Living Life In Australia :)

Well, well, well another 2 weeks have passed! Time is flying by! Time for another email update. 

Fun Australian things: 

Continuing to try unique Australian lollies. (What they call candy in Australia. You will never hear someone say candy.)

-Picnic: this is a fun chocolate peanut butter bar. If you like peanuts and chocolate then you would like this lolly!

-Moro: This chocolate is strange. It has a hard coating with a softer texture of chewy chocolate on the inside. 

-Crunchi: Crunchies are interesting. They are chocolate covered honeycomb. Australians love their honeycomb flavored things! 

-Cheery Ripe: This is a candy with a cherry and coconut mixture covered in chocolate. 

-Turkish delight: This one is disgusting haha. It is a jelly filling surrounded by chocolate. 

Something else really random is Australians love Nutella flavored things! Nutella flavored things are all over the place!

Weekly updates:

-Well we had transfer week! Elder Mitchell and I will be remaining as APs! This will be our 5th transfer together! Fun times! 

-We had to do lots of transfer logistics! It was stressful! We also had to get extra mattresses and so we ended up stuffing 7 mattresses into the Staria! Fun times! 

-We had 21 new missionaries come into the mission! They had all been visa waiting so they flew in from different missions across the US. It was a party! We had to have the entire office staff and two big trailers to fit all the luggage and take everyone back to the chapel! It was insane! Biggest transfer ever! 

-Due to many things, Elder Mitchell and I housed all 14 Elders in our flat! So that was a total of 16 Elders in one little flat! We crammed everyone in like sardines! Mattresses were lined back to back to back across our living room! It was hectic! Fun memories! Our garage was filled with so much luggage and it took 2 hours for everyone to get through the shower haha. 

-Transfer movement day was so smooth! It was a true miracle! After everything was said and done, Elder Mitchell and I were starving! So hungry that we could eat a horse! So that's what we did! And how did we eat it?….one bite at a time! It was delicious! (When I went to Robinvale the members wanted to feed me horse…so a missionary had brought some up for us to try at transfers!) 

-The most annoying thing about the whole week was that I got sick! It was the worst time to get sick! I was literally dying all day for a couple days. I was dead sick! But I really gained a testimony of the power of priesthood blessings. I was blessed with power from God to help me push through the crazy couple transfer days. It was a true miracle all that I did! There were late nights and early mornings. There were so many things we had to help with and make happen. And I was truly sustained by heavenly power to accomplish everything that I need to accomplish. 1 Nephi 3:7 came true! 

-Come p-day I was so tired and dead that I took a pillow to the chapel and took a long nap instead of playing basketball and everything. The missionaries got some good pictures of me fast asleep haha. 

-We had a good lesson with Dean! He took us to this bougie waffle place! They put ice cream on top of the waffle! Best waffle I have ever had and ever will have! 

-We had a lesson with Adam and that went great. Adam and Cloud (a new member I used to teach) are best friends now! They are the sweetest and smartest Chinese people to teach! I look forward to our lessons each week! 

-We had lessons with 2 of our new Chinese friends! It was amazing! One of their English names was Gatsby! We taught the Godhead both times and we taught the atonement of Jesus Christ both times and it was powerful! We had a picture perfect lesson with a guy from China named Eric! I couldn't have asked for a better lesson! Elder Mitchell and I both walked out with the biggest smiles on our faces! Probably one of the best or even potentially the best lesson I have had on my mission!  Here is the story — It was an early morning taking Alice Springs missionaries to the airport after MLC and then it was a drag getting the Darwin zls and stls to the airport at lunch. I wasn't really feeling like teaching a lesson, but it became the best lesson ever. 

We met with Elder Nam and Elder Muramoto right before and helped them and showed them how we teach people who don't believe in God. They loved it. 

Then we had the lesson with Eric.

We had found Eric 2 days before in Rundle mall. I had stopped him and then he read my Chinese tag and said, “Hey, I am interested in this.” I was so shocked I didn't even know what to say. That never happens!! We got a return appointment and we got to teach him on Thursday! 

It was so spirit led and amazing! He came up to the branch and Elder Sun and Elder Hung were able to talk some Chinese with him and then we showed him around and explained some things. He walked into the English class room and stared at the picture of Jesus. The second coming picture of Jesus Christ. He said who is that? I said Jesus Christ. The room got still and quiet for a second as he stood in awe at the picture of Jesus. Then we sat down for a lesson. 

We taught the Godhead quickly. Then taught about prayer. He understood. Then because he had questions about Jesus Christ and what He did, we taught the Atonement of Jesus Christ simply. It was incredible. We explained justice and mercy. And it clicked in his head. We had him read Alma 7.11.12 in Chinese and he read it once and said wow/whoa under his breath. Then he had to pick up the Book and read it again closer!  It hit him hard. The spirit was in the room. 

Then he asked how he could join this church! He said he really wants to join.  We then taught about baptism and how it was a ceremony to join the church. He understood and was perfectly happy with it. He loved the symbolism of baptism. He then explained how he is looking for peace and happiness. And that the world is so crazy and the news is depressing. He said he just wants some peace and happiness! He said that he thinks the church can offer that. He said that Chinese people always think so logically and that leads them to not be happy sometimes or do bad things because they can't understand everything. 

We then testified that Jesus Christ is where he will find that peace and joy. It is in Jesus Christ!

He then asked if he could have the Book of Mormon. We said of course! Take an English and Chinese. 

We then explained prayer again and I said a closing prayer. I prayed for him. After the prayer, he was like wow. He was just in total shock and amazement at what he was feeling.

He thanked us and couldn't express how happy he was for us taking the time to meet with him. It was amazing! 

-We had MLC and that went well! It was Thanksgiving so after we got to enjoy a small Thanksgiving dinner! It consisted of turkey and mashed potatoes, but hey it was better than nothing! They had found pumpkin pie at the one and only Costco in Adelaide! So that tasted amazing!

-We are keeping the ZLs and STLs more accountable! We are trying to help the mission gain the fire, motivation, and urgency for missionary work! 

-We helped President move into his new house! That was fun and then he took us to dinner with his family after at a Korean restaurant! 

-Spent some good time in the city this week! We took the President’s son street contacting which was fun! I have been in Rundle mall so long now that I keep running into people I used to know, teach, or have talked to before! I ran into Traveler who was a homeless guy that I had gotten to be good friends with. I ran into him in the city after not seeing him for 8 months! He is not homeless any more and is engaged! I ran into someone I had a conversation with over 16 months ago! He was like how old are you now? I was like 20. He said, "Weren't you 18 when I first talked with you?" I was like yep haha. We were both shocked at how quickly time flies! I ran into a senior couple from another mission and at the end of the conversation he asked what part of Australia I was from. I said, “Draper, Utah.” He laughed and said, “Well keep working on that aussie accent then.” That was the first time someone has mistaken me for Australian haha. I guess my American accent is fading….

-Had a little problem with our new Brazilian missionary....

-Adam and Cloud showed up to church and enjoyed singing Christmas songs! We got to have dinner at the bishop's house Sunday night and they fed us burgers and brownies! Fun times! We are working so hard. I feel a tad worn out and stretched thin…but the Lord is sustaining me!

Spiritual thought:

In Mormon chapter 9 verses 12-15 it outlines the plan of salvation so simply and clearly:

12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. 

13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death. 

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.

Something that I have enjoyed teaching is the plan of salvation and then connecting it back to Jesus Christ. It always should come back to Jesus Christ. He should be the center of our teaching! 

In preach my gospel there is a picture of Jesus Christ and the 7 general parts of the plan of salvation that surround him. I always show this to our friends and explain that Jesus Christ is what makes Heavenly Father’s plan possible. He makes each and every part of the plan work!

It is Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation through His son Jesus Christ!

The question that is always my favorite to answer or ask friends is “why is Jesus Christ important?” Why is it that we have faith in Jesus Christ? Why is it that we trust in Him and follow Him? Why Jesus Christ? Many times friends and even some missionaries don't know the why behind Jesus Christ. Ask yourself, why Jesus? 

When we understand the background of the plan of salvation, it helps us understand things better. We must understand that when we come to earth, two things will happen! We will all physically die and we will all spiritually die! Each of us sins, and each of us will die. Sin and death would prevent us from having eternal life with God unless we had a Redeemer. Because Heavenly Father loves us, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to redeem us from sin and death. 

There is a universal eternal law of justice and mercy. We must understand justice and mercy for us to understand why Jesus Christ is so important!

When we sin we become spiritually unclean, and “no unclean thing can dwell with God” (1 Nephi 10:21). In addition, the law of justice requires a consequence for our sins. But the law of mercy requires a way for us to be forgiven. So how is it all made possible? It is through Jesus Christ. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice provides the way for us to become cleansed of sin and sanctified as we repent. It also provides the way to satisfy the demands of justice and mercy. 

I love the explanation of the scripture in Mosiah 15:9 “Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.”

“Thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles [us] in the arms of safety” (Alma 34:16)

“If not for Jesus Christ, sin would end all hope for a future existence with Heavenly Father.”

However, there is a condition to being saved from sin. We must repent. As we repent Jesus, will claim on our behalf His rights of mercy of His father. (Moroni 7:27-28). As we repent, we will be spiritually cleansed and can return to live with God and be relieved of the burden and guilt of our mistakes. 

We must remember that in offering Himself as a sacrifice for us, Jesus did not eliminate our personal responsibility. We need to continue to have faith in Him, repent, and strive to obey the commandments. 

Jesus also saves us from physical death. Because He was resurrected, we will all be resurrected after we die. This means each of our spirits and bodies will be reunited, and each of us will live forever in a perfected, resurrected body. If not for Jesus Christ, death would end all hope for a future existence with Heavenly Father.

Jesus Christ offers comfort, hope, joy, and healing. His atoning sacrifice is the ultimate expression of His love. All that is unfair in life, can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Not only did Jesus Christ save us from sin and death, but He did even more! He took upon himself our pains, afflictions, and infirmities. 

Because of this, He knows “according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11-12). He invites, “Come unto me,” and as we do, He gives us rest, hope, strength, perspective, and healing (Matthew 11:28–30). “As we rely on Jesus Christ and His Atonement, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation.”

I love this quote from PMG “Although we are imperfect and may fall short again, there is more grace, love, and mercy in Jesus Christ than there is failure, flaw, or sin in us. God is always ready and eager to embrace us as we turn to Him and repent (see Luke 15:11–32). Nothing and no one “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

I invite you to accept the invitation of the Prophet to study the atonement of Jesus Christ everyday. I promise that as you study, you will come to know your Savior more fully than ever before. 

Brothers and Sisters, I testify this is why Jesus Christ is so important! He makes EVERYTHING possible! I testify that the doctrine is complete. It is whole. It is perfect. Heavenly Fathers plan is a perfectly fair and just plan. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer! Without Him, we would not be able to live in happiness with our Heavenly Father again. Jesus Christ is our why! He is our everything. I love Him, I love you, and I promise most of all that God loves you perfectly. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Pictures from the last 2 weeks: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CjKsidGEEWjrHyN2A

I love you all! Have a great week and enjoy the Christmas season! Stay warm over there and I will try to stay cool over here! 

Cheers,

Elder Jones (zhang zhanglao)