So Elder Simanungkalit and I got stranded out in the middle of nowhere this week :) We decided to take the bus out to Oakdale, which is a small town 45 minutes away. We figured we could knock some doors out there and visit some of the members/less actives. But as soon as we get off the bus, it starts pouring buckets of rain. It was literally more water than getting sprayed by several hoses. And then it started hailing. We ran to the nearest house and stood on their porch. It was a little awkward when they came out to look at the rain, but it actually worked out because it was the only conversation we had that day (Australia is pretty tough). None of the members were home, so we knocked doors for a bit and then headed back to the bus stop. Long story short, the bus (comes every 2 hours) disappeared. We called the transportation office and they couldn't find out what happened to it. But the entire 4 hours, we had the impression that the bus could be coming any second, which made it even worse. My favourite part of the day, though, was as we were knocking doors (100 metres between houses), this dog started following us. We named him Elder Victoris (long story). Walking in the rain with a dog we had just met just made me super happy for some reason.
While we were in Oakdale, I also saw a few kangaroos! Sorry, no pictures yet, but don't expect too much. They look pretty similar to deer (colour, head shape), except they only have 2 legs.
Every Saturday morning, we play footy (rugby kind of) with all the elders in our zone. It's super fun, and it's nice to play in the morning when it's not as hot.
You'll be happy to hear that despite all the feasting that happens here, I have managed to not gain any weight. I'm still going strong two months into the mission, Dad! :)
As for the spiritual side of the work, the successes we see are much smaller than in other places. This area is especially tough. We have been working with a few less-active families who sincerely want to come back to church. That's pretty cool. It was also super awesome to see pictures of Miguel's baptism from Los Angeles! I'm so proud of him!
For Christmas, I'm probably going to Skype home on Christmas day (my time). We still haven't set a time yet, so just email me with what time works best. If I can call 3-5pm (my time), then I'll probably get a member dinner out of it as well, so just keep that in mind ;)
That's about all for now!
Elder Nelson
Picture 1: Most of our zone after playing footy
Picture 2: Our Christmas tree
Picture 3: Me and Elder Victoris
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