Banana Man, Darth Vader, Big Protests, And Bus Fights...What A Week To Be Alive In Australia!
哈喽啊！最近过得如何！希望最近过得一切顺利！Wow, wow, wow, another week finished! This week was a really weird week for some reason. I am also absolutely dead! We got home at 8:30pm on Saturday and we visited our neighbor, as we walked past their house, and they invited us in. When we walked in one of them looked at me and said, “Wow, you look so tired and exhausted.”
I am so blessed to be continually healthy and happy! I might be dead tired, but I would rather be tired than sick!
I hope everyone’s week went well and the weather is starting to warm up. The last official day of summer in Australia was Friday this week. So now we are headed into fall. Exciting times.
Fun Australian things:
-Well with high school prom coming up in the states I decided to explain how Australians do their highschool prom.
For senior year prom this is what the day looks like… They start at 6pm and go to 11:30pm with a big dinner and dance. They then go from 12am-2am with a party boat down a river. Then from 2am-4am they go paint-balling. From 5am-7am they go to a big water theme park. Finally, from 8am-10am they have muffins and maccas (McDonalds) for breakfast….
Then as you can imagine they all go home and sleep the rest of the next day because they stayed up all night partying. So now everyone gets an idea of how Australians do their high school proms. They change it up every year, but it usually consists of them renting out a theme park and there is a mystery tour each year and the activities vary, but wow I was blown away at the immensity of the dance haha.
Weekly Highlights:
-Well the biggest highlight of the week was being able to baptize and confirm Dean! It was so special! Months and months of hard work finally paid off in 1 special baptism! We have talked to and taught hundreds of people to find the one special and precious soul who was ready to make and commit to keep a covenant with God!
March 2nd is a special day in my family and so being able to baptize Dean on March 2nd will make it even more special!
The morning of the baptism was just crazy, but thankfully it all worked out and we had 4 baptisms! Truly incredible! Dean, Lien, Peter, and Yi were able to enter the waters of baptism! All the companionships in the city had someone they taught and baptized. So it was a special day for the city missionaries. We had baptism talks given by the members in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese! It took a lot of work to organize and coordinate the baptisms! After it was all said and done, I was ready to curl up and take a long winter's nap…but never! We continued to press on and have a great rest of our day serving the Lord!
-To explain the title of my email…the Adelaide fringe is going on and so there are street performances every day in the mall. There is a guy who dresses up like a banana and does his show multiple times a week. He gets really annoying sometimes. Darth Vader also made another appearance in the mall! So fun to see that. We also had a large protest walk through the mall yelling and screaming! It was quite crazy! It made it kinda hard to talk to people for a couple minutes, but thankfully they moved on! Then a fight pretty much broke out on the bus we took home! Thankfully, I wasn't the one being targeted this time haha…. The city is just wild right now! Never seen anything like it!
-We spent 6 hours in Rundle mall one day and that was a long day!
-We had to help a lot of missionaries this week and so that was tiring….the spirit helped us discover some interesting things that they were doing….
-This week was just such a strange, weird, week. Thankfully the baptism made it end on a high! Nothing much else happened that is worth mentioning…
Spiritual thought:
There are soooo many people we talk to in Rundle mall or people that have lessons with us and they all have some sort of excuse to stop meeting with us, to not keep the invitations we extend, or to flat out avoid further conversation with us. One of these excuses or things they say is “too busy.” I hate the sound of those words haha.
BUT it has taught me a very important lesson! We should never be “too busy” for the things of eternal value or worth! We should never be “too busy” to say a prayer and communicate with the most powerful, all knowing, and loving being in the universe. We should never be “too busy” to not have the ability to spend a couple minutes reading our scriptures/the word of God each day! We should never be “too busy” to not cultivate, spend time, and grow our relationships with our family that we will live with for eternity! We should never be “too busy” to not be able to make time for the Lord and for the things that matter most!
I fear that much of the world and frankly many people in the church are becoming “too busy” and not doing the small and simple things that in turn will reap big eternal consequences. Everyone is forgetting the eternal perspective! Everyone is focused on the here and now. Everyone wants to “live in the moment.” Living in the moment is a good thing to do, but if we don't take a step back from time to time and consider things with a wider perspective we won't know best how to or what best to do while “living in the moment.”
I invite you to take 5 minutes and consider your life from an eternal perspective! Pray and ask your Eternal Father what He would have you change. Whether it is to stop doing something or to start doing something.
I promise that as you make time for the Lord, you will find that you will be able to accomplish everything you need to do in your day! It seems counterintuitive, but it is reality! He will somehow give you more hours in your day. You will be able to accomplish everything you need to do plus more! If you doubt my words, I invite you to try it out. Make time for things like heartfelt prayer, scripture study, and church and you will see how the Lord magnifies your efforts and helps you accomplish everything you need to do in your daily life. The Lord doesn't require much, but He does require a little! Think with an eternal perspective :)
I used to love a book called Adventures Wanted….who doesn't love a good adventure?! I do! This phrase made me ponder what the Lord wants….He wants finishers! Finishers wanted!! This is the final step in the gospel of Jesus Christ! Endure to the end! It is the hardest step sometimes. It is the step that many of us are on. We must continue to endure to the end. Or I like to say “enjoy to the end.”
Finishers wanted!! Who will endure to the end and be a finisher in the Lords kingdom?
There is a good talk by President Monson about this!
“Times change, circumstances vary, but the true marks of a finisher remain. Note them well, for they are vital to our success.
The Mark of Vision.
It has been said that the doorways of history turn on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.
The Mark of Effort.
Vision without effort is daydreaming, effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.
The Mark of Faith.
Long years ago the psalmist wrote: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man: It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps. 118:8–9.) Recognize that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
The Mark of Virtue.
“… let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. …” (D&C 121:45.) This counsel from the Lord will provide staying power in the race we run.
The Mark of Courage.
Courage becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully, but the determination to live decently. Have the courage—
“To dream the impossible dream;
To fight the unbeatable foe;
To bear with unbearable sorrow:
To run where the brave dare not go.
To right the unrightable wrong;
To love, pure and chaste, from afar;
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star.”
—and you will thus become a finisher.
The Mark of Prayer.
When the burdens of life become heavy, when trials test one’s faith, when pain, sorrow, and despair cause the light of hope to flicker and burn low, communication with our Heavenly Father provides peace.
These, the marks of a true finisher, will be as a lamp to our feet in the journey through life. Ever beckoning us onward and lifting us upward is he who pleaded, “… come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22.)”
I love those words by President Monson! I hope everyone takes the time to think about finishing! Finishers wanted! Will you be a finisher?
Think about the well known story in the bible about the young man who came to Jesus asking what more he had to do…Jesus ended up telling Him to sell his possessions and to come follow Him! “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” (Matt. 19:16–18, 20–22.) He preferred the comforts of earth to the treasures of heaven. He would not purchase the things of eternity by abandoning those of time. He faltered. He failed to finish.”
Alma 9:14–23 talks about how Great Blessings Bring Great Responsibilities.
“Alma warned that although the Lamanites were a wicked people at that time, the Lord would look more favorably upon them than upon the people of Ammonihah on the day of judgment (see Alma 9:14). The Lamanites were following incorrect traditions that had been handed down to them, while the Nephites in general and the people of Ammonihah in particular had been “a highly favored people of the Lord; … above every other nation, kindred, tongue, or people” (Alma 9:20).
With great blessings come great responsibilities.
Sister Sheri L. Dew taught: “‘Unto whom much is given much is required’ (D&C 82:3), and at times the demands of discipleship are heavy. But shouldn’t we expect the journey towards eternal glory to stretch us? We sometimes rationalize our preoccupation with this world and our casual attempts to grow spiritually by trying to console each other with the notion that living the gospel really shouldn’t require all that much of us. The Lord’s standard of behavior will always be more demanding than the world’s, but then the Lord’s rewards are infinitely more glorious—including true joy, peace, and salvation.”
The mission is teaching me, changing me, and shaping me into a new person! The Lord is doing wonders in my life, as I hand everything over to Him! It is not easy! The things I am learning will influence who I am for the rest of my life! One thing I have learned is that I never want to be “too busy” that I can't make time for the Lord! I also want to be a finisher! If the Lord wants finishers, I sign my name and give Him all I have!
There was a great talk I read about improving prayers! I highly recommend!
https://speeches.byu.edu/
I plead with you to use the communication our Father in Heaven has given us! Please talk and pour out your heart and mind to Him! He is the perfect listener! And He is perfect in how and when He responds to your questions! Don't take it for granted!
Love you all! Here are the pictures for this week. Enjoy! https://photos.app.goo.
Keep up the good work. Until next week.
Cheers,
-Elder Jones (zhang zhanglao)
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