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