0 Regrets -- Catch ya later mate!

I cannot believe that this is real. I've joked and dreaded and at times dreamed about this day over the last 18 months and now that it's here... I don't know which emotion to choose. It's strange. I feel so many of these emotions but if I take a second and breathe I feel at peace. I reflect on these past 18 months and I can honestly say I gave 100% to the Lord. I tried my very hardest to do His will every second of every day. At times I failed, but that meant that I hit my knees and the next day I was working twice as hard to make up for it.  I've tried, and that's all I could do. And I'll keep pushing and keep trying until the fight is truly over. I still have a few days left!

I just want you to know how much I love this Gospel. It has truly changed my life. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, that knows each of us individually and loves every piece of us.  I am so eternally grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the best big brother (and that's saying something because my big brothers are incredible) that leads us and guides us and helps us just as brothers do. I'm so grateful that the Priesthood is restored on the Earth! I challenge anyone to read any page of the Book of Mormon and tell me that Joseph Smith translated that without the power of God. Impossible! The Book of Mormon is evidence that God's power and authority is on the Earth to day, and how grateful I am for that! I am so grateful that God gave me these last 18 months, and I truly hope to live the rest of my life in a way that I can repay him.

THE CHURCH IS TRUE! I promise you that.

See you in a few days,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Oh yes, please only use dani.stott@gmail.com now. :)

My pictures are taking forever to load, so I guess I'll just have to pull it up on my own laptop and show everyone in a few days. 

One thing on my mind....

There is one thing on my mind.... And that of course is how amazing the work is! Honestly, I just can't even put into words how I feel about being a missionary. It is the best thing in the entire world!

        This week was quite an interesting one. We decided to not use our car two days, which created a lot of moments where we were in a dead sprint running to the train and praying that we'd make it (since trains around here only come once an hour) but you know what, we made every train and every bus! It was nothing short of a miracle to say the least.   

        I had my first and hopefully final full on run in with a Jehovah's Witness. We were just walking through town doing some street contacting and this lady just called us out and started trying to throw all these Bible verses at us to disprove our doctrine. So we just bore our testimonies and she kept going at us and wouldn't let us walk away. So finally, I just mentioned a Bible verse back to her testifying of what we had been testifying of and she was quiet... She didn't know we use the Bible. hahaha. You know, I don't mind if people don't believe what we believe. Some of the dearest friendships I've made on my mission are with people of different faiths - Muslim, 7th Day Aventist, Catholic, you name it! It's just sad when people start making harsh judgments and talk about things they really don't have any knowledge about. After she paused for a minute, she told us we could leave. So we gave her a hug and headed on our way. Definitely an experience for the books! 

      M is doing well. He's keeping all of his commitments and has changed so much! I am so proud of him and every day when we talk to him, I can literally hear him changing! It is the best. We just want to make sure he's 110% ready for baptism though, so we might push back the date if we feel prompted. Keep praying for him though. He's so great! 

       Well, it's August in Australia now. I changed my calendar from July to August this morning I can't even describe how weird it felt. How can I be so depressed, anxious, excited, relieved, and confused at the same time? Going on a mission is the best decision I have ever made. I can't believe how much love my Heavenly Father has for me for allowing me these last 18 months. The end is near, but it's not here yet! I still have a week to work hard and pray harder! I'm not giving up the good fight until I'm in the airport terminal hugging my mum and dad. So let us not be weary in well doing! There is so much to do! The time is far spent, but there is still some remaining! So I've got to use it the best I can.

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

The picture is not the cutest, but this is what it looks like when you dead sprint for the train multiple times in a day. haha

Two by Two!

In honor of the inspired pattern of us preaching the word two by two, I thought my email should be two by two as well. So here are the twos:

TWO terrifying experiences: 1. There were two huntsman spiders IN THE CAR. I screamed and cried and threw stuff at them until they got out. Sister Tim just laughed at me. 2. Our investigator got into some anti material on the internet and just yelled and bashed us and verbally attacked the young woman we had teaching with us. Oh my heavens! The Mama Bear in me almost came out. But we held our peace... Mostly. We ended up just walking out of her house because there was no use in talking to her. So yea, that was terrifying but all is well. Heavenly Father is the best and the church is still true. :) 

TWO Hilarious finding experiences. 1. We were talking to this man and he was really nice to us. Then we told him our purpose as missionaries and he was rude and said. "No!" Right as he said, "no," a bird pooped right on him. I was a little unprofessional for a second because I could not stop laughing. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen! 2. We were walking past this little Asian shop and I saw GOBSTOPPERS! Oh my goodness, I hadn't seen those in ages. So I ran in and bought two boxes, then we went back to street contacting. So I'm just walking along eating my candy (because you know me, always eating) and I offered some to everyone we passed, and got some crazy looks. BUT one girl said, "Oh thanks, we have these in America!" And I freaked out because she was American! And we talked for 20 minutes and she invited us to come back next week. :)

TWO M miracles: 1. We were following up on a potential and knocked on the wrong door, but that's how we met M! He was super depressed but said we could come back. So we went back a few days later and he answered the door and said, "Hey Sisters, I'll meet you out back." And I was confused because how did he know he had to meet us outside since he's a single male? Then we walk out back and he had a Book of Mormon in his hand! What is going on?! Then he explained that he met Sister Missionaries in the 90's up in the Highlands and he wasn't ready to be baptized then. BUT he really wants to give up his substance abuse and accepted the goal of being baptized on the 7th of August. PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM! 2. M came to church all by himself on Sunday and really enjoyed it. He's a miracle I tell you! Just pray for him please. :) I need to see him in white! 

Wollongong is the absolute best! Sister Tim is a saint! Life is good and I'm as happy as a clam. :)

All my love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

TWO Pictures: We went on a hike this last week. So here's a picture of our district (I'm slightly obsessed with these people) then a picture of my beautiful, wonderful Sister Tim! 

Three Songs to Explain the Week

Hello from my beloved Gong! 

This week was crazy! I just can't even explain it! So I thought I'd sing/type a few songs that went along with the week.

Song 1: Woa Shur Shen Di Hai Zi.

Don't understand? That's okay. It means, "I am a Child of God!" Half of Wollongong is the university, which is primarily Chinese. Our friend Peter got baptized on Saturday so for his baptism we all sang Woa Shur Shen Di Hai Zi! It was really nice. I had no idea what I was singing but the Spirit was so strong, so in a way I did know. We've been able to visit so many beautiful people this week and I just want them to know that they are a child of God! Everyone needs to know that. So we have heaps of work to do.

Song 2: I don't know the title, but it's an Aussie Song.

"Give me a home, out by the gum trees.

With lots of plum trees! A sheep or two, a kangaroo!

A clothesline out the back, veranda out the front,

and an old rocking chair!"

I just threw this in there because we've had a few true Australian moments this past week. We had a bush dance that a few people we're working with came to and it was so much fun! It's been so fun being down here with everyone. It's especially been a great week to see Terry! So Sister Moon and I tracted into Terry about a year ago and just yesterday he received his patriarchal blessing! That moment right there just grew my love for Australia about twenties times larger. It's so good to see the people I love coming closer to God! 

Song 3: I Feel My Savior's Love.

Honestly this week I just feel my Savior's love so strongly. Everything around me just makes me so grateful. I'm in a place I love, teaching people I love, with an awesome companion that I love! Aah, I just love it! Being a missionary is the best experience in the entire world. I love it so much. I am just happy as a clam. We had interviews with President and Sister Back on Saturday and they asked me to rate my mission on a scale of 1-10 and I gave them a 20 because Heavenly Father is the best! I've been so blessed. 

I'm trying to limit too many stories because if I email them all or remind you of my past ones, I won't have much to say in my homecoming talk on the 21st of August. So don't think I'm being somewhat vague on purpose, know that I'm being somewhat vague on purpose. hahaha. Also, any mail sent after tomorrow I fear will get here after I leave. So if you have something written, please mail it, and if you don't have anything written, just tell me about it when I see you next. :) 

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

4 Reasons Why I Know Heavenly Father Loves Me

This week was so good. I just can't even express to you how my heart feels. Let me tell you 4 simple reasons why I can't stop smiling and my heart is fluttering! 

1. I was able to spend three glorious and hilarious months in beautiful Bathurst. I learned so much from the people there and I was able to develop such a different attitude and desire to love and to serve. I'm so grateful for the people there that helped me to do that.

2. I was able to see my sweet Sister Swan! I had to go to Sydney for a conference and she rocked up to the office right when I was about to leave. It was so good to see her and to hug her. She is doing miracles over in Sydney! She is so strong and such a good example to me. I think she's the companion that has taught me about ministering to the one when I was with her and I'm so grateful for that because the Lord's work runs on love, not on numbers.

3. Transfer calls were on Saturday and I was so sad when I heard I was leaving Bathurst. But then President Back called me on Sunday and told me he was sending me to a place called... WOLLONGONG! I screamed, cried, leaped, skipped, twirled, and hyperventilated a bit. I get to spend the last month of my mission in my beloved Wollongong. I can't even express how good it felt to hug Katrina and have her say, "Welcome Home." It feels so good to be back. I haven't stopped smiling since! AND I have the cutest companion. Her name is Sister Tim, she makes me look like a giant! She is from Cambodia and I'm so excited to learn from her. 

4. I got a special email! 10 March, 2015 I met my first investigator, Aaron! And then on the 17 May, 2015 Aaron was baptized! And he's been so good at keeping in touch with me and updating me on his life but I haven't heard from him for a bit. And he emailed me today and bore his testimony to me via email, and my heart is at so much peace. It's so good to hear the testimony of someone you've taught. Just that email made the last 17 months more than worth it. 

So yea, life is good, I'm on cloud 9, and I can't wait to finish what I started down here in the Gong June - August 2015. Heavenly Father is the BEST!

Love, 

Sister Stott

It's All About Chapter Five.

This week just flew by. I don't know why the days and the weeks are flying. I feel like there isn't enough daylight to do all the things I need and want to do! This week the Lord blessed us so much. We've been reaching a lot here but not a lot of the people have been progressing. So we decided to lessen our visits to a few of them and put more time into finding. So that's what we did! And the Lord blessed us with FOUR families and a young man that invited us back! We've already taught one of the families and the young man, and we have the other families scheduled for this week. Heavenly Father is the best. I'm so excited to teach them! Please pray for them that their hearts may be softened and that they will be ready to accept the Gospel. 

I think another highlight of the week was we rocked up to see a part member family in the middle of a fight. The teenage daughter had just kicked her little brother and the mum was on the couch just crying. So we knocked on the door, sat them all down, and showed them how to have a family council. The Spirit was so strong by time we left. And when we saw them the next day, it was like they were a completely different family. 

We had our zone training and our zone p-day this week. That was a lot of fun. Elder Brown, Elder Meyer, President Moeller, and Sister Mussin all gave amazing trainings. I gave a training too and I only cried for like a third of it so I was impressed with that. Coming on my mission made me a cry baby, I'm sad to say. So watch out when you see me next, the waterworks flow open and free lately. And then we went bowling which was good comical relief because... Well... Have you seen me bowl? My high score was 53 and I felt pretty on point. ;) Haha.

I also had exchanges this week with Sister Mafi from Tonga! She is just the sweetest. She is so humble and I learned so much from her! She has only been on her mission for about a month but dang, she is a power house. It was great to be able to feel green again and to work hard with her by my side for the day. We also reminisced over how much we miss Tongan food. Haha. Faka Holo....

The title of my email is all about chapter 5. I just wanted you to ponder about how important the 5th chapters in the books in the Book of Mormon are. in 1 Nephi 5, Lehi teaches us to handle criticism and complaints with love and comfort. In 2 Nephi 5, Nephi teaches us that making sacrifices for a temple and following the covenants we make there help us to "live after a manner of happiness." The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob 5 teaches us to never give up and to always be diligent in serving the Lord. Mosiah 5 reaches us what it means to repent and have a mighty change of heart. Alma 5 teaches us that we have so much room for improvement, but that the Lord is always there to help us. In Helaman 5, Nephi and Lehi are protected because the foundation of their lives and their faith is in Jesus Christ. In 3 Nephi, Mormon boldly declares who he is and shows us how easy it is to say, "BEHOLD! I am a disciple of Christ!" and then act accordingly. In Mormon we are reassured that the Lord always goes after His lost sheep in His due time, because He knows when they are ready. Either 5 tells about the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon and Moroni 5 is the sacrament prayer. Chapter 5 is important. Read your scriptures. Every day. And don't give up because you've been stuck on chapter 4 for the last year, move forward and read Chapter 5.

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Instead of a picture, I thought you might like this video. :) 

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Six things that only happen in Bathurst

This week was completely crazy. Not slightly crazy, completely. It was awesome! I absolutely loved ever second of it. I thought the best way of filling you in would be sending 6 things that haven't happened the previous 16 months of my mission, but only in Bathurst.

1. On Wednesday we traveled out to a place called "Trunkey Creek" that is about the size of Koosharem, UT. It's so cute. We met a lady in a petrol station closer to home and she said to come visit her so we did! How did we find which house was hers? Well, the Pub and the Police Station are both in houses right next door to each other, so we just knocked there and asked. There's only one islander in the whole village, so she was easy to find. We had a nice visit with her and we'll see how interested she is.

2. I was trapped by a dog. This MAMMOTH dog was chasing our car and when we got to our investigator's house it just waited for us outside, barking and biting our tires. Sister Nansen and I were both freaking out. Then I remembered one time when Sister Davis and I were tracting and she told me how this one Sister was attacked by a dog and the owners ended up getting baptized. So I thought, "Okay, why not?" and said a prayer and jumped out of the car! I didn't get eaten by the dog, but we did make it to the lesson. So that was nice.

3. We had two sets of exchanges this week. For the first one Sister Tau from Tahiti and Sister Mafi from Tonga came down. That was heaps of fun. It was Sister Tau's last exchange so I made Tahitian food. It was fun to watch her get so excited. For the second one Sister Creel from California and Sister Panana from Samoa came up. That was hilarious. Neither of them had left Sydney before so President Back sent them up here for a day since Sister Creel is going home soon. We took them Kangaroo spotting which was really fun. It's going to be weird not seeing Roos every day. I didn't even think about that until I saw them freak out seeing them for the first time. It's been a common daily part of a huge chunk of my mission.

4. IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh happy day! I started to cry when I saw beautiful white falling from the sky. Sister Nansen and Sister Panana had never seen snow before so I drove up into the mountain where some was sticking on the ground. It was so fun to see them experience snow for the first time. It was freezing though, Australia thinned my blood for sure. 

5. We had an experience about following little promptings yesterday. When I was getting ready I felt like I should wear both my badges, one on my sweater and one on my scarf. So I did and when we got to church, Sister Boogaard had forgotten her badge! So she borrowed mine. :) But she forgot to give it back, so she dropped it off to us that night before we headed to an appointment and as soon as we pulled away but before the Boogaards did, a man walked up to their car! And he asked  them to please call the ambulance because he was sick, dizzy, and confused. So they did! It was neat to see how all these little things added up to them being able to help someone in need. 

6. We read the Book of Mormon with an investigator family last night and as we read Alma 5, the dad began to cry as he expressed how grateful he was that God brought us into each other lives. His heart was so hardened when I came here, but the Gospel can change anyone. It was a neat experience.

All my love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Pictures: Our two sets of exchanges, and Sister Panana and Sister Nansen's first snow! :D 

Seven is actually my favorite number!

Oh what a week! I swear I just typed a letter yesterday. What should the theme of this week's email be? Well, I'd have to say this week we just decided to go out and "get 'er done!" I've sure missed that saying. Haha. But really, we just went as hard as we could to teach and serve every chance we got. We threw our fear and our hesitations on the altar of sacrifice and just opened our mouths and grabbed a broom when needed! We did service every day this week ranging from vacuuming for a member that just had a hip replacement to teaching English. It was a lot of fun. I love giving service! I think that's one thing I loved that I was taught growing up, that serving others brings happiness! I just wish I would've listened a bit more. But honest and truly, if you're sad, depressed, or discouraged, start serving! It makes a huge difference. You can't heal your soul if you're looking inward, the healing of the soul comes in serving others. Isn't that just the best thing you've ever heard? Don't worry though, amongst the service we had plenty of time to teach and preach! This week I had the opportunity to bear my testimony countless times on the Plan of Salvation. I love the Plan of Salvation so much! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that gave us a beautiful plan to learn and grow. I'm so grateful that we no longer have to question where we came from, why we are here on Earth, and what happens to those we love after they pass away. It was great seeing a light appear in people's eyes once we started explaining it to them. I love seeing the Gospel change people's views! I just love this church so much. I think the motto of my mission has been Alma 26:16: " Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." So I think that about sums it up. I can't begin to tell you the difference being a missionary is making in my life! I can't even begin to tell you how much Heavenly Father loves each of us. It's all just so good! :) No updates on any particular investigators. They're all coming along, or they're going their separate ways. Just pray for their hearts to be softened and for us to find those that are prepared. :) All my love, Sister Danielle Laree Stott I attached a picture of the Boogaards and of our friend Terry! :)  P.S. My dad is curious if anyone else is understanding what my email titles mean.

Eight is great!

I love Heavenly Father! This week was just tender mercy after tender mercy! He is so good to me! 

The tender mercies started on Tuesday. We had  to drive to Sydney by 9pm so we planned to leave around 5:30 or 6pm. But we went to visit a less active sister in the morning and she was adamant that we left earlier because of the danger of going through the mountain pass in the frost and dark. So we cancelled our appointments and got on the road about 3pm instead. Which meant we got into Sydney just after 6pm and needed to work for 3 hours! Well, remember Fairfield? When I was transferred back in November, I had 2 hours to pack and leave so I didn't get to say goodbye to the families I was close to. So we decided to take advantage of the 3 hours we had! We went and saw the Amones, the Mafoas, and Mama Fina! It was so good to be back in their homes and to teach them again. It was definitely something that my heart needed before I left Australia, and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father made it happen. 

Wednesday was another day of tender mercies! Have you heard of Elder S. Gifford Nielsen? He's a General Authority and apparently a pretty big deal in the world of Grid Iron Football. Well he and his wife came and held a conference with us, it was so nice! And then after the all day conference, the leadership in the mission were able to have dinner with them and President and Sister Back. So I got to spend 12 hours straight with a General Authority. That was pretty cool. He is definitely a man of God! Every word he spoke was profound, as well as his wife! I definitely received answers to my prayers that day. Also, I was able to see Elder and Sister Clark from Canberra! Which was a huge tender mercy since I was afraid I wouldn't see them again until their homecoming talk in Arizona.

Thursday we drove back to Bathurst from Sydney and spent all of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday running like mad trying to make up for the time we missed while in Sydney. We ran like crazy! It was good, I love working like crazy. Yesterday, Monday, was the Queen's birthday. She didn't invite us over for tea though which I thought was quite rude. But it was a good day nonetheless. :) I'm grateful for Sister Nansen, after a 6 hour roadtrip in a car together and trying to make up a few missed days, you definitely learn to love or hate your companion. Good thing mine is pretty rad and I love her to bits. :)

In the words of good old Sister Teahe, "The church is true. Heavenly Father is the best!"  

Heaps of Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Mama Fina, The Amones, The Mafoas, The Clarks. :)

Nine :P

Hello!

Oh what a beautiful Bathurst week! I think I love this town a bit too much. Nah, too much love isn't possible. This week we went and tried to see everyone I've ever taught here so Sister Nansen could get to know them. It was a lot of fun and we were able to really see a lot of people and share a lot of messages at the right time. It's always a beautiful moment when you rock up to someone's house and they say, "Oh Sisters, I was just thinking of you." Or when after the message they say, "I actually really needed that." It's so good to see that the Lord is with us in this work! This is his work after all. 

I think the highlight service/lesson of the week was we went and helped a less active member and his fiance move into their new house. It was heaps of fun! I realized that all of those times I helped my dad and brothers move people really paid off. I've been taught well! I am so grateful to be able to do service and to build relationships that way. It took all morning but it was a really fun time and they definitely like us a lot more when we're helping than when we're just trying to preach. ;)
This morning was really cool! I finished the Book of Mormon the 6th time today! 3rd time on my mission. :) Oh how I love  the Book of Mormon! I don't know how anyone could doubt that book. The promise at the beginning is so true. Joseph Smith said,  “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” What a true promise! I have grown closer to my Heavenly Father and his Son, the Savior of the world, by studying the Book of Mormon and trying to live by it's precepts the best I can. Why would people not do the same? It will only bring us joy and happiness. So that's my invitation, if any of you who may come across this email have not read, pondered, and prayed about the Book of Mormon recently, please do so by 12 August. :) 

All my love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Picture: Number 6! :D 

Talofa!

This week was so good. I can't decide what is best, giving a play by play throughout the week of just giving highlights. I am kind of liking the highlights thing better. Let me know if I need to change back to my old ways. 

Monday and Tuesday we taught heaps! In just those two days we taught nine lessons and did a few hours of service, and if you're not familiar with how slow missionary work is in Australia, especially in the bush, that means we were running like mad. It was fabulous!

Wednesday I hit my 15 month mark. How weird is that? We had the opportunity to take the Boogaards around with us to visit a few people. It was so great having them with us! I love them so much. I think everyone should have some Boogaards in their life! I need to figure out a way to have more than just a few months with them! 

Thursday was so good. We did heaps of service. Serving others brings happiness! We also taught a man named Alan who has a really old Bible that we looked up and it's worth a few thousand dollars. He's pretty cool, and is already in Moroni 7 of the Book of Mormon. That man loves his Heavenly Father! 

Friday we had our combined District Training Meeting and afterwards took the rest of our P-day we skipped on Monday. The whole Zone, including the Boogaards and the Moellers, went on a gorgeous hike to Federal Falls. It was heaps of fun, a bit chilly though. It's winter now so some mornings when I wake up it's -3 degrees Celsius.... Who said Australia was warm? 

Saturday and Sunday were nice. We got our transfer details, I'm in Bathurst still but Sister Kurita is now in Sydney! So we spent the time deep cleaning the flat and saying goodbye to our investigators and members. Also, you are now emailing the Youth Advisor and Sharing Time Teacher for Bathurst.... Perks of being in a branch: You're never bored on Sundays. Haha. 

Yesterday, Monday, was SO LONG. I left at 8am, drove to Sydney, drove to the other side of Sydney, picked up my companion some luggage in another part of Sydney, then drove back to Bathurst. I left at 8am and got back at 5:30pm, all the while driving the car. Luckily when I took Sister Nansen to meet the Boogaards after our appointments, they recognized my exhaustion and lack of food all day, and they made me potatoes and eggs. It's the little things, you know? 

My new companion like I just mentioned is Sister Nansen! She is from Samoa and is just a crack up. I've only been with her for 22 hours and I love her. It'll be a fun few months together! It's so good to be back around a little bit of my beloved Samoan culture. :)

This week I gained a huge testimony on... Testimony. We had a big

testimony meeting during our meeting on Friday where all of the Elders, my companion, and I were able to share our testimonies. It was a really neat experience and I know that we gain our testimonies in the sharing of them. I love bearing my testimony and I pray that I have opportunities to do so every day for the rest of my life. A main focus of my testimony my whole life has been the Priesthood. I'm so grateful for the Restoration of the Priesthood Authority! How blessed are we to have so many worthy men that are able to bear the authority of God in the world today! People are able to receive blessings of healing and guidance. I have been so blessed to have been able to receive so many blessings over the last few years. I know that the challenges that life has thrown my way have been too much for me, but with Priesthood blessings Heavenly Father has given me the strength, encouragement, and guidance to heal and move on. How great is our God? I'm so grateful for the worthy Priesthood holders in my life who have been willing and able to bear the Priesthood and be the Lord's hands in my times of need. 

All my love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

 Sister Danielle Laree Stott

2/129 Keppel St

Bathurst, NSW 2795

Pictures: The Original Orange Zone's Last Hike

My Sweet Little Nansen. :) 

Short Emails For Once!

Hello! 

Well this week wasn't as inspirational, which is okay since revelation is sometimes painful. Haha. But it was a good week. We really focused on doing a lot of service this week which I rather enjoyed. Teaching the Gospel through your actions is so much better than teaching it through words. People here seem to forget what you say, but they don't forget what you do for them.

The main highlight of the week is we now have a Senior Missionary Couple in Bathurst! They are named the Boogaards and I seriously love them too much already! They are so humble, hard working, and sweet! They are going to be such a blessing to the branch. We spent some time with them helping them try to figure out Australia but they'll be showing us what to do in a week or so I bet! They're so good, I wish you could meet them.

Another highlight... well kinda... of the week was they hard a ping pong tournament here for the all the branches. I got destroyed because my hand eye coordination is awful, but it was still heaps of fun. 

Oh oh, another highlight! My mom rocks and sent me the General Conference Ensign so I've been studying that all week. The church is so true! I love studying General Conference! I think that it makes a huge difference to start off the day by studying the words of those closest to Christ. 

Sorry for the super short email. Our p-day is really short today because we are going on a hike as a zone on Friday. But after my novel last week maybe a short email is preferable. :) Transfers are on Saturday so I'll either stay or go to my final area. I guess we'll find out! 

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Pictures: 

A member let me pet their horse. :) 

I hope you can tell how bad I am at table tennis by this picture...

Look, Little Currant Bush!

Hello!

Well, this week definitely offered me some time for reflection. To start of my letter I'd like to quote a talk by Elder Hugh B. Brown:

"I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet (two meters) high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants... So I got some pruning shears and clipped it back until there was nothing left but stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear... and I thought I heard that currant bush say this: "How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

... I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’”

Years passed and Elder Brown was denied a promotion in the military he was most certainly qualified for because he was a Mormon. He said, "I was so bitter that I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?” I was as bitter as gall.

And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.” I arose from my knees a humble man. And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to Him and say, “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.”

Alright, now how does that apply to my week? Well, first let's look at the last 15 months of my mission. I've been working hard to grow to be a tall currant bush in a sense. I've had hard callings, hard areas, and many times, companions who have needed extra love and support. I've been growing and stretching and hardening up, and I was doing a good job at it! But this week I was humbled by the Lord loving me enough to hurt me and cutting me down.

Being hard working and the missionary that's called in to take care of hard situations has been great, and I've been loving it and growing, but probably not in the direction Heavenly Father needed me to....

Now if you want to freak out your Mission President, your mum and dad, your companion, and yourself, just have an anxiety attack that has been building up for 15 months. Haha. It's fabulous.  You cry a lot, you make people worry when you call them, and you pray a lot. It's not a pretty site! But amongst it all, you get something figured out. Once I got calmed down for a few days we went to Orange for a conference. President Moeller, who was a Member of the 70 and is now a counsellor in the Mission Presidency, gave me a blessing. It honestly felt like I was getting a second patriarchal blessing. And all my anxiety left. Since then I've probably had the most fun on my mission. And I figured something out....

Back to the currant bush, maybe Heavenly Father doesn't need me to be the tough sister that pushes herself and everyone around her. Maybe He needs me to be sweet and loving. He definitely put me in the position to be humbled and vulnerable this week, so I feel like I need to switch gears out here. I've already learned that I can do hard things. I learned that years ago and I've proved it on my mission plenty of times. But maybe I need to learn how to be vulnerable, and humble enough to be vulnerable. Maybe I just need to learn to love more. Most of all I think I need to let God help me out more and stop thinking I can fix everything. I don't know, just my thoughts.

So my week was actually really good, anxiety and all included. It definitely gave me a different outlook and helped me teach everyone with a bit more charity in my heart. We conducted exchanges a few hours after everything went down and it was definitely neat to have had such a learning experience before I was asked to teach. I definitely feel better than I have in a long time. I think I've felt better the last 3 days than I have since I came to Australia. So I'm grateful that my mind finally had a freak out, it gave me time to actually breathe and refocus. All is well in Bathurst. I feel better than ever, and I'm ready to change. Isn't the atonement awesome?

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Picture: My fabulously ridiculous district. 

Run! Run! As Fast As You Can!

In Mosiah 4:27 it says, "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order ; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."

Well, let me tell you, we've been running like mad and it is definitely the Lord giving us strength because down time is not happening in Bathurst, which is a blessing.

Last week after P-day was quite interesting. Have you ever tried jumping a fence in a dress trying to escape four dogs? Well, I have. It's not the most graceful looking thing in the world... After that though we had a beautiful lesson with J. She's pretty great, just has some obstacles in her way before baptism, but she'll be right!

Tuesday was busy, busy, busy! We literally ran from appointment to appointment! We were so busy trying to see less actives, doing service, and seeing our new investigator Ann. The end of the night we taught a lesson at the university. It was SO weird walking back onto a uni campus. It was a scary, dark, dreary world over there. I don't think I'm' ready to go back to that life... Ever.

Wednesday was busy again! We drove 30 minutes to see a member and she had her non-member son in law there asking for a Book of Mormon! How neat is that?! We saw a few other members and less active members as well and it was really good. We also found a new investigator, L, so that was pretty neat!

Thursday we did our service at the Old Folk's Home. SO MUCH FUN. Old people are ridiculously fantastic. UNO is so hard core when you play against these people! We taught a few lessons, including the Word of Wisdom to J which went a lot better than expected. We held a Book of Mormon study class which was fun too! Also, had our first dinner appointment in Bathurst. It was so weird not eating Polynesian food....

Friday was great! We hadn't had the chance to see too many members this week so we went and saw a few of them. It was kind of a harder day since two of our investigators that were really progressing towards baptism in our minds asked us to never come back. That's always rough, but one day the right missionaries will come and find them again.

Saturday was fun! We did some service for Sister Fisk. Her son was up visiting and oh what a riot! Between him and the grandson you just giggle the whole time you're there. Love them. Another investigator asked us to never come back. We did some planning, and saw Kerrie! So not a super busy day, but it's better than nothing.

Sunday was fun! Church was great. We even taught Primary which was interesting! The got a huge cake for Mother's day. Perks of a branch: One cake feeds everyone AND gives you left overs. After church we went and saw some investigators. We took them cupcakes and shared a fun mother's day message. Sister Kurita got to Skype her family and we finished the night with President Sua's family. :) It was great.

Missionary work is up and down but as long as we keep going it's worth it! I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Picture: The Fisks! How cute are they? 

Already P-day?

Hello again!

This week just flew right by! Wednesday after we emailed everybody we went and saw T. She's doing well. Slowly but surely her heart is changing and she's starting to accept the Gospel. It's pretty cool to watch it happen.

Thursday was great! We had our Zone Training Meeting and it was a bit different this time since I had to give one of the training's.... Strange! We also had interviews so President and Sister Back were there. After that we went and saw one of the young families in the branch, which was super fun. We also saw a family we're working with, the daughters are keen but the dad is anti. It makes for an interesting lesson. We also saw Jodie! She has a baptismal date and she is just so sweet. I love the people here.

Friday was great! We were able to visit a few less active sisters and get to know them which is always nice. We also visited a single elderly sister I just adore. We taught a lesson to one of our investigators who seems SO keen! It's awesome! She is ready to learn! And we finished the night practicing English with two 9 year olds from Korea that live with a member. It was a lot of fun.

Saturday was great. We had breakfast with the Branch President and his family and it was so fun. We have a rule to only stay at a member's home for 1 hour and at 55 minutes he kicked us out (in a loving way). I love when members follow the rules!! The rest of the day we really focused on less active members and it was quite the fun day.

Sunday was great! I love Fast Sunday in a branch because you always get to bear your testimony! Also, we have a new Branch Mission Leader. He's pretty young, remembers what it's like to be out serving, and is keen to work! It makes me so happy! Member involvement is what makes this work worth it. We had a good afternoon and evening just trying to follow up on some potentials and less active members. Most people have moved but that's okay! We think we might have taught a lesson to T's boyfriend so we'll see if that's the case... If so, AWESOME! They can get married and we'll baptize them together. ;) In my dreams but miracles happen!

Today has already been so good! My Mission President is so nice and knows how important family is, so he let me Skype home a week early so I could talk to everyone! :) It was so fun catching up, even if I'm incredibly awkward, and I can't believe that was my third time Skyping on my mission. Time flies... Everyone is doing great, which makes me one happy Sister. :)

Life is good. I'm just happy as a clam, and they're pretty dang happy.

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Pic: Last awkward Skype family picture! :)

Bathurst.

Beautiful day!!

Well, since p-day happened a long, long time ago, I have lots to tell you. First thing first, I LOVE BATHURST! Honestly, I'm so happy here. Let me tell you about my first week so you can rejoice with me! 

Tuesday (the 19th) after P-day we went and met the Branch President's family. They're so sweet! And the only Samoan family in Bathurst! Which is such a tender mercy for me considering I haven't seen so many white people in like a year! 

Wednesday (the 20th) was great. We started off the morning by doing some service for a Sister in the ward. She's redoing her kitchen so we got to smash some tiles and it was pretty awesome. We also found a new investigator named Belinda! She's so funny but so sweet. She said her first prayer with us and she started crying. It was such a neat experience. Then we met Terry! He is a less active member that lives in a nursing home so we read the Book of Mormon with him every week. I like him. Also, every Wednesday the Branch has an activity night! It's small but cute. It was a nice way to meet a few members before church.

On Thursdays we do service at the Seymour Center. It's this fun place that elderly people can go for socialization. So cute! They are so stinking funny there. Then we met a few less active members. Boy oh boy are they a hoot or what! Then again, the Lord blessed us to find a new investigator! We'll call her C. She's a teen mum but wants to see if this would be a good way to raise her new daughter. Well certainly it is the best way, so we'll see if she's prepared! 

Friday, what a beaut! We have a less active member that is a hoarder so she lets us organize things and read the Book of Mormon with her. I was impressed! She actually let us take stuff to the op shop, which I have never seen a hoarder do. Then we went around and met some of the members of the Branch. Everyone here is so sweet! I'm excited to get to know them better. We also met Kalira, one of our investigators with a baptismal date. She seems pretty cool, so I'm excited to help her progress!

Saturday was another beautiful Bathurst day. We met this INCREDIBLE lady named Tiffany on the street and she made an appointment for us to come back the next day. Then we met this lady named A. She's super religious.... Like she built her own chapel in her yard so she can worship... it was interesting but she's really lovely. We saw a few more of our investigators and everyone here is just so nice! I love it. We also met Sister S. Pretty sure she's going to be me when I'm that old. She went on a huge rant about how awesome musicals are and how Rock of Ages is life. She's so funny. 

Sunday was beautiful! The branch is SO SMALL. There were maybe 15 members in Sacrament meeting? 24 or so if you count the kids. Only 4 in Sunday School. Only 3 in Relief Society. It's so small. But it was great because I have everyone's names memorized. ;) Haha. I spoke in Sacrament and then Sister Kurita and I taught Relief Society. It was fun. We taught on "Behold Thy Mother" by Jeffrey R Holland so I got to brag about my mum. After church we had Branch Council. Once again, so small. I LOVE IT. Remember Tiffany from Saturday? Well, we went and saw her, taught her the restoration, and she accepted to be baptized! Aah, Heavenly Father is the BEST! :) 

Monday we went and did some service for A. She's really nice and actually enjoys reading the Book of Mormon with us. Hopefully she'll start investigating this week. We also saw our girl Tiffany! We went and did some service and read the Book of Mormon with her. She was reading it Sunday night and prayed about it and said she felt like a different person! it's so good to see the Gospel change people's lives.  We also saw two of our investigators, T & C, they're twins! And they accepted to be baptized too! Aah, Heavenly Father, once again, is the best! We also met a really nice potential named Janice that invited us back for later in the week. :)

Tuesday (yesterday) the Zone Leaders came and picked us up at 6am to drive to Sydney. It was so weird being alone in the car with Elders!!!! Don't worry, President Back knew about it and permitted it. But we had a 9 hour meeting with President and Sister Back and the rest of the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in Sydney. Being on the Mission Council is quite the experience... I was the driver on the way back to Bathurst. Such a long drive! But I prefer driving through the Blue Mountains rather than being a passenger. It's too much winding and climbing and stop and go for my liking in the back seat. 

So yea, it's been a CRAZY week! But I am so happy here. Honestly, it feels like home to me. I feel like Bathurst is a mix of Idaho Falls, ID, Logan, UT, and Skowhegan, ME. Three of my favorite places. Heavenly Father is the best and He truly has a plan for us! I still miss Woden but I'm just so grateful being there and now being here is part of his plan for me. :)

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

P.S. Sorry for no pictures... I forgot my camera... And I forgot to take pictures.

P.P.S. Don't write to Sydney for mail, please write directly to me for atleast the next month. :) 

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

2/129 Keppel St

Bathurst, NSW 2795

Australia

Bitter...sweet?

Greetings from New South Wales!

Wow, I haven't been able to type that in 5 months... Let me tell you about how I came to be up here once again.

This week was up and down, up and down, up and down, UP and DOWN. We visited a lot of less active members and a few of our beloved faithful members down in good old Woden. There wasn't much anything of excitement to tell you about. Sorry to be a boring little thing over here. It was just a hard week, there were some good parts too though! I'll tell you something funny that happened. We were visiting a less active part member family with one of the brethren from the ward, right? Well, they have a 13 year old that is just a HANDFUL. He was hitting me the whole time we were there and I just had my arm out so he would be hitting that rather than my face. As we were walking out of the lesson I said, "That's it, I really don't think I can have children." And the Brother that was with us said, "It's okay Sister Stott, all mothers have their strengths. Yours just happen to be your biceps." Haha. I don't believe in hitting children but it was pretty funny. If I've learned one thing on my mission, it's patience. Well, I'm still learning it. Always a work in progress. :)

Saturday night transfer calls came and Sister Swan and I both needed to leave Woden. So we went around saying goodbyes on Saturday and Sunday. It was SO HARD. I love Woden so much. The people there are incredible and they honestly consumed a huge piece of my heart. I think that was the hardest group of goodbyes for me to say, which is something considering how long I was in mourning over leaving Wollongong. I really hope to be able to return some day. Probably not in my mission life, but maybe when they can call me by my first name.

Monday morning we said a few final goodbyes, loaded up the car, picked up the sisters and headed to Sydney! I dropped off Sister Swan and the other Sisters in Sydney and  they were able to meet their new companions, But the Elders bringing our luggage took AGES. Honestly, we sat at the chapel for a few hours waiting, no phone, no nothing. But they finally arrived with the baggage, then I drove to pick up another sister then I drove all the way up to Bathurst. I actually had to leave the mission boundaries on the road I was taking to get all the way up here! So 11 hours later, I was finally in my new area just in time to meet my companion, plan the next day, and go to bed. Haha.

Today has already been exciting. We tried emailing a few hours ago but the Chinese restaurant next to the library caught on fire... Don't worry, no one was hurt.

About my new life: Welcome to BATHURST! A little po-dunk town up in good old Orange Zone. It reminds me of Iona or even downtown Logan by the Blue Bird and such. It's a pretty nice place and I think I will be happy here. My companion is Sister Kurita, she is from Japan. She seems really nice and I'm excited to get to know her. Together we are the Sister Training Leaders, so our purpose is

to help all of the other sisters in the zone. It should be good. I'm excited! My new address is:

2/129 Keppel St

Bathurst, NSW 2795

Australia

I will probably be in Bathurst until I finish my mission. So please write.

Love you! The church is true!

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

I love General Conference!

Well, hello there once again! 

This week wasn't as exciting, no miracle double baptisms fell out of the sky or anything, but it was still a pretty rad week because of the weekend. General Conference is the best. :) But leading up to that....

Monday was alright. I dragged the poor Tuggeranong Sisters and Sister Swan to the Parliament House. It was pretty cool being able to sit in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Unfortunately nothing was in session that day. Which is actually good since I wouldn't have been able to watch it anyways. After P-day we went and tried stopping in on a few families but no one had the time. We did end up meeting a funny older couple. The wife is from China and loves dancing, so when Sister Swan mentioned I used to dance she started trying to dance with me! Haha. It was pretty funny. 

Tuesday was a good day. We met a less active part member family in the morning. They weren't too keen on letting us share a message but they thought we were funny and cute so they let us share a little one then invited us back for dinner and a lesson this next week! Then we went to see some investigators with Sister Barron but these investigators were offended by a different member last week so instead of having a lesson we just did damage control. That's never fun. We ended the night by seeing our beloved Nana Julie. If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times, EVERYONE needs a Nana in their lives. 

Wednesday was Restoration Day! :) 186 years ago on 6 April, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established. Check out: Mormon.org or Lds.org for the full story. ;) The rest of the day was pretty neat. We went and saw Amanda and Peta. They are doing great and are so happy! Then we went and saw a referral that a member gave to us.... Oh I & J.... What a funny couple. That's all I can really say about them.

Thursday was great! We went and did some service for a less active family which was heaps of fun. We also had the quarterly relief society activity and that was fantastic! There were a few nonmembers that came and it was really cool to be able to get to know them and the sisters of the ward in a fun environment. 

Friday we had our district meeting as usual. We visited a potential that we met and started teaching him and his partner the discussions! That was pretty cool. They seem pretty special so it will be neat to see them progress. Then we went over to Nana Julie's and did a little service. :) We're totally capable handy-men if you ever need a desk put together... 

Saturday and Sunday was GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! Oh it was so good! So many powerful and inspirational messages! My hands hurt from taking so many notes! We even downloaded the Priesthood session and watched it during lunch. Aah, I just can't get over how good it was. I think the message that stuck out most to me was make the temple a priority! Living somewhere that is so far from a temple and only being able to go once in the last year has really put into perspective for me how much I love the temple and how much I need it in my life! It's been pretty humbling to see how dedicated some members are down here by making the 4 hours each way drive to go to the temple regularly when often we have a temple 15 minutes down the road and don't make the time. I'm not trunky, but I am pretty excited in 4 months to be living within walking distance of my beautiful Logan temple once again. 

Have a beautiful week! I may be emailing you from my beloved New South Wales next week, I guess we'll see how the transfer dice roll.  

Love,

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Picture: House of Representatives, only picture of the week but kind of neat. :)

Happy Tears!

What a crazy week! It was the week of Amanda and Peta. :) Tuesday after we emailed we had to forgo the rest of p-day so we could go teach Amanda and Peta. Which was more than worth it! Then we went over to an elderly sister's home for a visit and worked on Amanda and Peta's baptismal program. 

Wednesday we went over to Amanda's and did a bit of service with some Relief Society sisters. It was a lot of fun and was a good opportunity for her to bond with them. Then we all got cleaned up and had a lesson. After the lesson Amanda and Peta had their baptismal interviews and... THEY PASSED! :) Oh happy day!

Thursday was crazy! We had one final lesson with Amanda and Peta, woo! Then we had a lesson with a part member family all the way on the other side of the area. In the middle of a lesson we got a call from Amanda and we really felt like we needed to leave and go to her immediately. So we did, and there was all of this drama with the family since it wasn't Amanda's weekend for the girls and Peta was upset and AAH! So we called Peta's dad and explained why she needed to be there this weekend and he said he understood and would come watch her be baptized. Crisis averted. :) 

Friday was okay... We saw Amanda and Peta in the morning before we went to our district meeting. Then at our district meeting... Well... It almost became an all Sister district.... The Elders are our District Leader and Zone Leader so they told us that President Back called the night before and the whole mission was going on a car fast starting immediately for the next few days.... But our appointments were all over the area that afternoon so we hurried and called and cancelled them to be courteous and give them notice because we knew we weren't fast enough to walk between 6 suburbs... A few hours later at the end of the meeting they tell us it was all an April Fool's joke.... Which you know, I love jokes and all but it took us a month to set up those appointments... 

Saturday! Amanda and Peta were baptized! They looked so beautiful in white! Aah, so many emotions filled my heart as I saw them walk into the water! :') And then.... CRAZINESS! The Ward Council has been praying and fasting to find and reactivate less active family, the Forbes, since last April when the father passed away and Bishop conducted the funeral.... Well, guess who Peta's father is. D. Forbes, the son of the man who passed away. And guess who was watching the baptism, D. Forbes. The ward has been fasting and praying to find and reactive Peta's dad and grandmother (Amanda's ex and ex in-law) and we just tracted into Amanda and Peta! The Lord is with us in the work, I can testify of that ten fold! This was no coincidence. Heavenly Father knew that the Forbes wouldn't be ready to come back if the ward did find them, but he knew that if we found someone they loved, taught them, and brought them into the fold, that would help them come back. Miracles happen. :) We made the connection after Bishop signed the baptismal record for Peta and so we ran up to D and said, "When were you baptized?!" And Amanda yells, "YOU'RE A MORMON?!" It was incredibly hilarious. The women's broadcast was that night as well. So good. :) I love this Gospel! I'm excited for Conference to be broadcast this upcoming week! 

Sunday was beautiful. Amanda and Peta were confirmed members of the church, I cried bearing my testimony, it was a good day. :) Peta's dad and nan even came to see it happen! 

So yea, it was a week full of Peta and Amanda, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. :) The church is SO true! And God is with us. :) 

All my love (and my hearts about bursting right now),

Sister Danielle Laree Stott

The newest members of the Woden Ward! :')