December 3, 2013

G'day everybody!

     We had our temple trip this morning. Woke up early to catch the train into the city. It was great. I always love the temple so much, and I am so grateful that we have one in our mission and are allowed to attend regularly.

I hope Grandpa is doing alright still. Send him and Grandma my love! I always remember not being thrilled to go to Woodpile for the holidays, but the time spent with Grandma and Grandpa Nuttall was priceless.

I missed Thanksgiving! We did have a ward Christmas party this last weekend and they had some little store bought mini pumpkin pies, but that's about as "Thanksgivingy" as I got this year. I missed all the mashed potatoes and gravy and pies and all the Aunties and Uncles and Cuzzies! I hope yous all had a great one though!

We finally got our mail yesterday and I got to see all the XC pics and results and everything! You  boys did awesome. And that is probably the most origami I have ever seen in my whole life. Chur bro! Thanks Kenzie for the letters and I will write back but I won't tell you what I'm getting you for Christmas! Thanks so much for all the letters. I love hearing from you guys.

Well the new area is pretty good. It is a small area. We pretty much just cover the suburb called Burpengary. There are lots of Aussies here. Not quite as much of the cultural diversity as in other areas I have served. We have been doing pretty well so far. The area is relatively new. They only opened it the transfer before this one. We have been teaching a few people we have tracted into. We have one girl who has really started progressing as of last week. She is originally catholic but is open to all religions. We took her on a chapel tour and happened to schedule it the same time as the ward was having a baptism, so she got to see that as well. It was great. The highlights were when we showed her the baptismal font and the chapel. The Spirit was very strong and she definitely felt it. She then came to the ward Christmas party that night and Church the next morning (fast and testimony meeting even)! So we hope she didn't get overloaded. She really seemed to enjoy it and the ward definitely made her feel part of the family. We hope to commit her to a baptismal date the next time we meet with her.

There is also a guy that was tracted into a long time ago and thus far the missionaries hadn't been able to catch him at home. my companion and I decided to try him. Our hopes were not high. But lo and behold, he was home, so we taught him the message of the Restoration and shared the First Vision. It was quite powerful. The Spirit testified to him that it was true. He told us it gave him a good feeling and gave him the chills. We read him the part in Galatians ch. 5 that lists the fruits of the Spirit and he said, "that's exactly what it was!" It was pretty amazing. We plan to set a baptismal date with him soon as well but our appointment fell through because he got called in to work! Ah!

out of time!

I love you all very much!

Elder Thieme

Nov 24, 2013 pictures!

G'day everybody! I've been about a full week in the area now. It's been a fun week. Every night I come home just exhausted and sweaty from the heat and the humidity. We've been working hard. Luckily this area is nowhere near as hilly as Nerang. It's pretty flat everywhere.

  There's not much happening here yet but we've got some great people to work with and we hope to see some good success here.

Here's a few pics

First one was in my last flat. One day we were tracting and this lady wanted to give us some baby berets to hand out. We weren't sure exactly what to do about it so we were just like, sure we'll take a couple. She grabbed four of them and held them out and told us to put our hands on them and then commenced to bless the baby berets by the laying on of hands. They had been sitting around the flat for about five weeks so we decided to do something productive with them and put them on and take a few pictures.  

This is just a huge moth that landed on our glass door. That's my companion's hand next to it.
 

Caught a little tree frog outside while it was raining one night. 

Next morning I went to take a shower and there was a big huntsman spider on the shower door. I reckon he was a good three inches across with his legs. Big ugly things. They can get massive. They aren't dangerous but they look like they can bite your toe off.

So my new companion is Elder Peacock from Tooele, UT. He's lived in Idaho for a little bit. He is a mad Tim Tam slammer. The Tim Tam (chocolate coated cookie thing: sort of like a large rectangular Oreo with chocolate filling and chocolate coating) slam is when you bite the corners off the biscuit and then stick it in your Milo and suck it like a straw until the middle is soaked, then you eat it, doing as many as you can. He slammed 36 Tim Tams one night. He likes singing and sugar. He is the oldest of ten kids.

We live in the flat with Elder Ottoson, the district leader, from Washington, and Elder Mahuinga from Tonga. He is still working on remembering my name and keeps calling me "Elder Smiff (Smith in a Tongan accent.)." It's a pretty fun group.

I hope all is well back home and that you know how much I love you all! Have a great week! Happy Thanksgiving soon!

Elder Thieme

Nov 21, 2013

G'day! How is everyone goin?

Transfers this week was a bit of a shocker. My companion and I got white-washed out, leaving behind just one companionship instead of two. We didn't see it coming and we were pretty bummed actually. We were just  starting to see some success. I was a bit sad to leave my companion as well. We were just starting to get things going. The last week of the transfer he had a bit of a rough time and was feeling like he wanted to go home. We talked it over and by the end of the week he had changed and he was ready to work. So the transfer was a surprise, but you get used to it after you've been out a while. They're usually a bit of a surprise. And something I've realised is that you don't always get sent where you want to go but you are always sent exactly where you're needed.

If it's not too late do you think you could stick some Cheetos in the package as well? Only if you haven't sent it yet.

Haha just tell Evan to stop growing will ya? Yeah, I reckon he can have some of my clothes. I don't think any of my pants will fit very well anymore, you can have those. Just take what you want. All good bro. I actually bought a couple T-shirts at Target because all the shirts I brought have gotten a bit snug. "Oh boy!" 

Actually, it would be cool to have a BSU shirt (probably medium size). I wish I could have thought of these things earlier. But if you haven't sent the package yet I think that's my last request for this Christmas.

 So I've been transferred to Burpengary 2 in North Brisbane. It's a nice area, small. It's nice and warm up here. I was hoping to stay down on the Gold Coast for summer! The area is relatively new. There has only been two companionships in the Burpengary ward for one transfer before this one. I didn't get to email Tuseday when transfers and p-day was because we didn't make it back home before the library closed.

It has been good so far. The area has lots of potential. We plan to baptize this transfer.

FYI, I seem to have misplaced my church issued credit card. I will get a new one in a few weeks, but I will have to use my home check card to buy some groceries for the next little while.

I hope mum  and the kids are feeling better by now! It is no fun to be crook.

I love you all! Especially Kenzie... and Bryson...and Jackson... and Evan...and Miranda.

Love,

Elder Thieme

Bike crash and road rash...

G'day Everybody!

    

     It's only been a few days since I emailed last so there's not a lot to report. This was a crazy week. Church this Sunday was really good. We biked there in the morning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Attended ward council, had a great sacrament meeting, and got asked last minute to teach the YSA Sunday school class. After the third hour it started raining. One elder had a poncho so we all gave him our scriptures to put in his bag and then we headed off. My companion got back to the flat and realized the other two elders weren't behind us. We waited a few minutes then decided to go back to find them, just in case someone had crashed or something. We met them on their way to the flat and Elder Bird's tire had gone flat. We went ahead and started biking back home. On the way there is a pretty good hill with a giant speed bump at the bottom with a smooth part that is slick when wet. I was probably going a little too fast for the weather conditions, and when I hit the bump at the bottom of the hill my wheel jerked as it hit the slick part and knocked the handlebars out of my grip. I seemed to fall over in slow motion and I sort of landed on my hip and my elbow and then bounced onto my back. I did have my helmet on so I didn't hurt my head, but my shirt and my garment top didn't fair so well.

     I guess every missionary has to have at least one good stack on their mission and I hadn't yet. Hopefully it's the only one I'll have. I'm OK, aside from some road rash on my elbow and back and a sore hip, neck, back and shoulders. She'll be alright mate.

     This week will be fast. There's lots going on. Transfers will be next Tuesday, so I won't email again until then. I'm looking forward to finally getting our mail at Zone Conference on Thursday! I hope all is well in good ol' Middleton!

Here are a few pictures of me just after I stacked it.

Have a great week everybody! I love you!

Elder Thieme

Temple Trip this week, so late email...

G'day everybody!

I think I forgot to tell you our temple trip was this week. We were supposed to go about four weeks ago but it was closed for cleaning, so our zone got to go today. We woke up around four thirty this morning and caught the train into Brisbane.

It has been a bit of a crazy start to the week. Monday, my companion was sick, so I pretty much studied all day while he layed in bed. Tuesday we got a call from the housing coordinators telling us our flat was being sold and we would be moving out in about two weeks. They said the flat could likely be inspected very soon to be put up for sale, so they told us to deep clean it as soon as possible. So thats about all we did on Tuesday. Wednesday we drove all the way into Brisbane to pick up my companion's bike so he could finally have his very own treddley. Then temple P-day today. This week has been busy and it has flown by so quick. We are almost into week six already!

It's been ages since I've emailed some pics so here's a few from this week:

 

First one is at our flat. That's the day my companion was sick. Elder Tilley is the big Fijian and Elder Bird from Washington is in the kitchen.

 

That's a picture of my birthday cake. Elder Bird made it from a mix, but when it cooked the edges burnt and the inside was soupy, so he just scooped out the uncooked middle and we ate it like that.

 

Third one is a picture from up at Mount Tamborine. It is in our area but it is about a half hour's drive and 30 k's from our flat. The vehicle coordinator moved up there so we helped him unload a truck.

 

Here's a picture of the zone outside the temple today. I was in a perfect position and then just before they started snapping the photos the big Polynesian sister moved in front of me.

 

I can't believe I'm twenty years old! Things are going to start happening to me now!

Man, I wish I could have watched the state cross country meet.

Thanks for the picture of you and Bro Teuscher.  I loved the times in young men's with him. I remember all the campouts where he would try to keep all us dumb deacons in check. I also remember when he would make us pounda pounda pounda. That stuff was mean. I think he's made more of a lasting impression on me than he knows. He was always such a great leader and teacher, even when I was rebellious and rude. Could you just let him know I love him and ask him for the pounda pounda pounda recipe? It's pretty complex. I think it is just egg potato and sausage (or was it ham? Or cheese?). When I get a calling in the young men's program someday I am going to make it for them on a camping trip. I know I wouldn't be the person I have become if not for the influence of amazing youth leaders like Brother Teuscher and the experiences we shared.  

Nah, I don't think they do daylight savings time changes here. The alarm always seems to go off too early though.  

We had a bit of a rough week last week. We still haven't had much luck finding new investigators. There are some less-actives who are really progressing though. It's really exciting to see. I have seen the power of the Book of Mormon a lot on my mission. I usually refer to it as my sword. Preach my Gospel tells us that "the Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit is (our) most powerful tool in conversion." I have seen it re-convert people who have strayed off the path. It really is an amazing book, and something about it, when read with an open mind, changes peoples hearts. We are going to start reading it with a part member family in our area. The husband has been less active for years, and his wife and some of his kids are not members. He still knows the gospel very well (he just doesn't live it; he likes his booze), so we weren't sure what to do with them. One night we visited them and that was the impression that came: get them reading the Book of Mormon! We will start with them tonight. The family seemed pretty excited for it. Even his wife. 

We finally got some rain out here. It's been a pretty dry summer for us so far. That was a fun day. On the way back from zone meeting it started dumping rain, but it lasted for less than an hour, then it cleared up, so we went out. My companion and I were on our bikes and we locked them up to go tracting. When we went back to the bikes someone had flattened our tires. Sweet as.  So we just walked a few minutes down the road to the petrol station and filled them with the air pump. We had a pretty long bike ahead of us. We needed to get to the other side of our area for an appointment with a potential investigator. Just as we finished filling our tires it started raining again. And when I say raining, I mean RAINING. I'm used to Idaho rain and this was like a tropical thunderstorm. We got soaked. It looked as if we had been swimming. I don't think it was very good for my pants. At least I had my gore-tex jacket. My poor companion didn't even have an umbrella (not that he could use one biking anyways). It was so much fun though. It was funny. I just didn't have a care in the world. I was all dressed up and soaked from head to toe and on a push bike, and I was loving life. Something I have learned on my mission is that your attitude determines everything. Your circumstances do not control your attitude, you do.

It's great to hear from you! I love you all and continue to pray for you! have a great week! Good job at state cross country boys! Kenzie, I hope you're all better now! I love you! You're my favorite little sister in the world! Bryson, that origami bug was super cool, and it was almost as big as the cockroach we had in our flat the other day! Love you mum and dad!

Elder Thieme

New companion in Nerang

G'day everybody!

 

Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday package! I'm afraid I didn't wait for my birthday before I opened it. I really enjoy the homemade granola, that is until we ran out of milk. 

 

I remember all the times as a priest I got to visit the Barnards and bring them the sacrament. I remember how crazy their little dog always was and how hard it was to try to speak with Old Brother Barnard since he had lost his hearing. They are such great people. Sister Barnard always wanted to give us some pie or something when we came over.

 

How is Spencer Teuscher doing? I haven't spoken to him in ages.  

 

 I can't believe we're in the last week of October already either. It feels like we just started the month. Next Monday I will be twenty years old mate! This week marks the halfway point in the transfer. I still feel so new! I am getting to know the area well. I've learned my way around faster than I thought I would, but it took getting lost on the bikes more than once. We are still working on getting to know the members better. A few of the last mission policies have sort of distanced the missionaries from the members. Everyone has felt it. I am hoping for some changes soon. We need to be more involved with the members than we are now. Like Elder Nielson said in General Conference (the exclamation point guy), this work will not move forward in the way the Lord intends it to unless we work together! Exclamation point! I loved the ensign article about member missionary work. It is really so simple.

 

We had a bit of a disappointing week this week. We thought we had some really promising potential investigators, but they all turned out to be pretty useless. It's hard to stay positive when things keep falling through. An article the ensign was about measuring success as a missionary. Because everyone has their agency, we can't measure our success by how many people accept our invitations. Success is in the loving invitation. Learning this principle has helped me to avoid becoming discouraged when things don't seem to be going my way. Jacob chapter 5 also helps me to understand my role in helping the Lord accomplish his work and how he feels about it, and therefore, how I should feel about it. It's such a great missionary chapter. 

 

So we aren't having great success with investigators yet, but we will! We are seeing great progress with a less active member that we have started teaching. He is a long lost sheep who has found that the world brings only superficial joy and no lasting happiness. He is a great guy who has simply strayed from the path. It is so great to see someone who is ready to make changes in their life. It brings me joy because I know how much joy and protection he can have as he decides to come back to the fold. This is what the rescue is all about. All it took was a simple visit at the right time. We'll have to go slow with him, since he has been away from church for over a decade, but he is starting to develop stronger faith.  

 

The other Nerang elders, Elder Tilley and Elder Bird had a double baptism this Saturday. My companion and I were the witnesses. They were two teenage girls who had been fellowshipped, loved, and invited by members. The first girl to be baptised was a big Maori girl, and Elder Bird, who is about the same size as me, with a little more weight on him, had a little trouble dunking her. He had to repeat it three times before full immersion was acheived. 

 

Also, last week we were asked to sing with the YSA in sacrament to help fill their lack of male voices. We practiced with them once Saturday night before the performance yesterday. It was a bit rough. I enjoyed it though. I love to sing and I miss singing in a fair dinkum choir. That's so cool that J is in madrigals already as a sophomore. 

 

I look forward to hearing about how Middleton won the state championship! Leave it all out there! Bryson and Kenzie, you'll have to scream a little extra for me! 

I love you all and miss you! Have a great week!

Elder Thieme

Feeling fine!

G'day everybody!

No worries this week. I am actually the only one in our flat who hasn't been suffering from the cold that's going around. I have been feeling pretty good.

We've been doing a lot of biking, and we have some pretty nice hills here. They stink to bike up but it's heaps fun to bike down on the way home. This week flew by so quick. It was gone before I even realised we were halfway through October! I also just realised the lack of Halloween things. I remember at Wal mart they would have heaps of candy and costumes right out front. They have a little bit of it in the shops, but nowhere near what it's like at home. Apparently no one really does trick or treating over here either. Not that I'm really going to miss that anyways.

Man, I miss good mexican food! I haven't found anything real authentic yet. I did find out I can buy Sriracha here though. That was exciting.

So Bryson went to a Mexican restaraunt and got a hamburger? That reminds me of someone...

Wow 48. You're beginning to be stricken in years. I thought I was starting to feel old when I realised I was almost 20.

Hopefully our team does well and beats BK. It always feels good to beat that school.

Church was really good this week. One thing that stood out to me in sacrament meeting was in a sister's talk about covenants and the power that comes from keeping them. She said, "we are blessed when we obey, we are loved when we serve." God desires to bless us for obeying what He asks, but He is more happy when we obey willingly. When we obey willingly, we will serve God and the people around us because we love Him and them. Those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit will willingly obey the commandments because of their love for God, rather than for fear of punishment or hope of reward, or even a sense of duty. And it is those with a broken heart and contrite spirit that inherit Eternal Life. Another insight came in elders quorum in priesthood. The teacher was talking about learning and knowledge, and what I got out of it was this: Knowledge comes by learning doctrine, understanding comes by living it, and wisdom comes by loving it. I hope that I can learn all that God desires for me to learn here on the mission. I know there's a lot.

One thing I have come to see more and more is how neccessary this work is. I see people and famillies everyday who are struggling. People's lives are destroyed as they are enveloped by the world. There is a scripture that speaks of Christ as a light that shines forth in darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not. The world is in darkness and it is in desperate need of the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The hard part is getting people to recognise it. We are still struggling to find new investigators. I know that we can never give up. There is too much at stake. A thought comes to mind about the Nephites just before the appearance of the Saviour. None of them recognised or understood his voice until the third time he spoke. I know if we keep trying, continue to open our mouth, we'll get there.

I hope everyone is doing well and knows how much I love you. Hope Jackson gets back to normal so you can smash BK. Evan, run fast, but try to stop breaking all my records... and feel free to stop getting taller.  Bryson and Kenzie, I miss you heaps. When you see Miranda again give her a hug for me. Mum and Dad, thanks for everything

Sorry I don't have any new pictures today! This week went by and I realised I didn't take any pictures at all (other than a video of Elder Miller doing the chubby bunny challenge). I will definitely take some today and have some pictures for next week's email. I don't even have any pictures of my new companion yet! Shame! Time just goes by so quick and I never remember to pull my camera out during the day.

It's nearly Christmas time and I hope to send you all a little something. I'll try to get it into the mail before it's too late.

I love you all so much! have a great week!

Elder Thieme

Hello mum! Hello Everybody!

 

     It feels like It's been forever since I emailed last! It's been a crazy week.

     I have been doing pretty well. I was pretty miserable again Tuesday night, and I went to the doctor to get my second scan reviewed. Apparently everything there was normal. Go figure. He said that it was likely mysyntery something-itis (something wrong with a gland in the stomach) and that it should just go away. Wednesday night I was feeling a little better than Tuesday. But since Wednesday I haven't been bothered by pain much at all. I really haven't had time lately to be sick, with so much on my plate now. My feeling is that the Lord has helped and strengthened me to be able do what he wants me to do. I don't know what was wrong with me. All I know is that the pain is gone. Thanks for your prayers.

     The new area is not far from the Gold Coast, although how far I do not know. I haven't even seen a map to figure out where I am yet! I am definitely somewhere in Australia! The area is pretty nice (at least what I've seen so far). It is a small ward. The bishop told us maybe a hundred and fifty or so will be there on an average Sunday. They have apparently had two sets of missionaries in this ward before, but not for a long time. We share a flat with just enough room for all of us. My companion is Elder Higham from Clearfield, UT (somewhere near Ogden). He lived on a farm and he only just graduated high school this May. He served in Iowa for about a transfer waiting for a visa. He's a pretty good guy. He's a hard worker and he knows he is where he needs to be. We also live with Elder Bird from Washington, another visa waiter who came in at the same time as my last companion, and Elder Tilley from Fiji, who's been out for eighteen months. We have a pretty fun flat.

     We've been fed pretty well since I've been here. In our mission the rule is that members can feed us dinner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only, unless they have a non-member present. Then they can have us over any night of the week. So we usually get fed on the weekends and pretty much never during the week. We had a sister come by and drop off a bunch of regular food (cereal, milk, eggs, fruit, etc.) because when we got to the flat we didn't have anything to eat. In areas where there are a lot of polynesians (fob areas, fob meaning fresh of the boat) the members always buy you KFC and other takeaway and will drop it off at your flat all the time. I was in Bundamba for one night waiting for Elder Higham to get here and someone came and dropped us off heaps of KFC.

     That's sad to hear about Sister Rydalch. I think when President Monson spoke of his wife on Saturday was the first time I saw him get emotional while speaking. If it is such a hard thing to say goodbye, knowing that we will see our loved ones again, I can't imagine what it must be like to say goodbye without a knowledge of the Plan of Happiness.

     I am looking forward to working in this area. Once again, it feels like I am starting the area from the ground up, now more than ever. I know the Lord will bless us as we give our best efforts to be diligent and obedient. I love and miss you all! I look forward to getting your letters! I promise to write a real handwritten one soon! Thank you for your prayers and you loving support!

Love Elder Thieme

Feeling Better - no kidney stones!

G'day everybody!

Another transfer! Kind of a scary one. I was told I would be leaving somerset and Elder Christensen would stay. So today I found out I am going to re-open a closed area in Nerang. I will also be a new district leader AND training! Ahhh! I'm pretty nervous for all of that. Especially since leaving such a slow paced area and now I have so much to do. But I reckon President trusts me, or he wouldn't call me. More importantly, I also know that President Hendersen is inspired by the Lord and that the Lord trusts me with this new responsibility. But I can't help the apprehensiveness and the feelings of inadequacy. I'm freaking out, but I'm looking forward to the learning experience. 

I am going to miss Elder Christensen. He's been my favorite companion so far. He's also the one I've stayed with the longest (and that was only three months). He's the man, and he'll do well. His new companion is Elder Hensley, one of my former companions. 

We get to hear General Conference this weekend. I am stoked! I love General Conference. I just need to finish reading my custom Ensign: Conference Issue. I only have a couple talks left to read. 

So this week I got to have a couple ultrasounds and a visit to the doctors in Laidley. The GP told me that the scan of the urinary system showed it was all normal. So he ruled out kidney stones. Then he sent me back to the radiologists to get another scan of the rest of the abdomen. I will visit the doctor sometime this week. I don't know the official report of the latest scan, but the GP said it could be problems with the gallbladder, and we don't actually know for sure what's going on. Do you know what causes gall stones? The pain has been mostly quiet, except for a few severe spikes Wednesday morning around 4am, Thursday night around 11, and this morning around 5. I'll let you know the results of the next doctors visit. As for my diet, I make sure to eat a fruit or a veggie with every meal (or almost every meal), but I'm sure I'm taking in a bit more sugar, salt, and protein than is needed. Australians love their barbecues! We actually haven't had KFC hardly at all this last two transfers. Probably Macca's more often. When we do eat out I have gotten Subway most of the time. Elder Christensen and I were good at trying to help each other be healthy. 

Our investigator came to church this week! Thornly came and brought her three kids along as well. The kids were a bit noisy (mostly just the two year old) during sacrament meeting, and it's tough for her since she's on her own (she is divorced) but the ward did a great job of making her feel welcome and part of the family. Somerset is really an excellent ward. The members there are the best. She seems to really be enjoying the things she is learning and I think I told you last week, we set a baptismal date with her for November 2nd. 

Wow, is it nearly Christmas already! It's unbelievable how fast the time's gone, but I guess that's only because I am working hard and having fun. I don't think there's anything I really need. I could maybe use some more medium size garments. The smalls are getting just a bit snug. I love new ties as well. You can never have too many as a missionary. I think I would also love a bag of dill pickle spitz. And can you mail American chocolates? If you can, it would be awesome to have some Reese's peanut butter cups. Just send me a little package of surprises and I will be happy to have anything to open on Christmas. Another one of those family picture Calendars would be cool. 

Anyways I love you all and miss you! I will talk to you again on Monday. Take Luck!

Elder Thieme

Say Eight! Elder Thieme gets to try morphine...

G'day everybody!

Yup, there are really only two seasons here. Winter and summer: cold and HOT. It has been warming up lots all of a sudden. One day this week it got up to 37 or 38  degrees Celsius (98 to 100F). Every time we tract someone tells us to go get hats.

It has been a pretty fruitful week. We got a new investigator and another potential investigator came to church and a recent convert gave us a referral as well. We are excited for the progress the area is making. We also set a new baptismal date with a lady named Thornly. We tracted into her an she was " looking for a church." May as well join the true one! She seems pretty keen, but unfortunately she didn't come to church this week. She had family in town from far away. We set the date for November 2nd, and set it with her as a goal to work towards. In her accepting it it shows us that she is willing to commit as she gains her own testimony. And as long as she reads and prays sincerely about the Book of Mormon she will find out. So it was a pretty good week for us. We have finally got a few people to teach and we also plan to teach the members more, both to build our own teaching skills and to encourage referrals.

We really have a great ward here. But the youth seem to be struggling. Yesterday's combined priesthood and relief society was all about how parents and youth leaders can work together to help the youth conquer the storms of Satan that are raging harder than ever, especially on young people. As I sat there I realised how grateful I am for the great examples I had as a youth, both from my parents and youth leaders. I didn't always adhere to their counsel but their influences have made a lasting impression on me and have impacted my life significantly. They spoke about how it all starts in the home, how the church programs and the leaders are their to support the teaching that should be happening in the home, and can nowhere near replace that essential learning environment. I am so glad for Mum and Dad's constant examples of commandment and covenant keeping.

So I am emailing toady because we had a bit of an eventful P-day yesterday. I woke up feeling a bit of abdominal pain at around 5:45. It hurt just enough to wake me up early and make it hard to fall asleep again. I thought I could just poop and it would go away but it didn't. The pain was ignorable so we went and played a little basketball with a couple active and less-active members. I didn't hurt too bad after that. Then we went home and showered up. After I ate breakfast my abdominal pain increased a bit, to where it was no longer ignorable. We did our studies and went to the library to email. My pain continued to worsen throughout the morning. Then as I started emails I felt that I was going to throw up. I walked outside the library and threw up on the ground. There were no toilets nearby and I couldn't find a bin either. After vomiting my pain exploded, to where I could hardly stand or breath. I just crouched on the ground for about five minutes till I could get up and go get my companion, who had just started emailing his family. He drove me to the hospital just around the corner. It felt like an elephant with sharp toenails was standing on my lower right abdomen. They got me in and checked me, and eventually hooked me up to an IV and gave me morphine (which I hardly felt the effects of until the third dose). The whole time I was throwing up and dry reaching, which intensified my pain each time. The doctor came after a couple hours of waiting and checked some more things. They took a urine sample and found blood in my urine, indicating kidney stones, which explains the excruciating pain. So anyways, we didn't get much of a P-day since we were at the hospital for about six and a half hours. One of the nurses knew a guy who was LDS and we talked with him for a while about what we do as missionaries and in our church. He had a few questions. So I am on some pain meds at the moment and feeling alright. They even gave me a suppository pain medication. I will be getting an ultrasound on Thursday to find out more and then following up with a GP. Hopefully all goes well. I haven't passed any stones yet and I have no idea when to expect them or anything.

So I think yesterday was my first time in the hospital, or at least on my mission. Have I ever been to the hospital for anything else? Other than that the week was awesome. Here's a few new pictures.

First two are from today after zone meeting

Say eight!

Love, Elder Thieme

Donation for service helps another family

G'day everybody!  I've finally got to read some letters and see some pictures! I love to see all of your faces and see how everyone is growing up.  We had a meeting with the President this last Tuesday. He seems to really be pushing to make us more balanced, effective missionaries. A while ago he started out by training us on how important the morning schedule is, including the half hour of exersize as well as the studies. Then he trained us on studies, and the importance of a study journal. Now he is helping us to learn how to be more effective and use our time and resources well. He is very inspired and very energetic. One of the things I have changed is keeping a study journal. I kind of started one when I first came into the field, but eventually I slacked off.
I have made it a consistent habit now and it has really improved the way I study and learn. I know that as I continue to do it I will be taught more and more through the Holy Ghost. One thing that I have learned from my studies is that to "feast on the word of Christ" doesn't just mean we take in large quantities at a time. It means that we actually take it into ourselves and use it to our benefit. It is the same as likening the scriptures to ourselves. It includes doing as well as learning. As we take in the "the words of Christ" (from the scriptures and modern day prophets) we will be told all things we should do.  Anyways, we had a pretty good week. It felt like we were busy and working hard but it didn't really show in our numbers. We helped a lady move house this weekend. When we first met her we were tracting and we offered her service. She couldn't believe that we would help her out for free and kept asking us, "what's the catch? What's the catch?" Turned out she didn't have much help besides us. There were a couple guys with tiny as trailers (really tiny) and that was it. Because of the small load capacity it took us about all afternoon. She wanted to pay us, but we aren't supposed to accept donations from anyone, even members. But she forced us to take a $50 dollar bill (it's not as much money here because of how expensive everything is but it's still a good amount of money). So my companion and I were discussing what to do with it. I was
thinking, What can I buy for me? Later that night we visited a less active family who wanted to come to
church the next day. They are struggling financially and did not have money for petrol to get there. I was trying to think of how we could help. They couldn't get picked up. Then the Spirit said, "you've got fifty bucks sitting in the car." I had forgotten about it. I felt that was the reason this money came to us. Not for us of course, but so the Lord could bless someone else through us. I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways and  often through other people. I also know that if we will LISTEN, and always seek to do the right thing, we will be guided by the Holy Ghost. The family was so grateful. Their prayers were answered. I love my mission and I love the Lord. He has blessed me with many things, especially the greatest family in the world. I am doing my best to show my  appreciation for my many blessing by serving Him. All I can give him is all of myself.
I love you all and miss you! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!
Elder Thieme

More pictures! 15 Sept 2013

Here's a couple new pictures.

Jungle Ball: ghetto basketball hoops in a court of grass. Yep, grass. Sweet.

A lady in our ward gave us these hats to wear when we're tracting.

 This is our dinner last night. I don't think the picture does justice to how big it is. It's about a half pound meat patty with cheese in the middle. Of course with a fried egg and barbecue sauce (Aussie style!). They were amazing.

 

G'day everybody!

This week it went from winter to summer in a couple days. It has been in the low thirties lately, which was a bit of a shock since it's been cool for a while now. I think my body wasn't ready for the weather change and I caught a bit of a cold. Just a bit of a runny nose and congestion and mild fatigue. I am finally feeling over it. It's not fun being sick as a missionary because you want to just go go go all the time and not rest but when you're not feeling well they always tell you the best thing for it is rest. But I'm better now and ready to get a good start to the week.

We are already halfway through the transfer. Unbelievable.

This week was a bit slow towards the beginning of the week (when I wasn't feeling well) but we had some good things happen. We found some pretty solid potential investigators, which we haven't got much of lately. At one door we met a single mother with two kids. We offered to help out and she asked a lot of questions about what we do as missionaries and what we sacrifice to be there. She was impressed how committed and dedicated we were to our cause. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and she accepted a copy. We helped her move a large sofa from one room in her house to another and she was very grateful for our help. She even referred us to a friend of hers. Once again, service opens doors.

General Conference next month! Can't wait!

Haha yesterday when we were tracting we knocked on a door a couple times and no one answered so we left. I decided to moon walk away from the doorstep. Just then I see a man peek at us through the blinds. You're welcome. It was pretty funny.

I hope you all know how much I love you and love and appreciate your letters! have a great week!

Elder Thieme

Pictures from Australia!

 This is Elder Edwards and I outside the temple. He's from Melbourne. He's the man.

I'm on a boat!

G'day everyone!

It's been another week in good ol' Somerset! We've been pretty busy and things are going well. We met some pretty interesting people this week. Mostly nice people.

I almost hit my first kangaroo last night. He hopped right into my blind spot and we barely missed him. I'm pretty sure we clipped his tail with our rear bumper. It was pitch black outside and he came out of nowhere.

Thought I would send some pictures since I haven't done so in ages now. A couple weeks ago my little adapter wasn't working and then last week I forgot it. But it's working this week so here ya go!

4 September 2013

G'day everyone!

It's been a bit of a crazy week. We had our first district meeting this week. Up 'till this point we had only had zone meetings. President has changed that this transfer. And our zone leaders showed up to the meeting with an ipad! We didn't get one though.

Temple P-day was today, so we woke up at four in the morning again to catch the train. We got permission to go have lunch in the city so we got to walk around Brisbane for a bit of the afternoon. I love going to the temple, but the long train ride isn't my favourite.

I can't believe the kids are back in school already. What year is everyone? I'm pretty sure Jackson's a sophomore, Evan's in year 8? Bryson is in year 2? Or 3? Kenzie is a first grader right?I can't even remember! I feel like I have no sense of how much time has passed by.

I even forgot to say Happy Birthday Evan! Happy Birthday Evan!

I'm sorry if I forget things but I feel like I am kind of in a different world. Life back at home is supposed to just pause and wait for me to get back isn't it? It is so wierd to think about how everyone is growing up.

 I had a thought the other day that kind of freaked me out. I realized that in two months I will be turning twenty. I always couldn't wait to be in my twenties when I was growing up. It's like, "oh, I can't wait to get there, I'm going to be so cool." But it's always so far away. I felt so old when I realized that! I know that a lot of big life decisions are coming down the track, and I am glad for the things that I have learned on my mission. I know that my mission has made my outlook on my future so different than what it used to be. It has also helped me to realize the things of most importance. I know who I am and I know who I want to become, so I'm not worried about the future (not that I have spent much time thinking about it). Though, people keep asking me what I'm going to study when I go  home and I still have no idea.

I had my first experience with a swooping magpie the other day. We were doing some service for a part member family and out of nowhere I feel something smack me on the back of the head. It felt like someone just cuffed me from behind with their hand. It was pretty hard. So I get hit and look to see what hit me and here's this bird flying over my head. It lands in a tree a couple meters away and just stares at me. I had a shovel in my hand so I dared him to try it again, but he never did. My companion saw the whole thing and just laughed.

I feel like it's been a while since I emailed last, but I can't even remember what all happened this week. I don't know where the days go.

We spent a day out in Fernvale, which is a good 45 minute drive from our flat, almost an hour. We did some tracting and I swear, nobody was wearing a shirt. All these old Aussie blokes walking around in short shorts and hairy beer bellies.

After tracting we had dinner at our ward mission leader' house (well, his parent' house. He's a returned missionary still searching for his eternal companion and studying.). We had roast lamb. Dessert was pavlova and sticky date pudding. I don't know why they call it pudding. It's actually a very sweet, moist cake with caramel sauce on top. It was mean though. 
We "inherited" an investigator from the zone leaders this week. She has family who are members. She was being taught by the Brassall missionaries (our zone leaders) even though she was in our area. She has a baptismal date for September 29th, but it sounds like that might need to be pushed back, since she works Sundays and hasn't been able to attend church yet. It sounds like she's pretty solid, so we are excited to begin teaching her. We will meet her for the first time tonight.

We are still working with the young Sudanese kid. We played a game of basketball with him and a reactivating member who is friends with him at school and then taught a lesson. He seems to be liking the Book of Mormon. He didn't come to church this week due to a big football game up in Toowoomba (his reactivating friend didn't come either). We were kind of bummed about that. But it was a great Sunday. We had several of the less active members we've been working with show up. It's great to see the fruits of your labors. I think it's important for the member to see as well, because we have been trying so hard but just haven't had a lot of success.

But things are going well and I am loving the missionary life. I love you and miss you all, and I love hearing about what's going on. Keep me posted on cross country and school and everything! Go Broncos!

Love Elder Thieme

26 August 2013

G'day everybody!
Another transfer has gone by and another is just starting. Elder
Christensen and I will be staying together here in Somerset ward for
another transfer. This is the only time so far on my mission when I
didn't attend the transfer meeting. This will also be the longest I
have stayed in one area, and the longest I have had one companion.
Before now, I had a different companion every transfer and hadn't been
in an area for more than three months. I was a little bummed that I
didn't get to go to transfers because our district leader, Elder
Forester, who attended Middleton High School, is going home. But I am
glad to be staying with Elder Christensen. We've been having a great
time together and the area seems to be showing a little promise, after
a bit of a dry spell.
Evan lost his Smith's? Where did we get those? Those aren't the ones
we found in Payette Lake are they? That would be funny. My Ray Bans
have been starting to kind of fall apart. The left temple is pretty
loose where the plastic connects to the hinge. They are still
wearable, and I kind of fixed them with super glue, but I'm not sure
how long they'll last me. I think my head got fatter too, because they
feel tighter on my head than usual. It must be all the knowledge I'm
gaining.
I've made a goal for myself to stop eating Macca's and getting subway
instead when we have to eat out. I never really liked Macca's at home,
but I guess when you're on a short budget cheap fast food tastes
better.
We had a pretty good week. Not the best, but a good one. We had to mow
our lawn and deep clean our house since it was the end of the
transfer. Our lawn is massive, so it took ages to finish with the
little push mower we borrowed. I don't know why we have such a big
yard.
We found some good people. We also taught this young man from Sedan on
Saturday. We decided to bring a reactiveating priest age young man
along with us to the lesson. Turns out they knew each other from
school. They came to church together and it seemed to go pretty well.
We taught another lady yesterday on her doorstep. We tracted into her
a few weeks ago and she was just leaving her house, so she told us we
could come back another day. My impression was that she was just being
friendly, like a lot of people will do. But we decided to follow up
with her and she was asking all the right questions. It just led right
to the Restoration. She gratefully accepted a Book of Mormon and said
she would like to come to our church the next time she gets a Sunday
off work. It was such a great feeling afterwards, because I know that
both my companion and I were given the things she needed to hear. I
hope that she will progress down the track.
We met another lady who only listened to us after we had established
we weren't the Jehovah's witnesses. We taught her about the Book of
Mormon and gave her a copy with a commitment to read a part of it. We
have been flooding the earth with the Book of Mormon lately. I love to
teach and testify of its truth and divine origin.
Benny has still been dodging us, so we'll put him on the backburner
for a while. Thanks for your prayers. We will just take a step back
and let the Lord work on him for a while.
We got our bikes back but we haven't ridden them much yet. When our
bike rack was installed it wasn't attached tightly enough. It's one
where the attachment goes under the trailer hitch, So you just screw
the ball back on top of it. Then the A-frame that holds the bikes can
be removed easily. So we put the bikes on the rack and when we got
halfway out of town we realised it was swinging around behind us.
We'll just have to borrow a big wrench from a member to get it snug
and then we'll be good to go. I look forward to using the bikes more
when we get that fixed. I feel like then I'll be more like a real
missionary, instead of a spoiled one that sits in a car all day.
The weather has been real nice the last few days. Not too cold in the
mornings. It gets a bit hot sometimes during the day, but there's been
a nice breeze that keeps it from feeling too warm.
I discovered a new favorite food. I had seen one of my companions,
Elder Paia'aua, put mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and a fried egg on
sausage (just one that tastes like a beef hot dog) and bread. Here
they don't buy hot dog buns, they just fold bread around their
sausages. And they never use American mustard. It's always either
tomato sauce or barbecue sauce. So I decided to try this combination
and I ended up loving it. I don't think my arteries love it much
though. It's also good with bacon or a hamburger patty instead of . I
think the fried egg makes it.
My little black and white nixon died the other day. I kept thinking
time was starting to go really slow and the day would never end. Then
I realised time had carried on but my watch had stopped at three
twenty. I will see if I can get the battery replaced today, depending
on how much it costs.
I am still waiting to get my mail. It has been at least a month since
our zone leaders last got it to us. They should give it to us this
Thursday. Hopefully.
I feel bad for not writing many hand-written letters, so I will try to
write a few today.
Thank you for your prayers and everything you have done for me. You
are the best family in the world. I love and miss you all! Thank you
for your prayers for me, and I pray that you will be safe and blessed
in all things. Have a great week everyobody!
Love, Elder Thieme

21 August 2013

G'day everyone!
I can't believe it! Another transfer come and gone! We'll be finding
out what happens this Sunday night. Most likely my companion and I
will both stay at least another transfer. But I guess you never know
what's going to happen for sure. Elder Christensen has learned the
area real fast, and I feel he could take it over if needed.
 
I can't believe that the kids will be going back to school soon. It
seems like their summer break just started! Man, B! You can have
everyone at school sign your cast! I remember when I was in school my
friends would do that when they had a broken arm or wrist or
something. I always wanted to do it too but I never managed to injure
myself well enough to merit a cast.
 
We are just coming into "spring" here. They don't really have much of
a spring here. It's more like two seasons; summer and then winter. I
think winter is supposed to be ending soon and it is going to start
warming up. I'm not too excited for the hot weather.
 
We rode the bikes for the first time since I've been in this area on
Monday. We were just going down the road so we thought we'd bust out
the push bikes. They were useless! I wonder when the last time was
that the missionaries had used them. My rear wheel was bent and  it
rubbed on the frame, acting as a constant braking system. My
companion's pedal fell off halfway to our appointment. We called the
vehicle coordinator (who also looks after the bikes) and he picked
them up yesterday to get them serviced (and possibly replaced).
 
We went to the temple this morning. We woke up at four am to catch the
train in Rosewood, a half hour's drive from our flat, in order to make
the eight 'o clock session. It's always a good day when I
get to go to the temple. Even if I have to wake up at four in the
morning.
 
Last week was a bit of a rough one. Benny was sick all of last week
and he's been dodging us this week. He is hard to teach too. It is
difficult to get understanding across the language barrier. If he does
get baptized it will probably be a ways down the road. Since he was
our only investigator, we didn't get to do much teaching last week.
We've been trying to turn some of the potential investigators we've
found into new investigators, without success so far.
 
We had a little miracle last week. We were tracting and knocked into a
young Sudanese guy. He told us he already had a Book of Mormon and he
was learning from missionaries in New South Wales and was even going
to church there. He is keen to keep learning, so we'll start teaching
him this weekend. It was just a witness that there are people out
there ready to listen, and the Lord will either lead us to them or He
will lead them to us.
 
We also had a young man come to church  who hadn't attended in the six
months simce he moved into the area with his mum. He is a cool kid,
but pretty quiet and a bit shy. I think that's partly what has kept
him from coming. That plus he'd been playing rugby on Sundays. But now
that rugby season ended we committed him to come to church. The ward
did such a great job of welcoming him with open arms. He didn't have a
white shirt or ties, so one member gave him a shirt and we were able
to give him a few ties that missionaries had left behind in our flat.
The young men's president did such a good job of making him feel
welcome and wanted and involved. The Priest's quorum doubled in size
this last week (it went from 1 to 2) with him there.
 
So overall it was a rough week, but it ended well. And this week is
already half gone! Today went by pretty quick. Temple P-day usually
does. It was pretty much wake up, drive, train, train, walk, temple
session, walk, train, train, more train, more driving, Macca's for a
late lunch, then emails. We'll do our shopping afterwards and then go
home to get ready for splits tonight with the members.
 
I haven't gotten any new mail yet and our zone leaders told us we
would get it after transfers. I am looking forward to getting some
letters and pictures from you!
 

Good luck with inviting the neighbors! I will pray that it goes well. I know that when we're doing
what's right the Holy Ghost will guide us to say what needs to be
said, as long as we open our mouths! I also know that missionary work
is most effective when the members find and the missionaries teach
with the member's help. As members and missionaries our goal is
exactly the same.
 
I am so grateful for the things that I have learned on my mission. I
am excited for all the things that I have yet to learn (and I know
it's a lot!). I am so grateful to have you all in my family. You are
the best brothers, sisters, and parents (and friends) I've ever had!
You mean the world to me!
 
Have a great week! I love you all! Love,
 
Elder Thieme

28 July 2013

G'day everyone!
Ah, I am pretty jealous to hear that you are up at the cabin. I love
being up in McCall. Don't let Bryson troll, because he'll probably be
the one to catch a fish and it will most likely be the biggest too. I
miss those costco hot dogs! They were the best! Haha, my companion and
I have been quoting Nacho Libre a lot.
Ya, they have donuts, but they're not half as good as American donuts.
They are less fried and more cakey. They're good, they just need more
fat and sugar. That's Australian food for you though. They do have
Krispee Kremes but I have yet to buy some. Yesterday we were talking
to some guy and he told us about a place we could go to get kangaroo,
crocodile, and emu, so we're going to have to check it out. Aussies
sure love their jello here (only here it isn't jello it's jelly, so if
you ask for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you'll get a strange
look). They like to eat it with ice cream and custard.
 
Oh ya, I forgot to inform you last week that the two charges of about
50 bucks that came out of my account a couple weeks ago were for dry
cleaning. My suits and pants were starting to look pretty shocking.
They hadn't been dry cleaned since the MTC. In Laidley you have to
drop them off and they transport them up to Toowoomba to get cleaned
then they ship them back. I dropped off a suit and a couple pairs of
pants each time. I asked them how much just the shipping and handling
was and it was only six dollars. I am blown away by how much it costs
to do dry cleaning. I think it might be even more in this little town
because this place kind of has a monopoly on the town's dry cleaning
demands.
 
This last Wednesday we had a new missionary training meeting for
trainers and their trainees. We got to listen to President speak to us
as a whole then we split trainers and trainees and he spoke to us
separately. He has given us a great responsibility in training these
missionaries.
 
I feel that I have learned a lot this week. Yes I am the trainer, but
I am the one learning the most. And I think that is the way it is
supposed to be. President told us that he learned more from being a
father than his children learned from him. I definitely feel that way
with my companion. We are having a great time together. I've never
felt so busy. This is a hard area, and it would be a hard area to
start out in. I know that Elder Christensen is up to it though, or
else he wouldn't be sent here.
 
We set a date with Benny, our Iranian friend, for the last Saturday of
August. He is eager and excited to do it. When we first met him we
found out that he smokes. We knew that it would be a concern that we
would have to help him overcome evetually. I was not looking forward
to it. I have not needed to help someone quit smoking yet so I was a
bit apprehensive. Then, when Benny came to church for the first time,
he told us that he had decided to quit smoking! We hadn't hardly
taught him anything yet, let alone brought up the Word of Wisdom. And
he just decided on his own to stop. It was a bit of a miracle. The
Lord is helping us out with this one.
 
We're working on building up our teaching pool so we've been doing
plenty of tracting the last couple weeks. Met some interesting people.
One guy told us that we were wrong and that everything was created by
aliens. His authoritative sources of evidence were the internet and
youtube. Apparently the aliens are in league with the American
government in planning to take over the world. This shocking fact was
also learned on the internet and therefore must be true.
 
In Alma 26:9 ( I think? I'm terrible at remembering references), the
one where Alma glories in the Lord and wishes to preach the Gospel
with angelic zeal, he says something that I feel sums up my reasons
for doing what I am doing. He says: "Seeing that I know these things,
why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been
called?" I know, just as Alma did. There is nothing more true on the
planet than this Gospel. My knowledge and testimony grows everyday.
Especially as I study the Book of Mormon. It is the best book in the
world. It has brought me closer to my Saviour and closer to my Father
in Heaven.
 
I love you and miss you all very much! Our zone leaders haven't given
us mail for a while so I look forward to getting your letters. I hope
you have a great rest of your stay up in McCall!

Elder Thieme 

G'day fam!
This last week has really been a whirlwind. It went by faster than any
week of my life. The whole transfer was like that actually. My
companion is excited to be going home, but sad to leave missionary
life. So the end of this last week was a lot of photos and goodbyes. I
am going to miss Elder Ormond, I think maybe more than any of my other
companions. I feel that I really learned a lot from him. That's the
way it should be. We are put with every companion for a reason. To
learn something from them that the Lord wants us to learn. President
Hendersen talked to us about that today at transfer meeting. He let us
know that we are to learn something from every companion.
President is the man! We got to listen to him speak last Thursday at a
zone conference and then today at transfers. When he talks he uses his
hands a lot and when he testifies you can tell the passion he has for
the Gospel. You can really feel his testimony when he shares it. He is
a powerful teacher. I already know that I love him and that he was
meant to be my mission president. Even if he is my third one! When he
was speaking to us today at transfers, I glanced around at all the
missionaries' faces and I could tell that everyone else was feeling
the same way as I was: I know he is called of God at this particular
time and place because he is exactly who the Lord needs here in the
Australia Brisbane Mission. He is really fun, humble and energetic.

 I am excited for the future of the mission. It seems that things will change a lot, from
the way our meetings run to the way we proselyte (every companionship
will have an ipad and an iphone between them!).
We got transfer calls this last Sunday night. I pretty much knew that
I would be staying in Somerset, but I was apprehensive about who my
new companion would be. I found out that I will be training. I don't
know if he will be brand knew or if he will be one of the many
"visa-waiters" finally coming through. I probably won't find out until
tomorrow night. I am pretty nervous to be training though! I
definitely feel inadequate, but I know that if president believes I am
ready than so does the Lord. So I look forward to doing the best I can
with whoever he is. I am staying with another missionary who is
waiting for his trainee (or his "golden" as president calls them) in
Redbank Plains. We are both just waiting for the call from the
assistants and in the meantime we'll work here.
I am nearly out of time and I am out of coins. I will email you next
week! I love you all and pray that you will be able to sell the house
and everything. Mom and dad, I know that you are good parents and that
you will make the right choice. I know that because you go to the Lord
with everything. I hope to be able to follow that example as I accept
the responsibility of being a trainer.
I am real excited to see how it goes! Pray for me!
I hope you have a great week! God bless you!

Elder Thieme 

9 July 2013

G'day everyone!
My email is a little late this week. I forgot to let you know this
week would be different due to our temple trip. We got up at four in
the morning to catch a train to Brisbane this morning. I love going to
the city. I love going to the temple even more. It felt like it had
been ages since I went last. I got a different view of the city this
transfer since we didn't drive. We got off the train and walked on a
nice boardwalk along the river. It was raining and pretty cool this
morning.
My companion is laughing next to me because he emailed his family,
"see you in a week." Its hard to think that this way of life we go on
in for two years has to end. I still feel like I'm just starting and
I've got ages to go, but I know that it will go fast. The first time
in my life when I actually want time to pass by slower and it passes
by quicker than ever.
We had a pretty good week. We have a new investigator who's name is
Jeffrey. He is an older man who lives alone. He lives very humbly. He
lives on a pension. He doesn't really go to church but he has strong
Christian faith. We tracted into him and taught him the restoration
and shared the first vision. He told us that he believes it. We shared
the Book of Mormon and invited him to pray about it and he told us a
week later that God is telling him it is true. This is what we do.
Missionary work isn't always miraculous, but it's always the truth.
I love you all and I wish I could email more but I am out of time!
Keep me in your prayers! Next week you'll hear about transfers. I'll
probably email Tuesday.
Love you!
Elder Thieme
 

6/30/13

G'day mate!

We've had a pretty good week. It's funny though, my companion is going home at the end of this transfer, and I think he's been getting a bit trunky. He's a great missionary, but some days it's hard to keep him motivated and focused on the work and all. So the first half of the week was a bit slow, but this weekend was awesome.

The work is going pretty well. We have a nice church building here. It's an old building that has been added on to pretty recently. Our ward is pretty small. I think yesterday we probably had about 70 or 80 people there for the meeting.

We watched the Worldwide training last night in Toowoomba. It was mean! It was like a mini general conference. I felt like I got so much out of it. It was definitely a boost to my spirit as a missionary. I know that the brethren are men of God. I know the things they reveal are God's word and will. I am excited to see the blessings that will come from following the counsel of our prophets, seers, and revelators.

Watching the training made me see all of the things I could have done as a member missionary in my life prior to my mission. I can't go back and change what I didn't do in the past, but I will surely change what I will do in the future! I don't think I understood or even partially realized the significance of a member's involvement in an investigator's conversion until I came out on my mission. All of us members are to be lower lights for those who are tempest tossed on the waves of Satan and the world. 

I have been able to stay warm OK. My companion and I moved our beds to a smaller room in the house and we leave our little foot heater on all night. We've been nice and warm. I will appreciate those warm socks though. The mornings are the coldest. I can see my breath in the house. 

I ate something kind of wierd the other day. It was an indonesian style pancake thing. It was like two large crumpets (sort of like a thick pancake) with chocolate, peanuts and cheese inthe middle. Yes, shredded cheddar cheese. It was surprisingly good, despite how wierded out I was. I also cooked some chicken stuff at our flat the other night. I pretty muched just used whatever I could find and put it on the chicken then pan fried it and ate it with noodles. I'm pretty sure it was soy sauce, chinese all spice, turmeric, chili powder, garlic powder, and brown sugar. I was pretty proud of how it turned out. 

I think I'm almost out of time so I hope you are doing well and I hope the Lord will bless you in all the things you are doing. I Love you and appreciate all you do and have done for me. I am proud to be your son. I hope to talk all about our missions when I get home! I pray for you and the family every night. Give the family my love. God bless you!

Love Elder Thieme

23 June 2013

G'day everyone! Great to hear from you! Thought I would send some pics now that our library actually has computers now. The first one is from last transfer. We saw this mailbox tracting. The next one is taken from up on a hill in Toowoomba. I was on trade offs with the district leader, Elder Forester from Idaho. And sometimes you get hungry when you're tracting.

I've had a really good week. Things in the area are going well. We had to push our baptismal date back but we set another one with a young girl who is friends with a member of the ward. The member friend's name is Megan and she is like super member missionary. She is always sharing the Gospel with her friends and inviting them to church. She is an example of how we all should be.

We had three of our investigators come to church thi Sunday! It's so great to see them come and after you try so hard to get them there. The first couple weeks here we were having trouble getting our investigators to church, but things are looking up. The Lord is blessing us for continuing to be dilligent and working hard. Working hard is sometimes (a lot of the time) an act of faith. Especially in this area.

Well, we only get half an hour on the computer now here at the library and I am out of time. Hope everything is going well! I love you all so much and miss you! have a great week! I am healthy and happy and I love the work. God bless you!

Love Elder Hayden Thieme

Smashing it in Somerset 6/16/13

Another week has flown by here in the Somerset area of the ABM! We had
a pretty good week. My companion Elder Ormond and I are smashing it
and having heaps of fun. It feels like last P-day was yesterday! We
haven't got mail for a while so I'm looking forward to our special
training meeting with president. We'll get mail then on Wednesday. It's
cool how diverse this area is. There are heaps of people from the
Middle East and Africa and we run into a lot of back packers (people
who travel from place to place working here and there). We met some
back packers from France, some from England, and one guy from Spain.
There are also Asians everywhere. We tracted this one street yesterday
in Gatton, QLD and it seemed like the whole one side was Japanese
people. Some didn't even understand English. I was tempted to say
something I learned from a Japanese Elder in my last zone. I don't
know how you spell it but I can say "I want to fight" in Japanese. I
decided against using it as a tracting approach.
Last p day we were at a mall in Toowoomba ("just past One-woomba" -
President Langeland) and I went to the Target and bought a thick hoody
and some long johns. Last night, I slept with a beanie on as well, and
I was still waking up freezing in the middle of the night! I thought
Australia was supposed to be warm! We have a little space heater, but
it's kind of old and it struggles to heat our ice-box-like flat. We
leave it running all night and it makes a bit of a difference.
My companion and I have been doing some running this week. It's good
to finally have a companion who'll run with me. He's been cutting his
weight and he only eats protein shakes with fruit and stuff (except
for when members feed us). I really like Elder Ormond, we've been
doing well together. I think I've learned to open up a bit more and
just be myself. I think I've learned a bit of humility from my past
companions.
We were tracting in Laidley, the town we live in, and we knocked on
this guy's door and he told us we had five seconds to get off his
property or he would shoot us. I was thinking, "what do you think this
is, Texas?" but I didn't say it. This was a first for me and Elder
Ormond, who's been out 23 months. We figured if Satan's trying that
hard to discourage us it must mean we're doing something right!
We have a baptismal date for June! There is a part member family in
our ward who haven't been 100% active. They are a young couple with
five girls and one boy. The oldest is ten and she has not yet been
baptized, so the keys are now in the hands of the mission President
rather than the Bishop. The Bishop told us that we needed to be up
front and commit them ("pull the trigger"). So we went over Saturday
night, not entirely sure what we were going to say or how we would
approach the situation. As we met with the parents, the father brought
it up out of the blue and said they wanted to set a date and get
going. They decided on June thirtieth. The daughter has been taught
most of the lessons before so we will be doing review and also
focusing on preparing her father to baptize her. So we're pretty
excited for them.
I just finished reading the Book of Mormon and the New Testament
recently. I have developed such a love for the scriptures, more than
ever before. I just can't get enough! I think I've learned better what
it means to "feast" upon the word. I wish that I had gotten that ages
ago.
I love the Book of Mormon. I've had instances on my mission when
people try to bash us or argue with us about how we're wrong. And some
of the things people have said has caused me to think a little. What
if? What if they're right? But the thing I always fall back on as I
ponder is that I KNOW that the Book of Mormon IS the word of God. The
Spirit always brings this thought to my mind and everything else melts
away. There is no doubt in my mind that it is true. Because os this
knowledge, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, called to
translate the ancient record and restore the Church of Jesus Christ.
Nothing can make me doubt that this Church is God's kingdom on the
Earth, led by true Apostles and a living Prophet of God. Most
importantly, through the Book of Mormon I have come to know my Savior.
I know He lives. I know what he did for me. I know it is Him I serve.
I hope everyone is doing well and has a good week! I love you all! God
be with you!
Love, Elder Hayden Thieme