Skip to main content

Birthdays, Sundays and Fun days

So, I am officially 22. The mission has just gotten a lot different. The Vietnamese program is growing and I'm feeling pretty reminiscent. 

This past week, the Vietnamese program in Melbourne went from 4 elders to 9, with another coming in September. 4 came fresh from the MTC, and 1 is finishing his mission here (he was trained with a Vietnamese elder, and was quasi in the program for 6 months of his mission). Oddly enough, I'm not training. I have been placed with one of the Zone Leaders, but am not a ZL. My area has changed from Footscray to North Richmond, and I have a lot of work ahead of me.

So, the baptism that was supposed to happen a week and a half ago is now happening on Friday. I may no longer be her missionary, but she has asked that I perform the baptism! WHOO YEAH! Another of my old investigators is also being baptized on the same day, and at the same time. He is awesome and I'm so grateful to have been a part in bringing them closer to Christ. From the area that I left, there are two other pretty solid people who have grown so much, and are preparing for September 7th. 

The new area has less prospects, and isn't quite as solid, but it's definitely something that can be worked on. I think through loving the people that we teach, and focusing on real conversion. Miracles can and do happen. Hopefully I can see another week of miracles soon.

I have been developing my knowledge and faith in the Atonement this week again. I never get bored with this topic. But I have come to the conclusion that a firm knowledge of the Plan of Salvation is essential to understanding the Atonement. Because of the plan of Salvation, the fall of Adam and Eve, and agency, an atonement was necessary for us to return to God. I love Jesus, I love my Heavenly Father, and I love the Holy Ghost. 

If your faith is waning, and you feel down, pray, ask, study the scriptures and serve more through the spirit of Christ. You will see blessings.

With Love,
An Uncommon Elder
Elder Ryan

Popular posts from this blog

week almost 5

Well everyone, it's the end of week 4. Saturday is my halfway mark in the MTC, and things have leveled for me emotionally, I've become much more comfortable with Vietnamese, the obedience is much easier, and life in general is a lot less dramatic. For this, I am grateful. I still have the best companion at the MTC. Life here is so routine it's hard to tell one day from the next. Days are long, weeks are short. I've heard many people say it, and it's true. The days can be long and exhausting, and then you get to a Sunday and you're thinking, wait, what happened to the other 6 days. I'm definitely grateful that I get to be at the MTC for 9 weeks. There are a lot of things I needed to grow up about, and a lot of humilty that I needed to learn. I'm not perfect, I probably won't be perfect, but I've realized that I can't always be right, even though I am (^_-). Sometimes I just have to accept the fact that other people have other opinion...
Read more

my feelings

The rest of my mission can be summed up through reading my posts sent via email. The purpose of this post is to sum up some of my final feelings and bring some closure in my mind to the events that led to me finishing my mission early. Earlier today I read a blog post by another missionary who served in the same mission that I did. She went through a similar experience. She was so open and honest, and through her display of courage, I figured that I could do the same. (Her post can be found HERE ) To provide a short disclaimer, the things expressed in this post are entirely my own thoughts based on my own knowledge and experiences. They may not always be accurate because I don't know everything, and I would encourage anyone and everyone to investigate and form their own conclusions. In August of 2013, 5 months after I left on my mission, an ugly beast that had plagued me most of my life, decided to manifest itself in the most forward and unavoidable way. For most of my ...
Read more

End of a Transfer, End of an Era (8-12-13)

So, I'm officially done with my 12 week training. I've now been in two areas, Kingsbridge 2nd Ward in the Bronx, NY, and Footscray, VIC Australia. And I've been informed that I'm getting transferred to a new area tomorrow. :) You'll find out next week. Now just as all things, there has been some good, and some less good. The good news is that I'm healthy, energized, and out of the funk, so I'm pumped to be a missionary! Whoo Yeah! The less good news (not bad news) is that the baptism for Sunday was postponed until the 23rd. It was easier for all parties involved. So as a way of recording, since I am the absolute worst at Journal writing, I'm going to summarize the last 8 weeks here in Melbourne. So I arrived very tired and don't really remember the first three or four days. I met a lot of people, had serious jet lag, and slept a lot. Then it got better. Here, they call street contacting GQ'ing. When we are GQ'ing, I...
Read more