Too many tears‏

G'day!

It was so good to see you all today on our Skype session.  I love technology so much!  You all look soo good.  I'm glad that everyone is happy, healthy and doing just absolutely wonderful.  It's crazy to think that our time from Christmas to Mother's Day was longer than the time from Mother's Day til I arrive home.  I don't like to think about it.  I hope you all have an awesome summer while I freeze and try to stay dry this winter.  Much love to everyone near and far!

This week was challenging.  Some weeks you are on top of the world and others the world is kicking you while you are down.  In many ways this week had both but mainly the latter. 
The Spirit is a unique thing.  It guides, confounds, comforts, and testifies.  I witnessed all of those this week. 

 

First off with the guidance-  Sister Tomaki and I went walking this week to go find new people to teach.  We had a couple of specific houses that we were going to go try and we were going to just talk with people in between each house.  Well on our way to a less actives house we turned on to Korong Street.  I felt prompted to tract the street.  Well for the last 20ish minutes of walking it had started to rain and I really wasn't in the mood to stay in the rain longer than necessary.  After passing 3 houses I got the prompting again so I turned to Sister Tomaki and said, "We should just tract this street on our way."  We backed up and started knocking.  No one was interested.  One Roman Catholic lady wasn't interested in talking religion but she was nice enough to let us stand under her porch until the rain let up a little bit.  We only had 2 houses left on the street when we met Paris and his little sister.  She opened the door and he came up behind her.  They let us share a scripture with them.  We asked if they were religious and they said no.  We asked if they knew about the Book of Mormon again they said no.  We jumped on the opportunity to tell them about the Book of Mormon and where it came from, who wrote it, and why we have it.  It was a good little conversation.  We asked if we can come back and share more with them.  There are 6 people that live in their house.  We are going back on Wednesday to teach them the Restoration.  We will be praying that we can teach them all.

On to confounding-  We went to teach Brother Williams this week.  We went over last Monday to have a family home evening with their family.  We taught the Restoration.  The boys ages 15, 13, 11, 8 and amazing.  They have solid testimonies and don't let anything shake them.  They shared their favorite scriptures and testified like little missionaries.  We finished the lesson and turned the time back to Brother Williams.  Well little did we know, Brother Williams in preparation for our meeting had done some studies of his own.  Somehow he can take a random book from the library and believe everything he reads from that (basically anti Mormon stuff) and yet he refuses to pick up the Book of Mormon to see if it could be true.  I don't get it.  Anyway he opened is Bible and the whole room started to fill with contention.  There were many scriptures that I wanted to share from the Bible but the spirit wouldn't let me remember any of the references as to avoid bible bashing.  I couldn't handle his bashing any longer and in response to one of his questions I said, "The answer to that comes from the Doctrine and Covenants" The only scripture the spirit would bring to my remembrance.  He cut me off and said, "That's not the Bible!"  Without thinking I said, "No it's not but it was written by a prophet just like the Bible and therefore is the word of God" and I shared my scripture.  He didn't have a comeback.  We ended the lesson and then had dinner.  We left of good terms and the relationship we have with Brother Williams is definitely one of mutual respect.  I was grateful for the spirit in that lesson.

Next is comfort-  Jess dropped us this week.  She called us on Thursday and told us that she no longer wants the discussions any more.  I was gutted.  She was progressing sooo well!  She was making changes and noticing the difference in her life.  She had got an answer.  She had felt the Spirit.  She had a baptismal date.  She knew that this is what she wanted.  She said that she is on a spiritual journey at the moment and that she didn't want to waste our time if she wasn't fully into it.  I called the District Leader nearly in tears to tell him what happened.  Leaders are inspired and in 3 minutes he had said exactly what we needed to hear.  I still cried myself to sleep over it that night after I poured my heart out in prayer for her but I accept God's timing and we are just going to move forward and enjoy the journey we are on. 

 

The last thing involves comfort and testifying-  We had our follow-up training meeting on Thursday.  It was amazing.  It was a hour and a bit train ride there and back for a almost 5 hour meeting but it was so needed!  Two things in that meeting helped me more than anything else.  President Lindsay was talking about diligence and he said, "Diligence is not necessarily asking what more we can do but what God needs us to do."  That hit a cord.  With investigators dropping us, with others not progressing, with the change of weather and sad people to match the weather I had been really trying hard to figure out what Heavenly Father was expecting from us.  I was trying to figure out how much we could do or how we could get the most people possible to teach, and all the other things a missionary worries about but I over looked the little things that we still had to do in a way.  I guess in some way this was a good soul searching week.  Trying to purify myself.  It was a small Gethsemane is some ways.  I'm grateful for it.  While at this meeting one the things that we do is preform a 4 minute model of the Restoration.  As Sister Tomaki and I did our model for President and Sister Lindsay I was nearly in tears as I recited Joseph Smith's first vision.  The spirit was so strong.  President commented on it as well.  I love the power that comes as you share the truth of this gospel.  Every time I share the first vision it strengthens my conversion and testimony.  The spirit can testify to us in any setting about anything.   We just have to be open and worthy to have it with us.  I got home Sunday night and opened my scriptures to Mosiah 24:9-16.  Could I have asked for a more appropriate scripture to read?  I don't think so.  Heavenly Father is so aware of us.  Every single things we go through he is there for us.  He always will be.  Many people will come in and out of our lives but Heavenly Father is only a prayer away at all times.  We never need to worry as long as we have Him on speed dial.  I love the sacrament and the blessing it is to be able to take it with a repenting heart and open to changing and drawing closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven. 

I love you all!  It was the best thing being able to see and talk with you all today.  That will carry me, along with your prayers, through anything.  Know that I'm always praying for you!  

Love you and miss you heaps!  

 

All my love,

Sister Shayne     

Pic #1 Sister Tomaki's writing on the whiteboard for me :)

Pic #2 These are called Chiko's.  They are like giant Spring Rolls.  Someone made them as a snack food to eat with one had at Footy games. 

Pic #3  Birds on a wire.  I wish I could have captured how many were actually there.  There were more on the ground, house and across the street. 

I made Sister Tomaki leave her hair untied today :)  She doesn't like it but I do!  She gets headaches from how tight her hair is always pulled up.  We got some styling moose to put in her hair.  :) 

                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             This is Ava.  She's the cutest little thing.  She is Sister Mutu's granddaughter.                                                                      

This is English study the other day.  Sister Tomaki was copying words down from one side of the page to the other.  She started writing the word 'regarding' but half way through she started writing the word 'gathering' which was under the word 'regarding'.  The outcome was the word 'regarthering'.  We both got a good laugh at it when I pointed it out.