Bankstown 3 Week 6

Sorry, we ran out of time this week, I will just post my email to the Mission President. Love you all!!  

This week has been amazing! So many miracles and such great experiences that have really caused me to become aware of my need for humility and improvement! I constantly see how much I need to rely on the Lord in order to accomplish this work. This week we had some great miracles while tracting. We don't often tract here since so many people are on the street, but with school holidays, we decided to try some to see if people were home instead of going to the trains for classes. We found some great miracles! The first was that we were able to walk into someone's home, teach them about the Plan of Salvation and commit to seeing them again in 3 days! It was such a great miracle for us!! Another great thing was that about 15 minutes after that, we tracted into someone who we felt prompted to ask if they needed some help around their house with lawncare and such. The wife was deeply moved and when we came back the next day she mentioned that just the previous sunday she had prayed in her church asking Heavenly Father to help her manage things around her house. Her husband is not in the physical condition to work outside and her back has been having a lot of pain as she is trying to keep up her yard. She prayed for help and 2 days later we knocked on her door. We were able to share a message with her of why we serve found in Mosiah 2:17 and let her know that we serve because of our love for our Heavenly Father and His children. She agreed to having us come back, but since she is not Chinese, we will pass the ball to the trusted Hurstville Elders who I know will do a great job in continuing to teach her and her husband. Later, we continued to see great success as we contacted 2 referalls who come to a branch activity last Friday. A mother with 2 sons, the older one is 13 and the youngest almost 3. She and her older son committed to be baptized and came to all 3 hours of church yesterday! They are so prepared!!!! The work here is starting to pick up as we have added 5 new investigators this last week which is great because many of them have either returned home to China, or have stated for one reason or another they would not be able to keep meeting with us. As Elder Ng and I have pressed forward with faith and hard work, we have seen the miracles of heaven continue to pour out upon our heads! I love the work here and the Branch here!!!!! :)

This week, studying how to use time more wisely, I realized I need to be better at keeping up to date records of potentials and people. We do well in keeping track of our lessons, but unfortunately, other areas of organization could use a bit of improvement, and so with some new goals and planning set in motion, I am excited to become more organized and time-efficient! This week really has been great.

Elder Shafer