Mar 27 2013

We're going to hit 75 baptisms this month, I'm sure of it! We have 37 dates left in the month and we only need 13 more to hit our goal. Woohoo! That will be a new high for the Brisbane Australia mission (I hear the Melbourne mission has something similar going on right now as well, I wonder if we'll beat them in baptisms).

There isn't too much to report this week. Last p-day we went and had a hot pot together (the whole zone) at the chapel, that was pretty fun.

We had a record high attendance for english class last week, at least for the time that I've been here, with about 15 people. And then yesterday we had only 2 -- it fluctuates quite a bit, as you can see, subject to the whim of investigators and members who come :P

We've been preparing our most-progressing investigator for his trip to China next week, acquiring a copy of gospel principles for him in Chinese that he can take with him and study, and meeting with him here and there to teach him useful doctrine for speaking to his family and to his girlfriend. Speaking of, he and his girlfriend actually had a fight last week, so I'm not sure what will come of his visit to China. Will they get back together? Will they call it quits? Tune in two or three weeks from now to find out! Haha. I'm confident about his date, though, which has been re-set for April 20th. By the way, check out the new website mormonsinchina.org, it's been helpful in talking to him and it makes a good read for the rest of you curious folks.

Which reminds me, General Conference is coming up -- I'm looking forward to it! Here in Australia they broadcast it the week after because it would be like 2 AM Sunday and Monday to watch it live. In EMP I think they'll have a separate room where they will have the Chinese translation... I don't know yet if we'll try and utilize that opportunity or not.

We had one funny story from the week: On Saturday we were in Sunnybank teaching the family once again (exhausting once again), when Monsen got a call which he saw was from a Japanese investigator we have who will be returning to Japan soon. He answered it, but the voice wasn't a 20-something Japanese girl -- it was an old Australian guy! He found the phone lost in a park near the city, and said he'd leave it there for us. After ending our lesson we traveled to the park, located the phone, and took it to the city with us. However, there was no way to get in contact with our investigator, since she had lost her phone. We tried texting all her friends and after a little while one did respond. It took some time but she got in contact with our investigator, who then came to the city. Still we didn't know were and when to meet. She tried calling via a pay phone but apparently it didn't work very well, because the call dropped, so we had no idea where to go -- until Elder Monsen felt like we should walk up the street, and there she was.

By the way: We had a lesson with her yesterday which went well. Maybe she'll be baptized in Japan when she goes back next week, who knows?

Monday night we attended an FHE held at our Bishop's house, which was fun. There was a message about Easter, and then an activity -- the standard easter-egg hunt with one small twist, it was also a three-legged race! And there was a prize for who found the most. Elder Monsen and I didn't win, but we made a good show of it: we collected 35 or so eggs and there were only four or five teams who had more than us.

Yesterday we had a special training, the first with our new Assistant to the President, who is a convert to the church from France! Which reminds me, I've got the updates for the Chinese progam: two companionships in the city, three in EMP, and one in Gold Coast.

I've been reading the New Testament again the past few weeks, and my favorite scripture of the moment comes from Hebrews 6:1-2: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ... the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment."

What is the foundation of the Gospel? Well, the foundation is Christ himself, but the foundational principles of the doctrine of Christ is faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, Resurrection (the "good news" of the "gospel"!) and Judgment.

That's all I have for this week. Take care everyone!

Elder J. Colton Ladd