Sydney Week 19

What a fantastic week! :) 

We now have 6 baptismal dates for our companionship, and have several more people progressing than we have had in the past. The work pushes onward! :) Because of the shortness of time, I will copy my letter to President Howes, and then explain some of the pictures since I haven't sent them home for several weeks. They will recap some of the p-days we have had in the past few weeks. We have seen that as we continue to reach out to members and recent converts, they continue to have a desire to help us in the work. Thus we have had some great p-days with them and they have brought friends to these fun activities such as going to the Aquarium, A coastal walk that was scheduled for Family Home evening, and so forth. I want you all to know that these are all completely approved activities from our Mission President and that I am doing missionary work even though in some pictures we are not in Proselyting clothes because it was not appropriate for the acitivity :)

My core experience this week with God came from how many Cantonese people I was able to find last Friday. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but there were SO many people that I met that day who spoke Cantonese and it was really great practice and a rewarding experience to be able to communicate with them in my assigned mission language. I will relate the most choice story for that day:
Her name is Ting. I met her walking on the street as she was heading to the train station to go home. She said that she came from China which is when I asked if she spoke Cantonese. She affirmed that she did and when I started to speak she was really surprised and started to laugh in disbelief. I am now less surprised by this reaction since it is quite common among people who hear me speaking Cantonese. But after a second she composed herself and started to ask what I was doing, why I know Cantonese etc. We had a great chat and I was able to ask her for help on some Cantonese phrases as she asked me for help with English ones. I kept walking with her to the park near the station, and not wanting to let a choice opportunity pass me by, I asked when her train would depart, she said that she had about 15 minutes upon which I asked if we could continue to have our discussion sitting down in the park. Pulling out a Restoration pamphlet, I was able to explain why I am here, what I do, why I was willing to learn Cantonese, and how the Restoration will benefit her life. She accepted a copy in both Chinese and English so she could use it for language study and said she would like to meet again. This was the longest conversation I have had so far in Cantonese outside of teaching a lesson. I was so excited! In addition to this one experience though, I met several other people that day with whom I also was able to talk about the gospel and invite them to learn more. I received that day several people who are potential investigators whereas normally I can only find 1 or 2 every couple of days. It was a miracle for me indeed! 

One of the messages from conference that will change me actually came from Elder Clayton's address. I know that he was specifically addressing marriage, but the thought came to me right when he began speaking that each of the things he will talk about, will apply to my companionship. Thus, I looked at his talk as a personal opportunity to learn how to have an effective companionship from a general authority. The miracle was, it was true! Everything he talked about there are things I can do in order to improve my companionship now and in the future. I need to view my companionship as very important and set up from God. We both need to have faith, and I need to help my companion continue to kindle his faith, as he does the same for me. Each of us will make mistakes, but we need to always be willing to repent and forgive our companions for their mistakes. Lastly, I need to always make sure I respect and love my companion. I should never have negative thoughts about him and I should always strive to bring our companionship in better Harmony. doing so will bring forth blessings and the spirit.

This is Elder Dade, Jogky and Noy Vayakone, and then some other missionary up at the coastal walk. We went there for FHE, it was heaps of fun. Noy is next to me, she is the recent convert from Laos that was baptized in our area last 23'rd of March! :) She and her sister are progressing so well in their testimonies!

Me and Danny. A recent convert the sisters taught, but as is the norm here, pretty much every investigator is known and admired by the whole zone since we always see them haha

We went to the Temple last week. Amazing experience as always :)

These last two pictures are at the Sydney aquarium. It was a great time and we all had a lot of fun. Got a lot of pictures of really weird fish and GIANT crabs, but I figured you could probably care less about those for now.

Love you all HEAPS! :)

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 18

There's just too much to write about and too little time :( I will start, as is normal by copying my email to President Howes:

My core experience with God this week was unequivocally General Conference. There was a great abundance of the Spirit felt and many things learned that I can improve and will improve in my missionary work and efforts here. Being able to feel enriched by the Spirit for the entire weekend increased my understanding of my obligations here and how I can better fulfill them. 
From Elder Holland's talk that we viewed during zone conference, I have learned that I need to be better at planning and preparing. I have learned that the Lord has great expectations for me and my work, and I can only accomplish those to His standard as I plan and prepare in advance. Elder Holland also reminded us how great of an influence a mission has on our entire lives. I learned from him that we must be spiritually immovable and that we must never forsake our Savior as we serve Him as missionaries or members of His church after our full time mission. I need to always keep the mentality that I am preparing to be a missionary for life rather than just striving to be the best missionary here and then slacking off after my mission. I believe if all that I learn in these two years are only to be used in these two years for missionary work I have wasted one of the largest gifts available to me. I think of my mission almost as a boot camp in some respects. There is only so much we can learn in 2 years, but in these two years we can gain immense wisdom and experience as to how we can be better disciples of Christ for the rest of our lives. Of course we will work to accomplish all that we can here, but Elder Holland explains that a mission changes every significant decision in our lives, and I want it to have that effect on my life. I often get caught up in the "here and now" and need to look to the future to realize the true value of things. I know I will be more effective and powerful in 6 months than I am now, and that should only keep increasing with time. As we continue to build upon our past experiences, we will become more and more of our true potential. 

This week was so great! We had zone conference on Friday- where I had to speak about how much my mission was worth to me. It was pretty much just testimony and stories for 5 minutes but people said they learned something from it so I guess I accomplished my purpose. For it, we watched Elder Holland's address to the missionaries in the MTC entitled "Drop Your Nets." It was so smash!! (aussie lingo :b) Honestly, just sooooo powerful and good! we then had wonderful trainings on how to overcome the natural man by Sister Howes and a training of the references that Christ gives all over in the scriptures of "I will be with you." We are not alone in this work one bit. I have a testimony of that for sure. The Lord is leading and guiding this work and allows me the ability to see that truth all the time. Let me just share one simple miracle that represents quite a few similar ones. Last night, Elder Dade and I met with Andy. He's a former investigator and the lesson went pretty well. We went upstairs to see if we needed to lock up since it was evening time and most missionaries are doing weekly planning back at the flat on Sunday evenings. When upstairs a Japanese man named Tsubasa came up and talked to us. He had come with his friend Paula who was having a lesson, and he wanted one as well! I was surprised and asked how he knew about missionaries and so forth and he has been to English class a time or two in the past and wanted to learn about Christ. So, we met with him for a while and helped him to understand who Christ is, about His church and the need for baptism. We committed Him to be baptized the 25'th of May! :) That makes 4 people with a baptismal date for our area. We have been committed by our mission president to invite people to be baptized starting at the very first lesson, and although very few understand what baptism is, why it's important, have testimonies and so forth..... it really is the best way to help people understand our purpose in helping people come unto Christ, understand their concerns that they may have, and sets a great tone for our meetings in the future. Wonderful miracles that happen all the time! We will be meeting with him again tomorrow! :) Also, we had 6 investigators that came to General Conference sessions this weekend. Although I don't think any of them understood more than 50% of what was said, it shows their desire to learn and I believe they could feel the spirit that was present there at those meetings. I'm so glad that it isn't my job to convert people! That is the job of the Holy Ghost. My purpose is to invite and testify regarding of Christ so that people can have the opportunity to feel the spirit. He does the conversion, not us. 

Some things learned from conference: here's a challenge to see who has said these quotes or ideas :)

"faith is REAL power." - that is absolute truth. I can't explain all of how it works, but having faith truly is a power that can be witnessed.

"Prayer and scripture study should be as common as daily eating and drinking" - It is only as we take care of ourselves spiritually daily that we are able to remain strong. I have seen in the past that when I neglect to study daily and pray daily, I falter. CPR of our testimonies is to attend Church, Pray, and Read. Doing these will sustain our spiritual health.

"What'er thou art, act well thy part." - Each of us has a specific role we are to play in this world. Each of us is divine and uniquely crafted. Your part that you play is essential because it is a role ONLY you can accomplish the way that the Lord wants it to be accomplished. Of course He has back up plans, but I believe He has the plan that He wants us to accomplish, according to our agency and free choice.

This one is paraphrased- "of all miracles, the greatest of all if forgiveness." - Truly, without the atonement of Christ, all other miracles would be useless and good for nothing. Only because of His sacrifice are we able to return to live with our families and Eternal Father forever. Only through Him can we obtain forgiveness from sin and be worthy to dwell in the Kingdom.

"it is most often when we are steadily keeping the commandments, that the Lord shares with us His love." - I have seen this time and time again in life. As I do those things which Please the Lord, He shares with me more His love. He loves me the same regardless, but when I keep His commandments, I am worthy and able to feel it more often than when I disobey, come back in sorrowed repentance and feel of His love then. 

There are so many more good quotes I would love to share and insights learned from conference this past weekend, but my time is soon up :( I would like everyone to know who reads this email that God is our Loving Father in Heaven. No matter our trials, He loves us and will support us when we choose righteously. Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Through Him is the only way to have lasting joy. We can feel of their love through the Holy Ghost, which is a gift available to all the Children of God. If you pray and ask the Father in faith, He will answer you through His messenger, the Holy Ghost. I know that this Church is Christ's restored church on the earth and teaches the true doctrines regarding salvation and happiness in this life and in the life to come. We have a current, living prophet who guides this church, the same as has been at all times that Christ's church is on the earth. We also have 12 apostles who are special witnesses of Christ and administer the same as the Apostles of the new testament. I have gained this testimony through sincere prayer and answers from the Holy Spirit, and all who follow this same pattern can know for themselves as well. 

I love you all,

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 17

This week was absolutely BLAZING fast. I have no idea where it went, but I'll start off my email as usual by copying what I sent to my Mission President,

"My core experience with God this week was definitely the recent convert fireside (newly renamed Stake devotional). Noy, and Jogky Vayakone spoke. It was so special to have 2 sisters there speaking about their conversions with only about a year between their baptisms. The Spirit was definitely there and our investigators present really felt the Spirit as they both spoke about how happy their parents were for the change that they had made in their lives. It really hit me in the meeting at how large of an impact one person can make. To explain, Noy said that her parents had really hoped she would change from her past for quite a while, and when they heard she had been baptized, even though they don't fully understand what baptism is, they were extremely glad that she had changed from her past, and can see the happiness it has brought into her life. All of our hearts were touched as Jogky explained that growing up all she wanted was to have a dinner together as a family, this wasn't available to them past the age of 12 because they had to live several hundred miles away from their parents. When she related this experience, it increased my appreciation for my family, and how we are sealed as an eternal unit. I know that their family can one day be the same, and that Jogky and Noy's example are extremely influential in this process. I am humbled by the circumstances in which people come from and their easiness to have faith and remain humble even in their afflictions. Reading the Book of Mormon has once again reminded me at how quickly we can turn inward and become prideful, yet there are so many people I am able to meet each and everyday which truly choose to be humble no matter their circumstances, and keep faith in the Savior.

One of the things we will be doing this week to help a young man who is questioning whether or not to serve a mission will actually happen tonight. We are going to have dinner with him and bear our testimony of why we came on a mission and help him to feel the wonderful effects it has had on our lives. He is a wonderful young man and would make an exceptional missionary, thus we feel we should continue to support him in his growing desire to serve a mission. 

It has been such a fast week but an amazing one for sure. Looking at our planners for this week, we will be having at least 7 people we will be inviting to be baptized. That is only the ones we have planned now, with the many miracles we see and the couple times we feel prompted to mention baptism on the street or at activities, I am sure we will be having more baptismal dates up and coming. The work continues to press forward and Elder Dade and I are both excited for the future! I hope you have a great week, and I look forward to our training on Friday. See you then!"

I don't have my journal with me, so It will be hard to go by and give an accounting of this whole week, but some highlights-

-I passed my driving test, so I can now drive here in Australia if I ever have to leave the city ( I hope and pray I serve here my whole mission, but I know the chances of that are basically 0%)

-We have heaps of new Japanese investigators, but unfortunately not a single person speaks Japanese in the branch, so..... we learn to speak very slowly :) It is interesting though that right when the Japanese speaking Elder gets transferred, heaps of Japanese people start coming to activities and are curious about the church. We have 2 investigators that we meet with together and one of them has to translate for the other one haha! But it all works out okay in the end :)

- We had an amazing lesson with Danny which has been investigating the church for over half a year without any real progress. Up until the lesson last yesterday, he would never explain why he didnt want to get baptized, and then would continue to dodge our lessons. So it was hard to meet with him and progress, but due to a miracle which happened yesterday, Elder Dade and I were able to meet with him and help him understand the sacrifice of Jesus Christ better. He still feels that he has "done too many bad things" in his life to qualify for baptism. I cant describe exactly how he feels, but we continued to help him understand that there is no sin he could have committed to make him exempt. I think there was a large step in progress for him. He now has hope in his life and we will continue to help him grow that hope into true happiness. 

-I figured out how to cook THE BEST spring roles :) last night, we came back to the flat and after planning I started to cook some frozen spring roles. When they were done, I gave a plate to Elder Elder (honestly, his last name is elder :)) and Elder Imeson. Elder Imeson turns to me and just says "oh, I love you Elder Shafer, these are the best!" I laughed pretty hard, but honestly, they are delicious! 

Yeah, that's all that I can think of now that was out of the ordinary and unique that I wanted to share. Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple and it was a great experience as always. Such peace and calm there! I am so grateful and lucky to be a missionary out here. Honestly, the amount of people I am able to meet and the lives I am able to have a small change for the better in is extraordinary. Missionary work continues to surprise me at how enjoyable it is even though it is always a trial. I have a greater understanding as to the reality that service brings joy. I was just thinking the other day about how as missionaries, we are called to be full-time servants, volunteers, teachers etc, but also we are called to be full time friends. So many people here and everywhere in the world just need a friendly hand. I have been able to see that more and more. Part of the reason I believe people become attached to missionaries who serve is because they find that those missionaries are true friends they may not have had before. we often get too caught up in ourselves and what we need to do and neglect to look out just a little more. Often it only takes one phone call, one question, or one smile and joke shared in order to change someone's day. I have learned this week a greater appreciation for humor. Laughing is definitely an essential part of life. I know that I haven't always been the funniest person, but I have found that I can crack an occasional joke or two that gets people laughing. Doing this has had a great effect while here. For example, one member named Daisy recently had an ultimate crisis. She had a family emergency in which she had to book a flight very short notice back home to Vietnam. After she had payed the plane ticket, she tried to withdraw more funds that evening and found that her back account had nothing in it. She had to board a flight the next day with the news that someone had hacked her account and she had no money. Needless to say, she was very distraught with things that were happening in her life. I felt prompted when she was about to leave to just give her a call. As I stood on the balcony of the city just listening, I was grateful that I had the ability to change the conversation with a couple simple jokes. I don't remember what i said, but it was what she needed to hear because by the end of the phone call she says "thank you for calling Elder Shafer, I feel better now. I am grateful that you are serving here and talk to me even though I am technically not in your area of responsibility (all the missionaries have different recent converts they are assigned to keep tabs on and to help out since there are so many in the city). So my message for the week, find a time to make someone laugh! In almost all situations I can think of, when there is nothing you can do to resolve or benefit the problem, making the person laugh has an instant effect to help lift their spirits and give them hope.

Love you all heaps and I will write you again next week!

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 16 (Sorry, a week late again, man I am getting into a bad habit!)

Well, this week there is very little time :( But I will use every minute that I can. 

This week was quite the week for sure. There were some sad things that occurred in the District, but fortunately, we did our best to not allow this to affect our work. We had one of the greatest miracles that I have experienced on the mission this last week. While street contacting, I was able to meet a man named John. He was looking at his map for Chinatown, and I don't think it was coincidence he was having a hard time to find it even though it was only 2 blocks away. It was the perfect opportunity for me to talk to him and get to know him. We walked with him back to the church and showed him around and then shared with him how much God loves him. He walked into the Teaching Center stating he didn't believe in God, but followed science. He left having had a very spiritual experience and feeling the Spirit testify to him that His Father in Heaven loves him. As we were teaching, I remember bearing testimony, and seeing that he was feeling the spirit, I had the question come to me to ask "John, how do you feel right now?" He replied "I feel that I want to try. I want to believe in God and to learn more." I was blown away! After more discussion and testimony, we taught him how to pray and he once again had the Spirit teach him about the reality of our Father in Heaven. We felt prompted to meet with him again the next day even though he committed to come to church and he was very excited for the chance to come to both. Meeting with him the next day, we had once again a very Spirit driven lesson. He has been very well prepared by the Lord to accept His message at this time. The truth is, I feel that the times when Elder Dade and I are not speaking is when he is learning the most. He is very open and sensitive to the spirit, and it has been a miracle to see how well prepared he truly is. He came to church yesterday wearing a suit and stayed for 2 hours and really enjoyed it. He truly is the most well prepared person I've met to hear and accept the gospel.
Something I enjoyed about church yesterday was the ability to explain and celebrate Easter with several investigators who do not know what Easter means and why we have it. Not only at church, but at the special Easter program that was last night. There was a great spirit there at both church and the program that was noticeable and allowed great opportunities to teach about Christ and His resurrection. It truly was the best Easter I've experienced! The Spirit in rich abundance, many teaching opportunities, and enjoying wonderful music with others is always a special experience.

A special thing happened yesterday. At the easter program we went to last night with our investigators. Corene sang "This is the Christ" It was AMAZING! Then I got to introduce her to Noy (baptized on the 23'rd and doing so well! She's awesome!) as well as 3 other investigators of mine from Japan and some other friends from the ward. Corene is so funny! Trying to hear her pronounce these people's names and then remember them was quite enjoyable. She is so friendly though and they loved her. Perfect fellowship! They were all so impressed with her singing and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud in stating "that's my cousin!" People didn't believe me at first, but then they said "ahhh... that's why you can't sing for beans, because she took all the family talent for singing!" or something like that is what they said ;)  

John, is by far the best and most interested to learn investigator I've met. He's so pure!! I am very excited for him. Noy continues to progress well and will actually speak at the recent convert fireside next week. I'll let you know how that goes. Love you all!!

Elder Shafer

Send Elder Shafer an email

Hi Everyone,

As you read in Elder Shafer's most recent letter home, you all are welcome to write him directly and he can write you back!

I know he will love hearing from everyone.  Your love and support mean so much to him.  So write him a quick email (or twenty) when you have time.  Trust me, it is so fun to find that email every week in my inbox.

His email address is: kyle.shafer@myldsmail.net

I will also post his email address on the sidebar so everyone can keep all his most updated contact information in one spot.

Happy writing!

Sydney Week 15

Exciting news! The word is out! Last week we had a zone conference where President Howes announced that SLC has authorized us to write home to all family, friends and so forth using emails. They have seen the tremendous effect that using technology has had in pushing missionary work forward and want us to have the opportunity to correspond with others throughout the world. If you could please inform others of the fact that they now can write to me using email that would be great. This way, if people have specific concerns, or as more people are preparing for their missions, I'd love to drop them a line or two of encouragement. I am not sure whether this news has been announced to everyone yet, but as to President Howes, this will likely be a worldwide movement to surge the work forward. Please post my email address on the blog and invite some friends to just drop a line or two every once in a while, that would be great! :) I know this can affect many more people worldwide. After all, my last companion, Elder Wan, his mom was baptized when he was on a mission because of his emailing home miracles that have happened! Having the opportunity to email friends directly, I believe I could make a bigger difference in their lives. 

I will attach my letter to President Howes:

I am having a great time getting to know and work with Elder Dade. We had great success yesterday while finding in order to help him get to know the area in an effective way. He is such a great missionary and I really look forward to learning everything I can from him. My core experience this week was definitely Noy's baptism and her confirmation the following day. She has been looking forward to this for quite some time and being able to see the joy and light that radiates from her was inspiring. She really is starting on the pathway back to our Father with vigor and a great energy. Also, seeing Elder Wan have the opportunity to be here for this event was humbling as well. He has been working with her for quite some time now, I think about 6 months, and he was very grateful to have this experience with her before being transferred to another area of the Vineyard. 
One way I am being creative in my finding is just changing my approach. I have found that saying the same things gets the same responses of "not interested, thank you." However, as I change my first words I speak from "hello, how are you today?" which often comes across as if I am trying to sell something to someone to something more sporadic and less common such as compliments, random things that happen, asking someone's opinions or help regarding things, speaking a word or two of their native language etc. I have found that doing these, if not making someone more interested, at least allows me to share a little bit more of who I am and what my purpose is as a missionary rather than those people thinking I am from a charity or a salesman that they see quite often on the streets. I have heard of quite a few people who say that they are not interested, but they believe that what we are doing is a good thing and of benefit. I believe that these people one day with some more preparation may be prepared for the gospel and will be willing to listen. My goal when I hit the streets is not only to find people to teach, but also to uplift everyone's outlook and views upon missionaries and the church. 
Elder Dade has already started helping me to have new ideas and great insights about how I can be a better planner, and become a more effective missionary. I feel very privileged to have such an experienced companion with me this early on in my mission. I can't believe that 6 months ago today, I walked into the MTC. I've never had time fly so fast in my life, and from what others say, it only goes faster from here. I often feel there is just not enough time. However, I have also come to realize that this is part of why using time wisely is so important. If there was nothing to press us to use time wisely, I am not sure we would use time wisely. Often in my life, I have found that I appreciate things more when I do not have them. For example, I remember quite vividly desperately wanting a heater and warmth when starting my car in the middle of winter when it was -3 Fahrenheit. I desperately wanted to get my car up and moving so I could turn on the heater so I would not be frozen by the time I arrived at work. This is the something Elder Dade I believe will be able to help me understand more. Being his last transfer he has stated he treats it like the last 10 minutes of a sports game where you have to give it all you've got. Having this extra bit of fire from him will really help us to surge forward in the work even more than we have been in recent weeks. 

Thank you for all that you do President. Please also tell Sister Howes her meal was delicious and I didn't mean any offense when I prayed the food would not make us sick :) 

So, yesterday was Transfer Day, and Elder Wan was transferred to the next area over. My new companion is Elder Dade. He's from South Africa (Johannesberg) and he is on fire! It's his last transfer for the mission and he has always wanted to serve here in the "promised land" of the city. We dropped off his stuff, got him unpacked and full of food, then smashed the streets for about 45 minutes before doing some planning for the rest of the week. He was so excited to get out and GQ (golden question) on the streets. He's a great companion and eventhough he wont be too much help for Cantonese learning, I think the other areas where he can help me improve will be of great value. He is more than qualified and is a very experienced elder. After all, he only trained the Elder who is now our AP haha :) I am looking forward to this next transfer. Our new zone leader is Elder Elder from Provo Utah. The apt is now White washed. I will miss Elder Wan, but he's not too far away and I know I'll see Him again soon. I have to go now, my time is up. I'll send pics next week.

Love you! 

Elder Shafer

Sydney Week 14

WOW! Where do I start? This week was "full-on!" :) I can start with my letter to President Howes I suppose:

I hope your day is well and that you have been blessed and strengthened to uphold your calling this last week. I am so excited for our zone training this next Tuesday! :) Also, I am very excited for the interview you will be able to have with Noy this next Wednesday at 4pm. She is such an amazing person and I feel so privileged to see the progress she has made in preparing for baptism. With the trials that she has overcome, I know that all things are possible for our investigators. It will be wonderful to see her be baptized and then confirmed this weekend. 
For my experience with God this week was during trade offs with the Zone Leaders. Elder Imeson and I were on trade offs and our entire mindset was to "have the faith to see miracles." We had 5 hours of finding set up and we expected to witness miracles according to our faith and diligence. And we saw them!! For me, the greatest miracle was seen through Candy. She is from Hong Kong. I was crossing the street when I saw her, and started my approach. After talking to her for a second, I noticed her english was quite poor. So I asked where she was from and upon finding she was from Hong Kong, was able to speak to her in Cantonese and help her understand what we do here as missionaries and also that we offer a free English class. When I met her and talked with her, she was not comfortable giving out her phone number, and needed to go to the post office at that time. However, she was interested in learning about the free English class and agreed to meet me in 15 minutes after she had visited the post office and walk with Elder Imeson and I back to the church. To make a long story short, she came, we shared with her what we do as missionaries more in depth and we were able to set a baptismal date for her. It was an incredible miracle for me to witness! I was so grateful not only that I could use my language in finding, but also have the privilege to help someone understand the need for baptism and set that goal for her. It was a great experience for me.
One way that I am being creative in my finding is by asking people how to say a word or two in their native language. I have found that it allows me perfect opportunity to talk with them about How I love to learn new things everyday, and that if they would like to, I would be more than willing to help them learn something new today as well that would bless their life more than anything they have previously learned will. Not only does it allow for me to bring up the gospel, but I have also found it makes people know more that I care about them. When I ask them for something and show appreciation for their help, it helps us to develop a small, but simple friendship instead of them thinking that I am just someone in a suit wanting to sell them something. I want to continue things like this in my finding. Whether it is complimenting, asking for help, or some other way, I want people to realize that I am not here to sell something, I am here to help and be their friend in their journey back to our Father in Heaven.

This week was so good! We were able to see our area gain 8 new investigators, set a baptismal date, set a new record for lessons taught since I've been here and just witness miracle after miracle! :) The biggest news is the fact that Noy Vayakone, from Laos will be getting baptized this Saturday. She is the best! Honestly, she has changed SOOOO much in preparation for her baptism. I don't want to go into detail as to the trials and weaknesses she needed to overcome, but I am so proud of her for the progress she has made and she now will be able to get baptized! We had to reset her date twice before, but now, Elder Wan and I both feel she is ready and she feels ready too! 

Other miracles from this week:

We met with Danny and had a pretty good lesson with him. He feels that in his life, he has nothing to be passionate about. He doesn't have much to feel he has been successful in (no solid career, house, family etc) and just wants to have a simple, life with something he enjoys and very little stress. Of course this is the ideal, but we were able to really just talk with him openly. He's been very interesting. He's been meeting with missionaries off and on since September and nobody has been able to really get him to open up. He understands the doctrine, even attends weekly institute classes more earnestly than any member has yet, but we haven't been able to get him to open up as to why he keeps saying no to baptism and wanting to be active in the church he already attends regularly. I don't think we are at the solution, but we are definitely closer. The last lesson with him I was really able to understand what he was saying and the spirit helped me to discern his feelings and thoughts and I felt very distinctly twice, that the things I had said were from the Spirit. They had an effect, and hopefully with the commitment we gave him, we will be able to help him out more. 

A short excerpt from my journal to finish off the letter:

15/3/13

Today was pretty great. we met with Damien and had a good lesson. I'm not sure exactly how to help him stop focusing on the bad and negative things which happen and be grateful for the good, but I hope today our message helped him out. Also, we met with Cindy for the first time in seveeral weeks. It was really good! Helped her prep for her Ielts test (english test students must pass to gain residency in AU) then shared a mormon message with her followed by dinner. After that we met with Haywind, Jo and Ronny. (3 cantonese friends who wanted to come to English class and we were able to meet with them and share about why we do missionary work etc....) It was so cool how much I was able to understand. Speaking is by far harder and I mess up a lot unfortunately, but I'll keep trying. I wont give up even when I mess up and people laugh at me. I'm stubborn in some things and I'm determined to improve my language eventhough I rarely get to teach in it. 

So yeah, that's about all the time I have for this week :( only have 2 minutes left. I'm sorry I dont have the time and opportunity to send all my thoughts, feelings, and answers to your questions. But know that the work here is really moving forward. We are going to accomplish our goal for 100 new investigators in the city for this month, I just know it! We have 2 weeks to get 25 investigators. This week alone we got 29, so we are going to smash this goal and set a great new standard for the rest of the zone to keep accomplishing in future months. As our teaching pool increases, I know that all other areas will increase as well. Love you all so much, thank you for the love and support you give me!!!!!!!

Elder Shafer