This week has been another amazing week!
Lately we have been going bike riding for exercise in the morning... it's awesome! It's so good having a companion who used to race motorcross and downhill mountain bike racing. We have found some really challenging but hard mountain bike trails near our flat so we are always getting up easily and going for big rides.. It’s great! Today were going on a hike up the hill called 'the Rock'.
Life is good with Elder Lambe. We have become the best of friends.
We have been doing a lot of study lately on the Pearl of Great Price and have been picking apart the Abraham covenant. It's so awesome and interesting! I think I’m finally starting to get my head around it...
This week we have been focusing on trying to find a family that can add to the ward. We have been tracting the really rich houses with minimal results, but I know the Lord will place this family in our path.
Our investigator Marjorie is progressing really well. We actually decided to move her baptism to Friday night instead of Saturday, so that should be going ahead this Friday. We are all excited for her. Elder Lambe will be doing the baptism. I’m proud very of her.
At church yesterday our investigator Kara is already past Alma in the Book of Mormon, in 3 weeks! She is super strong!
We have transfers coming up next weekend which Elder Lambe and I am a little nervous about. We have great things happening here and it would be a shame to leave, but I know the Lord knows best. (So just a heads up if you don’t have an email next Monday it probs has something to do with transfers.)
This past week we were asked to go and give this lady who was dying of cancer in hospital, a blessing. She is only expected to live a few more weeks. It was a very spiritual experience as the spirit was so strong. We only gave her a comfort blessing but she felt the spirit. It was a great opportunity to think about the loving mercy and justice within the plan that Heavenly Father has prepared for us. She is definitely on the right track to finding the gospel now.
Other cool news, Tiarny went down to Melbourne this past weekend to go do baptisms for the dead. She absolutely loved it! It makes us happy as missionaries to see our recent converts embrace the gospel...
Also I had my first double tea appointment this past week. We went to an appointment to go teach this South African YSA called Garlic who we met on the street. After meeting the family we were invited to stay for dinner. So of course we didn’t miss the great teaching opportunity. The spirit was strong. After that, we went to our set dinner appointment. Let’s just say, I think I broke the Word of Wisdom that night... eating way too much.
Each month the mission comes out with a newsletter of the news of the mission and of all the baptisms including a photo of each baptism. Elder lambe and I were quite looking forward to seeing three of our photos in this months newsletter. I've never seen anyone have three photos, so we were excited. It turns out they forgot to add any of our baptisms.. I thought about it a bit, and I'm actually glad they did. We read in the scriptiures in Matthew 6 that once everyone knows about the good work you have done or are doing we have already recieved our reward. It's not important to be recognised or anything. The only thing that's important is that they have come unto Christ.
Life is good up here in Wagga.
I’m grateful to be a part of this important work of gathering the house of Israel.
Elder T. Bennallack
12 June 2012
18 June 2012
25 June 2012
12 June 2012
First things first, transfer news came through Saturday night and Elder Lambe and I are both staying together in Wagga for another 6 weeks! Sooo stoked! It's actually fairly rare for a companionship to be together for 3 transfers, but I'm so excited for it. We have great things happening.
Being the start of a new transfer too it also gives us a time to reflect and review our past 6 weeks. We really want to raise the bar this transfer and baptise families. We're off to a good start as we were just able to set a date with a Burmese family last night for the 30th of June. It was a couple that we had found tracting a few months ago, but I guess you could say, they fell through the cracks. We are teaching 6 Burmese families but because of a lack of English and there being no translation of the Book of Mormon in their language, we have felt like we had hit a brick wall with all of them. Anyway, this couple by far have the best english and we were able to give them a pamphlet about Jospeh Smith in Burmese. I felt impressed that we had to go back and see them. We went back last night and had one of he most spiritual lessons I have ever taught on my mission. They both have such great faith and although they were baptised by immersion 15 years ago, they agreed to baptism as they said, "I know this is true". (referring to the Joseph Smith pamphlet) Miracle!
I guess everything this past week led up to Marjorie's Baptism which was such a spiritual experience. So Dad asked how did we find Marjorie? We actually found her by going through our area book and visiting her. She was a former investigator. Missionaries 8 months ago found her but she never progressed. We were able to go over and see her and after showing her some friendship, she started keeping her commitments by first coming to Ben Carters baptism. The rest is history.
We ended up having the baptism on Saturday at 3pm and her daughter's family came down from Canberra for it.
Although we tried really hard to gt a member to baptise her, Elder Lambe performed it. Her fellowship was female, so she was closest to us as missionaries. She is doing great.
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| Baptism of Marjorie Luthy by Elder Lambe |
On Sunday she was confirmed by the Branch President. Sunday was a great day. Ben Carter was also ordained a priest as he recieved the Priesthood. He has changed so much and is now thinking a little about a mission :P In fact, all of our recent converts are doing so well! It makes me so happy. The promise in Jacob 5 about us alongside with the Lord, receiving joy as we see the fruits of our labors, is so true!
As you heard last week we went on that hike up 'the Rock' and we actually did it again yesterday with all the YSA's for an activity. Such a great view.
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| We always read about these spiritual experiences happening on the mountian top :P haha! |
In District news: We travelled up to Griffith for a District Meeting last Tuesday. Our District is so unified! No changes in the district with transfers, so Elder Howard will be dying (finishing his mission) at the end of this transfer.
Lately we have been eating alot of fruit. I love it! On the way back from Griffith we stopped on the side of the road and picked up 10kg of oranges for 6 dollars.. fresh oranges.. sooo good! Today we are going to buy another 20kg for 10 dollars.. hahah
Elder T Bennallack.
Here are some pictures from the zoo we visited:
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| An Emu |
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| Wallaby |
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| Peacock |
So it's truely winter now in Wagga... I forgot how cold Australia gets. It's not too much fun in the mornings though, because we dont have a heater but it's whatever...
This past week in Wagga to be honest with you, was quite slow... So many appointments fell through making the days seem very long. It's ok, opposition in all things right? It has definitely made me focus on the Christlike attribute of long-suffering. Our main goal this transfer is to baptise a family. We have been fasting and praying quite hard for this to happen. This past week we have been able to find a few quality candidates that fit the description, so we will see how things go this coming week.
There are no baptisms coming up at the moment except the Burmese family who's date will have to be pushed back... but it's still early in the transfer. It's quite difficult teaching this Burmese family with no resources that they can read, but we have been praying for the gift of tongues. The gifts of the spirit are awesome gifts to work towards. I'm quite determined to not give up on these people though. We were reading up on Burma through the church articles this past week. At the moment there is only 100 members in Burma, there is a population of 80 million living there. It would be great to help the gospel progress in Burma. As of late, the military run government has softened up a bit and I think missionaries will be allowed in there soon. It's a part of the Thailand mission at the moment. It's just cool to think of how the church is growing at the moment. I love reading about stuff like that.
Miracle for the week was while we were tracting. There was two mothers out the front of their house having a smoke so we went and spoke to them. It's so funny watching the faces of those you approach as they realise your coming to talk to them.. They weren't to happy to see us, but it's amazing watching the spirit work. After seeking Heaven Inspired Questions and through revelation we were able to teach them about the plan of salvation. They then started to open up about recent deaths and tragic events in the family. It was a choice experience to see as in Alma 5... to see their change of heart. I'm looking forward to teaching them again this coming week.
Elder T. Bennallack
We drove up to Griffith again last Tuesday for District meeting and on the way back, Elder lambe saw his first koala in the wild.. so he was fair stoked. We took some good pictures. He's quite lucky because they are quite rare to spot!
We're actually up in Griffith at the moment. We drove up here with the zone leaders this morning for a District P-day. It's my first one in 3 months so I'm excited. Were off to play a round of golf which is going to be so much fun! I picked up some leftie clubs and heaps of balls during the week in preparation for today. $2- yup thats right...
Elder lambe and I have been trying to be really thrifty lately with our money... it's hilarious. I love it though! We are actually budgeting sooo well! It's so rewarding. If you just pretend you don't have the money then you don't spend it :P
When it comes to the work, it has been a really good week. We have found some great investigators.
One is a man's name is Scott. We went and taught him on Saturday and he had the same views on the plan of salvation even before we taught it. He loved it!! He was telling us that he thinks we came from God and we will return to him after this life which is a test... !!!! He's awesome!
Ben Carter our recent convert came out with us all day on Friday. He's 19 years old, therefore mission age. Ever since he was baptised, everyone has been asking him when he is going on his mission. I think this annoyed him a fair bit as it would me! He was very anti going on a mission.
Anyways, miracle for the week. Ben spent all day with us from 10am till 9pm.. Long story short, after seeing many miracles and teaching spiritual lessons he was over the moon! He is really excited to serve a mission now! He talked to the branch president about it yesterday. He is solid.
Speaking of solid Tiarny was down at the temple again this weekend... she did three baptism sessions.. Shes loving the gospel... it's sooo good!
Elder T Bennallack
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