Happy Valentines day Mates!

Happy Valentines day Mates!
I love you all. God so loved the world that he gave His Only Begotten Son, that who ever beleiveth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I'm glad that the work that we are involved in is a divine labor of love. I have been pondering lately about how my motivations need to be more out of love and less out of having success for myself. I think I will see more people be blessed at the end of my mission if I focus more on loving and serving others, rather than thinking about what I Want to do before i go home.
Happy Birthday Andrea! And Happy Birthday Andrea Nelson too! Hope you had a great day! Thanks for the Valentines Mum, and Andrea. That was a nice little surprise! Valentines day isn't too big over here. I almost forgot it was valentines day until I saw a few people carrying bouquet's of flowers around. Not to mention a bit more PDI than is desirable. I want you to know that I serve the Lord out of my sincere love for him and for those that have done so much to teach me correct principles as I was growing up. Thank you.
Today is transfers. Unfortunately we are not invited, because we found out Sunday night that neither of us are getting transferred. It seems like the Lord never lets you finish a companionship on bad terms. He always keeps you together until you work it out. I wanted so bad for elder Stringyfellow to get transferred. I even told president and the APs and the zone leaders. But he is still here. So I will be learning a lesson of enduring to the end. I have been praying very earnestly to be able to love him and serve him and to lose myself in the work and forget about how he annoys the crap out of me with everything he does. I admit, the prayers have been helping, and things are on the rise the past two days. I may be able to finish the transfer (and my mission) and us both make it out alive.
So I will be dying (finishing)here in Mudgeeraba. My longest area overall at 9 months total (6 transfers). I love the members in the ward here. It's just the nonmembers that I struggle with. No one seems to have any commit in them. But we are improving on all sides through, training, practice, sincere prayer and study; and through our own personal experiences and revelation. As i pray for revelation on what to do when i begin my day or my study it comes! Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.
I've found a street, or a little area in our boundaries (by accident), that I have never seen before in my last 7 months in this area. We have been tracting it out and finding heaps of people to teach. We even taught a lady named Jodie that we committed to Baptism and E. Stringy got to extend his first baptismal date commitment for March 5th! It was really exciting. Pray for us and we'll see how we go. It is a very humble lower class area (other wise un-existent in our area) that I was very surprised to find. I said "this looks like all the other areas I've served in! We need to tract here!"
There is a member of our ward who recently came back to church with his family last year when I first got here. Now he is right in the FHC doing his family history and he is sitting behind us right now in the Robina Library doing his family history. Haha! I just looked behind me and another guy from our ward that we are teaching right now just walked into the Library! I love seeing members around!
Matt I love what you said about Walmart! Haha, that's a crack up. We have "Big W" here which is basically the Australian equivalent of Walmart, and that is where we get our photos developed too; and we always seem to see members and people we know in there. In fact the kid that processes the photos is in a partmember family.
We had a special stake conference on Sunday that was broadcast to every stake in Australia and Papua-New Guinea. It was conducted by Elder Patrick Kearon (I think that's his name?) of the quorum of the 70. you know the British guy "besides flip flops are shoes... of a sort" you know - that guy. He conducted the meeting. He was also the opening speaker and spoke about all the disasters in our country's as of late and the amazing response to all of them. The second speaker was Sister Silvia Alredd. The one that Uncle Peter apparently tracted into and baptized (that was my claim to fame on Sunday). The third speaker was Elder Scot that spoke on the sanctity of woman hood. And the concluding speaker was President Uktdorf. Hes the man! He spoke on faith. I was inspired to pray with greater faith. It was a wonderful stake conference (especially the adult session the night before). We got to sit next to our recent convert Hilita and also our investigator Zinia and her dad Neel Prasad. Her Mum Anny didn't come though. We haven't seen her in a few weeks. But its not for lack of trying.
We had this interesting guy OYM of GQ us on the way to the library this morning he just like walks up to us and strikes up a conversation about how he's not a believer he is a knower and talking about all these revelations that he has had and how he met Christ about ten years ago. How He took him through a hospital and showed him how he healed all the children. He was pretty crazy and when he laughed he sounded like he was on something; but he had an interesting insight about the young girl, that Christ raised from the dead. He said "she is not dead, but sleepeth". You know like in the finding faith in Christ DVD "Telita Cumea; i say unto thee Arise!" He said that he believed that was a parable of the Church at the time Christ came to earth. That it was sleeping and Christ came to wake it up. I thought his insight was interesting and can be related to how the Lord reveals or restores his Gospel in every Dispensation. Its cool how you learn new things from people on your mission every day. even crazy's.
Matt your insight on the member referral statistics remind me of a program that me and another missionary from my intake - Elder Hancock came up with. Its called the double the ward program. You go to the Bishop and say "as missionaries in your ward we want to help you grow your ward. We want you to encourage every member in the ward to just bring one friend to Church and to be taught by the missionaries. Just one. Then they all get baptized - and you've doubled the ward. Then you have a new ward that you can do the double the ward program in. Its simple." Sounds good eh. If I'm ever a bishop I will do the double the ward program.
Matt Kava is against the Word of Wisdom. I hope you didn't have any. Those guys looked Samoan. No I didn't eat the bananas - I made one of the elders in my district try one and he said it was yuck. Did you get your line of authority that I sent you.
Matt lets try that Tongan money dance thing when you get home.
Mum, Annie hasn't been coming to church in the past few weeks, so we haven't been able to involve her much. We are still working on finding her a friend.
Yes mum, I would consider UVU summer courses, if I can pay for it.
John said he could get me a job at MyEbiz. I wouldn't mind Cold stone or emergency essentials.
My time is up. I will try to attach some photos quickly. I love you all and look forward to seeing you in a bit. Love your Aussie Elder,
Elder R.A.Prina