FORWARD PRESSING FORWARD

 Crazy couple of weeks!!

Hi!!!!  This week we have a little more relaxed p-day today so we got some time to write our emails and relax a bit.  Man it's been great and we have been so busy this transfer especially since it has been school holidays Merimbula has been nuts with so many people and things to do and time well spent with the members and people to talk to it has been great but the school holidays are now over and everybody is back to school and work and the tourists have gone home.  Which is kind of nice and we are excited to keep running around staying as busy as we can but it is nice today to have a nice relaxing p-day.:)  So what has happened over the last 2-3 weeks.  Haha a lot has happened and so we'll get started into it. 

We have to head up to Sydney for a mission conference which is going to be the missionary broadcast.  We are excited to head up and attend that but it does take us out of our area for a couple of days but that is okay.  It will be fun because we are attending the Blair Athol Chapel which is the Chapel in MacArthur where we met when I served up there.  It will be great to return back to my old area and maybe we will see some people up there.:)  So that will be good to go up there for the broadcast to all missionaries in the world from Utah.  Also we have a general authority coming to our mission in March which we are getting ready for. It is Elder Haleck he is the President of the area presidency for the Pacific Area.  Last year we got Elder Nielsen he is the first counselor and so this year we are getting the president.  So it will be good we are looking forward to it in March.

Next, let's see.  Ah report on some Recent Converts so a couple weeks ago I was able to email J___ up in MacArthur and he hasn't emailed back yet but his good friend who is a girl emailed back we got close to her as we were helping J___.  Anyways she said that J___ proposed over Christmas and they are planning to get married in July one year right after he was baptized so they can get married in the temple!  How exciting!!!!  I was so happy to hear that and they are all doing well!:)  Also update on D____ he has decided he wants to go and serve a mission!!!!!:)  How cool is that?  So last week he started his mission papers and we are teaching him a mission prep lesson once a week to help him get ready!  Man how exciting!  It is so cool to see the Gospel just bless so many peoples lives and the joy that it brings you in your own life.

 So this past week what did we get up to?

We as you guys already know we had an awesome p-day last week and then it was good hard work the rest of the week.  We are becoming quiet the pro-brick layers.:)  It is quiet fun and also very interesting all of the skills I am learning on my mission maybe the Lord is trying to tell me something.;)  Anyways on Tuesday evening we had a Branch Activity where we played a game of Softball.  Haha this Activity started when Elder Newman was here because he loves baseball so we had the activity once when he was here and everybody loved it and so we planned another one.  It was great fun!  The Shoobridge's provided the food and they have a Kebab cooker and so we all had Kebabs and they were awesome!:)  We had a real fun time playing softball and there were quite a few non-members there and we got to really know one family and hope to help do some painting some time and hopefully teach them.  We pray for them constantly J__ and V____ and there kids.  Include them in your prayers.:)  

  
    On Thursday it was Australia Day so which is like our Fourth of July but it is celebrated much different over here because all of the Aboriginal people call it invasion day and see it as racist if you really celebrate it so it is just a public holiday so no one works but not a whole lot goes on but that day we went out to N____ and M_____W_____'s place and gave them a hand in splitting some wood and some other service activities.  It was a great day out there and we had a lot of fun I always love going out to there place and giving them a hand they have a really cool story and man Sister W_____ is just such a faithful lady.  The rest of the week we stayed very busy but nothing to special happened just normal stuff.  We had a great Sunday as always and W____came to church.  Now that things have died down with the Holidays and everything we are able to meet a bit more with her and start seeing her more often.  She is great and it is just slow progress with her but we keep moving forward with her.

 "FORWARD PRESSING FORWARD"

The reason I have labeled this weeks letter "FORWARD PRESSING FORWARD" is because that is what all of us must do.  These last couple of weeks have been so crazy and busy and it has been great leaving the flat at 7 in the morning and not returning until 9:30 and then go to bed and do it all over again the next day with just running around constantly.  Don't get me wrong it is great and I love it but it has been stressful and hard and yesterday night we had a couple of hours to just kind of relax and so I read my scriptures and just did some pondering and praying and it felt good to know to just keep moving forward pressing forward.  You know all of our lives get crazy and hectic at times and so much is going on and we are going through trials and ups and downs but it we just keep our faith strong and keep moving forward all will be well and the Lord will give us strength to keep going.  We move forward with Faith when we mess up we repent ask for forgiveness and keep moving forward and keep exercising our Faith.  We must never give up!  I keep pressing forward even when the work gets discouraging and hard I find that is the time when I really rely on my scriptures and prayer to help me keep going.  One of my New Year's goals was to strengthen even more my relationship I have with the scriptures.  That is something that has grown so much out on my mission but at the beginning of the year I wanted it to grow even that much more and get that much stronger and deeper.  So, so far this past month I have just been focusing so much more on what I am reading and studying and it has been great!  I am in Alma 22 right now and it is great I have just finished reading the account of my favorite Book of Mormon Hero and that is Ammon.  What is all of our Book of Mormon Heroes?  And why is that.  As I was reading the account of Ammon this time I saw so many similarities in him and the way he served the Lamanites and in me and how I serve the Aussieites.  What better role model to have then a great Book of Mormon Prophet?!  I saw Ammon in how he served King Lamoni and the people through service it softened there hearts.  I have seen the same things in how I have done service with my companions and how that has softened so many peoples hearts and that has led to there conversion.  We must just keep pressing forward and moving on and the Atonement of Jesus Christ is what allows us to do that.

Finally we get our questions answered!!!

Mum and Dad sorry that I haven't answered your questions for a while and my emails have been short lately but haha this week we will answer all of your questions.

First mum's questions.  So some callings I would like to have?  Haha that's a good question...well first off as always it is up the the Lord and and where He wants and needs me to serve.  I have definitely learned that on my mission through my areas and callings I have had as a missionary that it is all what the Lord needs and what we need to learn because we always learn so much from our callings.  One thing that I do love to do and that is be with the kids and teach primary.  I loved doing that before my mission (thanks mum) and whenever we have chance to teach primary on a mission it is always so fun.  It is always so cool all that the kids know and so I would love to be a primary teacher especially with my wife when we are first getting started.:)  I would also love to work with the young men.  I just remember so many awesome young mens leaders that have helped me so much and I would love to help out the young men who are now in the footsteps that I once was in.  But any calling I receive from the Lord I will love and serve to the best of my abilities. 

So my park run time for last week?  Haha ya so us and the Shoobridge's talked D____ into coming and running with us as well in the Park run.  D____ isn't much of a runner though but I would have felt bad if he would have had to run all by himself so I ran with him and haha we did a lot of walking but that is okay it was fun.:)  

Is it hot?  Haha yes right now it is super duper hot!!  In our area we are going through a drought right now and it has been super hot compared to the other summers.  Usually everyone says it's nice with the sea breeze and stuff but right now it is just ridiculously hot.  Everyday it seems like it is 30 or above with humidity so very sticky and hot.  Haha man I can't believe all of the snow that you guys are getting over there it is crazy man hope you guys don't freeze to death.  Have you guys had an floods or anything?  I hope and pray not. 

Any bloody noses?  No not really just a couple maybe like 2-3 from getting bumped or something but for the most part not like back home haha which has been very nice.  I think that is what does it the dry Utah air. 

Specific flight plans?  Nope I don't know any of that all I know is that July 25th is the day but other then that nothing.  Once I know any more don't worry I will let you guys know.  Mum I loved what you shared a couple weeks ago about how you said you were thinking about me coming home and you got a little sad.  Haha we just think of that feeling and that is what I feel pretty much all of the time.  I miss you guys so much to but man oh man I love my mission so much but I know that when it is time for me to return home I might not want to but it will be time to move on in life and time to be a missionary in Cache Valley Utah and other missionaries will fill my spot in Australia.  This I know but it is still hard for me to think about at times because I do love my mission but I am excited to see you guys and do the things that I love so much especially hang out with my family.:)  

Haha shrimp on the barbie?  Haha me and Elder Tingey were talkin about this the other day and how we have never once heard that phrase since we have been here.:)  It's pretty funny and I don't know where us America's get that from but they don't say it and they actually don't even call shrimp shrimp they actually call it prawns.:)  So that's funny but they definitely have other saying and stuff but no shrimp on the barbie. 

Dad your questions.  So I had to go to your other letter to find your questions and I saw the pic of you and Dani and John and the bball game man that looks like heaps of fun.:)  Nice shirts!!!  Anyway I saw another question that you had that wasn't in the list so I'll answer that one first.  So you were talking about a car.:)  Man I hope that you and mum know that you guys don't have to get me a car at all.  I have thought about it and I am completely fine with just riding a bike around but at the same time that would be such a blessing.  I just want you and mum to know that if you guys don't have enough money to afford a car no worries but if you guys want to that would be so nice.  You know I constantly think about the first verse in the Book of Mormon and my Patriarchal Blessing that tells me of the awesome parents that I have and how they will help me so much through my life.  So thank you so much mum and dad for all that you guys do for me.  Haha but in answer to your question dad I would love to have a little Jeep Cherokee like the one Peter has nothin to special just something to cruise around in that has room for my clubs and my school bag.:)  But it doesn't have to be brand new or anything and we can work on it a bit and you can teach me some stuff.  Did I tell you a couple weeks ago me and Elder Tingey were walking down the street and we came up to this guy who had just found out he had a flat tire on his car and he had no idea how to change the tire.  So we started helping him.  Luckily he had everything in his boot(aussie word for trunk) and we changed his tire for him and taught him a bit how to do it.  It was a super hot day and it ruined our shirts but that's okay it was way worth it.  So thanks dad for all you did teaching me about cars.  Haha I know how to do the basics. (Change a tire, check oil, and fill up with gas)  

So your other questions.  My fav Aussie word?  Ooooo that's a good question.:)  There's one word that I love it's, "ridgy-dige" which pretty much means 110% true.  Like it means true-blue it's completely true or real no joke.  Haha it's pretty funny all the words they use and they really don't make a whole lot of sense haha but they still use them.:)  

Unique?(something Aussie's do that may be weird to us)  Um...let's see well you talked about one but they don't have ice pretty much anywhere.  You can't even go to the store and buy a bag of ice.  They never put it in drinks so you don't really have super cold drinks very often.  Also drinks in general aren't a big thing for Aussie's which is weird you think it was cuz it's so hot.  But like most activities you go to they don't provide drinks it's just bring your own even at members homes they don't put out drinks if you want something you go to the kitchen and get your own drink and usually all they have is water or maybe cordial (which is like kool aid) but you do get some members that love fizzie and give it to the Elders when you go over. 

Yummy donuts?  No not really actually I have only had donuts a few times and they were just from the store nothing special.  That will be nice to have good donuts again when I get back home.:)  Lee's donuts.:)  

Celebrate my year mark?  Yep I burned a shirt at my year mark man that's crazy to think that was 6 months ago in MacArthur man how the time flies.  I guess some missionaries burn stuff at each 6 months like a tie at 6 months shirt at year mark 18 months burn slacks and 2 years burn a suit but I'll just stick to a shirt at a year cuz honestly I don't look forward to that time that comes but haha that's alright. 

Haha a pizza oven?  That would be way cool this past week we just finished the foundation of it which was actually pretty easy and i am taking good notes for it so we can make one when we get home.:)  I was also thinking the other day something that would be fun when I get home to open up a food truck. What do you think about that?  Haha Idk just an idea but not a full-time job but just something to do off on the side at events and fairs and games and stuff but just an idea.:)  We'll worry about that when I get home.  Also about hunting and my hunters ed.  I never got it just the merit badge so we would have to get that but that's okay just like you said man that would be heaps fun to just go camping and have some fun with the family.  How cool would that be it has been so long since we have been camping with the family for the deer hunt.  Also since I have been on my mission and been on so many hikes in Merimbula and Mudgee I know we talked about a while ago about going on a back packing trip to King's Peak I think.  Maybe we can get Danica on board when I get home and go for a back-packing trip.  Haha just a few ideas but we won't worry about those for now when I get home then we can.  Until then we will stay focused on the work.  :)

 Anyway I hope that is all of you guys questions and I hope that this email finds you guys well and helps and expresses my love that I have for you guys.  Love yous heaps.  Have a great week and before we know it, it will be next p-day.  Haha man crazy and crazy that it has been over a month since we Skyped for Christmas seems like yesterday I saw you guys.  Haha the ways it's going I might still be here in Merimbula for when we Skype for Mother's Day haha not to far away.:)  Love you guys have a great week and stay warm and I'll  try to stay cool.:)  HOLD TO THE ROD AND NEVER LET GO.

Love Elder Stott