How Ironic!

So, I will get to the ironic part. The other day Elder Chan and I did a road trip up to a town called Scone. As we were coming back we were rocking out to some EFY when all of a sudden we hear a thud and a kangaroo rolls up my hood, looks me in the eye and says "Why, Elder Brough?!!!" I slam on my brakes and look at Elder Chan and say, "What just happened!" So, yeah, I "hit the roo". It ripped the front, right part of the car off but we are alive. I just thought it was funny because last week I talked about "Hitting the Roo and I was able to apply what I learned! (We asked him if the kangaroo just darted out of nowhere or was he distracted with "rocking out" to EFY and if he got his driving privileges taken away and he said: "The roo came out of nowhere! To be realistic, the roo hit me. And I still get to drive." Then we asked if him if he killed the kangaroo. He replied, "Dead as you can get. I have pictures.")

So besides that, Cessnock is great! Everything is going slow except with Robert Murphey. He will be baptized this week and the ward is pretty excited about it. He came to church and really enjoyed it. This past week while we were teaching him his mom came in and started asking questions and Robert bore testimony about the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome to see him recieve a personal witness for himself. It is awesome and I am looking forward to his baptism.

So transfers were this week and I am staying in Cessnock but sadly I am losing Elder Chan. He is going to Dubbo and yeah we were all surprised and it took both zone leaders and our district leader to tell him for him to believe that he was going to Dubbo. He was a little heartbroken because he is missing Robert's baptism but he knows that he is needed in Dubbo. My new companion is named Elder Hill. He is from the same intake as Elder Chan and he is from Washington. Elder Colton Dana trained him so he is going to know Gilbert Arizona real well. I am really excited to have him and he is excited to work so that always makes me happy!

So basically that was the week. Elder Chan and I went on a 25 mile bike ride with the Young Men which was such a bad idea! We were so sore the next day and fried but it was fun because we crushed the other kids and it was so cool because I was riding on roads with huge meadows and rolling hills on both sides and kangaroos running around. It was so beautiful! I love Australia!.

Wow, the church is true. King Benjamin said it best when he said that we are less then the dust of the earth and I feel that way a lot but I'm still finding myself getting up the next morning and getting to work and being able to testify of the Savior. I don't have the best numbers each week, I don't find heaps of new investigators each week but I get to testify to people everyday that Jesus lives! That there is a way out of heartache and despair and that is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope to hear from you all soon!

Elder Landon Brough

Hit the Roo!

Life is good down here in Cessnock. It is more like Cess-knocking-on-doors-all-day-and having-people-slam-doors-in-your-face. But seriously it is way good. I just love it.

The subject title is what 99% of the members have told me. As we travel from town to town we always see mobs of roos grazing in the fields. It is pretty awesome! But everyone tells me not to swerve if I see one in the road but to hit it. I pray I will not have to use that knowledge. I saw a kangaroo and there was a joey in her pouch. It was so cute seeing its little head pop out and the mom hopping along! It is just great!

Good on you Keith Meyers for getting called to the Adelaide Mission! The bishop, Relief Society president, Young Mens president and elders quorum president in my ward all served there. It is a huge mission! It has the longest transfer in the world, 48 hours by bus, but I am sure you will love it there.

Robert Murphey didn't come to church so we are going to have to move his date back again but I am sure it will all be good. It is awesome to hear how much of a testimony he has especially of the Book of Mormon. We are moving his date back to the 2nd of May so that is still pretty exciting!

Nothing too exciting going on. This past preparation day we got together as a zone and played footy (rugby) and an elder snapped his tibia and fibia so that was a big downer but hey he did score the last two points(trys).

Yeah I love you all and I really am enjoying this. I have many challenges but I'm always finding myself waking up the next day and getting to work and the only explanation is the Lord. I know I am doing His work and He is helping me. I love this church and the message I get to share. I love you guys and can't wait to talk to you on Mother's Day.

Elder Landon Brough


(This next part is Landon answering some of our questions):

Q: Tell us again when you watched conference? Did you see all the sessions at once? Why do they do it this way? (They watched conference a week later)
A: We watched conference at the Cessnock chapel and we watched on Saturday and Sunday at the times they would have been on. They were just recorded.

Q: Tell us how the sister missionary is that broke her neck? Is she paralyzed?
A: Sister Sakona was riding her bike and she missed a ramp I guess and flipped over a pole and landed on her neck. As of right now she is paralyzed but the latest update says she could feel tingling in her toes.

Q: How is Elder Chan?
A: Elder Chan is the man. He will probably be transfered this coming week but who really does know. He got a huge box of Hong Kong noodles and he has been anticipating it for like two months and it arrived today and pretty much it is Top Raman but he loves it!

Cessnock - The Town With the Highest Teen Pregnancy Rate in All of Australia

Good day mates and matesses! Life down under is rocking! This past week has been incredible. Very, very, very uplifting. One thing that crossed my mind this week was how much energy Australia would save if they were to turn off their televisions when they were not home. We knock on so many doors and almost everyones TV is on and they are either watching Malcolm in the Middle or the Simpsons. Malcolm in the Middle is like reality TV for Australians.

Mum! Thank you so much for the package. It came this past week and there is so much delicious little goodies in there. It was exactly what I wanted. The Swedish Fish and Reese's pieces are American as and the kids love it. Also, thank you so much for the cookie recipe. Thank you Morgan and Stephanie for the letters. I just love letters.

So this week has been good. A member made me pumpkin pie and it was actually good. Aussies hate the idea of having sweet pumpkin but I won't lie, I love it and this aussie Shela did a good job. So the pumpkin pie was one of the many highlights of the week. Yes, we did a lot of tracting or how President Scruggs called it Cessnocking, but I actually love tracting. It is getting fun... I think I might be losing it but I do enjoy it. Also I am learning how to play a digeredo? I don't think I spelled that right at all. It is pretty hard to play but a member let us borrow one so Elder Chan and I are practicing. I won't lie. They are a pretty neat little instrument and when you hit the right sound oh man it sends chills down my spine it sounds so cool. Between magic tricks, being able to fake an aussie accent and being able to play a digeredo I am going to win the heart of one pretty shelia when I get home. But that is something I will worry about in 18 months. Heartbreaker a little! I have already been out 6 months. Man, I am getting sad thinking about that. Let's change subjects.

So we had Zone Conference this week. It was so good. The spirit was so strong but it was also a very sobering one too, I think that is the right word, but a sister was riding her bike and she missed the bike ramp and flipped over a guardrail and she ended up breaking her neck so the whole mission has kind of been devastated so we held a fast for her as a mission. But that was the first thing that president Scruggs said so it put an interesting feel on the conference but the whole conference was focused on the atonement. I love the atonement. I seriously can't put it into words. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and I know he lived and died for us so we may live! I know President Scruggs is an inspired man and I will miss him greatly!

Conference was so good! We spent the weekend at the Chapel and I just loved it! I felt a special spirit about it especially about the family and especially mothers. Mum, I won't lie I thought of you most of the time and I am so thankful for what you have done and taught me. I love our family and I am going to try and say this in the most humble way but our family is awesome! I just love our relationship that we have. I did miss waking up to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and wandering downstairs and watching conference as a family and then as a family all falling asleep. But that's not the point. We were falling asleep as a family. What a great bonding moment! But in all seriousness, I love you guys and miss you heaps but I know God lives and has restored his church to the earth so there is no other place I would rather be than this town in the country of Australia with a bunch of drunk pregnant teenagers because there are people who are ready to receive the restored gospel.

Speaking of which, Robert Murphey is getting baptized the 24th. The Word of Wisdom was not a problem at all and I feel he has had a personal witness of the restored gospel. He came to both sessions on Sunday, that's more than most of the members, and he took notes and he really enjoyed it. He has been prepared and I am so thankful that I was able to be part of his conversion process.

Well that's it from me. I love you all. Dalton I loved your email, you are hilarious! I am so glad to hear you are doing well. Tell everyone I say what's up and that Australia is so much cooler than America... for at least now. Well, I am off. There are some members who own a music store with instuments and stuff so we are going to go check that out. I love you all and know what I am doing is important.

Elder Landon Brough-The best missionary in Cessnock from America (Note from Nancy: He is the ONLY missionary in Cessnock from America)

Belated Conference

This week has been good and challenging! But I am alive and I love the Atonement! Australia was not lucky enough to watch conference live so they will be broadcasting it to our building next weekend. It will be good. The other morning I was thinking about conference and I had the same butterflies in my stomach that I do when we are just about to go see what Santa Clause left us. From what I heard it was good! I am so excited and am missing your German pancakes! Well it feels like I should be having pumpkin waffles because it is Fall here! And for Easter The Innis family had us over for dinner. Sister Innis is a Faustini so she invited the Faustini clan and they had like 60 people there and it made me kind of miss our family get togethers but I will manage. Anyway, mission life is good and training is so hard! But I love it love it love it!

Thank you Camille Decker, Alec Van Natter for the letters and the Jorgensens for the package. They came at the perfect time!

Australia is getting cold! Well, not cold, just cooler, but is nice after having 9 months of summer! But besides that lots of door knocking and door knocking.

So the only update on our investigators is with Robert Murphey. He is so keen on getting baptized but Word of Wisdom will be a problem so we will see what goes down when we teach him today. He works at a liquor store and everytime he has talked to us he has talked about drinking so hopefully he has been truly converted.

Well that's it. I could ramble but we have to go tract so, yeah, till next week! (I promise it will be better)

Elder Landon Brough