Chasin' waterfalls... and doing cement work.

Man so transfers were this past weekend and I am still in Dapto with my main man Elder Foa'i for another 6 weeks! I am stoked to stay here because the work is picking up for us! So here is the week!

Monday- We had district P day! We went to a place called Fitzroy Falls and we did a cool hike and saw heaps of lookouts and a few waterfalls! Then we came back home and had dinner with Sisters Tyson and Zimmerman! Sister Zimmerman is such a crack up! Then we went and gave Nicola a blessing of healing which went really well.

Tuesday- We went to fix Jared and Latisha's car but the part we needed was going to take some time to get there so we had to wait. Then we went and did some tracting and we found some really good potentials! Then we went to follow up on one of the potentials but he wasn't home. Then we went and had dinner with the sister's investigator Pat and her boyfriend Lez! It was a good dinner and we got to teach her more about prophets! She is getting baptized this week on the 27th!

Wednesday- We had some MCM in the morning which went really well and then we went and did some tracting. We were about ten doors in when we came across a guy who let us in and said that he investigated our church for 3 years. He asked a lot of questions and we answered them nicely and then 45 minutes in to the conversation he finally told us that he is a Jehovah's Witness! He kept bashing our doctrine with the Bible and he kept trying to say we were just having a nice discussion but he knew exactly what he was doing haha so we got sick of it and we stood up for ourselves! Needless to say we wasted way too much time at his house arguing when we could have been finding people that wanted to actually learn. It was a crap experience and I was just pissed after so I am going to avoid situations like that in the future to the best of my ability! Then we went and followed up on a potential and we taught him the restoration and he wanted to start reading the Book of Mormon and he said to come back again next week! His name is Brendon and he is a young guy who is keen to learn more so we are excited to get to work with him! Then we went to FHE which was a good lesson and then to the Tiananga's house for dinner before splits! Then we went on Splits with Bro Tiananga to see Pat and Lez which was solid!

Thursday- We spent the whole day doing service! We did concreting in the first half of the day for the Roach's which was fun (not that I ever want to be a concreter) haha! Then we went to fix Jared's car but the store misunderstood them and gave them the wrong part so we made sure they got the right part this time and we are going to fix it this next week! Then we went to the mall and got some free Kebabs from a member who works at the food court!

Friday- Today was a pretty good day! We had a good DTM in the morning and then we did some tracting after that with the District! Then we had an awesome district lunch that one of the sisters made for us because she is a chef! Then we went to see Sister Fisher in the nursing home but she was asleep and we didn't want to wake her up haha so then we just went and GQ'd until our lesson with Nicola and Robert! Big news from our lesson with them is that Rob wants to be baptized! We are going to set a date with him this week and its going to be awesome! Nicola also will plan a date with Bishop for when she will be baptized too! They are progressing so well and we were so surprised that Robert wants to be baptized so bad all the sudden! He has come a long way! So we taught them the first part of the plan of salvation and it was solid!

Saturday- We went and did service for the Sa's in the morning and we had lunch with them after that! Then we ran to catch a bus and then ran to catch the train to go to the ward activitu at the church. The event was a movie so we couldn't go watch but we played some ball with the youth and we ate some good food haha! Then we went and did our deep clean for transfers and celebrated with create your own burgers at maccas!

Sunday- Today was Ward Conference and it was solid! Byron, Robert, and Nicola came to church and they all stayed the full 3 hours except for Byron he left after 2! Then we had soup and sandwiches after with the whole ward and it was so good! Then we went and did some following up on potentials and set one return appointment and the rest weren't there or said they weren't interested haha! Then we went home and did our weekly planning finally and had some dinner!

Monday- Man it was a long as day! We did tracting in the morning with no success so we stopped doing that and then we went and were able to see Sister Fisher finally which was good! Then we went and got to see Paul Souris and his family and we shared a good Mormon message with them! Then we went and had dinner with the Johnstones and we had a good lesson with Keiran about being a good priesthood holder!

My spiritual thought this week is from Alma 7:23, "And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle;easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping thecommandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; alwaysreturning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."

If we strive to have these attributes our lives will be blessed so much and we will find that things go a lot smoother for us! Pray for help to do these things and the help will come. Return the thanks to God for the help that you do receive! :)

Elder Jenson

Man... that necklace sure does look great..

chasin' waterfalls.... again...

he's like "yeah, I found the waterfall... take a pic"

group pic

another group pic..

aaaaaand another... my favorite is the elder in the yellow shirt... #selfie

cement

popped the collar...i forgot that was in style.... NOT

taking after his old man.... such a natrual

whistle whistle... buns of steel

so green so orange

which one of these is not like the other

haha that smile... he looks a little tired.

district photo

the burger he created

his companion did this to Keirans hair.. mad skills, bro.

Merica

had to make this picture XL so you could see the street name... He's been lookin' for mamma all along.. finally found a clue as to where she may be...

ONE YEAR DOWN

Monday- We had an awesome p day that was spent at some of the beaches in Kiama! We went and played around on the beach and had a good old time! Then we went and had dinner with the Tiananga's at an awesome restaurant!! They shouted for all the missionaries in the ward! It was an awesome dinner and a good time! I had a delicious filet mingon and I was in heaven!

Tuesday- pretty normal and basic day for us! We went and did some tracting in the morning before lunch and then we went and took the Australian census which is like mandatory or you get fined by the government! Then after that we went and gave sister Sa a blessing and shared a message with her! then we went and saw sister Sheppherd and her son but they have no desire to come back so we probably wont be visiting them too much anymore, we'll leave it to the ward! Then we went to the Johnstones house for dinner and a lesson and it was really good!

Wednesday- We had MCM in the morning and then we went with Bro Tiananga to our appointment with Byron! We taught him the Word of Wisdom and he is going to start trying to live it so we will see how that goes! Then after that Bro Tiananga shouted us lunch at some awesome café! Then we went and followed up on some potentials but none were home so we just went and did tracting! Then we went to FHE and it was fun! We got to play a fun game with everyone which made it even better! Then we went and saw a less active member who has no legs because of diabetes! He was a good guy and I enjoyed getting to know him! Then we went and did splits with the ward, but no one showed up so we went to visit sister Zimmerman and it went good, she was glad we came by!

Thursday- We went and tracted out a neighbourhood with the other elders and we had no luck haha! Then we went and did some service after lunch for Jared! We chopped some wood for him and it took me back to my days in Merimbula haha because I did that heaps there! Then we went and did our weekly planning until it was time for dinner at the Tina'os house! Dinner was awesome and Bro Tina'o showed us a new card trick so that was sick!

Friday- We had DTM in Mittagong so that the elders and sisters there didn't have to travel to us for a change haha! DTM was awesome! After that Elders Densley and Hunt and myself burned our shirts for our 1 year mark! One of the sisters in the district made us some cool shirts and also made us cookies! I probably ate close to 20 cookies haha I wish I was exaggerating... Then we went and did some district finding around the Mittagong area and it was good! I tracted with Elder Hunt and it was the best! Then after that we went and had dinner and a lesson with Jared and his partner Latisha! It was an awesome night with them because they are young so its easy to connect with them! Then after that we went and saw Robert and Nicola which went really well! Then we drove to Wollongong to start trade offs!

Saturday- I was on tradeoffs with Elder Miller because he is a district leader and I have to do trade offs with District leaders since I am a zone leader. We started our day with service for sister Zimmerman and it went really good! Then we bussed and trained home from that and we changed so that we could go and see sister Fisher! We saw her and it was funny because her roommate is pretty insane hahaha the whole time we are there she just tells us not to talk to sister fisher because she is a witch and what not hahaha I think she has lost her mind which is sad but it is funny to listen to the random stuff she says haha! Then we went and just did finding until it was time to drive back to Wollongong and trade back!

Sunday- Pretty basic day! Byron was sick so he didn't make it to church but Nicola was there! After church we just did tracting the rest of the day and we found a solid potential that we have  a return appointment with this week so we'll see how that goes! That's about it for Sunday haha!

My thought today is on Prayer! It is something that is so over looked by people! It is so simple and easy to do! I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers and that if we truly reach out to Him in faith, that he will answer our prayers! I love when I get to pray for the things that I am grateful for because it helps me to realize all the blessings that I have in my life! I look forward to this next year to serve my Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ! This is the only true church on the Earth today. Within this Gospel there is true happiness and I hope we all can find that happiness if we haven't already! Love you guys!

Elder Jenson

ONE YEAR DOWN!!

WOOOO HOOOOO

I'm assuming somebody made these for them? I dont know who.. but thats not cams handwriting.. 

I sent Cam a couple of shirts from my Hawaii trip and a necklace per his request haha looks like they fit great!

I guess the "don't go in the water" rule doesn't apply to him?

BOOM!

I wonder how many times it took them to get this picture right? haha It takes me at least 5 times.

Pretty rad picture of the Elders

I'm sure glad I'm not there at the beach... 

I'm out of creative captions.. 

mid air meditation... its a thing

da boys looks like only two of them were ready for the picture.

Cam and his Comp

Keep the commandments

Monday- We had a pretty boring p day! We just emailed and did shopping and then just chilled at the flat because the weather was bad and we were all pretty tired haha! Then we went and visited Wilma Cox who is an old less active lady haha she was nice but has no desire to come to church!

 

Tuesday- What a boring day this was haha we had MCM in the morning which was solid! Then we went to the doctors for my comp's wrist which never healed from when he broke it and we got it checked and had an x ray and ultrasound done to it and that took like 3-4 hours to wait for all that because health care is free here so people just go to the doctors for every little reason haha so its always so busy! Then after that we just did finding for the rest of the day and the Tina'os brought some dinner by for us so that was great!

 

Wednesday-We did some door knocking in the morning in the rain then we went to the doctors to see the results of the x ray but we had to come back again later so we went and got lunch and then we went back and got the results! His wrist isn't connected to one part of his hand so we are sending the x rays to the mission office and they will have an orthopaedic surgeon look at it! Then we went to FHE at sister Tyson's place and it was good! Then we went and had splits with the ward and I went with bro Tiananga and we went and visited sister Knowles!

 

Thursday- We started the day off with some tracting in the rain again and we had no luck! Then we went and did some service for Jared Bishop and it was great! After that we went and visited sister Fisher in the old folks home and she got emotional when she said the prayer before we left and she was so grateful we came by, which made me feel so good that we went and saw her. Then we went and did our weekly planning and after that we went and got dinner from the mall!

 

Friday- We had DTM in the morning and it was a good training and its always good to see other missionaries like my main man Elder Hunt! After DTM we went and did some tracting and we had a little bit of success but not much! After that we went and taught Byron more about the Restoration and it was solid! He is making great progress! Then we went to the Johnstones house for dinner and a lesson. After that we went to Robert and Nicola's house to have a lesson about the Book of Mormon and it was awesome! I love testifying of the Book of Mormon, it is so dang true!!!

 

Saturday- I was on tradeoffs with Elder Densley who is Elder Beazer's companion. It was pretty good haha all we did was tract all freakin day and we got to teach one less active member who is starting to come back to church and he is awesome! then we also got to teach an activish family to end the night! The Tinaos brought by some dinner for us again this night and it was much needed haha!

 

Sunday- Byron came to church again and he stayed for sacrament and gospel principles which was so awesome!! He loved it and he is getting to know a lot of people at church which is great! After church we went straight to knocking doors which was a joy hahaha not really but oh well :) Then we went to a little farewell party for a sister serving in this area who finishes her mission this week! Then we visited less actives to end the night and they were all sick so we had no luck hahaha! Then the Tianangas made us some dinner so we went by and had dinner with them and took some food home for the other elders! Thank goodness for them and the Tinaos for always feeding us missionaries!

 

I just want to talk about keeping the commandments! We simply do it out of our love for God and for our appreciation for Jesus Christ and his Atonement! We don't need to get discouraged if we mess up or if we keep making the same mistakes because as long as we keep putting in effort to do better the Lord will be pleased! Jesus Christ's grace enables us to move forward and become stronger! He is helping us every step of the way and his grace is available to us right now! Because of His grace, we always have hope and we never need to give up, because he never gives up on us! :)

 

Elder Jenson

District training meeting

Elder Soa and Elder Hunt

Some of the gang

Elder Hunt

Nice helmet...oh and what a cute goat

Dominos in Aussie land

more of the gang 

Only the cutest picture EVER

"When da FUH did we get ice cream"

Lava lava's... cam is such a good Samoan 

practicing for the haka. Can't wear the Lava Lava's on the mish but elder Soa gave him one to take home.. 

Quick update

Not too much time on the computer so here is a quick rundown!

 

Monday- All we did on P day was bum around the mall and email! Then that night we went to the Tina'os house for dinner and Family home evening! It was a good day and really relaxing! :)

 

Tuesday- We did a lot of finding! Tracting and talking to people on the streets! We rode our bikes all the way to Byron's house and man the hills were massive haha it was a tough ride but a lot of fun! We set him on baptismal date for August 27th! Then after that we rode to the train and went to Keiran's house for dinner and a lesson! It was a good day full of blessings!

 

Wednesday- We had MCM in the morning which went really well, then we went and did some service at a member's home! Another member from another ward is building a granny flat for her in her backyard so we got to help out with that! It was tough work haha! Then we went to the Tiananga's house for dinner before splits! We went and saw Byron with bro Tiananga and read Enos with him so that was really cool and it was good to get some fellowship!

 

Thursday- We had finding in the morning and then we went and did some weekly planning, and lunch! Then we went and did some service for Jared from the ward and we helped to plant some trees for him! Then we went and took the train/bus to dinner at Sisters Tyson and Zimmerman's community hall at their apartment facility! After we had dinner there we went and took the train and bus back to our car and the brother Tina'o called us and said that he had extra food for us to take home so we went by to get it and he told us to sit down and have a feed and then he would pack it up for us to take home hahaha he didn't know we had already eaten and we didn't want to be rude so we sat down and he dished us up a mountain of food and Elder Foa'i and I just laughed and we ate as much as we could! I was so stuffed before we got there and after we left I was about to die hahahaha it was a funny experience!

 

Friday- We had a goo DTM in the morning, followed by interviews with President and Sister Back! Things went really good though and I just love them! Interviews are so laid back and chill with them I love it! They bought us all pizza too so that was awesome! Then we went and had a lesson with the Souris Family and we got to be apart of their Cat's funeral hahaha! Then we went to have dinner with the Leggets and that went really well also! Then we went to see Nicola and Robert and we had a good lesson about Christ!

 

Saturday- We did tradeoffs so I was with Elder Beazer! We went and gave 3 blessings to some members in the morning and then after that we went and did some service at the Sa's house! They fed us lunch and it was great! Then we went home and changed and then we took the bus to the mall and we talked to people outside the front doors. Then we went and did some tracting until we had our dinner appointment! Then we took the bus to our dinner appointment and we had dinner with the Fangapo's! They are awesome and the dinner was spot on! Then Brother Fangapo gave us a ride home so that was nice!

 

Sunday- Byron came to church!! It was so awesome to have him there and he was so stoked about it all! He only stayed for sacrament but he got to meet a lot of people, including bishop and he just loved it all! After church we had Soup sunday, so everyone brought soup and we just had a nice munch and mingle after church! Then we went and did some finding! Elder Foa'i and I have been doing magic tricks for people at their doorstep or on the streets while we find and it is so awesome haha it really breaks the ice with them! We went and saw the Mackies and also a lady named Cherry during the night! Then on the way home my comp was prompted to talk to this lady at the train station so we went and did some card tricks for her and then we talked about the Book of Mormon with her and she accepted a copy and so hopefully something will come from that when we contact her later in the week! Really awesome experience! :)

 

I just want you all to know that I know this Church is true! Jesus Christ is indeed our Savior and he loves us all so much! God is our loving Heavenly Father and he weeps with us when we mourn and he rejoices with us when we do what is right! I know they both live and that through the Gospel we can find true lasting peace in this life! Love you all!

 

Elder Jenson

getting ready to head out for the day

ridin the train

Haka faces

who ya gonna call?? GHOST BUSTERS 

.... so freakin cute hair style

cam and elder beazer from draper