Hello family! This week was a blur and i will try to recall it to form an email for you!! Hope you are enjoying conference. We are watching it this weekend because if we watched it live we'd be chillin and 2 a.m. watching conference :) Wildlife in Gladstone this week is BATS! large and small! swooping through the air as lightning strikes...seriously! Its spooky and awesome. We also have cane toads which are poisinous! and i almost grabbed one...then i got told they have venom seeping from their lower back and you can die if you touch one. Good grief!
This week we were committed by the zone leaders to get more member present lessons because we kinda fail at it. So we did, we tried to get members out with us to come to lessons. I dont know why its so hard, but it is for some reason. I love having members at lessons, especially when they can add their testimony to our teaching.We started the week by teaching our investigator Arnelson the gospel of Jesus Christ. That lesson is awesome and makes it a beautiful opportunity to lay down a baptismal invite and a date. I used to be so afraid of inviting people to be baptized....then i had sister Cocker as a trainer and we would tract into a person, teach and she would invite them to be baptized right there. it was awesome! i try to be like her :) Arnelson wants to get baptized and he wants to be sealed in the temple....a great start i would say! We will work with him.
On tuesday we taught the lovely Ken with the chinese elders on skype as we do every tuesday. I love Ken! He is so humble and just has light in his eyes. He was taught word of wisdom and is trying to live it this week. He can do it! We also saw Joann on tuesday and read from the book of Mormon with her. Joann is such a good mom and always working around the house and cooking for her boys...you go girl. She gets so tired and prays often. Tuesday night we taught Mark and Tabitha who are now...Recent Converts!! yay. Ryley Gubler, a priest in our branch taught the lesson on Priesthood and he nailed it! I was so proud. I love hearing priesthood holders talk about the priesthood. I am going to sneak into priesthood session....jokes :) but really. It was great. Mark got the Aaronic priesthood last Sunday and Ryley taught him how to bless the sacrament on Tuesday night.
On wednesday we went to teach Bree, whose daughter Mia is getting baptized soon. We have been chickens and havent taught law of Chastity yet and still need too...were nervous because she is living with her partner. But she knows she needs to get married to be baptized. Experience time, the other week i was thinking about Bree and trying to think of ways to resolve her baptismal concerns to help her be baptized...thinking of reasons.,..then when we were getting the church ready for Mark and Tabithas baptism i flipped open the childrens hymn book to the song Baptism i love the words of the second and third verse: "To fulfill the law said Jesus, when the Baptist questioned why, and to enter with my Father in the kingdom up on high. .. Now we know that we must also witness faith in Jesus word, be baptized to show obedience as was Jesus Christ our Lord." Why do we need to be baptized? Because Jesus was.
Thursday we taught the lovely Ardell and John, our random Chinese couple that rocked up to church on Sunday and we had never met them. The Fentons came with us and our beloved mandarin speaking elder Low spoke in Mandarin to John about faith and the Book of Mormon. I love that language!!! They committed to read and pray. Friday we had deep cleaning for transfers! Hurray. and we got to teach Dilys!
I love teaching Dilys she is so humble. We taught Follow the Prophet, and Obedience. We showed a clip of Gordon B Hinckleys lessons learned as a boy, where he speaks of the two boys who put coins in the poor mans shoes. Of course we were all just weeping as thats what happens when you hear President Hinckleys voice crack. So good. Peter Sepe is Dilys father, with the darkest skin i have ever seen by the way, who is a recent convert. We moved Dilys's baptism to this Saturday and Peter is going to baptize her! Ah it will be grand. Little Mia, Bree's daughter is also getting baptized this Saturday if all goes according to plan. :)
Sunday was awesome and Mark did the blessing of the bread in sacrament and did beautifully. He is so awesome and so is Tabitha. It was really special for me listening to Mark bless the sacrament... i am so happy i got to be a small part of his and Tabitha's learning about the gospel. On suday i taught the Gospel Principles class on Families Can be Eternal. It was lovely to speak of my family :) I also talked about Cameron and how the Plan of Salvation and the Temple has blessed my familys lives...how i know we will meet one day. Jordan came to church again and so did Joann. Oh and on Wednesday night we taught Joann and Nino with the Fentons the plan of Salvation. Nino said something amazing....he said when he dies he hopes he will see Joann and they will recognize each other. He said "I hope she doesnt just walk by." Hmm, sounds to me like they need to be sealed. :) We need to get him to church and baptize their family.\
Sad news! Phillip the one who read the book of Mormon twice in two weeks is moving back to New Zealand! I really want to baptize him before he moves home...i feel like his salvation is in my hands and hes slipping away! Ah, its in the Lords hands.
I learn more every day about the Spirit and being a missionary. I take comfort in one of my favorite proverbs.."Despise not the chastening of the Lord, niether be weary of his correction, for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." Happy is the man whom God correcteth!! We shouldnt be mad when we get righteously rebuked or chastened. As many as i love, i rebuke and chasten.
Oh transfer calls came and i am staying with sister Kyaw in Gladstone 1 on full time bikes :) Hurray!! Sister Watson flew back to Brisbane and Sister Wulfensteins new companion is Sister Lealii e'e..lay ah lee ee eh eh. Samoan. Try saying that five times fast!! :) Shes adorable. From Sydney.
Im so happy to be a missionary and will be eternally grateful that Heaveny Father doesnt require perfection from His missionarys or any of His children! There are oceans of skills and attributes i have yet to develop...i pray every day to be better than i was yesterday....i love my mission and the journey it is. It requires so much patience and i am learning to wait upon the Lord for His promised blessings! He will never leave us. :)
Dearest family, you are the best! All my love,
Sister Schaelling
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