Fishers of (Wo) Man

Okay, so President Bennallack was here last week, and after,  telling them about our fabulous 1.8 Km long Jetty that Busselton is Famous for.  Well, we went contacting along the jetty right around the time that they should have been off of the jetty.... haha. Turns out they finished it right as we were talking to a family at the end of the Jetty.  President then suggested that we contact the fishermen on the Jetty itself, because they're normally more local.  So we did.  Sure enough, there was an Aussie fisher (wo)man who just happened to start up a conversation with us.  We invited her to come to church, and she said if she was in town, yes!  It was so fun, and just made my night. 

Cute story:  We knocked on a 92 year old's door.  She was so cute and really wanted to hear our message, but her caregiver was standing right behind her shaking her head no.  We quickly caught on that she has dementia after telling her what church we were from about 5-6 times.  :)  She then caught on that we weren't entering her home and she asked, "Am I a duck up a creek? What's going on?"  haha :)  We kindly told her we were afraid that she was busy and gave her a pamphlet.  We in turn got about 5 hugs. :)  She was so cute. 

Aussie Phrase: Knackered.  I think I've used this one before, but it means tired.  We're just so knackered every night. haha like really really tired.  Good thing we love this work.  <3

Ether 12:37--And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. 

I've been hit with my weaknesses in my face lately, and of course came to the realization that not every weakness that I've worked on has actually been "fixed." The dang things need attention more than what I have been giving them, so they're starting to creep back in.  But I love that because of them we're able to be stronger.  It says in just a few verses before (27) that we are given weaknesses to be humble, and that he'll make us strong, then repeats it just a little while later.  I also was reading a talk about weaknesses lately, and it gave 14 suggestions on how not to be discouraged about our weaknesses.  One that I want to work on is not comparing myself with others.  We all have unique talents that Heavenly Father has given us, and there is no need for us to all be strong in the same areas.  Stop comparing, and I'd be willing to bet that your NST will go down as well.  :) 

Have a great week!

Silly Selfies, a picture of the Jetty, and the Dunsborough foreshore.  :) 

Sister Hollee Talbot

Sister Talbot

Sister Talbot and Sister Hughes

Busselton Jetty

Dunsborough Foreshore

Ben to Busso

Hey all! 

So the Bennallacks came down to our beloved Busselton to see what it's like down here.  He just casually mentioned it during our interviews last week.  It was my first time having my mission president visit my area, so I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  We have a calendar that we use to keep track of things, and just to remind us, but not to be too obvious if they came to our flat, we wrote Ben to Busso.  haha :)  They didn't come to our flat, but it was funny to say, and seemed like a book or movie title, so we left it there. 

This week we had a family history event led by the Aleknas.  It was so cool!  We had two different sessions going, one for beginners and one for advanced historians.  There were about 40 people there, and they were all very interested in hearing what was said.  The Aleknas had gone to the 4 libraries in our area and asked them to post a flier about the event.  Capel (30 minutes away) and Dunsborough (30 mins away) had quite a few people turn out!  It was such a great day, and a lot of those who came have asked for more help!  It was so fun. :) 

So this week we got a little down on our spirits, since most of the people that we were teaching went radio silent on us.  So we had some great time to go finding door to door.  It was such a spirit booster for us!  We weren't able to find anyone (just yet) but the spirit came so strong into our companionship that day that we were able to get back to the full smiles on our faces.  :)  We loved it, and have been able to do quite a bit of that this week. 

Aussie word: Chuck (to throw up).  So Aussies laugh at our Chuck A Rama restaurant back home... haha :)  Didn't think of it like that.  :)

And the scripture this week is Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16--15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me! 

At this point in my mission I've begun to feel like I wasn't sure how well I had done on my mission.  I've worked hard, but have I worked hard enough?  Thoughts like that (Negative Self Talk) have been rolling around my head recently.  I prayed at the beginning of my studies the question: Have I done what I needed to do?  And this morning I found this beautiful answer.  I may not have had all the glam that some other missions have, but what I have learned and what I have taught has been enough.  I love this.  To anyone who may be letting their Negative Self Talk roll around their heads again: STOP!  Heavenly Father Loves You.  And He isn't going to leave you.  Work hard, leave it all on the table, and know that He will accept you as you are. 

Love you All!

Photos: The Jetty! :) 

Sister Hollee Talbot

Follow Up Miracle

Hey hey!  This week has been great!  It happened all so fast, and so I'm not sure what even happened....  But here's some highlights!

We went up to Follow Up training in Perth on Thursday!  It was a great training about the Doctrine of Christ, and where we wanted to improve.  Mainly time management was mentioned, so that is one of our goals this week. 

Another thing that was mentioned during Follow Up training was asking what Christlike Attribute we see in our Goldens.  I said Hope for Sister Hughes.  She's a really positive, happy person with great perspectives on all that we do.  I was really touched by what the other trainers said, and yeah, it stayed in my thoughts a lot as we drove home.  So! In personal study later that evening, I went through and did it for all of my companions that I've had.  It was really cool to learn what I had learned from each of them.  They've all greatly impacted my life, and I hope that I will be able to continue to learn from them.  :) 

MIRACLE! This week we went down to Margaret River (one of our areas) went tracting for a bit, visited some members, and then headed back up for dinner.  As we were visiting some members we missed a phone call.  It was a private number so we couldn't call it back, but it was a guy asking for more information about the Pass along card we left on his door.  He and his family really want to know how to be together forever!  He gave us his address, but it must be a new street, because our maps can't find it... So we can't call back, and we can't find his house.  We're praying for a follow up Miracle to have him call us back sometime.  If you want, please add that to your prayers too! 

Aussie Phrase: Lackey.  Hair elastic.  "Hey, do you have a lackey I can borrow?"

Scripture:  Ezekiel 3:7  But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

I love this because it is relatable to all of us.  We aren't all going to be prophets, but we can watchmen for our friends around us.  We can share through our example and through simple invitations. When we do all we are asked to do, it is then their choice what to do.  Give them a clear choice, and they'll make it from there.  Love you all! Never think you are less than amazing. 

Photos: me with Sister Burridge, me and my goldens, and the temple! 

Sister Talbot and Sister Burridge

Sister Hughes, Sister Talbot, and Sister Tyler

Perth Temple, Sister Talbot's favorite place

Hi There!

Hello there, Hi there, G'day all!

Let's see, what do I share this week?  Oh! I got it!  This whole week has been really cold and rainy.  Our mission has even seen snow in a couple of areas!  That makes it REALLY cold, because I don't think we see that every year.  My area has only gotten rain and some hail, but that still makes me cold. haha  :)  But, while explaining to a person we're teaching that we still go out in the weather, I told her that we appreciated her allowing us to come in.  It means less time in the weather.  Which is true.  I'm so grateful for all the people that listen to our messages and let us in.  We stay warm, and they feel the warmth of the spirit!  We then had a lovely conversation about taking bad things and being grateful for them. 

We have been involved with the Young Women quite a bit, and absolutely love the girls.  I know I was rather loud in Young Women's, but these girls are probably triple what we were. haha :)  They're super sweet, and have really cool testimonies.  They put on a devotional this week, which was titled "Women at the Well."  It is a really cool hour long program of songs and solos about women from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and I think even modern days.  It was so beautiful to listen to the music, and they even let us sing in the group songs!  It was so touching, and those who didn't cry were really close to.  :)  If you get a chance, I would recommend that you listen to it.  We had to dress up in Christ's period clothing (I just added a scarf around my hair) and some of the members thought that we were extra young women instead of missionaries. haha :)  Oops!

Oh!  And we had a great first English class with the Senior Couple.  :)  There are some seasonal employees that come into our area to work on the vineyards.  There's a large group of Tongans, most of which don't speak too much English.  So we've started up an English class near them.  They loved it, and hopefully we'll be able to work out a time so that they don't have to give up their dinner to take the lessons. haha :)  They asked us to come back, and one of the members came to me at church and started practicing what we had taught in the lesson that week! :)

South African phrase:  Fetch.  It means similar to pick up.  "Hey, will you come fetch me?" (Will you come pick me up?) "I don't know why he fetched me so early" (I don't know why he picked me up so early.)  It's fun being with Sister Hughes. 

2 Nephi 10:14-- For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

I love this scripture because of the description that our Saviour gives to us.  He is the King of Heaven, and so He will be our King too.  He will be a light to us, Forever!  He will always be there to guide us, and direct us.  Christ is the One and Only who will be able to lead us in a way of love, and I love that.  Look to Him and His light, and all will be well.  :) 

Photos:  Women at the well, and some funny weather! 

Sister Talbot, a young woman from the ward, and Sister Hughes

Beautiful Australia

Beautiful Australia