Times in Tamworth 8

Happy Mother's Day!!

What a joy it was to talk to everyone today. It made my day! But don't worry, I won't let it make me trunky.. back to work we go!

 

I do want to take a minute to mention how much a mission has helped me appreciate my "mum". Here are just a few examples:

-I now know food doesn't just magically appear in the cupboards and fridge

-Cooking is much more of a talent than I'd thought

-Somehow moms are just so good at keeping on top of cleaning and laundry! Like seriously how do you do it?!

-And so, so, much more...

 

So, on behalf of missionaries everywhere, THANK YOU MOMS! for doing all that you do, and with love.

 

This week we had a Zone Training meeting in Coffs Harbour. The meeting was so good- we talked about changing the culture of the "Coffs Harbour Zone". Some missionaries in our mission view going to the "Country Zone" as a punishment, and think the work will be slow and the members unmotivated. It's totally not the case! The work is bustling, and we are only limited by our perceptions. In order to make the work change in our individual areas, we have to change our attitude and outlook about it. I really like that thought.

 

We saw Matt this week, and had a stellar lesson with him. We talked about faith, and helped him realise that even just reading the Book of Mormon is an act of faith, because we're believing that when we read it we might find an answer or feel the truthfulness of it. It was a great reminder for me- whenever we feel like we're lacking faith, even the little things like attending church, reading the Book of Mormon or saying a prayer are active examples of the faith we do have. The key then is simply to recognise and build off that faith.

 

On Wednesday we were doing some tracting and were having 0 success, and unfortunately I was letting it get to me. We met this one lady who seemed so sad and lonely. She was bitter about her children and unhappy with her life. I felt so sure that the gospel would help her, and I did my best to share our message with her. She denied, but I continued, and I really felt like I had put "All the energy of heart" into getting her to listen to us. And yet, after my all was put into lovingly helping her, she still chose to decline our invitation. It felt like a blow to the stomach- a lady so obviously ready wasn't accepting the very thing that could and would bring her peace. I wanted to cry, I just felt so bad for her.

 

And then it seems like when we're lowest, Heavenly Father is merciful and lifts us up. Not two doors down from this lady, another woman opened the door. She was very friendly, and listened as we began to do the survey with her. She openly explained to us that her faith was lacking- her 42 year old brother had just passed away from cancer, and she lost belief in God- how could've God done that to a good man with a family, when there are hundreds of bums and jerks on the streets hurting and destroying others? Elder Ripley and I stopped the survey then and there and just began testifying to her of the Plan of Salvation and of God's love for her. I shared with her that it was no coincidence we knocked on her door, that God had sent us to her to tell her He loves her and has a plan for her family. I asked her if she felt the same way, and with tears in her eyes she said she believed that God had sent us as well. The Spirit was so strong as we stood on her doorstep, nothing more than two young men with the help of Heavenly Father. Her name is Karen, and we'll be seeing her this week- please pray for her. Since then, anytime we've gone tracting I remember Karen- every door we get rejected at is bringing us closer to a door that'll have another Karen. And that's a pretty tender feeling.

 

On Sunday we visited this potential investigator, Liken, who's from Taiwan. We had talked to him briefly on his porch, but he was skyping or something so didn't really talk to us. Well when we went to see him again he looked so confused as to why we were there. Don't worry though, we played it cool and just kept talking to him. He went and got his friend, Benson, who has better English than him. Benson came out and asked us, "Are you from a church?" we said yes, to which he asked, "Can we come to your church? We just came to Tamworth 3 weeks ago and are looking for a church to go to". Is there any doubt God puts us where we need to be, when we need to be?

 

The last miracle I want to share is a simple one- a house right across the street from the chapel is full of Koreans! I've felt prompted to knock on that door for awhile and finally did it yesterday, and to my enjoyment had a nice Korean chat! Hallelujah!

 

As for an Aussieism, on Mother's Day (Or 'Mum's Day' as they say here) the traditional flower to buy is white carnations. They were everywhere- white carnation boquets, boutineers and corsages- kind of a nice tradition to honor the moms, I think.

 

And a good scripture to check out is Alma 13:13. I love it!

 

Have a fantastic week and Be Strong!

 

Love,

 

 Elda Easton

 

 

Times in Tamworth 7

The transfer has officially begun, and not much has changed- Elder Ripley and I are still companions in Tamworth! Whoo hoo! The only difference is I've been asked to be District Leader again, so that should be fun. This week we're going to Coff's Harbour again, but after that we won't go up again until the middle of June! So looking forward to that.

 

A huge miracle happened this week. We added 3 new investigators to our pool! One was a former, his name is Matt (great name, hey??). The previous missionaries had lost contact with him, but still had his address. I saw Matt's teaching record one morning and felt prompted to visit him asap. Right after studies, Elder Ripley and I headed off to his house, only to find out the same thing the other missionaries had- that he wasn't home. I was a little dissapointed- I was sure I had been prompted so that we could meet him right then and there, and he hadn't been home! One evening a few days later, however, I felt prompted to stop by his house again. We didn't have his teaching record with us, which had his address, but because we had visited it earlier in the week I remembered how to get to his house. This time, he was home!! He welcomed us in and we had a great discussion, and he's officially investigating again. I know that while we may not always see the immediate results, every whispering of the Spirit plays a part in God's plan for His children!

 

The other 2 investigators added this week were Janice and John, both found while tracting around the neighborhood the church is in. Janice is an Anglican Grandma and John is this agnostic man who lost his leg to diabetes. Both are awesome people- I look forward to meeting with them more!!

 

So I hope all of you are enjoying the warming weather in the States... Australia has suddenly become an ice block! This week it went from nice 23-25 degrees C to a sudden drop to 10 degrees C!! Freezing! The coldest it got was 6 degrees C, combined with wind chill and rain... burr!! Apparently it's very Australia-ish weather to just drop in the temp really quickly. Thankfully an elder in my last flat gave me a sweater, so I am staying warm!

 

One other miracle- we visit this LA lady every week, Sister Eyekamp. She is from the States, so of course me and her get on really well, haha. Anyways for the past 3 months she had come up with the silliest excuses for not coming to church- from overactive bladders to sniffles to sick cats- but we've always felt there was an underlying reason. Well yesterday as we visited with her, out of the blue she came out and said- "Now, there really is another reason why I don't come to church anymore, but I don't really like to talk about it..." afterwhich she shared her sincere concerns about the church,to which we carefully and lovingly responded to. It was just such a miracle because we felt as if we finally cracked through the ice with her! And are now on the road to helping her get back to where she needs to be. Such blessings.

 

As for an Aussieism, I am coming to notice they really like to drop the "the" on a lot of things... for example, they do not say "I was in the hospital last week" they say "I was in hospital last week". It's not "I mailed my letter at the post" but "I mailed my letter at post". Laziness? Perhaps. They say it's just savin' their breath.

 

And for a spiritual thought, in honor of the wintery weather here I'll share D&C 121:34- "Many are cold, but few are frozen"!!!

 

Love you all heaps,

 

Elda Easton

 

Photos:

Me, Cathy and Greg (Inv) having fish at their home... yum!

 

Me and the Korean, Billy (forgot to send photo last week)

 

Times in Tamworth 6

Good morning, everyone!

 

This past week has had some really great ups and downs- it's definitely been a growing period for me! Not much new to report in the investigator category- we are beginning to go tracting a lot more, which surprisingly has a lot of gold nuggets here and there. Maybe it's just Tamworth, but most everyone will hear out what we have to say at least before closing the door on us, which is a lot more than I'd expected! Haha.

 

There have been some awesome miracles this week. About once a week we see this Less-Active lady and her 4 kids, along with these 4 foster boys she's taking care of as well. I love going over there, and one of the reasons is we always have super spiritual lessons. Well this time we taught the Restoration to them, and in the end gave them each a little pass-along card of Jesus, with the commitment to put that picture somewhere special and to think about Jesus and look at the picture if they're ever sad or scared. It was so special and humbling to see all those little kids treasure that picture we gave them.

 

Another miracle was while we were tracting. We knocked on this lady's door, and she expressed she didn't have much time- we asked if we could just take a minute or two and do the survey with her. She agreed, and on the last question- "What would make you happier?" she really opened up and began to explain how it would make her happier to know that she could see her loved ones again, after this life. Well wouldn't you know it?! A perfect opportunity to teach the Plan of Salvation! Long story short, an hour later we were still standing on her porch with this lady pouring her heart out to us, and a Plan of Salvation pamphlet in her hand. Is this work real? You betcha.

 

A third miracle I want to share is a Korean one! A recent convert, Edward, lives in a house full of Chinese people, with one Korean man, Billy. Well I made friends with Billy and on Friday he invited us over for dinner, and he said he'd make us some Korean food. We get there and find out he is cooking for his whole house, about 12 Chinese people and us. It was awesome- we were able to talk with and share our tesitmonies with so many people, plus get delicious Korean food!! What could be better? Billy also helped me study Korean, and together we practiced Korean and English. He goes back to Korea next month, but he said until then we can keep meeting and learning from each other. It was a great evening!

 

Overall a pretty great week. This is the last week of the transfer, but this time it's on a Friday instead of a Monday- not really sure why. Anyways I feel pretty confident that I'll stay in Tamworth, but I guess next week you'll hear if it's otherwise! Haha.

 

For a Spiritual Thought, I'd just like to share 1 Timothy 4:12. One of my favorite scriptures.

 

As for an Aussieism, try to figure out what this would mean: "Are you tryin' it on with me?" or "Don't even think about tryin' it on!" No, no, it's not referring to putting on clothes- "Tryin' it on" is actually a phrase they use here to mean making mischeif or being naughty (usually it's about kids). I.e. when we go and visit someone and their child runs into another room and makes a mess, they were tryin' it on.

 

Love you all and hope you have a great week!!

 

Elder Easton

Times in Tamworth 5

 Happy Easter, Everyone! Hope you had a great holiday. This past week has been crazy, but all the more better for it. 

To start off the week, the District Leader from Port Macquarie came and stayed with us Mon-Wed. There were some hectic miracles! We went tracting and the first door we knocked on had a mother who has been meeting the JDubs (Jehovah's Witnesses) for 3 years, but has never been to church with them. Anyways we ended up teaching a smash lesson on the Restoration and Priesthood and even placed a Book of Mormon! Her name's Alice and we're going to meet up again tomorrow, I am really excited to teach her more. If that wasn't a miracle enough, the very next door we knocked on had a 30 some odd year old man, Steve... needless to say we're dropping by again on Saturday! The gates of Heaven have certainly been opened!

Monday night we got an interesting text... we had left Vincent with the Baptismal Interview questions and it seems he was having some second guesses, he flooded us with a concern on just about everything. With a narrow gap for Vincent to have his baptismal interview, Elder Punu and I (Elder Punu is the other missionary from Port Mac) went and had one of the most intense lessons I've been a part of on the mission. We dug right in and got straight to Vincent's concerns, and only through God's grace I'm sure we helped Vincent overcome his issues and he went into the interview, and passed with flying colors! Miracles!

Following the visit from Port Mac Elders we had our 2 day conference in Coffs Harbour. It was the best! We went on a little road trip, picking up the elders from Armidale and met up with the rest of our zone to have a zone picnic and a training meeting. The next day we had zone conference and then Saturday morning we headed out. It was a blast, and yes I did see the Big Banana in Coffs :) The only thing I didn't like is that there were 12 elders staying in a two bedroom flat with yes, only 1 shower. It was an adventure for sure to get ready in the morning! Haha.

Vincent's baptism went flawless. Everyone showed up on time, the speakers were great, and Vincent's actual baptism went smoothly. It was so awesome! I am so humbled and excited to have seen him enter the waters of baptism, and now to help him on his way to becoming a worthy priesthood holder. Isn't the gospel so true?!

And, of course, Easter found us with way too many chocolate eggs and a really spiritual sacrament meeting. One speaker, Michelle Green, talked about the Atonement and shared a nice thought that I liked. She said something along the lines of how it feels so good to have someone who has been through what you're going through- for example, her father is dealing with stage 4 cancer, and it is a big relief for her to find support with people who have been in the same situation. Of course, we all know what she is alluding to; that Christ is someone who knows not just kind of, or similarly, butexactly how we feel. He really does love us that much, doesn't He? So for my spiritual thought this week I thought I'd share this scripture: Alma 7:11-12. 

As for an Aussiesm, a funny insult I've learn recently is to call someone a "dag"- meaning a "dork" or an "idiot". Don't worry, no one's called me that (yet, anyways). 

Hope you all have a fantastic week, and enjoy the warming weather... for even as we speak leaves are falling and temperatures are dropping down here in Down Under!

Much love,

Elder Easton

Times in Tamworth 4

With the advent of my arrival in Tamworth so close to a holiday, many of the members here have begun to associate my name with the upcoming celebration, and now affectionately refer to me as "Elder Easter". It's okay though, with their thick country accents I really can't tell much of a difference. With their ever constant reminders, however, these past few weeks I've really been pondering about Easter, the miracle of our Savior's Atonement both on the mission and in myself.

On my desk I have a picture of Christ that I look at everyday. It's my favorite one, a painting done by Kendra Burton that depicts Jesus smiling a big smile with tears just forming in his eyes. Every day when I sit down to study, I look at that picture and imagine Him wrapping his arms around me, or seeing me and smiling that warm smile. Sometimes, I look at Him and get a different feeling, as if He's dissapointed in me. His eyes seem to be a little bit red and His face reproves me, and I imagine Him saying "C'mon. You're better than that". Even other times His face just seems to understand me, and His tears are empathetic ones that tell me "It's okay. You made it through the day". Every time the picture is exactly the same, but my feelings of it change because I feel Him always near me, watching over me.

With practically all the Asian people I have ever taught, including most recently our investigator Vincent, I have found the best way to describe baptism is to use the phrase "A New Life". For some reason it just sticks with them, and they tend to like the idea of a fresh start, a new beginning. I find this refreshing and humbling- they seem to understand so clearly the simplicity and beauty of baptism. It's an opportunity for us to begin again, start over, and it's made possible only through the Atonement, but it is possible. How incredible is that?

There's a quote floating around from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that basically states that he would plead with every missionary to teach and learn about Christ and His Atonement through the Book of Mormon. There are many great places to discover more about it, but one of the first places that comes to my mind to learn about Christ is, of course, 3rd Nephi. Only this morning I was reading in chapter 17, when Christ heals the sick and blesses the children. One of my favorite verses in that chapter is verse 7, illustrating the phrase "Bring them hither, and I will heal them".
 

My mission is teaching me all about healing through the Atonement- helping those torn and broken people piece back their lives and become whole again. Christ really is serious when He says, "I will heal them". I've been so blessed to see individuals who open their hearts and allow that change to take place.

But that healing hasn't been reserved alone for investigators and less-active members. It's very actively playing a part in myself. I have so many weaknesses, so many sins, and I am, just like everyone else, a little bit broken. But through the Atonement I'm beginning to understand what it means to change. To feel something in myself leave, and something better replace it. It is very much the healing that Christ is speaking of. It's very much the healing that I tell my investigators, but now I'm beginning to share it with others not just because I'm taught it, but because I believe it. Because I know what that change feels like. And that change is available to every single person, and should be used by all of us as well.

General Conference was aired this weekend, and it really has been an incredible highlight to my studies and thoughts about the Atonement and Christ. I have lots of thoughts about it, of course, but one scripture that was shared really popped out at me- it's in 3 Nephi 10:4-6, and goes something along the lines of "As a Hen gathereth her chickens under her wings" (I heard it quoted two or three times). Investigator Greg's chickens had babies this week, (which I thought was really fitting for Easter-time!) and he noted to me that the mother hen was protecting those babies with everything she had. No one was able to even get close to that mother chicken or her babies. When comparing our Savior to the mother Hen and us to the chicks, it's pretty humbling to think that He really will tuck us under and protect us, if only we let Him. 

The Atonement is real. I know it because I've felt it, and continue to feel it everyday. I'm so grateful for this Easter season, because it's an opportunity for us to take a moment and remember Christ's sacrifice, His great and everlasting Atonement. As Preach My Gospel tells us missionaries, everything we teach and everything about our gospel is centered on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

This weekend, Vincent will have the special opportunity to be baptized a member of the Church, to gain full access of the Atonement and to rejoice in the cleansing and purifying effects of our Redeemer. I'm so humbled and excited for him, because I know that the New Life he's seeking really will be given to him.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! Please enjoy it and take a minute or two amidst the chocolate eggs and marshmellow bunnies to remember what the Atonement means to you.. you won't regret it :) 

Love you all "peeps"!

Elder Easton

D&C 76:22

Oh and I couldn't forget an Aussieism. This one's for all you ginger haired friends out there- in Australia they call red-heads "ranga's", slang for "orangutan".. haha. I really like this one.

 

Times in Tamworth 2

G'day mates,

Update on the investigators! Vincent is still on track for Baptism on April 19th. He's super awesome, going great. His friend, Evan, who was on date for baptism with Vincent got a new job that works 7 days now, and he's 'too busy' to meet with us.. don't ya just love that excuse? That's okay though, we'll get 'im eventually.

Greg is as stellar as ever. He brought his friend, Betty, to church yesterday! More info about that down below.

Still haven't been able to contact Kim. Argh.

 

The first big miracle this week came from meeting up with a potential I talked to on the street, Johnny. He's from Hong Kong. I called him up and asked for a time we could meet up, and his response was "How about now?". We dropped what we were doing and met him at a cafe, and had a super awesome lesson! He's always wanted to learn about Jesus Christ, and he feels like this may finally be his chance to learn about the Saviour. Boy is he in for a ride!! Elder Ripley and I were pretty stoked by the end of it- Johnny makes our first investigator of the transfer!

 

Another miracle came from Greg, as I mentioned briefly above. He rang us up and told us his friend, Betty, wanted to begin the Stop Smoking Program we did with Greg. Betty is a character- an old lady with waist-long hair, she calls herself "Betty the Bird Lady". She loves birds and has heaps of them, they fly around freely in her house with her. She's the best! She only wanted to quit smoking, but Greg testified to her that coming to church was one of the best helps he had in overcoming tobacco, so she agreed to tag along on Sunday. He's going to make a beast member- already bringing others to the fold before he's even baptised himself!

 

Yesterday was Daylight Savings, which was super awesome because we gained an hour!! More sleep!! I think it could've been because of that, but gratefully we had a much bigger congregation at church. The organist was there, so they asked me to be Chorister! Which was definitely a blast, I was channeling Sue Thorup while I did it, and I'm pretty sure I outsung the whole congregation. Haha. We had 4 investigators at church which was a huge blessing too, they're all coming along nicely!

 

Overall, a great week in "Tim Tam Tamworth". The weather's slowly cooling down which is really nice, and with the Easter Holiday coming up, everyone's more willing to talk about Jesus Christ- what could be better than that?!

 

As for an Aussieism- This one is still weird for me. In the States, if someone asks you to nurse the baby, it means like to feed it, right? Well here to nurse a baby is just to hold it or take care of it. So don't be surprised when you see men and women, old and young, all nursing their babies here in the outback.

 

Cheers,

 

Love Elder Easton

Pictures: Me and Greg holding a "Chook"!!

Me at the Tamworth lookout.. you can see the whole town!

 

The Times in Tamworth

It's been another incredible week in the service of the Lord. I've officially been in Tamworth a whole week, and have had a great experience so far. 

Here's some information on the Investigators we're working with:

Vincent and Evan- two taiwanese YSA staying in Tamworth to work at the meat factories. They both have set the date of April 19th for their baptism, and they're both so prepared! Like seriosuly, they're about as good as investigators come. I'm really excited for them :)

Greg- Greg is the partner of a returning member. They want to get married but can't until her divorce papers are final, so as soon as they can get married, he'll be baptised. He's solid as, calls himself a "Dry Mormon", and loves studying. LOVES it. Could you ask for anything better?

Kim and Conner (her son)- Kim lives across the street from the chapel and just decided to come one day to check it out. She's also pretty awesome but is struggling because I think she got offended a church once. She had a baptismal date before so hopefully we'll help her recommit to that!

We're also meeting with a pastor of a Pentecostal church, his name's Rick, but I don't really count him as an investigator because he just likes to practice his sermons on us.. haha. Very nice man, though.

So I'm sure you're all wondering, as I have been as well, about the Koreans in Tamworth. Well I am happy to report that THEY EXIST! Actually some pretty cool miracles associated with the Koreans of Tamworth this week: I was praying super hard to meet some Koreans this week. On Friday we were street contacting and I walked by a Japanese restaurant, and felt prompted to go inside and see if the Hostess was Korean. Seemed odd, but I went on inside and sure enough, she and the entire staff were Korean!! Pretty cool miracle, I got to talk with them on and they agreed to let us stop by again sometime. 

Another miracle: Every Saturday the missionaries go up to this sports center and play basketball with heaps of people. Well I'm proud to let you all know that yes, I did play basketball, and even though I am pretty terrible at it still managed to make it through the morning! The best part of the experience, however, is that the ONLY TWO Koreans in the entire center somehow made it over to me and we got put on a team together. Coincidence? Not a chance. I was able to talk with them, and turns out that one of the Koreans, Simon, is obsessed with America (Strange, right...?) probably more than I am obsessed with Korea, and has been looking everywhere to meet an American in Tamworth. Lucky match, hey? Anyways they live in a house full of Koreans and they're all coming to basketball this Saturday so we can all meet. 

And finally my favorite Korean miracle. Elder Ripley and I ran to the store to grab some last minute things and bumped into a Korean couple. They were super nice and we had a really good conversation. Turns out she really wants her partner to start coming to church, and he is afraid because his English isn't that good. Needless to say they agreed to have us over this week for some Kimchi and Korean/English practice, as well as our message... score!! 

Overall, I think I can say after my experiences this week that there's no doubt in my mind the Lord knew what He was doing when he sent me out to the middle of nowhere. This really is His work and my job is just to be worthy and willing enough to let Him work through me.

Church on Sunday was awesome. The organist wasn't there, and so Bishop asked me to play for the hymns. Strangely enough they only have an organ, no piano, but I still agreed. After all, how much different is the organ to the piano?

 Well, let me tell you all something... the organ is pretty different. I had no clue how hard it is to try to play with your feet, too!! I definitely overestimated my abilities, but it was still fun to try, and it has given me the resolve to learn how to play the organ now. All in all, it wasn't too bad though- we still made it through all the songs okay. In church there were about 21 people total, and so for Sunday School and Priesthood/RS we ended up being combined. It was actually really fun, it's kind of like having FHE with 2 or 3 families. It was certainly a different experience to what I'm used to, but it was really humbling for me and warmed my heart to see those 21 faithful members who still come even when it's so small. 

So, my overall thoughts for Tamworth so far: I LOVE IT. One thing I noticed straight away, is that almost everyone I smiled and said good morning to... smiled and said good morning back to me. That has almost never happened to me before! I loved it! Another great thing about Tamworth is the traffic.. or more like lack thereof. It is seriously a million times better to drive in Tam than in Sydney, I'll tell you that. One thing that's pretty funny is whenever someone here hears my accent, they call me a Yank! How hilarious is that! Even better, they all call my English companion a POME- Prisoner of Mother England. Pfahaha. These people are too funny. I think I'm really settling in nice to this place.

As for an Aussieism- "Mad Kalar" is what they call someone who's crazy or nuts. A Kalar is a native Australian bird that attacks people or something? From what I understand. Pretty great phrase, in my opinion. 

Well, hope you all have a great week!! Thanks for listening~

Cheers,

Elder Easton

photo 1: The countryside of Tamworth... can you say scenic?!

photo 2: May need some explanation. On the Left is Tyson, he's 18 and literally SO STOKED to go on his mission it's incredible. His dream spot? Salt Lake City! The guy on the right is Adam, he's Tyson's NM friend who came to our ward activity. As for me? Well... I dropped some dinner in my plate and it splattered everywhere. "Pullin' a Betty" as the Easton's call it.