Hey everyone! I got my package!!!! thanks a bunch! we will probably make the brownies soon and im already digging into the American candy. The only places you can buy American Candy in Australia is at an IGA convenience store, and there arent too many of those around, but they are around :) I am getting used to the Australian candy though, and its not bad. maybe my next package i'll send some back! Tell whit thanks for the dishcloths, i love them and use them everyday! Thanks also for the hot pads, they dont use hot pads over here, they just use hand drying towels and everything, so its nice to actually have hot pads! The cd's are awesome and if there are anymore like them there please send more! There is some good stuff on them, and you can also send more MOTAB as well, they never get old :)
We also have a bunch of more potential investigators, and a couple of them are really keen! Last night we attended a baptism for the Sister Missionaries in our district, they taught a young man named Peter and he was absolutely glowing after the baptism! he was so excited :) Hopefully we will have one of our own soon!
And now the bad news; and the fun begins of being a missionary. our bikes got stolen this last week. well its our own fault, we didnt lock them up, but there is a reason we didnt lock them up, we were dropping off an Arabic Book of Mormon for our investigator Jades' friend. We parked them just outside the front gate and we knocked on the door not expecting to stay. However he gave us some water and he asked us to stay and answer some of his questions and concerns, and naturally we were thrilled, and of course forgot all about the bikes until a girl knocked on the front door telling us that she just saw our bikes get taken from out in front of the house. Jade drove us around to look for them as we were calling the police to report it. Unfortunately we couldn't catch up with them. Our Zone Leaders gave us permission to drop proselyting and do everything we could to find the bikes, because if we couldnt get them back, it's $500 for each bike to be replaced. Friday, when we had the car we drove around the suburb Varsity Lakes to see what we could see when out of randomness we were driving past a dead grass patch in the corner where two fences meet, and there was Elder Prina's bike, just lying there. We picked it up and stuffed it in the car (that was a fun task) and continued to look for my bike without luck. We are still going to look around this week to try to find it, but if we cant find it, i have to pay $500 to replace it. So im still gonna hold off on my buying those things I asked about last week because im sure im going to need that to help pay for the bike. Im sorry, i hope that doesnt put us all in a hole. . . im guessing its Satans way of trying to stop the missionary work. I will keep you updated and you might get some contact from our vehicle coordinator Brother Burnett. I hate to tell you this but i have no other choice :( No worries though, because i still have a bike to ride, our Zone Leaders let us borrow their bikes because they dont use them because they have a car full time. Let me know what we can do. . . Keep praying that we might find mine!
Anyway we are going down to New South Wales today to visit Byron Bay. It's an area similar to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but more tropical. There is a cool lighthouse there, and a few other things to see! Its about an hours drive south of here, but it should be way fun. I'll take tons of pictures. It's also our Zone Leaders birthday tomorrow and we are throwing a surprise party for him during the trip. My assignment was to make a cake. Sister Yost (in our district) had a good German Chocolate cake recipe that I used. Its layered and has two different frostings, the frostings i also made from scratch. the middle frosting had the coconut in it and the top frosting is chocolate and cream melted together. It should be good! We are excited to eat it. It was fun to make, and i got a picture of it that will be on the SD card when i send it.
Did you get the mini package yet? Hopefully because Whitney's B-day is coming up and her card is in it, along with yours, Deb's and Nash's. NO peeking till the 18th!!!! As soon as i get the SD card back from ya i'll send this other one and we will just cycle them back and forth.
We get to go Kangaroo Point (the chapel right next to the Temple in Brisbane) on wednesday for a new missionary meeting (since i missed mine last month because of the flooding. We also get to go to the Temple this transfer! we go to the temple on Wednesday March 2nd (Whit's Bday!), which means that that day is our pday for the week, so dont expect an email on monday of that week, but expect one on the 2nd. We go to the Temple in the morning so i'll tell you about the Brisbane Temple in that email :)
I love hearing about the boys playing and getting in trouble together. Its so cute! I wish i had a brother to get into mischief with :):) Tell Whitney and Chris and the boys and the cranneys and grandparents and everyone hi!!! i miss you all too much too! Sometimes its hard to not think about coming home, because i miss everyone so much, but i am thinking of how I would regret it; all the wonderful experiences that i would miss out on, the wonderful people i would never get to meet and the fun places i would never get to see, but most importantly the great joy i experience when i see someone who wants to change their life. I know that there are people out here that need me, and it would be selfish to put my joy (being with my family) ahead of their joy. I know that i will be with my family forever, and i would hate to see that someone else cant because i wasnt there to help them. My eternal joy wouldnt be complete with that hanging over my shoulder. I dont know how often you see the missionaries in Provo, but if you get the chance, invite the ones in your area over for dinner, give them a referral, and do everything you can to help them succeed in their missions. I love it when members are so active in missionary work and will do everything they can to help us succeed. Every member should be a missionary, because its what the lord has asked. Do your part :) :)
I love you all soooo much! I miss you terribly, but keep sending the support. I need it!
I love you all so much!
Elder Stringfellow
