Elder Neilson of the Seventy

Wow, I am exhausted! I don't even know how to explain it. This past week has been so trying spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally but things worked out in the end! So nothing happened from Monday to Friday, everything we planned fell through and it was very discouraging for both me and Elder Lasalosi. Like nothing worked out during the week like I can't even exagerate something that happened to make it sound cool. The first part of the week was just lame and really discouraging. I am sad to report it but it is the truth! I went on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Branco from Salvador, Brazil. He was born in Brazil and when he was younger he moved to Philedelphia where his family found the church then a few years ago he moved to Brisbane and now he is my zone leader and we had a long hot day of knocking doors talking to people in the street with no success. Even the members were kind of lame like it was the first time in my mission where I showed up to a Tongans house and was not invited in and given a feast of KFC. So it was a good exchange and I learned a lot but it was just a difficult day. The past few days were pretty intense I must say. So Saturday morning I learn that Elder Lasalosi and Elder Monson are getting emergency transfered. Elder Lasalosi to a place called Ourimbah in the Central Coast and Elder Monson to Summer Hill in the city. So that lead to me and Elder Stoddard becoming companions. Elder Stoddard is the man and I am stoked out of my fetching mind to work with him. He is hilarious and is a fetching good missionary. He has only been out seven months. He has spent five months here in the Harbord ward and two in the Colorado Springs mission while he waited for his visa. To describe him he is a firecracker, so full of energy and ready to do anything. It is difficult for me to keep up with him but it keeps me so more motivated and focused. He is from Murray, Utah. Both his parents past away in a car crash when he was 15 so he lived with his older brother till he came on his mission. But you just know he has a testimony of this gospel and we are going to do work here. At the moment we cover two wards - Manly and Harbord Wards so we have our hands full but I am excited for it! I am still figuring out the investigators but we have quite a pool of investigators and it is just going to be awesome! Sydney's stakes got changed yesterday. I am no longer in the Greenwich Stake. I am now in the newly formed Harbour Stake. Basically the City of Sydney and the Northern Beaches. Basically everything cool about Sydney in one stake. So the zones are all going to be changed so we will be waiting to see what happens. Well that's about it. Everything is good for now and I love you heaps! Till next week. Elder Landon Brough

(Note from Nancy: He never explained the subject title of this email in the email but we are thinking that this Elder Neilson of the Seventy must have been who came to reorganize the Sydney Stakes?)