The Australia Sydney Mission

So it is official! We are now the Australia Sydney Misson! I am still in Cessnock with Elder Hill so we are excited about that! Elder Hill and I are the only "pure blood"(both called to the north mission) companionship in the district so I am excited to meet the other missionaries and move this work along as the ASM!

So this week we had President Scruggs' last Zone Conference. It was incredible! I loved it and will miss him so much! He really didn't do anything different he didn't act different and it just seemed like a normal Zone Conference but just like any other zone conference it was led by the spirit and we all learned! It was a great experience but I am looking forward to working with President Simmons!

So looking back on the week things have really, really slowed down. No investigators, which is tough. We dropped Richard because he just was not progressing and was not willing to commit. So we are back to square one which is no fun but we are working hard!

We did have a really funny experience Sunday evening. So we were walking down Vincent Street in Downtown Cessnock when we look down this street and we see this lady laying on the ground leaning against a light pole and she is holding her chest so we go over to see if she is ok. She says she is having chest pain and she said she called an ambulance so we said we would stay with her until it came so we kept talking to her and we ended up getting her name (Julie) and address so we can drop off a Book of Mormon which was kind of funny. But a few moments later the ambulance shows up and the paramedic gets out and says...

Paramedic: Hey Julie

Julie: I have chest pains!

Paramedic: No you don't, get in

and he slides the door open and Julie gets in and they drive away.

I don't know about you but I thought it was hilarious. You got to love being a missionary!

I love you heaps and miss you heaps. Can't wait till next week!

Elder Landon Brough

Go, Roaches!

That is awesome to hear about Nathan and Dallas! I am anxious to hear where Ryan is going too! I love to hear friends get calls!

Well, it was a really really good week! I love this work. So let me break it down for you.

Wednesday night we were given permission to watch T.V. Yes, you heard right... to watch T.V! Half way through the footy season they have a thing called State of Origin and they take professional players who started their junior footy league career in either Queensland or New South Wales and they play against each other in a best of three series. The teams are called the Queensland Cane Toads and the New South Wales Roaches (they are also called the Blues). It was so weird/cool to watch it, though. It is one crazy sport! But I love it! We went to the ward mission leader's home to watch. Sadly, New South Wales got thrashed! Queensland has won the past 5 years and they seriously destroyed us! It was sad but it was fun to watch! Just like in America, beer commercials here are hilarious! You should look one up on YouTube. Look up "Tooheys New Leak". Hopefully, you all won't think less of me but if you really love me you won't judge me!

Well finding went really well this week! We found a new investigator! Yeah, I know it doesn't sound like much but we here in Cessnock think it is cool. We found Simon tracting and he is way into science and will be a tough egg to crack but he said he would read and pray and he said the closing prayer. We set up an appointment for next Sunday so hopefully all goes well! A little bit down the same street we ran into Shelly. We talked to her and she did not sound Aussie! So we asked where she was from and she told us Texas. She was super nice! She was telling us how she was just about to Facebook her cousin to tell her that she found the Mormon missionaries! We later found out that her cousins are members and she knew a lot about the church, too. She took all the lessons and said she learned so much and that she didn't join because she just converted to Catholicism. she gave us her phone number and told us to keep in touch and she would set us up with a feed and that she would love for her husband to take the lessons. It was a neat experience and then as we walked away a bunch of kids started to chuck dirt clods at us but besides that it was an awesome experience!

Ryan, Ali and Robert are doing great! I love them and can't wait for you(Mum and Dad) to meet them. Robert brought his dad to church and said to move slowly with him and if you do that he should be alright. Robert is the man and is such a good missionary. He keeps talking about his mission It is neat! Richard was not able to attend church but we had an awesome lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation. He came out with his concern, faith, so good thing the next lesson is The Gospel of Jesus Christ!

That is what is going down in Cessnock! The last zone conference is this week so "it is a bitter sweet feeling that will never go away but you are not the one dealing the cards you can't play". Name that song? I am excited for it, though, and I know it will be a powerful one. Transfers will then be the week after and then we will go back to the six week deal. President said not much will happen this transfer so most likly I will be here until mid August but there are no guarantees!

I love you all so much and pray all is well with you all. Keep in touch and I can't wait till next week!

Cheers,
Elder Landon Brough

God Save the Queen!

Oh, man! Oh, man! It was such an incredible week! It was so spiritually uplifting I honestly can't explain my thoughts and feelings! I straight up love this work!

So this week was so incredible! First off we received a member referral. His name is Richard and a member works with him and told us that he was studying with the Jehovah Witness' but didn't agree with what they taught but that he has been searching for a long time. So we did a chapel tour and taught him the restoration and it went very very well! We picked him up as a new investigator and we are teaching him tonight so keep us in your prayers!

Yesterday was a wonderful preparation day. We went Aqua golfing again with Robert, Aly and Ryan along with some of their friends and it was a blast. I didn't win anything this time so that was a bummer but it was a good time had by all. It was also very crowded, being the queen's birthday and all. So as Elder Hill and I were walking back to the car we ran into more than half the ward at this park so we spent some time with them and played this game called fly? I will send a picture. But it was way fun spending time with the members. Then for dinner we went to a member's house and Robert and his girlfriend came. It is so weird because he is dating a member in the ward. I pray nothing bad happens! But it was just a wonderful preparation day to follow a wonderful weekend!

So lets get to the juicy part! Ryan's and Aly's baptisms were so incredible! I honestly can't put my feelings into words! To see them all in white was an amazing experience. Don't worry, Mom, I got pictures. There was an incredible turn out by the ward. First off I am going to say this is the best ward when it comes to missionary work! But the highlight of the baptism was when Robert baptised both Ryan and Aly. He did have to baptise Ryan twice and Aly three times but there was an incredible spirit there. It blows my mind that three months ago Robert had a big piercing in his ear talking about how wasted he got the other night to helping his friends and family make covenants with God. It was so humbling! But Robert didn't stop there, after the actual baptism Robert spoke on the Holy Ghost and he did such an amazing job. I was sitting there thinking... I didn't teach him that. You can see how he is truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ! The baptism was amazing. Sunday was so good too. I confirmed Aly and Elder Hill confirmed Ryan. That was scary but after I sat down I had the biggest smile on my face! Then Robert gave a talk on his conversion story, yeah I know he's been a member a month and he is already working his tail off! But while he was speaking it hit me so hard. I was sitting there thinking how loving our Heavenly Father is. That he can take a very imperfect 19 year old boy who has many many many weaknesses, did I say many, who a year ago barely graduated high school, and let me be an instrument in His hands to bring the Holy Ghost into someone's life so it can change their hearts! I just don't get it but I am so thankful to be here! To stand as a witness of our Savior and to help build His kingdom on earth. I love this work and I love you all. I miss you heaps but I want to be here so bad! I hope to hear from you all soon!



Love Elder Landon Brough

Transfers!!!

So first off the wedding sounded incredible! To be honest I would have loved to be there but too bad. I know I need to be here but that still doesn't change the fact that I would have loved to see the sealing but we will have the rest of eternity to hang out! I love you guys so much!

So about my week... Last Monday we went aqua golfing! It was so much fun! Me, Elder Hill and two guys from the ward went to The Hunter Valley Gardens which is a really really fancy place but they had this cheap aqua golf thing. Basically it is a driving range and you hit the balls into the water and there are these baskets floating in the water and if you can hit a golf ball into the basket you win a prize. I have never golfed and only been to a driving range twice in my life but guess who was the only one to make it into a basket... me. It was so lucky. I won a tour of a vinyard which was a 55 dollar value but I don't think I would be able to (or want to) do it so I traded it in for a gift card to this want to be Texas Roadhouse. But it was so exciting because everyone else was trying to make it and I was just seeing how hard I could hit it. It was a great activity. Later on preparation day Aly gave us a haircut which was nice because we saved 23 bucks but was a gamble because she never cut hair before but she did a good job and it was worth the gamble!

The rest of the week we tracted and tried to stay out of the rain, it has still been pouring!

Did you know Aussies spell jail gaol, funny eh?

On Saturday Robert organized a game of footy which was way fun. It has taken me so long to figure out how to play this game. But it clicked and it is competing with my love for ultimate frisbee, I know scary! But I had a blast and got to know Robert's friends a lot better. My team lost! But I still had fun, after watching another missionary snap his leg in half playing footy it is difficult to give it your all but it was way fun.

Also transfers were this week... Elder Hill and I are staying! We are both very very very excited because the baptism is this week so we both get to stay. We got new Zone Leaders and Elder Dana is one of them so that is very exciting and I look foreward to working with him! It is also a really short transfer, only four weeks, because President Scruggs goes home at the end of June and since the missions are merging we need to get on the south mission's transfer cycle so this transfer ends in four weeks and then President Simmons will be my Mission President so that is a bitter sweet deal but it is all on the Lord's time table.

So Robert, Aly and Ryan are doing so good. Robert is now dating a girl in the ward which is kind of weird! But it is pretty good fellowship I guess. Also he bore his testimony again this Sunday which is always incredible to hear! Ryan and Aly came to Church as well which is good because they are getting baptized this week! Ryan wanted to go up to bear his testimony but Aly didn't let him which is kind of a bummer but he told us what he was going to say so it was cool to hear that as well. The baptism is still on for this Saturday, Robert is baptizing them which is way exciting. So all is well here in Cessnock at the moment so please keep praying for us to shake hell!

I love you all, especially my new sister, I am so thankful for what I am learning. I am a rough rock rolling and I am slowly becoming a man of God. I love you so much! I really don't know if I can say that enough. Keep in touch and remember who you are.

Elder Landon Brough