Well this is it... last week as a missionary. I will still email on Tuesday, June 2nd, but only very quickly, That is the day I go up to Perth.
Honestly, I don't really know what to say. The mission is something I have loved so much. I feel like I've been here forever and, at the same time, I can remember the MTC like it was yesterday. My mission has taught me humility, patience, diligence, obedience, and faith. I hope more than anything that I can hold onto the faith and love for the gospel that I have now forever. I hope that I can share it with my friends and family. I love you all so much! Can't wait to see you again!
I had a crazy dream last night. I came home and went to work at A-1 Installations, but the office was now in a skyscraper in Portland and all the returned missionaries I know were working there. The leadership were all on computers doing really intense work and the other missionaries were all playing Minecraft on other computers for some reason. I was trying to figure out how to get back onto the scheduling page I used back home, so I called Brother Moore over and he opened up the recycling bin on the computer but it brought up a crazy program were it zoomed the screen to the underside of a school desk and there were all the wads of chewing gum that represented discarded programs. On one of them was the program I was looking for. It was really weird. Plus, at lunch break, I was trying to talk to the RMs about missionary work and they all just laughed at me and didn't care about it anymore.
Anyways it was a good week... ish. Pretty much all our appointments fell through, but this week is looking good and the district is still doing really well with finding new investigators. Elder Yang and I found a family this week that we will be teaching on Wednesday.
I love you all so much!
Elder jamison
24 May 2015
17 May 2015
A Pokémon Battle?
This week has been really good. Our district game is going great too! The game goes like this. We are Pokémon trainers and are in a group battle against... bad stuff I guess. We have to beat their six Pokémon team to get the top prize - dinner at Nando's. This week, we beat the first three; Caterpie, Pikachu, and Squirtle. It will be tougher from here on though. They had 60, 75, and 90 HP respectively. This week, will will battle Ivysaur, Charizard, and Mew Two who have 150, 175, and 250 HP, so its quite a bit harder. We can do it though if we stay excited. We found eleven new investigators this week and taught fourteen member presents. In contrast, we have been doing like eight member presents and only getting like four new investigators lately, so its a huge upswing.
Elder Yang and I found four of the investigators, two of which have families we are teaching now and we are super excited about it. One was a huge miracle. A few months back, Bishop saw a couple arguing in the street and felt prompted to talk to them. They didn't like him at first, but he was able to help them out and finally made friends with them. Nek minute, Elder Yang and I tract into a solid as family and invite Bishop to help us teach them. We find out during the lesson, it's the very same family he had felt prompted to talk to. Miracles happen. The lord really is guiding this work.
I love you all so much!
See you in two weeks!
Love, Elder Jamison
I love you all so much!
See you in two weeks!
Love, Elder Jamison
03 May 2015
I love the gospel so much and I love my Savior Jesus Christ
This week has been good. Sunday was especially awesome. One of the recent converts in the ward got to bless his new baby. He did really well and it touched a lot of people. Tayla bore a very powerful testimony and she and Dylan brought a friend to church. Things are going really well and I think I finally have this missionary thing down... and it only took twenty-three months to get it.
It is such a strange feeling... Everyone will ask, "How long have you been out?" or "When do you go home?" and it really doesn't feel like it's close. Obviously it is, but I don't feel any different than the first day of my mission. I have changed so much, but the feeling of what I need to do is the same. I don't know if that makes sense, but i just can't imagine not being a missionary. I think about it a lot, but it doesn't seem real to me.
I have been studying a lot this week about humility and meekness. I think that is really the key to success in the gospel. We need to always acknowledge our weakness and fault before the Lord and allow Him to help us. We also need to know that all of us on earth are equals and are equally important in the plan of salvation. If we can understand those relationships, ours with God and with others, then we will have the understanding and hopefully the motivation to do what is right. It makes sense in my head and I hope you can understand it too.
I love the gospel so much and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that on the day I meet Him again I will be worthy to be called one of His disciples.
I love you all. Never be discouraged. Being sad isn't ever worth it.
Elder Jamison
P. S. How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?
It is such a strange feeling... Everyone will ask, "How long have you been out?" or "When do you go home?" and it really doesn't feel like it's close. Obviously it is, but I don't feel any different than the first day of my mission. I have changed so much, but the feeling of what I need to do is the same. I don't know if that makes sense, but i just can't imagine not being a missionary. I think about it a lot, but it doesn't seem real to me.
I have been studying a lot this week about humility and meekness. I think that is really the key to success in the gospel. We need to always acknowledge our weakness and fault before the Lord and allow Him to help us. We also need to know that all of us on earth are equals and are equally important in the plan of salvation. If we can understand those relationships, ours with God and with others, then we will have the understanding and hopefully the motivation to do what is right. It makes sense in my head and I hope you can understand it too.
I love the gospel so much and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that on the day I meet Him again I will be worthy to be called one of His disciples.
I love you all. Never be discouraged. Being sad isn't ever worth it.
Elder Jamison
P. S. How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?
27 April 2015
Week 99
What the heck... I'm starting week 100?
It's crazy how fast the time goes. I can still remember my first day like it was yesterday... legit though. I'm not just saying that. I am so thankful for the opportunities and experiences I have had. They really have prepared me, much better than I could have done alone, for the future God wants me to have.
This week has been a lot better than lately. We found six potential investigators that are all really nice. We taught one yesterday and picked her up as a new investigator. Her name is Beth. She is twenty-five and has zero religious background. We have to go very slow with her. We will probably teach about the restoration again if we can, but will be doing the plan of salvation this coming Monday. Oh, snap! I just remembered we can't do Monday. It's okay. We wanted to see her earlier anyway.
The Elder that moved in, Elder Geurts, is from Pocatello, Idaho. Anyway, we have been telling a lot of dumb jokes lately. We were up till like 11:00 last night telling pirate jokes.
What's a pirate's favorite subject in school? ARt!
What's a pirate's favorite veggie? ARsparagus!
What's a pirate's favorite color? PurplAR!
Ha ha, they get stupider and funnier over time.
I love you all so much!
See you in five!
Elder Jamison
It's crazy how fast the time goes. I can still remember my first day like it was yesterday... legit though. I'm not just saying that. I am so thankful for the opportunities and experiences I have had. They really have prepared me, much better than I could have done alone, for the future God wants me to have.
This week has been a lot better than lately. We found six potential investigators that are all really nice. We taught one yesterday and picked her up as a new investigator. Her name is Beth. She is twenty-five and has zero religious background. We have to go very slow with her. We will probably teach about the restoration again if we can, but will be doing the plan of salvation this coming Monday. Oh, snap! I just remembered we can't do Monday. It's okay. We wanted to see her earlier anyway.
The Elder that moved in, Elder Geurts, is from Pocatello, Idaho. Anyway, we have been telling a lot of dumb jokes lately. We were up till like 11:00 last night telling pirate jokes.
What's a pirate's favorite subject in school? ARt!
What's a pirate's favorite veggie? ARsparagus!
What's a pirate's favorite color? PurplAR!
Ha ha, they get stupider and funnier over time.
I love you all so much!
See you in five!
Elder Jamison
22 April 2015
Chocolate Man and other photos
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| Chocolate Man |
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| Gifts of Huang |
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| Cricket |
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| Zone Conference with Holyoak |
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| Ping Pong |
19 April 2015
Dylan's baptism
Ho ho ho! This is it - the last transfer!
Man, it’s been good! Dylan's baptism was this week! It went okay... not many people showed up, but it was still awesome. Supes awk Sunday though. They didn't show up.... kind of. I was sweating bullets like, “Where are they?! Dylan hasn't missed church for nine weeks and TODAY is the day he misses?!” All goods though. He was in Perth and his car broke down so it’s not his fault he missed. We will just confirm him next week.
Dwayne and Serena are definitely moving. I'm going to miss them and I hope they do well there. It would have been nice to see them baptized and married here, but maybe it wasn't right yet. It’s okay though. You have got to learn to forget about stuff you can’t control.
It's getting tricky with Elder Yang. We have been having trouble with new investigators lately. It’s hard to find them. He thinks the problem is we don't tract enough. I told him what I think about tracting and how it won’t help, but he got offended (I think) and thinks I don't take his ideas seriously. All goods though. He just thinks I'm mad at him all the time, but he caught me at a bad time. Stuff just hasn't been working out much and I'm always on the edge lately. I get moody when he goes crazy. It would actually be funny if I wasn't so anxious. He has tons of energy and loves to be the center of attention... sometimes a bit too much. I think I was like that too when I first started, so I guess we all have stuff to work through. All goods though. We have plenty of support from our ward and we will find more people to teach.
I love being a missionary! It’s not the clothes or the schedule or the rules I love. In fact, those things are very hard for me. But what I do love is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and I would give anything for that chance! I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that, because he loved us all, he came to earth to suffer and die so that we could live with our families and Heavenly Father forever. Nothing is more important to me than the gift of hope that Jesus Christ gave to me!
Sorry for going missionary mode, but I really do love the gospel! I love you all!
Elder Jamison
Man, it’s been good! Dylan's baptism was this week! It went okay... not many people showed up, but it was still awesome. Supes awk Sunday though. They didn't show up.... kind of. I was sweating bullets like, “Where are they?! Dylan hasn't missed church for nine weeks and TODAY is the day he misses?!” All goods though. He was in Perth and his car broke down so it’s not his fault he missed. We will just confirm him next week.
Dwayne and Serena are definitely moving. I'm going to miss them and I hope they do well there. It would have been nice to see them baptized and married here, but maybe it wasn't right yet. It’s okay though. You have got to learn to forget about stuff you can’t control.
It's getting tricky with Elder Yang. We have been having trouble with new investigators lately. It’s hard to find them. He thinks the problem is we don't tract enough. I told him what I think about tracting and how it won’t help, but he got offended (I think) and thinks I don't take his ideas seriously. All goods though. He just thinks I'm mad at him all the time, but he caught me at a bad time. Stuff just hasn't been working out much and I'm always on the edge lately. I get moody when he goes crazy. It would actually be funny if I wasn't so anxious. He has tons of energy and loves to be the center of attention... sometimes a bit too much. I think I was like that too when I first started, so I guess we all have stuff to work through. All goods though. We have plenty of support from our ward and we will find more people to teach.
I love being a missionary! It’s not the clothes or the schedule or the rules I love. In fact, those things are very hard for me. But what I do love is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and I would give anything for that chance! I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that, because he loved us all, he came to earth to suffer and die so that we could live with our families and Heavenly Father forever. Nothing is more important to me than the gift of hope that Jesus Christ gave to me!
Sorry for going missionary mode, but I really do love the gospel! I love you all!
Elder Jamison
13 April 2015
Flushed the phone
Man, time flies.
We had zone conference this week and I realized it was going to be my last one... I had to give my dying testimony and everything. So sad :-( Ha ha. Nah, all goods. Still got seven weeks to go!
Dylan is doing awesome! He is solid as. He passed his interview just before watching the first session of conference. We are helping Tayla move tomorrow and we should be able to get the program set up then.
Dwayne and Serena are definitely moving... and it's too late to get a marriage license. We will still be teaching them as if we were going to baptize them, but it's looking like they will do it in Melbourne. All goods though, as long as they do it and stay strong.
Conference was awesome, but it made me miss home... the fist pounding whenever we heard about "duties", cinnamon rolls, etc. Only like twenty-five people went to priesthood session and eight were missionaries. Thanks for making sure we grew up always going. It really made a difference for me.
It was cool to hear so many talks about families. One of my favorite moments was when the people were opposing the sustaining, but every time they said opposed, less people said it until the last guy kind of coughed it like *opposed* hem, hem. Ha ha, SHAME! That probably wouldn’t be funny to anyone but a missionary, but we all had a good laugh. It’s like when people yell at us from their cars but can’t say anything face to face.
Man those temples too! That’s cool as. They are putting them in Haiti, Thailand, and Ivory Coast. Is Brother Starke stoked? I bet he is. He'll probably go visit. Shout out to Brother Starke!
Elder Yang’s got this weird habit of never leaving me alone. When I go to get a drink, he is a foot away from me. When I go to the toilet, he waits outside. When I get up to grab my bag like five feet away, he gets up to follow me. It’s really annoying, but I was probably like that when I was brand new too.
Bad week for losing stuff... I lost my name tag yesterday. Normally, I would have been cut, but I have learned on my mission how to let go of things more. I haven’t lost hope of finding it. I prayed that it would stay where I lost it so I can go find it tonight.
Ha ha, I lost the phone too. This deserves the full story though… So, it’s Tuesday night. It’s been a long day and I get home and run to the toilet. I finish up and see that the roll is out of paper. I flush the toilet and bend over to get a new roll. The phone is in my shirt pocket. It falls almost in slow motion straight into the flushing toilet. It was gone. There is a headstone taped to the toilet now in memory of the phone. Ha ha. We got a new one with the same number on Friday. Texting on it is awful, but it’s a phone at least. Elder Bennighoff thought I was playing an April fools prank when I called him to tell him I had flushed the phone down the toilet.
Anyway, I love you all so much! See you in 7 weeks. ;-)
Elder Jamison
We had zone conference this week and I realized it was going to be my last one... I had to give my dying testimony and everything. So sad :-( Ha ha. Nah, all goods. Still got seven weeks to go!
Dylan is doing awesome! He is solid as. He passed his interview just before watching the first session of conference. We are helping Tayla move tomorrow and we should be able to get the program set up then.
Dwayne and Serena are definitely moving... and it's too late to get a marriage license. We will still be teaching them as if we were going to baptize them, but it's looking like they will do it in Melbourne. All goods though, as long as they do it and stay strong.
Conference was awesome, but it made me miss home... the fist pounding whenever we heard about "duties", cinnamon rolls, etc. Only like twenty-five people went to priesthood session and eight were missionaries. Thanks for making sure we grew up always going. It really made a difference for me.
It was cool to hear so many talks about families. One of my favorite moments was when the people were opposing the sustaining, but every time they said opposed, less people said it until the last guy kind of coughed it like *opposed* hem, hem. Ha ha, SHAME! That probably wouldn’t be funny to anyone but a missionary, but we all had a good laugh. It’s like when people yell at us from their cars but can’t say anything face to face.
Man those temples too! That’s cool as. They are putting them in Haiti, Thailand, and Ivory Coast. Is Brother Starke stoked? I bet he is. He'll probably go visit. Shout out to Brother Starke!
Elder Yang’s got this weird habit of never leaving me alone. When I go to get a drink, he is a foot away from me. When I go to the toilet, he waits outside. When I get up to grab my bag like five feet away, he gets up to follow me. It’s really annoying, but I was probably like that when I was brand new too.
Bad week for losing stuff... I lost my name tag yesterday. Normally, I would have been cut, but I have learned on my mission how to let go of things more. I haven’t lost hope of finding it. I prayed that it would stay where I lost it so I can go find it tonight.
Ha ha, I lost the phone too. This deserves the full story though… So, it’s Tuesday night. It’s been a long day and I get home and run to the toilet. I finish up and see that the roll is out of paper. I flush the toilet and bend over to get a new roll. The phone is in my shirt pocket. It falls almost in slow motion straight into the flushing toilet. It was gone. There is a headstone taped to the toilet now in memory of the phone. Ha ha. We got a new one with the same number on Friday. Texting on it is awful, but it’s a phone at least. Elder Bennighoff thought I was playing an April fools prank when I called him to tell him I had flushed the phone down the toilet.
Anyway, I love you all so much! See you in 7 weeks. ;-)
Elder Jamison
06 April 2015
Week 96
This week has been really hard for me. I can't really say why. It was just a trying week. All our appointments fell through on Monday and Tuesday, Then, on Wednesday, we went to Perth for follow up training on Thursday, came back Friday and everything went wrong.
We went to our appointment with Dwayne and Serena and they couldn't see us because their kids were sleeping. They said come back at 6:00... all goods. Then, we went to go see a member and they were leaving as we got there... still all goods. We went to Hungry Jacks to grab frozen drinks and talked to these cool kids outside and as we were talking, this guy walks by and says, "you shouldn't teach lies to kids about the bible." Then, I started to get mad.
After we came out of the restaurant, I saw that my tire was totally flat. It's Black Friday, so all the shops are closed and we cant get replacement parts. We tried to at least pump it up again to get home, but someone had run over the pump at the petrol station and it was warped so we couldn't use the air pump. We walked our bikes to the next station and it was closed and you had to get a part from inside to use the air machine, so we walked to the church and locked the bikes. We got a text from Dwayne and Serena saying Serena was sick and we need to reschedule. Saturday was just as bad - people yelling at us all day. Sunday finally picked up though.
Easter Sunday was awesome. It was so nice to be able to rest and just learn more about the atonement all day. The sacrament was awesome. Then, we taught Dwayne and Serena. They said that they have to move to Melbourne, but that they want to be married and baptized before they leave. Not sure how that's gonna work out because they want to move on the 5th of May, and it takes thirty days to do the paper work for marriage. Once bishop is back from Melbourne, we will try to suss it out.
Dylan is doing great. We moved his baptism date to the 18th and he is all ready. So excited! He has so much faith and humility.
The mission is going great.
I love you all.
See you in eight weeks ;)
Elder Jamison
We went to our appointment with Dwayne and Serena and they couldn't see us because their kids were sleeping. They said come back at 6:00... all goods. Then, we went to go see a member and they were leaving as we got there... still all goods. We went to Hungry Jacks to grab frozen drinks and talked to these cool kids outside and as we were talking, this guy walks by and says, "you shouldn't teach lies to kids about the bible." Then, I started to get mad.
After we came out of the restaurant, I saw that my tire was totally flat. It's Black Friday, so all the shops are closed and we cant get replacement parts. We tried to at least pump it up again to get home, but someone had run over the pump at the petrol station and it was warped so we couldn't use the air pump. We walked our bikes to the next station and it was closed and you had to get a part from inside to use the air machine, so we walked to the church and locked the bikes. We got a text from Dwayne and Serena saying Serena was sick and we need to reschedule. Saturday was just as bad - people yelling at us all day. Sunday finally picked up though.
Easter Sunday was awesome. It was so nice to be able to rest and just learn more about the atonement all day. The sacrament was awesome. Then, we taught Dwayne and Serena. They said that they have to move to Melbourne, but that they want to be married and baptized before they leave. Not sure how that's gonna work out because they want to move on the 5th of May, and it takes thirty days to do the paper work for marriage. Once bishop is back from Melbourne, we will try to suss it out.
Dylan is doing great. We moved his baptism date to the 18th and he is all ready. So excited! He has so much faith and humility.
The mission is going great.
I love you all.
See you in eight weeks ;)
Elder Jamison
29 March 2015
Another good week - and lots of pictures
G'day mates!
This week has been good. Dylan is going great! Totally smashed the ice (not just broke). He is da man. We always get distracted talking about music, movies, or Seinfeld. Ha ha. Man, it's the best. We found a new investigator this week as well. Her name is Jasmine. We saw her on the street and we felt like talking to her, so we did and she said all she knew about the church from the stuff she saw in the Book of Mormon play. We are seeing her to teach her on Wednesday.
Ha! Two dudes in the library are debating whether or not they should ask me what tribe I'm from. Ha ha. Stupid...
Anyway, we got to go to the temple to do baptisms the other day. Tayla and another recent convert Alana went for the first time. They really liked it. It was nice to go back again. It has been a long time.
I can't think of anything else to write. I have heaps of pictures to send this week. It took an hour to sort through all Elder Yang's pictures 'cause he takes so many... of food, of flowers, of people he doesn't know, of our shopping, of people sleeping, etc. All goods though.
So, I'll just explain the pictures and that's my week.
I love you all,
Elder Jamison
This week has been good. Dylan is going great! Totally smashed the ice (not just broke). He is da man. We always get distracted talking about music, movies, or Seinfeld. Ha ha. Man, it's the best. We found a new investigator this week as well. Her name is Jasmine. We saw her on the street and we felt like talking to her, so we did and she said all she knew about the church from the stuff she saw in the Book of Mormon play. We are seeing her to teach her on Wednesday.
Ha! Two dudes in the library are debating whether or not they should ask me what tribe I'm from. Ha ha. Stupid...
Anyway, we got to go to the temple to do baptisms the other day. Tayla and another recent convert Alana went for the first time. They really liked it. It was nice to go back again. It has been a long time.
I can't think of anything else to write. I have heaps of pictures to send this week. It took an hour to sort through all Elder Yang's pictures 'cause he takes so many... of food, of flowers, of people he doesn't know, of our shopping, of people sleeping, etc. All goods though.
So, I'll just explain the pictures and that's my week.
I love you all,
Elder Jamison
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| Took Jacob to church. He hated it. |
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| Tipene |
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| #BecauseHeLives - Dylan |
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| #BecauseHeLives - Da Krew |
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#BecauseHeLives
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| No, I'm the real Spiderman |
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| Wall Crawler |
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| Filipino Night |
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| Filipino Night |
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| Filipino Night |
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| Cheap pizza Monday |
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| Lunch at the temple |
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| Food |
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| Remember the frozen Pepsi |
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| Chillin' with APs (Elder Kafoa & Elder Day) |
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| Chillin' with Gardner-Grieves |
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| Chillin' at Huang's |
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| Huang |
22 March 2015
This week has been awesome!
Elder Yang is loving his mission and we are doing great together! Dylan set a date to be baptized on the 25th of April. He is such a humble guy. He is really prepared to hear the gospel.
We taught Dwayne and Serena this week too. They will hopefully set a date on Thursday. We are going over with the bishop then. We will see what happens, but they are going great.
Kim brought a friend to church yesterday! His name is Ian. He seems like a pretty good kid! We will be having family home evening at their house and we have invited him to come too. So, we will see what happens there too.
We saw a broadcast given by Elder Bednar in Melbourne last night. It was really nice.
Huang is a funny lady. We taught her a bit, but she is very Buddhist. I never realized how hard it was to teach them. Anyway, she is the nice lady whose kids live in Portland. She is looking for a place to stay when she is there and she is looking to get citizenship as well. Wait 'til you meet her. She is a funny lady.
I love you all very much!
Elder Jamison
Here is a picture of the four Oregonian Elders currently serving in the Australia Perth Mission - Elder Moeaki, Elder Jamison, Elder Richards, and Elder Davies.
We taught Dwayne and Serena this week too. They will hopefully set a date on Thursday. We are going over with the bishop then. We will see what happens, but they are going great.
Kim brought a friend to church yesterday! His name is Ian. He seems like a pretty good kid! We will be having family home evening at their house and we have invited him to come too. So, we will see what happens there too.
We saw a broadcast given by Elder Bednar in Melbourne last night. It was really nice.
Huang is a funny lady. We taught her a bit, but she is very Buddhist. I never realized how hard it was to teach them. Anyway, she is the nice lady whose kids live in Portland. She is looking for a place to stay when she is there and she is looking to get citizenship as well. Wait 'til you meet her. She is a funny lady.
I love you all very much!
Elder Jamison
Here is a picture of the four Oregonian Elders currently serving in the Australia Perth Mission - Elder Moeaki, Elder Jamison, Elder Richards, and Elder Davies.
15 March 2015
Week 93
This week has been good.
My comp is Elder Yang from Hainan Province China. He is pretty cool. His English is pretty good for being fresh from the MTC, and his teaching is too. We had a sick as lesson with him. We were driving back from transfers and we had an appointment as soon as we drove into town with a part-member family. We practiced for a few hours on the way and when we taught it was all goods. They even set a baptismal date for the 2nd of May!
We are very close with Dwayne and Serena though... all they need is a date. Hopefully, it will happen this week. Elder Yang is too picky so far though. I didn't really realize how much I have changed on the mission... I will eat anything now just because I forced myself to and now I don't mind. Elder Yang still needs to perfect this skill. I ate his green beans the other day at Vito's house and he ate my cooking. I made fried rice and it was too dry. I guess Asians are the pros, so we'll see how it's done tonight.
I love you all so much!
Elder Jamison
Ha ha, I just forgot something but I got a call like ten seconds ago from Tayla. Her friend Dylan, who has been coming to church, now wants to take the lessons and be baptized! She is smashing it! And, Tipene came to church. I don't know if I've talked about him. He is a Maori kid who is now biking to church and mutual with us every time. He is the man! Anyway, everything is great and I'm loving my last area!
Love you all!
Elder Jamison
My comp is Elder Yang from Hainan Province China. He is pretty cool. His English is pretty good for being fresh from the MTC, and his teaching is too. We had a sick as lesson with him. We were driving back from transfers and we had an appointment as soon as we drove into town with a part-member family. We practiced for a few hours on the way and when we taught it was all goods. They even set a baptismal date for the 2nd of May!
We are very close with Dwayne and Serena though... all they need is a date. Hopefully, it will happen this week. Elder Yang is too picky so far though. I didn't really realize how much I have changed on the mission... I will eat anything now just because I forced myself to and now I don't mind. Elder Yang still needs to perfect this skill. I ate his green beans the other day at Vito's house and he ate my cooking. I made fried rice and it was too dry. I guess Asians are the pros, so we'll see how it's done tonight.
I love you all so much!
Elder Jamison
Ha ha, I just forgot something but I got a call like ten seconds ago from Tayla. Her friend Dylan, who has been coming to church, now wants to take the lessons and be baptized! She is smashing it! And, Tipene came to church. I don't know if I've talked about him. He is a Maori kid who is now biking to church and mutual with us every time. He is the man! Anyway, everything is great and I'm loving my last area!
Love you all!
Elder Jamison
08 March 2015
Week 92
Hey!
This week has been pretty cool. We didn't teach as many lessons as we would have liked, but we had lots of success in gaining trust from members and investigators - Dwayne and Serina especially. They told us they want to be baptized and married this year. Bishop thinks we will be doing it in the next few months. I hope so too. We will see how it goes I guess.
Elder Tapumania is being transferred. He is going to Kalgoorlie... Lucky dawg! I am staying here and will be with a new missionary. I'll find out who on Thursday. I hope he's a cool one, but I guess I will make him cool if he's not.
Usually, trainees stay with their companion for two transfers, so I should end my mission with him in this area... which is good because this area is really sweet. We have quite a few investigators who are so close to being baptized. They just need to keep their commitments. If they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they will be baptized. Too bad they don't often do it... oh well I guess.
Anyway, I love you all so much! Stay classy and share the gospel because it's the coolest thing in the world.
See you in twelve weeks ;)
Love,
Elder Jamison
This week has been pretty cool. We didn't teach as many lessons as we would have liked, but we had lots of success in gaining trust from members and investigators - Dwayne and Serina especially. They told us they want to be baptized and married this year. Bishop thinks we will be doing it in the next few months. I hope so too. We will see how it goes I guess.
Usually, trainees stay with their companion for two transfers, so I should end my mission with him in this area... which is good because this area is really sweet. We have quite a few investigators who are so close to being baptized. They just need to keep their commitments. If they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they will be baptized. Too bad they don't often do it... oh well I guess.
Anyway, I love you all so much! Stay classy and share the gospel because it's the coolest thing in the world.
See you in twelve weeks ;)
Love,
Elder Jamison
02 March 2015
Tayla's and Kim's Baptism
Hey err body!
This week has been great... stressful but great.
Man, I got frustrated so many times, but first things first - the baptisms! Kim and Tayla were both baptized on Saturday and confirmed the next day! It was so cool! They are both gonna be great members. Kim is still a kid and has a lot to learn, but Tayla is on fire! She had 7 friends come to the baptism, and three of them came to church, and two of them said they would be coming all the time now to support Tayla! They are really cool people and, hopefully, they will want to learn about the gospel.
That morning, we got the the church two hours before the baptism to fill the font. Next minute, no one had a key. The zone leaders were in Perth for mission leader conference. Bishop lost his. The family across the street was at the temple, etc., etc. In the end, we called the Elders from Australind and they sped over but arrived twenty minutes before the baptism was supposed to start. The font takes and hour and a half to fill, but Elder and I had a plan. We started filling the font, prayed, and ran away and twenty minutes later it was overflowing... Ha ha, got ya! No, we used the fire hose to help fill it and carried buckets of water to and from the font. We got it filled just in time.
On the Friday before, we went to help someone move. It was only supposed to take two hours. It took all day. So dumb. So disorganized. I was grumpy all day, but Tayla and Kim both came to help, so good stuff there.
Well, that's all I can think of now, but I love you all so much!
Take care.
The gospel is true!
Love,
Elder Jamison
This week has been great... stressful but great.
Man, I got frustrated so many times, but first things first - the baptisms! Kim and Tayla were both baptized on Saturday and confirmed the next day! It was so cool! They are both gonna be great members. Kim is still a kid and has a lot to learn, but Tayla is on fire! She had 7 friends come to the baptism, and three of them came to church, and two of them said they would be coming all the time now to support Tayla! They are really cool people and, hopefully, they will want to learn about the gospel.
On the Friday before, we went to help someone move. It was only supposed to take two hours. It took all day. So dumb. So disorganized. I was grumpy all day, but Tayla and Kim both came to help, so good stuff there.
Well, that's all I can think of now, but I love you all so much!
Take care.
The gospel is true!
Love,
Elder Jamison
22 February 2015
This week was awesome!
Tayla is going great. She came to a baptism on Saturday to see what it is like and she loved it! She aced her baptismal interview too! She is all good to go! She said she will be bringing like 30 friends and family to her baptism too. Super excited!
Kim is being baptized this Saturday too. I don't know if I have talked about him. He is 11 years old and his mom got baptized almost a year ago. He has been learning for a while and is finally ready to be baptized. Elder Tapumania baptized an 8 year old yesterday too. This area is going strong - lots of stuff is happening.
We found a new investigator this week named Sid. He is really cool and his step daughter is a member, so maybe we will be able to teach him a lot.
I have a whole plan set up for when I come home! If you remember Huang, she is the Malaysian lady that has kids in Portland. She will be going there a little before me, I think, and staying for a while. So, I'm going baptize her there, then get them over to our house and help teach her kids too! Ha ha, maybe not though, but she is definitely going to see us again. She is really nice and funny. Hard to explain... you have to meet her to understand.
Anyway, I love you all and am so happy to be here!
Elder Jamison
Kim is being baptized this Saturday too. I don't know if I have talked about him. He is 11 years old and his mom got baptized almost a year ago. He has been learning for a while and is finally ready to be baptized. Elder Tapumania baptized an 8 year old yesterday too. This area is going strong - lots of stuff is happening.
We found a new investigator this week named Sid. He is really cool and his step daughter is a member, so maybe we will be able to teach him a lot.
I have a whole plan set up for when I come home! If you remember Huang, she is the Malaysian lady that has kids in Portland. She will be going there a little before me, I think, and staying for a while. So, I'm going baptize her there, then get them over to our house and help teach her kids too! Ha ha, maybe not though, but she is definitely going to see us again. She is really nice and funny. Hard to explain... you have to meet her to understand.
Anyway, I love you all and am so happy to be here!
Elder Jamison
15 February 2015
Week 89
14 weeks left. Cray cray huh?
Cool miracles this week. On like my first or second day here, we met a girl named Shia on her bike. She is from Taiwan and is here on a working visa. We had a short conversation and left her our number and said we would be in touch... Then, on Sunday the next week, we find out she is living with a member family! So we went to visit and saw her too! She was all. "Oh you guys again?!" Ha ha, we don't get to teach her this week because she is going to Perth for Chinese New Year, but the week after should be all goods.
Tayla is doing great. She came to church yesterday and to a breakfast with some members. She's all good to be baptized on the 20th and we are so excited. We just have to teach about missionary work, temples, and family history, but that's all more for after baptism.
Man, lucky me... At the computer I reserved was this super pretty girl, so I get to sit where she just sat ;) Ha ha, jokes... not really though.
Ha ha. I've had to teach Elder Tapumanaia a bit about English culture... he asks a lot of ladies how old they are and isn't sensitive about the same stuff we are. Just a different culture, but when we were teaching an investigator, she showed us a picture of herself when she was 27 (we think she was lying and it wasn't really her) and he goes, "Wow, you were skinny." Ha ha... crack up. He's a funny guy.
We got to watch the area broadcast yesterday and got a bit of training. We've got some good ideas for the ward now, and are excited to help the members become more anxiously engaged in the work.
Ronald and Ultra were no-goes this week. Both missed their appointments. I hate it when that happens.
Anyways... I love you all!
Elder Jamison
Cool miracles this week. On like my first or second day here, we met a girl named Shia on her bike. She is from Taiwan and is here on a working visa. We had a short conversation and left her our number and said we would be in touch... Then, on Sunday the next week, we find out she is living with a member family! So we went to visit and saw her too! She was all. "Oh you guys again?!" Ha ha, we don't get to teach her this week because she is going to Perth for Chinese New Year, but the week after should be all goods.
Tayla is doing great. She came to church yesterday and to a breakfast with some members. She's all good to be baptized on the 20th and we are so excited. We just have to teach about missionary work, temples, and family history, but that's all more for after baptism.
Man, lucky me... At the computer I reserved was this super pretty girl, so I get to sit where she just sat ;) Ha ha, jokes... not really though.
Ha ha. I've had to teach Elder Tapumanaia a bit about English culture... he asks a lot of ladies how old they are and isn't sensitive about the same stuff we are. Just a different culture, but when we were teaching an investigator, she showed us a picture of herself when she was 27 (we think she was lying and it wasn't really her) and he goes, "Wow, you were skinny." Ha ha... crack up. He's a funny guy.
We got to watch the area broadcast yesterday and got a bit of training. We've got some good ideas for the ward now, and are excited to help the members become more anxiously engaged in the work.
Ronald and Ultra were no-goes this week. Both missed their appointments. I hate it when that happens.
Anyways... I love you all!
Elder Jamison
08 February 2015
This week has been great!
Dear Family,
This week has been great! The area is really cool and we have plenty to do. First, is our investigator, Taylor Watson. She is really nice. She is 21, has a young daughter named Montana, and was set to be baptized on the 21st of February. She missed church this week though, so we need to move that back a bit. She missed because she is having some hard times with her family and friends right now. Her mom had to go to the hospital and her friend got in a car wreck. She should be all goods soon though.
On Friday, we went to go mow a lady's lawn. We have been telling her for a few weeks we would, but weren't able to get a lawn mower, so she was getting a bit annoyed... being called every week just to hear us say we had to reschedule. So, we decided to just surprise her with the lawn mower when we got it. We show up, and are waiting for the mower to arrive. After about 30 minutes, the cops show up. They ask what we are doing and we explained. They said they had gotten a call that two young men... one black, one white, both dressed in black, had been sitting on an old lady's porch for 30 minutes. Ha ha! Super awkward, but she heard us talking and came out and backed us up. I guess one of her neighbors had called in for her. Good on them I guess. The cool thing, though, is that when I introduced myself being from Portland, she said her kids live there and she visits every year! She lives on 43rd (I think) and said she will go there in the spring and will be staying a long time to get citizenship, so she said she will be there in June and we should meet up! Ha ha, so cool! She is a great lady. Her name is Hwang.
We taught a guy named Ronald too. He had tons of questions about so many different doctrines, but finally, after about an hour of discussion, we were able to help him understand something. Although we answered all his questions and he now understands what we believe... he is no closer to knowing what he wants to believe. So, we explained that the first step to investigating the church of Jesus Christ is reading the Book of Mormon. Once he has done that, he can build the rest of his learning on that testimony. So, he committed to read up through Jacob by Saturday (he is already halfway through 2 Nephi) and we will see him again then.
The last person I want to talk about is Ultra. We met her just last night. We were biking home from church at 7:30 (long story) and we saw her walking up ahead of us, so we caught up and hopped off the bikes to keep pace with her and we started talking. She has family in Adelaide that are members and she wanted to learn more, so we followed her home and taught a bit of the first lesson. She has lots of questions and concerns but the important thing is that she said she was looking for comfort and truth in this world of confusion and sadness and she knows that we have it. So, she is going to read through 1 Nephi 5 by Thursday and we will see her again then.
Elder Tapumanaia is great. He is so funny! He loves being a missionary and loves to laugh. It's pretty weird living with the zone leaders, but they aren't as bad as I thought they would be. Our flat is super hot and has no air conditioner, so Elder Tapumanaia and I have been sleeping outside. Ha ha. No more though, because I have like twenty mosquito bites with about half on my face. Not fun.
I almost smacked some kids at church today... so bad. None of the parents were even trying to control them either. Honestly, my kids are gonna be so good... or so bruised. Either way, as long as they turn out all right I'll be happy :).
Love you all!
Elder Jamison
This week has been great! The area is really cool and we have plenty to do. First, is our investigator, Taylor Watson. She is really nice. She is 21, has a young daughter named Montana, and was set to be baptized on the 21st of February. She missed church this week though, so we need to move that back a bit. She missed because she is having some hard times with her family and friends right now. Her mom had to go to the hospital and her friend got in a car wreck. She should be all goods soon though.
On Friday, we went to go mow a lady's lawn. We have been telling her for a few weeks we would, but weren't able to get a lawn mower, so she was getting a bit annoyed... being called every week just to hear us say we had to reschedule. So, we decided to just surprise her with the lawn mower when we got it. We show up, and are waiting for the mower to arrive. After about 30 minutes, the cops show up. They ask what we are doing and we explained. They said they had gotten a call that two young men... one black, one white, both dressed in black, had been sitting on an old lady's porch for 30 minutes. Ha ha! Super awkward, but she heard us talking and came out and backed us up. I guess one of her neighbors had called in for her. Good on them I guess. The cool thing, though, is that when I introduced myself being from Portland, she said her kids live there and she visits every year! She lives on 43rd (I think) and said she will go there in the spring and will be staying a long time to get citizenship, so she said she will be there in June and we should meet up! Ha ha, so cool! She is a great lady. Her name is Hwang.
We taught a guy named Ronald too. He had tons of questions about so many different doctrines, but finally, after about an hour of discussion, we were able to help him understand something. Although we answered all his questions and he now understands what we believe... he is no closer to knowing what he wants to believe. So, we explained that the first step to investigating the church of Jesus Christ is reading the Book of Mormon. Once he has done that, he can build the rest of his learning on that testimony. So, he committed to read up through Jacob by Saturday (he is already halfway through 2 Nephi) and we will see him again then.
The last person I want to talk about is Ultra. We met her just last night. We were biking home from church at 7:30 (long story) and we saw her walking up ahead of us, so we caught up and hopped off the bikes to keep pace with her and we started talking. She has family in Adelaide that are members and she wanted to learn more, so we followed her home and taught a bit of the first lesson. She has lots of questions and concerns but the important thing is that she said she was looking for comfort and truth in this world of confusion and sadness and she knows that we have it. So, she is going to read through 1 Nephi 5 by Thursday and we will see her again then.
Elder Tapumanaia is great. He is so funny! He loves being a missionary and loves to laugh. It's pretty weird living with the zone leaders, but they aren't as bad as I thought they would be. Our flat is super hot and has no air conditioner, so Elder Tapumanaia and I have been sleeping outside. Ha ha. No more though, because I have like twenty mosquito bites with about half on my face. Not fun.
I almost smacked some kids at church today... so bad. None of the parents were even trying to control them either. Honestly, my kids are gonna be so good... or so bruised. Either way, as long as they turn out all right I'll be happy :).
Love you all!
Elder Jamison
02 February 2015
I can't wait to end the mission strong!
This week has been good but sad. It's my last couple of days in Port Hedland. I don't want to leave, but I knew I would have to sooner or later. It will be nice to have more than 30 minutes to email again though!
We helped Simi and his family move this week - just up the street, but at least they have their own place now. President Page finally got back in town and we are having FHE with them tonight. I gave the lesson again yesterday. This one was about a parable Jesus taught. I thought I would have to drag it out for time, but I didn't even get halfway through my notes... so that was a win.
Once I am transferred, I will be living with the zone leaders. I'm not super excited about it because zone leaders usually bug me, but I'm excited to be with my new companion. His name is Elder Tapumanaia. He's from Samoa. He sounds like a cool guy.
I can't believe how long I've been on the mission. It seems like not that long ago I was still in the MTC getting reassigned. I can't wait to see you all again and I can't wait to end the mission strong! I'm gonna give it my all these last three transfers and I can't wait to tell you all about it.
Love Elder Jamison
We helped Simi and his family move this week - just up the street, but at least they have their own place now. President Page finally got back in town and we are having FHE with them tonight. I gave the lesson again yesterday. This one was about a parable Jesus taught. I thought I would have to drag it out for time, but I didn't even get halfway through my notes... so that was a win.
Once I am transferred, I will be living with the zone leaders. I'm not super excited about it because zone leaders usually bug me, but I'm excited to be with my new companion. His name is Elder Tapumanaia. He's from Samoa. He sounds like a cool guy.
I can't believe how long I've been on the mission. It seems like not that long ago I was still in the MTC getting reassigned. I can't wait to see you all again and I can't wait to end the mission strong! I'm gonna give it my all these last three transfers and I can't wait to tell you all about it.
Love Elder Jamison
26 January 2015
Transferring to Bunbury
It's been a good week. I got to give another talk in sacrament, so it gave me an opportunity to study one of my favorite topics - our desires. I haven't studied that for a while, so it was nice to be reminded. I talked about the Plan of Salvation; how its purpose is to help us to be happy for eternity, and how we have been given agency to learn to choose the good, which choice is affected by our desires, which are mainly driven by either our own selfish desires or our love of God and our fellow man. Anyways, I shouldn't ever have an issue with giving a talk because I've given like five 30-minute talks in this branch.
I'm being transferred to the Carey Park area in Bunbury, and am a little put off by it. I don't want to leave Port Hedland or go to Bunbury much, but I'm sure it will all be for the best.
I love you all and should be able to send some pictures next transfer by borrowing cameras.
I love you!
Elder Jamison
18 January 2015
Some victory moments
This week has been pretty good, everyone is still away though so our visiting opportunities have been pretty slim. Charlie is back, so we got to see him and his friend from Perth. She came back a while ago too but now she is here again.
I think I am allergic to pork now like dad. I got some painful boils on my face and the bacon seemed to cause it, so now I'm eating straight corned beef.
Victory Moments...
This week at church was really good. We had a few less actives that we haven't seen for a while come by and everyone who was supposed to give a talk came! I know it it's not super huge, but it's a blessing for me. Now, I just have to find someone for next week and I should be done after that! I taught about the sermon on the mount on Sunday. That was a good lesson (I think anyway). It's hard not to be with such good topic material.
The Sunderlands came to town and have the car now, so it's back on the bikes. They go back to Perth on Wednesday, so we will have it back soon.
I love you all,
Elder Jamison
I think I am allergic to pork now like dad. I got some painful boils on my face and the bacon seemed to cause it, so now I'm eating straight corned beef.
Victory Moments...
This week at church was really good. We had a few less actives that we haven't seen for a while come by and everyone who was supposed to give a talk came! I know it it's not super huge, but it's a blessing for me. Now, I just have to find someone for next week and I should be done after that! I taught about the sermon on the mount on Sunday. That was a good lesson (I think anyway). It's hard not to be with such good topic material.
The Sunderlands came to town and have the car now, so it's back on the bikes. They go back to Perth on Wednesday, so we will have it back soon.
I love you all,
Elder Jamison
11 January 2015
Week 84
Sorry about the late email... busy day today. Had to wake up at 5:00 to get the car serviced. We had nineteen people at church this week, so definitely an improvement there, but neither of the speakers showed up, so I got to give another forty minute talk again. It was definitely an improvement from last Sunday though.
We've had a few more rain storms but the cyclone has passed us over. People should be coming back to port soon too, so we can start getting stuff done again. I think I might be moving soon though. A senior couple will be coming on just after next transfer, so they will have a more permanent option for First Counselor now. I'm starting to feel the end coming, and it's a it scary. The rest of my mission is now the same amount of time as the MTC and California areas put together... that's nothing! My dreams are getting funky too... I've dreamed about people from home for the last six nights in a row now. We are almost always at church or school and we catch up about the last few years. I hope everyone is as happy as in my dreams!
I got to help build another roof... Graham's wife is a member but he isn't. He needed help with it so we helped him out. I think I may have sweated then more than any other time in my life. I was definitely dehydrated afterward. I got a massive headache.
Anyway, I love you all so much! Stay strong and never forget what we are all fighting for! If I'm this excited to be reunited with my family now, imagine our excitement at the resurrection!!
I love you all!
Elder jamison
We've had a few more rain storms but the cyclone has passed us over. People should be coming back to port soon too, so we can start getting stuff done again. I think I might be moving soon though. A senior couple will be coming on just after next transfer, so they will have a more permanent option for First Counselor now. I'm starting to feel the end coming, and it's a it scary. The rest of my mission is now the same amount of time as the MTC and California areas put together... that's nothing! My dreams are getting funky too... I've dreamed about people from home for the last six nights in a row now. We are almost always at church or school and we catch up about the last few years. I hope everyone is as happy as in my dreams!
I got to help build another roof... Graham's wife is a member but he isn't. He needed help with it so we helped him out. I think I may have sweated then more than any other time in my life. I was definitely dehydrated afterward. I got a massive headache.
Anyway, I love you all so much! Stay strong and never forget what we are all fighting for! If I'm this excited to be reunited with my family now, imagine our excitement at the resurrection!!
I love you all!
Elder jamison
04 January 2015
Week 83
This week has been same old as last week, other than the storm we had role through. Thunder, lightning, and heavy rain for a solid two hours! It was legit! We should be getting more, plus a cyclone this week. There were only sixteen people at church again, but they should be coming back into town any day now. President Page is leaving for four weeks, so I am in charge for the rest of the transfer... too much work to do! Man, I will be happy when I don't have to deal with this anymore. The dramas are a bit better, but only because everyone is out of town. I love and miss you all very much! Stay strong and stay classy! The lady at the library is being a jerk and is wanting to kick me off before my time is even up so I gotta wrap up. I love you all and I pray for you always!
Love,
Elder Jamison
Love,
Elder Jamison
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