G'day everybody!
Elder Thieme
I've had a good
Easter. We didn't dye eggs or anything like that either, but it was
still good. I learned a new Easter tradition though. Apparently after
you colour your eggs you are supposed to roll them down a hill. I don't
remember what the meaning behind it was. We had some great seafood
dinners with members in the ward, and the members have been giving us
heaps of chocolates! I love seafood. I haven't had much of it on my
mission, (other than fish and chips) so whenever someone makes it for us
it is a real treat. Easter seemed to just sort of fly by like any other
day, but that's how most holidays feel as a missionary. They moved our
P-day to today (Tuesday) so that we could proselyte on the public
holiday. That was nice. Nobody was very keen to see us during their
holiday. Even the members. So we were pretty much just door knocking all
day.
The weather has really been cooling down, especially in the
mornings. It gets warm during the day, though there is a nice cool
breeze, then at night it gets cool. I went on a run this morning and put
on my sweatshirt and I was wishing I had my under-armor running tights.
I am loving the cold. I much prefer it to the heat.
We are coming on to week five of the transfer. Hard to believe this
one is almost done. I hope Elder Motuliki stays here for another.
We
were knocking doors and we met an elderly couple from California. They
have been in Australia for ages now. They came over in like the 1940's
or something. Guess where the wife was born? Berkeley, CA. While her
father was attending UC Berkeley. Small world aye? They also have a son
in California who is a member. He married a member and she brought him
into the church. They were very nice to us and gave us water and a
brownie and offered us a cup of tea.
On Sunday night we had dinner with the Danielsen-Jensen family.
Brother DJ is from Denmark. his family moved emigrated to Australia when
he was fourteen. They are an awesome family, and they are so fun! They
have four girls and two boys in the family. The youngest is a boy, and
he is the craziest three year old I have ever seen. He gets it from his
older brother, who is 16, who caught a couple wild hares (baby ones)
while he was mowing the lawn and now keeps them locked up in his room,
which is illegal in Australia, where you have to have a permit for just
about everything.
We set a baptismal date with one of our investigators. His name is
Adam, and he has an eight year old daughter named Lily. They both came
to a bit of General Conference and they brought along a friend when they
came to church this Sunday. He is one of the nicest guy's you'll meet.
He is very humble and mild-mannered. They have a really cute puppy that
always pees on the floor when we are there, and whenever you pet it, it
just wants to chew on your hand with its needle-sharp teeth.We set a
goal for the tenth of May and are preparing him to get baptized then. He
is already Christian, but has just started to find his faith again,
after giving up drugs and cigarettes and alcohol. Helping him to
understand the Atonement and the priesthood has been amazing. We gave
him a priesthood blessing last time we visited and it was so powerful.
You could tell that he felt the Spirit. He was just glowing, where
usually he looks pretty dim. We are excited for him and hope he stays
strong as he starts to understand the restored Gospel, and comes closer
to his Saviour.
Happy, Happy Birthday Bryson and Kenzie! (Did you know that here
they do the hip, hip, hooray thing after they sing happy birthday?) I
can't believe how old you are! Bryson, you are a decade! And I am
excited to see a picture of Kenzie's beautiful white baptism dress.
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!
