Week 53

Monday was a lot of fun going on a hike with the Shoobridges. We saw some more whales and went to a tower called Boyd's Tower. It was built by convicts a while ago in order to look for whales for whale hunting. It’s a pretty cool stone tower.

Tuesday we spent most of the day in Bega getting our Toyota serviced, and then we did some service at Mandeni, then spent some time with Josh.

Wednesday was Family History and then doing stuff at Debbie's, but we couldn’t do much because it was raining. Then we played Flames of War at game night, which is a table top war game, which is a lot cooler than the game of Risk. Elder Stott loves Flames of War.

Thursday we were going to go over to Norma's, but it was Raining so she didn’t want us to drive that far just to not be able to do anything. So we went to get some work done on the shed. We finished the outside, now all that is left is the inside. Then we went over to Ben and Cymmon's and enjoyed the evening with their Family.

Friday (Hump Day) we helped Ben and Cymmon concrete in the morning and then rushed back to Merimbula for DTM, and then went and visited with the Walkers. Then we spent some time with Sister Shellshear. Then I got to burn my shirt for my year mark.

Saturday morning I ran the Park run in 23 minutes, and then we went and helped J. Pointer look for his lost bird (There are millions of colorful birds in Australia.) Needless to say, we weren't able to find the bird, but we did spend some time going from door to door asking people if they have seen his bird. Then we had McM later that night.

Sunday was pretty normal except my companion gave an awesome talk on the Restoration!

Some awesome experiences that have happened this week have been getting to visit members that we rarely get to visit and being able to build our relationship with them. And Daniel, every time we meet Daniel we can tell that he has been doing his homework and reading and finding questions to ask us, and they aren't the normal questions you get asked as missionaries so it has been a lot of fun trying to answer his questions to help him keep progressing.

That was my week. I love you all, talk to you next week!
Elder Newman

 

 

 

Week 52

This week was pretty busy with appointments. The biggest thing that stood out to me this week was our investigator, Daniel, is wanting to serve a mission, and he is asking all kinds of questions about it and the process. We finished the lessons with him Sunday and are going to review the interview questions with him today. It’s been a lot of fun to watch him learn and grow this transfer, and I hope that after he is baptized that he continues to progress. He has a great friend in the Gospel (Josh S.) that will help guide him on his way and answer any questions he has. It has been a real blessing having Josh teach alongside us because Daniel knows and trusts him, and Josh can explain principles in a way that is heaps easier for him to understand. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for Daniel. Thank you to everyone that has been praying for him. Hopefully now we can get a baptismal suit big enough to fit him because he is super tall!

We are almost finished with the outside of the workout room. I predict we will be done with that in about two weeks.

The weird thing was this week we didn't have to go to Canberra which was nice. We were able to focus on our area.

Update on the status in the Branch:
N. Wright, President Wright’s son was baptized on Sunday and became the newest member of our branch. The water looked freezing cold. President Wright got in and acted like dad does when we go boating at the beginning of the year. It was also raining, but it was a quick service and I am sure that Noah will never forget it. Something I remember about my own baptism was how warm the water was. I guess he will never forget how cold it was, haha. But overall it was a very spiritual Sunday, and I am glad that we could end it with Noah’s Baptism.

That was the highlight of my week. I really enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to this week. I will update you next Monday.

I love you all, have a great week!
Elder Newman

This is a wallaby...

 Ben Boyd tower- in Edrom - near Eden. It was built to be a lighthouse but was never approved - they turned it into a whale spotting tower for the whalers. It is solid sandstone imported from Sydney - you can see it from most of the coast.

Week 51

This week we finished up the lessons with Daniel. We are just going to check his retention of the information that we have been giving him and prepare him for his Baptismal interview, which is going to be easy for him. He is the man! The baptismal date is a ways away, so we have heaps of time to prepare. It is scheduled for the 15th of October. It’s going to be fun. It might be happening in the ocean, which will be so cool and a great experience for Daniel!

Our week this week was pretty average, just a lot of service, a total of 5 lessons and yet another drive up to Canberra. I am still safe, and I am still loving this area even though the work is hard. This upcoming week that we have planned is going to have more teaching involved than previous, which I am excited about. And it is all in preparation for the Meet the Mormons movie and presentation that we are doing as a branch. Hopefully that goes well.

That’s all I have for the week. I hope you all enjoy yours as well. I will talk to yous next week.

Elder Newman

Can you see the whale?

 

 On the drive to Canberra..

This is our flat...

Playing squash with Elder Stott..

Week 50

This week was pretty good. We had to drive up to Canberra again, but it’s a lot easier now that both of us can drive. I am still surprised that we haven't hit a Kangaroo yet (Knock on wood).

Monday we went on another hike with the Shoobridges and had a lesson at their place with Daniel. We watched The Restoration video and had to leave before it was over. Apparently Daniel stayed until 10:30. They had a great discussion with Daniel after the video.

Tuesday we did service as usual. Wednesday we did some family history, and then we were invited to play squash so we played for a bit and then went to game night with one of our investigators. It’s really weird. Missionary work is heaps different in a branch, but this branch does a good job at helping us missionaries out.

Thursday we worked on the Shed at the Shoobridges and then drove to Canberra. Friday we had DTM. It was raining all day, and then we came back to Merimbula and did some member visits and did weekly planning.

Saturday was windy as and I got the worst time ever on my 5k run. I got 27 minutes. And then later that night we had dinner with the Smiths. And then Sunday was church.

We will be going on another hike today and probably repeat something similar to last week. Thursday we have got to go back to Canberra for Zone Conference, so I am looking forward to that.

Everyday I keep learning more and more from Elder Stott. He is just so great at the whole missionary thing. He makes it look easy putting thoughts into words and remembering all the principles that we need to teach. He is always serving me, and we are always having a good time. He is the man!

That’s all for this week. Have a good one!

Elder Newman

Popcorn and a thank you card from Grace P., Sam’s little girl.