Happenings in Harbour City 9

Another great week has flown by.

Some exciting news about today- the whole mission gets a "Special P-Day" because we made it 30 days without a car accident or infringement, so this afternoon we get to watch some movies! We're watching Frozen and How to Train Your Dragon 2, I am super stoked!!

So, I don't have much time to write today. 

But it has been another smash week here in Sydney. I love my companion, Elder Ko, and we've been seeing heaps of blessings from Heavenly Father.

This thursday, Ethan is getting baptized! He passed his interview with flying colors, and seems all ready for his baptism. We're really excited for it!

Jay is doing great. We taught him 3 times last week, and he loved everything he learned. He didn't make it to church on Sunday, but we'll be meeting up with him tomorrow, so that'll be good. We're excited for him!

Yu Jeong has been really fun to teach. She is being antied pretty hard, and has a lot of concerns regarding our church- she kept reiterating that satan is a smart person, and he could very easily be tricking her with this religion. We couldn't do much else besides bear testimony and invite her to take the lessons with us before she makes a decision, to which she agreed. We gave her a Book of Mormon and when she came to church yesterday, she'd already made it halfway through 2 Nephi! She's a living example to me of the efforts the adversary makes to keep us from the gospel, but also the preparation and protection the Lord gives to His children. Clearly, Heavenly Father's got a plan for her, and He's going to make sure it happens! Haha. Truly a miracle.

Nuri and Sol continue to be awesome. We started something called the "Missionary Resource Plan" with them this week, a program designed to help members become involved in missionary work. Nuri and Sol absolutely loved it- and they came with a list of questions for us on Sunday about how they can start working on their goals and what skills they should work on to be prepared to invite their friends. What more could you ask for? 

On Friday we had a ward Halloween party. It was organized by the missionary couple, so of course it felt very American, which I loved. We even got to carve pumpkins and make roasted pumpkin seeds! It was pretty funny though, the Chinese members didn't want to eat the seeds, they wanted to cut up and eat the pumpkins. Haha.

Overall it was a great week. We're teaching more and more in Korean, and so I feel like a new missionary again, having to learn how to teach and ask questions and do all the basic missionary things, only this time in another language. It's a challenge, but I'm enjoying it. Elder Ko and I are getting along really well, and it makes the work so much easier, that's for sure. I'm so grateful to be a missionary here in the Sydney North!!

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Easton

P.S. Aussieisms: "I'm puffed" or "All puffed out" is what an Aussie'd say when they're out of breath from running too fast, or tired after a game of sport. The opposite? When the little kids are all wild on sugar, they say they've "gone hypo".. pretty close to what they'd say in the states, but a bit different. And there you go!

Happenings in Harbour City 10

What a great week.

First of all, I GOT TO SEE FROZEN AND HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2!! It felt wrong watching them as a missionary, but it also felt good.. haha. The most difficult thing this week has been trying to get "Let it go" out of our heads. It's just so catchy! Haha.

Besides that, Elder Ko and I had some amazing things happen this week. 

We met with Yu Jeong three times this week. She's the one who received heavy anti material and who, we found out this week, used to be a part of the Jehovah's Witnesses back in Korea- which explained a lot about her concerns. We were really struggling with her and what we needed to teach her, how we could help her. On Wednesday we offered to help her study English, but when she came in she put her Book of Mormon on the table and asked that she have a lesson first. We didn't object, and began to share with her some parts in the Book of Mormon. For the first time, the mood in the lesson changed- and in a positive way. She began to be more open, and you could see it in her face. As the lesson progressed, she began to reveal more of her true concerns, and the Spirit was so strong. She expressed how she was dealing with some pretty serious sins, and felt in a very real way the chains of the adversary wrapped around her. We felt inspired to share with her Alma 5- and for the first time, Yu Jeong began to cry. The spirit "cut her to the heart" as the scriptures say, and we could feel it and see it. Since then, Yu Jeong has changed, and it is so amazing to see. She shared with us on Friday that she feels and believes the Book of Mormon to really be the word of God. It's such a blessing to see the gospel truly take its course in someone's life!

On Friday the Assistants (who work in the city as well) came and found us to tell us they had a Korean referral for us- Ji Hyun! He spoke hardly any English, so they thought it'd be better for him to learn from us. Well it was a mighty miracle- Ji Hyun is one of the most humble and prepared people we have ever met, which is even more amazing considering he's Korean! He expressed a desire to be baptized, so in that first lesson we invited him for November 29th, and he accepted! Whoo hoo! Something crazy amazing about Ji Hyun is that his family actually is from North Korea, and they escaped when he was 8. Pretty incredible, when you think about it. 

We also met a new Korean man through English class, Jee Hoon. He didn't seem to keen to learn about Jesus Christ, but yesterday he came to church! So that's a start, for sure. 

The last Korean miracle of the week came through another referral from a set of elders in the zone. They brought Narae to church, and referred her over to us. She's from Korea, and only been in Australia 3 days! The best best best part is that Sol, the recently-returning member, latched on to Narae and sat by her during all three hours of church, talking to her and helping her along the way. How great is that?!

And finally, perhaps the most exciting news of the week- Ethan got baptized!!! Everything went very smoothly, and the service was wonderful. Ethan's testimony was very inspiring, as he explained his conviction that Jesus Christ is real, and is the Savior of the world. 

So, in conclusion, this week has been a very real testimony to me that Heavenly Father is leading this work. So many things that I didn't think would happen, did, and vice versa- all things that, when viewed individually, may seem coincidental, but when compiled together really leave no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father is real and really does love His children. It really amazes me how lives and experiences of so many people can be so intertwined, so dependant on millions of things, and yet always seem to work out. Truly, doesn't it show that there really is a plan of each of us?? At least I think so :)

Well, I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Easton

P.S. Aussieism- The game "Uno" is very popular here, but for some reason every single Australian calls it "Yuno", not "Uno". Clearly they need some more Spanish influence down here.

Happenings in Harbour City 7

Transfers!

This transfer I have been given a new companion, truly a miracle... President Howes put the other Korean Elder in the ward with me! Elder Ko! I literally am overjoyed... this is only the second time on my mission I've had a Korean companion, and I am so so excited. I didn't think this would happen, because Elder Ko was already in the ward, but we just switched companions- so my old companion, Elder Marshall, is still in the ward. So it'll be good to still see him :) But I am just so happy, because now Elder Ko and I can really focus on building the Korean program and helping each other!! Wahoo!!!

So besides that amazing miracle, it has been a pretty good week.

Our investigator, Ethan, is amazing. We taught him Word of Wisdom and Chastity this week, and he had no qualms. He is just so prepared. His date is for November 6th, there's only one problem- because he's from Iran, he has to get Area Presidency approval before he can be baptized. We are a bit worried that his situation at present may be an issue, so please please keep him in your prayers! Hopefully we'll be able to get it sorted out.

One highlight of this week was meeting with Nuri and Sol, the Korean sisters (funnily enough, I taught them with Elder Ko, even though we weren't companions yet). we read my favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon together- 3 Nephi 17. Isn't it just amazing? Near the end Sol shared a spiritual experience with us. She has been struggling with a trial for quite some time now, and she told us that after the lesson last week, she left the chapel and just felt her burden lifted. She slept well for the first time in weeks, and in the morning she felt good again- and she knew it was because she's begun coming back to church. Isn't that amazing? It's so incredible to get to witness someone regaining their testimony. 

Yesterday we were asked to teach the lesson for Family Home Evening. Elder Ko and I had no idea what to teach... and randomly I remembered watching a funny music video on the youth website of lds.org called "Find My Cousins". It's just some cheesy clip of people doing Family History work. We thought with the recent push of Family History, it'd be a fun way of introducing the topic, so we planned to teach about how to do Family History. I got onto Family Search to print off my Family Tree, and ended up printing off some photos and stories of ancestors to share during the lesson. I was amazed- there were pictures and biographies of some of our really old ancestors, that I didn't even know were there! It was amazing! Just for example, I read about William Wallace Merrill, who was baptized by John Taylor and crossed the plains with the Pioneers, joined the Mormon Battalion, and settled in the west. How awesome is that- and I had no idea that he was in my family!! Literally, I can honestly say that I felt the Spirit of Elijah as I read about these ancestors. I felt like they were more than interesting historical people- they were some how a part of me. Corny, maybe, but definitely true. I couldn't stop- I kept reading about my ancestors and printed off as many stories as I could, so I could read them during dinner. I love it.

So while I'm on my mission, I don't have much time to do the work for the dead- I'm called to do the work for the living. But for those of you at home who can, I would strongly suggest taking time to look at your tree online and make some plans to add more people to it :) 

And that was just a part of my week! I'm definitely looking forward to this next transfer, especially to really dive in and put my whole heart into the Korean program. Keep me in your prayers!

Much love,

Elder Easton

P.S. This week's Aussieism- Medicine in Oz! The Australian version of "Airborne" (The vitamin tablet you put in water and fizzes) is called "Berocca". They don't really sell IBprofun or Advil- instead, it's called "Panadol", and lastly, you buy your meds at the "Chemist", not the "Pharmacy". Pretty interesting, hey?!

Love you all heaps!