halfway through transfer

Monday- We just bummed around the mall after our emails and I bought some more sweaters to prepare for the winter because it gets dang cold down here haha. After Pday we went and taught a girl named Nik, she is Muslim and the lesson went well! She did text us later in the week and said she doesn't want to be taught anymore but its all goods haha at least we taught her once and gave her a Book of Mormon.

Tuesday-We tried some stop bys in the morning and had no luck so we had some lunch adn then we went to an institute lesson taught by the Clarks at ANU to one YSA girl haha it was good! Then we did a lot of finding at ANU and just talked to people. Then we went to the chapel to have a meeting with the Clarks, and some of the ward mission leaders to discuss the work and get things in order with the new program we are running. My comps had to go to an appointment with a kid named Jack, he is dating one of the member's daughters so we thought we would try to teach him and he is keen haha! While they were at the lesson I stayed at the meeting and also institute and I got to just talk to all the YSA and set up some appointments.

Wednesday- We went and saw Julius in the morning and we just talked to him and talked about his trip that he is taking to America next week. After that we went and saw Jordan Amosa. We have created a way good friendship with him and it has been cool to see how he opens up with us! We had a good lesson with him though and it was fun to get to know him more. After that we went and had some lunch at Zach's work again because he gives us a mean discount haha! Then we went down to the south side and tried some visits but we had no luck. YSA can be hard to catch at home sometimes haha. After that we had MCM and dinner with the Clarks and the sisters. Then we went to the Abel's house to teach Trey, Jazmine and Tia. We had a good lesson with them about the Restoration. Jazmine should have her baby soon too so that will be good haha.

Thursday- We were on the bikes this morning and we biked to a guy named Kamiti's house to see him and he was home! He plays rugby for one of the big teams down in Canberra and he is a YSA in the Belconnen ward. We were able to get a referral from him which was so good! After that we went home and had lunch and weekly planned. After weekly planning we had MCM with the Belconnen Ward mission leader and the other missionaries in that ward. Then we went and had a lesson with David Dwyer and we read Alma 34 with him which was so solid! 

Friday- This day was a good one for us. After DTM we met with a girl named Sinai who is from Karibus and it was one of the best lessons we have taught as a companionship! After that we had some lunch and did some comp study. Then we went and met with another girl named Sarah Fisher haha she wasn't too solid of potential but it was good to teach her and we will see how things go with her. After that we went to the chapel for the Ginnendarra ward sport night! There was a good turn out and we were able to meet with a lot of non members! 

Saturday- We played some ball in the morning with Julius which was good! Then we went and did studies and had lunch. After that we went to the Brumbies game (the team that Jacob Abel and Trey our investigator play for) It was a good game and Trey scored 4 times haha it was sick! We also saw a less active YSA who plays on the 1 grade team so we got to talk to him a bit and see him play too! Then we went and had some dinner before a baptism we went to. The elders in the Belconnen ward had an investigator get baptised and Elder Yardley taught him a year ago when he was here so it was a cool moment fro him haha. Then we went and did some visits to end the night.

Sunday- We went to Belconnen ward in the morning which was good because we got to catch up with a lot of YSA that we have been trying to see. Then we went and had lunch and came back for Ginnendarra ward! Sarah came to church which was way cool! I got to speak in sacrament about member missionary work and asking in faith! I loved getting to talk in sacrament haha i find it fun. After church we went to teach Jack at the Amosa's home which went really good! We set him on baptismal date for March 19th so we are going to be pushing for that. Then we went and dropped some stuff off to two YSA's for our upcoming sons of Mosiah Missionary challenge! We are doing this to try and get some referrals from the YSA! 

Mosiah 1:7

7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers.

I love this counsel from a father to his sons. If they are diligent in studying the scriptures and in keeping the commandments of God they will prosper in the land. That promise is the most repeated promise in the Book of Mormon and it applies to us today! If we do what the Lord asks of us then we will see so many blessings it isn't even funny! I know that God's commandments are loving instructions from a Father in Heaven for our safety and happiness! Love you all have a good week!

Elder Jenson

weekly planning has him like...

George Bush twin

square rock

Monday- We went on a sick as hike to a place called square rock which was a ton of fun! It had a sweet view and the weather was pretty mild so we enjoyed it! After P day we went to have a FHE with the Russel family. There was supposed to be one of our YSA's there but he cancelled last minute. All goods though the FHE was still good!

Tuesday- We had a quick doc appointment for Elder Lee and his toe, and then we went to do some visits. After that we went and did some service with one of the YSA here named Zach! He is an RM and he is the YSA rep for the stake so its good to get to know him. We helped to build a shed with him and then we went to his work for lunch. After that we had institute and that went good, but Elder Lee and I had to teach mission prep so that was good! Then we played some ball with the YSA after.

Wednesday- It was orientation day at one of the UNI's so we ran a booth the whole day with some other missionaries and we gave out like 80+ Books of Mormon! It was so much fun getting to be there haha! After that we had a good MCM and dinner with the Clarks. Then we went to the Abel's house to meet one of their son's friends that we are going to start teaching. They play rugby together and Jake Abel referred his friend Trey to us to start teaching so that was a miracle! We just got to know Trey and his girlfriend a little bit and played a fun game with them and we will teach them next week. 

Thursday- We did some finding at the University of Canberra in the morning and found some good potentials! After finding we went and had lunch at Zach's work again. Then we went to ANU (Australia National University) to do some more finding and that went pretty good for us too. To end the night we went to do some visits on the south side of Canberra and no one was home haha.

Friday- We had a reeeaaaalllyyy loooooooonnnnggggg ZTM! It was super good though haha we learned heaps about using personal experiences and also about being the Lord's hands! We did some song practice after that and then we went and had lunch finally! After that we went to do some more finding at the uni. Then we went and tried some visits but had no luck. To end the night we played some basketball with the YSA and man it was so good, we got 2 referrals out of it! It was a true blessing mate! 

Saturday- We just did some visits in the morning and we had some success meeting a few people and setting appointments up. Then we went and tried to meet with a potential but it fell through. then we went to have song practice one last time before the festival the next day. Then we went to Jake and Trey's rugby game and it was so sick! Try seemed pretty pumped that we came too, so that was a big bonus. After that we grabbed some sushi for dinner and then did more visits and got the stake list updated.

Sunday- We went down south to Woden ward and that was really good! The talks in sacrament were solid and so was the YSA class there! We left before the third hour to head  to the multi cultural festival. We sang for 30 minutes on one of the stages with like 16 of us and it was solid! We sang some hymns in Samoan, Tongan, and Maori! Everyone said it sounded pretty good so it was a big hit and we got interviewed by some Christian radio station which was huge! After that we went and gave our stake list to the sisters so that they could update theirs too. After that we went and visited the YSA advisers for Belconnen ward. Then we went to have a lesson with David Dwyer and he is the man!!! He is a recent convert from like 2 years ago and he is so nice! He is way into fitness and lifting too so he gave us some good tips again haha. We had a way solid lesson though on keeping the commandments and the blessings that come from it. I felt pretty pumped and happy after the lesson haha.

Mark 10:47-52

 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

I love this example of faith here in the New Testament. This blind man continued to exercise faith and he had to keep exercising it until he was finally healed! If we continue to exercise our faith in the Savior then we too can be made whole. It may not come right away but His promise is that it will come eventually! Love you all have a good week!

Elder Jenson

JUMP

Far out I don't think that I have ever had so much fun on my mission ever! The best part is we smash the work and have fun while doing it haha! So here is a recap,

Tuesday- We had ourselves a pretty chill P day and just kinda did some shopping and also emails haha. Then we went to institute that night and we got to meet heaps of the YSA. We played some basketball with them too after class which was way good! 

Wednesday- We went and got some supplies for the flat with the senior couple down here named the Clarks and then we went and got the flat all in order and what not. After that we went and did some finding at the University for a couple of hours and it was so good! People our age are so easy to talk to. They actually listen and are so open with us. We saw some good success that day. After finding we went and had a meeting with the Clarks and the Sisters who are covering YSA here too! We had a good meeting and a delicious dinner! 

Thursday- We went and saw Julius in the morning who is one of the key YSA's down here for getting less actives to church. We had a good talk with him and also a good lesson on the Sabbath day. After that we had to help out Elder Clark with moving some stuff from storage and into flats. It was a lot of driving because Canberra is huge haha. Then we had some song practice with the zone because we are singing at the multi cultural festival this next week! After that we went and did our weekly planning! 

Friday- We had DTM in the morning and after that we did some finding at the uni before lunch. After lunch we went and did some more finding at the uni which was good! After finding we went and were supposed to go to play footy with some of the YSA, but it got cancelled so we went to a park and played some basketball with some college students that were there instead! 

Saturday- We were supposed to have a lesson with one of our potentials but she didn't show up.. haha so we went home and did our studies and had some lunch. Then we went to the priesthood leadership meeting for stake conference and it was solid! After that we got some dinner with other Elders and then we went back for the night session of conference. I learned so much and got so much revelation out of the meetings it was insane! I was on spiritual cloud 9 after this day! Elder Johansen of the seventy was there too so that was dope and he is the man.

Sunday- We had some choir practice in the morning before stake conference. We got to sing in the choir for conference and it sounded pretty dang good, no thanks to me, but it was solid haha! I got heaps out of conference again and I was on cloud 9! After that we had song practice for the cultural event again. Then we went to our lesson with a potential named Ben. He is an agnostic/atheist haha so it was a good lesson and we had good chats about things! We had good answers for all his questions and the Spirit was with us for sure! Just gotta get him to read the Book of Mormon haha. After that we had dinner at one of the Ward mission leader's house to discuss the YSA in his ward. After that we had an appointment with David and Kierra who are YSA and we had a good dinner and chat with them! David is really into lifting so that was fun to talk to him about and get good lifting tips. 

My thought of the week comes from Elder Johansen and something he said in his talk and it was something like this, "We need to speak of Christ all the time and not be afraid of testifying of him and talking about him in every day conversations. IT'S EASY." 

I just loved that thought and it got me so pumped and makes me want to incorporate Christ in all that I do and say in my life. He is the reason we are able to find joy in this life and the next. He deserves to be talked about and praised EVERY DAY!!! 

Elder Jenson

Cam and his companions are trying to get as many jumping photos with those of the YSA age range. Heres week 1 of the jumping pics...