right off the bat
we went to the train station to do some finding. I felt so on fire. I missed
missionary work! I am so glad that Sister B is healthy now and that we can work
again! Having so many days that we couldn't work has just solidified my desire
to not waste a single day. I feel like my time here is going so quickly and I
wish I could just make it slow down!
 |
| Sis. B is finally feeling better! |
Friday
morning we did our weekly planning. After that we were having a quick lunch
before heading out. We were in the kitchen and I heard the phone ringing in the
other room. I ran in to get it and as I was going around the corner I jammed my
foot against the door frame. I don't think I've ever been in so much pain. It
hurt SO BAD! I thought that my toes were broken and all day I could hardly put
any weight on them. But by Saturday they weren't so bad. They are still really
bruised (dark black and purple) and swollen but it's bearable. We did a
lot of finding on Friday and visited some less-active members who we haven't
seen in a while.
Saturday
morning we went to a baptism. During the baptism I looked down and there was a
big cockroach on sister Burton's skirt! Ew! It took everything in me to not
absolutely freak out! We were both so scared by that little nasty thing. I
almost just started laughing because we just didn't know what to do with it. She
ended up flicking it away but then we didn't know where it went so I was afraid
to put my feet on the floor. Luckily one of the Elders found it and killed it.
All of this happened during the talks. So funny and so crazy.
After
the lesson we had a lesson with Chung. It was good to see him since we haven't
been able to in two weeks. We showed him the Restoration DVD and then talked
about revelation through the book of Mormon. He is praying and reading but
hasn't recognized his answer yet so we are trying to help him with that. We
brought up baptism again and he is still really open to the idea of baptism but
he just needs to recognize his answer first!
After
that we had to go into the city for a follow up appointment with the
Chinese Medicine doctor. Haha, he gave Sister Burton two more weeks worth of
Chinese herbal medicine she has to drink. It is the grossest stuff ever. Haha,
but if it stops the cough, it's worth it!
Sunday
church was really good. Only one investigator came which kind of stinks but several
less-actives that we have been working with came so that is really exciting!
During Sunday School, there was another cockroach. Now I'm afraid the building
is infested. You better believe I keep my bag on a chair or on my lap and not
on the ground!
Last
night was the mission president fireside. When I got there, I saw J! It was
so good to see her! She looked so stinking happy! She has completely broken up
with her partner and has moved out and is so happy. She is being taught by
Sister S and Sister S and is getting baptized in May. She was
going to get baptized this week but she wants her family to be there and they
can't come until May. But regardless, I was so happy to see her. Also, our Peruvian investigator got baptized last week!
I am
really looking forward to this coming week! We are going to work our little
tails off and I know that we are going to see miracles happen. I love being a
missionary so much.
Love
y'all heaps!
Sister
Baker
Phillip-
Sorry to hear you were sick. No bueno! Not being able to go out and work
STINKS! Also sorry to hear about that man in your ward dying. That's really
sad. Good thing we know about the plan of salvation! :) Have a good week! I'm
praying for you! Also, are all of your companions way shorter than you?
jajajaja
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