first week in Australia

Dearest family and friends,

It's been a smashing last two last week.  Haha.  I can't describe how happpy I feel to be here.  Before the mission, I honestly had no idea how how awesome these two years were going to be.  I feel so very happy.  I arrived in Melbourne after a 17 hour plane ride from LAX.  It was really fun plane ride.  I slept for 8, read the scriptures for 2, and then talked to people for the rest of the time.  I spoke to a 17-year-old girl that had overheard my conversation with the flight stewardness about the Bible.  We talked for about 2.5 hours about prayer and how God has a role in our lives.  I shared Alma 34 and Alma 7:32 with her in describing how we can honestly pray about everything in our lives before He is our Father in Heaven and cares even about the little details such as a upcoming test or finding some car keys.  I told her how prayer has shaped my own life and how I have always seen my prayers answered, even though there not always in time-line that I would like to be.  I was such a wonderful experience.  I really enjoying talking with her.  I talked to the flight stewardness for about 1.5 hours.

Melbourne is a fabulous city.  It is incredible.  You can honestly probably 25-30 languages in just one day, and in some places, perhaps, even in a couple hours.  There a lot of Chinese and Vietnamese here.  Most of them are immigrants, some are second-generation.  I speak Chinese occasionally, but I have had the opportunity often to talk to people in Vietnamese.  I just love talking to people.  It's a blast.  Footy is the rage here.  It's really cool.  After a game, the trains are packed with people wearing the jerseys and scarfs. I guess it's a little bit like Quidditch in Harry Potter.  Haha.  The branch/congregation I am in has 11 missionaries.  It is an international branch that began in March.  The Chinese branch has 18 missionaries and also meet there. It is right in downtown area on the second-floor of a high rise.  I will probably serve my entire mission.  To tell a little background story, there were a lot of Vietnamese missionaries in the 90s, but it is now only again, that the amount of Vietnamese missionaries is increasing again.  A lot of people stopped going to church because the Vietnamese they had was split and people were told to go to their local congregations.  The International Branch is now partially made up of a compiliation of Vietnamese that come as far as hour by train to come.  We ride the trains and buses a lot.  The public transportation here is amazing. It's very convenient.  

The members in our congregation is amazing.  Their faith and desire to build this congregation is inspring.  Most of them are the only members in their families and have made big sacrfices to come to church.  A lot of our congration is made up of 18-25 year-olds who came for uni or university.  Two people we are teaching are actually baptized on Friday.  They began being taught about 6 weeks ago.  They have such strong testimonies and simply just want to serve God.  One individual, Kkoa, was reading 3 Nephi 17.  He said he felt an overwhelming joy or warmth as read.  I told him how this was favorite chapter of the Book of Mormon because it shows so well the love that Chirst has for each of us, as we are His sheep.  He is our "light in the wildness"  (1 Nephi 17:13) that will lead us Home in a place of "everlasting happiness" (Mosiah 2:41). I know this to be true.  That is why I am here.  I want to people to also have that same knowledge.  I love being being a missionary.  I am seeing the influence the gospel on lives.  It is wonderful.  I love this gospel and know it has changed my life.  

Love,

Elder Shumway