Well I've been a week in the Gold Coast and I have to say that it is so much different than Sunnybank. It's a lot prettier down here and I finally feel like I'm in Australia, but I think that I like Sunnybank more. Maybe it's just cause that is my home. There aren't a lot of Chinese people around here and I really feel like my Chinese is digressing, which is really making me sad. I'm doing everything I can to maintain it, but when you don't talk to anyone in Chinese it just starts to slip. We need to find some Chinese people. Anyway...
We have an investigator who was actually excommunicated. He had a mission call to serve in Queensland at one point, but he took a really bad road. He is from Tonga and he really wants back into the Church. He has done some really bad things and in our lesson the other day, he told me: "I have been to hell and back. I can tell you mate, there is nothing there." He says that since he has been coming back to church, he really has felt the spirit. He has a testimony of prayer and it really is amazing. We have had some good lessons with him and he is progressing towards baptism on the 13 of Feb! He, the Stake President, and our Bishop are going to meet this week. So I really hope that that all goes well!
Also, we have an investigator named Lucy. She is from Sichuan China and she talks really quietly and has a weird accent. But she wants to help me with Chinese so she tries haha. Also, she wants us to help her with English and she has a crazy system to learn it. I say the word until she can assosiate two chinese characters with the sounds that I'm making. Then she writes the characters and that is how she learns it....So I don't think she even knows what the alphabet is at this point hahaha. I might try and introduce that to her here soon.
In other news, there really isn't. The missionary here earlier may or may not have been slightly dodgy. There are no records on any of our investigators, so I don't know anything about who we usually teach. So that has been kind of interesting. It has definitely helped me see the importance of records. Also, the other day at church a member invited us over to watch the superbowl next week if we want...Hahahah I thought it was pretty funny.
This week has been really hard for me. My companion isn't really into the work and we don't have really any direction at this point. There are a lot of traditions of this area that aren't productive and I've been battling with my companion all week to stop them. I can testify that Heavenly Father is there. I have felt His presence more this week than I ever have in my life. I know that this is his work and He loves us. I also can testify to the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement. I have seen it in investigators lives and especially in my own life. Have a good week everyone!
Elder Jackson
We have an investigator who was actually excommunicated. He had a mission call to serve in Queensland at one point, but he took a really bad road. He is from Tonga and he really wants back into the Church. He has done some really bad things and in our lesson the other day, he told me: "I have been to hell and back. I can tell you mate, there is nothing there." He says that since he has been coming back to church, he really has felt the spirit. He has a testimony of prayer and it really is amazing. We have had some good lessons with him and he is progressing towards baptism on the 13 of Feb! He, the Stake President, and our Bishop are going to meet this week. So I really hope that that all goes well!
Also, we have an investigator named Lucy. She is from Sichuan China and she talks really quietly and has a weird accent. But she wants to help me with Chinese so she tries haha. Also, she wants us to help her with English and she has a crazy system to learn it. I say the word until she can assosiate two chinese characters with the sounds that I'm making. Then she writes the characters and that is how she learns it....So I don't think she even knows what the alphabet is at this point hahaha. I might try and introduce that to her here soon.
In other news, there really isn't. The missionary here earlier may or may not have been slightly dodgy. There are no records on any of our investigators, so I don't know anything about who we usually teach. So that has been kind of interesting. It has definitely helped me see the importance of records. Also, the other day at church a member invited us over to watch the superbowl next week if we want...Hahahah I thought it was pretty funny.
This week has been really hard for me. My companion isn't really into the work and we don't have really any direction at this point. There are a lot of traditions of this area that aren't productive and I've been battling with my companion all week to stop them. I can testify that Heavenly Father is there. I have felt His presence more this week than I ever have in my life. I know that this is his work and He loves us. I also can testify to the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement. I have seen it in investigators lives and especially in my own life. Have a good week everyone!
Elder Jackson