Week 45

Launceston, Tasmania: Nov 14-20, 2016

Bye Sister Tupu. Hello Sister Burden.

Nov 14, Monday - I feel blessed to fly to Melbourne with Sister Tupu to see her off and meet my new companion. Sister Jackie dropped us off at the airport.  This would be our last plane ride together, flight was delayed so we talked some more.

In Melbourne, we visited the people / families whom she met in her areas such as the Barber family in Dandenong and Leilana (with red cap).  Sister Tupu had taught Leilana who just had her baptism. While with the Barber family, we had the opportunity to teach their neighbor, Maddi (girl in pink), and she was interested to learn more. 

Sister Tupu had also the chance to say her byes to the Craigieburn Sisters Cruz and Bajamere and the Tullamarine Sisters Faiga and Solo. Also stopped by the STL East flat to grab some blankets - Sisters Shaub, Dulaki and Teriipaia;  visited the Hampton Park's Sisters Leilua and Falani, and; slept at the Wantirna Flat. 

Nov 15, Tuesday - Temple Day with Sister Santos and Sister Tupu. I felt privileged to be at the temple with these two great missionaries before they would leave for home.

Then I met my new companion, Sister Burden, MTC batch with Elder Henderson and Stevens, after 10 months.

Sisters Haenga, Tupu, Burden and Me..
Sisters Burden, Paulo, Ihaka, Murphy and me.  Sisters Murphy and Ihaka would be going to Glen Huon area.

At the Mission Home, departing missionaries waited for their turn for interview with President Vidmar.  Sitting by the piano is Elder Bennion, the new AP serving with Elder Howell. We also grabbed some beddings from Sister Vidmar since there will be 6 more sisters sleeping at Wantirna flat tonight.

Nov 16, Wednesday - the day to send off the departing missionaries to the airport..my goodbyes to Sister Tupu, Sister Santos, Elder Puing and the Linders..all baggages ready and the bus to take us to the airport.

 

After dropping Elder Puing, Sister Santos and Sister Tupu at their respective departure areas, we (4 of us for Tasmania), went to our gates and had brunch. We met Martin and talked to him a bit.

        Photo: Elder Nilsson from Nova Scotia, Elder Parone, Sister Burden and Me

At the airport, we also met Stake President Smith of Hobart and also Monson who was visiting his fiancee in Tasmania.  

My first plane ride to Tasmania with Sister Burden. Jackie picked us up from the airport. She gave me a Tasmanian devil stuffed toy while Sister Burden received a Wombat stuffed toy.


Our first stopover was Sister Penny and we shared Alma 26:37, that God is mindful of everyone.  Sister Penny still talked a lot and sharing her experiences.

We also visited Kathy and Lucas and shared Restoration. Kathy was beginning to understand the role of prophets and wanted to come to church but needed a ride. Lucas was hyper as always.

We were looking for Adrian, a former investigator but found Karma and Tehring instead. They moved in to the address 8 months ago. They invited us in and asked us to share more about Jesus Christ. They are from Bhutan, had 3 siblings and 3 more lived with them. They wanted to learn more. Miracle. When we showed the picture of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, Tehring asked if John the Baptist would slap Jesus.  We told him 'no', that his arm was extended because he said a prayer before baptism. Sometimes, we did not realize that some people who were still getting to know about Jesus Christ would have different views of pictures and things.

Nov 17, Thurs - We ran Balfour; Sister Burden ran up 2/3s while I died catching up with her..hahaha..We made it a goal to run Balfour 2-3 times next week. 

We visited Paul and Jackie today and talked more about the Atonement using the True to the Faith book.  We then visited a few more people who lived nearby, then went back to help Jackie prepare dinner for tonight. 

We had dinner with Jackie and the Johnstones and shared about the Tree of Life and how Lehi did not notice the filthiness of the water because his mind was caught up with important matters.  If our focus is on things that matter - family, gospel, etc., we would not even bother to look at the filthiness of the earth.  Then we attended the Ward council.

Nov 18, Friday - We went to the addressess of some referrals this morning but no one was home so we tracted along the street. We met Hengma from Nepal and she said that we could come back and share more about Jesus Christ.  We also met Helen, a less active who told us before that she was not interested in having us, but this time, she was nice and wanted to come to church next Sunday. We shared  Alma 26:37 and that Heavenly Father always watches over her and her family. She then shared experiences of how God is mindful of her. It was amazing to see the change in her.

We then visited Leanne, a former investigator. At the end of the message, she was teary-eyed and thanked us for reminding her of the right path.

We also visited the Tarawhally and met their friend, Cynthia. Cynthia gave us her details and that she would love us to visit.  We shared about Prophets with the family. Then we got a text message from Bishop that Alice and Mason just had their baby.

                   Photo: Mason and Baby girl Mali Avie

Learned this great message from Elder Haight - Live so your memories can bless the full length of your life.  Live for that glorious day when you will go to the Holy Temple for eternal blessings and joy.

Nov 19, Sat - Early morning Launceston

Today we did our bread run.  We were able to meet people and neighbors whom we gave bread. Miracle. We dropped bread to Cameron and he told us that his neighbor might need bread too. I was a bit hesitant because we asked that neighbor before and refused our bread, but when we knocked, we found out that a new family had moved in. We met Kathy and she said that she just ate her last bread this morning and did not know what to eat for lunch. The bread was a blessing to her even though she said that God never answers her prayers. Miracle.

Had lunch at Paul's BBQ and met his Mom..and a delicious home-made cheesecake.

We picked up Maddi after lunch because she would be working with us.  She returned from her mission a year ago.

Got a ticket to Chelsea's birthday party..helped Bishop decorate the cake.

Nov 18, Sunday - Luncheon after church

           Photo below: Alison's birthday.

Lots of miracles this week..

Week 44

Launceston, Tasmania: Nov 7-13, 2016

A visit to Zoodoo Zoo on our P-day and our last week together... Sister Tupu would be going home next week.

Nov 7, Monday - The Zone at Zoodoo Zoo!

We drove from Richmond to Glen Huon, then on a safari bus to get closer to the animals.

TAS Sisters: Sisters Tupu, Pratt, Roberts, Ligica, Haenga and Me

Elder Payne with a kangaroo; an emu seeking for more food; Elder Dawson feeding a kangaroo

Camel, wallaby, chilling roos, Tasmanian devil

    Photo: Sister Tupu, Me, Sister Haenga, Elders Reid, Dawson and Sister Ligica

After Zoodo, we went on exchanges: I paired with Sister Ligica and we drove back to Launceston while Sisters Tupu and Haenga drove to Glen Huon.

We stopped at Perth on our way, quickly changed into missionary clothes and visited members on the Ward list.  We also tried to see Latoya, our new contact, but she was not home.

Nov 8, Tues - We walked to St. Princes Square for exercise and saw this man.  He was an early bird like us.

City of Launceston at 6:30 a.m. 

Today we visited some former investigators in Riverside but some of them had moved. We met Edda who had a friend Wayne who investigated the Church before.  Edda was so lovely but because of health conditions, she couldn't come to church. She shared her story of how her parents were able to escape during the war in Russia and brought them here to Australia. Cool story.

We also met Brenda and shared the Restoration with her. She said that she still had the pamphlet but was not able to read it because her husband is in the hospital. She showed us her pit bird.

We received a text referral named Pamela and so we drove to the address in Newnham. Pamela said that she needed help with Family History but not anymore and that she had her own God. And so we continued to visit more formers at Newnham. We found Darwin from Singapore and going to school in Tasmania.  At first, he said that he was not interested but when we introduced the Book of Mormon (BOM), he listened more. Eventually, he accepted a Restoration pamphlet and a copy of BOM and said that would read and visit the church.

We then drove to another address but saw a mother carrying a child and smiling as we drove past her. We decided to turn back and talk to her. She was already inside the house when we parked, and when we knocked, she immediately invited us in. She had 4 kids and they are Sudanese and Muslim. She asked us if we could teach her English and we set a return appointment with the family.

Then we visited the Wheeler family and shared the Power of the Holy Ghost with them. As illustration, we asked them to close their eyes and draw the objects.  This showed that without the guidance of the Holy Ghost, the drawing or our life had no direction or messed up. For dinner, Sister Lisa cooked cashew curry which was really yum and healthy. 

We also visited Willard and Ruwinbo from Zimbabwe to give the second lesson. Willard said that they just got home, tired and no dinner yet. However, he still invited us in and said he was sorry if he would fall asleep during the lesson. When we shared the Plan of Salvation, he sat at the edge of the couch and listened attentively.  Both of them had inspired questions. Ruwinbo was so happy when we answered her question that families can be together forever. It was amazing that even if they're both tired, they felt the Spirit and listened.

The next was Lybbie, referral from the office whom we met 2 weeks ago, next thing was we were not able to make it to our appointment. She opened the door and remembered our cancelled appointment. She was upset that we did not show up but she was willing to meet with us again and the only time she had was in 2 weeks. We said our apologies and would make sure that we visit her. Lesson learned.

Nov 9, Wed - We visited Alison and read the BOM with her; then to inge and a quick message. We then proceeded to Sister Johnstone for lunch and helped her pack picture frames and wrap Christmas presents. 

The next were Jackie and Paul and we talked about Atonement and read more from the Bible dictionary. We then continued to visit former investigators and the Tripptree family.  The family had 2 daughters serving missions.

Got a text from Bishop saying he was willing to prepare dinner for us..he was awesome!

Then he dropped us KFC..hahaha..we thought he was gonna cook something.

President and Sister Vidmar just landed back here in Tasmania for the Zone conference tomorrow.  They stopped by our flat and dropped the Zone flags and coloring materials.

Each Zone made their own signature flag and Sister Vidmar stitched them all together, symbolizing the unity among the zones.

Elder Morones drew the flag and we colored it during tea time (that's how they say dinner.) After tea, we went to see a referral Pania whose parents we met last Sunday and gave us her address. She opened the door and said that her daughter, Sabrina, was more interested to listen and we could come back to meet her.  Then we proceeded to the Tarawhally family from Sierra Leone. Swana was smart and cheerful and Sister Ligica made her a paper flower.  We shared with them the power of the Holy Ghost using the same activity. Asanatu, the mom, was baptized a year ago by Bro. Tarawhally who was baptized back in Sierra Leone.  Swana was baptized by her Dad recently.

Nov 10, Thurs - Today we went to Cataract Gorge with President and Sister Vidmar.  The Elders ran with President and Sister Vidmar while Sister Ligica and I hiked..haha..

We finally arrived at one of the lookouts.  I died, it was fun to hike with Sister Vidmar.

On our way back to the car, the Assistants, Sister Vidmar, Ligica and Me watched Pres. Vidmar took photos of the peacock, but the peacock did not cooperate..haha..

 

On our way back when Sister Ligica stopped to tie her shoe, A Filipino couple caught up with us walking. I overheard them talking in Bisaya and so I talked to them.  They were siblings, Doreen and Dan. Dan and his family lived in Missouri and so they knew about the Mormons. Doreen lived in Tasmania.  President and Sister Vidmar talked to them and we had a good chat. It's amazing how the Lord puts people in our paths. They were not interested to be visited because they would be busy for Christmas but we were able to talk to them.

Today was Zone Conference in Launceston and we gave training on how to gain testimony of Family History works. We shared D&C 138:1-11 on how President Joseph F. Smith was able to gain a vision of Family History by reading, pondering and praying.  We invited the missionaries to do the same to gain a testimony of their own.  Elder Dudfield from the Area Seventy came and trained us about the BOM Musical campaign and the Christmas initiative.

The Esk Ward prepared our lunch meal today. Elder Dudfield, President and Sister Vidmar, and Elder and Sister Graham (Area mental health Specialist, PhD Psych, BYU-Hawaii, covers Asia and Australia) joined us in our table.  President shared his experience when he was young on how his mom wanted him to eat veggies.

Back to our companionship - Sister Tupu and Me

Elders Howell and Poulson, Sister Tupu

Some of the missionaries in our Zone

After conference, we then had dinner with the Say family, they served us curry, and we shared Alma 36:12. The family invited their neighbor and good friend from South Korea - Jul Yang and her 10-year old son Josh.  Jul Yang loved to have missionaries around because of the Spirit she felt but she still wanted to keep her religion.

Me, Claudi, Sister Tupu and Sister Say.  Claudi was Sister Tupu's companion for 2 days while waiting for me to arrive in Tasmania last month.

We then visited Jamuna and her family and read with them the First Vision. They were nice to us but needed to teach them slowly because of language barriers.

Nov 11, Friday - We hiked Balfour again...wheew..and we stopped for a bit while catching our breath..

After District Leaders Conf, we drove to Sister Clark, she was gonna teach us how to make blankets..

After doing the blankets, we drove to Evandale, 10 minutes drive away from Sister Clark's place. This was our first time to visit this small town and found out that some of the members here moved out already.

We stopped by to buy some locally-made ice cream.

We also stopped by Grandpa Jack and shared with him the Atonement. He had great faith and knowledge and was an example of a diligent child of God.

We also visited Sister Baldock who was fond of writing and painting books and knitting any sort of stuffs. She gave me a knitted sock and a phone case.  She said she always gave one to missionaries. She was so nice.

We had dinner again with the Say family, Jul Yang and Josh came, too.  The Say family used to be in Sister Tupu's ward back home in Brisbane. 

Josh building his domino; Brother Say made Chocolate Pavlova, Sister Tupu's favorite.

Brother Say showed us this gold print of the BOM. The Say family was awesome and did missionary work by being friendly and inviting friends and neighbors to meet missionaries. 

We then met up with the Esk Elders - Elders Barrozo and Payne - at the chapel and shared with them how to teach the Restoration using the cups. the borrowed our cups because one of their investigators asked them to teach him the Restoration.

Nov 12, Sat - We went to the Gorge for exercise.

Can peacocks fly?

Bought some Macca's pancakes on our way home..our last pancake breakfast.

Our weekly planning.  This would be Sister Tupu's last weekly planning. Our board this transfer..busy transfer, now we needed to erase and make a new one for the coming transfer.

Nov 13, Sunday - Today, we had Stake speakers, Andrew Spilling..small world. I met his Dad last week and now I finally met him.  He said that he was trying to make his Dad go to church and be baptized eventually.

We watched Primary presentation practice and sister Clark asked us to chop some fruits for the kids.

Bishop and family

Sister Tupu said goodbyes to the great Tamar Ward members.  Would surely miss her! A lot of changes.  My new companion and new STL would be Sister Burden.  The Glen Huon Sisters would be doubling out and going back to mainland. The new Glen Huon Sisters would be Sisters Murphy and Ihaka. Yeay, we were excited!