Transfers!

哈喽啊！Helloo everyone! I hope everyone had a splendid week! It was transfers this week! Always a little nerving racking not knowing if you will be packing up and hopping on a 5 hour plane ride up to Darwin or a 5 hour car ride down south to Night Cliff. It is truly a surprise! However, good news! I am staying in my same area and remaining with my companion as the zone leaders over the Nephi zone! Fun times! 

Fun Australian things! 

-There is a chapel built in 1957 and it's the first chapel built in Australia! And the cool thing is that there is a basement! Like a church with a basement is just epic! Imagine going down to the basement for Sunday school.

-Ok so there is still something about Australian toilets that is confusing me! It blows my little brain up! There are two buttons to flush the toilet! And after like 4 months here, I can’t figure out the difference between the buttons! The buttons are right next to each other, but do the exact same thing! I guess one button is a back up button? Or maybe they hope it takes longer to wear out the buttons if there are two of them? So weird! Like how many options do I need? I just want and need one option to flush everything away! And I don't like wasting time having to decide and ponder on what button I want to push each time I go to the bathroom! It’s like a gamble each time. Hmmm what button will I choose this time…hope it works and I don't have to use the other backup button…hahaha

-Australian flies are just crazy! They are bred differently! Like whoa! You think flies are annoying in Utah….think twice…Australian flies are a million times worse! They literally attack you! Like they will specifically target your face and then try to crawl into your eyes, nose, ears or whatever! They are vicious! You swat them away and then they just keep coming back until you actually hit them! Very annoying! We are just standing and talking then we get fly attacked and we have to keep swatting them out of our faces! And they are massive!! I miss the calm Utah flies haha.

-Well I did see a pretty big spider this week! We went to take out the rubbish can and I open the lid and let out a yelp because there was a massive spider inside! Elder Gardner and I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to get the spider out so we could take the rubbish out! I wanted to smash that spider but Elder Gardner had mercy and decided he wanted to get it out of the rubbish can alive…he just treats spiders better than I do…the spider was strong! It would cling and crawl and everything! Just uch haha.

Highlights of the week:

Our Chinese friend Robert took us out to dinner! It was epic! He is getting baptized in two weeks and so we are so excited for him! We walked to china town and then down a sketchy alleyway to a small little Chinese shop! We walk in and it is packed with Chinese people! We then order this soup that he says is the best thing on the menu! So I guess Chinese people love spicy! I chose the least spicy because I didn't know how spicy it would be.  We get the soup and I asked what it was made out of….little did we know it was made out of snail juice! So the soup was snail juice with chicken and pork broth. Then there was noodles, peanuts, and some bamboo root (bamboo root is my new favorite vegetable! Soooo good!). Then I tasted it and wow it was spicy! Like mega mega spicy! It was so spicy that we all had to blow our noses! Then I realized why everyone in the restaurant was blowing their nose haha. By the end of the meal my tongue was gone and nothing was left in my nose and I was sweating bullets…my pride wouldn't let me not finish the meal haha. Robert said our stomachs might not like it…and wow after the meal it was a weird burning sensation for a couple hours after haha. Fun times eating snail juice soup! It was getting pretty yummy though apart from all those things haha. 

-This week was Christmas time in Rundle mall! Rundle mall was transformed into a Christmas wonderland! The super funny thing is that they had all the Christmas trees set up on Halloween! No Halloween so they jump to an early Christmas here. They had a massive Christmas parade! It is the biggest parade in the southern hemisphere! Someone said over 300,000 people came, but I think it was more like 100,000 people. But still a lot of people and there were a lot of crazy floats! Handed out a lot of pass along cards! 

-Had some nice bible bashes this week and let’s say that Jesus Christ’s restored gospel triumphs every single time! Love having all the truth and refuting the bible bashers!

-Got a lot of rejection this week! A lot of our friends decided they didn't want to be friends anymore. We spent 24 hours in Rundle mall this week! One day we spent 6 hours and didn't find anyone wanting to learn more! It is crazy how people just don't care! Everyone should be so grateful for the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives! It truly makes a difference!

-Love speaking Chinese! We had a lesson with a Chinese guy on an exchange I went on! I taught him in Chinese and he loved the chat and lesson. We probably talked for like an hour or so…maybe longer. He teased Elder Rawlings about not being able to speak Chinese. The thing I love is when they are trying to speak English and then they can’t describe something so they say it to me in Chinese and have me translate or tell them the word. Best feeling in the world. He was then like, "man we got to get each other's facebooks." We did and then he was like “Wow, I have an American friend here” pointing to Elder Rawlings and then he pointed to me and said “the cherry on top is my other new American friend who can speak Chinese!” It was pretty epic to be considered the cherry on top! I was just so happy!

Spiritual thought: sorry it is kinda scattered thoughts this time. 

President Dallin H. Oaks posed the following thought-provoking questions in relation to the coming of the Savior: “What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today?”

I love this question that is posed! What would you do or change in your life? Who would you forgive and where would you visit? Instead of procrastinating the time of your repentance or changing or becoming who you want to be…start now! It will be so worth it if you start now! A good saying is “one day or day one”. Start day one! Start today! 

We were chosen, foreordained, and destined to do something. We have been chosen to come to earth. When we chose to come to earth, we accepted our destiny. We are in the same pattern as our Savior and Redeemer! 

Nephi said in Nephi 3:7 “I will go and do”. The Lord gave him a commandment to get the plates and he didn't think twice. There was no plan for failure. He was going to do it no matter the cost because he understood and trusted that the Lord would provide a way for him to accomplish the command he was given. That is truly trusting in the Lord and the power He has!  

We are not in charge of our destiny and greatness! We are already destined for greatness! However we are in charge of our choices! 

We must remember that God is in charge. He is in charge of the universe. Who sent you? God! He is in charge. Trust in Him! Be like Nephi. I will go and do what the God of the universe commands. I know the God of the universe who commands all things and who knows every detail will provide a way for me to accomplish this thing. The Lord has prepared for our success. All we must do is turn up! Show up! That is exactly what Nephi did! He was led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which he should do. (Nephi 4:6). Nephi didn't know exactly what was going on or what would happen, but he showed up. He put forth effort. You may not know what is going on beforehand or why something is happening in your life but God knows! He does not tell you everything because He wants you to exercise faith in Him and you can't handle more. If He gives you too much you would be cheated out of the experiences you would have otherwise. Go and do everything the Lord’s way and timing. Faith allows us to trust God and reach our divine potential! 

"You are not you"  you may be a football player but that is secondary to what you really are. You are always a divine son or daughter of God. We all may think we are someone. We may be brilliant, a musician, or talented artist, the list goes on and on. You that you think you are, is not you. We are all first a child of a loving Heavenly Father. Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself "Who are you?" "Who are you really?" Find the true you! And when you can find and remember the true you and remember your eternal connection with the God of the whole universe and remember that you are His child and remember that He loves you and is in the very details of your lives like a good parent would be, it changes things! 

Get to know Christ! Have a deep personal connection with Him. Use His name! At the resurrection all who come forth will be those that believe and know Christ for themselves! Do you want to be someone who knows Christ? Develop a relationship with Him!

Questions bring revelation! 

Mormon 9:21 “whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted unto him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.” 

The plan of salvation is individualized to each of us! Becoming like God is the ultimate goal. He is our loving Father and He wants us to become like Him! 

Have you ever wondered why people respond differently to the same set of circumstances? Such was the case with Lehi’s family. During their trials, some of the family members looked to God and trusted in Him while others complained, lacked faith, and rebelled. Our response to circumstances should produce growth and greater faith rather than an attitude of complaining and rebellion

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that adversity can help stimulate necessary growth in our lives: “May I share some suggestions with you who face … the testing that a wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are living a worthy, righteous life and are obedient to His commandments. “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 18; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16–17).

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles counseled us to turn to the Lord when we face trials: “I have come to understand how useless it is to dwell on the whys, what ifs, and if onlys for which there likely will be given no answers in mortality. To receive the Lord’s comfort, we must exercise faith. The questions: Why me? Why our family? Why now? are usually unanswerable questions. These questions detract from our spirituality and can destroy our faith. We need to spend our time and energy building our faith by turning to the Lord and asking for strength to overcome the pains and trials of this world and to endure to the end for greater understanding”

I love these quotes and they really give us some perspective! Sometimes I have thoughts, but the apostles of the Lord always can say it better than I ever could.  It is truly a privilege to have modern apostles and Prophets! No other church on the face of the earth claims to have this!  I testify that we all are a child of God! So many people are missing this key truth in their lives! When you know that the God of the universe loves and cares for you it changes everything! Please take a moment to ponder this and read the lyrics to the song “I am a child of God.”

Love you all! Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather! It is starting to heat up over here! So weird celebrating Christmas in short sleeves and shorts! When I hear the song “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” I look around and say “hmmmm nope not looking like Christmas haha.” 

Here are the pictures for this week https://photos.app.goo.gl/PbRGf6HkjJdpZpJa6

Until next week!

-zhang zhanglao