Zone Conference: Boot-Camp 4, Give Me More

Email #58
Area: Mildura South Pickers of the Marion Zone
Companion: Elder Fala & Elder Siaosi

Excerpts from Mom's email:

This past week we had a lot going on! There was many highlights of the week! Fist off we had Zone Conference on Saturday and that was so awesome. I don't know if you remember before, but every now and then we have something called "Boot-Camp"! This was "Boot-Camp 4, Give Me More" haha! Boot Camp is a 12 hour conference of training! Yeah it is a very tiring day, but we learn soooooo much! It is so great to be honest! Even though it is so long, we really do love it. It isn't something I would want to do every transfer or anything like that, but I think they do one once or twice a year. I have only been to now 2 of them of the 4. The Parkers and the Assistants came down Friday night and the Assistants stayed with us. It was cool because on Friday we had a Pickers activity with Samoans and Tongans at the chapel. We were playing Volleyball and things like that and when president came out of interviews, he saw how many pickers there were! I think it excited all of us to be honest. I think we had around 25 pickers at the activity that day and only 4 of them were members. Then the next day during Zone Conference they came back to do another activity and the zone got even more excited. The best part about it all was the next day, 12 of them came to church who are not members, then we taught all of them!!! That was so cool!! This is even going to now be a weekly thing for the pickers and they want to tell their friends who are coming in a week about it as well! Miracles are occurring here!

Hopefully I can send you the video, but at zone conference we performed a musical number. It was just the pickery elders, but what made it cool was we did the first verse in English, the second in Tongan, and the Third in Samoan! It was a lot of fun learning it, but still needed sheet music haha. We performed it twice because the first time was for the meeting and then Sister Pioch, the member who is in charge of all of the pickers, showed up. President really wanted to meet her, so we arranged for her to join us for dinner. Anyway when she showed up, President asked us to preform it again for her haha.

I am really enjoying it here! I learn so much and grow a lot each day (hopefully not in fat).
Love you heaps mom! Have a good week!


Excerpts from Dad's email:

Talofa Dad!

Yeah time is flying for me as well! It has been really crazy to look back on things that have been going on and realizing how fast time is moving. At the same time it can go slow which is really a weird thing. The days are longer, but the weeks are short as. My Samoan is doing okay, learning more each day. Still difficult to have conversations, but I can do basic ones now. Teaching is still hard to do, but we have got it down now. Haha learning all of this makes me feel like a new missionary sometimes. It is really weird because I feel like I know the doctrine well. I have build up teaching and finding skills, I am used to talking to everyone and their dog, but now learning to do all this in a different language is a whole new thing entirely. It is a challenge, but luckily both my companions have my back on that front and the Samoan people are very understanding. Still most of the work is in English because we only visit pickeries after 4 now. If I stay here long enough I think I can become sorta kinda fluent haha. In lessons I can understand where they are at and follow along and teach points. Testimony and prayer is easy now so that's a relief. I swear every meal appointment I am asked to say the prayer in Samoan now haha.

Yeah I still play piano every now in then when I have the chance. I want to learn new songs, but just not enough time at all.

It has been a journey for sure! We are finding new pickeries to visit, places where they are staying as well is being revealed slowly. I was talking to president heaps when he was down here for two days about what need to be done. We honestly don't think that it will be moving at its fullest until after our time here. President only has a few months left! Crazy stuff...

Zone conference we received awesome training as I told mom. I think my favorite one though was when President and Sister Parker told us about unity. They shared a lot about their life together. Their 40th anniversary is on April 13 (the same day as both of the assistants birthdays oddly). They have been through so much together and I learned a lot about myself. What I want in the future, the type of husband I want to be. I remember how you told me about the way you are with your companions is mostly likely how you will be in marriage. I know I can't be perfect, but I want to do my best on refining that.

I don't think I could ask for a better mission president and wife. I learn so much here. I am curious what lies ahead! Love you heaps dad and have a good week!

Alofa Atu!

We kept our faith burning strong...

Email #57
Area: Mildura South Pickers of the Marion Zone
Companion: Elder Fala & Elder Siaosi

Excerpts from Mom's email:

This past week has been a humbling experience once again. Last week we struggled even as a zone with new investigators. It almost felt like the field was dry. It tested our faith just a little because we were supposed to be seeing a lot of success with the pickers. We kept our faith burning strong knowing there is more out there. We set a goal as a zone for 10 new investigators, that being the highest the zone has had in a long time. Then we worked our hearts out trying to build each areas teaching pool, ours being only one at the beginning of the week do to all the pickers going home. Then all through the Lord's grace, we found 21 New investigators this week, 12 of them being from our area!!!! This was a true miracle! We know now that the field is white, all ready to harvest! With God blessing us with the elect to teach, we will be sure to help them each now to progress toward baptism!

Seven of those twelve that we found were Samoan pickers. Just yesterday, two of them came to church with a few member friends. We talked to them and they were curious to learn about the gospel, so we held a class right there in church to teach them the Restoration. Later even had dinner with them at a member's home. Following dinner, they told us how grateful they were to learn and excited to learn more. Then they also told us where we could find 10 of their other friend in two different locations. We immediately went to follow up with the first 5 they told us about and taught them! We are as well going to be following up with the other 5 later today! That is only a drop in the bucket as well! There are hundreds of Samoan pickers coming in, in two weeks from yesterday! Great things are coming! Teaching in Samoan is a challenge for sure. The culture is different to reach and more time consuming it seems like in a lesson only being able to cover part of the Restoration Lesson, but we will work on that.

All glory to God for this miracle this past week and for the miracles to come! Love serving here! I hope this in some way blesses you all back home as well. I love you so much!

-Elder Bryner


Excerpts from Dad's email:

Hey Dad!

Man, much of what you have said is exactly what I have been thinking about. That example that you have set of hard work is a massive part of why I am even out on a mission in the first place. I felt like back home I just couldn't find any joy in work. Especially yard work as I told mom haha, but for some reason on my mission it is different. We do yard work all the time for people and I love it! Even today we spent all morning clearing out our own flat. The flat we are using has been used by missionaries since 2005 and it has build up quite a bit of junk over time! We decided to ask Elder Smith to bring a trailer so we can dump all the stuff and make it possible to feel the spirit in the flat. It's hard work and man exactly what you are saying about work not being all in with the effort, that is exactly what I felt like this morning clearing the flat out.

Like you said as well, there was something big this week! Told mom about much of it. There is great things that are happening! It has been a great experience! The down side to all this is while focusing on the zone and my area, I have had little to know time to focus on myself. My studies have been lacking a lot because I have other things to organize. My prayers feel shorter because I am just so tired at night. Idk what it is, I think it is just something I need to learn as well. I need somewhere to build my strength to do everything else as well if that makes any sense.

One crazy experience I had was saying a few words in Samoan following dinner at a members. It is part of their culture for the host to say a few words in the high language and then the guests to give thanks as well. It was the dinner where our new investigators where there and there was about 13 people at this dinner and I had to say a few things in Samoan. Everyone there except me was Samoan so all the conversation was in Samoan. I understand a little, but it was pretty funny to now understand half of what was said. My Samoan is improving, but still have much to learn!

Love you heaps and have a good week!

There is nothing else that could change you more then serving as a full time representative of Jesus Christ

Email #56
Area: Mildura South Pickers of the Marion Zone
Companion: Elder Fala & Elder Siaosi

Excerpts from Mom's email:

Well as for transfers, I have a new area! I am now serving in the Mildura South Pickers area! Haha pretty much the same area, but now we have the pickeries figured out and ready to go full speed ahead now! The zone doubled in size as well in terms of missionaries. A few new areas open that weren't before. So in my companionship I have Elder Fala and Elder Siaosi! Yeah the missionary I trained a transfer ago! We are super excited! Both speak Samoan, so will be great for the pickeries. Then in Berri, we have two Tongan missionaries and the other zone leader, Elder Shortland who is from New Zealand. He will pretty much be my companion as well haha. So with our two companionships, we will be covering all of the pickeries in the zone which is a lot! There are about another 200 pickers coming in, in about a week or two! It has been slow the past few weeks because they are pretty much in between moving pickers around. Soon it should be booming! We are expecting heaps of baptisms this transfer so please pray for us!!!

This next week will be a lot of figuring out how the whole transfer will run. There are so many changes it is crazy! Even over the mission conference call people were way confused on all the new areas opening up! I am so excited for this transfer though! It is going to be the best one thus far for sure!

There are Miracles all around! I have even heard about people I have taught in the past recently and know that many are doing well! It is always amazing to hear that.

Love you heaps Mom! Have a good week!


Excerpts from Dad's email:

Hey Dad!

Well one Miracle I want to tell you about real quick is about someone that I taught over in Grange. His name is Corey and he is about 15 years old. When we first started teaching Corey back at the beginning of my mission he was kind of shy. He didn't really open up to us very much. His parents are both members, but he never wanted to get baptized or anything. Once we got to know him and build relationship with him he trusts us. We taught him everything, but still didn't fully want to commit for some reason. Near the time I was finishing in Grange, we invited him to go to the FSY that was going to be held and he decided to go! He had such a great experience and felt the spirit so strongly that just last Sunday he was baptized!

I love to hear about things like this to see how simple the Lord works over time. I see how we plant seeds and it takes time for that seed to grow.

I just want to express how much this choice in my life has changed me. It is truly been a massive blessing. I don't think I have seen such a change in someone because of the gospel then in myself. I am so grateful for that! There is nothing else that could change you more then serving as a full time representative of Jesus Christ. I was just lucky enough to be placed somewhere I could do that fully, the Australia Adelaide Mission!

Love you! Have a good week!

"Just so you know, you aren't going to convert me."

Email #55
Area: Mildura South of the Marion Zone
Companion: Elder Fala

Excerpts from Mom's email:

Hey Mom!

Yet another crazy week here in Mildura! Things have been slowing down a bit with the driving which is really good. We had to make a trip to Adelaide to drop Elder Mose off. He made it home the next morning before we were even up. We stayed in Adelaide for a day and then the next morning we drove back up to Berri. We have been spending good amount of time an Berri and it has paid off for sure. We now cover both Mildura South and Berri areas until transfers next week. That is pretty much what we have been doing the last couple of weeks though, so used to bouncing back and forth.

There was another miracle over here! We witnessed the baptism of our friend Sam who we have been teaching in Berri for the whole transfer. The cool thing is that Elder Fala, my companion, was the one who originally found her back in November. I guess the missionaries in Berri took some time to follow up with her and get teaching her. Once I started going into Berri at the beginning of the transfer we were able to catch up with her and start teaching her. Elder Fala has even been able to come a few times with us to teach her which he thought he wasn't going to be able to do since he has been in Mildura. Teaching same has been both a privilege and a learning experience. She has been so prepared by the Lord! Thing just seemed to click with her even though she comes from a background of no belief in her life. She expressed just how this little voice in her heart keeps telling her to keep going. When Elder Fala first found her she said, "just so you know, you aren't going to convert me", but she was curious to hear our message. That's how it works a lot of the time. When people first let us in, I don't think they expect to here the beautiful message of the gospel. She has been welcomed into the branch in Berri with loving arms. The branch is pretty cool and is different from things I have experienced. Chapel is literally this house that has been changed up to be kind of like a chapel. I think it gives it a family feel to it.

Sam's baptism was a great highlight of the week! She was baptized in the Murray River that passes through Berri! The seen looks a lot like I would imagine the saviors baptism was like. The spirit felt was something I couldn't even describe, but I will hold this memory close for the rest of my life! I am so grateful how the Lord has blessed us here and continues to bless us as we move forward!

Love you heaps mom! Have a good week!


Excerpts from Dad's email:

Hey Dad!

Dang this week we have been so blessed! The zone is just taking off. We had another two baptisms this last weekend and one of them came from us. Guess I did luck out to go to Berri. The experience I shared with Mom has really shown me that everything happens for a reason. Even though Elder Touma having to go home Elder Maliuwas unfortunate, it open the gate for other miracles to occur. It has also shown me that the Lord places us where we are needed it we listen. When I found out I was going to be going back and forth between Berri and Mildura, I was honestly not to excited. Now that I have followed the counsel though, we have seen the blessings from it.

Finally I have been able to go finding! We have been able to still find the time to knock doors finally! Missed that oddly! Finding out in the River land is a little difficult, but when you find someone, they are usually prepared as! The pickeries have been going slow as well do to a shift. All the old Samoan pickers have just gone home this past week and now there are new ones coming in. We were sad to see a lot of them go, but we referred them now to the missionaries in Samoa so the work continues!

Driving down to Adelaide was good, but sad to see Elder Mose go. He helped me a lot to learn to be a zone leader! It is weird to be a single zone leader at the moment, but hopefully it is only for another week. Transfer planning is this week and transfer day is next Monday... Time flies! Another transfer gone by and it is just going quicker and quicker!

Love you dad! Have a good week!

Elder Fala, Elder Maliu, Sam, Elder Bryner

Elder Maliu, Sam, Sister Smith, Elder Smith
Elder Bryner, Elder Fala

Elder Bryner, Elder Fala & Elder Mose

Elder Fala, Elder Bryner & Elder Maliu