Week 97 T-8

Hello again everyone! once again it is p-day and it is tuesday. this is the third week in a row that we have had to do p day on a tuesday and i'm glad its the last one for a while. Sunday night is meant to be p-day eve and when it's not it throws me off. But today our zone went to the temple so i guess it's a good reason to delay pday. (the temple isn't open on mondays) and then we spent the rest of the day checking out the shops in parramatta and then got something to eat and now we are finally back but we're emailing at Kogarah library this week instead of bankstown library and the computers here are not as good so i can't send pictures this week. sorry...

The past week was a bit rough as far as the work goes. and this next week isn't looking too promising. Finals are this week and when finals come, our university students disappear. haha we have like 5 potentials lined up to meet with us after the 26th. so we're just waiting it out and taking advantage of our spare time to do as much finding as we can. hopefully as soon as finals are over our teaching pool will explode! haha that would be ideal.

Joy is doing really well. she wasnt feeling ready for the 21st so we decided to take her off date. she is still reading the book of mormon and praying so we're very hopeful that she will receive an answer. somehow the gospel has to move from our heads to our hearts and i think that can only be done by the spirit. so we will keep helping her do what God has told us will lead to conversion. She is awesome and she is also very stressed for her final exams this week. So we're hoping all goes well for her. 

We met with Jack after church on sunday. he wants to be baptized! it was an awesome lesson about the gospel of jesus christ and how it applies to the atonement. The spirit was really strong and i could tell that Jack is sincerely and humbly seeking the truth. He's awesome. haha and he is ALSO very stressed for finals so we agreed to set a date when finals are over. i'm hoping to still be here for it. He's such a good guy. he's one of those people that just puts off the "good person" vibe. 

We weren't able to meet with shirley this past week. she didn't answer our calls or text us back so we're a bit sad about that. hopefully her phone is broken or something. ya, that's gotta be it....hahaha i'm getting better at consoling rejection. there's some missionaries that really struggle with it and so i'm trying to get my pat on the back down just right. not too hard, not too soft. just right. and tell them that "her phone is probably broken". hahahahahaha 

We met up with a new investigator this past week named Charles. it was our first lesson with him and he was asking us how to join our church! haha so that was pretty awesome. he doesn't speak much english and i had no idea until after the lesson when i asked how his english is and he said he can't speak at all. But it was pretty awesome because i understood the whole lesson and was able to go back and forth pretty well with elder Liao instead of him teaching the majority and me trying to understand and then testifying at the end. I'm really happy with where my chinese is. i look at where it was when i came here and i've learned soooo much! and i constantly get reminded of how much farther i have to go to be fluent, but every once in a while its nice to give myself some props. But anyways, charles returns to china at the end of July so we might be rushing to get him in the water before then. and we'll set him up with the church in the DaLu! and the good news is he is NOT a student!!!! hahaha so we can meet with him this week.

Funny things that happened this week:

i found myself on the train one day translating for this crazy lady that was trying to preach to these three chinese ladies who spoke no english. Not sure how it happened, but it was pretty funny. and i was trying to make the things she was saying sound a bit less... weird. because she was wanting me to tell them that the handle they were holding onto on the train was actually jesus because he holds us up and i just said that jesus helps us face our challenges... hahaha it was pretty crackup.

i contacted this guy at the train station and literally 5 seconds after i shook his hand goodbye i found myself holding a strange pamphlet and getting bible bashed by some guy. i was so confused at how fast it happened. i changed from the missionary to the investigator in the blink of an eye! hahahaha i think my tactics are better than his though.... Go mormons.

Life is going well! every few minutes i alternate between wanting time to go faster and wanting time to slow down. I miss you guys with all my heart, but it is depressing for me to think about leaving all my aussie friends behind. SO pretty much what i'm saying is get ready for me to be depressed when i come home. hahaha BUT i can't wait to go to lake powell!!!! so that should pick me up :) love you all SOOOOOOO much!  have an awesome week! 

love,

Elder Tingey

Happy birthday we sing to you! may your dreams and wishes come true! may your hours be filled with happinesssssssss and alllll your daysssss with looooove be blessssed! 

Happy birthday Dad! 

祝你生日快乐！

 love you!!!