Roller Coaster Week

Hey Family,

Well this week was a roller coaster it started off pretty horrible.............. While we were at a members house Monday evening for family home evening our car got broken into. I was on splitz and the other missionary left his wallet on the back seat so someone decided they would like to have it so they broke the back window to get into the car. This meant I had a long night of phone calls and paper work. There is a lot of paper work to do when the a car gets damaged that the church owns. It took me about three days to get everything finally done and taken care of. But its all fixed and everything now so its all good. I felt really bad because this was the first time these members had missionaries over in a very long time and they were horrified that our car was broken into. I hope it does not cause them to not want to work with us missionaries. 

But on a better note I was able to see my whole zone at Zone meeting and catch up with them and receive some training. 

I had the opportunity to teach Arol a couple of times this last week and he is super excited to be baptized. We had to move his date up by one day to Friday because the stake has activities all Saturday and my Bishop does not want to interfere with them. When we told Arol he was super excited to be baptized a day sooner. We realized this week though that after Arol we really do not have anyone else progressing........ We decided to do some serious finding this coming week to get our teaching pool back up. We went to a less actives house for a lesson and we showed up and he had his friend over who is not a member. We were playing it cool but the less active right off the bat says "lets fill up the bath tub and dunk him" The guy was really confused but we were able to work through it and hopefully we will be able to meet with him again. 

We got a new ward mission leader in the ward I'm in. He is really nice and ready to get to work. I am excited to be able to work with him and see the success we can have by working with him. 

Well that my week basically ~ cars getting smashed into and teaching and meeting some amazing people over here in the land down under.

Love,

Elder Leatherow

I had to pay for my own pizza

Thank you for my package and THANK YOU Celeste for the new ties!

Have a great week.  Love you all.

Zone P-Day and Kangaroos

Hey Family,

Sorry this is really late but I had a Zone P-Day out in the country in a place called Ellenbrooke. We went hiking as a zone  then had a huge BBQ at a members house. 

 The Dianella Zone

 He was swimming but not swimming because we are not allowed to;)

This week has been really good. We had a Halloween party at the chapel and we were asked to come help with it. It was really fun to be able to see all the customs. 

Arol my investigator preparing for baptism is doing great and I am so happy to see him start to make friends in the YSA. Friends in the ward will make the adjustment for him much easier and will help him with the social conversion. It has been amazing to me to see how much the Lord has prepared him for this and to see him truly accept the gospel.  We have been blessed in my area to bee able to find more people but it seems more like they find us more than we find them. We were walking down the road the other day and a lady pulled over and asked us if we covered a certain road. We said yes and she said great my house number is... you need to stop by and visit me please. WOW! That's amazing! My area is amazing and I'm crossing my fingers that with transfers coming up I will stay in my area. usually over here you don't stay long in one area but President Fife seems to be changing that so I hope I can stay. 

We celebrated Elder Lafo'ou's Birthday this week as well so that was really fun to be able to spend it with him. I was actually on exchanges with him on his birthday. A really nice family in the ward took us out to dinner for his birthday. I was extremely thankful because I did not know what to make him for his birthday to be able to set it apart from the other days. 

Sorry I know this is short but I hope the photos make up for the shortness. 

I love you guys and I hope you all have a great week. 

Let me know if I can do anything to help any of you.

Love,

Elder Leatherow

I finally saw some kangaroos!

One of the investigators had this hanging up..... I got a kick out of it

Call of Shame

Hey Family,

Well this week was a good but busy. Elder Kay and I felt like we could not get anything done that we had planned to do each day but that is alright because as long as we follow the Spirit that is what the Lord wanted us to do that day. We had another lesson with our baptismal date. His name is Arol Jok he is from Sudan and is really excited for his baptism. He came to church yesterday and he really liked it and can not wait to come next week. 

We had a lot of meetings again this week but it seems like we always do. After church we were invited to go to lunch at a members house. We were fed till we were about to explode! These polys are going to make me fat if the keep feeding me like this. 

We met a young man that is 18 years old on the street the other day and set up a time to see him yesterday. His name is Braden he really wants to learn but in the middle of the lesson his friend who is the brother of a less active showed up and distrupted everything but we rolled with it and tried to keep things cool. I hope we will have another chance to sit down with him to teach him a little bit more. 

On Saturday we went and did service for a lady who did not really ever take care of her yard so it was like a jungle! 

We had a great time and were able to really clean up her yard. But I left the keys in the trunk of the car while I was getting something and Elder Kay shut the trunk so we were locked out ! We tried to get in as carefully as possible but when we realized it was not going to happen we made the phone call of shame to the assistants. They gladly came over with the spare set to let us into the car but they of course gave us some crap for locking the keys in the trunk. 

We had another baptism in our district!  Joe was baptized on Saturday. It has been great to watch him grow in the gospel and come to the knowledge of the plan Heavenly Father has for him. 

It has been really weird weather wise down here some days are really hot and others are pleasant but I have been warned that this will not last long and I should prepare myself for the coming heat! 

We have also found a man from the Philipeans. He is not eagar to learn about our church but wants to know more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so we are taking it slow. I know that Heavenly Father can prepare his heart though and the Holy Ghost can testify to him that what we teach is true and that he can gain a greater desire to learn. Well the I hope you all are great and are loving Utah back home! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Leatherow

We enjoyed a BBQ ~ Elder Kay was the Grill Mater

Name Tag photos:

Walking home to our flat and we may or may have not been fighting an army

Walking thru a preserve and saw this beautiful sight. Truly Blessed

Elder Leatherow is doing wonderful and asks about all his family.  He would love to hear from each and everyone of you.  

Catching Fire and Yo Momma!

Hey Family,

I hope your week has been great and you all are happy and healthy. For me down here it was nice. It cooled down for a couple days it even rained yesterday which was really nice. Me and Elder Kay are working hard trying to find some new people to increase our teaching pool. Our hard work is paying off;  we have been able to triple our teaching pool over the last week and a half. I was on exchanges with the zone leaders the other day and we were teaching a lesson to our investigator from Africa. The Spirit was so strong.  I had an impression to invite him to be baptized even though this was only the second time we had been with him and the first lesson we had taught him. But I followed it (the Spirit) and invited him to be baptized.  He instantly accepted and he is on date for the Nov. 14th.   He has a lot to learn in little time but we have the faith that he will be able to learn everything and be ready for that date. 

Our district had a baptism on Saturday too! The sister's investigator was baptized! 

Our areas has caught fire and the Lord has blessed the people here with a soft heart and open ears. We also had zone conference this week.  It was nice to be able to receive training from President Fife and others.  It was nice to see all the missionaries from the two zones and be able to catch up with them.  Elder Kay and I  are loving our area and super excited to see what the future holds for our area. 

I hope to hear from you all and I hope this week is great. 

I have a joke for you....."yo momma so mormon that she thinks having a coffee table is against the word of wisdom." sorry if that was not funny but I found it really funny. I think missionary humor is different than regular humor..... anyways 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Leatherow

There are wild parrots every where and I finally was able to capture a picture of them

It was super foggy here the other morning ~ this picture doesn't do it justice

The view from a hill in my area

We all have matching ties! Balajura district represent!

We made Oti! it's a watermelon drink from Samoa!

Just on splits with Elder Tafilipepe!

And a view of my temple

Love you all please tell the Watkins, the Smuins and the other Leatherows (all of them) that I would love to hear from them.   

Transfer Week + Conference

Hey Family,

Well this week was one busy week here in the great Australia Perth Mission. The first two days were really crazy trying to get Elder Ho all packed up and ready to go home. I dropped him off at the mission office Tuesday afternoon and was put with two other Elders until Elder Kay arrived late that night on a bus from his previous country area. But as a missionary knows plans need to be flexible. Some Elders came in early from another area so I had to go be with them. I was basically a taxi driver all Tuesday. But Elder Kay arrived safe and sound late that night I picked him up and headed back to goo old Girrawheen. The next day was transfers. We had to go because I had to take some Elders that were leaving my district. It was great to see people I had not seen since arriving and meet some new missionaries. We finished up with transfers and headed back to our area. 

We have had a lot of success the last few days finding some new people to teach which was great because our teaching pool was down to like two people but it is growing fast because the Lord is truly preparing the way for his servants. 

General Conference was amazing!! The three new apostles!!! We are so lucky to have great men that lead this church. I have fallen in love with Elder Ballards words, "Hold to the Old Ship Zion, and Sail On." I loved when he said that "you cannot jump off the ship and swim to the end, YOU WILL NOT MAKE IT." We must stay faithful to the church and support the leaders within it. HE speaks through his servants and they only do His will. With that being said I have a lot of work to do. Have caught myself thinking why would they tell us to do that or this but I am trying to stop. I may not know why but it is for the best and to help me and everyone else. I loved conference I felt the spirit so strong as I watched it. I hope you all were able to feel the Spirit as you watched conference and had it whisper to you that what they were saying is true. Enough of the preachy Elder Leatherow  right?! 

I have had a really great week full of meeting great people that are willing to learn. We were sitting at a stop light waiting to cross the street on our bikes when a man approaches us and says do you have a book for me to read? We both looked at each another and said yes I gave him the Book of Mormon and he instantly said this will support my King James Bible right? We answered yes. He said great. We are going to teach him this week and he really wants to know more about the gospel and the church. The Lord does work miracles. He prepares people. I hope your week has been amazing and I hope this week will be the same! I love you all!

Love ,

Elder Leatherow

Saying good ~ bye to Elder Ho

and also good ~ bye to Elder Birch (he is leaving the area)

Saying goodbye to Elder Matatuia. He was one on my Zone Leaders last transfer. He was amazing and got transferred to the zone just north of me.

Mom/Dad: Have you been using some sunscreen?

C: No, it is too expensive

Mom/Dad: We will be sending you some.  Anything else you want from home?

C:  A debit card that works and some acne wash, that too is super expensive here

Mom/Dad:  We will be sending you new cards from AFCU as well as prepaid visa cards

C: Thanks.  Maybe we could get me an account at Bank of Utah?

Mom/Dad:  That might be hard because you are there and the Bank if here, don't think we can open one in your name.  We will wait to see if the new cards work and go from there

Just in case anyone is wondering Elder Leatherow has hit the …..

Yep, 2 month mark! (Thanks Darbie for the pics)

Vegemite ~ yep, I tried it

Hey Family,

Well what can I say about this week. It has been a week full of ups and downs for this missionary. 

We found some people who really need the gospel and are keen to learn and had to drop some people that I really was hoping would be able to get baptized.

I have decided to not go through the whole week like I usually do anymore becaus I just don't have the time to sit down and write out what happens everyday. . . .  So I will just give you some highlights of my week and you guys can ask me questions later that are more in depth about stuff. 

We were finally able to meet with our recent convert that was baptized in July and has not come to church for 8 weeks. It was super sad to hear him tell us that he no longer thinks that our church is the only true church. He still thinks our church is true but also thinks other churchs are too. W are hoping to be able to teach him a couple of lessons this week so that he can feel the Spirit and know that this is the only true church again. 

I had dinner at the Vincent's home again. They are great people and I have really grown quite close to them in the last 6 weeks. They made me try Veggiemight! It really was not bad just really salty. 

We met a gentleman from South Africa who is really in need of the gospel in his life. His guilt has driven him to the very edge and we came just at the right time. He is very keen to learn more and wants to feel the peace that comes from the atonement again. 

We had a Zone Blitz in Kings park this week as well and it was great. I took some picture which I'll send. It was a great chance for us to meet people and get lots of referrals for our Zone. I went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders as well. I had a blast and learned a ton. I was in the Lockridge area for that day and was able to meet some truely amazing people. 

Yesterday we had another cottage evening at the Berryman's house which is always good. For those of you who do not know what a cottage evening is don't feel bad I did not either till I got here. It is basically a huge family home evening with a couple families. 

Brother and Sister Reeday

Dad: You look good, very clean shaven

C: Yep, I may have to start shaving twice a day because any stubble is too much stubble.

Found this beauty in my flat, let's just say I sleep with one eye open

So I received a call from President Fife last night and........... I will be staying in Girrawheen! My new companion is Elder Kay. I pick him up tomorrow from the airport.  He has been serving in a country area recently so that is why I have to go to the airport. 

Well I hope all is well.

Love,

Elder Leatherow

Rolling with the unplanned

Hey Family,

What can I say about this week..... It has been really eye opening and over all I would say I pretty good week.

Monday- P-DAY! This weeek we had distroct P-Day. We went to a park for a picnic and to play some games. We had to leave early so that I could go drive with the AP's to see if I could get my car! I passed their test and I'm officially driving in Australia. (Which is on the wrong side of the road??)

Tuesday- Zone meeting which was great then we went to go kill some time before we had transfer interviews. So we went to the Mayland area and tracted there. After interviews we went to see a potential and after we had dinner at the Vincent's house.

Wednesday- The most unplanned for day ever! During our studies we received a phone call from the English testing center. They said the needed us to come down to the center to clear some stuff up. So we called the senior couple over the ESL program but they were five hours away. So I had to drive all the way to the city. Me someone who just barely started to drive in Australia. But we made it there and back just fine and we though we were all done with it but…..

Thursday- Once again another unplanned for day. We received another phone call from the testing center during studies. e had to go all the way back to the city again. I can now say that I hate driving in the City. After we got back we only had time to go to MCM. So just like that two days were gone.

Friday- We had to go to the mission office for Elder ho to be able to help another Elder apply for BYU. After that we had a meeting with all the district leaders in our zone so we just stayed at the mission office. After we had time to go see some people and were able to have some good discussions.

Saturday- We woke up and left to go do some service for the Berryman family. They needed some help running a concession stand a fundraising netball tournament. This gave me a chance to learn all about netball. 

Then we went to see one of our investigators Jok. We had a great lesson with him. After we went to a Blitz. We had a great talk with a door to door salesman who was a little confused on why we were knocking on doors. But we enlightened him.

Sunday-What a great day! Church was great even though I had to speak in sacrament. We had a surprise! A man came to church that no one knew. We talked to him and found out a member in another ward gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to church. Member missionary work works! after church we ate lunch at the Brown's house. After that we visited some people.

Monday- Queens Day! Or in other words it was the Queen's Birthday. We had a district meeting. After we had a picnic for members investigators, and less Actives. This was great it gave a chance for members to start to fellowship the people we are working with. After words we visited some people.

I hope all is well back home. If there is anything I can do for anyone just let me know!

Love,

Elder Leatherow

PS ~ I will be watching conference one week after you all so please don't spoil it for me!  We can talk about it after we have all listened and been spiritually uplifted.