The Melbourne Chronicles v.2.0 - Lets try this again!

So the last post was in January of this year--- soooooooo...we are going with President Uchtdorf's counsel...start where you are:) Update, Amron is involved in mission leadership now..so this was Amron's email of the week:

"So first of all Happy 21st Birthday to Mom this past Saturday......and Happy 15th Birthday to Anisee tomorrow! :) I hope that ya'll had and will have great birthdays! (I sent you something Anisee but Aussie Post shipped it to the 'return address' on accident so I had to resend it.)

After 3 transfers (4 and half months) in Doncaster and 6 transfers (9 months) in Maroondah Zone including Croydon , I will be transferred. The days of the Diamond Dogs have passed.

I feel like a lot has happened this week! Especially the crazy weather patterns. It was blazing hot at the first half of the week and jacket cold the second half.

Monday:

This last Monday we didn't do too much just really chilled out and relaxed. Got some laundry done and cleaned. The usual! AND we received a member referral...that's right! A member referral in Australia! We received it via a call from the office. Her name is Yvette! So we set up an appointment for Tuesday night!

Tuesday:

It was hot today. GQ'ing in the sun all day gave us quite the tan in the face. At night when we returned to the flat, I felt as if I had talked to a burning bush like Moses in "The Ten Commandments". Remember that movie? And how Moses has that shell-shocked looked on his face and he's aged when he came off the mountain? Yeah, that's how I felt. lol

But yes we met with Yvette! We just had a HTBT lesson, which is pretty much setting expectations for her as she meets with missionaries. And she is keen as. She really wants to be baptized and make a big change her life. She is getting baptized on October 31st. I believe she has also added Mom on Facebook? So Mom, please encourage her to follow through with baptism!:) Too bad I won't be in the area to see it happen.

Wednesday:

It was just a day of GQ'ing at Box Hill!:) At the night we went over to the Vierra's for a feed. They are an Indian family. Very nice people! After that we did part member visits with President Williams, the 2nd Counselor of Maroondah Stake. It was a success as we went to visit his bro in our area. So we will start working with them.

Thursday:

We went to Michael Jee's this week. It was our last lesson with him before he went back to New Zealand! Adrian, Michael Jee's son, took us all out to a Malaysian restaurant called Papa Rich. It was quite good, first time I've ever had Malaysian food. Man it was a bummer to see him leave. He said to visit him in New Zealand after my mission, looks like I'll be taking ya'll to see him after my mission! :) We also visited Yvette again. We taught her the Restoration this time around. She full on accepted it all! So we commited her to pray about the truth of the Book of Mormon and also ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet.

Friday:

Had our weekly meeting with the district leaders. DLC. The rest of the day just involved a lot of finding (door knocking and GQ'ing at Box Hill)

Saturday:

We taught English Class in the morning. Then we taught Michael Scott at Manningham Library as usual. Then we went to go pick up Jordan Skadins for fellowship to Yvette's again. This time around she told us she prayed and asked God about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and she said that God said it was true. "Wow! That's awesome!" we said. And so we also read the title page, introduction, the testimonies, and the first chapter of 1st Nephi with her to start her off in reading the Book of Mormon. Man we we're reading for ages! lol, I thought she was gonna be bored but nah! She wanted to keep reading. She always says that she feels the Spirit as we come over. That is a great sign! She's awesome!

Unfortunately Ranee could not be baptized! Her sister-in-law with  held from being baptized. Like she literally flew form Malaysia to stop her from being baptized Christian. (As she used to be Hindu) . It was very unfortunate! Poor Ranee.

Sunday:

We had church as usual. 9:30AM-12:35PM. It was weird knowing that I would leave, but I didn't tell anybody. I don't know how to goodbye so I just avoided it. After church we went to teach a new man for the first time. Oliver had been taught by Elders previously a year ago. Really Oliver just needed to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Chirst loved and still love Him. It totally opened his heart and mind. After bearing testimony of God's love to him there was a long pause........"I forgot how intense you guys were." He says. I had to hold back the laughs when he said this all serious and what not. I just wanted to be like "OH YOU KNOW HOW WE DO IT WITH SPIRIT UP IN HERR MANG!" :)  After that I went to TIna's to say goodbye! She fed us as usual lol, the Vietnamese cuisine was going ham man. Then I went to say goodbye to Michael Scott at his new house in McCloud and give him a blessing for his back pain. Boy it was far! Turns out he moved into a totally different stake! hahaha...whoops!

Anyways! I hope you enjoyed todays email! It took me a while to write! I love you all. Please pray that I will be given the strength and courage to lay down the law in my next area. I have a feeling trouble lies ahead. And I have a good idea of what it is. But nonetheless "Be of good cheer for [He] has overcome the world""

Accent or not...I'm preachin'!!!

Dear family and friends,

G'day me mates and sheilas! How has the week been?...Gangstah you say? Awesome. My week was gangstah as too!

So this week we were visited by our area authority. Elder Pearson. And he pretty much along with his wife rebuked and chastised the entire mission. It was crazy. Like we all had to go up and shake his hand. Looked us straight in the eye, then glanced at the name tag and said "Hello Elder....Fiaui! Where are you from?" It was like he was looking into your soul! But pretty much a lot of the mission wasn't getting up on time and sleeping in till 9AM...what a bunch of useless disobedient missionaries. It actually affected heaps of missionaries and their morale. Some for the good and others not so good.

Me and the crew spreading the gospel

We also started teaching one of our recent convert's younger brother and set a date with him yesterday. So hopefully he gets baptized! He's 12 and pretty solid!

Without fail. Every time I speak with someone they are put off or taken aback by my accent. They all think I'm Maori and from NZ. It's funny as. Or they'll get annoyed by my accent...not so funny as. Nevertheless I am dang proud of my accent. 'Merica.

Practicing following the straight and narrow :)

Samoans always mock me (joke with me) on not speaking the language. Although I can't speak like a Samoan, but at least I can eat like one! Corn beef, taro, rice, fried chicken, sapa suey, mussel. Yeah boy!

Quote of the week!

"Have you ever been so poor you had to eat cereal with a fork to save the milk!"

Hahahah...I don't know why I think that's funny but it just is!

Keep reading that Book of Mormon---it is your apple a day!

Fa Soifua

Elder Fiaui

The Kangas be Creepin' and Elder Fiaui be Preachin'!

Dear family and friends,

 

Aloha and g'day mates and sheilas all the way from the other side of the earth! This week has all been a blur...like every week in the mission!

Look a these kangas---they be straight up flexin'

Monday- Highlight of the day... we go back to the flat, hopped out, checked the mail, and then....I GOT MAIL SON! I was stoked. From my mom! Thank you Mom I love you! (I think every missionary yells out a battle cry when they get mail) It's almost like "The Best Two Years" when we get mail...except crazier and louder. That movie doesn't do enough justice. :)

 

Tuesday- We worked with our area book. Found a lot of less-actives who hadn't been visited for a long time. We also had a family home evening with a Samoan family in the ward.

Seriously, these kangas are just cruising at the local subdivision neighborhood park

 

Wednesday- I was on exchanges with Elder Anae-Ahsue on foot in Epping. So we did lots of finding and talking to people on the street. We visited quite a few families. In the middle of the day 39 degrees celcius (pretty hot weather), bright as outside. And it starts raining on us! Man this weather random as! So it just kept raining the rest of the day with the sun full on. Mate...Melbourne weather is weird as sometimes.

Me and the Elder Crew

 

Thursday- We had zone meeting. I met all of the zone. The trainings went alright, but the roleplays were mean as. They went really well. Afterwards I received more... MAIL! Jea boi! From Honolulu, Hawaii from my Grandma! If you are reading this Grandma, thank you and I love you! After wards my district and I went to KFC and bought $75 worth of fried chicken...it was crazy! We ate it all!

This is all the food we got from K-Fry

 

Friday- My exchange in Footscray (Asian-ville) and the city of Melbourne. Let me just say first the city is a crazy place! So many people, everyone's walking fast as, many...interesting children of God. It was gangstah in the city though! I learned heaps from Elder Marker (from North Nevada) in finding. We talked to many people on the street that day! We also used the trains all throughout the city to talk to people. Oh and Elder Marker is in the Vietnamese Speaking program so he was speaking Viet everywhere we went. It was a sight to see a white guy speaking Viet!:)

 

Saturday- We visited more less actives and worked out of the area book. It's pretty outdated but we work with what we got!

 We actually found a lady to go back and teach from knocking on previous members house. That is to say the members had moved out. She was interested in what we had to share about the gospel!

 

Sunday- Went to church! Afterwards we went to go visit our Iraqi Investigator family. The father was only home so we taught him about the Godhead and taught him how to pray. Just witnessing him say his first prayer was surreal. Something definitely felt different in the room. 

 

Great week though! Just tryin to stay busy and keep obedient!:) haha. Everyone take care and have a great week!

 

Aloha! & Fa Soifua!

Elder Fiaui

January 4th POST---TRANSFER TIME----DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!!!

So my Mon Mere has been slacking, I heard she got reamed by her friends on Facebook---tsktsktsk mamasan --- here is my update from January 4th --- January 11th is coming next:

Dear beloved, dearest, exquisitely gangstah family,

G'day me mates and sheilas! This past week has had some major changes. Transfer week!

Monday- We went to Rosebud for P-Day and just hung out there all day. Elder Fa'amausili and myself went near the beach and also went out on this cool pier. Man, the surf was hard out when we went! It really windy as well. That night we had EIGHT missionaries in one little two story flat...it was pretty crazy. There was Elder Brooks, Fa'amausili, Barcarse, Orrego, Rolfe, Zhai, King, and myself. 

Elder Rolfe and Myself---The Bruthas from The Zona!!!

Rosebud Beach

Tuesday- We headed off to the mission office for transfer news. I've been transferred every transfer so far. As usual President Maxwell gives a couple talks and then....the news comes. Elder's Howard and Woodruff read off the transfer news. I was so excited to find out my new area.

"In the Epping area. Elder Uaisele will be serving as District Leader with Elder Fiaui."

Epping Area, Heidelberg Zone. That is my new area!

Elder Uaisele is so so funny! He's from Hastings, New Zealand. 20 years old. He's Tongan, but can speak Tongan, Samoan, and English. He's the man in people skills and good at finding...all the things I'm not. lol, so he'll help me with that and I'll help the flat with exact obedience. My strength.

Me and Elder Uaisele in Chinatown

Epping so far is pretty cool area. There's heaps of Poly's and when they feed us, man. They go hard out on the feeds! Taro, corn beef, rice, lamb, sapa suey, K-Fri (KFC)....fizzy (soda)! THE FRANKSTON FAMINE IS OVER! They feed us really well.

Wednesday- We went to go visit some Samoan families. The Va'asili's and then we went to Siaosi's. They both fed us a ton. nice families!

That night was pretty hard to sleep with it being New Year's Eve...thankfully the City's fireworks weren't to far and we were able to see them all the way from Epping! hahah, man it was poppin' over there in the City of Melbourne!

"In the city...city of Melbourne...keep it rockin....keep it rockin...." sung in California Love fashion

I encourage you guys to set goals. Use the acronym SMART. Make the goals specific, measurable, attainable, reachable, and timely. If you mess up one day that's okay! Evaluate and retry!

2014 is in the bag! 2015 here we go!

Thursday- I got to GQ for the first time on a tram. So I talked to a chinese man, David, and his little boy. I talked to them about how the Gosepl of Jesus Christ blesses families. Unfortunately we had to get off before we left our area, but I gave him my contact info before we got off. Later that day I was also able to tract into an Iraqi families house with Elder Uaisele. At first we were just talking to them at the door and then he opens the screen wide open and says "come. come in." And Elder Uaisele both looked at each other and were like...what the hell? IT'S A MIRACLE!:) He let us in! They gave us fruit juice and we taught his family of 2 kids and wife all together. It was an awesome experience. We taught them basic Christian doctrines and set a return appointment. It was funny at the end...I gave the prayer and because of their little english I soke simply so I was like "Our heavenly father...our god father---" Uaisele opened one eye during the prayer and we were trying so hard not to laugh! hahahah, I was praying like a Catholic!

Friday- We got to go to the city for DLC. Melbourne Central baby! Man. The city is ruthless! It's a crazy place. The church in the city is on the second story of an office building so it's just like a big office...plus they had a big ping pong table. It's a Chinese/Vietnamese branch. Go figure.

We have weights in Epping. Yay! Get big, get strong!

I was also doing family history and found out I have Su'a blood on my dad's side. And on my mom's went back to Great-great grandma Pouli.

But man when I'm out tracting and get rejected I just want to say. "YOUR'E GONNA READ THE BOOK OF MORMON AND YOUR GONNA LIKE!!" - Like Spongebob when he's talking to Gary.

Here is a visual of what I want to say when someone doesn't want to listen!

Some Fob bore his testimony and said "Jesus...is the Christ. And Joesph...is the Smith. Man I was crackin' up! hahaha!! 

I love you guys! Keep fighting the good fight!

Sincerely,

Elder Fiaui

Armour of Righteousness--Gird Up!

Well. Aloha everyone! 

It has been a long week. I hope your week went well. Not too much happened this week. I did finding in the ghetto, the Pines. It was an interesting experience. First dude that answered the door was hammered. I started talking to him and he was interested and started walking away. I then said "Have a nice day sir" then he came back and held up his beer can and said "Christianity you bloody beauty!". I don't know why he said that but I just started cracking up and walked away. That street/court we tracted had spirtuals, drunks, and some crazy CRAZY dude who was in to Cacti and car hubcaps hahaha.

Missionary work ain't easy guys! It gets pretty rough, I'm not gonna sugar coat it. You just gotta push through. All I have to say is that the MTC didn't have a class on dealing with disobedient Elders, angry LDS members, and nonmembers!!! The church is true just a little different down unda!!!

Our Mission Christmas Party is this week Friday---I'm super excited because I know I'm going to get some bad butt box from my homebase! I'm so proud of my sibs---AJ is working like a boss at the cleaners (saving for that mission bro) and Anisee is a ballroom dancing superstah!!! I'm proud of them for holding on to the rod and obeying our mom while I'm gone. Families are Forever and that's all that matters! AJ and Anisee listen to mom she will hold you up! Even if it is annoying to hear her tell you a million times to say your prayers or be kind or do your dishes---Heavenly Father has to tell us a million times to do what he asks of us---but he still holds us up. He is still the rod to hold to, if we want eternal happiness. The concept is the same.

Well off to another week of getting stab threats at the local train station! I seriously want to say "Dude you got a knife---I got the Armour of Righteousness on. Now I think you better gird up you loins!"

Have a great week everyone!

If The Bar Aint Bendin'...You Just Pretendin'!

Aloha Mates!!!

I hope everyone's week was great!

As for me, it happened...my first "not so great" week! All of our appointments fell through and we got pretty much rejected by everyone we tried to talk to. I figure though that we have to have bad days so we can appreciate the good days. Next time we will pull an Operation Ammon and and go find a ton of service to do.  My family met the best missionary that way---Elder Yarmak---He was THE MAN!!!

I did get to ride a bike this week and have come to the conclusion that---I am seriously out of shape. It didn't help that I was going up hill the whole way. But Brother McBride, Brother Kerby, and Brother Hawkins---it was not too different from that big biking trip we did that one encampment. Dare I say---I may have made our ward look a little bad out there in Australia---but I tried and didn't give up---that is my M.O. and I am sticking to it!

So me and my companion decided to be super productive on Thanksgiving Day and recreated the cover of "Adjusting to Missionary Life" - how did we do?:

I also had a chance to take a pic while driving past the ocean on my way to an appointment---I really could not have gotten a better mission!:

And because I got a taste of bike riding life I felt I needed to get more fit and ready for all of that because one day its gonna happen---so I have put up "approved" inspirational posters in the weight room. Yup that's right---I rent my cloth and put this bad boy up! And I will let you all know---THE BAR WAS BENDIN'! Brother Anderson---you would be proud!:

Big big shout out to my awesome Bishop---Bishop Lamb. I heard he issued a charge to my home ward, Cloud Creek Ward in Queen Creek, AZ, to study the Book of Mormon for 2015.  I support him in this charge---I know that he is right and inspired. If we all study the Book of Mormon everyday it WILL keep our families safe and protected from the adversary's influence. It is the key! Yeah...Bishop Lamb is da man!

Well let's try this whole "week" thing again! I am sure those other types of weeks will be far and few in between. But hey that is life and Heavenly Father just wants us to keep truckin' and do what we can! 

Aloha 'Oe for now!

Elder Fiaui

It's all about The Jedi Council!

Aloooooooooooha Everyone!

G'day from the land down unda! Yes those are kangaroos, they grow to like 6 - 7 feet and love to fight---seriously I think they started the UFC! So no Anisee, you can not come here on a trip with me after and pet them, because then I would have to protect you from them and beat one up---then you would be crying because I injured an animal---it would just be a drama filled and tragic mess!:)

So I got transferred this week to an area called Frankston. Frankston is another very humble area but I also cover Seaside, Mt. Eliza and parts of Mornington---so I could easily go from a ghetto to mansions in one day---the disparity is strange. I have big plans for this area because it needs to be built up quite a bit---BIG PLANS!!!! Also, not that he is anymore important than any other soul I meet but---Wolverine actually now lives in the area I serve (remember it ranges from humble to mansions)---yup---Coincidence? I think not!  Frankston is a little interesting at the train station---we get out there and try to help those by having conversations with them about the gospel and Jesus Christ---I'm not going to lie, some people are just straight up mean and calling us some urban obscenities and pulling out weapons--to which I reply as follows:

"By the Decree of the Jedi Council we place you under arrest" said in Samuel L. Jackson voice----JOKES!!!!

Because my family keeps bugging me for "everyday mission life stuff" here are a few pics:

Here is my planner--Ammon defending flocks (for obvious reasons--no pressure to live up to my namesake) and then Moroni bidding farewell because...well...he was one buff braddah!!! Moroni is the ultimate to aspire to in buffness!

This is where I do my daily studying---Forget the whole apple a day thing---one chapter of deep study in the Book of Mormon a day will keep the adversary away!

Here is my white board chart. My mom's freakish obsession with ruling us by whiteboards just paid off!

My Book of Mormon collection

My homemade Brass Plates with my testimony I wrote---

My new companion's name is Elder Brooks and he is from Pleasant Grove, Utah---yup 4th comp from Utah---so it IS the mothership of all Mormons!:) I am excited to serve with him and get the ball rolling out here in Frankston---and maybe convert the Wolverine clan so they can have a forever family!

I love serving a mission and love those I serve---even the ones that attack us at the train station! So lesson of the day is---love everyone---even those who have deeply wronged you---pray for them---be kind to them---because you know better and because Heavenly Father would want you to---and there really isn't any other reason greater than that!

Have a great week everyone! ~ Elder Fiaui