A busy week (as usual)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Learning to Love Learning. There was an awesome talk on that by Elder Bednar in an Ensign not too long ago. I learned a lot from that. That is one thing I know I have sky-rocketed in- is wanting to learn. (*I told him about a RS function we had with that theme, based on Elder Bednar's talk.)

This week has been awesome. It always is. We had interviews with President Richards yesterday and Temple Day today. It's just two days of heaven. That was my last interview with President Richards which is sad. I am really trying to keep that attitude that I was also called to serve under President Langland just as much as President Richards.

I had trade-offs all day (after the interview) with an awesome missionary named Elder Schwendiman. He is from Idaho Falls and knows a few of the same people I do from BYUI. He is a fantastic missionary and completely "Worthy of and expecting Miracles." We go on trade-offs after interviews because he serves in Lismore which is a ways away and since he came up for interviews- that is one of the only times I can trade-off with them. We found one new investigator named Peter. He has so many copies of the Bible and even took a picture of every page because his eyesight is bad. He can zoom in on his computer and read it better. We have another appointment with him this week so we are excited and I'll tell you more later. Prepared for sure though.

The Work is progressing and going very well. I have to run but I love you all and hope things are going well.

God Speed the Right,

-Elder Hales

Working with the members

Dear Mom and Dad:

This week was awesome. The world's best miracle happened this week with an area in our district. I was on trade-offs with Elder Richins (I was companions with him for a few weeks when his comp. went home) on Tuesday. He had 2 lessons scheduled but both fell through. He called a potential that he had street contacted a few days before. He set up a lesson with her a few hours later and we met her at a University near by. She is from Brazil and is in Australia studying. We taught the Restoration, committed her to read and pray and she said yes. We committed her to baptism if she knew it to be true and she said yes. We committed her to come to church on Sunday and even better news - she said yes. We set up another lesson that week with a member that would give her a ride to church. Elder Richins told me that that went so great. That she had prayed to know and she got an answer that it is true. She is SO PREPARED and the only thing that is kind of sad is that she is moving to Hawaii this Thursday. We are going to give the missionaries over there the information and she will be baptized very quickly over there. This is the Lords work.

You probably remember me talking about Cody. He is so prepared as well. He is Bobby's grandson that just moved over from New Zealand. He is so awesome. He knows the Book of Mormon is true. He has such a good relationship with Heavenly Father - especially with all that he has been through for only being 14.

Our transfer theme is Working with the Members so I wanted to kindly ask for some advice again. More than just gaining members trust, we have been training on how to have more effective Member Present Lessons. We plan to accomplish this with 5 steps.
1- Preparing the Member DAYS before the lesson (Include the member in the lesson plan)
2- A clear goal (Let the member know the commitment you will leave)
3- Tell the member about the background of the investigator.
4- Teach the member before. (Perhaps give them a short example of what you will teach)
5- Evaluate with the member after the lesson.

I forgot to mention, the recent converts that we went out in the bush with last P-day were the first ones I conducted a baptism interview for. That was a great experience especially since they were so prepared. We drove to a place called the Natural Arch. Nothing compared to what Utah has but they have some glow worms there that were interesting to see.

Being a missionary is so awesome. I love you all.
God Speed the Right
-Elder Hales

(*I usually don't include his private messages to the family, but thought these would be good this time)


Michael & family:
I know how you feel. My very first transfer in the mission I ran out of the car to give some sister missionaries some daily planners and I didn't see the hitch at the back of the car as I was running around. Completely slammed my knee into the solid metal. I couldn't walk for a few hours and I wanted to throw up.
Things sound sweet with your new house and computer.

Carly:
FERRDINCUM!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm happy for you! Tell him I say, "What's going on bro! Literally- brother."
Read D&C 9: 7-9. You have made the right choice- now just continue to pray fervently.

Cheri:
I taught the Plan of Salvation in Gospel Principles class last Sunday. There recently have been a few deaths in the ward, one being a baby. I testified of my little niece and my eyes started to sweat. I always mention what Spencer said to me by the grave -- that that is the reason I am going on a mission. I can't ever forget that. Many tears were flying and then I mentioned how it's safe to say I am the favorite uncle and how I know that I will be able to play with Macie. One non-member who had never been to church before came to me saying she liked the lesson.
Haha- Yes, Magnum ice cream is pretty good. There are several missionaries addicted. I'll eat one for you. :) So expensive though.

Mother's Day phone call

Adam -- I mean Elder Hales -- called us yesterday. We had the phone on speaker, Cheri's family on the webcam, Carly was in town with us, and Michael's family on a cell phone so that all 11 of us could hear. He is doing great and LOVES being in Tweeds Head - his favorite place so far. He lives a half block from the beach, but he's not allowed to even touch the sand. But he can't help noticing the gnarly waves. (ha ha)

He is LOVIN' the success they are having. It's so nice to know that he is totally immersed in the work.

We asked about his release date and he said January 5th. Which means he gets home on January 4th. Gotta love those international date lines. He said no one is allowed to extend their mission in Australia because of the visa limits.

He loves how his ward is totally into member missionary work. It makes all the difference.

And he says to say thank you to everyone for the letters and the prayers. "I can feel the prayers."

I'm always fine during the phone calls and then cry when it's time to say goodbye. And the Christmas Day phone call will be exciting knowing that we'll see him very soon.

He said a member was taking him and his comp to the Outback for P-day yesterday. And another member owns a huge souvineer shop and let them go pick out what they wanted. Nice!

As his mom, I appreciate the support and love you give to him. (and us) Wow -- this is the last missionary Mother's Day call I'll ever get. (yay!)
Love to you all -
Melody

Short and sweet (again)

Dear Family:

BYUI President is an amazing speaker. I can't remember anything he spoke on when I was there... but I remember thinking it was so good. (*The pres. of BYU-Idaho spoke in Sacrament Mtg. in Cheri's ward last week in Fremont, CA and I wrote to tell him about it. It was awesome.)

P-day is always changing. Sometimes it's because of holidays so we can work on those holidays and sometimes because of Temple Day. Count on it being Monday anyway. (*It's like we never hear from him on a consistent day, so I asked.)

This week was really good. That was an understatement. THIS WEEK WAS SO FULL OF MIRACLES, IT WAS AMAZING!!! We had 4 investigators at church on Sunday. One of them is Kyran -- he is 11 years old. He doesn't like to come to church because he is so sick of Primary so yesterday I grabbed him, got one of his friends out of Primary and shoved them into Young Men's and he loved it.

Don't have time to say more. PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
Thanks.
Love you all
-Elder Hales

All the missionaries that taught Jessica.

Ward Mission Leaders are AWESOME!

Dear Mom and Dad,

Transfers have come and gone and guess what... I'm still in Tweed Heads!!! And I am still with Elder Tauiliili!! I'll be companions with him for 4 and a half months. We call that an Eternal Companionship. I was not expecting that but I am excited to have another transfer to learn from Elder Tauiliili.

On top of that excitement, there were 2 baptisms this week! They were baptisms in the area next to ours called the Mudgerabba Ward. Their names were Theo and Jessica. It was great because I got to teach Theo 2x and Jessica once.
Theo is the man. He is 14 and from New Zealand. He fits in with the young men like peas in a pot! (would that term make sense? :) He ordered a Lamb of God DVD and when Elder Richins contacted him he said "I wanna be a Mormon." He was so prepared and ready for baptism. Jessica is 16 and a friend of a young woman in the ward. Completely prepared as well. Theo and Jessica were baptized on Thursday night. I never feel the spirit more strong then when I see investigators close their eyes as the baptism prayer is said.

We have a full teaching pool now. We have great turn outs at church and great turn outs at our Ward Mission Leaders home for Family Home Evenings. The ward members LOVE the Family Home Evenings so I have no doubt that they are going to start bringing non-members. When we got in this area the only thing we had was a Ward Mission Leader. Now this ward is doing so much and we are about to have a Ward Mission Plan, coordination meetings, and Ward Missionaries. I love this ward so much.

We found 3 new investigators this week. Two of which were Lamb of God DVD referrals. One is Bobby's (one of our investigators) grandson. His name is Cody and he is pure Champion! He just moved over from New Zealand where he was very into his Youth group at his church over there. We are going to get him to the youth activity tonight. We taught him the Restoration.. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and he told us this week that he knows its true!! I asked him if he is ready to act on that answer and come to church and learn more and he said a firm "Yes!" In our Lesson with him tomorrow we will talk about Baptism.

All of our investigators love our Ward Mission Leader so much. Brother Taulepa has been such a blessing. Through his help we got a less-active to come back to church. His name is Alan King. He is such a good guy. He came to church yesterday in a suit and he says he absolutely fell in love with this ward. Alan King lives fairly close to us so he invited us to work out with him in the mornings, so Elder Tauiliili is soooo excited to start pumping iron. We have a really good relationship with Alan King now. Best of Friends.

You asked what I love about missionary work the most. I love the power of prayer. I was reading an Ensign article this week about a General Authority who was in a wrestling match and he almost lost- but he looked in the crowd and saw his father cheering him on. That gave him the confidence to eventually win the match- to see his father was on his side. I know that Heavenly Father is doing that for us on the other side. He always answers our prayers. I often get overwhelmed here in this area because of what my responsibility is. Every night when so many things are going through my head, I pray and Heavenly Father connects my thoughts and it becomes so much easier. Alan King was telling us this week how many blessings he has received since coming back to church and WOW- he has received so many!!! Heavenly Father is on our side and we can see that when we look to him through prayer. I love being a missionary so much. Elder Tauiliili often reminds me that I only have 9 months left. I wish he would stop! :)

I love you mom and Dad. Thank you for everything. I love you too Michael, Laura, Jessica, Chan, Cheri, Spencer, Emma, Tyler and Carly!!
God Speed the Right,
Elder Hales

a diet staple

It's what's for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. And Thanksgiving. And . . .

A cure for the common cold

Dear Mom and Dad,

Well, another week has blown by. I was sick this week. I had a cold for just 2-3 days. Our area medical advisers told us to take a HOT shower and then wrap up in a blanket for 10 hours. I did that one night and the cold went away pretty quick. I was talking to Sister Richards and she said, "A cold never goes away that fast- it must have worked!" So we were able to get back to work quickly.

Things are going so well here. We are being blessed. Tweed Heads could very possibly be my favorite area. We have transfers in a week so I'm crossing my fingers. :) The area is so big that it can be overwhelming at times but then if you just rely on the Lord, things turn out great. We had 3 investigators at church this week so things are very exciting now. We haven't set baptism dates for the dates we lost, but we have plans to. Pray!!

We got a new Ward Mission Leader. His name is Brother Taulepa. He was raised in Hawaii and is Tongan. We have Family Home Evening every Monday night at his awesome house. They are so great for our investigators to go to. The spirit is strong in their home, they share a message, play a game and then have snack foods. The best is everyone just talking afterwards. Relationships are made and investigators don't feel so overwhelmed at church. We have one potential baptism coming up because of FHE.

I am doing great here. Things are going well. I love you mom and dad.
God Speed the Right
-Elder Hales

Dear Mom and Dad,

Last week time ran out and I wasn't able to finish the letter so sorry about that but WOW!! General Conference was so amazing! I am like you mom, all the music just pierces the soul and tears flow out. My favourite was probably the Priesthood "Hold to the Rod." This week was so full of awesome-ness! We had General Conference and then yesterday we had interviews with President Richards and today we got to go to the temple!

My interview with President Richards was so awesome. I've said before how he just opens up to questions and he really taught me how to be the missionary I want to be. Both President and I walked out of the interview with our eyes sweating. I know that I was called to Australia Brisbane for a reason as much as I know the Church is true. President Richards feels like family! :) President just issued another challenge. His first challenge was to read the Book of Mormon marking in red all the references to Christ. Second was to mark the Doctrine and Principles. The next is to read through all the red you marked for references to Christ and write down those scriptures that refer to the Atonement. Then to go through those notes and to mark off what you can't learn about the atonement from the bible that is in the Book of Mormon.

We have several investigators who want to be baptized but just can't do what they need to. ______, who was going to be baptized this Saturday postponed because she cannot stop smoking. We are trying to help _____ live the Law of Chastity. And Brianna and Bethany are set to be baptized, but their mother is holding them back. I know that they will come through. We need your faith and prayers as well.

Elder Richins got a new companion! So we are not in a 3-way anymore. He was a great example to me and I learned a lot from him. His companion just came down from Cairns in an emergency transfer because he did not lock his heart. That drives me nuts. Crazy enough- our district leader just got transferred into the office! Elder Tokaduadua. He is from New Zealand and is in my intake. It looks like he will be the last office elder before the senior couple comes.

I love the Tweed Heads Ward. I love my companion. I am so blessed. Thank you for your prayers.

I love you mom and dad!

-Dad- do you meet with the Zone leaders of the missionaries serving in the stake?
I'll reply to all other family next week and send pictures.
Love you so much.
Being a missionary is Awesome!!!!!
-Elder Hales

A Miracle Month

Dear Family!

It was absolutely great to hear from all of you and to hear about how great General Conference was. You have no idea how excited I am to go!!! Every time I think about it a shock of warm excitement shoots through my body!

It sounds like things are going well. Brother, I'm never coming home. I have the Ammon attitude "perhaps until I die." :)

This was a very interesting week. The baptism that we were supposed to have at the end of last month didn't go through. Brianna and Bethany want to be baptized so bad but their parents are not a help at all. We have a lesson this week where we are going to be Elder Holland and just lay it on. They should be baptized soon. I can feel it in my bones.

Back to this week being interesting... Elder Richins' companion went home again. He was training for the second time in 2 transfers and both of his greenies went home. Poor guy, but the Lord is blessing him and he has two baptisms coming up so now Elder Tauiliili and I cover his area and we are in a tri-companionship. It's great because I can learn heaps from Elder Richins!

We had such a wonderful miracle this week. Probably one of the best Sacrament-Testimony meetings on my mission. I love this ward SOOO MUCH!! There were 350 people at church on Sunday and our chapel is far from a full size chapel. It was built for a Branch. Chairs were brought in quickly and people were seated back and up on the stage but ..wow.. the testimonies were great. At the end our Bishop gets up, Bishop Rapana, and BLOWS everyone away with his testimony. He was soo bold but not near overbearing. I really look up to our Bishop. He has a big family and has one son on a mission in England. He had us over for dinner once a week last month. He is great.

Another great miracle we had was a text message. :) We have been teaching a lady named Bobbi. She was prepared. She lives next to one of our investigators and after a lesson with her neighbor, Bobbi stopped us before we left to show us a bible that she received when her mother died. We set up a lesson and she has been coming to church every week since! We had committed her to baptism and had discussed it with her a lot and on Sunday night she sent us a text message saying, "When is the earliest I can be baptized?" We went by and set a date for the 17th which means every area in our district has a baptism on the 17th! Miracle month.

Our motto is "Be worthy of and expect miracles."
We our doing our best. The Church is the only true church!
Love you all.