We attended the worship services of another church

Hi guys!

Sounds like your week was about as full as mine! Far out!

Let me tell y'all about my week! So first, in response to some of your questions, Y_ and S_ were busy this week, but we have an appointment for this coming Friday. They are still keen, so I'll have an update next week! Also, I can't remember if I told you that H_ is in the Philippines for a few months, so we haven't been able to teach her too.

Two very real presences in his life

V_ is still the man! He is so solid! We met with him this past week, and he was sharing the changes that he has noticed in himself. It is very real for him. I think that it is very interesting to note how very real his change has been. He feels that before his baptism, he was not as obligated to the commandments, but he felt good as he obeyed. However, since being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, he has felt two very real presences in his life. He described that he can sense the presence of the Adversary, and he can also feel the influence of the Holy Ghost always, like we promised him. It is very real and very exciting for him. He has had a change of heart, so much that he, like the people of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon,  has "no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2). What a wonderful thing for a new convert to experience!

We saw a lady sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth

My favorite finding experience was finding a guy named G_. We were walking around Wollongong, contacting some of the individuals we had met in the past. We saw a lady sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth, and she seemed stressed out by something. We decided to approach her and see if she was okay. She seemed nice enough, but as we spoke to her, she continued to rock back and forth on the grass next to the side walk. After a minute or so of talking, a passerby took out his earphones and quickly told us "She's fine, don't worry!" I think he thought at first we were police! Haha! Anyways, his name is G_, and turns out he knows her. She apparently has had some pretty serious drug damage, and the rocking and fidgeting were the end results. Poor girl.

G_ was pretty cool! He is pretty skeptical about religion, but when we told him we were here to help improve the quality of people's lives, he excitedly informed us that some of his neighbors are in need of something along those lines. He gave us his address, and their addresses and told us to try and go help his neighbors. He also told us to come by whenever we are in the area. Nothing too special happened, but it is always great to recognize when the Lord places people in our paths to open our mouths and share the gospel with. I am really going to miss this opportunity and privilege, to know that I have the authority to talk to all men and share what I know to be true with as many as the Lord puts in front of me.

This week was incredibly busy from a zone leader point of view. I feel really bad for Elder Hayward, because I was only with him for 4/7 days last week. In fact, I'm not with him today! (I'll explain that later). Elder Janes and I have been together most of the week because we have had to conduct trade-offs, take care of problems in the zone, and have meetings on behalf of the zone with the stake. Busy busy busy! But I reckon it is good for Elder Hayward and Elder Cummings to be together, because they grow up really quick when their "dads" are gone. They are going to be leaders real quick, that's for sure!

We attended the worship services of another church

On one of our trade-offs, after our meeting with the Stake, we had an opportunity to do a creative finding activity. Our companions were going to be occupied with appointments all day, so we basically had an all-day trade off (this was yesterday). It was really weird being on trade-offs during church. That was abnormal. We had to do it because our stake president came to our ward and wanted to meet during church. Anyways, we decided to attend the service of another church as an opportunity to meet new people, and also to have the experience that we wouldn't have normally had. We had no idea what to expect. Elder Janes had mentioned the idea to Jake Tiananga who volunteered to come along, because he had many opportunities to do so on his mission. Man! It was a neat experience! And funny too!! hahahaaha! The fellowship at that church was really great, and we were able to meet some people who were genuinely interested in what we were doing over here in Australia, and learning more about our missions. I almost wish that I would have attended one earlier! The only thing holding me back was the rule that we aren't meant to go and proselyte at the places of worship of other religions. But this was different.

Anyways, during the service, there was a woman pastor who taught about loving relationships etc. Here is the funny part. So during the service, the woman started asking if anyone wanted to accept Jesus into their life more fully. She told the congregation that there were 5 people in the room that she felt she needed to pray with. So she invited anyone that wanted to to raise their hands and come up to the front. Then she called us out. She said that we should come to the front and she would pray for us. Hahahahahahaahahahaha! It was sooooooo funny! It was a really kind gesture, but we struggled not to laugh during her prayer, because she stood in front of us one by one and put her hand on our shoulders and prayed. We were given free bibles before we left, and we made some good contacts, so overall the experience was really good! They are really wonderful people, and I reckon that some of those guys would really be keen to hear the Message of the Restoration of the Gospel. A moment to remember for sure!

The last thing I should make mention of is that we are in Campbelltown today. Pres gave permission for the 4 "dying" Elders to go to Campbelltown for Pday, so we are here emailing and are gonna get haircuts, eat some food, and go play lasertag! Should be good! Feel bad again for our greenies, but they seemed alright with it. We had to come here for a medical thingy for Elder Rose anyways, so it is actually a productive visit!

Anyways that's my week!

Love you guys heaps!
Elder Loseni