Testimony of
LAUREEN JAYNE
My husband was born into the church, but at the age of 16 he fell away. He since went through a lot of trials and because of it, he has a great testimony. He was re-activated into the church October 2012.
I spent Sundays at home while Paul went to church, I attended on random occasions but I really wasn't interested. I thought this was just a thing my husband needed, but not me. I did believe in a God, but I was confused at all the things I had been through and also after the death of my Grandfather I knew I could never forgive him for taking him so early.
I remember my husband praying one night. He had been given an opportunity to work with our flatmate, we had also been looking at places all over Australia as possible places to live. We spent a lot of time even applying for jobs. My husband prayed asking what we should do next, where to go and for Heavenly Father to guide him. A few nights later my husband received a phone call from his uncle saying he had work up in Central Queensland and would he be interested; we decided to go.
Arriving in Gladstone: We arrived on a Friday evening and the first Sunday my husband got up and went to church, I thought I may as well tag along since I didn’t want to stay home alone, We sat right at the back, we were greeted by so many smiling faces, I actually felt nervous, A kind lady was sitting not far from us and passed us a note during sacrament meeting, She invited us for lunch...we were shocked. We would never get this in Sydney! So why not.
We met with Sister and Elder Fenton a lot, They would pick us up and drop us off each Sunday as we didn’t have a car. They fed us lunch and introduced us to all the members, I thought this was great. I wasn't a member but they welcomed me with open arms. I sat through prayer and church meetings for a few weeks, and the Fenton's asked if I would like to learn more. I thought about it and just thought, nah, lets not ruin a good thing, I'm happy how I am.
After a month I got my first job, I didn’t have a car, so was looking at taking taxi's to and from work each day, The Fentons came by and said they would take me. They took me to work for 3 weeks! And even when they were busy or had appointments they arranged for other members to help me out. I remember saying to my husband, woah, who does this!? He laughed and just reminded me, You are a child God and they are doing the Lord's work.
After all of this, I had great spiritual experiences, I prayed for a god to help us and be able to get on with our lives, I become more open to the idea of the church, I loved being around members and looked forward to going to church to see everyone.
My prayers were answered often and quickly. I prayed for Heavenly Father to help me find a new car so I was able to get to work; I had been looking for about a month, calling people with no answer or luck. The moment I got a phone call about starting work, I looked online and found the perfect car for us, I messaged the girl selling it, and after about a week of looking we decided it was too expensive. Straight away she messaged back with a new price, right in our price range, so we brought it.
It took 3 weeks for our car to be good on the road, through that time the Fentons took me to work and drove me around everywhere I needed to go, this was the first time I really had to rely on others. It was so unnatural for me and hard to get my head around, but soon after my car was on the road I realized it was Heavenly Father, He wanted me to spend more time with the Fentons to build my relationship with them and become more and more comfortable with them.
I was feeling happy, even though life was difficult with jobs and being in a new place but coming to church I saw the goodness and how my life could be, One evening we were having a meal with the Fentons, for some reason I just knew I needed to start my lessons. They had asked previously if I was interested but I brushed it off thinking no it was not for me.
The funniest thing happened, I was at work and had a spare moment to myself and I just remembered about the time I prayed as a young 10 year old girl. It was crazy and this thought kept coming back to me over the days following, I knew I had to make the change. Someone was reminding me of the promise I had made.
Anyway as I was leaving I went to Sister Fenton, and said I'd like to start my lessons, We quickly got together and shared stories, lessons and a lot more food! It was great, everything made sense and I picked it up so quickly, It just felt right.
Baptism Time: It was such a spiritual day, Good and Bad. In the morning I woke up thinking 'Woah' This day is going to be great. Well... to start with it was the complete opposite, I was grumpy, For some reason my husband and I didn’t agree on anything and had a massive argument (over nothing!) this is very very rare for us! So we got on with our day, finally we arrived at the chapel, even then I was anxious, excited and impatient. We soon realized it was Satan’s power attempting to throw everything off the rails. We got there in the end and it was an incredible, everyone said the Spirit was so strong. It was an awesome experience which even I can't explain in words.
This is just the beginning for me & I can't wait to learn, pray and live by the gospel.
I have a strong testimony and I can't wait for it to grow, I have confidence in all that I have learned so far about the church of Jesus Christ is true and I believe Joseph Smith was a true prophet who brought the church back so we can enjoy all the benefits of the gospel, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Laureen
Baptised 20/07/2013
Whenever
you move to a new place, there is always someone that reaches out to
you first...this beautiful family found us, welcomed us and made us feel
at home here in Brisbane and in the Chermside Ward. They invited us
over for brownies and icecream and we had a wonderful time with their
adorable children. We also had a special invitation to "Pie Night" for
family home evening; they told us that in November when it is time to
celebrate American Thanksgiving (keeping a few traditions from home), it
is so hot and humid that you just don't feel like having a big turkey
dinner and pie. So they decided to have a pie night in August
"Australia's winter". We weren't able to attend, but I thought it was a
great idea. 
We love this family!
Another Great Elder departing for home: ELDER BAKER....RETURN WITH HONOR! 
Elder Jenkins....
This great man is from Taiwan. His parents divorced when he was young. One day in his 20s, he went to a Presbyterian church in Taiwan. Nobody invited him, he just went. He continued going and eventually became a Christian. Later in his 20s he decided to go to Australia on a working holiday visa, to start a new life and find himself. On his first afternoon here, he was standing on the street with his luggage with his friend Chester. Chester's friend Dora, who had been in Australia longer, was with them. A few weeks prior, Dora had been street contacted by Elder Ladd. She had gone to English Class at Kangaroo Point. As it so happened, that day Elder Ladd and his companion Elder Monsen had just arrived in the city after an appointment. Elder Ladd spotted Dora and stopped by to say hi, and met Philip and Chester. The next day, Philip and Chester came to church. Philip continued to do so until he left Australia, not much more than a month later. He felt he had accomplished his goals for coming to Australia: he found himself in the LDS church and started a new life through baptism, on July 27, back in his hometown in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
