Chilly and Wet Down in Brizzy

This is Elder Iufoni from Tonga (another Elder in my district) -he's really funny :)  

6/27/2016

Dear everyone :)

     First things first i have been forgetting to say, but actually it's decently cold down here in Brizzy (that's how some people say Brisbane sometimes) I have had to start wearing my sweaters and rain jacket and it has also been raining too. (So I am really glad that I brought some sweaters/ jumpers as they call them here and my rain jacket particularly) The rain jacket works like a charm Riley!! haha It especially works since you can't use an umbrella while you are biking. 

The week has been moving you could say. We are still trying to pick up our missionary work in our  ward and we are working with our assistant ward mission leader ( because our ward mission leader just moved to Utah to get married). But that's all good because our Ward mission leader is a beast!! His name is Alex Togia, I'm pretty sure I have mentioned him before but it's all good. He is the bishop's son and he knows how to do the work. So he has been helping me out. We are working to be more inspired :) We are going to work with the YSA and just smash the work. I pray that i can be inspired and do the Lord's work in his way! 

My Planner

Sorry the letter is kind of short but I hope everyone is going to have a great week. Also something that Alex said that has been pressing on my mind is, " remember that your family prays for you every day and I want those prayers to be answered". May God be with you all :) I want you all to know that I know the Church is true and that God loves each and everyone of us no matter how different we are :)

 

Also heads up my next p-day will be next Friday! because we are going to the temple then.

-Elder Pierce

G'day!

Us with a mighty missionary 

(a missionary who had served here a year ago who came back and helped us out for the day)

6/20/2016

Sorry everyone about not emailing last week... I ran out of time but at least I get to email now!

Man so much has happened I don't even know what to say. haha But I'll just share a couple of things that have happened the past 2 weeks. 

Ya working with Elder Tsuchiya is still very different. But the Lord has been sending me heaps of tender mercies. I am really glad for awesome zone leaders! it is pretty sad though because this week is the transfer week and one of the zone leaders got transferred out (Elder Fa'alogo) me and Elder Tsuchiya are staying Camira. I don't think he was expecting to stay though.. hahaha oh well. This past while we have been literally talking with everyone that we see. We may not ever be on time to any appointments because of that but it's all good. It has been a stretching experience, especially since the way we usually have been doing it is we talk to different people by ourselves. So ya and since we count the contacts that we have in this mission we contacted around 220 people last week. It was cool some of the things that we did because there was a sister missionary that just returned last week so we got invited to the feast. It was a massive assembly of Samoans and Samoan food (picture included)

An Island Food Feast

                          Also one of the members gave me an 'ie faitaga which was super mean!

This one is me wearing an 'ie faitaga (pronounced ia-f-eye-kan-ga) it's the formal dress thing  that the Polynesian members wear to church

Umm.. let's see what else. We had heaps of new investigators but we also have dropped a lot of them.. so ya. 

This past week has been one full of stretching and prayers. It is pretty crazy because this week was President Henderson's last week as the Mission President and now President and Sister McSwain will be coming in so that will be interesting to see all of the changes in the mission with the new president. I just wonder what is going to happen! I'm pretty excited :) Also last week we had a mighty missionary come out and work with us for like 2 days ( which was a missionary who had served here in the ABM like a year ago) He gave us some good advice and to have him around for the day was a tender mercy for a day or two.

Also ya ElderTsuchiya has been not too happy about this being a full time bike area, he also crashed a couple times so far. (picture included)

But it's all good because the Lord knows me and He knows this area and He knows what I should be doing so I trust Him to guide me :)

But everyone have a great week sorry if the letter was kind of all over the place.. haha 

--Elder Pierce

Goodbye Elder Parker!

Goodbye to my friend and first companion

6/6/2016

Farewell Elder Parker

So needless to say that this past week has been super crazy....... and just super busy. So as the subject suggested in the middle of the week there was an emergency transfer... We got a text from the assistants to the President that Elder Parker needed to pack all his bags and that he was flying the next day.... So he got transferred up to Makyi ( literally no idea how to spell that... but it's northern Queensland) (*Mom: I googled it and it may be a coastal city named MacKay??) So we spent that whole day taking heaps of pictures and saying goodbye to pretty much every one that we could see. It was just so fast and crazy especially since we were only in week three of the 6 week transfer. 

But.... drum roll please........ My new companion is Elder Tsuchiya (from Japan) He has been on his mission for like 20 months and he got transferred down from Makyi. He said he was transferred down for some personal reasons. I think it had to do with something about his companion. But as he would say and is always saying "it's all G". His English is pretty good and he only doesn't make sense sometimes. He is much different to Elder Parker and a great Elder. I just am praying for some more faith, patience, and humility. But he is more of a direct kind of guy. I am learning heaps and I know the Lord has reasons for everything he does. So I am putting my trust in him that I may be able to do his will and be a vessel in which I can spread his message of peace and joy. Sorry I don't have a picture of him yet, I'll definitely get one for y'all next week. 

In my studies I was reading in Alma 60-61 about the story where Moroni sends a letter to the governor Pahoran and is just not happy in this letter and pretty much says that he will kill him... and then in chapter 61 you have the response of Pahoran where he simply says you have censured me but it mattereth not and he is not angry but joys in the greatness of Moroni's heart.  It made me think about how God looks on us. And he judges us according to our works and the desires of our hearts. We must chose how we react and try and look at things through God's perspective. I love the Lord. Families can be together forever. And this gospel is true. There is no doubt. I hope that I may continue to be humble before the Lord so that He can sculpt me into what he needs me to be. 

Everyone have a great week!!

-Elder Pierce

Me and Elder Parker with the bishop's family (at least some of them he has like 12 kids)

a picture from out our back door (you can't really tell but it's raining pretty hard)