Sydney Week 10 (Sorry this is posted late, for the second time!!!!)

Hello Family!

Well I survived transfers. Elder Wan and I are in the same spot and will be for the next 5 weeks. This next transfer is one week shorter because of the mass influx of missionaries we will be receiving in the upcoming march. Everyone keeps saying jokes about leadership positions and all, but realistically, I think they will need to be desperate and have me train next transfer. We will see though, the Lord's will be done, not mine. 

The last week with the Kangaroos was amazing!! SOOO Much fun and a really cool experience, I'll send some pictures for sure! Elder Au, the other Hong Kong elder left yesterday. My companion was a bit sad because they have been best friends for about 4 years, but they both admit that it was for the best. He's a really good missionary and will do a lot to benefit the new zone. With his leaving, a new zone leader came into our area. His name is Elder Imeson and he's from Star Valley, Wyoming. So now I'm finally not out numbered 3 to 1 on Asian culture vs western culture debates haha :) we all get along really well and he has served here in the city before so the members were really excited he has come back. This transfer we are all expecting some big things to happen and they already have started off great! With the holiday season (most people are out of school) our numbers in the city have dropped a bit, and we have had a bit of a droop in our missionary unity and mood in the zone the past little while, but with some really good trainings, some change in the area, and each of us just sharpening up a bit, I think we are in store for some really great things to happen this next transfer! We are really trying to focus a lot more on members and helping build up the ward in addition to bringing in new members because we have found that flooding the branch with heaps of new, pretty fragile members, and had a crippling effect on the overall branch. I guess there has been a trend in the zone to bring in new converts, but then they drop off the focus once they are baptized and unfortunately are easily forgotten. This, and some other minor things that can be tuned up have hurt our relationship with the branch. After all, it's pretty hard for a struggling little ysa branch to keep up with 13 full throttle missionaries wanting to surge the work forward. For example, last year we had 67 baptisms that we brought in the branch, but the total branch membership right now is only about 150 or so. Many people have gone back to their home countries for sure, but there are also too many that have fallen through the cracks, and so we have started to put a much bigger emphasis on just helping ward members. Meeting them for lessons and just trying to provide service and counsel any way that we can. To aid in this, Elder Wan and I are trying to meet with 1 ward member each day to develop a better relationship with them, and hopefully help them have the desire to share the gospel with others and also help us through fellowship. The main goal is to help ward members trust and join in the work we are trying to accomplish rather than be burdened by us. I've already seen the success stories! Even though I am really new, many ward members can finally pronounce my name correctly.... almost :) It's quite hard for Vietnamese and Thai people to pronounce the "sha" portion haha. But I've found when I have called members, or talked to them at activities and just asked about their lives, what they like to do, why they came to AU and other things, they are a lot more inclined to talk, and lo and behold, they will start coming to more activities, bring their friends to them, and walla! Referalls and fellowshippers! :) There is one member who recently came to me talking about her computer being broken and asked me which new laptop she should buy because she doesnt have a lot of money. It put me in a bit of an awkward spot because I can't really support any specific brand or reccomend her to make purchases, but it showed at least that she had developed some trust in me that she was willing to listen to my opinions when her money was on the line. Also, we have seen an increase of food that ends up in the fridge with our name on it as well hahaha :) These aren't the main reasons why developing a good relationship with members is important, but I'm not going to deny there are some good side effects as well! :) 

This last sunday we had a national stake conference broadcast from SLC. All of the members gathered in their stake centers and watched a satellite broadcast for stake conference in which President Baxter of the 70, Elder Christofferson, and President Monson spoke. IT WAS AMAZING :) On the bus ride over there (we had to charter a bus because so few members have cars) I met one of the first members ever to be baptized in Rwanda! There are only two branches in the country and her parents and her were some of the first members. I was pretty honored and excited to be able to learn about her culture and why she joined the church. That is one of the things im most grateful for over here is learning about other people. The world is SOOOO much bigger and more diverse than I had originally thought and being over here has made me realize how much God loves each and every one of His children and that the Lord doesn't care near as much as where people were as where they are now, and He doesn't focus as much as where people are now as to where they can be. I want to develop that same vision. To truly see people for their potential, not their past or present. There is a really good poem I have been trying to memorize called "the fellowship of the unashamed" One of the lines in it states "my past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure." I love this line because it talks directly of the benefits of having faith in Christ. If we truly have faith in Him, then we know because of Him, our past is redeemed upon our conditions of repentance, we understand better our present situations and trials, and we know with Faith on Him, things in the future will always be for our benefit. 

This new transfer I have a greater desire to make gratitude my attitude. Elder Wan gave a really good district training about how humility and being grateful for things in our lives bring us greater and lasting happiness. I want this more in my life. I want to not only be happy and grateful when things are good, but also to be grateful for the good in my life at all times. And even though bad will enter in my life as I keep going against the world, that I will always be happy and optimistic knowing that I am doing what is right. I have realized more recently the true reality and power through temptation that satan can have on people, however with that, I have been able to see how quickly his power can be changed and how miniscule it is in comparison to righteousness and the power of the Savior. Seeing how years of satan trying to make us unhappy, feel guilty, discouraged and all other kinds of bad can be washed away and purified in one moment by baptism, and that for a moment, those people feel in the midst of heaven shows to me the power that light and righteousness have in our lives. This work is so crucial and so true. I love being able to read and understand more and more the Plan of Salvation. I think I have likely read D&C 76 about 5 or 6 times since starting my mission and each time I am able to understand a little more about the necessity of our lives and of the life after this. Another section I found that goes along with this section so well is section 88. There is not enough time for me to write about the comparisons and insights I gained, but maybe try reading these two sections yourself and see what you can get out of the importance of following Christ while on the earth, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ purifies us and helps us to become accustomed to the Laws we must keep to live in God's presence. 

I love you all so much and am so grateful for all you do to help me and support me. I am sorry to hear about the health conditions of those at home and will keep them all in my prayers and thoughts. I give a challenge to all who read this letter :) Read your patriarchal blessing this week and look for any specific words that are repeated. I found one word that was repeated 5 times that brought a much greater insight to me about myself. Try it out :) Love you all!

Elder Shafer 

We ran to the Opera house to see the sun rise last saturday for our exercise. We woke up a bit earlier and ran there as a zone because we wanted to see the sun rise together as a zone before some of us got transferred. 

Sydney Week 9

*Disclaimer, not the most spiritual post.....

Sorry this week is going to be shorter. We are doing a big zone p-day activity and going up to feed wild kangaroos!!!! Pictures for sure to come next week :) I had this wonderful idea this week, however... it didn't work :( I tried to take a mini video clip and send it as an attachment like a video clip, but I dont think it will allow me to send it. Probably too big. 

Quick story regarding the shirtless missionaries and the nasty bathroom...... One of the other Elder's in our flat ( I will keep his name anonymous so he doesn't feel embarrassed) flushed paper towels down the toilet because he didn't know that it would clog the drain. When the other two elders were both using the two seperate showers.... the main drain line was clogged without them knowing. Thus when I looked down the hallway the hall was SOAKED with water. There is a drain in the bathroom floor that is the main drain spout for the APT, that's what was backed up and it was pouring out heaps of water all over our apt. Needless to say... it was several hours before the apt was suitable enough for us to even leave without coming back and having sewage water all over our carpet. A carpet cleaner had to come in and try to get the brown stains out of our carpet but I think it could use a second go cuz it still doesn't look quite the same color as it did before we had heaps of water and a bit of sewage pouring onto our hallway haha. Sorry, that's all the time I have for today :( but next week I will have pictures of me feeding live kangaroos!! That'll be sweet!!!! :) 

Love you all so much, this week was amazing! Transfers are going to be next week, so I am not sure If I will get to write Mon, Tue, or if at all. We will see! 

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 8

Dear Family :)

My Mission President encouraged me this last week to forward on bits of my letter to him to my family as well (why didn't I think of that before?? :)) So here is a copy and pasted clip in response to the question: "what is my core experience with God this week?"

My core experience with God this last week was being able to meet with Steffi, a former investigator that has come back and forth from meeting with missionaries. We went and had dinner with her to try to just reach out again in friendship. During our discussion over dinner, we were able to talk to her about the movie "how rare a possession." Hearing about it, she was interested to watch it, so we watched it with her and talked to her afterwords more about the Book of Mormon and how it can help her in her life. It was a very good lesson for us to have and We helped her to recognize the ways the spirit has spoken to her in her life. 

This week was truly a great week! I can't remember hardly anything that happened because it flew by, but that's why I brought my journal today :) Before I get into that though, I want to answer some of the questions you all have asked. 

No, unfortunately I still cannot read any of the Book of Mormon in Cantonese. President Howes said it's not necessary for me to learn characters, so I won't likely learn characters here on the mission, or if I do, it will only be after I'm fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin. And they dont have a Book of Mormon in Cantonese romanization yet, so as for now, I have to use other methods of study, but to be honest, my language is progressing pretty well concerning the circumstances. I continue to talk with my companion in Cantonese as much as possible, and each of the special lessons we are able to have I am able to understand more and more each time! I think for me, I just need to keep getting submerged in it, so when the time comes that the Lord wants me to serve in the Cantonese branch, I think I will be ready and wont be set back by much because most of the time, I can get by okay, as long as people are patient and willing to repeat things slowly :)

Every morning we wake up and meet as a zone for morning sports as our workout. We play touch rugby ( no contact, so no worries) the worst thing that has happened to me is stepping in a nice pile of dog poop someone left hahaha. After this, we will go back to eat breakfast and get showered up for the day, while my companion is in the shower, I usually have time to do some extra pushups and situps and sometimes some body squats to make sure I'm staying fit for the work. Then, I walk and walk and walk for miles up and down the streets if we have time to contact :) My health is staying up, for sure on the exercise portion. I have trimmed up a little bit as I lose some of the extra flab I have carried around for a while and I actually feel really good and healthy! That's the really nice thing about asian food is it has heaps of veggies in it that I actually am starting to like! I didn't think I'd ever say this, but it just goes to show how much a missionary can change...... I tried coleslaw the other day..... it was actually pretty good :) 

Elder Wan and I have really grown closer this past week. I've really tried to focus on having fun times with him and getting to know him better for who he is. I've found an interesting key that just getting along with your companion will bring you some success, but really loving your companion and seeing him as your best friend, brings a lot more miracles and brings a whole new life into the work together. So I need to keep going with this. Even if sometimes I have to sacrifice a bit for him, it's because I love him and realize that when we get along together and actually HAVE FUN, the Lord will allow us to have the most fun by granting us spiritual experiences we can share together. 

Some excerpts from the journal:

Feb 2, 2013

Today and Yesterday were both awesome! Yesterday we taught a good potential I pulled off the street. He's German and unfortunately will be going back to Germany tomorrow, but he's going back with 2 Books of Mormon (1 english, and 1 german) a restoration pamphlet, and a commitment to meet the missionaries in Germany. As for today- we taught a girl named Natalie. She will be getting married this month and actually seems pretty interested to learn more about Jesus Christ and seemed to accept our message well. She prayed at the end of the lesson and committed to pray daily. Also tonight while watching Finding Faith in Christ with a less active member who we have just recently helped come back, I felt the spirit SOOO many times. Pretty much every single miracle that was performed, I felt the spirit touch my heart strongly. Emily (the less active) also said she really felt the spirit so I'm glad she was able to have a similar experience. Great past two days, hope the next two are even better!

feb 28, 2013

Great p-day today, we went to paddy's market and bought some souiveniers because a lot of the missionaries think they will likely be transferred next transfer and want to make sure they have some little souvenirs in case they can't come back to the city before leaving for home, Bedtime! 

^ that actually happens a lot, where I look at the clock and realize I have only a few minutes left to be dilligent. I've been in bed every single night by 10:30 except one. One night I was 10 seconds late.... :( always room for improvement :b

I'd add some more, but they were a lot of just short messages this week. We have had this big new push to contact heaps of former investigators recently. Our zone leaders found five 3-ring binders full of former investigators from the city, some of them go as far back as 5 years ago. So we've made it a goal to call each and every person because we know that there has got to be at least one person who is ready for the gospel now in these names. Thus, every meal time we are at home, and almost all the evening time I devote to calling formers after I have made calls to confirm appt's and such. It's already brought miracles so I'm so glad we were able to come across these names! 

As for names of investigators, there are so many people that we teach one and set a return appointment, but then they never come back, so for now, the constant names that really could use prayers would be Cindy, Danny, Edward, Natalie, Damien, Noy, Jodie, and Hank. 

Things are going really well. Was able to have a good interview with President Howes yesterday. Every 3 months he will come to the city and interview missionaries to see how they are and such. So it was good to finally have an interview with Him and receieve guidance on how I can improve. Today we went to the Temple and it was amazing!! Such a great experience. I love and really have missed the temple! 

So glad to hear everyone is doing so well! I will try to send some pictures next time of the things that have happened over the past couple weeks. There hasn't been too much I've taken pictures of, but I'll try to dig some up :) Going to go play touch for p-day with a recent convert who is going back to Taiwan tomorrow. Love you all heaps!!!!!

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 7 (sorry I am posting this a week late!)

Hello Family!

Happy belated Australia day! Last Saturday was AU day here, so that meant lots of people walking around with flags and.... well honestly, lots of people drinking alcohol and being crazy. It was still a great day though! Life was pretty normal for us on that day. This week was a bit sad in the fact that we had 3 potentials drop. Simon, the underground Christian, has come across some opposition from his family and Pastor and is not interested in learning about how Christ still works and speaks today the same as he always has, but instead believes that when Christ said "it is finished." that all was finished, and thus, there could not be prophets and speaking to His children today. It was very sad to say goodbye to him on the phone since he was not willing to meet again with us. I wish him the best though. There are so many people here that come across Anti-Mormon materials or people that Anti our investigators. It's all opposition to the work going forward though because we still have many that keep progressing and moving forward in the Gospel. There will always be this trend. It reminds me of Joseph Smith's statement of the Standard of truth being erected never to be hindered. The members here are so amazing in their testimonies and what they are willing to sacrifice for the gospel. It truly is humbling and such a privelidge to live here and experience the things that I do. People have asked me what my favorite part of missionary work is, and I can't remember if I already shared it, but I will again anyways. I think my single favorite moment is hearing people pray to their Father in Heaven for the first time. It is so genuine, precious and special. It reminds me of the experience that Lamoni's father had in Alma 22 when people kneel down and Pray and thank their Father in Heaven "for allowing me to meet the missionaries and to learn about you." Seeing them progress from that point on just keeps that joy increasing, but being able to participate in a person's first prayer ever is sacred in my opinion. The other two that dropped are because one went back to China for a while, so we cannot contact them there, but we hope and pray he will make contact with the Chinese members. And the third we have not been able to contact after our first lesson. On the other hand though..... I was able to see several miracles this week!! 

1.) Jay- Walking down the street contacting, I was scanning the up and coming crowd to see if there was anyone I felt specifically prompted to speak to. I looked to my left and saw a man sitting by the stairs smoking a cigarette, I smiled, turned back to survey the crowd, when I was thinking "maybe I should go back," the really weird thought came to my mind "he will call out my name." He did! Well, he said something very similar. He said "Hey! are you a missionary??!" I was dumbfounded and turned back and said "Yes!" long story short, he feels that recently he has been losing his faith and that God isn't answering His prayers. We were able to meet with him..... He's a curious situation but we have a return apt set up with him later this week after he takes His IELS test (test needed to pass to ensure foreigners have enough english capabilities to stay in AU and work) so we will keep him in our prayers and hope that he comes back!

2.) Candy- Elder Wan and I had just finished a lesson and I was excited to get out and start finding ASAP, so I asked him, "can we say a prayer and go find until our next apt?" of course he agreed and we said a prayer and I asked where we should go. I had the name of the only park where we can contact come into my mind and so we decided when we left the building to go that way. Right when walking that way, the sister missionaries were walking up the street with Candy. We met her and showed her the Chapel and then had a lesson with her. She's really keen!! And Her boyfriend also is interested in meeting with us she has said. So that was another minor miracle. Now we have 2 investigators we can teach in Cantonese! :) It just reminded me of the importance to always be out and doing and productive and allowing the Lord to guide our footsteps as we move our feet. If we had taken a minute longer, not said the prayer, turned right instead of left... etc, who knows if we ever would have met her because she didn't speak very much english. Anyways, my time is up for this week. I love you all so much and am so grateful for all that you do in supporting me!!

Love,

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 6

Hey, its me again! :)

 

Wow, I have SO much time to write today haha! First off, as you may have heard, we set an all-time record for heat in Sydney this last friday. 46 degrees celcius. Not sure what exactly that is in Farenheit, but when you find out, just imagine walking in suit pants and a shirt and tie for 2 hours in it :) Lets just say it's a day I wont forget haha! This week has been really good but has had some unexpected things as well. Guess that's the way life goes! Our zone needs to keep working hard on accomplishing our goals. We are quite behind right now and it's hard to see the effect it's having on our zone. I think sometimes we need to be given more carrot rather than stick. I've learned some good tips for helping people improve their performance and output. I've started to learn that theres a certain tactic it takes in order to still be a leader and an example when you have no leadership position or role. If I can be so arrogant to say.... I think I have been blessed with the gift of leadership. Some may disagree, but as I've seen being here, it's made me look into the past of my life and I think that is one of the gifts that has been given me, is to naturally be a leader. I dont think I have to be the leader or use it for power or position, but unless there is already a strong leader I can follow, I naturally feel that I try to take upon myself the responsibility of leading others to be better. This has been something that has needed special care and attention here though. Because this week i've learned more the "rubber band" analogy :) 

Here it is...... a rubber band at first isnt able to stretch near it's full capacity when you first take it out of the bag. And thus, if you immediately try to stretch it really far, it will snap. But as you over time keep stretching it and letting it relax, then stretch again, over time, it can stretch a lot more and is able to last and be more durable. I think this is the same way with people. If we constantly are stretching them and trying to pull every ounce that we can out of them right in the beginning, they will snap. But if over time, we stretch them by giving constructive feedback and recorrection, and then allow them to metaphorically relax by telling them all the successful things they do, they are able in the long run to stretch a lot more and reach a better potential. Because we all know that the more stretched a rubber band is, the further it will go when we release it. I have been able to observe how other people lead and see the good things they do, but also what I would maybe add or change. 1 of those things would definitely be to praise people for the good that they do. So many times we when just look at the numbers or logistics, it's very easy to find the faults and not look at what people are doing right, but when you take more time and find out why those numbers or the facts are that way, we can truly solve the problem. For example, one of the things we are all working on is getting the members more involved in fellowshipping the investigators and helping them feel comfortable at all the activities. We have realized as of late however that very often, the members are "burnt out" they are already busy with their own work, schooling, and personal lives, and then are trying also to help us by being friends with investigators, joining us for discussions, supporting the activities we have set up for investigators, and it just becomes too much for them. We found that we, were not giving enough thanks and enough time for people to relax just a bit and praise them for the good that they do in order to help them to reach more of their potential. As we have started to change this, and try to focus more on loving and supporting the members in addition to our investigators, we have found that the members have started wanting to help, rather than just being willing to help, and the work presses forward. This same analogy I think I need to keep using and keep in mind with my companion and myself. We get along pretty well, but sometimes one or both of us needs to stretch a little bit more and we need to make sure we are careful to stretch each other without making us snap, and then pouring on the good things that each of us do and the success we've been able to have.

Elder Wan taught a really good training this last Friday in which he asked: How do you let other people know you love them? In thinking about that, I answered that when I love people, I am willing to sacrifice for them. That is one of the ways that I show I love someone. I think that is part of why I am here on my mission is to learn the lesson of sacrifice. Sometimes, it is hard for me to still feel successful when I get home at night, look over what we did for the day, and realize that all the lessons we taught were in other people's areas so they don't count for our numbers ( a lot of times the other missionaries are double booked, or have an appointment and then pull someone off the street for another appointment and so we help them teach) or that even though I went out finding for several hours throughout the day, there wasn't anyone who wanted to learn more. It is at these times I have to realize that sacrifice is what truly matters. When I love the Lord, I am willing to sacrifice my time and my efforts for Him, and allow him to do his work. I need to realize that when I love people I am concerned about them and their progress, no matter who is teaching them or the fact that me spending 45 minutes to teach them won't help me to directly accomplish my goals for that day. And sometimes, I need to sacrifice what I feel is the best method or what I would like to try in order to keep love and unity in the companionship. It is a difficult tactic to learn of how to try to do your very best and not waste a single minute of the day, without pulling other people to the point where they snap. Don't get me wrong, the missionaries in our zone are very good and I love and respect each one of them so much. I think that all of us have different times where we droop a little bit. In those times, it seems contagious that if one person droops, or just "takes 5 minutes to rest" that it soon becomes longer and more people following suit. That is why it has been really important for me personally to try my best to never have those moments. I honestly dont feel that I can put my head to rest at night feeling that I did everything I could have if I let myself just sit down to rest for a minute or two. I've had people here warn me to make sure I don't get too burnt out by working too hard, but I think there is a difference between overexertion, and doing the Lord's work to the fullest. My purpose is to do the latter. 

It reminds me of my talk that I gave right before entering the MTC on duty, and the phrase "God is easy to please, but very hard to satisfy." I think our Father in Heaven is glad when we do anything that is right. He is pleased when we try hard and do good, but in order to satisfy Him and His expectations is a higher level. That is my goal here on the Mission. The question was asked last week "what do you want to have accomplished by the time you finish you mission." I think I truly want to satisfy God's expectations for me. It is a very high mark since He expects much of me, but that is my goal. I have been so blessed to have this opportunity to come and serve here. In regards to sacrifice, I feel that the mission gives me so many blessings and opportunities that it's the most one-sided gift exchange I've ever seen haha. I sacrifice my time and exertion, and the Lord gives me back strength to work, joy to encourage me, love, peace, comfort, guidance, knowledge..... the list goes on and on. The amount that I sacrifice compared to how much I receieve is unexplainable. I need to always keep this in mind as I continue to work.

I am sorry if this letter was really random and if it doesn't apply to anyone reading it, but I am grateful I could write it because It has helped me a lot. Sometimes, I need to listen to myself and my own advice haha! :) and my own ecouragement. So if none of this makes sense, as least you all know I was benefitted from this because it's truly impossible to explain all my thoughts or feelings in an email. Next week may be a more interesting letter, we will see :)

Thank you for all the love and encouragement you give me. Please pray for Noy that she will continue to prepare for her baptism on the 23'rd of next month. Also, please keep in your prayers Edward, Cindy, Simon, Donna, Bee, Sue, Yuteng, and Danny. I could explain more of their situations next time, but I had the idea come to me this week that a prayer list for my investigators would definitely help. Out of time.

 

Love you all!!!!

 

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 5

Hello from Hot and Muggy Australia! :)

 

This week, set an all time record for the hottest it's ever been at midnight last..... Tuesday here. It was pretty insane haha! Our last pday we went out and saw the Giant duck. It was literally the hottest I've ever felt in my life last tuesday. It got up to 43 degrees celcius which is around 112 farenheit and was HUMIDDDDDDD!!!! For lunch, we decided to stop into a vietnamese restuarant, and guess what I ordered?? Spicey beef noodle soup. What was I thinking?????? Spicey while it's over 110 outside? Obviously my brain wasn't working because I was sweating like no other eating my lunch hahahahahahah! But all is good now. It's cooled down quite a bit and even though the nights are still pretty warm, I'm able to sleep pretty well.  

So I need to say thank you to all who have sent me money for Christmas and at other times. I'm very bad at writing personal thank you letters because postage is pretty expensive (2 bucks for one letter to the US from AU, but only 1.05 for US to AU??? Not sure how that works out...) but thank you for the money because I actually needed to buy something this week with money from home. My athletic shoes I had in the MTC were destroyed by the end of the MTC and so I left them there. When I arrived here in AU the previous elder had left his and they worked okay for a little while, but it was time for me to get my own pair instead of old, stinky, hand-me-down shoes haha :) So I went to the cheapest place you can around here and still get good shoes and I bought some nice Puma's that remind me of Mark everytime I put them on for my morning run to go play touch. So thank you for the donations for Christmas from family (Jay and Sharon and Linda and Jim) and others, because things here in the City are a lot more expensive than I'm used to, and even though the shoes were 50% off, they are still the most expensive shoes I've ever bought haha :) But I really like them and they are MUCH more comfortable than the past shoes I was using to make due. I forgot to bring my journal for this week, but I will try to think back on specific experiences that happened:

 

- I'm not sure if my street contacting is getting better or worse.... This last week I was contacting people and talked to one person who must have been an ex-sailor and currently worked as a plumber from Texas (Evan may be the only one that get's that specific reference :)) because not even joking, every third word was a cuss word. But anyways... I was talking to him for just a minute and then He invited me to have a beer with him and his mate haha! So I don't know if I'm getting better in the fact that I'm willing to talk to everyone and invite all to learn, or if I'm getting worse because people aren't able to see my role here as a missionary lol! I'll need to do some more thinking on this. But I really do try to talk to everyone because I've had 2 different people talk to me and ask why we as missionaries "target the Asians." I'm always nicer in my response but I want to say its because they are pretty much the only people who ever stop and talk haha! The natives here usually either just cuss you away, are too busy, or are a mixture of both :) But I still love being able to go and talk to ALL people so that It cannot be said of me that I target a particular group because the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't have any familiarity to race or ethnicity.

 

- Not sure how much I told you all about Simon. He's the Underground Christian from Pakistan. It's very interesting to meet with Him because He has such strong faith in Christ, yet he lives with 7 other people who most likely would persecute, and maybe even physically harm him if they knew he was christian. I am so grateful that we have religious freedom in our country.

 

- This saturday after the baptism of Jin (another missionary companionship's investigator) we all decided to go to "3 mamas" a really good thai restaurant in the City and I honestly ate HEAPS of food haha! The chinese people we were with were so suprised at how much I ate because for some reason, I was just absolutely starving and couldn't get full. I had 2 servings of pad thai, and 2 servings of masmun curry, 1 of red curry and 1 of green curry! hahaha, I was stuffed when I was done, but it was so worth the 15 bucks I had to pay for that feast! that's the nice thing about eating in larger groups is that everyone just pitches in the same amount and then you all just share dishes.

 

I am able to see more and more how awesome my companion is. The more he has gotten to know me, the more willing he is to open up and talk about Himself as a person. A lot of times we are able to share very cool experiences together and this helps to bring us together so much. We do speak Cantonese with each other as often as we can, especially when it's just He and I. He keeps helping me learn and keeps the laughing to a minimum when I say something really wrong and sometimes embarrasing in Cantonese. He's a very good companion to have and He's very patient which makes him a great trainer as well.

 

Love you all!!

 

Elder Shafer

The lego characters are who we do practice teaching to in the morning haha! When  Elder Wan and I need to practice our transitions.... we teach legos which can't talk back. it works out really well!  :) gotta be creative!

Also, here is proof that people really do eat kangaroo here because you can buy it at your local supermarket :) 

So here are some pictures of the Giant duck. It was over 50 feet tall! Pretty random but pretty funny too.

Also saw some random person just hanging out on the swing that I thought was an interesting way to relax... so I thought id grab a candid shot :)

The other pictures are in the Queen victoria building which is a giant mall here. The clock towers are really cool though! They hang from the ceiling and they have different scenes from AU's history etched into them and every hour they play music and the pieces act out a scene from history. I thought it was unique and interesting. 

   

Sydney Week 4

G'day mates! :b

 

Wow, I have a lot more time to write today :) woot! :) Sorry I don't have any new pictures this week. I am going to have some new cool ones next week though because today we are going to see a massive artificial duck that has been shipped into the harbor here. Not exactly sure why, but it's gotten quite the attention, so I figured I had better be part of this historic event of seeing the world's largest "rubby duck in the water." lol! So for this week, I decided I would bring my journal and share some excerpts from there because I often can't remember all that has happened over the past week. Heres a couple:

 

1/2/13- Best day of the mission by heaps! Witnessed tons of miracles today! First off, Elder Wan pulled off a golden investigator from the street and we were able to give him a tour of the chapel and talk to him about our special message. His name is Simon and he's and underground Christian from Pakistan. His family is Christian, but Christianity is a pretty scary religion to practice there, that's why they have to worship in underground churches and stuff. Pretty crazy, but President Howes has said that we are able to teach HIm since his family is Christian (because of some religious barriers, those of certain other faiths- particularly Islam and Judeism- have to obtain specific consent before we are allowed to teach them, because people that learn of Christian beliefs when belonging to some faiths are honestly faced with death threats) So we were able to meet with him and get to know him better and he wants to continue to meet with us and attend church with us. Also, I set up an appointment with someone who speaks Cantonese! Her name is Donna and she is from Southern China where they speak cantonese. I have been praying for someone to teach in Cantonese for some time now because I really want to use my language ability in my lessons.

 

1/3/3- Something really cool happened today. I was kinda frustrated at not knowing where to focus my attention on studying Cantonese. I decided I should pray again and ask for help and guidance, and the thought immediately came to read "Preach my Gospel" out loud in Cantonese. After doing this, I have been able to see how much it has helped me. I needed this answer to prayer!

 

This one is my Favorite :) this is literally the whole thing I wrote that night: 

 

1/5/13- I'm flat out exhausted today. Lots of finding in the heat has tired me out a lot. Write more tomorrow, but a pretty good day.

 

^ that day was especially HOT. I honestly felt like my feet were on fire when walking on the street haha! It was good though, all part of the experience

 

Hopefully you'll enjoy some of my excerpts from my journal that I write home, because there is a lot that happens during each and every day, and it's hard to remember all of it when I sit down to write. We started a new reading goal for the whole mission at the beginning of this year. Our mission President wants us all to follow a plan to allow every missionary to read the Book of Mormon again by April. As we do so, He wants us to use a fresh new copy and to only mark references to the Savior and to His ministry and Sacrifice. This has been SO cool to do thus far! I have known since I started reading the Book of Mormon how much it talks about the Savior, however, I was able to see it more starkly when the MAIN thing I'm looking for is references to Him. I'm able to see how many "1-liners" there are that the prophets use to talk about Him. It has allowed me a much greater and broader view of how many times Prophets in ancient times and modern have talked about the Savior.

 

So regarding Transfers- something crazy happened this week. EVERYONE stayed in our Area. all 12 Elders except the Mini-missionary, who is done with his 6 week mini-mission. Everyone was so surprised because it rarely ever happens that all the missionaries stay in their assigned areas in a zone. But it's very cool because all of the training we have received particular to this zone and how to improve here will be able to be used in full force by everyone here. The longer I am here, the more I realize how special and specific this area is. People keep telling me that the work here is so different, but it didn't all set in at first how different it is. One of the things I love most to be honest is teaching English Class. I love this opportunity to help others with something that is really important to them and to provide community service for other people. I love teaching and helping people come closer to Christ first and foremost, however, English class is also very enjoyable to teach because it is an area where I can see people's quick improvements and I am able to help people a lot. It's really funny to try to explain some of the idioms that we use and that people want to learn. Also, setting the record for tongue twisters is pretty enjoyable too! :) Everyone in the class tried to say "don't put the bitter butter in the batter or the batter will be bitter and the butter wont make it any better." And after everyone had tried, the other teacher, from Japan had me be timed and I said it in..... I think 3.87 seconds? something like that.... so mabye ya'll can try it at home and see if you can beat that record :b you probably can, but it was really funny to hear everyone applaud and roar and be amazed at me saying the tongue twister haha! 

I love the Chinese people here. All chinese people are especially funny in their mannerisms and just the way they express things. Part of it is because English is their second language so they use really funny words to describe things sometimes, it makes me smile though not only because of what they say, but because I know how hard it is for them to learn. It makes me think of how odd my Cantonese must sound to other people. My companion and I keep growing closer and closer together over the course of knowing each other. It's been interesting to learn and grow for myself as well. Everyday I feel that I'm learning more about myself- how I learn, how I act, what my true character is. Overall the experience of the mission has continued to get better and better with each and every day. It has been really cool to see how I have been able to continue to distance myself from the world, while everyone else seems to just dive deeper and deeper into it. So many people here talk about the "current trends" the new technology that will come out, new movies, new videos and all these other things. I see more advertisements here on buses, bilboards, trains, and street posts than I think I have seen my whole life LOL! But each and everyday I find that the more I see these advertisements, the less it takes my mind away. Not going to lie, the first time I saw all "The Hobbit" ads I was pretty intrigued and I was wondering what the movie would be about. Or with the new Wii that is coming out. Ad's for Iphone 5 and other new tablets and phones were all over the place, and being the curious person that I am, it often would take my mind off of my task at the point in time for a minute, but as I have continued to try to avoid these things and turn my thoughts, I have found it increasingly easier. I read a talk given by President Packer about how each of us has a "delete button." that we can create. I tried it and it absolutely works! What you do, is you take a common and unnoticeable movement, for instance, adjusting your glasses, scratching your head, maybe even blinking your eyes, and make it your "delete button." So that way when ideas/thoughts come to mind that you want to not focus on, you do that movement and think of something else and it becomes a lot easier for your brain to switch ideas!!! I promise it works. It takes a little while to program in, but now I've actually been able to see how well it works! Whenever a bus passes by and I see the ad- make my sign, and I dont think about that movie, new technology, or book and I can just keep going on practicing cantonese, looking for people to speak to, or thinking of how I can better teach my investigators. It's been really cool. Try it out!! Gotta go, love you all!!!!

 

Elder Shafer