To Darwin And Back...Christmas In Australia!
Goodday mates! I hope everyone had heaps of fun at Christmas! I am sure it was a ripper time!
I hope and pray everyone remembered to keep Christ in Christmas this year!
Fun Australian things:
-We went to the Royal Adelaide Hospital to give a priesthood blessing to someone this week. I have been there about 10 times. I found out this time that it is the most expensive hospital building in the world! It cost 2.4 billion USD to build! Everything is state of the art design and technology!
-All the Australians love to boast that they can go to the beach on Christmas! That is a Christmas tradition for most Australians…everyone goes to the beach during Christmas!
-Our friend Adam got us cucumber flavored lays potato chips! They tasted very refreshing!
Weekly Highlights:
-We took the departing missionaries to the airport! It was crazy because the Sister missionaries that came in with my intake went home! So if I was a sister missionary, I would be home right now! We had to wake up at 3am to take everyone to the airport….so it was a long day!
-We had a new missionary come in and so we got to join President and Sister Standley for lunch at this Chinese restaurant to welcome in the new missionary!
-Then the next day we had our Darwin trip! Probably my last time to Darwin ;) We had to help drag all the music missionaries to the airport and it was a little chaotic, but all went smoothly. We made it on our flight and it felt like a long flight up to Darwin! We arrived and we got to go with the ZLs! Elder Harper and Elder Hansen! They are both missionaries that arrived in my intake! We went to 15 mile camp and that was an interesting experience after all the horror stories I have heard from there. We got a yummy member meal with a nice Filipino family.
-We had zone conference the next day and that went smoothly. Went to Fanny Bays pizza for dinner and that was fun!
-The next day we ran exchanges and they went really well! We had a good time street contacting at Gateway mall. I would have liked to go to Casuarina mall, but we didn't get the chance. It was just so hot and humid! It was unreal! It felt like I was walking around in a sauna! When it is almost 100 degrees and almost 90% humidity, you sweat so much! We had a lesson with someone in the shade and I sat there for 30 minutes and just dripped sweat! It was unreal. You would have thought I was running a marathon with how much I was sweating!
-We got to play basketball in the mornings for our workouts! That was fun except we sweated so much that we came back looking like we had just hopped out of the pool!
-We helped at the Darwin Christmas party and that went well! It was a big success! We had to stay late to help clean up….so we had to get a PC shout at Gygs after ;)
-Sunday was good and the Christmas music devotional went well! Then Monday evening we flew back and wow we had never been so excited for bed!
-We had another Christmas music devotional in Adelaide the next day and that also went well! We had 3 friends show up! It was stressful figuring out all the technology, but it all ended up working! The Standleys had us over for a quick quick Christmas eve dinner of turkey rolls. Fun memory there!
-Christmas day was great! All the missionaries in SA came in and we all spent the day together! A big yummy lunch and some fun activities! President also got videos of everyone's families wishing their missionary a merry Christmas! So that was very fun and special! Christmas on the mission is so anti-climatic! But many fun memories are made and I will never forget my 2 Christmases in Australia!
-We are all prepared to welcome in more new missionaries this upcoming week! We will have 5 missionaries from draper in the mission, once this new intake comes in! Kinda crazy!
-Transfers are this week…fun times ahead ;)
Spiritual thought:
Nephi said, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23). To “liken” means to apply the scriptures to your life.
As missionaries we teach people how to “liken” the scriptures on their own. Discovering personal applications will help them apply and experience the power of the word of God.
As paraphrased from PMG, when you read, understand, and apply the scriptures—especially the Book of Mormon—you will have spiritual experiences with the word of God. You will be more likely to read on your own and make the scriptures an important part of your life!
I enjoy every time I slow down and take the time to study, ponder, and liken the scripture to my own life! It is actually remarkably and miraculously incredible what the spirit can teach you when you open your mind to actively likening the scriptures!
I love this little thought:
Luke 2:7 “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”
"We are all "inn keepers" in our own little way. We decide who and what to let in. We decide if we are too busy or if we don't have room for anything or anyone else. Are we the inn keepers that let Jesus in? Or are we the inn keeper that tells Him to go away? Are we the inn keeper that would love to have Jesus in their inn but the inn is already too full for anything else?
Let Jesus Christ in! Not just Jesus. There are millions of people named Jesus. Let Jesus the Christ in. Jesus the Annointed one! Jesus your Savior and Redeemer!
Imagine what the innkeepers journal entry was that night long ago....
What would he have written? What would he have seen? What would he have felt?
He probably never would have thought that his little inn would become famous and sung about all across the world. He probably never thought that his little inn was special enough to host the person whose name would be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. He probably never would have dreamed that the Son of the Most High God would spend one precious night at His little inn.
It is our choice! We can choose to make room for Him! Be the inn keeper that lets Him in!
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Jesus Christ is at our door and knocking. He wants into our little “inn”. However, He is the master at respecting our agency! It is up to us! It is our choice!
That is why President Nelson in his last conference talk said that the most crucial question we each must answer is this: “To whom or to what will I give my life?”
Are we willing to give our life to Jesus Christ? If so, we open the door and make room for Him in our little “inn”. But not only that, we will give Him the best room, the priority service, the finest treatment.
Who does not want to let the Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace into their inn? Imagine how life changing that would be if everyone let Him into their lives! Imagine the joy and peace that would reign supreme!
I invite you as this new year approaches to let Jesus Christ into your life. I testify that of anything and anyone to let into your life, it should be Jesus Christ. I promise that as you make a renewed effort in your life to let Jesus Christ in, you will find the strength, power, and joy you need in your life!
Here are a couple pictures from the last 2 weeks!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/
Love you all!
Have a wonderful new year!
Cheers,
Elder Jones (zhang zhanglao)
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