Life is good here in Australia! We got transfer details and it sounds like I'm headed to Dapto! I'm super excited because I've always wanted to serve in the south coast and Dapto is definitely the bush area! Plus we'll cover a lot of beaches (probably off-limits during the summer, but still cool).
I was excited to hear that you got tickets for everyone to go to conference in a couple weeks! When I tell people I'm from Idaho, they all ask how many times I've been to General Conference. I didn't even think about it before the mission, but I have to tell them that I've never been to a session.
It's also exciting because both the Crofts and the Perrets are flying over, so hopefully you'll be able to meet them! I gave them Mom's number, so they'll probably call to set something up! Bishop Croft and his wife are just coming for the weekend, but the Perrets said that they are headed up to Yellowstone for the week after. I told them they could stop by Big Jud's for a real American hamburger. Sister Perret was really excited when I mentioned that Pace might be able to hook them up with free horse rides. (hopefully you can pull through hahaha)
I'll try and answer some questions from this week:
What is the mix of your ward (young, old, convert, Pacific Islander, active, less active, etc.)?
Camden is a pretty young ward. There's about 70 kids who come to Primary on a regular basis. Getting there parents to be as involved is a little harder hahaha. There's a lot of Maori and Samoan families in the ward, with a few Tongans in the mix. Compared to the wards around us though, we're pretty white.
What are your duties with Missionary Leadership on a Daily, Weekly, Monthly basis?
Right now I'm in a district with 12 missionaries. Mostly my responsibilities include ministering to them (fixing problems/random checkup visits to boost morale), but I also do bi-weekly call-ins, district training meetings every Friday, and regular meetings with the ZL's. I've also started calling 1 companionship per night to pray with them over their investigators. It helps keep me involved in the work.
What is the best book you’ve read to prepare you doctrinally as a teacher (outside of preach my gospel)?
I don't know if there's just one book that I could point to (other than Jesus the Christ), but most of my new-found doctrinal knowledge has come from ensign articles from the 70s and 80s. Those are an undiscovered goldmine. Also, there are some pretty deep chapters in the Book of Mormon, and D. Todd Christofferson is one of my favourite speakers. When learning and teaching doctrine, I've found that I just need time to think and ponder about things. In a really defining conversation Elder Smith and I had, we reached the conclusion that most kids these days don't have any time to be alone with themselves. Some of the most pivotal introspective times in my life have come while mowing lawns or when somebody forgot to pick me up at the school for 3 hours and I just had long uninterrupted hours to ponder. (it also helps information to stick)
Elder Nelson
1. I developed a superior design for a card house. I'll have to patent it soon
2. The Book of Mormon is the "keystone" hahaha
3. Bishop Croft (so you can recognise him)
4. Yes, dad, Scishow was correct about the magpies
5. The Perrets
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