I Am 20???

First off, I am still a little boy! This is weird that I am not a teenager so I guess now is when I have to go from childish to childlike but it is all good!

We had a special training this week since the church has come out with a curriculum that the mission presidents follow. So they have been training all the missionaries on that. So we had a training on that stuff and the material they have is so incredible. First off, it makes role plays so much better and the spirit when you teach is tangible. I love how we have modern inspiration! The church is true, straight up!

I was able to spend some quality time with the mission president's wife. My companion and I had to make a trip to the mission office for some stuff and Sister Simmons was there and she said well instead of you taking the train there let me take you so she did and took us to our area. On the way she said are you hungry and we said that we were. So in the Winston Hill area we stopped at a resturant called Pancakes on the Rocks. Basically an IHOP. And as we were walking up to the doors the Winston Hill elders walked by so Sister Simmons being the woman she is invited them as well. It was fun spending time with her. She is a very funny and sweet lady. And I love her to death.

The ward had a fun activity this past week. Karaoke! It was good because a lot of them knew how to sing so it was quite entertaining. And no, I did not participate.

On the missionary front it has been pretty good! We have been walking, tracting and biking everywhere. It is pretty tiring but I love it. We have had heaps of bike trouble so we are trying to figure them out. Flat tyre after flat tyre after flat tyre, no fun but we are making due. We received a member referral from the Chetty family. I actually knew them pretty well when I served in Winston Hills but Zoe Chetty referred her friend who told her she was aspiring to be a Mormon. It was a really good lesson and she really understands it.

Raj and Jeba were really good. They fed us real Indian food which was super spicy and I can't stand that sort of stuff so I was having a real hard time with it and they got a good laugh about it. We taught them about prayer and Raj gave a kneeling prayer. They said they are a bit busy with work for the next few weeks. They are both teachers but in a few weeks they want us to come around again.

It was a good week and I just love this church so much!

Elder Landon Brough - 20 years old

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!!!

Good day all! Life is fantastic down here in the sunburnt country! It has been one fun as week and a lot of miracles, I guess, have been happening! I just love being here building the kingdom! So let me break it down!

Monday we had a zone activity for Preparation day. We met at the Quakers Hill chapel and just hung out, shot some hoops, threw a footy around and all that jazz. There are heaps of sisters in the zone! I was thinking about it and it makes sense. They are here to clean up the mess the elders made. I guess a few months ago some checky stuff went down with some elders so they brought in sisters but let me tell you sisters know how to do missionary work! Good on those Shelas! But at the activity the zone leaders had a big surprise. So, after we had fish and chips, which is huge here, we went into this room and there was a TV so naturally we were thinking, "Sweet as! A movie! And we were right! We got a movie alright! It was the new district movie. Basically a movie where cameras follow missionaries around and they use it to teach us how to be missionaries! And let me tell you that was exactly how I wanted to spend my preparation day! The reason why I told this story was because right before we watched the movie Elder Modlik (Zone Leader) threw me a uke and said first we will have a musical number by Elder Brough. I played Stars for him when we had the exchange with the Zone Leaders and I guess he liked it so I was put on the spot and I ended up playing it and it was a hit! Elder Shearer has a uke and I will hear him playing it from time to time. I think it is funny.

This week I also had the opportunity of going on exchanges with my district. I went with Elder Henare to the Quakers Hill area. He is the man and he is like the Moari version of me when it comes to missionary work. It was funny because I told him I have a hard time talking with islanders and he said he had a hard time talking to white people so we complimented each other heaps! He has only been out for about 2 months so he had a lot of questions and I was able to help him which helped me realize how much I have learned. It was a good exchange. About three minutes into the exchange we had an interesting experience. We saw a guy sitting on a bench so we went and talked to him. He had a six pack of beer and a pack of smokes (That is an extremely common sight here in Australia!) But we sat down and talked with him and he opened up to us and talked about family problems and how much he has messed up. He started crying and I got teary eyed because I sat there thinking how lost people are. So Elder Henare and I testified about the Atonement and right before we left he thanked us and told us we helped him a lot because he was thinking about going over to the train station and ending it but what we told him helped change his mind. It was a humbling experiences and we learned we need to talk to everyone!

This past week my zone was lucky enough to attend a fireside where Elder Vincent (Seventy) and Elder Callister (President of the Pacific Area) addressed some zones from our mission. It was incredible and it blows my mind how in tune with the spirit some people are! I learned so much! Elder Callister talked aout the apostasy and gave a lot of good information! Elder Vincent talked to us about going to the edge. He quoted a poem Elder Holland used once...

Come to the edge he said
Come to the edge he said
No I will fall

Come to the edge he said
Come to the edge he said
No I will fall

Come to the edge he said
Come to the edge he said
So I came to the edge and he pushed me
And I flew!

Everytime I write that out I get goose bumps! I loved it. It hit me so hard. I learned I need to push myself in this work. Like Nephi in the book of Helaman chapter 10 he was blessed for his unwearyingness in the work! I love inspired council!

Church was very very very good! I learned so much and I am starting to remember peoples names. I am having a hard time remembering all the islander names but I love the diversity! Someone actually blessed the water in Tongan so that was neat! The Lord, for some reason, has seen it fit to bless Elder Shearer and me. We received two member referrals and it looks really good with them. We also found a family. So after church Elder Shearer and I were kind of down on our luck. What do you expect we share the ward with a companionship of sisters and it is tough when they have heaps to report at coordination meeting and all you have to report is that your not very solid baptismal canidate can't be contacted and the last thing you heard about him was that he slipped on a bannana peel and broke his arm. So needless to say we were blue. So we decided to go look up some referrals who were never contacted. The first one wasn't that good so we walked to the next one and knocked on the door. No answer but then a guy comes around the house and says in an Indian accent, "No one is inside. We are in the back. Talk to us in the back." So we follow and we see all these platters in the back that they are cleaning so Elder Shearer and I at the same time exclaim, "Can we help?" And of course he agrees so for an hour we talk to Raj and Jema while we clean the platters they used for their son's 21st birthday. We learned they are from India and that they are Christian and they also lived in Spokane, Washington for a while. We asked them if they go to church and they said yes we go to many different Christian churches every Sunday and Raj even made a comment about how things are changed over time and he even used the analogy of if he told Elder Shearer something and Elder Shearer told me that things would be changed and we said YES!!!! So they invited us over for dinner next Sunday and I am so stoked!

I don't know why I was blessed with that experience and so many more I could write about. To be honest I didn't think I deserve something like that but that is why our message is so important! That as long as we try our best, we still fall short and that our savior, Jesus Christ will make up the rest. I love this Gospel and I am so happy to share it with our brothers and sisters from all over the world in Australia! I love you heaps as! The church is true!

Elder Landon Brough

We Walked and Walked and Walked and Walked and Walked!

This week was hectic as, Mates! I have never been so busy on my mission till now! Oh, man! Oh, man! So much happened this week!

Let me break down Elder Shearer for you. So, he is twenty and has been out for almost three months but he is the man! He is the most manly man I know. He is from Boston and kind of has an accent but it is not too strong. Get this, his bishop is Danny Ainge! Yeah, like the basketball star. I am thinking about stealing his temple recommend so I have his autograph... just kidding! But I think that is pretty intense. He is the smartest person I think I know. He is rivaling T and P to be honest. He is so fun to be around and if I was to be jumped or mugged he would be the companion I would want to be with. He is just the man!

So we had our first district meeting and I love my district. We have no missionaries from Utah. My district comes from Guam, New Zealand, America and Nepal. All the elders except me have been out 6 months or less so we have a very young district but we are shaking the very foundations of hell in the Blacktown District. It is so fun to be around them and we are having a zone activity where we are going to play touch (Rugby) So I am stoked! I look forward to working with them.

So I went on an exchange with one of the zone leaders, Elder Hill. He is from Pocatello, Idaho and has been zone leader for about 2 months and has only been out for about 6 so basically he is a huge stud! And if that doesn't win you over he has a full ride to Stanford to be quarterback. Crazy, eh? So, stud as. I learned a lot from him and we had a good exchange. We did have to cut it short because the other zone leader, Elder Modlik (NZ) and Elder shearer locked themselves out. So we spent most of the day trying to get into the flat. We succeded. That day I had my first baptismal interview to conduct and I was nervous as! Her name was Rosemary ,18 years old and she is from Texas. It went really well and I look forward to more of them. On our way back to our flat the zone leaders were driving us and we look over and we see this lady and she looks islander. She signals that she wants us to roll our window down so we do and we talk to her while we are driving. We talk to her for a bit and then she asks if we are hungry and we say no . We end up getting ahead of her and literally two seconds later her car explodes! No, just kidding. Two seconds later, though, we see another islander guy and we wave and he throws us the hang loose sign and yells, "You hungry? KFC is around the corner." You have to love the love that the islanders have for the missionaries. I thought it was hilarious!

Let me tell you a story. So Elder Shearer and I walk out of the flat and I have decided that I am going to flipping shake hell today. So I am talking to everyone I see. I see these two guys on a bridge and I see Elder Shearer walking towards them so I follow. When these two guys see Elder Shearer they get all excited and say, "Boys! How you doing?" Elder Shearer then says, "Hey, Scotty!" and they start talking. I am standing there thinking these people are so nice... then it hits me. That is the same guy who was drunk as who wanted to kill Elder Vernon and who gave me a hug. It makes sense because that inccident only happened half a k from where we were. Small world!

So, the ward here is great! I have heard so much about the Doonside Ward. There are many many many islanders in it so hopefully I don't get too fat! Good thing we just take the trains and walk everywhere. I feel like the pioneer children in that primary song because we walked and walked and walked and walked and walked. I am looking forward to getting to know this ward!

As missionary work goes... it is good we have a lot in the teaching pool but not too many kingdom builders so we are working hard to find them and to help them all progress towards baptism. We have a baptismal date with a guy named Leslie but he didn't come to church so we are going to see how he is doing. The other most progressing investigator is named Paride David ( we call him David). He is from Sudan and we are really close to setting a date with him. So we will see how it all goes down. I love this work!

So I have had a lot of mixed emotions coming to this area. I left an area and companion I loved and came to an area where I honestly didn't want to go to. Funny how things work like that. But this past week as I have been standing on the train I just stop. And just think and ponder and look around at all the people on the train and just look at them. I am amazed to see how diverse this place is and how all of them need the message I share. While pondering I have just got this overwhelming feeling that this is the place! As much as said I didn't want to be here I know I do and I am ready to rock this area and find those who want this gospel! I love you all and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Love Elder Landon Brough

Toto, I Don't Think We Are In Cessnock Anymore!

Hola! Como estas, mi familia! (I did that because everyone else starts out their email in a different language). So, I guess a lot has happened this past week. Sadly, nothing with investigators. Well, we did get a new one but it is in Elder Hill's and Elder Huff's (the missionaries now in Cessnock) hands now.

So, missionaries now have a new meeting called Leadership Training Meeting and it is over a two day period and Elder Hill was invited down to it so I worked in Cessnock with Elder Roberts. He is from Canada and we worked while his companion and my companion were down in Sydney at the meeting and not much happened. We tracted a lot and the highlight of our exchange was an ice cream cone from Mackers (that's McDonalds in Aussie) For mutual that week they had some guy teach self defense so we decided to go since we live next to the government housing refered to as Sin City. It was a fun activity and I am able to take out anyone now.

Once Elder Hill came back we just did the norm of work, work, work with the highlights of going to bed! Saturday night was Brother Brian Hill's birthday and he invited us to his birthday dinner because he found out that both Elder Hill's and my birthdays are in August so we went to a nice resturant called SSS which is a wanna be Texas Roadhouse but it was nice because I got ribs out of it! What more could you ask for! But I really was not in the mood to eat because it was transfer calls that night so you could guess what I was thinking about and the call came and..... they told me to pack.... and that was it! I had no idea where I was going, which, you could guess, was eating me alive. But I packed and got ready to leave Cessnock, a ward I love so much! So the following Sunday they asked me to bear my testimony and yes, you guessed it, I bawled my eyes out! It was in those few moments that I actually realized what my service in Cessnock did for me and how much I have grown! I am so sad to go but my work is done in Cessnock. So, Sunday I said goodbye to everyone and got some pictures with them. It was cool because Ryan and Robert blessed the sacrament. That was my favorite part of Church. Robert, Aly and Ryan gave me a card and a picture of them and us at their baptism. It is my most prized possesion from Cessnock!

So, the following Monday Elder Hill and I traveled down to Sydney. We had a meeting where the Assistants read where everyone is going and I have been moved to an area called Pendle Hill, in the Doonside Ward in the Hebersham Stake/Zone. To all of you that might not seem like anything special but it happens to be the area right next to Winston Hills where I was trained, like at this instance I can look out the window and say, "Oh, I knocked on that door!" I think it is funny and actually hope I might run into people I know and of course by still being obedient, don't worry, Mom! I am also the district leader of the Blacktown District. There are three other companionships in our district and one of them is a companionship of sisters...I know! I was disappointed, too! No, I am just kidding! Calm down, Mom, I am not a sister hater! I am actually excited to work with them because it seems they know what they are doing a lot more than most of the elders and we share Doonside Ward with them so I will work real close with them... but not too close. My companion is Elder Shearer from Boston. He has just finished being trained by Elder Brooksby from Glendale, AZ. I don't know if you remember me talking about him before I left. Elder Shearer is a straight arrow kid and he knows what he is doing and I am way excited to work with him and to shake Hell in Pendle Hill.

Basically that is it from me. I am still getting settled into my new flat. Mom I have not seen a map of the Sydney Mission. But if you look in the booklet I got with my call letter it is basically in there. They just merged the North and South Missions exactly how they were. I am happy you made it to President and Sister Scruggs homecoming. And, yes, I know I have told you that they brought their children out with them.

Well, I love you heaps as I just straight up love you!

Elder Landon Brough

With Elder Hill on his way out of Cessnock to new area

With new companion in Pendle Hill, Elder Shearer from Boston

A Slow Week (and a very short email)

I am sitting here at the computer thinking, "What do I have to report on?" And I am sad to say I have nothing! Yeah, I know, disappointing but sometimes you have an off week. We have tracted and tracted and tracted and tracted and not much has surfaced. We did pick up a few potentials but we will see what happens next week.

So, Robert, Ali and Ryan are doing really good. Sadly, they missed baptisms for the dead but they came to church and I am feeling they are really enjoying it. Ryan also got the Aaronic Priesthood and will be blessing the sacrament next Sunday so I guess that was the highlight of the week.

Sorry this is so short.

Elder Brough