The Ups And Downs Of Mission Life :)

Good day mates! I am back for another email!

It has been a great last 2 weeks! Time has flown so fast! We had Australia day and also Chinese New Year! I am going to miss celebrating Chinese New Year next year! 

Weekly Highlights: 

-I got to go on a great exchange with Elder Hu! I have served my whole mission around him, but never have gone on an exchange! It was so much fun. I slept in my first flat again. Brought back memories! We talked lots of Chinese together and found 5 new friends to teach that day! 

-2 weeks ago we had a lot of opposition with things falling through left and right! But this past week was a miracle week! Sometimes I laugh at the crazy ups and downs the mission brings. 

-We resolved all our concerns with the Sisters this week which was good! It had gotten very draining...

-I am still learning so much! The Lord is teaching me and guiding me each and every day! I didn't think I would still be learning so much towards the end of my mission! But I have learned that the Lord is using this time to really refine me into the person He wants me to be! 

-One of our Chinese new members (Cloud) made a website for our English class a couple months ago. Recently people are calling us saying that they found our class on google. We realized this week that it is his website that people are finding on google!

-We got to go to the temple on p-day! That was special! I love the temple! We got a flat tire on the way to the temple....first flat tire on the mission. I was like oh no, but thankfully my companion changed the tire in 5 quick minutes! 

-We have had so many amazing lessons! So many spirit felt lessons! 

-This past weekend I got a little sick and my companion got hurt playing basketball so he was on crutches...therefore it was a slower, but still productive weekend! 

-The city has been pretty calm lately, but it is ramping up for the Adelaide Fringe! 

-Every day at lunch I get the office vibes! We have the most random conversations and things happen! It is hilarious! 

-Chinese New Year was a blast! Brought me back to the fun times last year. Wendy brought lots and lots of dumplings! We probably made 600 of them by hand! Robert came and cooked them. We prayed the fire alarm wouldn't go off haha. Probably 30 Chinese people showed up! So much fun! Lots of Chinese and so many people are so surprised I speak Chinese haha. Decorations. Music. Just a fun, fun relaxing night mentally.

-Miki and Maria!  We had a great lesson! Taught the restoration to the catholic couple from Italy! The spirit was there. It was allowing the truths that we were teaching to seek deep into the minds and hearts of the Italian couple we were teaching. So much so that they were agreeing with everything we were saying, even though it was going against what they believed. The husband was all in. The spirit was strong. The wife realized what she had been saying and agreeing with and she felt the spirit confirm the truth of our words. She then tried to distract herself by getting on her phone. After a minute or two her husband looks over and says what are you doing? She looked up a little flustered and said nothing and put it away. Then it comes out a little while later. She didn't want to admit that what she was learning was true. She was shocked that she had agreed with the things we were teaching even though it was against her belief!

The husband is a little more prepared. He went back to Italy for a couple months to "find himself.” So after 8 months of him being gone we have been able to meet back up. I had given him an Italian Book of Mormon the week before he left. I asked him how or when he decided to return to Australia again. He said that he knew it was time when he was sitting alone way on top of a mountain in Italy alone with the Book of Mormon. The wind flipped through the pages and he knew it was time to come back. He came back and he is meeting with us again. He has had a spiritual experience with the Book of Mormon! 

They both said that they always feel so wonderful after our meetings. So peaceful and so calming even after a long day at work. Amazing to see our friends feel the spirit and tell us! 

-The miracle of the week was that we had 9 friends at church! Incredible! We had a couple Aussies which the ward fellowshipped like crazy! A couple Chinese people and even someone from New Zealand and Italy! Our zone went from 12 people at church a week to this week 26! We have gone from averaging just 20 new friends as a zone to now averaging over 50 a week! 

Our zone is on fire! The work of the Lord moves forward! Hurrah for Israel!

Spiritual thought: 

I have been really focusing on meaningful worship! It is amazing the spirit you feel and the connection gained when you worship Almighty God with meaning! 

For example, what is the difference between the words attend vs worship? Do you just "attend" church or do you go to church to "worship" God? 

"To attend means to be present at. But to worship is to intentionally praise and adore our God in a way that transforms us" -Elder Kearon

Do you go "take out" your endowment or do you prepare to prayerfully "receive" your endowment?

This principle also applies to simple things like prayer and scripture study? Are we just praying or are we prayerfully worshiping and seeking our Heavenly Fathers will? Are we reading our scriptures or are we studying our scriptures? 

These small and simple changes in our approach to the small and simple things we do to worship God makes all the difference! For by small and simple things are great things brought to pass! 

What is pure religion?

James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world".

Some people wait to be called into a calling to go serve people...that shouldn't be the case! We can go and serve God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength no matter if we have a calling to do so or not! 

So many people base their testimonies on other people or other things! 

I love what Elder Ucthdorf said at the last general conference.

"Will we stay bound to the Savior regardless of circumstances—trusting Him and His timing? We must ask ourselves: Is my testimony based on what I hope to happen in my life? Is it dependent on the actions or attitudes of others? Or is it firmly founded on Jesus Christ, “rooted and built up in him,” regardless of life’s changing circumstances?"

There will come a time that our testimony will be put to the test. What will it be built upon?

President Nelson gave us a timely reminder

"With frightening speed, a testimony that is not nourished daily “by the good word of God” can crumble. Thus, the antidote to Satan’s scheme is clear: we need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel. I plead with you to let God prevail in your life. Give Him a fair share of your time. As you do, notice what happens to your positive spiritual momentum."

I have noticed this so much on the mission! Don't let your testimony crumble before your very eyes! 

The main theme of everything I keep learning is that it all comes back down to Jesus Christ! It is really just Jesus! Jesus is the Christ. He is the anointed one! He is the great King Emmanuel! We can never get enough Jesus! Talk of Christ, preach of Christ, rejoice in Christ, prophesy of Christ, so that your family may know to what source they may look for the remission of their sins! Look to Him! Trust Him! Serve Him! Seek Him! Worship Him and the Father with your whole souls! He is the Rock upon if we build we cannot fall! 

D/C 68:6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.

I will end with a verse from hymn 66: "Rejoice the Lord is King"

His kingdom cannot fail; 

He rules o’er earth and heav’n. 

The keys of death and hell

To Christ the Lord are giv’n.   

Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice! 

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice! 

Here are the photos for the week! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/t2FBVVTDKU7uwSEW6

Have a wonderful spirit filled week! 

Cheers,

Elder Jones (zhang zhanglao)