Times in Tamworth 14

G'day, chups.

This has been, as always, a very eventful week! I'll start off with some of our investigators:

Matt- ah he's the best. We taught the Law of Chastity this week, and committed him to get married to his partner... which he accepted!! I hear those wedding bells...

Adam- His baptism is still pushing forward. He didn't make it to church yesterday which is a little worrisome, but he still looks good for the 5th.

Chris/Amanda/Patrick- Amanda had her 18th birthday this week, and they invited us to her birthday party. We were a little skeptical (mostly because 18 is the legal drinking age in Australia...) but went along anyhow, and had a great time. We found out Chris's best friend was baptised down in Mount Druitt a long time ago, and used to feed the missionaries all the time. She's strayed off the path a little but still believes it's true. The best part is she's been telling Chris about the church, and thankfully it's been all good things instead of anti, like I initially thought it might've been. It really just testified to me that the Lord prepares His children- it's really not a coincidence that Chris met us, and her best friend's a Less-Active... ah this church is just so true!

Richard- haha, I include Richard because it was a very memorable experience. Richard is an "eternigator", aka he is never progressing. He is a hard-core Christian, and has some deep-rooted doctrinal issues regarding our church. He is very respectful though, and usually we'll go meet with him and leave an hour later, not having gotten anywhere. Anyhow this week we saw him and brought the doctrinal-master of our ward, Brother Barratt. We had a pretty good discussion about authority and priesthood and prophets and what not... but at some point along the discussion my companion disagreed with Richard, and soon enough a blood bath of bible bashing ensued. Well I was completely lost in the conversation, and just stayed frigid in my seat as they yelled... When it went quiet after the argument stopped, they both looked at me and I had no idea what to do- so I forced the most awkward smile I could and complemented the tasty water. When in doubt, smile out. Needless to say we weren't invited back.. but hey, I'm okay with that!

Some other fun things that happened this week included going to the YM/YW's progressive dinner on Wednesday. Two of our Less-Actives, Andrea and Helena, came which was a big blessing. You all will be surprised to hear that for the appetizer we had cheese-and-vegemite pastries, and to even my own astonishment, I ate AND ENJOYED them... what the heck is this mission doing to me?!!? 

Yesterday I had a really cool experience with the sacrament. As I sang the sacrament hymn, I really tried to focus on the words I was singing. I've been studying the Atonement the past few weeks and pondered what I'd been learning, trying to put in practice what the scriptures and prophets have told us. I decided just to try- to put my full faith that the sacrament would cleanse me. As I took the bread, I reflected on my own memory of being baptised and the feelings I had watching other baptisms throughout my mission, and imagined going down into the water again. It was so incredible. I literally felt a washing come, a purifying- and then I suddenly couldn't wait for the water. It was like my body knew it needed to be complete, and the water would finish the ordinance. What a wonderful feeling it was to take those emblems and to really actually experience what we teach our investigators- that sacrament can be a transformational experience.

Later in the day, Elder Ripley and I went to visit the Davison's, a older couple in the ward with a disabled daughter. This was the first Sunday ever that every single one of them had to miss church in as long as they can remember, and they were pretty upset about it. They were all just simply too unwell to go. Humbly and with tears in their eyes, they asked for an Administration. I was the voice for two of the blessings, Sister Davison and their daughter, Kelly, and both times as I said their blessings I heard distinct words come to my mind. I think that's the first time it's happened, but I really felt guided by the Spirit. It was so cool, like I was receiving revelation right then and there! I was certainly humbled and blessed by the experience, it's really built my faith on the power and authority of the Priesthood which we bear.

As for a Spiritual Thought, take some time to ponder Hymn 26, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". This week at Zone Conference, our Zone will be doing a musical item of those words to the tune of "Come Thou Fount"- it's actually quite beautiful- but anyhow as I've been reading and re-reading those words this past week they've really just stuck out to me of how powerful and true they are. My favorite verse is 3- how it describes the light descending, the Lord appearing. In our song that's when we all hum and someone recites the First Vision. I'm really excited for it! 

And, of course, the Aussieism. You'd be hard-pressed to find any ground beef or hamburger in Australia- instead they call it "mince". At first I really hated the word, it sounded like the meat was all different organs grinded together- but it's actually grown on me. I didn't actually realise until we had dinner with the American Missionary Couple a few weeks back how weird a name "hamburger" actually is for raw beef- where's the ham, anyhow?!

Well, love you all heaps, and have a great week in the warmth- we're supposed to get our first frost this week. Time to break out the winter gear!

Elder Easton

Photo: The YM/YW's activity