ZONE CONFERENCES

ZONE CONFERENCES

Australia Brisbane Mission July 2013

What a great experience...our first Zone Conferences

 

MISSION MIRACLE

Mission miracle says it all. Hi my name is Elder Lavelua, and I want to share a small yet powerful mission miracle with you which really helped strengthen my testimony of the gospel.

At the start my mission things were hard, and being a mamas boy it was most difficult for me to leave me my family and embark on this journey as a full time missionary. I didn't really understand why I came out on my mission, because in my family when you turn 19 years of age  you serve a full time mission. But one thing I do know for sure was I came out here to the Australian Brisbane Mission for a reason. This mission has really helped mold me into the person my parents wanted me to become but most importantly who The Lord wanted me to become. And my mission miracle may show a glimpse of how God works in mysterious ways and shows that He does care for his children.

Elder Ram and I were teaching a part member family and I was fresh out on the mission, nervous but anxious to do the Lords work. We had planned to teach the whole family but only one person was interested in hearing our message we had to share, which happened to be the son who was at the time only 10 years old. The parents were more than happy to have us over, but no matter how hard we tried to involve the dad, he wouldn't budge. The mother of course was the member in the family. We saw so much potential in this family and so my companion and I decided to teach the discussions to the boy but also teach the parents too at the same time obviously without them knowing. The spirit was strong every time we taught this beautiful family. We eventually committed the boy to baptism and he was beyond ready. We held the baptismal service and the parents attended also, you could not deny the feelings nor the comfort we felt during the service; it was the spirit. I kept an eye on the parents the whole service and I knew that something was stirring within them feelings at the time they had not  recognized before, but I knew they would ask about it later on. Over time we visited the family and continued to teach the son. And the moment I thought wouldn't come until later on down track, miracles happened, the Dad popped the question that all missionaries die to hear which is "Can I take the discussions?" I screamed for joy, not for the fact of knowing he is going to be baptized like his son, but the fact that I knew that his family could be blessed from this gospel.

We then taught the discussions with the father and his son helped us teach him also which was a miracle in itself. Knowing that his 10 year old son was helping us teach him, he knew that the son had gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the beautiful restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through sleepless nights and constant pondering over the things we had taught him, he came to the conclusion that he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that through the gift of earnest prayer he knew that The Book of Mormon was the word of God. The father was then baptized  2 months later. 

A year went by and I knew that they were working towards entering the Temple. I felt the urge at the time to call the family and ask if they were going to enter into the temple, with amazement they had finished talking with their stake president and had already set a date and time to enter into the temple. This beautiful family that we worked with countless times were sealed in the temple on the 20th of July 2013. What a joyous occasion this was for me and the family, they thanked me and said "if it wasn't for you and your companion our family wouldn't be sealed for all time and eternity". Besides crying like a baby and having to have my companion see me cry like a little girl, I told them 'to don't thank me, but to thank The Lord. I was just an instrument in His hands'.

The Father is now a Melchizedek priesthood holder and is serving as a second counsellor in the bishopric. If this is the reason why I came out on the mission then I am eternally thankful for my parents and my Heavenly Father for raising me up in this gospel and making it a requirement to serve Lord for only 2 years. I'm also eternally thankful for my mission presidents and their wives for helping me during this time and for their inspired counsel and advice.

I would like to finish with a quote from the father who was sealed with his family, he says "I know that the young men and young women who dedicate their lives to serve the Lord in the mission field truly bless people's lives. Just like our Savior, the love the missionaries have shown our family meant that in only 12 and a half months since my baptism our family is now sealed together for all eternity. Our family will be forever grateful for the missionary program".

Elder Lavelua

SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS I SEE ON MY MORNING RUN....yes, that is a real Poinsettia Plant!

MORE PICTURES OF OUR FIRST GROUP OF DEPARTING MISSIONARIES

DEPARTING ELDERS with the Assistants

MORE NEW MISSIONARIES!

 Our beautiful new Sister missionaries from the New Zealand Missionary Training Center

Our great new Elders from the New Zealand Missionary Training Center 
and our Shanghai Elder from the Provo MTC

AND MORE NEW MISSIONARIES!  
 We had three more missionaries arrive from the Provo MTC on day three of our 
transfers this week.  Our sisters were picked up by their new trainers and our sweet Sister from the U.S. found out she would be the driver in the companionship.  About 40% of our missionaries do not drive and so many new missionaries have to jump right in and drive.  There is an initial look of fear and panic, but they soon feel comfortable and get around just great.  

We are so excited for them to be here with us!  
What a blessing to see this mission continue growing.

DEPARTING MISSIONARIES....

 A SAD FAREWELL....
We didn't expect that two weeks after we arrived in the Australia Brisbane Mission, we would have to say Goodbye to some incredible missionaries.  WE LOVE THEM!  They are valiant, dedicated missionaries who served with all their heart, might, mind and strength!  It was an emotional farewell with the joy of service for the past two years for the Elders and 18 months for the Sisters....along with the nervousness of life that was only an airplane flight away for 16 of these great missionaries.  The Elders had two years of their life packed in their suitcases with a few unique things they found along the way.  

Here is Elder Tarawa from New Zealand playing the didgeridoo:
The didgeridoo (also known as a didjeridu) is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread use today both in Australia and around the world.

 Elder Vakameilalo from Tonga:  An amazing athlete who holds many records for high jumping.  He showed his athleticism by climbing our palm tree with his bare hands and bare feet in a suit and tie. 

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Our sweet Sisters from Kiribati....they bore testimony to us in their native tongue.   

 Kiribati ([kɪribas] KIRR-i-bas[4] or ˌkɪrəˈbɑdi;[5]Gilbertese: [ˈkiɾibas]), officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is just over 100,000
 The people of Kiribati speak an Oceanic language called "Gilbertese"

THE SIXTEEN DEPARTING MISSIONARIES, ALONG WITH THE SENIOR MISSIONARIES WHO WORK IN THE OFFICE AND WILL BE LEAVING IN FOUR WEEKS.  WE LOVE THEM!

THANK YOU SISTER HILLIER!

SISTER HAZEL HILLER...

Our first group of NEW MISSIONARIES....

This has been an amazing day welcoming in 15 new missionaries who have been serving in a temporary mission while their Visas were cleared to come to Australia; they are great missionaries and we are so thrilled that they will be serving in the Australia Brisbane Mission.  It is an unusual transfer with Elders and Sisters coming in three different days; we have 12 more missionaries coming in and I will be sure and add their pictures to the blog. 
We are so grateful for Hazel Hillier who made a delicious meal for these great missionaries! We LOVE her!
*A special connection with Sister Hillier....she knew my neighbor, Jan Astle, when she was a young teenager in Brisbane and is dear friends to the Oakey's in St. George; such a small world! And a special connection with our daughter, Jesika; Sister Hillier is half German and half Hungarian!

DRIVING FUN....

MY FAVORITE SIGN

FOR US MIXED UP AMERICANS

THESE SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE

   

So, we know that everyone is wondering how we are getting along with the DRIVING here in Australia...

PRESIDENT HENDERSON:  Jumped right in and started driving.  Carrie has only had to correct him once with driving in the wrong lane.  He has gotten mixed up a few times turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers.  
No major difficulties.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Here in Brisbane they have speeding cameras everywhere and will take pictures of your car and license and then send the picture along with the speeding ticket to the mission office for payment....(could be interesting).  They also enforce no talking on the cell phone while driving and as mission president there are many calls that come in at all times. 
SISTER HENDERSON:  Waited a few days to observe and get her bearings.  Made it to the mission office from the mission home with no difficulties.  It is a good thing Lon hasn't driven with Carrie to find out how many times she has driven in the wrong lane.  Driving with much caution and small trips at a time. Getting a little sore neck looking to the right all the time, instead of the left as in America. Feeling more confident everyday!
BIGGEST CHALLENGE:  Always turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers. 
*Actually the biggest challenge is to drive the trolleys here in Australia; (grocery carts for our American friends).  The wheels not only roll forward and backward, but they roll side to side.  It takes incredible core muscles to keep the trolley in a straight line down the grocery store aisles and the parking lot is very tricky maneuvering around to try not to hit any cars.  We asked a sweet lady how to drive these things and she said "just talk to it with a loud voice and tell it to stop".

WE LOVE IT HERE!

CAIRNES: Paradise

 OUR WONDERFUL CAIRNES MISSIONARIES

....they get to do missionary work in Paradise!

Our dear, wonderful Senior Missionary couple in Cairnes....they are doing such fantastic things in this beautiful part of our mission.  WE LOVE THEM!

TOWNSVILLE

The Townsville Missionaries 
...they are GREAT!

We had a great training in Townsville with our four missionaries and the three assistants.  We are amazed at the strength of these great young men and women who are exceptional representatives of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  They have strong testimonies and are filled with faith.


We had a warm welcome in Townsville

We thought this was interesting....we can't imagine how the bull became the "Droughtmaster" in Australia (maybe it is just in Townsville where we found this statue), but we are sure there is a great story about it.  (If anyone knows, please enlighten us). 

ROCKHAMPTON MISSIONARIES

 OUR FIRST MISSIONARY DISTRICT CONFERENCE in ROCKHAMPTON AUSTRALIA

Love these missionaries!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 2013

ORIENTATION

There has been a lot of orientation to our new life in Australia; we have noticed there are a few differences.  I am grateful for the wonderful missionaries who are willing to help us with anything that we need orienting with.  I have especially needed help pronouncing the missionary's names (coming from all around the world, there are some unique, hard-to-pronounce names, especially the missionaries from Tonga, Samoa, and New Zealand). 
I love listening to the new ways to say things, I have learned the Australian people have figured out that they can say things much quicker by shortening words:  instead of saying sunglasses, they say sunnies and instead of saying swimming suits, they say swimmies.   The four words I discovered today that needed some explanation were:
Crockery: We were having an orientation of the kitchen and I was asked where my crockery was?  I realized I was being asked where my kitchen dishes were.  I have always known it to mean:  foolish talk; nonsense:
Give way: That is what a yield sign says in Australia
Nappy:  I always thought this was a term used for a "little nap" or little sleep, but here a "nappy" refers to a baby's diaper. (BTW: You don't want to ask for a "napkin" in a restaurant)
Air Con:  I had a maintenance man come over to fix our heater unit in our home and when he arrived he asked where the air con was....I had to ask him to repeat that word several times before I finally figured it out.  (Unfortunately a little gecko got inside and zapped the unit causing it to burn up.  Poor thing....I was excited to meet a little green gecko in Australia after seeing the cute gecko on the Geico commercials in the U.S.)          







 
The people are extremely happy here and the way they talk even sounds happy with the end of their sentences ending on an "up" influx. We are learning and experiencing so much every day...WE LOVE IT! 

THE FIRST DAY

WELCOME!  

We are happy you stopped by to read about our experiences serving in the greatest mission on earth: 

AUSTRALIA BRISBANE MISSION  

THE CHURCH OF 

JESUS CHRIST 

of LATTER-DAY SAINTS

We have been called to serve the wonderful missionaries who have put aside their educational pursuits, job opportunities, and families to come to the Brisbane Mission and teach the great people of Australia about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The young men serve for two years and the young women serve for eighteen months.  We are humbled with the responsibility to lead them and serve as missionaries ourselves, yet we feel the support and love of our Heavenly Father who directs this work on the earth.  We will be serving for three years and have much to learn, but we are ready to WORK!

FACTS ABOUT OUR MISSION:

• The mission includes all of the state of Queensland.
• We currently have 194 amazing missionaries.
• We have four wonderful senior couples who are invaluable in their service.
• There are 23 countries represented in our mission, Elders & Sisters from all around the world, including: United States, Japan, Fiji, England, South Africa, Shanghai, New Zealand, Korea, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Singapore, Philippines, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Myanmar, Thailand, Micronesia, France, Mexico, Cook Islands, Taiwan, and Australia. 
• There are two languages our missionaries speak: English and Mandarin Chinese.
• The mission area is over 668,207 square miles; 2.5 times the state of Texas. 
• We have a beautiful temple located on Kangaroo Hill

The people are wonderful and we have truly had a great first day!