Look Forward With Hope!

 But Christmas I learned a really valuable lesson hahaha.... So first off it rained the WHOLE day.. so we stayed inside the church and the Branch BBQ ended around 3.... from 3-9.... I kid you not.... I played a little ninja and ping pong for about an hour... so actually 4-9.... I just watched mormon messages..... We had nothing to do so I watched those all day.... And I could care less how unproductive my Christmas was.... but I realized the best gift I had.... (obviously besides all of you, family, friends etc.)... And that was a testimony of this gospel... as I watched each one I felt the spirit confirm to me what I was hearing was true... So It was a pretty sweet Christmas I would say.
Now let me tell you about my New Years Eve..... So I remembered I was thinking... What did I do this time 1 year ago?... And we were in the house in Cashmere playing farkle and I remember mom and dad kissed and Jared was like "gross" Or something mean and I laughed super hard...... And now.... let me tell you about my lovely new years eve for the finishing of 2012 :) .... We had to be back at our flat at 4pm and once we got in... we were told to make the flat "Temple Clean"..... And so me and Elder J live in a 4 man flat.... so me and Elder J had to clean a huge flat with the 2 of us.... we cleaned 5 hours straight until 9.... planned for tomorrow for like 5 minutes and then cleaned til 10:30... we didn't even have dinner..... And then this morning we cleaned another 3 hours!!!!!!!!!!!! So we finished the new year cleaning and started the new year cleaning.... I kid you not... we were in a state of wearyness where you're laughing for no apparent reason and yet you still wanted to just hit someone.... And there were tons of party people (we live by a ton of clubs) and I was so angry hahah.. we were just yelling "REPENT! REPENT!".... oh my goodness.... I was thinking the whole time... "this is so dumb.. I didn't come on a mission to clean... I hate my life".... pretty dramatic right? hahah but if you would've seen how dirty it was, you would've said the same hahah. And so this morning for personal study I came across some revelation that slapped me in the face... First I'll give you some background... My zone leader Elder A... always has the most intense and revelation flowing studies in the world... and he says every morning he prays for it and opens up the scriptures randomly... and comes to his revelation... so this morning I did the same.... I prayed and opened up randomly.... I was in a pretty bad mood due to the most stupid new years eve I've ever had and it just so happened I landed in the bible.... where it speaks of the first and great commandment... Love one another... And I thought... "love one another?... more like hit someone".... And as I read it said a phrase with Jesus speaking "Because I live.. ye shall live also..." And it popped in my mind the talk given in General Conference which was titled that... So I flipped that open... and read.... and there's this little strand of light that comes from my window.... and it landed exactly.... perfectly..... on this sentence in the story.... "look forward with hope, rather than look backward with despair"... And that just dumbfounded me for real.... I was so shocked that I underlined and marked it and even took a picture that you can see..... With such simple words.... brought a great peace to my mind... mostly because I was pretty angry I had cleaned my whole new years eve hahah and started off the new year stupid as well... So I thought to myself.... from now on... I'm not going to dwell on the bad things this past year such as yesterday.... instead I'm going to look forward with hope.... And I think the same can apply with EVERYONE.... often when the new year comes everyone thinks about all the bad things that happened to them and just hope for a better year.... so what better way to live by... than to look forward with hope, rather than looking backward with despair.... (there's my over exaggerated story for you hahaha) So now I've typed too much and I shallst be on my way now... Just remember that and have a happy 2013!

Best Christmas Present EVER!

This week was seriously fair dinkum aussie!... aka sweet as. We did a TON of teaching and found a TON of new investigators... To put it in short we saw miracles for days!.. We went from our area being pretty close to dead... to setting 4 baptismal dates this week alone!... It was INSANE!... And I found a Brazilian!!!!!... It's been my goal to baptize a Brazilian on my mission hahah, and he came in for a lesson and is keen as!.. He's gonna get baptized for sure. But really the most craziest thing was when we went on trade offs with the assistants... I went with Elder U..  He is seriously the definition of a machine.... And he shared an experience where him and his companion made a promise to the Lord.... They weren't going to care about food, sleep, or anything.. They were just going to dedicate their time to work... And he said it was seriously the most borderline thing between hard working and just absolutely crazy... And they set a pretty high baptismal goal for the next 3 months.... and at the end of that 3 months they had achieved it all except 1... And they were pretty pumped but they still knew this goal was inspired of God... And the week before reporting ended... one of their investigators ran out of Sacrament meeting crying.... and they got a text a little later saying "I felt the spirit so strong.. can I be baptized next Saturday?"... And so she was baptized and they reached their goal for baptisms in that 3 months!... And he said "I could honestly tell you Elder Ball... I couldn't of gave any more in that time than what I gave.."... And then he asked me to think about a question but I want to change it a little.... "At the end of my mission... How do I want to account to God?"... And think of that question as you read Alma 26.... This is Alma's homecoming talk after his 13 year mission.... So that definitely boosted me up another gear to work harder.
At the beginning of my mission maybe when I was out like 3 months.. I was having trouble finding.. like I could get phone numbers from people easy... but finding solid people was hard.... So I prayed real hard one night... and the next day I found this Chinese guy named L.... who will be getting baptized this week!!!! Best Christmas present EVER!... And then that same week I found this Japanese girl named N.. she was for real hard hearted hahaha... Like she straight up told us she didn't want to learn about God at first... but then she started opening up about her past and how her grandma died recently... and she wanted to know where she was now.... And so then she softened up to learn about the gospel which is miracle as!!... And something even cooler... my Zone Leader Elder H.. in his Patriarchal Blessing it says he will serve in his native tongue.... yet on his mission he barely has spoken Japanese... and so now he sees it being fulfilled.... and so he'll be teaching her now and I'm sure she'll get baptized soon :D... MIRACLES!

BOOM! ...SPIRIT IN YOUR FACE!

But this week was pretty crazy hahah...  I'm still in the City.. just different Area and different district.... Oh my goodness though... It broke my heart... all my investigators... I won't teach them anymore..  :'( ... But it's algood we've had some miracles this week....The area was basically dead when I came Friday.. like no investigators... but one night I just sat down and made a billion calls and we set up seriously like SO MANY lessons with potential investigators for this week.... EVEN!.... This girl named M from Mexico....  And I met her 2 months ago but she never answered... but that night she answered and we were on the phone like 10 minutes just trying to convince her to come in... cause I still remember she told me all the churches are corrupt because there's no authority on the earth anymore... And I almost had a heart attack... (RESTORATION)... So finally she agreed to come in and listen to what we have to say... So Wednesday shallst be our make or break lesson... I'm scared as hahah.
This morning for about 4 hours we moved 7 girls' stuff to their new apartment.... K so just imagine how much stuff 1 girl has.... and times that by..... 7!.... It was so heavy hahah. But it was AWESOME!.
This week was sweeet as... I'll share one really cool experience... So we were teaching one of our investigators... (she'll be baptized this week).. And at the end of our lesson she just bore her testimony to us and basically shared her conversion story with us and just started crying... For real the spirit was so strong... like... the only description would be like BOOM!... SPIRIT IN YOUR FACE!...  She's got a super cool conversion story too... but I'll tell that when I get pictures of her baptism as well :)
And another super cool thing... It was an Arizona invasion this Sunday!!! A ton of guys from Arizona came for business and 2 of them went to Mesa High.. and 1 of them grew up in Kingsborough Park ward (which was 52nd ward at the time).. And he knew everyone... Pyles, Robinsons, Favreuas etc... But unfortunately... I didn't catch his name -_-... so sorry bout dat hahaha. But he was super cool. 

Starstruck!

And to answer your question haha... I'm still in the City.... still with Elder A.  But this week was a super exciting... yet sad week :( We lost a lot of great missionaries!... Even Sister Wolfgramm :( But they will all do great in their new areas... But enough sad news... now for the exciting stories!

 

But anywho.... Brace yourself.... for the most insane things ever....... are you ready?!>...... MUTE SPITTAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FAIRFRIGGINDINKUM!!!! I MET HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... And not only him.... but a bunch of those dudes from those youtube videos!!!!!!!! AND!!!!!!!!.... Victor Kim!!!!!!!!..... He's from Quest Crew that won ABDC in season 3!!.... I was so hyped!!.... We just finished finding and I was standing on the corner of world square and I was waiting for my companion and I saw this huge as group of people that looked familiar walk by from a distance.... and then it clicked and I was like OH SNAP!!!!!!!!! and I ran them down and talked to them for a little bit... it was so crazy!!... I tried to get a picture with all of them but they had a dinner reservation so I only got one with Victor.

 

... My goodness.... It sucked though... I was so starstruck I couldn't focus on missionary work the rest of the night hahaha, but I'm algood now.

 

 AND!..... It was super cray.... We were on trade offs and we were just doing daily planning then all of a sudden (FVDFGDRBHGSDFGAAAAAAAAAAAAFSEDFSARFSF).... This LOUD AS noise came by and our windows were shaking like crazyyy!,... So we ran over to the balcony to see what was happening and this military helicopter flew by our window... I kid you not... like 100 feet from our window( on the 27th floor) ... and started lowering like 30 guys onto this building across from us!! Then a 2nd one came and lowered another 30 and then the flew off.... and it was quiet for a bit... and we couldn't see much... then all of sudden we saw inside the building like 30 lasers all pointing at one way... We were like OH SNAP! CALL OF DUTY@ SHOOT! SHOOT! Fair dinkum... It was sweet as though... had a lot of action this week haha.

 

So I think I told you last week about the Chinese investigator that texted us wanting to meet.... So we had a 2nd lesson with him the beginning of this week... and we just finished teaching him the First Vision and we were about to finish the lesson... then he was like "Guys... I have some good and bad news....".... And so we were kinda skeptic... not sure what he was going to say hahah... But we told him to say bad news first... "I can't come to church this Sunday cause I have to study for my exams..." Then we were like.. ahhh alrighhttt :/ ... Then I was like... well whats the good news?... "I have been praying and I got an answer... I want to be baptized...".... I was like....Uhm... Excuse me?... hahaha, I wasn't even expecting that at all... But I was super excited!!!.. WOO!.... So we set a date for December 29th! He's so prepared though.. it was ridiculous!... 

So we were on trade offs and it was a complete opposite... me and Elder S were teaching most the day... and Elder A and Elder Sh did finding the entire day!.... So at the very end of the day they were coming back... And probably quite discouraged cause I don't think they had much success.... But along the way.. some guy stopped them and asked where an ATM was... then they turned around and he saw 'Jesus Christ' on the badge and was like WHOAAAAAAA!!!..... Then just explained to them that before he came out... He was praying for guidance in his life and needed someone to turn to and when we was praying he felt this warm tingly sensation come over him and he got freaked out by this feeling hahah, so he was like... "I'm hungry... I'm gonna get some food".... And then that's when he met them!.... And then the next day we had a lesson with him and he has had SO MANY spiritual experiences and is so super prepared.... And it's miracle enough for you to find someone to teach.... but even more when they pray and find you to teach them...! Miracles! But yeah it was a super good week!

We even had an American Thanksgiving on p-day last week with the senior couple Elder and Sister B from Washington State.... IT WAS SO GOOD!!!.

It's A Small World After All

This week was definitely awesome blossom... mostly cause I'm a missionary... obvi... but I had a super insane experience that I shallst share... So twas a fine day in the city of Sydney... and we were in Chinatown doing some finding and I felt prompted to talk to this girl... so I start trying to catch up to her and then this Russian lady from Moscow stopped me and asked where this book shop was.. and so by the end of our conversation I had lost this girl... So I ran to the corner I had last seen her and started walking around for a while trying to find her.. but it was like impossible in the city with so many people... But as I was walking I had a distinct prompting "Turn Around"... So I turned around and started wandering around looking for her... and after a while I was like... So what now?... So I was at this stoplight kinda discouraged that I missed that prompting when this guy with headphones walks straight past me into the street and this car was coming about to hit him.. so I grabbed his backpack and pulled him onto the sidewalk and he just looked at me like o.O ... Then I started talking to him and ended up getting his number because he was interested in church!.... :O ... And so I kinda evaluated the situation after, like what the heck just happened hahah... But I came to the conclusion that the spirit prompted me to follow her to lead me to this guy to potentially save him from harmful injury!.. And I was just super humbled that I was able to receive such a critical prompting and follow it... Otherwise... who knows what would've happened.

So like a month ago I met this golden as Chinese guy on the street.. and he said he's always wanted to come to church forever but was afraid his english wasn't that great and he wouldn't understand... (his english is real good though.. he's just humble)... And so he texted us out of nowhere on Friday and said he wanted to meet!! And that may not sound like a big deal... but when we meet people and give them our number... 100% of them NEVER contact you... and so we were like WOOOO!!! And so we met him at 3:30 right?.... We had a crazy lesson and committed him to baptism (1st lesson) and then he enjoyed being with us so much... we then went out to dinner and he stayed for Game Night at the church until like 8:30 hahahah. He just stayed 5 hours at the church that whole afternoon... Even when we had another lesson at 6 we didn't know what to do with him and he was like.. Oh it's fine.. I feel really warm in the church so I'll just wait for you here!.... o.O GOLDEN AS!.. Hahaha I was so pumped!...

And then another thing which was RIDIC!.... ANDRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was Mormon Security for church.. which means I had to stand outside and greet people and let them in etc. And I'm blind obvi... and saw some people I didn't recognize and was like who are they?... And Elder H was like "Ah some people from the Stake"... And so I go to open the door and wait... and then I see Andres walk up.... I was like WHAT?!?! NO WAY!!!! Hahahah he had come to our branch to see his cousin give a talk hahaha. It was so awesome!!! Such a small world!

Changing Gears

 We were walking to Hungry Jacks and they had this whole street blocked off so I was like what the heck?... So I go up to this guy and ask what's going on and they were filming the Wolverine movie!!! And we got to see Hugh Jackmans stunt double, I was like whaaaaaa?... It was sick as... I never seen a movie set before so dat koo.

This week was one of the best weeks in my mission... I think this will be where I can trace all the success that will come to me in the rest of my mission... I had always felt ever since I came out I had been improving and improving.. but recently this past transfer I was stuck like in between 5th and 6th gear... Like I was so close to just shifting up to just smash missionary work... but it was like a struggle within myself.... And the question I've asked the most since I've been out is.. "How do I fully lose myself in the work?"... And that's what was keeping me from hitting it into 6th gear... And it was a combination of things this week that got me into 6th.... First.. the main reason.. I talked to this LEGENDARY returned missionary that served in the City here for a year... and I was asking him like how he did it... and he just said "I just put everything I had into my mission and there came a point where everything clicked... the gospel.. the atonement.. everything.. And I remember my family wasnt doing very good and I prayed and let everything out to Heavenly Father.. and I felt a burden just lifted off my shoulders and I think that's why I loved missionary work so much.. because I knew how great it felt so I just wanted to share that with others".... And that right there just smashed me... And then to add onto that... a friend sent me a letter saying how he's turned his life around and he's now going on a mission... and that just motivated me to do even better in the work... and THEN!... I was able to have my first baptism.... which was a ridiculous experience... That not only changed her life forever but changed my life forever as well!... And with all these experiences and so much more... My whole mindset has just changed.... I feel like now that I'm in 6th gear... A lot of things are going to be happening... So this week was incredible..

The theme for this week is Virtue for the Christlike attributes and I couldn't study it very much! It's super dodgy!!... Virtue is like one of the most mysterious attributes!!.. If you go to Luke 8:46 it talks about the woman touching Jesus and he says "Virtue went out of me"... And in the Bible Dictionary there is no Virtue!.... But something interesting... in the Spanish version... virtue is translated as "Power went out of me".... hmn... something to think about... But here's a good description I like about Virtue....

Virtue originates in your innermost thoughts and desires. Virtue is the prerequisite to receiving the Spirit's guidance. What you choose to think and do when you are alone and you believe no one is watching is a strong measure of your virtue. Your mind is like a stage in a theater. In the theater of your mind, only one actor can be on stage at a time. If the stage is left bare, thoughts of darkness and sin often enter the stage to tempt. But these thoughts have no power if the stage of your mind is occupied by wholesome thoughts such as memorizing a scripture or church song. You can call upon such in times of temptation to keep your thoughts always clean and virtuous... And the only scripture I really liked was D&C 25:2 and the 13th Article of Faith... And if you notice in the 13th Article of Faith is mentions Virtue twice... hmn?... hmn?... It must be pretty important... or as the Spanish say... importanté.

Zombies and a Stunt Man

And nah we didn't do anything for Halloween.... finding was dodgy as though hahaha... we did 5 hours finding on Halloween and I think I talked to a billion zombies.... Like really?... Be original... zombies are lame... haha. But I got a super cool story....:
So a couple of weeks ago we taught this Less-Active. He's a Japanese Stunt-Man and lived in L.A. for 4 years and did movie shoots there! But this lesson he set up with us... just called us one night and said "I want a lesson tomorrow"... So we met with him and he asked a TON of questions!... And it was super cool... we were able to answer every single one of his questions with the Book of Mormon... and then we felt impressed to dwell on this topic and focused on the Book of Mormon the whole lesson.... then by the end of it he was like "You know, both of you impressed me very much today... I actually scheduled this appointment today for the sole purpose of returning this... (pulls out the Book of Mormon)... I never opened it or had any intention to read it... even when I was baptized I didn't see much importance for it..... But now you have motivated me to read it now!!".... I was just like.... uhum.... uhum.... and screamed to myself a little silent "WOOO HOOOOOOOOO" And then just as we finished the lesson he got a call... and then he went and took it... then came back a few minutes later and was like "ELDERS! ELDERS!!!..... Ever since I've been coming to church and you've been telling me to pray... I've been praying I can get a job opening for a movie shoot because I haven't had one in forever! But I just got a call from some people who need me tonight to shoot a scene for a movie! God has answered my prayers!!! Thank you!!!!" And then he invited us to come and watch hahah, I was so cut we couldn't go hahah but we were super happy that things were going good for him now!... All because he was coming back to church. So that was a really cool experience... I have no doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon can change lives.... even for this man.... it didn't play a part of his conversion... thus the statement by Jeffrey R. Holland... "One cannot come to full faith in this gospel without embracing the divinity of the Book of Mormon"... And so even though this guy has been baptized.... as he reads the Book of Mormon... he's going to be fully converted :D.... WOO HOOO!!!!
I don't have much time to write like I did last week. So I'll just give you scriptures to ponder on hahaha, much easier... So this week is "Charity and Love"..... And as you read the following scriptures just think "How did Jesus Christ demonstrate Charity?".... Ether 12:33-34....Alma 7:11-13..... Luke 7:12-15.... 2 Nephi 26:24-28........ Then....... Mosiah 28:3.... if we have enough Charity and Love and fully realize what Jesus Christ has done for us we can come to be like this and want to spread this Gospel to EVERYONE... Then my all time favorite scripture relating to helping the poor and being charitbale.... Mosiah 4:15-26..... WOOOO!!!.... The more you love your Heavenly Father and your Savior Jesus Christ... the more you will look on those perishing souls with compassion.... you will feel you will want to take them upon your shoulders and cast their sins and burdens behind your back..... So try to focus on that this week! :)