Weekly Update September 30, 2013

This week has gone by pretty quickly! Time is just passing by faster and faster!

This week was pretty similar to last. Mostly spent time out and about tracting and talking to people on the street looking for people to teach. We had the opportunity to teach a Filipino man named Dado this week. He says he meets with the Jehovah Witnesses every now and them and that he enjoys learning about religion. When we first met him, about a fortnight ago, we left him a pamphlet about the restoration. He read it. He said that he has had the Mormon missionaries around before to talk about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He says they gave him a Book of Mormon, and that he reads it from time to time. He also said that that was all that they shared with him in the past. We started talking with him about what he believes God's plan for us is. He started talking about things that we teach in the Plan of Salvation. I think he's met with missionaries more than he lets on because things he talked about are things I know the JWs don't teach! It will be exciting to see where things go with him.

On Saturday afternoon, the Redcliffe elders, Powelson and Grayson, had a baptism. The man they baptized, Alex, is a really great guy! Powelson and Lao started teaching him about 3 months ago when he just showed up at church one Sunday, looking for  a change in his life. He has really changed a lot in these last 3 months. I have enjoyed hearing from them about Alex's improvement, and seeing the change in his countenance at church every week has been awesome. I had the opportunity to teach him with one of the Redcliffe elders a couple of times, and his knowledge and understanding of the gospel is amazing! It was also really great to see him overcome his very strong addiction to smoking.

Well, I hope everybody has a great week and enjoys conference!

Love,

Elder Rosier

In my letter to Ross I told him how fall weather had finally arrived here in Utah.  Of course, for Ross the opposite is true.  He wrote me the following:

It's starting to heat up here. Temperature each day varies, but it's been getting up into the low 30's (High 80's to low 90's F) most days. And it's super humid. I am not looking forward to summer. I'm kinda hoping for a transfer to somewhere further south of where I am right now. I think we have two areas down in northern New South Wales....maybe there would be cooler? Fingers crossed. After last summer in Mount Isa, I think I've earned a cool summer.

Weekly Update September 25, 2013

Hello again everyone!

What a long week! This week our P-Day was moved to Wednesday so that we could attend the temple. While I do not at all complain about attending the temple,  not having P-day on Monday sure makes for a long week!

Well, to be honest I cannot say that anything super exciting happened to Elder Tobe and me this week. Mostly we spent time tracting and looking for new people to teach the gospel to. On Sunday we had the opportunity to teach a brief discussion to a family from Zimbabwe that we found. They were very kind and friendly to us. After presenting to them a brief message about the restoration of the gospel, they asked us for information on where our church meets and what time. We gave them a pamphlet for the restoration of the gospel, and they said they would read it and contact us after they had read it. While I would normally feel like that was a bummer, I really felt strongly like they are looking for the fullness of the gospel in their lives. Elder Tobe and I are going to follow-up with them this week, rather than wait for them to contact us.

On Thursday evening, one of the oldest members of the Redcliffe ward--Sister Nana Aiono--passed away. It seems like about half of the Polynesian members in the ward are in some way related to her. Last night we had the opportunity to attend her funeral service. I must say I have never been to a funeral like it! Elder Tobe and I had to leave after about 2.5 hours of the service, and they weren't quite done with all of the speakers! However, it was really cool to see the island traditions mixed in with the service.

Well, I hope that everybody has a great week! I love you all!

Elder Rosier

Weekly Update September 16, 2013

Hello again!

This has been a really exciting week for Elder Tobe and myself! After a long week of knocking on who knows how many doors, we were able to top it all off with Sebastian's baptism! I was happy to see that we had a very good turnout for the baptism. Sebastian was baptized by his best friend, Tupou Lea'atoa. And on Sunday morning, I had the privilege to confirm him as a member of the church. At the baptism on Saturday evening, you could really feel the spirit very strongly, especially when Sebastian bore a very simple and powerful testimony. I don't think I will ever forget it. This was the first time--to my knowledge--that somebody who I participated in teaching the gospel to has been baptized. I feel very blessed to be a part of that. I have attached a photo of the baptism. Sebastian is standing next to Elder Tobe, and Tupou is standing next to me.

It was a very exciting Sunday at church. I noted that 6 of the less-active families we have been meeting with were in attendance. Along with seeing them there, the Redcliffe ward received a new bishop. The new bishop is--or rather, was--our ward mission leader who we had been working with so well and so closely. Bishop Thayer is going to be a great blessing to the Redcliffe ward. I just hope that we are able to get a ward mission leader who is just as motivated as he is!

I hope that everybody has a great week. I love you all. Thank you once again for all your support!

Elder Rosier

This is Ross and Bishop Ziesel. He is the bishop that was released on Sunday. He and his wife will be coming to Utah for General Conference and we are hoping to have the chance to meet them. I love when I get to visit with people that Ross has worked with while on his mission!

Kathy

Weekly Update September 9, 2013

Hello again everybody!

What a quick week this was! Elder Tobe and I were hard a work this week finding people to teach! We started visiting members' homes and leaving a brief message, and then knocking the doors of the houses around their homes. It worked very well for us in some areas. We were able to ask "do you know any Mormons?" and when people would answer "no" we would point to the member's house and say, "Your neighbour is a Mormon!" That got a mix of responses, but usually "oh, I don't know my neighbours very well." That's a pretty typical thing here; nobody knows their neighbours.

We were able to meet with Sebastian a few times this week. We have finalized most of the details for his baptism this Saturday evening. He is doing very well and seems really excited! We also have come to learn that his father is a less-active member! Fair dinkum! (that one's for Grandpa :))

As far as interesting experiences go for this week, I really don't have anything to report. Sorry that this is so short!

Love you all!

Elder Rosier

These are photos of Ross and Elder Lao with an old Rolls Royce. He said, "What a beautiful car.!"

Weekly Update September 2, 2013

Ross sent this picture to us with the caption, "For you Best 2 Years fans out there..." I'm curious about two things. First, do you think there are pictures of girls behind the three pictures hanging on the back wall? And, do you want to bet that Ross is probably the only one that needs to shave every day?

Kathy

G'day everyone!

Yesterday marked the end of a long week! For the first 5 days of the week, Elder Tobe and I experienced nothing but appointments falling through. Running from one place to another experiencing it again and again. It was rather frustrating! But disappointments happen. It's just a part of being a missionary. However, during the last few days of the week, we were able to make our appointments and have good experiences at them. We solidified Sebastian's baptismal date for the 14th of this month. He is doing fantastic! He really loves reading the Book of Mormon. When we met with him on Saturday he said, "I have never been able to read a book before. I'll get a few chapters into it and just lose interest. I really enjoy the Book of Mormon. I love reading it." He is really on fire. It's such a blessing that he has a wonderful family fellowshipping him. They are his best friend's family. They are very supportive and helpful to him. He is a perfect example of how sharing the gospel with our friends and supporting them works.

We have continued to tract in North Lakes this week. We are finding marginal success. I imagine as we continue here that we will find the success we are looking for. The area has so much potential. The whole suburb has come about in the last 5 years. It is beautiful! Apparently it is rated as one of the top neighbourhoods in Australia. I think it is the nicest and prettiest town I have served in on my mission.

This past Sunday was Father's day here in Australia. I would like to express my love and gratitude I have for my father and my grandfather. I am ever grateful for the example they have been for me! I love you both very much! And I am grateful to be following in my grandfather's footsteps as a missionary in Australia!

Speaking of this past Sunday, I have and experience I have to share: As Elder Tobe and I were at the beach front talking with people, we came across a little 7-year-old boy who was completely in tears. When he saw us, he waved to us, and we waved back. He came up to us and told us he was lost; he couldn't remember where his house was. He told us what street he lived on, and we had him follow us there. He only lived about 500 meters away, but I think he got confused because the neighbourhood by the beach looks the same on every street. I'm glad we were in the right place to help him. Maybe when he's older and missionaries come to talk to him on the street he will remember the help he got from us.

Thank you all again for your love and support. Love you all!

Elder Rosier