Sunny Australia!

Hey Everyone! 

We had a great weekend here in sunny Australia so I hope you all did as well. Church is always a good experience, and the ward I'm serving in is fantastic. It's amazing the way the ward has really started to catch the fire of missionary work here. When I first got to this ward spirits were low and it didn't feel very unified, people weren't super friendly with each other let alone to investigators that we would bring that they didn't even know but I've seen over the past 3 months how this ward is coming together and becoming more of a ward family through serving each other and working together. there is a lot of work to be done here and if we aren't united that work will not happen. When I first got here it made me miss the wards back home that I've lived in that were such close ward familes (Meadows 5th, Centennial Point, Laie 7) I have been truly blessed to live in wonderful ward familes that have always supported me so much and helped me get to where I am now. Those are the kind of loving ward families that investigators notice and want to be a part of and that's what we have been trying to grow here in the North Pine ward. 

Yesterday we had a mission conference with President Pearson in our Area Presidency. He is a member of the 70 and it was such a good meeting! He spoke to us for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT after we had an hour and a half before of other speakers. I've never ever experienced a two hour meeting I wasn't bored in before until yesterday. I honestly wanted him to keep speaking to us all day.Anyone who knows me knows I can't sit still that long, and I will admit my legs were shaking enough to move the whole bench by the end of it but my mind was all focus. That's a way that being a missionary changes your perspective definitely.We go around all day teaching people and uplifting them and taking their burdens on our hearts and so it was so so nice to sit and be uplifted ourselves, even if a lot of the upliftment was towards how we need to be better and work harder and do more haha. He did talk a lot about how wards and stakes need to be unified with missionaries for the work to progress. There are so many more missionaries in the field now but we won't see any increase in baptisms unless we all work together. It's pretty cool to be a part of the wave of missionaries that are out at this time. there are more missioanries in the field right now thatn ever have been and ever will be for a long time just in this 18-24 month period following the announcement. I'm glad that me, Tim, David, and James could all be apart of it and represent our family in this unique and exciting time. It's pretty exciting! 

I only have two more weeks in this transfer left and then I'm not sure if I'll be staying or going or what will happen so for any mail just use the mission PO Box. I'm conflicted about what I want to happen because of all the progress we have seen in this area I feel like miracles are just about to start happening here and we are building up to that so I don't want to leave yet but at the same time I want to experience other areas and see more of the mission and go out and help another area get going, so we will see! Either way I'll go where the Lord wants and it will be the best! At least I have two more weeks here at least to work as hard as I can. I hope everyon's summer is ending well, my "winter" is going great! 

Love and Aloha!

Sister Rasmussen