Double Decker Bus!

Hello everyone! I made it through another week down under! Hope everyone is enjoying their fall break and eating some good food! Australians just love bland food. I love to spice my food up. At least Australians have good fruit to make up for the bland food haha.

Sorry if this email doesn't make any sense, due to poor planning on other Elders, my p-day has gotten hijacked. Having to go with the flow. But this email will be rushed. 

Lots of ups and downs this week…

-We showed some guy the chapel and he asked what songs we sang. So I sat down and played the piano for the first time in months. Then he asked if I could play something besides hymns…I tried, but sadly I have lost all my memorized songs. That made a wall of homesickness hit. At that moment I just wanted to sit and play my heart out on the piano…sure miss my piano.

-One of our friends got into a mountain biking accident. The mountains are more like hills here haha. We were ten minutes away and he called us asking us to pick up his bike. We drove into the hills and picked up his bike…then all of a sudden a group of teenagers on nice mountain bikes zoomed past us. And ohhhh how the homesickness hit…there was nothing more I wanted to do then to kick one of the kids off their bike and hop on and chase down the rest of them haha. But I restrained myself and just watched them zoom off into the beautiful hillside. 

Fun Australian things!

-Drove through the Adelaide hills and they had koala crossing signs.

-The sunsets are incredible! They are stunningly beautiful! From the top of the 7th floor of a building I can look out and see the sunset over the ocean and the colors and reflection from the ocean make it awe inspiring! 

-Had to go to a gas station for the first time. You have to go inside to pay for your gas which is weird. They call everything different so luckily my companion did most of the talking because I was so lost at what was going on haha. You also have to give your odometer reading and some other things. Let’s just say filling up with gas is not convenient. 

-Okay this one is kinda weird, but it is truly a crazy Australian thing haha. The urinals….they are so weird. I will not go into detail, but let's just say they are another experience…not for the faint of heart.

-Australians say yous instead of you guys. And it really got on my grammar nerves for a while. But now I am used to it. Yous just sounds so wrong haha. Australian slang has taken some adjusting to. It is also harder for people learning English to understand Australians.

-I saw a double decker bus!!! Two levels! It was massive! It was a fun sight to see! Very rare to see a double decker bus, so I felt very privileged to lay my eyes on one haha. 

Ok time for some highlights from the week…

-We had a Mission Leadership Council this week and that was amazing to be with all the leadership of the mission and to learn and council together! Felt the spirit and got to eat free subway sandwiches. Somehow free food that I don't have to cook myself, or buy myself tastes so good. 

-We found a lot of people this week! One day we spent like 7 hours in Rundle mall. It was actually really fun! It was the Adelaide fashion week! So the mall was transformed overnight. They had 2 DJs pumping music and they even built a bar so people were drinking and everything. We talked to people from all over the world that day! China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Columbia, Cambodia, Brazil, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Australia, Persia (Iran), Africa, Philippines, Argentina! Crazy! It was a fun day jamming to music while saving souls! We even met some of the people who were going to walk the runway. They were totally dripped out!

-Went on exchanges this week and knocked doors for hours in the heat! It was pretty long and tiring but good! Tried some new fruit…some lady was like “not interested, but you can have some fruit off that tree.” I was like sweet, we will take anything we can get at this point. We were struggling to find anyone who wanted to give us a couple seconds to say anything more than good day. The fruit was really good, but I don't know what the fruit is or what it is called.

-Some old Filipino lady called us gorgeous boys which made me laugh.

-Had some bible bashers that talked to us. But somehow after talking to them my testimony was strengthened a ton! Don't know how it works, but wow my testimony of this gospel was strengthened by talking to bible bashers haha.

-Kinda worn out. Elder Gardner and I tell ourselves "we are allowed to be tired, but not lazy" so we just keep on working like normal haha.

Spiritual thought time! 

I have a question that I would love to hear everyone's answer to! It is a question that I have been asking lots of people! Once I get back, I would love it if this answer could be the first thing you tell me! 

The question is, "If the Savior were to suddenly appear right next to you, what would He say or have you know?” 

This question prompts a lot of thinking and pondering. However, the best use of this question is in a group setting. Whether it is around the dinner table, at high council, or at the start of a youth activity, this question can be used to prompt deep thinking. When you truly stop to think what the Savior would say to you or what He would have you know for a specific situation, then it can prompt personal revelation and new insights! Give it a try! And someday I would love to hear your answers! And the answers probably will depend on what stage of life you are in! 

-Being honest with yourself is the best medication! One of the best things you can do is to learn how to be honest with yourself and your Father in heaven! This can allow Him to shape you into who He wants you to become! 

There are no losers when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ! Everyone wins! 

If the gospel is true what are you going to do about it?

If you really believe this gospel is true and that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Redeemer, then what changes will you make!? Sometimes we forget what we know! Can your prayers be more heartfelt and more like a conversation with your Father in Heaven? Can your scripture study be more meaningful! Can you change how you think to be more Christ-like?! What can you change and do because you truly know that this gospel is true? 

In Revelations 3:15-16 the Lord says “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

This scripture is very interesting! The Lord would rather have us choose to be bad (cold) or choose to be good (hot). He can shape us and help us change when we choose one or the other. He can help us become from bad to good or from good to better! However, the Lord does not like luke-warm….what do you think that means? I believe that it means being in the middle. Never putting our full effort into the gospel or in other words riding the gray line. The gray line is the line between living the gospel and not living the gospel. So many people in the church ride the grey line. They do just enough to stay in the church, but are always riding the line of not being in the church. They want to stand out and be different. They may push the boundaries of the commandments or rules…they will do anything to be different or stand out from other church members. Well I am here to tell you that being a fully committed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is standing out! When you fully commit you are standing out! When you strive to do your very best in keeping the commandments with exactness, then you standout! Stop riding the grey line! Just commit to being the best you can be! Commit to follow Jesus Christ! Stop trying to choose between whether you follow Him fully or not. It will be far better that you follow the commandments above and beyond then to fall short of the celestial kingdom because you rode the gray line…the gospel of Jesus Christ is safety! So choose safety! 

First law of Heaven is obedience!

Obedience brings blessings….but exact obedience brings miracles! 

D&C 130:20-21 (There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated–And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.) 

The measure of yourself. We always want to know how we are doing…are we fulfilling the measure of our creation? Well how do we measure ourselves? The two questions you must ask yourselves is what do you really want? And be honest with yourself…what do you really want? Your desires? 

Then you must ask yourself: What does God want? What does He really want for me? What does He desire my desires to be? You know what you want so I invite you to find out what God wants. As our will aligns with Gods will, then we will fulfill the “measure of our creation.” We will become the best version of ourselves! The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of becoming! Having our will or desires aligned with His should be our utmost priority!

Do it the Savior's way! As you do things how the Savior would, the Lord will show His hand.

Welp love you all! Hopefully my long emails are somewhat enlightening to read haha.

Here are the pictures!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gGTjVxiUEkywxDaK7

Until next week! 

Love and miss you all! 

-zhang zhanglao (Elder Jones)