Livin' in a Land Down Under: 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