November 29, 2015

hey everyone!

so we have transfers this week. elder Liu and I are both staying in the Mooroolbark area for another transfer! we are both so excited. and Happy Thanksgiving last week! i am thankful for all of you back home! there is a wonderful family (the McDonald) that puts on thanksgiving for all of the Americans in the ward! Bro McDonald is from America and he served his mission in Melbourne and returned after his mission to get married, and they made everything gluten free so that i could have turkey and gravy! it was wonderful! 

      the Rimando family, the ones i broke the guitar string at, invited us over again but for dinner this time. it was a birthday party so they invited a bunch of there non-member family and they made this huge Pilipino dinner for us, they use heaps of spices and it was very good. but something always goes wrong when we go there, elder liu stood up to shake someone's hand and he knocked over this tall glass full of orange juice and it fell right onto all of the food and shattered all over the table. i felt so bad for him, he turned bright red and just kept looking down! but we got everything cleaned up and ended up having an awesome night, we sang hymns and said all of the blessing that heavenly father gives to us and all the things we were thankful for!

     update on tiffany and brodie, they are progressing really well, we have been continuing to meet with them, tiffany has a very large fear of big groups of people so church is a bit of a challenge at the moment, but as she grow there faith and testimony she will begin to enjoy it. and next time were going to sit on the front row so that she can not see anyone and hopefully she wont panic! they have a baptisimal date for January 2.

    i don't know if i have told you about cassie and her family for a long time, she was the lady that elder liu and i gave the blessing to on the first lesson. there family has been really excited about meeting with us! the father is less active and has been since he was 16 but he sits in on the lessons with us. they have four girls Chloe, Sarah, Teneille, and Olivia. the mom and three of the girls are working for the baptisimal date on the 19th of December! Olivia the youngest is only 5. i will update you more on them next week! 

    and update on lexi, so she is still doing awesome! this sunday we helped her to pay her tithing and then she had an interview with the bishop for her temple recommend and she will be going to do baptisms for the dead this Tuesday! she is so excited to go to the temple and its because her fellowship Natasha Brooks has been such a wonderful example and has been bearing her testimony to lexi and helping her to feel comfortable! when members are active in missionary work it makes all the difference! so i would like to challenge everyone at home to help welcome new members and investigators to the ward it will bless you and the investigator! i love missionary work! it is the greatest! and i love the gospel! have an amazing week everyone! 

love elder wiser

so we got word on Saturday that elder liu will be staying in Mooroolbark, and I will be also staying in Mooroolbark for our third transfer!!! we are stoked! and our whole district is staying as well!

this is the adams family

brother david adams is our ward mission leader! and his wife sue adams takes such good care of us they are so amazing! so I taught them how to do a wrestler photo! sis adams almost got it right!

these are two wonderful families

so the one outside is ryan and mary Miranda with neal is the father and the daughters name is isabella! they are the people that organize meals for us everyday!

this is the unwin family! peter served his mission in Arizona and southern Utah! they are fantastic!

November 22, 2015

So this week started out with a zone p-day! Our zone is making a missionary version of "a bugs life" and so we all dressed up in these ridiculously ghetto costumes and made a really funny little video, I was a grasshopper so I had to act all mean and tough and boss all of the ants around! The random people watching us film it probably have some weird views of the LDS church haha. 

So this week I went on exchanges with an Elder named Elder Theurer (tire) and we are so alike, we are both from Utah and love fly fishing and we are both going to Utah state when we get home! He wants to be an oral surgeon and I want to be an orthodontist. But for crazy experiences for the week. Elder Liu and I were talking to people at the train station and after two hours we decided to go. So when we got back in the car I had a really big feeling that we needed to go back, so I asked Elder Liu if we could just walk through the station one more time. and the first person we talked to was this older lady sitting at the bus stop. she was really sad and felt like God hated her, so we just kept bearing testimony that God loves her and its never to late to change, and after a minute of talking to her she mention a psychiatric hospital, and it turns out that she had ran away from the hospital and she didn't want to go back and if she didn't go back then the police would be sent to find her and lock her up! so Elder Liu and I just kept talking to her and called a member from the ward to come and give us all a ride to the hospital. She really didn't want to go and so we just kept showing her little pictures of Jesus and quoting little scriptures and that seemed to calm her down! and so we finally got her back into the hospital. 

     

So we had some bad news, Isabell that girl we have been working with doesn't want to learn anymore. She feels like there are to many rules that she can't keep, and so she dropped us. We were devastated, but its probably not her time, the Lord has perfect timing and when she is ready to receive the gospel it will be presented to her. We are going to keep in contact with her still. 

     And some good news, we got in contact with a girl named tiffany and her boyfriend Brodie. We haven't been able to meet with them before because they kept dodging us, but we finally caught them at home and the spirit touched them and now they are really excited to learn more. i will keep you updated on how they are going!

    But my testimony has grown so much this week about the lords timing, sometimes we want things to happen now or maybe later or in a different order, but the lord knows best. and if we trust in him and continue to do the things that we are supposed to be doing then He will send miracles! we are all children of Heavenly Father and he loves us! and knowing that gives me great strength in every aspect of my life!

I love you all

trust in God

love Elder Wiser

this is elder Theurer he is from salt lake city Utah! he is the man!

here is some scenic pictures of Australia! this is on exhanges so it is not in our area :)

this is a birthday cake that i had to take a picture of because of Shelby!

November 15, 2015

So the Australian line that Elder Liu and I have been using this week is "flat out like a lizard drinking" and apparently it means you are really busy! so this week we have been flat out like a lizard drinking!! so lexi was confirmed a member of the church this Sunday and she asked me to do it! im not going to lie I was a little nervous to give her a blessing in front of the whole ward, I kept imagining myself like sneezing into the microphone or something really awkward like that! but after a prayer for confidence I got through it and everything went over smoothly! and the meeting after was so amazing! it was all about the spirit and how when we are worthy the spirit can bless us! lexi was beaming at the end! 

     so this week we had a huge service project out in the bush! the bush looks like the jungle and it is so green! but this house had been completely over grown with vegetation! there were four men with whipper snippers (weed wacker) and they just hacked everything and we put them into big piles and burned them! I think I was enjoying the fire to much and I was letting it get a little big so they gave me the special job of sweeping the roof! so I officially got banished from the fire :(

     so we met with cassie the lady that was sick and we gave her a blessing and her family again! we went through the restoration and they are really excited to get baptised! now all we have to do is get through the rest of the lessons! there are prepared people everywhere its just a matter of finding them! 

   so this week elder liu and I had a goal to sing a hymn with everyone that we taught a lesson to! and I really struggle with finding the right starting note and elder liu and I can never sing the same notes but we still sang with every family! it was always a Capella and it never sounded all that amazing but the words of the hymns invite the spirit in! I understand why we sing so much at church! I love singing and i have been really trying to focus on every word in the song, and if i don't understand it, I look it up! and it has really changed my view! we can learn so much from the hymns! so im going to give you a challenge! next time you sing a hymn, try to understand every word, and if it doesn't make sense then look it up! it will make sacrament meeting even more special and significant! i honestly love going to church! there is a spiritual experience every week as long as you are looking for it! the lord can answer our prayers in so many ways, and through the testimony of others is a big one! i love my mission so much! im having such a good time and im learning so much everyday! i love you all and i hope that you are having an amazing week! the church is true and we can find the most happiness by following EVERY gospel principal and EVERYTHING that the prophets and apostles say. they are truly men of god. 

i love you all 

keep the commandments :)

love elder wiser

we found a Christmas tree in our flat and we though this would be an appropriate decoration!

I played the accordion! I actually played I "stand all amazed" it was so great!

November 8, 2015

WOW!  I know I say this like every week but this week was crazy! Early in the week we went over and did service for this lady named Patsy, she is a non-member, her friend was there that was a member, Sister Trenos. I am pretty sure that we moved every piece of furniture in her house, it was like a huge puzzle trying to figure out what door was big enough to fit the giant couches through and how to slide the huge dressers along the floor without destroying everything. But when we finished we asked her to share her favourite scripture and then we would do the same, and when we read out of the Book of Mormon she wanted nothing to do with it, but after bearing testimony, explaining, and bearing testimony some more, she finally took a copy of the Book of Mormon. Later in the week we ran into Sister Trenos and she said that she had been trying for years to give Patsy a Book of Mormon and she wanted nothing to do with it, but when we all bore testimony and the spirit was there, her heart was softened and she accepted it, miracle.

       We had a pretty funny experience while tracting this week. We were knocking this street and it was starting to get dark, and we usually stop when it gets dark but for some reason I just wanted to keep going, so we kept going and kept going and we finally knocked on the last door for the night. This lady came to the front window and said what do you want through the window, and so we started to tell her we were missionaries and what our purpose was, and she still wouldn't open the door, so we just went into the plan of salvation and started teaching her that there is life after this one! and she still wouldn't open the door, and so after about twenty minutes of us talking through the window we offered her a pamphlet with our information on it and she opened the door and continued to talk with us, but when we tried to set a return appointment she said no like six times. I remembered back when dad was teaching us about "alternate close" so I just said "do weekends or week days work better?" and she said week days, and then I said "okay you probably have work so afternoons might be hard so we will stop by Wednesday at five o'clock" and she started to laugh because of our persistence and finally gave in! So we are going back to meet with her again!!! yay haha persistence is real! 

      LEXI WAS BAPTISED, it was such an amazing day. Her mom and her brother came to the baptism to support her and she was so happy. she said, "I have heard people say how amazing their baptism was but I couldn't understand how getting dunked in water could be so great, but now I know, and it is amazing." She was smiling so big. The spirit was so strong. The gospel brings such a great and mighty change in the lives of those who choose to live it! She asked me to give a talk on the holy ghost and Elder Liu and I and two other missionaries sang come follow me. Elder Liu was really nervous to baptise her and he mixed up some of the words and so they had to do it twice, but Lexi said she was happy she got to be put under the water twice because the water felt so good! and Isabell, one of the other investigators, came to the baptism and we set an apt. to meet with her this week! such a blessing.

    This week we had stake conference and Elder Paul Coward from the seventy came and spoke! Even though his last name is Coward he is probably the most bold man I have ever heard! He was clutching the pulpit and shaking his fists, and he didn't have any notes. He just went back and talked about general conference and how we should not just watch but rewatch and memorize all that our prophet and apostles are saying! Then he started calling people out of the crowd to share what they had learned. One man said that he had been trying to ponderize a scripture every week and then Elder Coward told him to stand up and tell over 800 people what scripture he was focusing on! and this guy without hesitating busted out his scripture! It was so cool! but we truly have a living prophet on the earth today and it is important what they share with us! and so I would invite everyone who reads this to go back and listen to at least one conference talk, if not more! I know that President Monson is the only man that can receive revelation for the whole church and that by listening to him we can draw closer to Jesus Christ! I love you all! have an amazing week

Love Elder Wiser

This is at lexi's baptism :) she didn't get confirmed this week because we had stake conference, so she will be confirmed next Sunday

We always use this magic trick of pulling off our thumbs to get the children to pay attention haha

This is another huge spider, over Elder Liu's bed! we had an epic battle with insect repellent, blue window cleaner, and some shampoo, but we finally killed it!

November 1, 2015

How ya going! (air gun may) if you say "air gun may" in a fast nasal voice it sounds exactly like every Australian! hahah. This week has been so good.  Monday the brooks family invited us and Lexi over for family home evening. So Lexi was able to see how the gospel works in the family. The family wanted to give the lesson, and they gave a very fun lesson about being thankful for Gods creations (nature). We all had a great time singing and drawing pictures! When we first met Lexi she was way shy, but she is coming out of her shell, at family home evening she sang confidently along with us a primary song that she had never heard before! I wouldn't even do that - haha.

     Tuesday we had a Halloween activity for the three wards that meet at the chapel! It was a trunk or treat. So background on Australia and Halloween, some people hate Halloween and then most people just think its dumb and only a few people actually participate, so when some brave kids actually do dress up and go and knock on doors for lollys, nobody really gives out candy. That is why the ward puts on the trunk or treat so that the kids have a good environment to dress up and eat candy! A lot of people showed up I think there was over three hundred people and a lot of them brought along there friends that had never been to a church before, so that was fantastic! 

   Awkward moment of the week! We have been working with this less active family for a while and they finally started to let us in. So we are sitting on there couch and I was searching for something that we had in common so that we could relate to eachother. and behind the couch I spotted a guitar, and im not good at guitar but I thought I would try, so I asked if I could see it for a second and I started to play some of the chords I remembered from home. but the guitar was just a little out of tune, so I figured out which string was of and gave it a half twist to tighten it up . . . .  and it snapped! I had just picked up someone elses guitar and snapped the string on it. Awsome, I felt so dumb and was bright red im sure of it! so next time I will not tighten a guitar!

    This week we had a really amazing experience! a few weeks ago when I was on exchanges Elder Liu ran into a lady (Cassie) that has been suffering from a sickness and nobody can find out what it is! She gave her information to Elder Liu on a card and at the end of this week Elder Liu found it and had a very strong urge that we needed to go. So when we found a spare minute in the day, we went to Cassies home! Her and her husband invited us in and very quickly we found out that she knew nothing about the church, but her husband is a member but he hadn't gone since he was 16 and so he never talked to his wife about it. When she answered the door she had been crying because of the pain she was in and so we went over the restoration of the priesthood very quickly and then gave her a blessing! Elder Liu anointed and I gave the blessing and it was a very spiritual experience! The blessing told her that she was going to be alright and that her family had no reason to worry! it was an amazing experience! We are going back this week to talk with her more! and having that experience caused me to think about how thankful I am that I was able to grow up in a home with the priesthood! thank you Dad for being a worthy holder of the priesthood, you are such an example to me. I am very grateful that I was able to receive blessings when I was sick, anxious, and when I just needed some extra help! The priesthood is the power of God, it was restored through Joseph Smith and I am thankful that I am able to live in a time when it is on the earth! I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing week!

love Elder Wiser

this was a Halloween trunk or treat at the church and there was so many people! and this was a giant snake that I really wanted to be put around my neck! first a giant spider and second a giant snake :)

so the picture with the three girls. The one on the right is named Therese Hird and she is a member and the two girls with her are non member friends! yay member missionary work! the girl on the left is Isabella the girl that we have been meeting with.

this is a cute picture with spider-girl haha she is the funniest little girl!

and the picture with the family. so this is the Brooks family. They are the first family that I saw when I got to Australia, I hadn't showered for three days because of being in airports and we hadn't gone back to the flat yet so my suitcases were still in the car, but they made me feel so welcomed! and they are the fellowship family for Lexi!

and this is the award we won for being the "best LDS costume" at the trunk or treat hahaha