chelsea after life

i'm losing my family!

We have transfers this week and both Sister Larsen and Salyer will be leaving me, which I'm gutted about, however I know who my next companion will be and I'm so excited! I'll be training a new STL, who knows how that will go but I'm stoked anyway. You'll all meet her next week.

Ah the time is going so quickly I can't believe it! All goods though. I'll tell you how I used my precious time this week. Some highlights- Pday we went to Melbourne Zoo! We watched elephants paint pictures...leave it to artsy Melbourne to do something so hipster aye.

Monday nights we have families who volunteer to have regular monthly FHE where we can bring investigators, less active or recent converts etc and have dinner and a lesson so we went to two of those (splits). Sister Larson and I went to the Kumarasamy's (they are Sri Lankan) and had heaps of Sri Lankan curry, rice and bread and ate w/ our hands. One of my FAVORITE things about serving in mighty Melbourne is the culture. I just can't get enough of it. One night will be Sri Lankan then Peruvian, Indian, Persian, Aussie, Tongan, Samoan and these just the past week. For real! And I love all of it. Can't forget all the Asian food as well.

But it was a good FHE! Taught the restoration, it always makes me happy to teach it because of how miraculous it is! Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ came to a boy in his time of dire need of help and direction...it opened windows of heaven! Now we know the way and God promises to give us more light and knowledge and wisdom if we just ask. (James 1:5)

Ever since my mission I've had lots of questions pertaining to my life and the gospel. Questions about certain points of the gospel that I didn't fully understand before. I would usually write down the question and or topic I wanted to learn more about and I would always get answers. Elder Pearson said "All revelation begins with inspired questions" and that is where my revelations began! Heavenly Father teaches an open mind if it is willing to listen.

For example a long time ago I really wanted to learn more about sacrament or at least understand it better so I wrote that on my list of things to study. Its hard to get to that stuff because busy studying other things but Heavenly Father still taught me! After that I was asked to teach a class on sacrament and the talks in church happened to be about sacrament and the particular place I was reading in BofM was about it, it all happened so slowly and subtly that I didn't realize until now as I look back and see how far I've come. I now understand the sacrament.

He is like a parent on earth, always teaching. Like toddlers who want to learn and walk, parents might leave the walker out so the child will try themselves.

This happened this week. Heavenly Father taught me more about a principle I wanted to understand. Gods love, charity. I told Him I want to love more, the real love like He feels for us and slowly without me realizing He has helped me understand so much! But all in my ACT of doing something good, putting myself in situations where He could teach me. I learnt so much when we went to the temple with a member in our ward who is leaving on a mission in a few weeks. Jhinny, I love her! And I learnt so much in the temple like I said. Also at church it wasn't so much what was being said but all the things coming to my mind...all went back to my questions at the beginning of week. (D&C 50:24)

Ah its just so cool the way Heavenly Father works. He just loves us all so much and wants to give everything He has to us. His incomprehensible love for us is something that the human mind just can't understand...but we begin to as we feel it! A short moment here, a glimpse there, but as we constantly do good, do the things He simply asks, we can feel it. It is glorious! It is the fruit that is sweet above all that is sweet, why wouldn't we want that? I know the gospel of Jesus Christ provides the outline we can follow to have a life full of love and happiness, it is our duty to make our lives Christ-centered, CHRIST-centered, and we will never thirst or hunger because He will fill us with his living water.

Ah...sorry, change subject. I'll tell you about our ward mission leader, his name is Jet (Jethro) lol. He is Chinese...Asian of some kind and he is fantastic! I've never met someone so into their calling but man he gets a bit sassy sometimes. He makes hilarious faces when he gets annoyed with us, which is often...I'll send the picture I took of him yesterday when I left my coat in correlation and he brought it out to me. It is gold.

Also, this month our mission OVER ACHIEVED the goal for baptisms in July! Our mission has not hit a goal for 3 years and this month we did! A day going down in AMM history! We got the great news last night...looking forward to smashing Aug as well :) haha Melbourne is my home!

Hastaaaa

Sister Hatch