Serving the Lord in the Land Down Under: Letter #81 from Australia

February 5, 2017

Dear Family & Friends,

What a week it has been! We have been non-stop busy from sun up to sun down every single day and it is so great! I am loving everything about my mission right now and I can't wait to begin proselyting this week! So some big news items this week! So first off, Dale was baptized on Saturday and it was such an amazing day for him! It was absolutely amazing to see how someone could change his life in just two weeks! He was and definitely still is being prepared by Heavenly Father! He is so solid in the gospel and in his testimony of the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ! One of the YSA members in our ward who helped to fellowship Dale, baptized him and I had the privilege to confirm him a member of the Church. It was a great baptism and we had a total of 6 non-member and investigators come to it! But we had a super funny experience with the baptism. So at the end of the program, one of the members of the bishopric welcomed Dale into the ward and then began preaching about the gospel! He ended up taking about 15 mins and then when he closed and sat down, Elder Lawler, without even realizing it, stood up and began giving the closing prayer! We had planned to sing 'I Am a Child of God' as the closing hymn, but I guess Elder Lawler was just really excited to say the prayer! Needless to say, he will never live that moment down in this ward! haha

So here is the other big news item before we have to go! So it saddens me to say this, but I will be transferring to a new area tomorrow...I am so sad to leave this area, as I have been here for the past 10 1/2 months! Half of my mission, practically! I have grown to love this area, the members and the Samoan culture so much! I will never forget this area or any of the members that I have grown so close to here! But my new assignment will help me to grow in so many ways and I am excited for it! Also, we have a little news as far as who my new companion is going to be! So I am sure that all of you who are living in Pleasant View, or who went to Weber High School with me, will remember a Elder Wiser, or Stanton as he was known by back at home! Well, we had always dreamed of serving together ever since we found out we were going to the same mission at the same time! Well on Saturday, President Vidmar called me to inform me that I would be moving to the Doncaster area and ward and would be serving as a Zone Leader in the Maroonda Stake. But then he told me that I would be white washed into the area, which just means they moved both missionaries out of the area and moved two brand new ones in, and that my new companion would be ELDER STANTON WISER!!!! HAHAHA We called each other right after and freaked out together! I am so excited to be serving with him and to be Zone Leaders together too! We had always joked with President about us serving together and now it is actually happening!

Well that is the big news and I will let you all know some more details next week! Sorry that I don't have a lot of time to email this week! If you emailed me and I didn't get to reply to you, it is not because I don't love you, cause I do! I just don't have any time left! So sorry! Have a great week! I love you all so much!!!

Elder Wheeler