The Circle of Liiiiife

A happy Halloween to everyone! Most of you Americans are a day late - we already celebrated and moved on. But hey, who am I to spoil your fun? Enjoy our creepy holiday. 

This week was absolutely incredible. There's so much I could share, I hardly know where to begin. I'll try and keep my thoughts short because I know that most of you just look at the pictures anyway. But there's no doubt in my mind that there are miracles happening out in the mission field. Australia Melbourne Heidelberg area is being blessed, and I'm the fortunate missionary who gets to be here when it happens. 

Let's start with last Sunday: we had a record six investigators show up to sacrament meeting, which is unheard of with the Chinese. We had to get other companionships and go on exchanges to deal with them all. Elder Mourino and I had a chance to sit down with Lian Rong after the meeting (and lunch) and have a simple lesson with her. Mourino has only been here one transfer longer than I have, so neither of our Chinese is all that refined. But we taught, and we bore powerful testimony of the Savior and of His Atonement in what little Chinese we had. It was a powerful, powerful lesson. I'm so grateful. 

The rest of our investigators are coming along as well. Liu 's baptism is coming up and we're all so excited. Leo and John accepted baptismal dates. We got a call from Chelsea last week, asking if we knew how to help with her 'dandelion' problem. We offer to do service, and show up the next morning with Elder Liu and Elder Mourino. Turns out her whole yard is infested by 5 foot weeds - hours of work. So what else do we do, besides dive in and start pulling everything up. Three and a half hours later, we had a mosty weed-less yard and a well-mowed lawn. Nothing special, but we missionaries can work. In all honesty, that was the most familiar thing I've done since arriving in Melbourne. The food is new and the language is new and the teaching is new...but work is always work. That, I can do. 

Our language study yesterday was phenomenal and worth noting. Elder Hu is preparing to take his English exam that for schooling after the mission, so we've been working on his reading and listening and comprehension. Yesterday, for review, I recited the plot for the majority of the Princess Bride and made him describe back to me each of the characters in the movie. It was fantastic. He's been shouting "Inconceivable!" and every car that cuts him off on the road. I'm so proud. The other priceless line was when he was going through the dictionary and found the word "cantankerous". I asked him what he thought it meant. He pauses, and then said, "I use it to describe my old girlfriend, right?" I just about died laughing. I love my companion. Couldn't ask for a better teacher.

Last week for P Day, we got eight missionaries together in the ZL's flat and made dumplings. I probably downed 40 of those things, they're so good. Oh, man. I'm going to be fat by the end of the mission if the Asians keep feeding me. I'm starting to get a hang of cooking their food myself, and I know where the shops are where they buy their spices...dangerous. Of course, that doesn't mean we don't eat regular food over here too, though. Last week, we made American french fries topped with Chinese ash pepper (highly recommend you all go find and try some of that stuff, it's awesome) to side with our spaghetti and Turkish Delight, which our investigator gave us. We're multicultural. 

Game night last week, I taught a few branch members to play Rage. It went about as well as you'd expect Rage to go with Asians. No other comments. If you know the game, you'll have a pretty good picture of how it went. If you haven't played, go find my father and question your friendship with him that he hasn't introduced this fantastic game to you yet. 

I could keep going with stories, this week was eventful. But I only have a little time to email, so here's the quick rundown for the rest:

9 lessons

I got lost for the first time (miracle it took this long)

Elder Hu and I shouted at seagulls

A branch member bought me a pumpkin (long story)

Elder Hu and I got a total of zero phone numbers from our GQing this week

So, lots of fun. Last couple thoughts:

We spent a lot of time studying this week, preparing to teach our investigators and finishing my golden training. Amidst everything we looked at, there was something that always kinda stuck with me. We teach a lot of doctrine. We share lots of stories. But at the end of the day, everything we share points back to Jesus Christ. Every invitation we give is about finding our relationship with Him. And truly, the way we get to know Him is through repentance. Through applying His Atonement in our lives. My simple reminder to you all this week is to stop and recognize your relationship with Him. Do you really understand what His sacrifice means for you? No understanding or truth can ever begin to compare with what He did for us. May we all focus more on the Savior this week. I can promise - as we do, we'll better understand and be ready to face whatever trials and challenges come our way. He is our Savior and Redeemer. Through Him, all things are possible. 

I love you all. I hope those of you back in the US are loving this cool season as much as I'd like to. As we approach Thanksgiving and the beloved Christmas season (shrieks) I hope you're all thinking a little less about yourselves and a little more about those around you. Have a fantastic week and I look forward to hearing from you all!

Elder Blackhurst

Journey to the West

Hey, everyone! Hope you're all having a great time back home. Australia is still very hot and very crazy and very much Asian. This week was absolutely incredible. The area I'm in has been prepared by the Lord and I'm so grateful to be here. 

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Australia weather really is all over the place. It's supposed to be summer, and it's definitely getting warmer. But the weather changes every hour or so. The worst decision you can make is choosing what you'll wear based on how it looks in the morning. You'll put on a suit and a jacket because it's dark and stormy and by the time you drive from your flat to wherever you're going to contact, it's blazing hot and you're regretting everything you've done up to that point. And then the wind picks up and you're fine until your pamphlets and teaching records are flying away. And then you think the sun is coming back and then all of a sudden it's raining. Welcome to Melbourne, my friends. It's a weird place.

The weird doesn't stop at the weather, though. There are so many interesting characters you meet in the city. I've mentioned a few in past emails, and I assure you, they keep coming. The street art is quite something as well. But, we love it. 

Our area is truly the best. I'm still in Heidelberg, which is way north of the city. You can google it. Because it's so far from the city, it's been known to be one of the harder areas in the mission for finding people. And yet, the Lord has seen fit to bless us with so many incredible investigators and so many new people to meet and teach. This coming week, we've got at least one lesson every day until P Day, if not two or three. For where I am in Melbourne, that's incredible. I'm so grateful to be here with the companion I have right now. My own abilities have nothing at all to do with whatever success we're having - I can't teach or speak or even understand them most of the time. And yet, so many are on their way to the font of baptism. How merciful the Lord is to us. 

I haven't spoken much about Elder Hu in the last few weeks. My companion is pretty incredible. He's from Chengdu, towards the center of China. He's a devoted disciple of Christ. Everything he does, he does with purpose and direction in the way he feels will best bless our investigators. He's an example to me and, again, I'm grateful that the Lord put us together to serve right now. We've spent a whole lot of time drilling each other's language, which is a lot of fun. It make me feel a teeny bit better about my Chinese when my companion can't pronounce the letter I to save his life...so we've both got room to grow. But we're doing our best to better follow the example of Christ. 

In Asian culture, there are four really famous pieces of literature that all Chinese people know. The largest is called Journey to the West. I was asking around to learn about the story and why it's important to their culture. The general idea is that a monk goes on a religious quest and is accompanied by a pig king (who was kicked out of an equivalent of heaven), the monkey king (whose fault it was that the pig got kicked out of heaven), a river king, and a dragon horse prince vehicle something and they have lots of adventures. I'm not sure if they ever reach the destination, as I was too busy trying to figure out the characters. I'm not sure why I bring this up, I have no funny joke to go along with this story. Maybe there's some good parallel I can draw that will get me out of a pinch when I don't have anything good to share for a talk. But if any of you happen to know anything about Chinese literature, please share. 

Lots of little miracles this week. Liu Jing Long has his baptism in two weeks. It was such a tender moment when he came to us after a rough week of trying to live the Word of Wisdom and vowed to stop smoking forever. His faith is a testimony to me. We also finally got one of our other investigators - Leo - to commit to actually take a question to the Book of Mormon and read.  

(Quick tangent - I swear, all of our investigators are named Leo or Liu or some other variation. I can't keep them all straight. They all sound the same to me and apparently they're all different. But it's fine. No different than the rest of my Chinese. Anyway.) 

It makes me laugh a little, how much encouragement it takes to get someone to just sit and read the scriptures we're so lucky to be blessed with. They tell us they couldn't ever believe that God is out there. So we say, alright. Moroni 10:3-5. Read and pray and we promise you, you'll find an answer. We meet with them a week later, and they say, I still can't believe God is out there. So we ask, did you read and pray? ...no, but I still can't believe it. We cry a little bit inside and encourage them to actually read and pray. The Lord has taught time and time again that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. He just asks us to consistently do the basics with the faith that we will receive. We will receive. Anyway, we got Leo to finally read and pray. And then we call him in the middle of the week... Hey, Leo, how's the scripture study going? I read 1 Nephi, and I think I actually felt something... 

So, we're working with him. He's so good. We just have to go to Christ and He'll give us those answers. I'm rambled a lot already this week so I think I'll leave my invitation there. Go take Moroni's promise, all of you. Whether or not you have before. I promise. You go with real intent, and an open heart - He will answer. 

I love you all. Attached are pictures my companion took the other night of himself. What fun we have. I miss you all. Keep on doing good. Enjoy Halloween. I look forward to hearing from all of you soon. 

Elder Blackhurst

Really don't like spiders

Another week has come and gone. I swear, I sat down to write you all yesterday. I hope you're all making the most of your time because it's flying by faster than we think. October has been so fun. This week was an incredible one for the work - our investigators are so incredible. Progressing so much. Don't be surprised if I report two baptisms by the end of next month. This truly is the Lord's work. 

So, it's hot. October in Australia is hot. I'm not very happy about it. But it's fine. Enjoy your beautiful October Arizona weather, to all my AZ friends back home. Or wherever else you are, in the correct hemisphere. October shouldn't be hot.

Speaking of October, Halloween is coming up. I spent about twenty minutes earlier this week explaining Halloween to my companion. It was totally foreign to him. The thought that people get dressed up in weird costumes and go knocking door to door for treats was totally bizarre. Things completely fell apart when I tried to explain why pumpkins and bats and skeletons and witches and ghosts and such are all associated with the holiday. So, anyway, enjoy the adventure that is Halloween in a few weeks. I expect to hear you all dressed up well. 

Game night again. It was Werewolf this time. You can pretty much go back and read last week's bit about Catan and it's pretty much the same. I hadn't any clue what was going on, I was picked off in the beginning. Still, somehow won. I think. Anyway, that was fun. Our branch is incredible. I love our members - so many recent converts, working hard to hold onto the truth and the gospel light they've found. I've seen people who've given up so much to follow Christ. It's humbling to see their testimonies. 

So, I met my first real Australian spider this week. Yes, I mentioned Peter last week, but he sits still and is nice. This one was huge and wriggling and in my flat where he didn't belong. No clue how he got in. I thought growing up in AZ, I'd seen enough spiders to not have a problem. But, no. I don't like spiders.

Chinese is still the same adventure it always is. Things are still slow and steady. But hey, I learned to say "Spider-Man" and "Soft Chicken Cake" and "Help me, I'm bleeding" so things are going well. 

[It's alright, mother. Just the vocabulary. I only needed to use one of those in practice. You can guess which.]

This last Sunday was incredible because we had 3 of our investigators show up, which isn't common. John and Leo and Lian Rong all came. I don't think it's really hit me all that hard until now that I'm the missionary; I'm the guy in the suit and tie with the name badge who answers the investigators questions that might change their life. So when John leaned over during the first sacrament talk and out of the blue asked what was wrong with tea and coffee, it hit me like a brick wall. I'm so grateful that the Lord has given me this opportunity to be His hands in this small corner of the vineyard. I'm so far from perfect. Honestly, I feel more like a child than a missionary 95% of the time. But we give our best and trust that He will take us the rest of the way. 

As always, I miss you all lots. Stay faithful, stay hopeful. Find ways to serve those around us. God will take us all the way. 

Love you all. 加油. 

Elder Blackhurst

No clever headline this week - sorry, I can't be funny all the time

Moon cakes to celebrate the full moon with Elders Young and Chen.

Happy October to all of you! Another great week in the mission field. Approaching the end of my first transfer out here - I can't believe I've been a missionary for more than 3 months already. Seems like just a few weeks ago I was sitting at home alone, drinking orange juice and waiting to leave for the MTC. If that isn't a reminder to make the most of every day, I don't know what is.

I may have a little less time in the coming weeks to email on P Day, so if my emails aren't quite up to expectations, forgive me. I really do appreciate all of the kind responses from all of you.  I'm doing my best.

This last week, we were a little short on lessons. Which is fine, so we talked to / were ignored by lots of people. Which is alright - our role is simply to offer and invite, and those who are ready will listen. My Chinese is still pretty abysmal, but my street approach is getting a lot better. There's this thing the Asian missionaries refer to as "White Charm", which is pretty much the idea that because I'm American but I can speak Chinese, even just a little bit, lots of people want to talk with me. That's the only reason anyone listens to me, I swear. 

General Conference was such a blessing. For all those of you who sent me your thoughts and impressions, thank you so much. There was so much good to be found in the words of our dear apostles. How blessed we are to have their counsel. It was quite the different experience listening as a missionary than before - there's a whole new mindset when you hear the talks. I'd just like to mention the message Elder Andersen closed conference with. There is so much inspiration and guidance to be found from their words. Go, do something with the promptings you felt. Don't wait for another sign. If you know the things you need to do, go and do. The Lord will make more with you than you ever imagined you could. 

On a less serious note, I found my first Australian spider this week. With all of the talk beforehand, I'm disappointed in Australia for not trying to kill me faster. The scariest thing I've dealt with so far is my own cooking. Anyway. Our flat is on the third floor of this tiny building. In the stairwell on the way up is this big web with a spider. We pass him every day. We named him Peter.

Our branch had a game night last week, so Elder Hu and I got to play Settlers of Catan with a bunch of the members and our new investigator, John. They all spoke in Chinese the whole time so I was pretty lost most of the time. No one wanted to trade with me, mostly because I didn't know the Chinese words for "brick" and "wheat" and "ore". I did know "sheep", however, so I mostly just traded that for whatever they offered. I lost pretty terribly. But that's alright.

We're driving out to the Williamstown after I send this email. For all you weirdos who like looking up where I am, I'll be at the very very bottom-most point of the peninsula. 

Have a lovely week, everyone. I miss you all lots. There are miracles all around us - I can testify of that. The Lord will guide us and bless us and lead us to where we need to go. We just need have the faith to follow them. Have courage, my friends. Keep on doing good. 

Elder Blackhurst

The adventure that is Hot Pot

Another week has come and gone! I can hardly believe it's gone so fast. It's difficult to believe that any week will ever end, but then when all of a sudden the the days sorta just disappear, you're left wondering where they all went. I'm so grateful for all of the fun stories and messages you've all been sharing, so thank you so much. This week was quite the adventure, as they always are. 

Let me start by just answering the question virtually all of you asked me - no, I haven't seen conference yet so no, I don't have anything to share from it. Next week I'll have something good for you all. Because we're almost a full day ahead, they just wait to replay them next week at all of the church buildings. We did hear about the unfortunate passing of Elder Hales. He was an incredible man and a powerful witness of God. He will be dearly missed. 

The highlight of this week was what the Chinese call Hot Pot. Elder Hu has been raving about it since I got here. But every time I ask what it is, he'd just tell me I'd have to wait. They take this pot, fill it with oil and spices and other miscellaneous floaties, and boil it to about a billion degrees (Celsius, to be exact) and dump random food items in, most of which they wouldn't identify for me until after I ate it. Assorted fish, crabs, eggs, roast beef, potatoes, and some sort of plant thing that they could only describe as "vegetable you can't digest very well but tastes very good". That's the Chinese for ya. I scalded both my tongue and my lip and was half-sick for several days but it was all delicious. Still. This week, I'm probably going to stick with American food. Lots of grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Which, for those of you who know me, know that isn't a problem. 

Chinese is still a little slow. It's such an incredible language, and I'm learning a lot being surrounded by a whole lot of native speakers. The other missionaries are from all over Asia - Sichuan, Hong Kong, Taiwan...I've heard so many different dialects and slangs and accents. There's lots to learn, lots to try and grasp. It's coming. Slow, but sure.

As far as the work goes, this week was awesome. Our investigators are progressing bit by bit, and we found a whole lot of new potentials. It's incredible to see them come and want to learn. I had a young lady yesterday sit down with me on a bench on the street and we just discussed God the Father and Jesus Christ, our older brother. I think I focus a whole lot on how everything around me is so new, but I forget that the world I grew up in, the one I'm sharing with them - it's foreign to them too. We're all just kinda trying to understand one another better. But as we do, that's where we learn, that's where we grow. It's the most incredible thing. 

This week, more so than the others, was kinda hard for me. I came home a lot of evenings feeling like I couldn't do anything right. It's hard - everything around me is still very new. It was through a whole lot of fervent prayer, scripture study and the guidance of some of the other missionaries that I found some of my strength. Christ is always there. He knows what we've been through and understands our problems personally. We read in Ether that He will take our weaknesses and make them strong as we turn to Him. I know this is true. I've felt it. I've needed it. He is the way we progress and I'm so grateful to have Him behind me. I wouldn't have made it this far without. We look at the lot we've drawn a lot of the times and just wonder how we're going to get through. Why we have to go through it. I know that as we turn to Christ, our trials become blessings. I hope we all can rely a little more on Him this week.

In other news, Aussie Rules premier. We were really confused the other day why nobody was in the streets in the evening. We remembered the next day why. Note to future Melbourne Australia missionaries: good luck finding people during the finals. It'd take a whole lot of faith to get an Australian to miss the cup finals. 

One last fun story. We were in church, sacrament was over, we were waiting for the next class to begin. The teacher is standing in front, and is talking (Chinese, not a clue what she was saying), but it was apparent we weren't starting yet. Everyone is chatting. I had left my seat to go talk to our investigator. Elder Hu suddenly turns to me and says, "Elder Blackhurst. You need to go get your bag from your seat. Right now." I think nothing of it and stand up to go get it. Everyone looks at me kinda funny and laughs. Apparently they had just asked for a volunteer for a prayer, so I kinda sheepishly shuffle to the front and offer one. Elder Hu claims it was an accident. I'm not sure I believe him. I still love him anyway.

Anyway. Australia is incredible. I've got the best mission in the world. Keep on doing your best, everyone. We're so blessed to be alive right about now. I look forward to discussing conference with you all next week - send me your favorite quotes and thoughts from whichever session. I'm always grateful to hear from any of you - I do read them all, they mean the world. Have an incredible week. I miss you all.

Elder Blackhurst