Good Morning Australia

G'Day, all! it's a beautiful sunny morning in Armadale! Mixed with the usual transfer's week activities!

Yes, that's right! This morning we got our Transfer calls! Elder Naruo is being transferred to Bunbury, to be a Zone leader! And I'm still here in Armadale. My new companion will be Elder Iamalo, who actually came into the mission at the same time as me.

Elder Naruo is sad to be leaving the area, he loves it here.

So this week we had a lot of things going on! Elder Naruo spent two days down in Albany, doing baptismal interviews with the zone leaders. 6 baptisms happening in the next couple weeks, in our zone! Woohoo!

Tautiana's baptism: It's actually happening THIS Friday. She was Not feeling well last friday morning. ITS SO CLOSE THOUGH.

We've been having some pretty cool experiences out on the streets! We ran into a guy named Sean, walking around. He loves God, and wants to share that love with everybody he meets. We are certain that meeting him, and giving him a book of mormon, was meant to be. He asked us to come by to share more with him later. He seems totally for real! I can't wait.

We also found some former investigators! Their names are Brendan and Catherine. Brendan was being taught by the missionaries last year, but stopped investigating. He invited us over for dinner last monday, and told us that he wanted to quit smoking, and hear the lessons again.

This weekend was the Ward Conference. Saturday, we had an awesome ward activity at the chapel- Minute to Win it, and Fear Factor games, by the different groups/quoroms, and a barbeque! The turnout was great, and everyone had a blast. My favorite game was an egg roll: place an egg on the ground, and blow on it until it reaches the finish line. Some of the contestants got a bit dizzy :D

Also, apparently I am on tv! Daniel Luland told me that a friend of his had asked him "Hey, when's your friend that looks like he's from arrow computers coming by?" Daniel thought immediately of me. There is a commercial with some guy with red hair getting all excited for computer deals- he showed it to me, and seriously, if I had red hair, that would be me. Hahaha!

There is a single mom in the ward, who was a bit less-active for a while. We started visiting her, and teaching her, every day. Sharing our testimonies with her, singing hymns together, and helping her to develop a habit of prayer. She has really opened up and she's set a goal to go to the temple, and to read the book of mormon. She wants to be able to be a good example for her children. We've felt the spirit every time we go over there, and we can tell that she has as well.

Awesome.

And that is my week. I hope you're enjoying summer over there. :)

Love you all!

Elder Reeder

A 10-minute dissertation on the Lamentations of Jeremiah

Hahaha, not really, but President Smibert would ask missionaries to do that (he was joking too)

Part 2 of the mini-missions: I really enjoyed it! My mini and I had a great time teaching Tautiana, and tracting, and contacting, and all that missionary stuff. We even found a new potential investigator, that He contacted! His name is Aiden. He likes boxing. He told us that he was nervous about death, because he doesn't want to be in a bad spot. He was totally keen to talk with us. We're trying to get ahold of him and set up an appointment this week.

The Flu has been going All Over the place here; Apparently it's the worst epedemic in 10 years in Perth. Elder Naruo had it for a few days, he's just now getting over it. Several investigators caught it. Not fun.

We met with the Bishop yesterday, to discuss some of the families we're teaching- Tautiana will be baptised this Friday! Woohoo! We just need to get everything sorted with interviews, etc.

We had to postpone Zach's baptism. We're having difficulties in contacting the family, and after discussion with Bishop, we need to hold off on it. :(

David is so close to baptism! We've been meeting with him, and he's ALMOST quit smoking! We're still helping him along with the word of wisdom, and we're reading with him from the book of mormon when we go over. I can't wait to get him there!

Also, we're experiencing the fun delights of false addresses! We had 2 this week, including Basilio. They were totally into us coming over and teaching their families, and sent us to someone else's house. Darn.

Mini-adventure: I got a package this past week! Thanks, family! By the way, just because I didn't know this either, apparently pop-its are Illegal Fireworks in Australia! Hahaha! And I have some! No one knows how they got through customs. So... yeah... The zone leaders snagged a box. I got a call from them about an hour later, asking how to use them. "Uh, you Throw them on the Ground." "Ohhh! We were trying to burn them! There's that bit on the top that you're supposed to light?" Hi five for aussies :D

So it's been a bit of a rollercoaster week. Not sure where it's going. \

But.

I still have a testimony of this gospel.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that by following his example, through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the holy ghost, and enduring to the end, we can live with him again someday.

I know that the gospel blesses families, and helps to build them up stronger, and closer together, in love.

I am grateful for the book of mormon, and I know that it contains the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know that I have a loving Father in Heaven, and that I can ask him for help and comfort, whenever I need it, and that he will give it to me.

This has kept me happy throughout my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have to share this with others.

I say all this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Daniel Reeder

March of the Minis

Wow, it's hectic right now!

This week, we have been driving all over with the other elders. First of all, President Lindsay is here! On Friday, we drove down to Rockingham and had another zone conference, in which we were able to meet him and receive training and instruction from him. Also his wife, and his son, Robbie. Totally just like on tv. We've all caught his vision for the mission :D

Saturday, we went over to Thornlie, where the stake center is, and began mini-missions! Pretty much every missionary in our zone has a mini-missionary, sisters included. My companion is "elder" Williams. He's 16, and totally excited to go on a mission when he's 19. We've had some great fun tracting, contacting, and teaching lessons so far. Tonight we're going over to Tautiana and her family and teaching them. He'll be with me until Wednesday, when we drive back down to Rockingham. Again. Whee!

Since every missionary has a mini-missionary with them, transportation is tricky. (It's a bit hard to fit 8 people in a 5-person car... With luggage...) After a short MTC experience at the stake center, we took the train back to our area. Somehow elder Williams and I managed to take a train back up to the stake center, instead of transferring to another train. Oops.

We found some really cool people this week! We ran into a man named Basilio, from the Dominican Republic. He absolutely loves families, thinks they're one of the most important things in the world. We taught him a little about how families can be together forever, and he was really interested. Elder Naruo and his mini are going over tonight. He is awesome.

On a sadder note, we lost Nathaniel. His mom called us, yelled, swore, and told us she never wants us to come back, because she got offended at the church several years ago and does not want anything to do with it anymore. We were really making progress with Nathaniel. We're praying he'll be able to decide for himself.

So, I've been having fun times with my bike this week. And several other bikes. You all know what "goatheads" are, right? (sharp, pointy plant things.) They're called "double-G's" here. Anyway, I found 5 in my rear tire. Greeeaaat. So. I bought a new tire tube. And then my front tire gave up and exploded. I'm out of patches now. Fun times. I'm so grateful for people we know around here, though! The front one died while we were in a member's home, and they gave me a new tube! And I got another one from an investigator :D

We've been doing a lot of contacting on the streets, and I'm really trying to get better at walking up and starting a conversation with people. Slowly but surely :)

So I've heard there's a lot of fires going on in Colorado and Utah! Everyone ok? Nothing bad here yet, besides a storm that took out a few sheds and roofs.

Well, have another great week! I am :)

Take it easy, Elder Reeder

July the Fourth

Happy 4th of July! When it does happen, I mean. There's no celebration here! And I'm not too sure about fireworks, either...

We had a great week! On Thursday, we had a YSA Activity at the chapel. We invited Nathaniel to it. Nathaniel is Really quiet, but he was willing to come along. The YSA here is small but enthusiastic. They played Volleyball and he got way into it. The Oldfields, (ysa leaders) told us afterwards that he absolutely loved it. Boo yah. Also, elder Beck hit elder Evans in the face with the volleyball.

Our two baptismal dates are going pretty well. Tautiana came to church with her family this last sunday, which was great progress. We're going over tonight with another ward member to teach the family about the Plan of Salvation. We finalized the date for July 20th (yes, it's a Friday, we've had to explain it several times.) when Sister King won't have to work.

Zach Jenner's baptism is coming up, but we're having problems with contacting the family lately. They haven't been to church the past couple of weeks. Gotta keep trying, keep praying.

Also, we have some new investigators again! One's name is Samantha. She is an aboriginal lady, with a small child. We met her in front of her house, and we ended up teaching her a bit about the gospel and how it can bless families. She was really into it, and thanked us for bringing it back into her life. Woohoo! There's a lot of potential in this area, we just have to look really hard for it :) On another note, we tracted into a man a couple of days ago, who was adamant that mormons are not Christian. It was a really interesting meeting with him, a very polite, calm discussion.

By the way, apparently there are mountains or something in Melbourne? Brother Nields, the ward mission leader, is going skiing this week! So awesome.

President Lindsay has arrived in Perth! We are writing to him this morning, and we'll have another zone conference in Rockingham this Friday, where we get to meet him and hear from him for the first time! I can't wait to see what he does.

Oh, I just remembered: The Chapmans, (their son Ben is in the MTC right now, heading to Washington DC) have relatives in Utah! Sister Chapman's grandmother, lives in Farmington, or Bountiful, or thereabouts. Does anyone know the Oviats? (Oviates/Ohveeits/something) Anyway, it's her grandmother. Just thought I'd let you know.

Speaking of mission stuff, Mini missions are about to start! This saturday, a lot of the young men/women in the ward are going to be spending a few days with missionaries! I have no idea if they'll be with us or not, but it sounds pretty cool!

That's my week, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :D

Take it easy,

Elder Reeder

Today, while the sun shines.

Good morning to everybody out there in the states! Actually, I suppose it's getting to be evening for the rest of yous :)

This week has been pretty good, not too much going on.

President Lindsay comes into Perth next week! It's going to be really exciting. We had a recent zone conference down in Rockingham last Friday, and President Smibert came and spoke with Sister Smibert. He's been a great mission president and everyone is going to miss him. He really helped to turn the mission around and get it going where it is now. We got a chance to see President Lindsay's retirement from KSL as well. Impressive!

Tautiana's baptism did not happen this past Saturday. Haha, ironically, Monday night, when we went over to teach the family, we found that she was really hoping for her mother to be there at her baptism, and her mother won't be around until mid July. So, we still have a baptismal date, just not set yet. Sometime in July. She's still really excited, though! As for Zach Jenner, we haven't been able to see him for a while, due to an ear infection. Ouch.

Something really cool that's happened this week, is that we have 4 new investigators! I think that's some sort of record for a while. One is a former investigator, named Stephen Wai. He was introduced to the missionaries several years ago, through basketball (?) and learned a bit about the gospel. We finally managed to contact him this week, and taught him about the restoration. He was really accepting it, and said that he'd love to hear more, along with his family. YES. Also, we ran into a few people on the street, outside their houses, washing their cars, etc. and they said "yes, come back and tell us your message!" And then they ran around waving their arms in excitement. Not really, but we were doing that inside. You've just got to talk to the people!

So this morning, we got up at just before 5. Why, Elder Reeder? Why would you do such a crazy thing? I will tell you.

Elder Naruo organized a sunrise devotional. The whole district travelled to Lesmurdie's area, and went on a short hike to a ridge on a member's property. We had a small fire, and had a cool little testimony meeting/fireside up there. And then we roasted marshmallows. It was really fun, and we had some good testimonies given. And ironically, we never saw the sun. it was cloudy. Haha.

So yeah, another week in Perth! :)

I love you all!

Elder Reeder

3, 2, 1, Contact!

Transfer 3, Week 2, Day 1.

A Lot of changes around here. Elder Naruo is pretty cool, he's actually nearly finished with his mission. This is also his first time being district leader as well. (I seem to be getting a lot of district leaders with me). He REALLY likes his chicken and rice.)

Elder Kerr had a ~7 hour drive to Kalgoorlie. Whee! He was really excited for it, though.

We've had some great lessons and contacting experiences. Currently we are trying to set up a temple trip for David Stokes. I've taken him around the area, getting to know everybody. He's a really good teacher. He's introduced me more to contacting, which I've decided is infinitely more enjoyable and productive than tracting.

(Tracting is knocking on door after door. Contacting is talking to people waiting at train stations, walking around, sitting, etc.) We left a Book of Mormon with someone last night. Woot. Also yesterday, while biking to an appointment, we got stopped by a guy who yelled and swore right in his face. Real friendly-like. Ironically, we'd met him before...

Elder Naruo is also Very insistent on things done a certain way.

Friday, we went out of our area so Elder Naruo could conduct a baptismal interview for an investigator by another companionship. First time I've been anywhere besides Armadale or Downtown Perth. It was fun.

Saturday, the assistants called up-Exchanges! Wow, that was fun. Elder Webley went with Elder Naruo in our area. They had an interesting time finding their way around, but saw a lot of people that we've been trying for a LOOONG time to get ahold of!

Elder Robertson and I went to downtown Perth, to do some city contacting. The city is really fun! We got out of the car, and then rather than go out contacting, someone contacts Us! They had been living in the middle east, and had been taught by missionaries there. Then they'd moved, and wanted to find the chapel in the area. Boo yah! In total, we met 4 people who'd been in contact with missionaries before. And a lot of other people who were ok to talk about religion. I saw a lot of really funny stuff in the city, too. Like two hippies Elder Robertson had met before. They began playing Digeridoos right on the sidewalk. YES.

We've got a baptism coming up this Saturday! I'm going crazy trying to figure everything out. Tautiana's family missed an appointment, so we haven't been able to finish teaching her yet. We're getting it sorted, slowly. We have a lesson with them tonight. I can't wait :D

So, that's pretty much my week in a nutshell. Until next week!

Elder Reeder

Australia's built on Sand.

And the rains came tumbling down, and the floods came up, and apparently tornadoes are mentioned in that song, Somewhere, because there was a tornado in Morley (way north). But seriously, IT RAINED. Did I ever tell you all that it rains here during winter? Holy Cow, we're all still amazed at this rain. Thursday, especially. Elder Kerr and I had the car, lucky us. But we actually had to pull over, because it was Impossible to see anything. And lightning. And then suddenly, BAM, clear skies. Our minds were blown. And then it rained some more. The power skipped a couple of times, and a bus station seems to have gone missing (but that probably happens all the time ;) )

So yeah, it's been an interesting week! And overall, pretty fun. David, a long-time investigator, is totally a member of the church now, except for the baptism part. He wants to bear his testimony this fast sunday. Cool! And he has a friend in the same housing complex named Ian. Ian was given a book of mormon 10 years ago while on a train. He has just started reading it, and has a lot of questions for us. So we may have a new investigator :)

Sunday was pretty incredible too. We had Zach Jenner and Tautiana Hunia at sacrament meeting, which is great in itself, but then David showed up, and a man named Joshua too! Joshua has been investigating the church for quite a while too, but we haven't been able to see him much because of work schedules. But Joshua really wants to become a member of the church. He really enjoys the fellowship and support from other members. The only thing is, he doesn't want to be baptised yet, until he feels that he's ready to make that commitment. So we're going to try and figure things out with the bishop with him.

It's Transfers week! I'm staying here. Elders Evans and Miller are staying in Armadale. Elder Kerr is being transferred to Kalgoorlie! Waaaay out in the middle of Nowhere. My new companion will be Elder Nauro, and he will be the district leader here. Elder Nauro is from Guam, and has been on his mission for a little over a year. He's a great missionary (from what I hear), and was Elder Evans' previous companion. He likes Rice?

Just to clarify last week's email, a "Kiwi" is what aussies call people from New Zealand. A "Kiwifruit" is the little green thing. It's not derogatory or anything.

Saturday night, we decided that Westfield Road is the safest road in the whole world. (And by that I am in every way being sarcastic.) A car drove by our little complex doing about 130 km/h. And then 2 police cars, lights flashing. And then a couple choppers began circling nearby, with a searchlight. More sirens. Miscellaneous screaming. It continued from about 9-11PM. Wooo!

You know there's problems when you have a DRIVE-THRU liquor shop across the street, right next to the tavern. :D Don't worry, Grandma Roberts, we're being safe.

All right! That's my week! How's yours been? Good luck with your tests, Scott, and everyone have fun in Oregon, at Girls Camp, in Alaska, and all those other fun places! Apparently it got to 98F in Utah? Wow. Here, right now, it's getting to about... uh... 23C... No idea what that is in Fahrenheit. But it's nice and cool.

Love you all!

Elder Reeder