Weekly Update November 19, 2013

Hello again everyone!

Today is our transfer day. No changes here in Darling Heights ward. Elder McIntyre and I are still companions, and are looking forward to another transfer working hard here in Toowoomba.

This last week was a good one. We didn't have a lot of time to work at all. We spent two days out of our area. Wednesday we were able to go to the temple. I am very happy that I am in an area where I get the opportunity to attend. We spend the day with our zone in the city, and then spent the night with the missionaries in the Somerset ward, which is about halfway between Toowoomba and the city (Brisbane). Thursday we had a zone conference in Brisbane where we were able to have a long training on the Book of Mormon from our mission president. It was very insightful.

Unfortunately, that's about all I have for this week. it was a pretty dull week. We didn't have much time to work between the trip to Brisbane, and other things we had on our plates. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Love,
Elder Rosier

My letter from Ross had a little more detail and I had a chance for a brief email chat. Here are a few excerpts.

A few weeks ago, Ross asked me to send him the book "The Great Apostasy" by James E Talamage. He received the book last Thursday when he went to zone conference. Ross has always been a voracious reader, and he has expressed to me in letters, how hard it has been to not go into bookstores while on his mission, so he was quite excited to get this book. He wrote the following in his letter to me and during our email exchange:

Mum, (He has always called me that.)

Thanks again for the book. It's a good one. I'm now reading three books by Talmage: Jesus the Christ (almost done). The Articles of Faith, and The Great Apostasy. One thing he notes in the Apostasy is the Great Apostasy occurred on both sides of the world (both the bible and the Book of Mormon lands). That is one thing that, though it should have occurred to me I had never realized before.

Me: I'm smiling. When you were a little boy, you always read three books at a time. Still my little boy. : D

Ross: Ha ha. The other day, Elder Picket commented on how he has no idea how I can possibly read so many books at one time. I just laughed and said I didn't know how I do it either! When you think about it, I'm really reading five books right now: Bible, Book of Mormon, and the three by Talmage.

From my letter:

I hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving. I am going to be sad on Thursday that I am missing it again. Fortunately, the Bolands will be doing an American Thanksgiving for all the missionaries in town next Thursday. We are all very excited for that!

I am doing really well here in Toowoomba. I really enjoy the town. The weather is fantastic. It's cool and dry. When we went to the city last Wednesday, I couldn't get over how hot and humid it was in Brizzy (Brisbane). It was bad! I was sweating like a dog!

Today is our transfer P-Day. None of us Elders have been transferred. One of the sister missionaries is leaving the area. The most exciting thing, though, is we are getting a second car here! Now we will have a car for the sisters and a car for the elders! Up until now we have been sharing one car between the 8 of us...that means you'd get it maybe twice every fortnight.

Weekly Update November 12, 2013

G'day!

Much better week this week for Elder McIntyre and myself! We are really starting to see the work progressing in our area. Our week started out pretty slow, and we were afraid that we were going to be having a repeat of last week. Fortunately, mid-way through the week our luck changed and we were fortunate to see a lot of miracles.

Saturday was especially exciting for us. We started out the day by visiting our investigator, Sophie. After seeing her we had lunch and then went to our appointment with the family from Papua New Guinea that we met a fortnight ago. We went over the Restoration discussion with them, and invited them to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We will be seeing them again this coming Saturday. After our appointment with them, we went tracting. One of the first houses we knocked on was the home of a Muslim family from Iraq who invited us in. we had a discussion with the father, Saddam, who is studying engineering at the University of Southern Queensland. We were able to learn quite a bit about Islam, which I found fascinating. He then asked us to share our message with him so he could learn more about Mormonism. It was a ver fun experience, and we were able to leave him with a pamphlet. After our meeting with Saddam, we talked with a fellow who told us he is an atheist, be really feels like there has to be something out there. And a little while after that we found a family who said they are looking for a church to attend. They invited us back this week.

That was all just on Saturday. We had a lot of little miracles scattered throughout the week.

Well, I think that's all I have for today, Unfortunately, I am out of time. I love you all!

Elder Rosier

Ross indicated to us that they will be having a temple p-day tomorrow, and since they will be spending the day traveling, they decided to quickly send some emails today.

Weekly Update November 4, 2013

Hello again everyone!

What a week. This week was one of those weeks where nothing seems to work out. Every lesson and appointment we had set up fell through. So what can you do when that happens? Look for people to teach! And we did. All week. Everyday. It was a very long week. However, it was not a bad week, nor were our endeavours frutiless. We were fortunate to find a number of people who said we could come back around. The remaining two weeks of this transfer we will spend sorting through them.

This week Elder McIntyre introduced me to a family from the Congo that he and Elder Pickett had found last transfer. They have given the father, Mishack, a French Book of Mormon and he has attended church once or twice before. He hardly speaks any English at all, but was very happy to see us. We only visited briefly to invite him to come to church on Sunday, and he came! Ironically, we had found another Congo family last week who invited us back to teach them. When I went there on Saturday with one of our Zone Leaders (on trade offs), they weren't home. We found out that Elder M and the other ZL went to visit Mishack and found that other family visiting there. They were only there to tell Mishack who would be picking him up for church. However, McIntyre and I feel like we have a really good opportunity to teach the gospel to these families.

I had a good time on our trade-offs with the Zone Leaders. I went with an elder named Elder O'Connor. I had a fun time with him. It was good finally meet him, since he and I were both trained by Elder Stevenson. I had heard a lot about him, so it was great getting to know him.

Anyways, I think that's all I have for this week. I would like to say Happy Birthday to my grandfather whose footsteps I am following in here in Australia, and to my father who will be turning 50 this week. I am grateful for both of their examples to me in my life.

Love you all!

Elder Rosier

Weekly Update October 28, 2013

Hello again!

What a fast week this was! It went by in the blink of an eye! Months are getting shorter and shorter it seems. This week i hit my 15 month mark; I'm now down to single digits left.

Elder McIntyre and I spent most of this week tracting. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but you need to find people to teach. Fortunately, people here in Toowoomba are really kind. Most are usually willing to have conversations with us. At the very least they will hear us out before they tell us, "No thanks, mate." This week we were able to find two families that have invited us to come back and share our message with them. One family is from the Congo in Africa, the other is from Papua New Guinea. The PNG family has apparently met with the missionaries before.

We had one of our investigators come to church yesterday. Her name is Sophie. She is 15, and is very interested in the gospel. We're planning to set a date with her this week.

I hope everyone enjoys Halloween! Thank you for your love and support!

Elder Rosier

I pulled this photo from the mission blog. It is spring time in Australia. Ross said in his letter to me that Toowoomba is quite beautiful and the weather is perfect.

Weekly Update October 21, 2013

G'day everyone!

What a week this has been! After two weeks of spending most of our time tracting, Elder McIntyre and I are finally reaping some of the rewards of our efforts. One of the biggest miracles that we have witnessed this week was the last 3 days of the week, we didn't tract into anyone who was very rude to us! This week we were able to find 2 people to teach, and we also found a less-active member who isn't on our records.

The first person we found is an elderly lady named Maggie. She is in her 80s, and is active in the Uniting Church. She is mostly interested to learn the differences between our faiths. She is very kind a sweet to us.

The second one we found was also a miracle. While we were out tracting yesterday (Sunday) evening, we found a lady named Kayleen. She was the last door we knocked on before going to our tea appointment. When she opened the door she immediately said "It seems every time something goes bad in my life, somebody from a church knocks on my door." We were able to share with her about the book of Mormon and the power of prayer. She accepted a Book of Mormon and said she will read it. We see her again on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the two wards in town (Toowoomba ward, and Darling Heights ward) sponsored a community family activity. It was a lot of fun and gave us missionaries a good opportunity to talk to people about the church. Unfortunately, Elder McIntyre and I didn't get any teaching appointments from it.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to speak in church. Elder Pickett (one of the other missionaries in the ward) me, and the ward mission leader spoke on missionary work. When I was preparing for my talk I felt prompted that I needed to focus on encouraging the ward to focus on the Work of Salvation, rather than encourage them to tell their friends about the gospel (as is the usual talk you hear from missionaries). I was able to share with them personal experiences I have had in participating with wards in focusing on the work of salvation. I honestly can say I have never felt myself speaking so powerfully to a group of people as I did yesterday. 

Well, that is all I have for this week. Once again, I love you all!

Elder Rosier

Weekly Update October 14, 2013

Hello again everybody!

This week was kind of a slow one for me and Elder McIntyre. We've spent the week just trying to get the area up and running and figuring out the best way to split the area with the other 2 missionaries. We've finally got it all down and we should be up and running this week. So far it appears we have 5 investigators. One of them has a baptismal date set for two weeks from Saturday, I believe. I haven't met her yet, but we have a lesson with her tonight. I cannot recall her name. 2 of our investigators are university students from China. We had a good lesson with them this week. We won't be able to see them until their final exams are over. 

This weekend we had the opportunity to view General Conference. I really enjoyed hearing from the Prophet and the other general authorities. My favourite talks were given in the Priesthood session by Bishop Causse and President Uchtdorf. Bishop Causse emphasized the importance of making sure that nobody feels like a stranger in the church. Even those who walk in off the street should be able to feel welcome in our meetings. We need to be sure that all members in the church receive fellowship from one another. Being in the mission field has taught me how crucial that is. I also enjoyed all the talks on members assisting the missionaries. I hope we'll see a world-wide effort of members and missionaries working closely together.

Well, I believe that is all I have for this week. Love you all!

Elder Rosier

In his letter to me, Ross wrote:

I have enjoyed Toowoomba so far. It's a beautiful town. It really reminds me of home...well, more so than anywhere else I have served! The bishop of the Darling Heights ward is the brother of the bishop in the Redcliffe ward (Bishop Thayer. I'm not sure if they told you, but Bishop Ziesel was released just before they left on holiday), so I am excited to work with him. I'm hoping that they are like-minded, because Bishop Thayer was the best ward mission leader I have worked with on my mission.

Weekly Update October 9, 2013

Hello again everyone! 

Transfers have struck again, and I am now serving in a town called Toowoomba! It is a town high up in the "mountains" west of Brisbane--about 190 km away from the city. I am excited to serve here, as I have been hoping for the opportunity for most of my mission. There are two wards here: Toowoomba ward and Darling Heights ward. I am serving in D-Heights ward. My companion's name is Elder McIntyre. He is born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, but has lived in Orem since he was 13. So I guess you could say he is my 1st Aussie companion, and my 3rd American companion.

As far as missionary work goes, the past week was pretty uneventful. Much of the same for Elder Tobe and I. On Monday we attended a festival in Deception Bay celebrating the cultures from the Pacific islands. It was a blast! Lots of food! And there were performances from groups from all over the islands. It was a really great opportunity for Elder Tobe and myself since we were able to talk to heaps of people about the church.

I had a couple of miracles this week. First was a while back, Elder Sualevai and I met a girl who hadn't attended church in a long time. A few weeks after he got transferred, I received a call from her saying she wanted to come back to church. She came that Sunday, and said she was going to come every week. Then I never heard from her. I wasn't able to contact her. She didn't respond to phone calls or anything. I figured she changed her mind. On Monday, I ran into her at Pacifika (the festival). She had moved out of her boyfriend's house, and was living with her family on the Gold Coast again and attending church with them! And she seemed like she was heaps happier than before! 

The second miracle happened on Monday as well. If you remember Sebastian, I was hoping to be able to say goodbye to him. I was told he was at his father's house, which is a long drive away. I figured I wouldn't be able to see him before I left the area. On Monday evening, I went to a basketball court in Redcliffe to say goodbye to another ward member who was there playing ball. When I arrived, I saw Sebastian shooting hoops with some people there. I was really happy to be able to see him before I left!

I think that's all I've got for this week. I love you all! 

Elder Rosier

In his letter to me, Ross wrote:

As you are aware, I was transferred yesterday. I am serving in a ward called Darling Heights in a town called Toowoomba. It is in the middle of the country, but the town itself is probably the size of the whole of the Ogden area. It really reminds me of home. I am excited to serve here. There are two wards in the town: D-Heights and Toowoomba. There are 8 missionaries serving in town, 4 elders and 4 sisters. The 4 sisters are in Toowoomba ward, but we are trying to get president to approve having 2 of each--Elders and sisters--in both the wards. As you are aware, I was transferred yesterday. I am serving in a ward called Darling Heights in a town called Toowoomba. It is in the middle of the country, but the town itself is probably the size of the whole of the Ogden area. It really reminds me of home. I am excited to serve here. There are two wards in the town: D-Heights and Toowoomba. There are 8 missionaries serving in town, 4 elders and 4 sisters. The 4 sisters are in Toowoomba ward, but we are trying to get president to approve having 2 of each--Elders and sisters--in both the wards. 

We had the wonderful opportunity to meet Bishop Louis Ziesel and his lovely wife Connie over conference weekend.  Ross worked very closely with Bishop Ziesle while serving in the Redcliffe Ward.  Bishop Ziesel said that all missionaries are special, but there are a few with a "little extra something", which Ross definitely has.  He told us that Ross was mature, hard working, and well organized.  Sister Ziesel was very impressed with Ross' knowledge of knots when she witnessed him secure a refrigerator while helping to move a ward member. You just never know when the stuff you learn in scouting will come in handy!

Kathy