G'day everyone!
I'd like to start out by saying that I really enjoyed this last general conference. Crazy to think that I will be home for the next one. The talks I enjoyed the most were Jeffrey R. Holland, Dallin H. Oaks (in priesthood), and David A. Bednar. I had a rather pleasant surprise as I attended conference this weekend: two of the families in Darling Heights ward showed up for our conference who were down here visiting family. It was great to be able to catch up with them!
Our week was a good one for Elder 'Iongi and me. We were blessed with a mini-missionary, "Elder" Lewis Worth. The mini-mission is a program they do here (I'm not sure if they do it anywhere else in the world) where 16-18 year-old youth go and spend a week serving with a companionship serving in a ward in a different stake. Elder Worth was from the Burleigh Heads ward in Gold Coast stake. We really enjoyed having him around and giving him a taste of missionary life, especially since he's planning to put his papers in very soon. I wish we could have given him a better experience, though. We had a lot of appointments fall-through this week, so we spent most of our time tracting and talking to people we came in contact with on the street. Despite having a week of the stuff nobody likes doing, Elder Worth had a great time. That's good! Because if he enjoyed the nitty-gritty part of being a missionary, then he'll love his experience on his own mission.
We went to our appointment with Belinda this week. When we arrived, she asked us to leave. Didn't even say hello. We're going to try once more with her before we drop her. We were a bit surprised at what happened. When we called her a few days prior to confirm, she was all good with us coming. I have to wonder what happened. I have two thoughts: either she doesn't really have a desire to learn the gospel, or the JWs came around, saw the stuff we left with her, and scared her off from meeting with us. Hopefully, we'll have better luck next time.
Well, that's all for this week. I love you all!
Elder Rosier
Monday, May 12, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Weekly Update April 7, 2014
Hello again everyone!
What a week for Elder 'Iongi and I! Heaps of big things happening to us in Cleveland! We were blessed with a couple of miracles this week:
On Wednesday evenings we go on splits with the ward missionaries. Brother Owen, our ward mission leader, asks that we set up the appointments for that night with investigators, less-active members, or member families in general. Not knowing who our investigators are, and not knowing who the less-actives in the ward are, Elder 'Iongi and I started cold-calling members to set up visits with them to discuss the ward mission plan. We randomly selected a few families, and set up a couple appointments. Elder 'Iongi went with a ward missionary--Brother Fitzpatrick--to visit the Smith family. After they shared the ward mission plan with their family, Sister Smith told them that her oldest son, Harrison, is 10 years old and unbaptized, but wants to be baptized now. She asked us to teach him and baptize him. We went around on Friday and taught him about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and set a date for him to be baptized. He'll be baptized on 10 May. We had to set it so far away because Harrison is going to Singapore for 2 weeks to see his cousin get baptized. He is pretty excited and so is his mum.
On Friday Elder 'Iongi and I were tracting. The last house we stopped at we found a woman named Belinda. Belinda thought we were J-Dubs, and said she was already studying with two JWs. We told her we were from another church and asked if she would like to hear our message. She said no. As we were turning around to walk away, she asked us, "is there life after death?" We told her that there certainly is. She asked us why so-and-so and so-and-so were telling her there isn't one. We said that it's because they are misinformed. We had a lesson with her about what happens when we die. She then asked us if she could get baptized the next week. We told her we need to teach her more before she gets baptized. We are seeing her this Friday, and hope to set a date with her. We aren't 100% sure she's committed to have the discussions, so we didn't set a date with her when we met with her. However, if she's read the pamphlet and chapter from the Book of Mormon we gave her, we'll discuss baptism.
Another small miracle we've experienced this week is discovering how willing to work with us this ward is. The Cleveland ward is very fired-up about missionary work. They're very excited to have Elders in the ward again. We are being treated like royalty (not really, but it's the best way I could think to describe how we're being treated). I hope this is the ward I finish my missionary service in.
Well, I think that's us for this week. I love you all. Thank you for the love and support.
Elder Rosier
When I visited Ross' Facebook page this week I found a message from a sister he knew in Deception Bay. She wanted to thank Ross for his missionary service and let him know that she and another family member were recently baptized! Kathy
What a week for Elder 'Iongi and I! Heaps of big things happening to us in Cleveland! We were blessed with a couple of miracles this week:
On Wednesday evenings we go on splits with the ward missionaries. Brother Owen, our ward mission leader, asks that we set up the appointments for that night with investigators, less-active members, or member families in general. Not knowing who our investigators are, and not knowing who the less-actives in the ward are, Elder 'Iongi and I started cold-calling members to set up visits with them to discuss the ward mission plan. We randomly selected a few families, and set up a couple appointments. Elder 'Iongi went with a ward missionary--Brother Fitzpatrick--to visit the Smith family. After they shared the ward mission plan with their family, Sister Smith told them that her oldest son, Harrison, is 10 years old and unbaptized, but wants to be baptized now. She asked us to teach him and baptize him. We went around on Friday and taught him about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and set a date for him to be baptized. He'll be baptized on 10 May. We had to set it so far away because Harrison is going to Singapore for 2 weeks to see his cousin get baptized. He is pretty excited and so is his mum.
On Friday Elder 'Iongi and I were tracting. The last house we stopped at we found a woman named Belinda. Belinda thought we were J-Dubs, and said she was already studying with two JWs. We told her we were from another church and asked if she would like to hear our message. She said no. As we were turning around to walk away, she asked us, "is there life after death?" We told her that there certainly is. She asked us why so-and-so and so-and-so were telling her there isn't one. We said that it's because they are misinformed. We had a lesson with her about what happens when we die. She then asked us if she could get baptized the next week. We told her we need to teach her more before she gets baptized. We are seeing her this Friday, and hope to set a date with her. We aren't 100% sure she's committed to have the discussions, so we didn't set a date with her when we met with her. However, if she's read the pamphlet and chapter from the Book of Mormon we gave her, we'll discuss baptism.
Another small miracle we've experienced this week is discovering how willing to work with us this ward is. The Cleveland ward is very fired-up about missionary work. They're very excited to have Elders in the ward again. We are being treated like royalty (not really, but it's the best way I could think to describe how we're being treated). I hope this is the ward I finish my missionary service in.
Well, I think that's us for this week. I love you all. Thank you for the love and support.
Elder Rosier
When I visited Ross' Facebook page this week I found a message from a sister he knew in Deception Bay. She wanted to thank Ross for his missionary service and let him know that she and another family member were recently baptized! Kathy
Monday, March 31, 2014
Weekly Update March 31, 2014
Hello again everyone!
This was a very long week for Elder 'Iongi and I! Nothing slows time down like throwing you into a new area where you know nobody in the ward and have no idea who you're suppose to be teaching. Fortunately, we're up for the challenge.
The first major obstacle we had to get over this week was the area book we received from the sisters. For those of you who don't know what an "area book" is, it is the book that missionaries keep all of their records from time and all eternity in. This includes the teaching records of the investigators. Obviously, this is the first place you look for your teaching pool when you come into an area. The obstacle we've had to tackle was this: the area book was unorganized, and the sisters we took over from didn't keep the last three months worth of records in the area book. So now we have no idea who we are teaching. Fortunately, one of our investigators came to church on Sunday. Her name is Lynne. We don't know anything about her, but we are seeing her this week. I am grateful that the other sisters in the ward pointer her out to us.
The second obstacle we have to overcome is not knowing any of our members. We're tackling this one this transfer. That will be taken care of as we meet with the members and talk to them at church.
I am liking the Clevland ward. It's a much larger ward than Capalaba. It's also much more social. The members are really friendly, and I look forward to working with them. (Ross told me in my letter that the Capalaba ward was formed out of the Clevland ward.)
Aside from going over the records and meeting members, we spent most of our time tracting this week. We found a lot of people who have invited us back. No doubt in a few weeks we'll have much to do.
I love you all!
Elder Rosier
This was a very long week for Elder 'Iongi and I! Nothing slows time down like throwing you into a new area where you know nobody in the ward and have no idea who you're suppose to be teaching. Fortunately, we're up for the challenge.
The first major obstacle we had to get over this week was the area book we received from the sisters. For those of you who don't know what an "area book" is, it is the book that missionaries keep all of their records from time and all eternity in. This includes the teaching records of the investigators. Obviously, this is the first place you look for your teaching pool when you come into an area. The obstacle we've had to tackle was this: the area book was unorganized, and the sisters we took over from didn't keep the last three months worth of records in the area book. So now we have no idea who we are teaching. Fortunately, one of our investigators came to church on Sunday. Her name is Lynne. We don't know anything about her, but we are seeing her this week. I am grateful that the other sisters in the ward pointer her out to us.
The second obstacle we have to overcome is not knowing any of our members. We're tackling this one this transfer. That will be taken care of as we meet with the members and talk to them at church.
I am liking the Clevland ward. It's a much larger ward than Capalaba. It's also much more social. The members are really friendly, and I look forward to working with them. (Ross told me in my letter that the Capalaba ward was formed out of the Clevland ward.)
Aside from going over the records and meeting members, we spent most of our time tracting this week. We found a lot of people who have invited us back. No doubt in a few weeks we'll have much to do.
I love you all!
Elder Rosier
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Weekly Update March 25, 2014
Hello once again, friends and family!
Today is our transfer day. It's been a bit of a shock. Elder 'Iongi and I are still together. I will be finishing him off. We have both been "transferred" to a new ward. We are in the Clevland ward now. The swapped us with two of the sister missionaries serving in the Clevland ward, so now Capalaba and Clevland wards each have a set of Elders and a set of Sisters. I am excited for the new areas, but gutted that I didn't find out until today that I was being moved. We have formed some really good relationships with many people here in the Capalaba ward, people who were really helping us out. I am sad to be transferred so suddenly.
That's really the biggest highlight from this week. Elder 'Iongi and I had a rather generic week. We were able to have lessons with Maria and Amy. They're both reading the Book of Mormon and praying. I think that they'll do well with the sister missionaries working with them. It will be interesting whitewashing an area now. That's not an experience I've had on my mission. I hope that we're able to work well alongside the members in the Clevland ward.
We took Paul his large-print Book of Mormon this week. He was very grateful for it. He said he'll read it for sure. He wants to start in 3rd Nephi because that's where Jesus Christ appears to the Nephites. I hope that he is able to continue to feel the spirit testify to him that the church is true. Fortunately, one of the sister missionaries coming to the area is American. That will be good when it comes to working with Linda. She does love the American missionaries she's met, even if she's not too fond of the church.
I hope you all have a good week. I love you all!
Elder Rosier
Today is our transfer day. It's been a bit of a shock. Elder 'Iongi and I are still together. I will be finishing him off. We have both been "transferred" to a new ward. We are in the Clevland ward now. The swapped us with two of the sister missionaries serving in the Clevland ward, so now Capalaba and Clevland wards each have a set of Elders and a set of Sisters. I am excited for the new areas, but gutted that I didn't find out until today that I was being moved. We have formed some really good relationships with many people here in the Capalaba ward, people who were really helping us out. I am sad to be transferred so suddenly.
That's really the biggest highlight from this week. Elder 'Iongi and I had a rather generic week. We were able to have lessons with Maria and Amy. They're both reading the Book of Mormon and praying. I think that they'll do well with the sister missionaries working with them. It will be interesting whitewashing an area now. That's not an experience I've had on my mission. I hope that we're able to work well alongside the members in the Clevland ward.
We took Paul his large-print Book of Mormon this week. He was very grateful for it. He said he'll read it for sure. He wants to start in 3rd Nephi because that's where Jesus Christ appears to the Nephites. I hope that he is able to continue to feel the spirit testify to him that the church is true. Fortunately, one of the sister missionaries coming to the area is American. That will be good when it comes to working with Linda. She does love the American missionaries she's met, even if she's not too fond of the church.
I hope you all have a good week. I love you all!
Elder Rosier
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Weekly Update March 17, 2014
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
To be honest, not a whole lot has been going on since I last wrote on Thursday. Elder 'Iongi and I have spent most of the last few days focused on tracting and looking for new people to teach. Our teaching pool isn't progressing at the moment, so we're hard at work looking for more to teach. We've been fortunate that we're still welcome to visit Paul. Linda enjoys us visiting, but doesn't want us to teach anything. We'll be making occasional social visits to them in hopes that perhaps that will be the key to softening her heart. We'll see how that goes.
The temperatures are (finally) starting to cool off a bit as it's starting to turn into "autumn" here in Brisbane. They claim to have four seasons here, but in reality they have two: Hot summer and cool summer. I have been fortunate to spend the remainder of the summer near the coast where it is cool. I am looking forward to some actual cold this winter back home.
We are starting the last week of the transfer today. I am a bit anxious for Sunday to roll around to find out who is getting transferred, and who is staying. I have a hunch I might be being transfered, since Elder 'Iongi and I have been together for two transfers already, and he is finishing at the end of the next one. I doubt he'll be transferred to a new area for this last 6 weeks. It could happen though. We'll see.
I hope you all have a good week!
Love,
Elder Rosier
To be honest, not a whole lot has been going on since I last wrote on Thursday. Elder 'Iongi and I have spent most of the last few days focused on tracting and looking for new people to teach. Our teaching pool isn't progressing at the moment, so we're hard at work looking for more to teach. We've been fortunate that we're still welcome to visit Paul. Linda enjoys us visiting, but doesn't want us to teach anything. We'll be making occasional social visits to them in hopes that perhaps that will be the key to softening her heart. We'll see how that goes.
The temperatures are (finally) starting to cool off a bit as it's starting to turn into "autumn" here in Brisbane. They claim to have four seasons here, but in reality they have two: Hot summer and cool summer. I have been fortunate to spend the remainder of the summer near the coast where it is cool. I am looking forward to some actual cold this winter back home.
We are starting the last week of the transfer today. I am a bit anxious for Sunday to roll around to find out who is getting transferred, and who is staying. I have a hunch I might be being transfered, since Elder 'Iongi and I have been together for two transfers already, and he is finishing at the end of the next one. I doubt he'll be transferred to a new area for this last 6 weeks. It could happen though. We'll see.
I hope you all have a good week!
Love,
Elder Rosier
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Weekly Update March 13, 2014
G'day all
We had a good week here in Capalaba. It was another week with a lot of teaching opportunities. I enjoy teaching so much more than tracting! I am sure all missionaries feel that way.
I was able to spend Saturday on trade-off with Elder Brown, one of our Zone Leaders. I enjoyed spending the day with this mountain of a man. Elder Brown's a big Moari boy, about my height, and weighs 50 to 60 kgs (110 to 132 lbs) more than I do. He's a kind hearted guy, though. We were able to have a successful day finding and teaching.
Tuesday this week was our Zone Conference. We spend the day at the chapel on the temple grounds in the city. I really enjoy learning from President Henderson. He's a very inspiring man. (Today they had a temple trip and a P day.)
Last night, Elder 'Iongi and I experienced a setback with Paul: He cannot meet with us anymore. His wife is very against it at the moment. Paul still plans to read the Book of Mormon though. He told us that he feels that if God wants him to join the "Latter-day Saints' church" that he will provide a way for it. I find that faith very inspiring.
I love you all very much. Have a great week!
Elder Rosier
Monday, March 3, 2014
Weekly Update March 3, 2014
Hello again everybody,
I cannot get over how fast the weeks are going by. Seems like yesterday I was sending my last letter home to you.
This week was pretty similar to last. Elder 'Iongi and I have been working very hard to find new people to teach, which we have found some success in. We have a good teaching pool, and have been able to teach a lot over the past two weeks. Hopefully, we will start to see progression in our investigators in the near future.
We had dinner at a member's home last night with Paul, his wife, Linda, and son, Andrew. It was a very good experience. The two families were able to get along very well. We shared a message about how we find direction from studying the scriptures. The member family invited them to come back for a potluck they are having at the end of the month. I do hope that experiences like this will soften Linda's heart.
Thank you all, once again for the love and support. Have a great week!
Elder Rosier
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This is the picture Ross promised us a few weeks ago about this favorite service project, where they cleaned up dead palm fronds from a sister's yard and got to set them on fire. That's Ross on the right. They certainly sent the right missionary for the job.
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This is a picture of Ross with Elder 'Iongi. I'm so glad for their companionship--they've developed such a wonderful working relationship.
Ross sent the following pictures without any explanation. It looks like he and Elder 'Iongi went on an adventure with some youth. The one thing I know for sure is that it is killing Ross not to get into the water. He has mentioned more than once to us how much he misses swimming on a hot day. He is hoping our stake president will meet him here at the house when he gets home, so that he can be quickly released and jump in the pool!
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I cannot get over how fast the weeks are going by. Seems like yesterday I was sending my last letter home to you.
This week was pretty similar to last. Elder 'Iongi and I have been working very hard to find new people to teach, which we have found some success in. We have a good teaching pool, and have been able to teach a lot over the past two weeks. Hopefully, we will start to see progression in our investigators in the near future.
We had dinner at a member's home last night with Paul, his wife, Linda, and son, Andrew. It was a very good experience. The two families were able to get along very well. We shared a message about how we find direction from studying the scriptures. The member family invited them to come back for a potluck they are having at the end of the month. I do hope that experiences like this will soften Linda's heart.
Thank you all, once again for the love and support. Have a great week!
Elder Rosier
This is the picture Ross promised us a few weeks ago about this favorite service project, where they cleaned up dead palm fronds from a sister's yard and got to set them on fire. That's Ross on the right. They certainly sent the right missionary for the job.
This is a picture of Ross with Elder 'Iongi. I'm so glad for their companionship--they've developed such a wonderful working relationship.
Ross sent the following pictures without any explanation. It looks like he and Elder 'Iongi went on an adventure with some youth. The one thing I know for sure is that it is killing Ross not to get into the water. He has mentioned more than once to us how much he misses swimming on a hot day. He is hoping our stake president will meet him here at the house when he gets home, so that he can be quickly released and jump in the pool!
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