Happy Anzac Day!!

     Along for the ride with Elder Pierce and Elder Parker

4/26/2016

Playing Touch on Anzac Day

So just first off, today is Tuesday and we are having our p-day on Tuesday because on Monday it was public holiday Anzac Day which is like a holiday honoring the WW I veterans from New Zealand and Australia. But that was pretty fun because we went and played touch with the elders quorum just in a field that is in our area which was really fun, I still don't really know how to play.... haha Touch is just rugby league with out tackling (different from rugby union, which is like the rugby that the All Blacks New Zealand team play). They also call rugby here Football and our American Football is called grid iron... haha just kind of funny how so many people call so many sports football. 

This week was really awesome. Elder Parker and I saw some miracles and just had some cool experiences, not to say that we haven't had the hard times... or i have when Elder Parker has left me in the dust while we are biking... haha (he is really fit). And it's not that my legs are sore from the biking, it's just they get to a certain point and then don't work any more... haha. But that's what makes it fun :) I will have to repent because I don't have too many pictures this week. But I did get a couple and I'll have to try to get the pictures that my companion has taken. Also about the sun burning I usually have been pretty good about  sun screen and that will usually just have me covered... But there has been like 2 days where I got sunburned pretty bad because i just forgot to put  on the sunscreen.... But it's not too bad.

Elder Pierce teaching with  Elder Fa'alogo 

So the week has gone by so fast... I feel like last p-day was just yesterday! So many good things :) Like just a few things on Thursday we had trade offs and I actually led my area and had Elder Fa'alogo (Fa-ah-lo-ng-oh)  do the thing with me and let's just say I wish i knew my area better... hahaha.  We did have a really good lesson with one of our investigators named Marina who is a 78 year old who is like a dry Mormon who lives and says all the right things but just doesn't believe in organized religion.  Usually me and Elder Parker can't get into too much of the lessons with her because she likes to talk a lot but this time with Elder Fa'alogo and Alex Togia (the g in Samoan is pronounced like a ng), we just had her asking really good questions and the spirit was there and we found some of her real concerns.  I bore my testimony to her about how Jesus and His atonement can get us over our fears such as talking to random people in general. When we saw her next during one of our morning runs she was just talking about how she just couldn't stop thinking about everything that we had talked about. Most of our other appointments fell through... or I just couldn't remember where they lived...

But i learned a lot that day. Especially about my studies because I started doing something cool where I will write down a specific question I have like how do I know what feelings and promptings are the Holy Ghost?  Then I'll write it down in my study journal and then just start to read any page of the Book of Mormon and then I'll always be able to find my answer and it has been really cool. The scriptures are real testaments of God and they are just so awesome! I have been working really hard on trying to follow all the promptings  I receive from the spirit  and I have just been noticing that the work is more fun and it is easier for me to talk to people, to be in the lessons and just all of it is better! It's so cool and i have been thinking about the story of Nephi before Christ comes and it says that so great was his faith in Jesus Christ that the people could not, not believe his words. I want to have have faith like that in my Savior. I know He is real and He loves each and every one of us. Don't doubt that. I have noticed the light of Christ in so many people even in those that I've talked with and when I teach the gospel they have the right questions and they just want to know the truth.  This is because the spirit is real and it leads us to Christ. I love the gospel :)

Sorry I can't type fast enough to share everything but it's awesome being on my mission. I love it and i am working on my love that i have for the Australian people every day!

Also the 8th is Mother's Day! So I will be skyping sometime  but I sent the stuff to you guys.

-Elder Pierce 

A day where we ate lunch as a zone

Me wearing a lava lava which is like a Samoan skirt that dudes wear!
The Bishop's son Alex gave it to me which was super awesome.

The place where we email

The full day p-day at President Henderson's that first Monday

Lesson with a Lorikeet

4/18/2016

So here is the week:

Well the week went by so fast and yet I feel like Monday was literally an eternity ago haha. But some days go quick and some days not as much. The great thing is that this is the Lord’s work so how great is my calling to be a missionary!!! I just hope that my legs will get used to doing all of this biking up hills sometime soon-ish.  Although it does help that my bike is nice. This week I have been trying to work on knowing the doctrine more fully so that I can teach by the spirit as well as using the atonement in my life even in the daily little things because He can help with all things even if it's the fact that I come back to the flat to do daily planning and I almost fall asleep because I'm super tired. I'm working in all things to try to more fully follow Christ and build my foundation upon Him because as it says in the Book of Mormon that it is upon the rock of our redeemer who is Christ the son of God that we must build our foundation that when the devil shall send forth his trails and temptations that he shall have no power over us because of the rock upon which we are built.

I'll share two quick experiences of the week. One was while we were out tracting one day on a random street.  After a while of knocking on a bunch of people's doors and either them not being home or them not being interested, we had a lady open her door and just started talking to us a lot and she eventually was like alright I'll let you share your message now.. hahaha. She said, “I already read your literature the watch tower, you are Jehovah's witnesses right??” and we were like... no. So then we started to share that we were Mormons and she was very interested and wanted to know heaps of stuff so we gave her a Book of Mormon and while we were describing the first vision to her, a lorikeet (it's a colorful green bird that lives here in Australia) landed right near us and was just chilling. And this lady was freaking out, she said, “those types of birds don't just come and land that close to you like that!! It's a sign from God!!” and she was like I needed this! and we were like yes. YES the gospel is true.

Then randomly we were tracting and we meet a random person who just came up to us and was like hey elders! And we were like...??? and she was like I've been a member all my life but I've been inactive for a year ever since we moved to here from Sydney.  She was like I've been waiting for some missionaries to come to see me before I go back to church. And we were like here we are!!  The crazy thing is that she lived just down the street from the bishop.

But ya just a quick couple cool miracles. Also I had a birthday dinner with a really nice less active family and they gave me cake and yes Riley I like the new watch!!

Love you all

Elder Pierce

2nd Week

Elder Parker and Elder Pierce in front of the Brisbane skyline.

4/11/2016

So I am glad to say that this week I have more time to email and it is actually on our official p-day! So to start off my companion is Elder Parker He is from Tahiti, he has been out on his mission for about 14 months and he originally speaks French and Tahitian. He is a crazy fit dude who is very humble and reminds me of Christian at times (like when he did 39 pull ups in a minute and then proceeded to say how that was terrible.. hahaha) He is a very hard worker and always keeps me going especially when we are walking and/or biking. He is a little odd at times like he likes to catch the flies with his hands and there are some cultural differences like if he has to go to the bathroom he will just go.... even if it is like in someones yard.... haha. But his English is pretty great there are just a few times where I don't get what he is saying.  President Henderson told me to help him work on his English sometimes. But we get along really well and we have fun and I am learning heaps from him especially when we go tracting he is always good about just talking with the random people it's pretty cool. 

Our area Camira is not that big so we are a full time walk/bike area and the only thing is that it is very hot and I usually come into the people's houses drenched in sweat because of all of the biking in the heat and they are usually like, "Elder Pierce do you need some water??" ( which I am very grateful for) But ya most of the people we talk to are islanders of some sort because the Auzzies usually just say, " no worries, all good I don't believe in God, never have never will, I just go with the flow and have no goals in life......." Me and Elder Parker live in a flat all by ourselves (not too far from other missionaries's flats though.) There is no air conditioning in our flat just some ceiling fans and a few other fans... So it is pretty warm in the flat. 

Eating dinner at the flat.

But here is our daily schedule: 6:15 wake up pray and then 6:30 we go for a run and then when we get back we do this exercise program that is called snap gravity which was made for the Australia Brisbane mission. I sent a picture of the program it's on dropbox. But then we go out and do regular missionary stuff like tracting and appointments. Then usually around dinner time on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday we are supposed to be fed by ward members and not the rest of the week but we are usually fed every day because if you stop by a Samoan members house they will always feed you something... ALWAYS hahahaha it is just part of their culture and it rude to reject it. So we usually eat always taro which is like a Samoan potato (they say that taro is what makes them so big) I don't much like taro.. hahaha But I have also eaten horse here twice so far it is not bad! and they also really like KFC here in Australia like a lot. They have burger king here too but it is called Hungry Jacks. And of course McDonald's (they refer to it as Mackers) But ya also our mission has 220 missionaries and 23 foreign languages. 

Opening Birthday presents!

Also thank everyone for the birth day wishes :) it made me happy to see them all!! and on the mission website australiabrisbanemission.com  there are some pictures that I am in for the "golden" orientation (we call greenies golden in this mission) which was awesome and we had lots of training and stuff from the assistants and president. This week has been very crazy with it being general conference and just everything with golden orientation just super busy and lots of confusion about rides to places and such since Elder Parker and I don't have a car (which is not all that bad because I would be the driver since I have a license) Conference though was awesome!!! I especially enjoyed Saturday morning session as well as all of the talks about how the sacrament is so important. But there are a decent amount of steep hills here in our area and sometimes they are hard to bike up.. But I still very much so like the biking more than walking. I actually like the biking :) Also I don't have have that much time to put descriptions for the pictures... but some of them are me and Elder Parker at Brisbane city and a couple of elders in my zone and then one of the facts that they do sell peanut butter here. Also I love all of my presents!! Especially Ritz crackers!!! I don't know if they don't have them here but I haven't found them.

I love it here even though it's hot... haha Also we are working on our teaching pool at the moment and we have like a few investigators but we are just working with them all most of them have the concern for church attendance... So that's why I liked lots of their talks in conference. Also Elder Parker and I have been doing a lot of work with the bishops son who is an rm and he served in Adelaide but he has been helping us a lot and he reminds me of Riley. There is also a video of Elder Parker and the son Alex Togia sparing. But ya  we also had a lesson with an investigator after conference and he is pretty solid the only thing is he lives in a different area so we are working about that.. hahaha But ya sorry I can't type fast enough.., but that's all :) the church is true :)

-Elder Pierce

                                                  The Book Of Mormon in Samoan

The Australian Dollar

Made it to the Land Down Under!!!!

Elder Pierce Arrives at the Mission Home in Brisbane, Australia

The following is a precious message we received from Noah's Mission President and his wife letting us know that our son, Elder Noah Pierce, made it to the land he will call home for the next two years!  What a tender mercy!

Dear Pierce Family,

We are delighted to report that your son, Elder Pierce, arrived safely at the mission home in Brisbane, Australia!  Your son is an impressive man filled with the missionary spirit; we love his positive attitude and excitement for the work and are thrilled that he will be serving with us in this great mission.  Elder Pierce has an excellent trainer, Elder Parker, and they will learn much serving together in the Camira Area in the Centenary Zone.

You should be receiving an email each week from your missionary, and he should be receiving one from you as well.  Though they are immersed in the work, they do miss home, and a loving letter from family is comforting and reassuring. We are grateful for your support of us and as an expression of our gratitude and appreciation, we have created a webpage for you to follow: australiabrisbanemission.com.  We will post pictures of our missionaries and will do our best to capture all that is happening in our mission; especially the missionaries' joys and successes as they labor in the Lord’s vineyard. As they email us pictures of their baptisms, we will post those as well.

We are so happy and humbled to be able to serve the Lord along with your son, Elder Pierce.  Great blessings are in store for not only your missionary, but family at home as well.  We know that you will experience marvelous blessings as you support your son while he serves the Lord honorably and obediently on his mission.  We pray for the Lord's blessings upon you, your missionary and his other loved ones.

Love,

President & Sister Henderson: Australia Brisbane Mission

4/5/2016  (Noah's first letter from Australia)

TALO FALVA!!! (hello in Samoan)

     Alright so first things first today is Wednesday here in the land down under. So I'm writing y'all from the future!!! But sorry about not emailing on Monday because it was super crazy with the scheduling... it was a crazy day. It was what we call a full day p-day which means that the last transfer our zone smashed their goals for baptisms and they got to have play all day from 6-9 pm at President Henderson's house but also because of that it means time was crazy and short... But it was really fun! Also when we went to email on Monday, first all the computers were taken and they told us to come back in an hour and then when we came back in an hour all of the internet and the phones were down in the computer lab place... and they are still down today... Needless to say i was a little disappointed about that but it all turned out okay! and I'm emailing now! But so we are at a member's house emailing but we had to get permission straight from President Henderson. And we hadn't been able to get a hold of him until last night... But like I said it's all good or as they would say here in the land down under No Worries! But i also only get thirty minutes to email since the family only has one computer but..... So i will try to describe all i can in my short time! I also don't really have time to upload my pictures so i'm going to have to send them next week but sorry about that!!

  

 But so it is fall here or as they would say Autumn and it's actually pretty hot..... its like 30 degrees Celsius but I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit but it is hot I can assure you.. and humid! And when you are in your full proselyting clothes and you are biking it gets  a little warm but I love it still here :)  The plane ride was good just long and only minimal complications if i had some more time i would talk about it.. Sorry! In our area we don't have a car and we bike most the time which is alright because i like biking :) 

My ward here is 85% Samoan which is kind of crazy and their English can be a little hard to understand at times because it's an Australian/Samoan accent hahaha. They are awesome people and they feed us heaps of food! all of the time. All the other missionaries say that I'm going to gain some weight in this area because they feed the missionaries a lot even when we don't have appointments with them which is pretty nice actually!! But sorry I'm all out of time...Australia is pretty just a little hot and the people are awesome!!

And we are going to watch general conference at a chapel about an hour away since our area doesn't have a proper chapel. Have a great week all and I'll explain more next week!!

-Elder Pierce