Footscray week 10

I'm running out of time, and I don't have a general email! I'm so sorry! Will you just post these pictures? I feel really bad...

cái khiên - Footscray Week 9: The Life of the Savior and temple work!

Scripture of the week: Luke 13:11-13 -> I know what it feels like to be someone who can in no wise lift up themselves, and I bear witness that the Savior's loving arms, outstretched to us all, can immediately make us straight. :)

Vietnamese Word of the Week: cái khiên (Cai Kee-ayn) as in Shield, like taking the "shield of faith" in defense of the Kingdom of God. :) I gave a talk this week at a devotional about that, so that's how it's relevant. Plus, it's always relevant. :)


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This week has been a roller coaster of positive spiritual experiences and nerve-wracking, stressful situations, but, through the grace of God, I've made it through, and I feel that I'm even better than I was last week. I'm back inFootscray now, among my Vietnamese brethren and people, and I'm really grateful for that!

We really wanted to stress teaching recent converts the life of Jesus Christ this week. Our central purpose as missionaries is to bring others to come to know, have faith in, and love Jesus Christ. We should some of our recent converts the bible videos, giving a brief, simple overview of the Savior's life and teachings. Those lessons were among the most powerful I've ever been a part of on my mission. I will admit, tears were shed as we all, together, learned more about the extent of the Savior's love and sacrifice for us on an individual level. What a blessing to share that with everyone. :)


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We had the opportunity to go to the Melbourne temple to assist the branch with baptisms! It was such a great experience, and my testimony of the temple has really grown although I haven't been able to go for a little bit. It's such a blessing to go there and participate in eternal ordinances!

I know that the gospel is true, that Jesus Christ lives and is our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. As we rely on Him and seek spiritual experiences through the temple, the Book of Mormon, church, and prayer, we will draw nearer to Him and become more who we need to be. I invite you to seek out those experiences and to work toward making the ones that you already have more powerful through diligent study and pondering. I love you all! Until next week! :)

Tiếng Anh - Footscray(ish) Week 8: My Days as an English Elder

Scripture of the week: Luke 5:5 - Sometimes, what we need to do after all that we have been doing is do a little more; when the Savior invites us to act, we can be sure that by acting we will be blessed. :)

Vietnamese Word of the week: "Tiếng Anh" (Tea- ang Ah-n) "english" as in, for about half a week, I've been an English Elder!

​Well, this week has been 4 and a half adventures if I do say so myself. It all started on Tuesday, when I went on exchanges with Elder Roberts again. We're pretty much expecting to go on weekly exchanges at this point because of our companions' positions, but it turns out, Heavenly Father had more plans for me concerning exchanges... On Friday, the zone leaders tell me that I will be serving with Elder Wahlquist (pictured above) until Wednesday because his companion was going home for health reasons. That means for aobut 5 days, I was/am not really a Vietnamese elder! It was hard news to take, but it's been a really good, really rewarding experience.

I'm no in Fairfield area, which is near the stake center of our zone. We went tracting on Halloween and pretended to be trick or treaters just for fun. :) It was actually a lot of fun, and it reminded me of doing fast offerings back home. Speaking of fast offerings, we tracted for more than 5 hours yesterday! On a fast Sunday! Oi! But, it worked out really well because the Lord supported us. That means I've done about 8 hours of tracting in 2 days. Of course, it was the last door we tried that gave us the best results, and I'm excited to see that person progress in the gospel (though I'll be back in Footscray by then). :)

Other than that, we had an awesome Vietnamese Halloween party! Elder Roberts has the pictures, but we carved pumpkins, told scary stories, and played a lot of games. It was a lot of theirs' first Halloween, and it was so much fun to share that with them! I love being a missionary, especially for the Vietnamese people, and that's what made it a little hard to leave them for even just a few days. I know that the Lord has called me to do His work, though, wherever I serve, and I'm happy to do His will. I know that as I work harder for Him, He will bless me and all of you for my service. :) I know these things are true, and I share them in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Australian quirk: The weather here in Melbourne is crazy! I mean, crazier than Utah, even. It can be summer hot one for an hour and then the next be cold and rainy. It's unpredictable and really fun!

I love you all! :) Until next week! :)

Hy Sinh - Footscray Week 7: Sick Days and Zone Leaders

Vietnamese Word of the Week: Hy Sinh (Hee sin) as in "sacrifice" like "whatever we sacrifice for the Gospel and for Christ, we are promised 100 fold." :)

Scripture of the week: Mark 10:29-30 - Christ promises 100 fold of everything we give up, leave behind, or sacrifice when we serve Him and dedicate ourselves to Him and the gospel. The sacrifices we make are well worth the rewards of Eternal life with Him and our families. :) What aspect of the gospel can we improve on? No matter the sacrifice that requires, I promise that it is worth it; you will gain 100 fold from our Savior. :)

This week, we had transfer meeting, and the strangest thing happened; my companion became Zone leader, Elder Roberts' companion became Zone leader, but we're all still companions with each other. Usually, the Zone leaders are companions, but since Elder Roberts and I are still training, they split them up. It makes the dynamics in the flat really interesting trying to balance companionship unity when, truly, Elder Roberts, Elder Howell, and I are half companions. It'll be a fun adventure to try and figure out. :)


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Elder Roberts and I have already been on exchanges (switching companions) this week, and it's anticipated that it'll happen at least once a week, if not more. That's alright with me, though; I've known him since the MTC, and it's a pleasure to work with him. :)

Lukas Erekson	Oct 25 (4 days ago)
to Angelica, Aunt, Braxton, Chris, me, Elder, Emily, Ezaray, Grandma, Grandma, Grandpa, Izak, Jakob, James, Katherine, Kelley, Kira, Mom, Nikki, Sammy

Accidentally sent that too soon! Sorry! :)

Anyway...

Something that I've really appreciated being able to see this week is how recent converts thrive after baptism. One of our recent converts taught me and Elder Howell the Plan of Salvation- we asked her to draw/tell us all that she remembered, and with little to know help, she quite thoroughly explained it all, bore testimony of it and the Book of Mormon, and even answered our questions as we "played investigator" with her. It was a really powerful experience.  :)

Something that I'm working on this week is really enjoying the work. I fell ill this week, starting around Friday and continuing to even today, so I'll try and get a lot of rest. nevertheless, I'm trying to rejoice in the great work the Lord has called me to and trusted me with. i know I'm where I need to be, and I know that I can enjoy it with the Lord's help.

I love Australian architecture! :) I'll try to send more pictures of Australian things. :)

Random Australian fact: the moon is upside down. No, really, it is. It was weird when I noticed that the first time, but in the southern hemisphere, the moon looks upside down relative to Utah. It's really cool. :)

Anyway, I'll leave you with my testimony that the church is true, God's work moves forward, and that Jesus Christ will give us 100 fold of what we give to Him, so I want to give my all to Him. :) I love you all! Have a great week! :)

Thay đổi - Footscray Week 6: The Gospel Changes lives!

Vietnamese Word of the Week: thay đổi (tie doi?) which means, "change" or "to change" as in "The gospel changes lives and people." :)

Scripture of the week: Mark 8:35 - How can I better lose my life for the Savior's sake and for the gospel's?


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This week was such a crazy good week! Nhu was baptized, and it's so incredible to notice the great change in her. From what the other elders were telling me from what she was like before, she's changed immensely in these past few weeks. I'm hesitant to share too many details, but I've seen how the gospel has changed her to be sweeter, more social, and fun-loving. It's a joy to be in lessons with her, and she's really great and loving the gospel! Being at the baptism brought such a special spirit, and I'm so excited to see how the rest of her new life goes. :)


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As I reflected on how I've seen others change, I've noticed that I've changed quite a bit myself, but also that I have a long way to go to be more Christ-like. I'm still trying to figure out my place in the mission and who I want to be (or rather, how to be the person that Christ knows I can be). I'm so excited for this challenging and rewarding opportunity to serve Him for two years and be refined, changed, and helped along my path to my own conversion by helping others. :) Although I've been sick and stressed, I find joy in working with the people; working with team Vietnam! :)

I know that I need to work on losing my life for the Savior's sake and for the gospel's, and that's what I'll be ponderizing this week. How can I do that better? How can I become who I need to be for the Savior, my loved ones, and everyone whom the Lord has trusted me with?

I love you all! Keep praying, reading the scriptures, and do the little things each day to become more like Christ. You will be happy in this life and in the next. :)

Vị Tien Tri - Footscray Week 5: General Conference!

Vietnamese Word of the Week: Vị Tien Tri (Vee- Ten Tree) as in "Prophet" like in "I bear witness that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God." He truly is. :)

Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 27:23 - God is the same today, yesterday, and forever; He works with us according to our fatih. :)

This week was a crazy week. The first half, I was sick and stressed and feeling quite run down. I went on exchanges for the first time, and I was left to schedule the whole day and lead the other missionary just being out in the field for 4 weeks! However, with the grace of God and the Savior, I survived the day, and started to feel better. :)


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This week, we tried some new food. There's a Greek place near the branch, and it was so delicious! I can't quite remember the name of it, unfortunately, but it was really good!

I'm so grateful for General Conference. I gained so many new insights and so many new ways to repent and change to be better for my family, my loved ones, and my mission. I'm so excited to apply everything that I've learned and to search the words of the prophets diligently, both ancient and modern. I love to read the words of the scriptures, both in the Book of Mormon and Conference. :) I invite you all to increase your study and ask yourselves, "How will I change because what I have learned today?"


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I love you all so much! Sorry time is short! :)

Lễ Báp Têm - Footscray Week 4: Crystal is baptized!

Vietnamese Word of the Week: Lễ Báp Têm (Lay? Bap! Tem) As in, the ordinance of baptism. Like what Crystal did last Saturday! :)

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This week has been full of exhaustion and miracles. One of our investigators (our last progressing) has also decided to get baptized. :) We are so blessed that the Lord has prepared us and prepared these people to come into His fold. :) I've been really tired all week and I think Elder Howell and I are falling ill, but being at Crystal's baptism really picked us up and helped us get excited to do missionary work again. :)

The next day, I got to confirm her a member of the Church... in Vietnamese. It was wonderful, but I was so nervous again. :) It's still a surprise to me how much English we speak, but it's wonderful to hear the gospel declared in many tounges. :)

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Team Vietnam in Footscray/The City Branch is growing, and it's really exciting to be a part of the Lord's great work! :)

I got to go on exchanges for the first time with Elder Roberts! We're both new missionaries, but we survived a whole day of real missionary work without our trainers! He's such a great missionary, and I look forward to working with him more.

This week, we started to read the Four Gospels as a mission. Reading the words of the Savior has again touched my heart and I think has helped me even more to be like Him. I've been praying and asking for help to be more Christ-like, and I really feel that reading His words and His teachings are helping me do that. One of the best things we can do in this life is learn about the life of our Savior. The more we learn and apply, the more we'll thirst after righteousness, and He is the fountain of all Righteousness and will help us. :)

I'm so excited to see conference next week, and I hope you all took the opportunity to enjoy it. I know that these men are called of God, including the three new apostles whom I do not know yet. I know that their counsel is for us in our day; it's for you. If we apply all that the spirit tells us during conference and during diligent study every day, we will only draw nearer to our Father in Heaven. :) I love you all! Have a great week, and take care!