We had our monthly conference up in Coff's Harbour this week, which is always a blast. The highway to Coff's is called "Waterfall Way", and this trip we finally lived up to the name, stopping and visiting all the waterfalls along the road. There were about 5 we got to see- Ebor Falls, Wollomumbi, Chandler, Dangar, and Sherrard Falls. Spectacular. There's no doubt I'm serving in the most beautiful mission!!
As for our investigators, we're excited for all that's happening:
Chris- She's on date for this Saturday! Hallelujah! We taught Law of Chastity and Temples this week, and she's ready to go. Patrick still wants to be baptized, but he hasn't come to church yet, which is a pain. We're hoping to get him there and baptized within the next few weeks. Chris continues to amaze Elder Tavalea and I, though- on Tuesday she told us some exciting news. After church last week she went to work and shifted her roster around so she wouldn't have to work on Sundays anymore. Sundays pay double for the work, so she switched her 4-hour Sunday shift for an 8-hour Saturday shift to get the same amount of pay. The most incredible part? We didn't even ask her to do that! I have no doubt that Chris is so ready for this commitment to her Savior. Please continue to pray she'll stay on date for the 16th!
Jacob- Jacob's the 9 year old we're teaching, and he's just plain great. He's also getting baptized on Saturday, and his Grandpa is coming up from Canberra to baptize him. Our vision is that Jacob's baptism will be the propellant to get his father back into full activity (He's having a hard time giving up some of the Word of Wisdom) and to interest his mother to investigate about the church. There's a lot riding on it, so I hope we'll maximize the experience!
Matt- He's still feeding us every week, and this week we gave him a triple combination Book of Mormon- Doctrine and Covenants- Pearl of Great Price. He was so excited to have it! He's really been delving into studying the scriptures, and you can tell he's really feasting on the words. Words of the Prophet in action!
English class is going well- 2 more faces last week! It keeps growing and growing, which certainly puts the pressure on the lesson! We usually have Tyson and Adam come help with it, which is a big relief for me. We didn't have any of them come to church this week, but we've got some plans to get them a little more intrigued about the church. Lots of work to do!
Overall, Elder Tavalea and I are really geared up for the rest of the month. We had a zone fast yesterday and are really striving to become "escalator missionaries" instead of "elevator missionaries"(as in moving many people up towards baptism, instead of one at a time).
For a spiritual thought, I'd like to talk a moment about my experience fasting. A few weeks ago, a lady in the ward gave a talk about fasting. She said everytime she feels hungry or thinks about food, she treats it as a reminder and says a prayer about whatever it is she is fasting for. The past 3 times I've fasted, I decided to try that, and holy smokes it's made a huge difference in my day. It goes from a day of starvation to a truly spiritually uplifting experience. I think it's helped me understand a bit more the purpose of fasting. I suppose all of you should give it a try next time you fast! It really has changed my attitude completely about fasting.
Aaand as for an Aussieism, take this one in: "A Yarn". What do you think it could mean? Here's how the Aussies would use it: "Come over and have a yarn", or "Oh I'm sorry, I'm not really in the mood for a yarn today", or even "I've got heaps of time. Let's just relax and have a yarn". Guessed it yet? A yarn means to have a chat, or just sort of "shoot the breeze" as we might say. A lot of these country bumpkins out here live a slower pace- and really enjoy having "yarns" with us. Especially the old folks of Tamworth, they'll "have a yarn" and hear out our message! It's funny though, because with the accent it sounds like they're saying "yawn", but I double and triple checked that it's "yarn". So there's that.
Well I love you all heaps and hope you have a great week!
Elder Easton
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