So this past Monday we got free haircuts from a member named Shane, who works at a barber shop. After that he took us to this kebab shop right next door, and we ate kebabs and chips (fries). It is there where I tasted the best fries/chips that I've ever had, and yes, they beat McDonald's fries.
Later on in the week we also got to do a quick service for a family that needed our help moving a playgroud/clubhouse thing to their backyard. The problem was that it was already permanently put together when they got it, and there was a fence that it had to go over to make it to the back, so we had to lift it over the fence. We were able to do it, but in the process of doing so my companion and I ended up stepping in some dog poo. After asking the members if they had a dog, we found out they didn't... and that one of their kids had an accident. So we spent a good amount of time cleaning our shoes...
And then even later during the week, I got to go on tradeoffs with Elder Huang from Taiwan! Tradeoffs were interesting, and I think my favorite part was that Elder Huang is a pretty good cook! So he cooked lunch and dinner, which included noodles, fried rice, battered and fried mushrooms and eggplant, and chips/fries. I was blessed!
Another interesting thing that happened this week... so usually I always admire Australia, or at least the part that I'm in, for being pretty safe when it comes to crime. After driving by a street that we had door knocked recently to get to a member's house, we saw one part that had heaps of police officers there, and the property was all taped off. When we got to the member's house, we were informed that someone got shot in the face only around an hour ago! Apparently they're still alive, and apparently the gunman is still on the loose. That's a first for my experiences in Australia so far!
And this Friday was a blessing filled day! In the evening, after many preparations, we were able to baptize 5 aboriginal kids we've been teaching! It was awesome to see how much they changed over our time of teaching them. All the rides we organized for church (they don't have a car), all the object lessons and magic tricks, and all the prayers that were said payed off! So just a little background, they all live with sister Barnes, who had been less active for a while but is a convert herself. Of the children that were baptized, only one of them was her biological daughter. The rest of them were cousins/relatives that she took in because their living situations weren't very good. Their ages ranged from 9 to 16, and she even had older children that were already baptized. It was awesome getting to know the kids and seeing how quick they were to learn, and even more awesome to see them enter the waters of baptism! We confirmed them on Sunday, but unfortunately, only 4 of the 5 made it in time! We were a bit worried, but later the 5th child made it and got confirmed in bishop's office.
Anyways, thanks for all for your love and support,
Elder Ho
