Well, I survived a whole week in Australia's version of
Washington D.C. But due to the fact that we're working with a handful of High
Commissioners and diplomats, I can't necessarily use people's names in my
emails. So nicknames or initials will have to suffice for a few of them.
Well last Monday was beautiful. We were able to have Family
Home Evening with the M family in our ward and get to know them a bit better.
They're so beautiful and I love how inviting Samoans are. It was a really fun
Family Home Evening and I'm looking forward to more to come.
Tuesday was great. We went and saw one of our investigators
named A. She's really keen but due to her husband's political standing and the
culture that they come from, her getting baptized would be super disrespectful
and cause a lot of issues. So we're trying to get the clearance to teach the
husband. Wish us luck! We went and visited a few members as well. There's one
member named Emily that I just adore. I'm pretty sure we were best mates in the
pre-mortal existence. Then we went and saw one of our investigators Merhawi.
He's a preacher in another religion so our conversations are always pretty
interesting. Haha. He always tries to trap us will bible verses but little does
he know, we have footnotes that give us Book of Mormon verses to back us up.
Blessings! :)
Wednesday was a lot of fun. We were on exchanges so I was
actually in a different area with Sister Paongo. We were busy, busy, busy! It
was fantastic. We went finding, taught some less active members, and met up
with a few investigators that are preparing to be baptized. It was a long,
beautiful day. We honestly had maybe fifteen minutes to sit down and eat.
That's a sign of a good day!
Thursday was Zone Conference. So yea, that meeting took up
most of our day. We were getting a bit tired during it so Sister Back thought
that it would be a good idea for us to do the wave to wake up! So we were doing
the wave and then two beautifully awkward and hilarious moments happened. Elder
Cowan, an Elder in my ward, only has one leg. Right? So when it was his turn in
the wave, he threw up his prosthetic! But then he started laughing and fell
over. Hahaha. (I'm only laughing because he thought it was hilarious too) And
then, President Back not being the type to be outdone, jumped on the table when
it was his turn! Oh my goodness, he's half kangaroo! No wonder he's the mission
president here. The training was nice as well. After our meeting, we had a
lesson with our investigator D. And then she accompanied us to the Relief
Society Christmas dinner, which was really nice! It was good to be able to get
to know some of the sisters better and for D to get to meet them outside of
church.
Friday was well, anticlimactic for the most part. This area
is slightly huge, so it needs a lot of organization for me to even think
properly here. So we spent a good 5 hours organizing the area, making maps and
redoing folders. Yayy for weekly planning! But by the end of those 5 hours, our
upcoming week looked spectacular and I could breathe. :) We went and saw some
members and some less active members in the afternoon and then went and sang
Christmas Hymns for some of our potential investigators. :) I love Christmas!
Saturday I discovered something... Are you ready for my
secret? I am actually Samuel the Lamanite. Hahaha. One of our members has a
huge wall of ivy vines in their courtyard, I'd say 15 feet by 25 feet, that
really needed to be trimmed. I was SO keen! So they let me do it! Sister Stott,
a chain saw, a latter to the roof, and two hours before me. What could possibly
go wrong? Hahah. The ivy looks beautiful and no one died, so I'd say it was a
successful service project. And climbing up an ivy wall onto a roof is about as
close to rock climbing as I'm allowed as a missionary, so my heart was pretty
happy. We had a really neat lesson as well with R. She is really stressed with
her husband's political status and things that result of that, and she's far
from her home country, and she doesn't understand why she's depressed. So we
were talking and she grabbed the Book of Mormon out of my hand and said,
"God will tell me the answer in this book if what you're saying is
true." And so Sister Verances and I said a silent prayer, felt an answer,
and gave her a verse! And by golly, she was shining. She received the answer
that she needed, and a spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true.
Probably the sweetest lesson I've had in a long time.
Sunday was great! Have I mentioned before that I love Fast
Sunday? Well, I do. Church was great, and I really felt like I'm supposed to be
in this ward. After church we went and saw some members and some investigators.
Nothing overly exciting for the most part. Then we went and sang at a Samoan
multi-religious Christmas celebration. That was a lot of fun! Then we felt like
we needed to leave before it ended, so we did. We went and followed up on
a potential and then did some tracting around his house. And that's where we
met Jean! She's so beautiful! We just started talking and told her our purpose
as missionaries, and she was so excited that she made two return appointments,
told us to visit three other people, and gave us her number and took ours so
there was no chance of us not keeping in touch. It was crazy! It was beautiful!
It was the Spirit!
Well, that was my week. It's been interesting adjusting to
Canberra and Woden, but I think this is what the Lord wants and this is where
I'm supposed to be. Enjoy your Christmas festivities! Remember that without
"Christ" Christmas is basically a "mess."
Until next week,
Sister Danielle Laree Stott
Picture: We refer to ourselves as the "Woden
Warriors."
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