Chemish and Journaling

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: March 23, 2014 at 6:44:22 PM MDT


Mum will be really happy about what I learned in my Book of Mormon study. I read the book of Omni and it taught me about keeping a journal. I think Chemish says in effect, "So my brother Amaron gave me this record cuz we are supposed to write on it because that's what dad said so he wrote a bit right before giving it to me..." and that is half of what Chemmish wrote! Very uninspiring stuff.

I forgot who it was, but another guy that wrote in there said, "I don't have any revelations or prophecies except what the others have said... so that's all." What the heck man! Hasn't the Lord helped you in your life? I'm sure he did but without reflecting back it was probably hard to see what they had that was of value to share.
I think that writing in a journal gives time to look back and to repent. It makes you more aware of who you are, who you were, and a vision of who you want to become.

Omni also gives a perfect example of the 3rd Missionary in verse two. Omni says, "I fought for my people all my days. But I was wicked and didn't keep the commandments like I should have." Essentially he did much good for his people, but it didn't do him any good because it never changed who he was. He continued in sin. I want to look back at the end of two years and say, "I fought for Australia. I fought for my zone. Most of all I fought for the Lord and now you don't even recognize me because I have become a Man of God."

We had a great week this week. We had the opportunity to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a Brother in our branch who is somewhat less active and to his daughter that is completely inactive. We taught faith in Jesus Christ and Repentance and helped her apply to her own life. Then we taught about the Baptismal Covenant and how she had felt the Holy Ghost in her life. It all made sense to her and she agreed. And then we talked about Enduring to the end. When we had finished teaching about Enduring, I felt inside myself that I needed to be bold and ask, "If you believe this why aren't you enduring?". I got that feeling right before you jump of a cliff into water. You know you have to take that leap of faith but you aren't sure what will happen exactly. But I jumped and asked her, "You have faith in Jesus Christ, you've repented, been baptised, and received the Holy Ghost; so why are you coming to church?". We taught the doctrine so clearly that she said, "I don't have a good excuse." So found out her bad excuse and told her the Lord would take care of it. She committed to coming.

The comforter that has been "left with me, teaches me all things that I should do". That promise in John 14 is true.
I was talking with my companion and told him how in my first transfer I did heaps of GQing or contacting in the train station in Fairfield. When you get rejected so many times you find out quickly that you won't get anywhere on your own. You need the spirit to "Guide you to them or guide them to you" like it says in PMG. It's such a privilege to be a missionary and be put in so many situations where you can't do it alone. To see the powers of heaven work within you and around you. It's a very special experience for me.

I love President Lew for being a consistent leader. I have learned from sports that good leaders do not need to be the best or the most flashy as long as they are consistent. People may disagree with you at times but you cannot be swayed because those people will not follow you if you do. We look for steadiness in a leader not happiness. I appreciate his steady leadership more than he'll know.

Love you all, Elder Weiss

Ofatu!

Apple Rolls Away From the Tree...

Well mum you'll be happy to hear this. I've been practicing playing the piano because on Sunday our pianist was gone so I had to play... the CD player.
So I'm gonna practice my Hymns so that I can play for meetings.

We have this less active guy that is crazy and smokes all the time and swears like crazy. He is so cool though. We are reading with him from the Book of Mormon and he is showing some progress. But being around his foul language is having its effect on me. Problem number one is that "Damn" and "Hell" are the equivalents of saying, "Dang" and "Heck" in Australia. So that's been slowly sneaking in there but then the other day I was quoting something our less active said and started swearing without even thinking.

I am repenting... the apple may not fall far from the tree but with the atonement it CAN roll a little bit away. haha jk

There is too much to talk about but I don't remember it and I stopped writing in my journal because we always of things to do in the evenings (making phone calls and garbage). I need to make time for it because I can't remember stuff.

Someday I'm going to write an essay about how stupid the world is. And how anyone that thinks they can live like a celebrity is uneducated and needs grow up. I loathe drugs, alcohol, and immorality. They do NOT make people happy and they NEVER made anyone a better person. All of the above are self-centered and devilish activities.  There's your sample.

And here’s what I wrote to president this week...

With the added emphasis of finding investigators through the members we have struggled to find new investigators. For three weeks we hadn't yet figured out an effective way of doing it. We decided we needed to start setting appointments with members to get to know and build trust with them. On Saturday we went to an appointment with a member and we talked to her about joining the church. We asked for her advice in teaching an investigator that was catholic (because she was previously Catholic). We got talking about some of her friends. All we did to start it was, "Do you think they'd like us to go around and see them?" And from there they would tell us no, or yes, or start talking about other friends that might be interested. Then we pulled out our Plan of Salvation pamphlets and started practicing explaining parts of the Plan in ten seconds. We told her how well she did and we left her with a pamphlet and then she asked if she could have more. So we gave her one for each lesson with our names and numbers on it. Later that we repeated the process with another member. They were so excited because they felt like they had something specific to share. And we were able to iron out so doctrinal wrinkles that had snuck into their minds over time.

I reckon if we keep this up it will end up paying huge dividends. If we have each member give us a referral every ten weeks we could potentially have 20 new investigators or more in ten weeks. Which is twelve in a transfer. A little bit of work from each member goes a long way!

Ok I love you all. ("Sleep well. Most likely kill you in the morning”-Princess Bride)

Elder Weiss

#FINDTHEAIRPLANE
#MADWORLD
#Best2years

Orange Zone Success

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: March 9, 2014 at 8:04:51 PM MDT


This week was a bit tough having Mission Leadership Council and Zone Training Meeting. Lots of driving and time outside of our area, however I am learning to love being a zone leader more but mostly I just love Bathurst. I reckon people in the city care too much about money and things, while people in dubbo don't care about anything, but Bathurst is right in the middle. People are very friendly and down to earth here.

Our Branch is awesome. Our Branch president has organized Wednesday nights for a branch tennis night to invite non-members and Less-actives. The Branch has heaps of potential right now and I hope we can capitalize on it. Our miracle was setting a baptismal date with our investigator. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to her and asked her to be baptized and she was all for it. She said she would love to. The only thing is that we need her parents consent. Her mum is catholic and her dad is a Less-active member so I don't think that should be too much trouble. They said they'll discuss it and get back to us.

Also our zone is amazing. Orange was one short of twenty lessons. Our Missionaries are working really hard. Dubbo got a Branch mission leader! Bro Harlow out in Dubbo asked President Ryan if he could do it and President Ryan said that it'd be alright! I was afraid also of leaving Elder Janes and Elder Randall out in the Dubbstomp but they came through big this week with 13 lessons. I feel really good about the potential in our zone right now. I hope heaps of miracles come of it.

I studied repentance and something that stuck out to me is the last sentence in PMG on repentance says, "Repenting daily brings great joy.". Sometimes it's really hard but that clarity of conscience is worth it. I thought I offended my companion and so I was worried he was hurt by something I said. So I brought it up later and he said, "No it wasn't you it was something else." and I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. It truly is a blessing for us to repent. As a missionary you have to ask people to change their lives. You yourself need to have a strong testimony the repentance is what they need. You have to be bold and tell them how it is so they can know how to repent. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "I call the church to repentance because I love the members of the church.". If we as Brothers and Sister love our neighbour we will try and help them to start living the gospel as well.

Man, My companion has been reading parts of History of the Church during lunch. Joseph Smith makes my head hurt. But I have gained a greater eternal perspective by reading about him and what he taught. The Gospel is becoming much more real to me. I bet you already now all this stuff but didn't want to explode my mind so you didn't tell. Hugh Nibley is a genius. When I get home I want to read some of his stuff. It astounds me how smart he is. He knows so much. I would love to sit with him for a month and just ask him questions... or I guess I'll just read his books when I get home.

Ok enjoy your nice weather!

Love you heaps, Elder Weiss

Special Assignment

We received no letter this week from Joseph, but here it the letter from his Mission President:

4 March 2014



Elder Joseph Mark Weiss
Australia Sydney South Mission
P.O. Box 456
MortdaleNSW   2223



Dear Elder Weiss,

Thank you for accepting the call to serve as a Zone Leader.  You have been obedient in keeping the mission rules and you stand as an example to the other missionaries.  Thank you for being an excellent teacher who has the ability to articulate your thoughts with clarity and ease.  You have a good understanding of the scriptures, and the doctrines taught therein.

The responsibility of being a Zone Leader is one of the greatest opportunities of leadership a missionary can have and it is certainly one of the most trusted.  It is a very special assignment, and will have far-reaching effects on the missionaries you serve here in the Australia Sydney South Mission.

You are a wonderful example of the teachings of the gospel and also a wonderful representative of your home.  I feel that you will continue to be a tower of strength for good in our great mission.

I love you,


President Larry J. Lew


AUSTRALIA SYDNEY SOUTH MISSION

Humbled Bathurst Zone Leader

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: February 24, 2014 at 6:52:09 PM MST

This week was very bitter sweet. Actually mostly bitter. I've been transferred to Bathurst to be a Zone Leader. I feel inadequate to the job. My mission has been change by the example of one of my Zone Leaders and I hope I can be that example for other missionaries. Even in the mission missionaries need someone that will stick up for the Lord. I hope I do a good job. I know the Lord will make it possible. Although, I loved Dubbo so much. I wanted to be there at least two more transfers with my aboriginal little brothas (We had three at church on Sunday.)

However, in the time I spent there we did some awesome things. The previous record for total lessons in the week was 9 when I arrived. After two good weeks of 10 and a bit more we set a goal to reach 60 lessons by the end of the transfer. We prayed and strived for our goal and by the end of the transfer we had 61 and were averaging higher than the previous record.

It wasn't any credit to myself but having my Father (first companion) Elder Urbina taken from me so young that I had to rely on Preach My Gospel and the Lord. As I struggled through my early months in the Spanish ward I came to see that success comes as we turn to the Lord through Preach My Gospel and apply it's principles to missionary work. Preach My Gospel is the Lord's way of doing missionary work and it will never fail. Bit by bit we need to make our wards and areas into PMG areas and then the growth of the Lord's kingdom will be unhindered.

It says in PMG that asking good questions helps the investigators open up and share their feelings. Last week Elder Janes and I were teaching a single mother with two daughters ages 1 and 4. While we were teaching her little four year old daughter was being a big distraction and the mother's patience was wearing thin. For some reason it made sense to ask, "What matters most to you in this life?" She paused and pointed to her four year old daughter and said, "That is." We asked her why and she expressed to us how much happiness and joy her kids bring to her. It was beautiful what she said.

For a moment when she talked to us about her daughter she forgot all about the problems of her life, which are many, and pondered on how good she's got it. It was a beautiful experience. Towards the end of the lesson we asked her, "Do you believe what we've taught you?" And when I said that I thought, "Well that's a stupid question!" but through her answer she told us exactly where she was at, and we had a good idea of where we need to go. Good questions are the next level.

Elder Nelson stopped by for a mission conference last week. I'll tell you more next week when I have my notes but he basically taught us the Helms deep principle. He said, "The Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible." He said the Israelites fought a battle and before hand the Lord said, "You have too many soldiers!" So he made them get rid of them until the ratio of Israelites to the opposition was 1 to 500. Then they smashed the opposition and the Lord was glorified. Right now with our current church membership, the ration of members to the worlds population is 1 to 500. Who's on the Lords side who?

Love yous heaps! (man I'm gonna struggle speaking proper English when I get back.. "yous" is valid pronoun here)

Elder Weiss

Miracles and "Staying Hydrated for the Work"

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: February 16, 2014 at 4:56:03 PM MST
To: Cyndy Weiss <cyndyweiss@gmail.com>

This week was a record setting week teaching wise for me and my companion also. We've set a goal to teach 60 lessons this transfer and we are pushing hard and praying hard. The Lord is blessing us abundantly. Dubbo is steadily moving forward. A miracle this week was when we were street contacting and we saw this lady getting out of her car and we said hello and she shyly said hello back. We went over closer and tried talking to her but she wasn't understanding us really well.

I asked her where she was from right as she bent down to unbuckle her kids car seat. I turned to my companion and said, "Please be from Peru!" She stands back up and says, "I'm from Peru." I was thinking, "NO WAY!!" I started speaking to her in Spanish and apparently she was taught by missionaries before but they stopped coming because she was busy right after you child was born. We set a return appointment and when we went home and found her teaching record it was incomplete as to why she was dropped and it said that as they taught that the Language barrier was a problem. I'm so excited to go and teach her in spanish! Peruvians are the best!

Second Miracle. We went down to Orange for DTM (District Training Meeting) and we arranged to see a less-active man who lives a ways out of Dubbo but was going to be in Orange at the same time. About a half our before our appointment at the church he sends us a text and says, "I'll have a friend with me." He shows up with a guy he met an hour before in the park and we teach with and commit him to be baptized. He said that he was paralyzed but miraculously recovered and since then he's been looking for answers, but he doesn't know to what. It was also the first time we met that less-active member and he was super kind and I'm pretty sure we can get some transportation worked out so it's easier to come to church and he'll become active again.

Yesterday at church we had four of the Aboriginal kids from "games night" come to church! Haha it was so cool to see them all role up on their bikes with no shoes. They are like the lost boys from Peter Pan. I told them to go home and get shoes and socks on and then come back. So they did. They were really nervous coming into the chapel but they finally came. And sat with me. They made it through sacrament meeting really good but only made it through half of sunday school before they took off to go play in the rain.

Another thing I've learned: staying hydrated for the sake of missionary work. The more you drink, the more "Could I please use your toilet" cards you can use with Less actives and investigators. It's a valid tactic for building trust. Once you are inside you meet the rest of the family and see pictures and talk to them about who knows what and it builds trust. So "Stay thirsty my friends." ;)

Love you heaps,

Elder Weiss

I Saw Heaps of Roos!

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: February 9, 2014 at 6:47:31 PM MST











Well, I finally saw the Roos! It took me over 7 months but I have finally seen them. And I saw heaps of them! They come out at dawn and dusk. Like hundreds. My battery was dead though so I only have a bad picture. We had to go to a place called Mudgee for trade offs. A little less than an hour down the road my companion says, “We turned down that road last time." But the GPS said "stay straight" so we followed the GPS. Little did we know what lay ahead.

The sun started setting and I was going crazy taking pictures and then about a half hour later we turned onto a small two lane road with no lines in the middle. We pulled off the road in the middle of nowhere and took some pictures of the sunset. Then we got in the car a kept going. It started getting darker and the roos started appearing in the fields on the side of the road. We took a picture but it was too dark and then kept on going.

Later the two lane road became a one and one third lane road. And it started getting really dark. Then a wallabie is just standing on the white line that marks the side of the road. My companion is driving and doesn't see it and I yell, "Watch out!" Before he can do anything the marsupial starts bounding off. Then about fifteen minutes later another one hops off the road when we start coming. It's so dark that all you can see is the road and a bit to the sides because it's such thick bush. A roo could jump out and you wouldn't know what hit you.

We keep going and we see heaps of roos on the side off the road and we are just praying they stay there and don't jump into the road. It was like watching a scary movie. Then out of nowhere this fox runs out in front of our car. Our right tire was on trick to make fox pancakes but my companion swiftly avoided it and swerved out of the way. I'm not sure how because I didn't think we had space to swerve but, alas, zero fox pancakes and two happy elders. 

From the trade off we went to Zone training meeting around dusk again. We are driving on this road we've already seen hundreds of roos in the fields than one tries to stake it's claim right in the middle of the road. We slow down and wait for it to get a move on and then a huge roo comes jumping from the right side of the road. Hops across the road and then clears this four to five foot fence with ease.On the way back we were travelling around 8 on the same road and this roo comes flying from the side of the road and tries to hit our car but we out ran him and then two or three more times we pass roos just chillin on the side of the road. I'll never forget that road trip! You can't see that in the city I'll tell you that much. #Australia

There's a Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith book in our flat that I started reading during lunch and dinner and wow, I have been impressed. I've never studied him before but his understanding of the scriptures blows my mind. When I read his words I get to know his personality and the Gospel comes into focus. Much clearer than before. He teaches a lot from the New Testament and it has helped me to see how it is truly the same gospel restored to the earth that has always existed from the days of Adam our father. It's like a feast when I read his teachings and look of the scriptures that he cites... wow he is a Prophet of God.

The Authority and Legal Permission of God to establish his kingdom is again on the earth. And that authority was administered through those called and set apart to administer it. Saturday night we had another "games night" and even more kids came. We are teaching them to be reverent in the church and to treat each other well and how to pray. It's the best. They are good kids in a hard place laden with those injured and fallen by Satan's power. I hope they don't follow the same path.

Wow, long letter but heaps happened this week. I hope I can still read Spanish when I am old because my journal is in Spanish...
Love yous heaps!

Elder Weiss VI