A Humbling Experience

B'S BAPTISM!!! WOOOO!!!!! My goodness... it was such an awesome experience.. I wish I could tell you it all in detail now but I'll have to write it out.. but in a nutshell.. So first off he texted us the morning of his baptism and was like "How can I know I'm worthy to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ... when he was so perfect and when I have been so far from perfect?" .. So we went to his house and shared a lesson with him.. and answered his question.. that really set the tone for the day.. Then we left to fill up the font.. And it's supposed to take 3 hours.. 3 hours comes.. and its so shallow... and his baptism was just in an hour... so we were freaking out.. then to make matters worse... the water was scolding hot!!... I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT!... The water is usually always always freezing.. but for some reason we couldn't get cold water... so we were like firemen.. frenzying around chucking buckets of cold water in hahaha... fast forward... we got it up to a reasonable level... and he was baptized! It was such an amazing experience... it definitely taught me a lot as well about the Holy Spirit of Promise.. Elder O baptised him at first.. and his pants had an air pocket and it came up... so they did it the second time and that's when it hit me... Not the first time.. because it wasn't performed properly... but the second time I had the strongest confirmation and burning in my bosom that it was performed properly and by correct priesthood authority! And I was then able to confirm him the following day.. and it was my first time.. I was nervous as.. in the circle my legs were shaking and stuff haha, but it was such a humbling experience... to give a human being.. the gift of the third member of the Godhead!.. The Holy Ghost!.. It was sooooo legit! And he already got interviewed for the priesthood so next week he's going to get that! WOOP WOOP! Good things happening in Coffs Harbour.

Surfest

But this week was LEGIT! haha, we had the coolest opportunity that I don't think ANY missionary has had anywhere else in the world... we went to SURFEST! haha. And no it's not apostate.. we got permission from our Mission President.. and missionaries have been helping for years... It's a competition that was started by members.. because Surf competitions are always on Sunday.. so this one is Thursday-Saturday.. My companion was manning the grill the whole time.. and I got to judge a couple surfers and tallied up the scores so I was the one who placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the event... no pressure... haha. It was definitely not your normal missionary week.. but it was service nevertheless. And it doesn't sound spiritual at all right? Beach..Surfers.. BBQ... yeah... But I actually did have the absolute solidification.. of the love I have for His mission.. All of this stuff... it brought me heaps of FUN... but it didn't not bring me any JOY... And it brought me back to the fact that I do not miss my old hobbies.. nor worldly things.. nor my old life.. I simply just love being a missionary... for this is the time where I experienced what true JOY was.. and that is putting Jesus first... Others second.. and Yourself third.. that is JOY  .. and it's when you realize these things.. is when your NATURE has changed.. some people on the mission... they wake up at 6:30am... because they have to... not because they want to.. that simply is saying their BEHAVIOUR has changed.. but when you desire and want to do things that are good.. that you normally wouldn't of otherwise.. that is when you experience the change of NATURE for the better.. and it is like that for every one.. they don't need to be on a mission to experience this!

The Spell Has Been Broken

My goodness... so to kick off the week... we got a text from B our investigator.. "We need to talk. Come see me today." ... And when I first read it I was like... He's breaking up with us... haha. But I kept my optimism and was like.. maybe satan just took his phone.. its not him...  :) .. So we went and saw him that night and we had some small talk... and then he was like... "So yous are probably wondering what I wanted to talk about... so I took your invitation to pray about baptism.. and I prayed and had the feeling to read the promise in the Book of Mormon.. so I read it and... it just made sense... so then I was talking to me mum this morning and she was telling me like 'you've already been baptized, you don't need to!'"... Then his wife cut in and was like.. "He just wants his mum's approval.." And so I was trying to prepare myself for a resolve concern-fest... and in the midst of my thoughts there was a pause and silence in the room... and B looked at us and said... "I think I'd like to be baptized....nah... no.. I know I want to be baptized!"... I was just filled with so much joy.. I felt like I was in the celestial kingdom.. no joke.. and then we went over the qualifications for him to be baptized and we set the date for the 28th of September! And after all the amazingness... I turned to his wife and asked "How do you feel about B being baptized?"... She then replied- "I'm fine about it.. I'm happy for him!.. But we talked about it this morning and he's already basically living baptism standards.. so he's not too worried about that.. But his main goal is getting sealed in the Temple."...WOOOOO! It truly is amazing.. That there are people out there.. just like B... who have been steadily prepared throughout their life... only to finally meet their true desire... and that is the restored gospel.. And it all starts with God's love.. "When filled with God's love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, dispel fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us."-Elder John H. Groberg... B understood this... that's why he was able to embrace the gospel as quickly as he did.. he didn't understand everything.. I don't even.. but just like Nephi.. I may not understand every thing in this world.. but I know one thing.. God loves us.. and we just need to share that with others... for when we show our love.. we are merely imparting the love God has for them.. Only then.. they will be able to conquer their problems.. 

So yeah... Coffs Harbour hasn't seen a baptism.. since.... (drumroll).... wait for it.... 2009!!!! The spell has been broken... So it's exciting! A lot of good things are happening! WOO!

This next story also shows the huge value of giving a talk in sacrament... so we were teaching B the 10 commandments and at the end.. then at the end he was like.. "yeah none of these are a problem for me.. even like the Words of Wisdom (we haven't even taught him that yet)... I heard that talk in Sacrament about it and I didn't know we couldn't drink coffee or tea.. but I was fine with that.. I only drank it once in a while.. and my co-worker gave me some tea.. and I took it to be polite... then when they walked away I poured it down the drain."... WOOOOOOO!!!! Hahaha he's so legit! So when you give talks in Sacrament.. make it meaningful.. because they can indeed affect others for good! 

Righteous Desires

For this week!.. My goodness.. It was fairdinkum busy!! It was another week of trade-offs/trainings/travel/zone conferences haha, heaapssss. There's 1 miracle that I want to share though.. and the reason we also weren't able to email on Monday.. So we were having our normal P-Day as usual.. until we got a call from this random lady in Western Australia.. who told us her friends got into a car accident and are in Coffs Hospital with no belongings, nothing, and they were all shaken up and need to get home to Brisbane somehow... So we were able to go and see them.. And the moment they saw us they started crying.. partly because of trauma.. and partly because of relief that someone they knew came.. missionaries... So there was 4 in the family. The mother, 2 daughters, (1RM and 1 prospective missionary).. and a little boy... They were driving at 5am and a kangaroo hopped out in the road and they tried to swerve and dodge it, but the car rolled several times ... they were all pretty shaken up but no life-threatening injuries.. We then gave them all blessings in the midst of their confusion and trauma... and by the time we gave the very last blessing... I remember blessing the older sister.. who was the most shocked out of them all... I remember the exact words the spirit prompted me to say... "We bless you as if the Saviour were here himself... and say... 'Peace be unto you'..".. at that instant....  peace just filled the room... no body was crying any more.. just peace and a sense that Heavenly Father was looking out for each of His beloved children.. and after some small talk afterwards we left that hospital... leaving smiles on all of their faces... It was the biggest testimony to me.. What I got out of this experience.. is #1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has indeed been restored... It has the most organization and order I have ever seen than any other religious institution.. I know of no other church where you can call from across the country.. to a missionary serving in that area.. where a person is in need of help.. and give them a priesthood blessing by the laying on a hands by proper authority.. That is not a statement of boasting.. but indeed a testimony.. That God's true church is on the earth today and is being led by a prophet who receives direction from Him... the right path to follow... the other thing I am grateful for is the Holy Ghost.. or the Comforter.. because it was not us... Elder O and I that were able to give them that peace.. it was the third member of the Godhead... we were simply instruments to convey the love that God has for them.. and a reassurance that He is looking out for them...  I do know it is that way for all of us as well! 

This week I was learning about desire... and I went through the scriptures.. there's 3 examples..

 #1- 1Ne 11:1-3... Nephi desired to see the dream his father Lehi saw... 

#2- Enos 1:12... Enos desired to have a remission of his sins... 

#3-Ether 3:4... The brother of Jared (me lolz).. desired the Lord to touch the stones and make them light up.. 

Now #1. Nephi was granted his desire...#2. Enos was granted his desire... #3. The brother of Jared was granted his desire.. (and might I add... I bet the Lord was thinking... well I could've just made electricity.. but whatever you ask.. I'll grant your desire)... Why were all of their desires granted?.... All because of one factor... They are righteous desires!!.. Helaman 10:5.. "all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will" The Lord promised those words to Nephi.. all because he had righteous desires! So what are your desires... for you SB... It is D&C 4:3 at this time... "Therefore if ye have DESIRES to serve God... ye are called to the work."... If you have a desire to do missionary work... to share the gospel.. to baptize... it will be granted if it is filtered in our mind.. day in and day out... likewise with anything else in life... you can apply that!.. If we want it enough... God will give it to us... but it is according to our diligence and faith as the Lord said to Enos in vs12... So I will leave that with you.. to ponder in your heart.. what your desires are!.. I know that this is true... to show you an example.. I was on a trade-off with a new missionary... I asked him what he wanted to do... "I want to give out a Book of Mormon tomorrow"... I said "sweet.. let's do it"... But it didn't come easy... we talked to every one we saw on the street and nobody wanted one.. but we finally talked to this Malaysian woman and she actually asked us for one! And she wanted to pay for it but obviously it's free... so we were granted that because of our righteous desires... depending on our diligence and faith.

The Essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 This week was fair dinkum aussie mate.. It first kicked off with thee most legit thing I've ever heard in my life!! So once again... our awesome investigator B... bless his soul... He's making our mission so awesome with the experiences we share with him!... He is seriously the definition of gold.... So we shared with him the 20min Restoration DVD and invited him to pray about it... and he expressed to us he was finding a little difficulty of recognizing his answers.. So the next lesson we're starting to share ways we can recognize the spirit... And before we even start he goes... "I'll tell yous this experience I had... the night you left after sharing with me the movie about Joseph Smith.. I had a dream.. and it was so surreal... It was like I was a spirit looking at me... and I could see the back of this other person talking to me... And he asked me 'If you believe Jesus Christ is your Saviour and he was resurrected... Why is it hard to believe Joseph Smith is a prophet?'... And I just replied.. 'Nah it's not hard to believe'..... Then the guy asked me.. 'So what's the problem here?'... And I just replied 'There's no problem'... then the dream ended"............. I was BEYOND blown away.. And I felt the spirit so strong as he shared that so I knew it wasn't something he just made up... And then I asked him.. "So do you believe that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God?".. And B just replied.. "Yeah!"... . MY GOODNESS!!! I couldn't help but smile and hold back my laughing from the magnitude of legitness! And we set the vision for them in that lesson that baptism isn't the end.. That this will go into being sealed as a family in the Temple.. and they both agreed... And I'm so grateful for this restored knowledge we have about this.. "Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven..." (Helaman 10:7)... This is the vision I had when I came on my mission.. to help other families so they can be eternal... so many people look at missions as merely just baptisms... No it's Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the Endowment.. Helping them get to the Temple to make those covenants and ultimately be sealed for time and all eternity... This is the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 So that potential that we found at the baptism.. we taught her 2 days ago... And she didn't have a male in her home so we went to this park near the Jetty <-- Popular as beach... So we were sitting at a picnic table teaching her the Restoration.. and mind you.. there are speed boat races going on just behind us.. but it was the coolest thing.. I started quoting Joseph Smiths first vision... "I saw a pillar of light.." (VVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!! VRRRRRROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!! These speed boats were LOUD AS!) But as I quoted that... It was one of those surreal moments as if time just stood still... and just the 3 of us on that little park bench... by the moment I finished saying it.. She had this huge smile beaming across her face and felt that it was right... It was so awesome! Then afterwards... it was funny as.. she kept mentioning this "admirer" that she has that makes her cheesecakes... And then she was like.. do you elders want some?... I was like HECK YEAH! So she went to her house and brought us this fair dinkum legit cheesecake.. Twas a blessed day... 

And this is a weird type of miracle... but nonetheless.. a miracle haha.. We were doing service for our investigator... the mormon.org referral... And we were shovelling mushroom manure compost stuff into her garden and this box thingy.. and we were filthy as... and a little side story.. I was chopping the compost down cause it was a bit tough... and I smacked something and heard a (POP)... Then the most putrid smell engulfed my nostrils and I seriously almost threw up in my mouth... I fair dinkum saw this 'century egg' we'll call it... It was this black egg that was under the dirt for who knows how long.. it was NASTY! haha... anyways.. shortly after that life changing experience that my nose will never forget.... our investigator.. BROUGHT 4 POTENTIALS TO HER HOME!... So we were able to meet all of them and they were interested in meeting again... I <3 referrals so much.. zay za best... And I also built my first pop up pool thing for a less active... so yeah... twas quite the week!.

BOOM! Faith In Yo Face!

 Welllllllllllllllllllllllll for this week!... My goodness it was fair dinkum busy!! So first of all... We were on Trade-offs the WHOLE week... just training up other missionaries. We were trying to find these unknown people on their Ward list and the person wasn't home.. So we went to the neighbors house to see if they knew them... they had no clue.. But we started talking to this lady some more and she opened up saying her 2 children a 17 and 20 year old both died recently... and we were able to teach her right then! And she invited us back to talk some more!! And I was with this pretty new missionary and I told him right before we left the flat.. "Elder... we're gonna find a new investigator today!"... And their area is pretty tough and he kinda looked at me like... "Uh huh.. Elder Ball.. whatever you say." haha. BOOM! Faith in yo face! It was definitely heaven sent that we were directed to that lady's door that morning though.. she had been searching for answers for a while and was actually just thinking about it before we knocked on her door! And then all we had to do was testify of God's perfect plan for us and the Holy Ghost did the rest ;)
I even went with one Elder to this far out place in their area... like 1hr30mins away.. And we went farm tracting!! hahaha it was so legit! There were 5 houses and we banged down each one.. It was the definition of BUSH!... Then after we finished the trade-offs we went down to Sydney for MLC (Mission Leadership Council).. And here's the miraculous part of the week... MLC is ALWAYS from the meridian of times haha... held on Mondays.... this past week was held on a Friday... the following day.. (Saturday)... an investigator was being baptized in which my companion who found her 6 months ago... was able to baptize her! And in that service alone 7 people were baptized! It was miracle as! And then the following morning we woke up on Sunday at 5am and drove all the way back home to Coffs... So the whole week totalled up... We drove the equivalent of driving from Arizona to California... and then driving all the way back haha. It was so fun though we saw heaps of miracles! In which when we arrived at church.. right after it finished there was another baptismal service.. (a child of record) but we were praying to find new investigators and the members brought their Filipino friend who wants to learn with us now! WOO! And the mormon.org referral... She was in Queensland for 2 weeks and she finally got back yesterday... We had a lesson with her and she notices the positive impact we have on her and she wants all her kids to have that as well!! So exciting stuff happening!

Fair Dinkum

As for this week! WooooooWeeeeeeeeeeee! We had a fair dinkum miraculous week in Coffs Harbour... So we kicked off the week with that FHE with the Mexican family! In that tiny room in Australia.. I felt like I was in Arizona haha... MEXICANS!!! The goal of the FHE was to establish a relationship with them, not necessarily teaching them continually.. And so we hardcore achieved that.. They really felt comfortable with us and we taught a short lesson and sung mexican songs the whole evening and had mexican food.. And I commited them to make some Horchata and Jamaica... best drinks ever haha. So in September we have an acitivity called Surf Fest and they'll be coming to that so.. step by step =D 

Next... this week we had interviews with our Mission President... and he called us a couple days before and was like I'm going to come out teaching with you afterwards.. Find someone at 4pm to teach... So we were stressing out who we were going to teach haha, but we taught our golden as investigator B... my goodness... I can't even convey the magnitude of his legitness... He. is. the. most sincere/humble investigator I have ever met/taught! He said to us after dinner and after we taught the Plan of Salvation... "Ya know I was just thinking today... When I left for work, my daughter was yelling out 'I want my daddy!'.. And I was thinking if I passed away... and when she's 12 or 35.. she's still going to want her father.. And I want her to be brought up with this belief... that she'll see me again.. Like.. I know when you come over it's not about the pizza or drinking fizzy.. yous are here to impact my life.".... Like no joke he's one of the biggest miracles I've seen on my mission... We started out not even teaching.. just loving and serving him and then we became friends discussing religion.. we've grown with him these past months and it puts in perspective what missionary work should be like.. It shouldn't be.. Alright. You're the investigator. I'm the missionary. But it's just that we're friends... and he recognizes us as representatives of Jesus Christ.. GAHHH it's too awesome to put into words! And to add onto that... his whole family came to church this sunday!!! His wife who's less active... I asked other members the last time she came to church and they couldn't remember... AND SHE CAME... Things are looking up heaps! All I can say... is fair dinkum.... 

 

So we were just out teaching having a normal missionary day... And we had a few more people we planned to see but I just felt a strong impression to go tracting.. So I told my companion and we prayed about a street... I had 3 streets in my mind after... one of them being Aston... I waited and asked my companion and one of his possibilities was Aston as well.. so BOOM! We went there.... When we got close we realized it was just around the corner from the chapel... so it had prob been tracted on heaps.. So we were a little hesitant but I was like nah let's do it! The first door that opened was a single mum who just moved in weeks ago!! And we had a legit conversation and she invited us to come back!! WOO! So we'e going back today so we'll see how it goes! But fair dinkum.. it was awesome just getting that impression out of the blue and then boom! Someone that's interested from tracting! That doesn't happen that often!... 

Another miracle is just this area alone... When I got here there was absolutely NOTHING to do in the evenings... not many member feeds, the town basically goes dead... So we've been trying hard to change that... and we've seen it these past weeks... this week alone was a testimony to me that any area can change with some hard work... We had double member feeds just in one evening and people inviting us over without us even asking and even just last night, we organized a fireside.... a Member Missionary fireside ;)... Because as I thought back before my mission.. I was not taught anything whatsoever... on how to do missionary work.. So we had some speakers and gave a presentation... it was SO GOOD! And the members got pumped as! And so now instead of going to their houses and sharing 'spiritual thoughts' or a gospel message... pfftt... WE'RE GONNA BE ROLE PLAYING! They're excited for it too! So It's going to awesome! And no joke.. right after we finished the fireside... a 16 yr old young man came up to me and gave us a referral and wants us to visit his friend... WOOO! Twas a very very.... inspiring week.