Turoo Tassie (Sept 22)

G'day all,

Turns out that both Elder Hosman and I are getting *dun dun dun* TRANSFERRED!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, two sisters are coming into our place so I reckon they'll bring heaps of blessings.
We spent the last couple of days saying our goodbyes to members of the ward. It was really hard as we've become really close with many, many members here.

Sunday was the hardest day for me in all honesty, but before that I'll begin with some interesting news from the week...
Last P-day we were at the Wheelers for some goat chasing adventures. There was a goat named George who, well, was in need of a long holiday in the paddock up above! We were summoned by Brother Wheeler, and by we I mean my companion and me, as well as the Elders from Burnie who came down to hang with us, and it was hilarious! We chased that dang goat around for at least an hour. Elder Hurt, a golden (new) missionary, was wearing vans. He's a bigger missionary from California and he was trying to run to grab the goat and slipped about 5 times on his butt. It was crack up!!

After we finally caught the goat, we played some basketball with Rowin and Jayme, the sons of Brother Wheeler. They are awesome, awesome guys! Rowin is a STUD basketball player and he's only 12! Jayme is just the man and is lost when it comes to playing sports but gives it his all. He's quick as though, so he was our secret weapon in times of trouble when playing some touch rugby. Anyway... to the news: turns out when we were playing Elder Hosman came down on his pinky toe and popped it out of socket. He said it felt like it disappeared but he kept playing. He is a tough as guy... I don't know how I would have responded to a feeling like that in my toe. We played touch for another 2 hours and then the next morning his foot had swelled up like a plum! There was a massive circular bruise around his pinky toe as well as under his foot. He got X-rays from a podiatrist in our ward named Brother Roger.. who is the man by the way, and got a "Moon boot" for Elder Hosman...

And to make matters even more fun... we were without our vehicle because it was in the shop getting repairs. We still worked heaps but it was hilarious watching people as Elder Hosman hobbled down the street in a giant black boot to protect his foot.
That was fun....

Anyway, we had a slow week because of that but then we got a call Saturday morning saying that the flat we had spent HEAPS OF TIME LAST TRANSFER setting up in East Ward Area needed to have two beds and a desk taken to another area in Tasmania.

We knew from this news that two things were happening. 1) SISTERS WERE COMING INTO DELORAINE!!! 2) Only 1 set of missionaries would be over two wards.


We talked about it heaps on the drive down. By the way... driving on the left side of a road is an adventure. I'm starting to have dreams about driving on the left side. Being in America will be an interesting time! Mum... don't let me drive on the way home from the airport.. PLEASE!

Turns out... that night..we found out that we were both getting transferred OUT... FOR SISTERS!

We were sad and excited as well. 6 months and 4 months in Tassie is a long time for 1 area in all honesty! But it was OUR home. Somsone said that Elder Hosman has been there so long he's as old as the furniture haha. :D Anyway, we went that night to visit our recent convert Anthony and Cassie. We talked, said our goodbyes and ate apple cinnamon muffins for a treat.

Sunday came: and that was tough... I woke up feeling like I was leaving home again.
We went to church and it was awesome. The East Ward (our morning Sacrament meeting) had us bear our testimonies and seeing people tear up was hard for me! I LOVE MY LAUNIE FAMILY! The meetings were filled with the Spirit, and the end came when we said our goodbyes with many of the members. There were heaps of photos taken, and many emails exchanged. I've never felt so loved from a ward before in my life... I cannot say it enough.


After Church we made our rounds to the members we needed to go see. I'll mention a few here:

First was the King Family. Sister Lisa King and her family have seriously been one of the reasons I KNOW I am meant to be here in Australia. Meeting her and her boys has been one of the greatest blessings. We spent a lot of time there, with Brother Christian as well, and played footy in the back yard followed by cricket. It was while I was there that I found out that BYU LOST TO UTAH AGAIN!!??!?! DA HECK!!!!??? Probably good I wasn't home to see that. I'd be livid as.

Anyway, I want to talk about the youngest son first named Kobe King. He is 5 years old and is a bucket of energy! No lie, he is going to be a professional footy player one day for the Hawthorn Hawks, Tassie's AFL team. He has a tendency however when playing footy to wear trousers that reveal what we love to call the PLUMBER BUTT! It's one of the funniest things ever because he even made a dance to it called the "Plumber Butt dance."
Harri--the middle child--- is going to be an AMAZING footy player one day as well. He is so competitive! It's GOOD! He gets angry sometimes when playing because Elder Hosman would "Mark" ( A term used in footy basically meaning that a player caught the ball that was kicked ), and hand it to Kobe to kick since he's a bit smaller than the rest of us. Plus, Hosman was in his Moonboot so he wasn't much good for playing.

I love HARRI!! He's THE MAN!!
THe oldest son Named Jaylen is 14--- and he is... THE MAN!!! He's such an athlete himself and is always picking fights with me (out of love of course) and we pretend punch each other heaps. It's a blast. Even Sister King got into the fun! It was a great time with my Tassie Family. After that, we went inside and took photos, then went on our way to our next stop.

Before we left, Harri hopped in our car and said "Nope... you aren't leaving and I'm not getting out!" He started to tear up and cry and Elder Hosman and I just looked at each other with sadness in our hearts. Our time with them was over... but it was only for a small season. I'll be back! MUM! YOU'RE COMING TO TASSIE!
 
Then we went to the Wheelers and spent some time with them. We took photos, reminisced about the good days, and then Brother Wheeler printed me out a program to use for the rest of my mission work work outs in the morning. HECK YEAH!!!! They are an amazing family as well. Rowin started tearing up a bit when we left and said " you guys are the best missionaries." That meant heaps to me. All the love was sinking down into my heart as I realized that this was soon going to be over.... but again... not forever! Sister Wheeler even started crying and as we drove off they took a video off their porch and waved to us as we departed off on our journey to the mainland!


We then were able to go to Tea with the Clarks. It was amazing!! SHE IS AN AMAZING COOK. Mum... she honestly would be your best friend. She is a interior designer and loves to cook anything and everything. We often were her Guinea pigs... it was the best ever. We had venison, roasted beat root, roasted potatoes, carrots, and "pumpkin" (we call it squash back home.. It's different no matter what the Aussie's say ;) ), cheesey Coliflower, and a smoked chicken pie. Then for dessert we had vanilla ice cream over a DELICIOUS gooey.... cake-like thing with cinnamon apple baked into it. It was good as that's all you need to know!


Then we went to the Roger's house: They have 5 wonderful kids that are FIREBALLS. We woke them up but they still said goodbyes to us. They recorded the entire time we were there and I have to tell you... I've never been more tickled in my life! Charlotte, Chelsea, Joe, and Archie ( 2 girls, 2 boys) TICKLED ME TO DEATH! I was red, blue, purple, and nearly wet myself from all the tickling. I could hardly breath! They just attacked me! It was awesome though :)

Then we took photos, and got a present?!? WHAT DID THEY GET US?!?! A boomarang, a Aussie shirt with heaps of Aussie slang written on it, a hand written letter from Brother and Sister Rogers, and a HUGE 300g chocolate bar that I nearly devoured entirely when I got home... yes... I ate heaps... but I didn't eat anything all day and felt like splurging. She'll be right. Cadbury chocolate is good as by the way! That's the Aussie Chocolate company here. It rivals Hersheys at times... not gonna lie.

Then we went home, finished packing, did a bit of numbers since Elder Hosman is the District Leader, and headed to bed.

It was sad.... really sad.... but such an amazing day.

I'm so lucky to be on a mission, serving the Lord and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness, that has been restored. Tassie has been my home! I'm going to miss it heaps, and as 6 months comes around this Friday, I can only imagine how amazing the rest of my mission can be. It's all what you make of it, and what you do to be happy with what you do. The mission is amazing, and all those still debating on going or not... JUST DO IT. You'll never regret it if it's what YOU want to do. Don't feel forced. Find what makes you happy, and do it. I know that we are so blessed with the people in our lives. I Love my Family back at home. HEATH, EMMA, CHASE, GAGE, MAMA+PAPA GISH, SAM ( IN Taiwan), MUM, DAN, KARA, KRISTA, BROOKE, BRITTNEY, CALEB, MAMA WHITNEY, and MANY MANY OTHERS that I miss heaps and think of often.

I've come to have another family here in Tassie: THE ROGERS, THE KINGS, MY BROTHERS JAYLEN, HARRI, KOBE, My favorite Tassie sister Lisa KING, THE WHEELERS, ROWIN, JAYME, and heaps more.... they are amazing people. I love them. Just thought I'd say it.
 
Well I won't know where I am going or who I'll be with until tomorrow. Hopefully this email was worth it. ( I got to take a bit extra time for it WOO!)

I Love the Work, I love the Gospel. It's true. Jacob 6:12 "O be wise; what can I say more?"

Jacob pretty much sums it up. Be wise.. Live the gospel... LOVE YOUR FAMILY + FRIENDS!!!


TUROO!

With Love (and a sad/ excited heart),

Elder Sargeant

Tornadoes in Tassie?!?!!?!?!?!?!? (Sept 15th)

G'day mates!!


Yeah..... there aren't any tornados I just felt like being cheeky! (Uhh... how to explain cheeky... I'd say "silly" is the best way to explain it!)

Anyway, I've come to really love the mission. Growth is often someone that a lot of people want in their lives. For those that work out heaps, results are often the biggest thing expected. We want big muscles, faster sprints, and harder biceps and abs FAST.

It's the same in the gospel. We want a bigger testimony, more humility and patience, and heaps of blessings and experiences.

Well... what do they both have in common?? NO PAIN NO GAIN!

I've come to realize that trials and weaknesses are one of the best blessings that Heavenly Father gives us. They truly give us the opportunity to grow. Yeah, there are times of pain and stuggles sprinkled with thoughts of doubt and discouragement, but after you push through what do you feel? You feel stronger. You feel more adequate. And most importantly, you learn to love it.

Last night we had the privilege of having tea with our Stake President. His name is President Prebble and he is an awesome man. He's funny, loving, and yet always focused on the gospel. He's someone I truly look up to aye. Anyway, we were in the middle of eating heaps of roasted lamb, veggies, corn on the cob, and a hot jacket (baked potatoe) when I asked how he would answer a question I am often asked heaps.


Recently I've been asked this "nightmare" question. "If God exists, why do bad things happen t good people?"
There are so many different ways to answer that question. I often feel a bit fluttered because it's a question we all often ask I'm sure, and it's one that I am still trying to more fully figure out myself. President Prebble thought for a moment when I asked his opinion and simply said these profound words.


He said (and I'm paraphrasing of course) " Without the bad things, how could be offer our love and service to others? If everything was easy going we'd have no need to look to others to comfort them, mourn with them, and more importantly grow ourselves. Becoming like the Saviour is impossible without an opportunity to serve and show our love for others."

To me, that was profound. It gives all the answers in two simple ways. Love & Service.


My focus for this last transfer has been to really learn to love the people, and I know more now than ever that Love is everything. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's entire purpose is for us as imperfect and unworthy people. They want nothing more than for us to return to them with the rest of our brothers and sisters and families to become like them. They've provided the way  in and through Jesus Christ, and it's all because of one word. LOVE.


My challenge for each of you this week: GO OUT AND SHOW SOME LOVE TO SOMEONE!!!! Whether it be to make someone a card, give a phone call, a hug, a smile, or serve someone just go out and do it. I promise you that your day will be more fulfilling and that God will pour out his Spirit and blessings upon you. Your heart will soften, you're day will be more meaningful, and I think more importantly is that you'll help someone else out. Everyone deserves love, especially those that often feel alone and left out.

I'll share an example of how I've seen this happen. We have a Zone Leader named Elder Wood. He is from Sydney Australia and he is THE MAN! I reckon he is the best Wake boarder in Aussie, no lie. He gave it up to go on a mission and never looked back. Now, he's focused and such a solid as missionary. We had zone conference a couple weeks ago and you could tell he was having a hard time.

I had this distinct impression that he felt left out. He is relatively new to our zone and I think he felt as if he didn't fit in. I felt horrible, and simply put my arm around him and said he was the man, that he's an awesome missionary, and that we're here for him in everything he does.

I felt so good after doing that, and I knew that for that moment he felt better as well.

Turns out he was having a really hard time, and though he didn't say anything to me, I know that I was prompted to say those things for a reason. It just feels good to love someone. It feels right to help others when they are down, and I think the best part is that you forget yourself when you love others. Loving one another is what Christ would have us do.The reason why it feels good to help others, be kind and serve selflessly is because it's what causes us to change. It enables the atonement to help us become more holy and simply better.


I Love serving. I love helping others, and YOU can too! It starts with a desire, a simple prayer for an opportunity to serve/ help/ love someone, and then going out and looking for those opportunities. I PROMISE you they will come, and the spirit will guide you to them.


---SIDE STORY--

We met a Sudanese guy named Steve in the park with his wife Harriot. We got their number and they told us to call them to come over on Saturday to visit with them. We tried calling them later and the number didn't work! We were so sad because they seemed so keen. So this morning Elder Hosman was calling the Zone Leaders and the first thing they said was "Hey, we have a referral for you" Turns out... the referral was for HARRIOT!! STEVE'S WIFE!! They are teaching her mum and friends in another area in Tassie. We were so excited because we got her number and now we can contact them!


Also, a partmember family we had to drop a while ago called the other day and asked for more lessons from us. WE WERE PUMPED!!! Or at least I was haha.


Miracles. Gotta love em.


That's all for this week though.


Catch ya


ELDER SARGEANT

Another week in Tassi-dise (Sept 8th)

Well, g'day all!

This week has been pretty good to be honest. We've seen some miracles come about despite the stall in the progression of investigators. The other day we were able to go to see a Less active member named Kelly Morrison. We drove for 30+ minutes driving everywhere to find her house that basically is in the middle of the Bush. After driving heaps of places, my companion and I found ourselves caught in the middle of a small curvy round at a dead stop. Turns out...

WE SAW A BANDICOOT!!! Like from the game!!! Elder Hosman jumped out like a wild man and when to examine the animal... we were a bit hesitant because we didn't know what it was. We asked around and were told it was a Bandicoot. I love the wild life here.

Back to the miracle.... WE FINALLY found the house. We were about to give up when we both just decided to keep going down this curvy road. After a few minutes of searching, we found our destination. Luckily, her husband was there as well and we talked to them for a few minutes. They are both members of the church, her husband is an RM, and they invited to come back whenever we wanted. It was a miracle that her husband was there at all because that was the one day he wasn't down in another part of Tassie like he should have been. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. We're planning on send out members weekly to go out and get to know them as well as both my companion and I felt impressed that they just felt abandoned. Just goes to show the power that Love has on people and the great Need for it in this life.


This week we also were able to have a random Islander call us. His name is Sienang, from an island I cannot spell nor pronounce at all. (He lives near Tonga/Samoa etc etc).

We found out he is a RM or returned missionary who is studying at the Uni here in Tasmania in Engineering. He's an awesome guy who is only going to be here for about 3 months. We drove with a member named Brother Wheeler to go pick him up on Sunday morning. On our way to pick him up we saw a brown skinned man walking in a suit. We chuckled and realized that no other person in their right mind would be walking to Tasmania on a Sunday Morning with a suit and tie on except an LDS person. It was awesome talking to him. He is very humble, has a family back on his island, and set us up with a friend he met here who is COMING TO CHURCH NEXT WEEK!!!!! I'm telling you, that Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. It's amazing to me how little things can bring about such great miracles.

For me it's been a slow week. I've always been one that wants action. I love teaching heaps of people, finding heaps of people, contacting heaps of people, and always being out. This week has been a bit of a slower pace. We were given the opportunity to do service for a lot of members in our ward and I have a greater testimony of the importance of relationships with those you spend time with. I have come to love them truly for what they do, who they are, and the efforts they put forth into our work. Yes it would be nice to have 8374902379457923475 people ready and golden to receive the gospel but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, we just have to be patient, learn to love, have hope, and exercise our faith until we find those people that are ready. It's been a blessing for me though this past week because I've realized the things I personally need to work on to become a better person.... and how true that is.


The imperfections of the "natural man" are more evident for me now than ever before... and I'm so grateful for it! My weaknesses are exposed, ready for the strengthening.

My new favorite scripture (For this week!)
Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness . I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.


This week I've learned from observation and personal experience that weaknesses are a gift from Heavenly Father, just like our strengths. Without weaknesses... where can we progress? Little by little we move forward, hoping on, Loving all men, and moving forward with faith until we have a new strength.

Got to love the mission aye? I reckon it's true.


So, our investigator named Dan Han might be moving!!! We were so sad because he has become one of our good mates, and he is an incredibly loving and genuine guy. He is even teaching my companion to play the harmonia....

^ It's entertaining to listen to him practice but I can tell it'll get real old... REAL fast.



Life is good. I love Tassie. The sunshine is beautiful and all is well...

Oh... and a SHOUT OUT TO MY SISTER GABE!!!!! Her Birthday is coming up so everyone should spoil her rotten!!! It may be difficult because she already is rotten but.... naw Jokes. LOVE:)


ON a side note, our Ward Missionary named Jayme Wheeler got his mission call last night. He waited for almost 2 weeks before he opened it. His mum hid it under his pillow just so she wouldn't tear it open herself. I've never seen a mother more giddy in her life!

So.... where is he going you ask???


Not AUSTRALIA...

Not AMERICA....


but.... JAPAN!!!!! The Fukuoka mission (or something close to that spelling) and he leaves in 3 months time exactly (from tomorrow). I've never been so excited in my life for a mission call, it was as if I was opening mine again!!


The work is moving forward. All is well here.

Here is a bird that is native here in Tassie called a Kookaburra


I Love you all heaps!

Until next week... Turoo

-Elder Sargeant

September 1st

[From Gabe, Elder Sargeant's sister: Our mom asked him for a breakdown of his day so here it goes...]

Well here goes my day to day life.

6am- Wake up, pray, and lift weights until 6:30
6:30am- do sprints up the hill outside our flat. It's pretty steep so I get a decent work aye
7:00am - eat two bowls of cereal and down a couple bottles of water
7:15- Take a shower!!/ get ready
8:00- Personal study. I Love reading my scriptures
9:00- Companionship study--- we do lesson plans for our appointments and then make sure all hours are filled up.
10:00- Out and about.

We only have about 2200K's to use in our car each month and they go quickly sometimes. We went over this past month because of some out of the way things as well as just bad budgetting. We are learning quickly though!

So, we spent the last week WALKING! It was good and beautiful. To explain to you how much we walked, we walked... literally between 4-5 hours a day. Most of our appointments were in a town called Mowbray. It's a town that basically has all the humble foreign people that actually want to talk to us (at least in higher percentage). It's about an hour walk there and an hour back to our flat, if we are on a good pace!

Basically, we go all over our area teaching people, or spending time just getting to know them. African people, I've learned, need heaps of BRT or building a relationship of trust before you can really start teaching them. We often answer questions they ask, but we can't push or they just drop us like a rock. It's so different than what I learned in Salt Lake, but It's making me understand why I'm out here.

A lot of time we spend doing service for people as well. I love it, or am learning to love it. Each opportunity is a time to bless someone else as well as work on magnifying my Priesthood. I've learned that pride is an issue I struggle with and I want so dearly to work on it. I've been praying earnestly for strength to just be positive all the time... and it WORKS!


I've had a lot of things I've wanted to work on, and I've had almost all my prayers answered. It's amazing to me how being specific in prayers is really all it takes as well as fatih, work, and patience. I know now more than ever before that Heavenly Father is there, that He loves me, and He knows my desires and my heart. All I have to do is work!

So every day we have tea appointments with the ward members. The members here are amazing. They honestly take such good care of us that I'm scared to see what happens in different areas if I leave anytime soon. We also have these little "retro" skateboards that we use to get places! They help out heaps for exercise and provide people an interesting gateway to talk to us when they see two missionaries on blue and red mini skateboards. It's awesome.

9pm- We arrive home, the plan for the next day
9:30-10:15pm- I usually either write in my journal, write a letter, or read my scriptures.
10:15pm- Brush my teeth, wash my face, floss, and say my prayers!
10:30pm BED TIME!!!!!


That's usually how the day goes! I eat cereal most days for breakfast and lunch, and sometimes a PB&J sandwich for lunch as well.


Hopefully that saftisfied your curiosity! :)



Turoo!!
-With love,

Elder Sargeant

Spring time is coming!!! (Aug 25th)

G'day mates!


Well, this past week has been FILLED with miracles. Heavenly Father is definitely spoiling us missionaries here in Tassie.

Since transfers happened, we have been blessed with a very good Zone Leader named Elder Wood from Sydney Australia. He is a great leader and helps motivate us to work hard to and go out to fulfill our purpose of bringing others unto Christ.


My perspective has finally changed on missionary work, and I think that is exactly why I was sent to Australia, especially here in Tasmania. You see, many people are very set in their ways and require a LOT of trust to be built. Heaps of people don't really want to just accept the gospel because they feel they are completely comfortable in their ways. Some, are more willing to listen but then again don't want to be pushed, and some are ready, willing, and just need that reassuring whisper and truth given only by the heaven sent Holy Ghost.
 I've come to realize that when you are trying to convert people to this gospel you need to understand a few things:

1) People will only open up when they trust you. Building trust often takes times, and sometimes you have to spend time just getting to know someone before they are ready to hear our glorious message of love and happiness.
2) The Spirit is ABSOLUTELY essential. If the spirit isn't there, it's like trying to fill a bucket with the bottom cut out... it's pointless.
3) It takes TIME. That's been my biggest issue I reckon. I have always lacked patience and I think that Heavenly Father knew I needed to have that idea CRAMMED in my head over and over and over. People take time. Not every person I talk to will accept the message. Many will be interested, and many WILL join. Whether that is by my hand or the hand of another missionary, that is completely fine. Everything that happens is by the Lord's time, and by His plan. I've been blessed with many people who have been ready to hear the gospel. My companion and I recently... have found a love for different cultured peoples!

(Aussies are great... don't get me wrong... but they are SO set in their ways that we like going to the humble and nice people from China and Nepal better... but we still try to find those Aussies who wish to hear our message. It's for everyone!)

We have 5 new investigators ALL from the same family! They are a Nepally family consisting of a father named Lal, his wife, and 3 daughters named Aiti (18), Ash (16), and Dilmya (12-13). They also have a son that was gone when we went to teach them who is 6. We tracted into them on an absolutely GOLDEN street filled with many nepally people as well as Chinese people who are so interested in hearing about our religion.


As an added bonus... Our investigator Dan Han (from China) came to church with us yesterday! He said the atmosphere was so much better than all the other churches, and he felt that inside his heart the Book of Mormon was "good" when he prayed to know. We are so excited. Next time we meet with him we want to show him the Restoration Video so he can get that solid visual.


I love the opportunity to teach people of other cultures. They have so much to share and to educate us with, and we in return can share the happiness that comes from our lives that are embraced and immersed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's basically a Win-Win for everyone who is willing to listen. One of the greatest parts is seeing the sacrifices families make to get away from the wickedness that is in this world. And now, they are in our path for that purpose of inviting them to come unto Christ, and Be baptized unto Salvation! It's amazing. It also allows us to learn to teach REALLY simply and listen to them. That's something that I've really wanted to become better at--- LISTENING. And being Patient. All these little miracles and people we've seen have blessed me personally with opportunities to grow, serve, and share my knowledge. It's a wonderful world we live in I reckon, and the possibilities are endless for just loving people you see every day.


Spring time is finally coming! The past four days have been in the 15-17 C range (60-63 F) which has been so nice! The animals are running wild, and I recently was able to see some parrots flying around someone's yard. I'll send heaps of pictures as the weather continues to get better..

The Church is true. Don't deny it ever. Act and don't be acted upon. Love others as you would want others to love you, and remember that we've been given so much... EVERYTHING we need to be happy in this life. We just have to press forward with faith and all will be well.




I Love y'all HEAPS!!!!!

Turoo Mate! Cheers! Ta! (All ways to say goodbye/ thanks for the chat/ Thank you! "Ta" = Thank you)

Elder Sargeant

P.S. Don't judge... the daughter of a recent convert named Emalee painted our faces last night. It was her birthday and we missed her party so we came over for tea and she painted our faces... here ya go!