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