Week 23

This week was a good week, it was super busy. The lessons that we taught were Pretty Quality Lessons and you could really feel the spirit.

Sam (our investigator) is doing great. We didn’t end up teaching him about baptism because me and my companion didn’t feel prompted to talk about baptism. Instead we felt like we needed to teach him how to pray. We already had tried to teach him before but he had forgotten. But this time he was talking about praying with his family. So we taught him how to pray and he felt confident enough to say the closing prayer for us. That was one of the best lessons I have had out here. The spirit was there inspiring both me and my companion on what questions to ask. I felt like Sam progressed a lot. I am so glad that now Sam is able to pray with his family. He seemed really excited about it as well.

I have a testimony about prayer and that God does answer our prayers as long as we have faith. I also know if you want your relationship to grow with God that one of the ways you do that is by Prayer. Just like our fathers like it when we talk with them, our Father in Heaven likes it when we talk with him. When we pray, our relationship with our Heavenly Father grows, and that allows us to feel the spirit more, and that builds our testimony as well. Prayer is a great thing. It is simple, but it is powerful.

I hope you all find time to pray this week. I love you all so very much! Have a great week!

Love, Elder Newman--

This is Bea, our investigator that went to the Philippines to be baptized.

Our Stake had a Chinese New Year celebration.

Week 22

This week was a great week! We were able to get two of our investigators to sacrament meeting, and after sacrament meeting we were able to teach one of them. His name is Sam. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He had heaps of questions that we were happy to answer, and he was asking about baptism. He wants to worship the way we (Latter Day Saints) worship. It is really great the questions he asks and the stuff we talk about with him. He has had a rough life and has tried to follow God the best he knows how. And he is being blessed because of it.

This is the same guy we gave a blessing to and the next day he came back with job offers and money. He is still struggling financially, but things are looking pretty good for him. He might be able to get his business back and a much more promising job. Since the blessing, he has placed over 100 applications for jobs and is getting heaps of interviews. We will find out today if he will get the job that he has hoped for. Things are looking up for him and his young family. So it was a great week. I think Hurstville Ward is going to get a new member pretty soon. That’s all for this week.

I do know that missionary work blesses the lives of many, I know that priesthood power is real, and I have seen that first hand. And I know that God does answer our prayers. The Lord blesses us when we are up and doing and exercising our faith, not when we are idle and doing nothing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is True. God lives and knows and loves each and every one of us. I hope you all try to do what the Lord wants you to do. Have a great week! I love you all.

Love Elder Newman

At a rugby stadium.

Elder Brown and I at the Sydney Temple.

Me and Elder Iino. He was my trainer.

Week 21

Well not as big of week as last week. But I did have to lead the area for one day, which was hard. I just felt inadequate for the job because I don't know the area too well. The reason I had to lead the area is because my companion is the zone leader, and he had a big meeting with all the zone leaders of the whole mission. So I paired up with another zone leader’s companion, and they came to my area. The day turned out alright. We got to everywhere without any problems, and the day was a success.

Another great thing that happened this week was I got to go to the temple again. [This time] was a lot better than the first time I went through as a missionary.

Other than that, not a lot happened. I hope you all have a great week.

Love, Elder Newman

Week 20.

Well this week was an interesting week. It was full of drunk people and Muslims telling us how wrong we are. First of all we met two groups of drunk guys. The first group was alright because I had met one guy before he was drunk, so we were pretty much friends. He was acting like a pirate, and one of his friends just echoed everything he said. And his other friend just kept talking and he didn’t care about what I don’t think he realized, he was talking to a representative of Jesus Christ.

The other group that we met was the next day, and everyone wasn’t too drunk. They were alright with talking to us and they could have a nice conversation, but one of them was way drunk and he did not like us. He was in our face and kept yelling at us. He wanted to fight me and Elder Brown, but he was skinny, even more skinny than me. He had Elder Brown hold up his hand and he tried to kick it. He kept saying that we should go back to our own country. He kept saying that we weren't missionaries and that he was. Haha. I kinda felt bad for him.

Then right after that, we don’t get 20 steps, and a Muslim starts talking to us. He tells us that we are basically wrong, and he starts reading from the Koran for like an hour. But it’s all good because our drunk friend came over and started to mess with the guys bike, and was kinda rough with it. Then he left and came back a couple minutes later and told us that if we block out his bro again that he was going to cut us. Haha. But eventually the drunk guy had to leave, and we eventually were able to give the Muslim a book of Mormon. So in the end we were alright. I hope he read it.

And we had a miracle this week. We gave a guy a blessing that was struggling. [He had] no job and no money with a young family, so we gave him a blessing. And the next day he was happier, and he came home with $2500, and he got a job offered to him by one of his past employees. It’s amazing how the Lord works. We are now teaching him, and he is on his way to getting baptized!

That’s my week. It’s been a good one. I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Newman