Hello everyone!
This was a great week.
Tons of lessons, and tons of walking. Most houses around here are crowded around the outlet of a river, and it looks like a huge bay. So the houses are built on steep land around the water, which is a bit of a pain, but it allows most of the houses to have an ocean view which is nice. Our flat has a really nice ocean view. When we are walking, we can often see the ocean, and the Tazman Bridge, and the houses on the other side of the ‘delta’.
Today a member is taking us to mount Wellington; a mountain that overlooks Hobart. I will take some pictures. There is a little bit of snow up there, and we will probably hike a little. Super excited.
I love this area. My companion is great. We both have a similar style of doing missionary work, and we both care about learning the new language. So outside of the flat (apartment) we speak Chinese, and inside of the flat we speak English. Our flat is super nice and has an ocean view. It is the first flat that I have been in without a major thing being broken. Maybe because it used to be a sister’s flat. Hah.
We do not have a car, so we usually take the bus or walk, which is a little bit of a pain because of how steep the land is. It takes about 25 minutes to walk from our house to University of Tasmania, and we make that walk every day; sometimes several times.
Before I came to Tassie I thought it would be super remote. There are remote parts, but Hobart is just like a normal city. There are tall buildings, and grocery stores etc.
There are a lot of rabbits and wallabies here. Wallabies are like mini kangaroos. They are often in the road, but they hop away when cars come. We have not seen a Tasmanian devil yet. They are hard to find. I believe they became endangered due to some virus.
People here have a little bit of an accent. The biggest thing is that sometimes they respond to things by saying “true” and it sounds a little like “trup”.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a way to upload photos yet, but I will get them sent as soon as possible.
Our 2 recent converts, and an investigator came to church today! The teacher for the class didn't come though, so we had to teach a lesson on the spot’. It became more of a discussion on the gifts of the spirit. The spirit can give so many gifts, and it seems like I have yet to receive a lot of them. Here are some of the gifts;
9 For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;
10 And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
11 And to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;
13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;
14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;
15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;
16 And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.
17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.
18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.
We also had the chance to do some service this week. We helped a member named “grandma” move some firewood. She is super friendly to missionaries, and knows almost all of them. She used to travel a ton and always talks about her travels.
Now I will answer some questions from my family;
Where did you store your other stuff?
Because I had to fly here, I had to leave a couple of suitcases at the mission office on the mainland.
How long do you think you will be there?
People who come here usually stay for 2 or 3+ transfers, because we have to fly.
Tell us overall what you are thinking about your mission half way in. Was it what you expected?
I cannot answer this question very well because I did not really know what to expect. Perhaps I have gotten along with and had more fun with companions than I expected. Luckily I have not had a really bad companion yet.
What are your biggest surprises, challenges, obstacles, blessings? What is your greatest accomplishment, area of growth, most important learning, faith building experience?
There are plenty of challenges. Some of the greatest challenges are getting people to keep commitments, and finding people, and the language. I know that the Lord has helped me with all of these though, and through Him, and working hard, all of these challenges can be overcome. One thing that has grown my faith a lot is seeing people progress in the gospel and seeing how much it changes and blesses them. I have also seen it in myself. I have also learned how universal the Gospel is. No matter how different people are, the Gospel can help them.
What have you learned about teaching, influencing people?
Not enough. People respond to incentives, and I have learned that it is hard for people to do something if there is not an immediate result. It takes a special person to do something several times, and have the patience to get the desired result. But it is these types of people who have success. One example could be church attendance. Sometimes if people don’t have the strongest faith, they will sometimes come to church for social reasons, but when these social reasons go away, they stop coming. Once again it takes a patient person to keep coming to church and trust that their faith will be built and they will be slowly changed.
