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

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