Week 31

Not a lot happened this week, it flew by way fast. We did a lot of finding. And one crazy story that I think is crazy is one of our investigators (Bram) wanted to go finding with us. So we let him come along on Saturday, and he wanted to try and place a Book of Mormon. He tried like 6 times, and he had a lot of fun doing it, so he wants to go with us again next time he can. I just thought it was crazy because an investigator is more interested in missionary work than a lot of the members. Haha.

Yesterday was ANZAC day which is basically Veterans day and Memorial day back home. it honors the people who fought for Australia. Other than that nothing exciting happened this week. I love you all. Have a great week.

Love Elder Newman

Week 30

This week wasn't very busy, but Sam got baptized on Saturday, which was great. He is a lot happier now, and he loves reading the Book of Mormon.

Yesterday was transfer day, and me and Elder Ledbetter stayed in Hurstville. We were helping people get moved to their new flats, so yesterday was a busy day.

Other than that, the only thing big that happened was Sam’s baptism. Elder Ledbetter conducted the meeting, and I gave a talk on baptism, and Bishop did the baptism and confirmation.

We visited Sam last night, and he was telling us that he was talking to a man about the Book of Mormon, and he tried to give him one. So he is already doing missionary work! He is an awesome guy.

I hope you all have an awesome week.

Love, Elder Newman.

Elder Li, Elder Ledbetter, Sam, and Elder Newman

Week 29

Well this week was a blast! We had heaps of teaching appointments and a ton of people feeding us, so I can’t complain. I'm gaining a little weight which is a good thing.

Sam is doing great. He came to conference and then we taught him after. He was impressed. He said that he learned a lot and he got answers to questions he didn’t even know he had. He loved the talk about fathers and families. He is ready to be baptized! Like I said last week, he has changed so much.

We just planned his baptism out yesterday. I think it is going to be great. The ward and his wife are really showing him support, which is great. He has two excellent men that are helping him make that step towards Christ and I can’t wait until this Saturday when he is the man!

We were able to watch conference this weekend, and it was great. I really loved the priesthood session. I got heaps out of that, and my questions were answered. I can’t wait until I get to read their talks and study them.

We had a busy week, a lot of preparation for Sam and getting things set up. Also this week we had a goal to beat the sister missionaries in total lessons for the week. We pushed really hard and were able to get 27 lessons done this week. It was tough, but we were able to do it.

This week has been the best week for me so far. I have felt like a successful missionary fulfilling our purpose, which is inviting others to come unto Christ. I hope you all have a great week. I sure am going to have one.

Love, Elder Newman

Week 28

This week was a good week. It started out a little rough with our investigator. He went through some more hard situations. I’m just so happy with how much this guy loves his family.

This week started off rough, but ended great. We were able to teach him two lessons yesterday and they were really good. He was really into learning as much as he could. He can’t wait to be baptized. He has already gotten names for when he does Baptisms for the dead. I have been so blessed to be a part of his conversion.

He and his wife were taught before she was baptized, but he was having nothing to do with it. He hated the church. And then his heart was softened, and that’s when we came in. At first he was kinda not ready to learn, and then he started to be interested in what we had to say. He is now doing all he can to learn. We are meeting with him every day, and I have seen his testimony grow in just the short time that I have been here. When we first started teaching him, he was very angry with the world. Last night he was so happy, he was even joking around with us and smiling. I cannot even begin to describe what I felt for him. I love the change that he has made in his life, and I am so happy for him and his family.

I am here to tell everyone that the gospel does change people for the better. I am so glad that I was able to be a tool in the Lord’s hands to reach out and help our investigator. There is nothing that can compare with watching someone come closer to Jesus Christ.

That was what I wanted to share this week. I hope you all have a great week.

Love Elder Newman