Week 27

Well this week started out just being a normal week, then we got to Saturday and at 10:30 am we got a call saying that Elder Brown needs to pack his bags because he is getting transferred out to Bathurst over in Orange Zone. Four hours later, he was gone. I was put in a trio with Elder Ledbetter and Elder Li.

Then Sunday night we got a pretty scary call from our investigator, and we tried to call him back. He didn't answer, so we drove to his house; and he wasn't there so we decided to come back in the morning as soon as we could. So we got there in the morning and he talked with us for a bit, and he started to cry when he was telling us how nothing is going to stop him from being baptized.

This guy has been through a lot. He has pushed through some huge trials that have been placed in his life by the adversary. He is strong, and I’m excited that I get to be a part of his conversion. It’s been a tough road, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get easier anytime soon. But he is a fighter, and I have faith in him. This was the biggest part of my week.

I hope you all are doing well. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Newman.

We got some sunnies from a excommunicated member.

The newspaper is about a guy in our ward. He is the man. He is a big rugby star who will not play on Sundays. He's an awesome guy!

Elder Li is on the left, Elder Ledbetter is in the middle.

Week 26

This week was a good week. One of the investigators that we were working with is now going to get baptized. The lesson went really good. We didn't say a lot, it was mostly just silence and letting him think and feel the spirit. It was one of the best lessons that me and Elder Brown have had, and we hardly said anything. It just goes to show that we, as missionaries, don't do the work. It is the Holy Ghost that does the work. I am really excited for him! We are shooting to have his baptismal date on the 16th of April.

I don’t know what else to say, except that this was a great week! Me and Elder Brown have been working hard. It’s good to see some progression in Hurstville! That’s all for this week.

I love you all!

Love, Elder Newman

Elder Brown is just like a brother. haha It was a random hug. He is fun. It’s just like what I would do to Riley. haha

That is like the 6th Lambo I have seen this transfer.

We had a green smoothie everyday for breakfast this week.

Feeding the pigeons is just a fun thing to do. haha Elder Li is from China, and that’s the closest he gets to animals.

Week 25

This week wasn’t a very big week as far as teaching lessons to investigators. But we did [have] success in finding. We found 8 potential investigators this week, and we placed 4 Books of Mormon.

We were also trying to contact some members that we were thinking had moved. So we got to this one house and knocked on the door and someone else answered the door. So we found out that our member had moved, but the guy invited us in straight away. He said, “Any men of God are welcome in my place,” so we got inside and found out that him and his wife are studying to be pastors. As soon as he told us that I thought it was going to be a bible bash, but it didn’t turn into one. He just asked us questions, and we eventually were able to lead it into the Book of Mormon. We were able to give him one because he had never read it before. It was a great visit. He said to come back around Easter so that he would have time to read the Book of Mormon, and that we could talk about it then.

We also had a crazy lady that gave me a letter with a picture of a sister missionary in the North mission. The letter asked me to pray about if she was the right one for me, and it was saying a bunch of other stuff. But what had happened was this lady took the sister missionaries picture and just made it up to make it sound like the sister missionary wrote me. This lady gave another letter of the same kind to Elder Leadbetter (another Missionary). That [same] lady also got all of our pictures, so I think she is going to send our pictures to the sister missionaries in the North mission saying the same thing. So we are going to talk to the Mission President today to see what we can do to stop her from doing stuff like this. This lady is crazy. Hopefully we can get this taken care of soon.

That’s my week. I hope you all have a great week. I love you all!

Love Elder Newman-

Week 24

This week was a big week with meetings and such. It was also a tough one because all of our investigators couldn't see us this week. But we can still try for next week.

Not a lot happened this week teaching wise, but we did have some great meetings. They were focused on faith and making your prayers more sincere and meaningful. And then the Mission President always has to get up and give his obedience and repentance speech. The meetings were great. I learned a lot, and it has inspired me to be better than I already am. I thought I was already working hard, but I now see that there is a lot more that I can be doing, so I am trying to work harder.

It really helps to have such a great companion that is always pushing you to be better. Elder Brown is a tank. He just keeps going and going. He does like to talk a lot, but that is a great thing to have as a missionary. He has really helped me open my mouth more.

I know that this gospel is important, and I know that everyone needs to hear it and make their decision about it. I never knew how much it had blessed my life until I got out here and saw what people’s lives were like without it. I have seen people change, and I have felt myself change as well. I hope we all can find a way to be a missionary this week, and that's what I would invite you to do this week.

I love you all. I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Newman