Elder Dalton Stott: Hard Work in Mudgee

Popcorn!!!!!!

Most expensive bowl of popcorn ever!

Ship popcorn maker $75.00, weeks to get there 3, Happy Elder, Priceless!!!

Thank you thank you thank you so much for my package!!!!!!! Haha oh my gosh when I opened it I flipped out when I saw MY POPCORN BOWL!!!!!!!!!:):):):) Haha Elder Leal thought I was a weirdo but I was so pumped I made him go to the store with me and buy some popcorn and make some. It was the best ever. It had been 3 months without homemade popcorn man I missed it. :) The sad thing though is that Elder Leal hates popcorn but oh well I guess more for me.:) So thank you so much for sending that and for all the shirts. Haha guess what we got to go golfing again this morning with E____ and it was a blast and I got to wear my golf shirt so thank you so much for that. Also thanks for the bracelets were gonna teach a lesson tonight at FHE at the P_____s and I'm gonna use them. So thank you so much mom and everybody for all the packages and letters it's hard being halfway around the world from your family but it's always nice to know that my family still loves me and they are still there for me. Thanks for the Christmas package I'm going down to Sydney with our Zone Leader next Tuesday so I'll make sure I pick it up then.

Christmas Lights and time.

Well the first week of this transfer is over. People are putting up Christmas lights and decorations and I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I remember when I was in the MTC in August thinking to myself the next time I see my family is Christmas and that is so far away and now were a month away and I look back and time has just flown. Time is the most precious thing we have we never have enough of it. We only have 24 hours in a day and those precious hours go by so fast. We never know when something is going to happen. We are in the Latter-Days who knows when Christ will come again. It could be tomorrow or 500 years from now we don't know but we always have to be ready. Alma 34:32 "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." I have gone through times in my life when I have not been 100% totally worthy. As Alma said this is the time for men to perform our labors. One of our labors is to always be worthy. Yes of course none of us our perfect and we constantly make mistakes but we have been so fortunately blessed with the Atonement that we can be forgiven for whatever we do. During that time that I was not completely clean I felt that "heavy burden" but now that I am clean I do not feel that anymore. While I was in the MTC one of the conferences we had a member of the seventy spoke to us and he said why do we keep carrying our sins God has provided a way for us to take the heavy backpack of sins off and start over again. We have to repent and confess and once we do that the joy and peace we feel is that above anything. Don't be scared to confess your sins your bishop/stake president/mission president/branch president have been called of God and they will be able to help you and they will not judge you. All of us have different trials to go through in life whatever it may be but never be afraid to turn to God or your bishop for help.

Hard Week in Mudgee

This week has been pretty hard. The work here in Mudgee is probably the hardest in our entire mission. It is so different, we are pretty much isolated, and Mudgee is not really known to be a religious town. We have not had very much success if any really and sometimes it is hard to keep going. Haha now that I am a District Leader which by the way is so much fun I love helping out other missionaries and being there for them. Anyways I gave a training for all of the missionaries in the district I am in charge of on Friday. I was super nervous because I wasn't given much time to prepare for it and I'm still so young that I haven't experienced a whole lot. But I prayed for help to know what I should train on and I felt impressed to train on one Christ Like Attribute "Diligence" Now I don't know if I helped anybody in my district with my training but it certainly helped me. It's so hard to be out in such a hard area where nothing is really happening right now and to get up every morning and to keep plugging along but my training inspired me to keep going. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how much non-success you have, if you are giving your best that is all you are asked to do and the Lord is pleased with that. It is honestly hard sometimes to go knock doors when all you did was knock doors the day before and had no success, but diligence.

Planters and/or Harvesters?

I was talking to somebody can't remember who it was and they were saying that most people they meet with 4-5 different sets of missionaries before they get baptized and before they meet the 5 set of missionaries that baptize them they first have to meet with the first set of missionaries that knock on there door. Our mission is one of the hardest missions in the world. Also, one of the lowest baptizing missions. Some missionaries are called to places that are booming right now like Africa or parts of South America where they are harvesters. Some of us are called to different places in the world where the fields are not ready to be harvested seeds are still being planted and growing. Now I'm not saying that there aren't people that are ready to be baptized or come back to church but some of us are called to be harvesters and some of us are called to be planters. But both are just as important as the other. This has helped me so much to just keep going. Even if they swear at us we are still bringing the message of the restoration to there house and it is up to them if they accept it or not. Diligence brings greatness over time.

Next few weeks in Mudgee!

This upcoming month is gonna be pretty crazy we have a lot going on. I'm going to Sydney next week with our Zone Leader for a training. Elder Ballard don't know if you remember him he was in my MTC roommate from Glendora California is our Zone Leader out here in the Orange Zone so we get to go down to Sydney next week for a training. On the 10 we have zone conference which will be awesome!!! I love zone conference and it's so awesome to get trained by President and Sister Back and the AP's. On the 21 we have our big Christmas Conference down in Sydney where all of the missionaries in the whole mission meet up and have a big meal and sing songs and then we get to watch a movie. Haha I am so excited to get to watch a real movie. It's probably gonna be a disney movie but it'll still be awesome. Haha you can only watch 17 miracles and the work and the glory so many times before they get boring. :) And then the 25th will be Christmas :) Christmas day is the only day as missionaries we get the whole day off. We don't have to do any studies and we can sleep in as long as we want but I've gotten so used to waking up at 6:30 that I'll probably still wake up then. Anyways we've got a pretty busy month coming up and I know time is just gonna fly I am just trying to love every minute of it even the bad.

Golf Shirt, White Shirt

Mum and Dad thanks so much for everything I am loving every minute of my mission. I have tried slowing down a little bit and love even the little things that I do every day. My mission is not at all what I expected it to be but it is so much better then I thought it would be. Yes I didn't think it would be this hard and I would go through so many trials but I have grown so much and I love my mission and I love this work. I try to work so hard everyday sometimes I think I expect to much out of myself sometimes but I am loving every minute of it. I want to thank you guys because if it wasn't for you guys and the decisions you have made in your life I might not be here. My mission is changing my life. Thanks again so much for the package it was awesome haha I'm still wearing my golf shirt from golfing today.:) Haha I think that's one of the hardest things for me is I'm getting kind of sick of wearing slacks a white shirt and tie everyday. But oh well life isn't always the way you want it.:)

Q and A time

Have you been sick?

Let's see have I been sick at all or bloody noses. I think I've only had a cold once since I've been out and that was because everybody else in Australia had one as well but it didn't last long. A lot of people get sick here though and a lot of missionaries and I am so blessed with great health. Haha I have only had one bloody nose from playing footy. Because it's so humid down here I don't think I get them really because it's so dry back in Utah.

How many members are in the Mudgee branch?

We have between 20-25 members come to church each week so not a whole lot but I love each and everyone of them there awesome. Ya so our branch president is a really great man and the members really support him. Ya were usually pretty busy on Sunday's at church we'll usually give the priesthood lesson every Sunday and give talks every couple of weeks and the branch president doesn't have any counselors so we help him out with tithing every Sunday which is fun. It's amazing the commandment of tithing and how people obey that commandment and the blessings the receive from it.

Has Elder Leal been driving yet?

Yep we got Elder Leal certified to drive a couple of weeks ago so now he's ready to go but he doesn't like driving so I usually drive which is fine with me cuz I like driving.

Bugs?

We've seen quite a few spiders and a few big ones but not any huge ones yet. I'll take a picture when I see one and show you. There not to bad though you just squash them and then throw them away. And thankfully no snakes pretty much every snake out here is poisonous so if I don't see any snakes while I'm out here I am ok with that.

Thanksgiving, turkey or no turkey?

I don't think were gonna do anything for turkey day there is a senior couple in Bathurst from America and they might do something but we'll have to see. Turkey's are super expensive over here though they are like a couple hundred dollars.

Do you do a lot of service in the area?

Ya Mudgee is known for service we do a lot of service. My new nike shoes I brought out and starting to get pretty beat so maybe I'll have to buy myself a new pair of shoes for Christmas.;) We mow a lot of lawns and help people in there yards and gardens and help people move stuff and throw stuff away. Haha we need a service stat because Mudgee would destroy at that.:)

Wise Words for the Elder

I love Sundays and I have come to love them so much more on my mission. Church is amazing and the spirit we can feel there is so special and the spirit we feel in our house is so special as well. I really like your idea of reading talks maybe you could read one talk every Sunday from this last conference. Also another thing about Sunday's is spending quality time with your family so maybe you could play a game or watch a movie or just spend time with your family with no distractions. There are so many distractions in the world today and I think we should limit how much we use those on Sunday's. I hope this helps Sundays are just like another day out here we still do missionary work but I hope that helps a little. Anyways I just want all of you guys to know that I love you and that the Lord loves you and that he will protect all of us and help all of us through anything.

Love Elder Stott