City life!!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!!! I love it here!!! 

So most of the people that I knew from the city have moved out, but that's okay, the ward is still way cool!!! I really love them, and I'm having a good time getting to know them. I've also met a few of our investigators already, and they're awesome. They each are interesting, but really cool. They all have a cool spirit about them. 

We met with Ash this week, and he is the man. He's from China, and seems to have a really strong desire to get to know God. We invited him to be baptized on the 28th of July. He accepted! He said "I don't know (if its true) yet, but I will find out by then! Such faith!! Hes a really awesome guy! I love him. 

My new companion is Elder Tobler from South Jordan, Utah. So guess what????? FOURTH OF JULY WITH AN AMERICAN!!!! USAUSAUSA AMERICA!!!!!!! That'll be super fun!!! Especially cause his year mark is the next day. 

This coming week will be wild! We are meeting President Runia (our new mission president) TOMORROW!!!!! He's been here since Saturday, but we saw him tomorrow at a meeting, then everyone will meet him on Thursday. So exciting!!! He has two kids here with him, a boy who's 17 and a girl who's 16... I think..? Hahha I'm sure we'll meet them too. 

So, an exciting week. I love it here. I love the city. Of course, I miss you all. Hope you are having a good time at home and have a great 4th of July! Love you all heaps!!!!! 

Elder Maxfield

P.s. HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!!!! 

1) Me and Elder Tobler

2) This is the Edmunds. Theyre the coolest family. After saying goodbye last week. 

3) Views from the [9th floor apartment]

GUESS WHOS BACK? BACK AGAIN?

THATS RIGHT!!!!! GUESS WHO'S GOIN BACK TO THE CITY!!!!???!?!!??!?!?!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! 
As you might be able to tell, I am going back to the city, and I'm wayyyyyyy excited to go! This time, I'll be in the ACTUAL city area; so not UNSW. But, I'll still be in the same ward! 

Its been a really great opportunity to come out here and serve the people of outer Sydney. Its come with a lot of learning, a lot of growing, but a heck of a lot of fun! I've found so far that each area is so unique. I have only served in 2 stakes my whole mission, but each area has been 100% different from the last. Its been quite the trip, and I am looking forward to going back with the people I came to love so much in the YSA ward. 

So onto this last week. This week we were challenged (the mission as a whole) to do 90 hours of proselyting this week. That's about double what we normally are expected to do, so it was quite the experience. One thing we learned, some areas should NOT be worked in after dark on the weekends.... many crazy and sketchy people were met this week. Hahahhaha!!!! Oh well, stories for later. (Dont worry Mom, nothing happened to us that was dangerous ). But along with the hard work came the blessings. We were able to meet some really nice people who seemed really interested in the church. On top of this, we have been able to meet with William (a really sweet old man who loves Christ) a few times. We saw HEAPS of other miracles as well. It truly was a great week. 

We got our smartphones this week!!! (As some of you may have guessed based on the fact that I'm on Facebook haha). These are going to be amazing tools that will definitely help us spread the word of God so much faster and easier. And, as an added bonus, we can take selfies!!!!! Hahahahhahaha!! 

Well, final note: President will be leaving us this weekend... With the missions merging, smart phones being implemented, and a lot of changes overall in the mission, President Runia has his work cut out for him. I know he will do a great job and I have the utmost confidence in him. He's been in leadership for quite some time now, so we arent worried about him not doing a good job one bit. Haha! I'm so excited to meet him and find out what I have to learn from him. President Checketts has been a huge (literally and figuratively) strength and help to me on my mission. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for his kindness, love, and support. He is a wonderful man, and all of this and 1000x more could be said of his wife, Sister Checketts. She is absolutely amazing!! My mom away from home. To all those on missions or going out, your mission parents are there for you, they love you and care about you more than you know. Trust them, follow them, and most of all, love them. 

Well, I love you all heaps! And miss you quite a bit too. I'm glad I'm here though. Although its hard sometimes, this is the only place I wish to be right now, serving my Lord and Savior. 

Adios till next week when I will once again be saying 再见. 
-Elder Maxfield
The camera can take wide selfies!! Woah!!
Temple pday few weeks ago. 

SORRY FOR FORGETTING LAST WEEK/ LAST WEEK OF ASNM

AHHHHHHHHH SORRY!!!!!! I feel bad, but I'll repent and do better this week! 

Okay! So these last two weeks have been crazy!!! Its been awesome though! I'll just share an experience or two from the past two weeks. 

2 weeks ago;

On Saturday (the 9th) we had trade-offs with the APs in their area. They work at Macquarie Uni, so I was back at home! I love working with the university students! They are so nice and willing to learn. Many of them are seeking for the path that they want to take in this life, which is perfect for our message (what is the purpose of life?). So, there I worked with Elder Sibbett, the man! He is so cool! Super energetic, outgoing; just an all around good time with him. We tried to talk to as many people as we could whilst the rain poured on our heads for part of the day. During the day, we taught a few lessons and went to a baptism. I SAW THREE AND YOUK AT THE BAPTISM!!!!! THE COOLEST PEOPLE EVER!!! That was really exciting to see them again. I missed them a lot. I hope I can go back and serve with them again some time. But it was a really cool, fun day with Elder Sibbett. A lot of random jokes that don't really make sense, and playing the tin whistle all over campus. So fun!

Last week;

So, last night, we went over to an elderly sisters house to give her the sacrament. She is suffering from bowel cancer, but received us with a huge smile. She was so happy to see us. After we gave her the sacrament, we sat and talked for a while. She shared her testimony, and pretty much everything else. She expressed to us how lonely she had been, and that she had been really hoping that some people would come over to visit her. As we left, she told us that she loves when we come over and just talk to her. There wasn't a need for a formal spiritual thought to be given in that home. The Spirit that was felt was unbelievably strong! As she shared with us her thoughts of the gospel and her faith in Christ, the Spirit rushed into the room. We shared with her ours, and gave her a blessing. I have not been in a blessing with that strong of a Spirit accompanying it. Its easy to feel when you are serving others, especially those who are open to receive it. 

That was kinda all over the place, but I love these people here. Yes, some yell at us, but I love the people. Its great! I love you all heaps! HAve a great week! 

1) President and Sister Checketts are going home!!! ;((((((((( 

2) We built a fort. hahah

I love to see the temple

It was a great experience to get to go to the temple today. I love the temple so much! The Spirit can be felt so strongly in the Lord's house. I can once again had it reconfirmed to me today, and many times throughout the week that the Lord answers prayers for those who diligently seek an answer. For those of you who may feel that God is silent, wait for His response, I can promise that it WILL come. 

This week was good. We had a few trade-offs and those were awesome. I love going out with other missionaries and getting to know them better. Its always a refreshing experience. I got to go out with Elder Warth and Elder Wu this week. It was so fun!!! We saw so many miracles. Lots of people were super receptive to our message and we even found one person who Elder Wu had been trying to find for over a week, but they had the wrong number. She was sooo thankful that we saw her again because she was trying to get to church, but didn't know how to. Elder Wu and Elder Aumua, when they found out they had a wrong number, prayed for a week to find her. We finally did during a random walk through the mall to get back home. Really cool. Idk if that made sense, if not, just know that it was a cool experience and that God answers prayers. 

We may be getting smartphones this week!!! I'm so excited for that!!! YEAH!!!! Finally can have a map on my phone. hahahaha 

I'm all over the place today, sorry. Love yall heaps though!!! Have a great week!!!!!!!! 

Sorry pictures arent loading... slow wifi

When you see a friend, you stay up til 2 AM

Man, this was a pretty awesome week!!! 

To start, we had MLC (Mission leadership counsel) on Tuesday. That helped me get way more informed and organized on what the heck is going on this transfer. We talked a lot about how the mission is doing, what needs work, and how we can welcome the new mission president and the south mission. It was pretty cool.

Thursday was so awesome!!!!!!! We finally were able to meet up with a few investigators that we found earlier this transfer. We met up with Charles, Jaye, Luke, and Brother Cobcroft. Charles was soooo open and was really excited about the message that we shared with him. He's honestly seeking for God and wants to follow Him, but doesn't completely know how, so he's open to new things. We're excited to keep meeting with him. 

Jaye says he's African American, but based on his accent, I'm pretty sure he's never lived in America. hahahaha If he did, cool! hhahhaha Really nice guy though! He's also seeking for truth and wants to understand how he can follow God. We thought that he was going to be a Bible basher, but he is super genuine and just has a lot of questions! So we are going to meet again this week and hopefully will have a more structured lesson. 

Luke is awesome! I cant remember if I've talked about him, but he's great! He is really seeking for truth ever since he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He's such a nice guy, and has a lot of questions. We were only able to talk for about 15 minutes, but we were able to help him recognize the Spirit and what it feels like. He's been struggling to know how he receives answers, but we helped him figure it out. We just need to actually sit down with him!!! AHHH

So Saturday was trade-offs, and I went to the Kellyville/Winston Hills flat. You know who's in Winston Hills? That's right, THE MAN HIMSELF!!!!! ELDER WARTH!!!!! It was good to catch up with him, and we ended up talking in bed until 2am. He's the man!!! Tade offs were good though with Elder Simpson. He's a great missionary! (pictured below) 

Sunday was mean!!!!! We had ward conference which was really uplifting and I was able to receive a lot of revelation from that! Then we had an AWESOME meeting with Daniel (an investigator from a less-active family) He's so awesome! He seems genuinely interested and said that every time he goes to church or baptisms, he feels really good and refreshed and uplifted!!! Woohoo!!! SPIRIT!!! 

That night, we had an awesome meeting with the zone just to hype them up about the work. The Spirit was felt so strongly. This transfer will be great.

Last thing, this morning we went and helped President and Sister Checketts move out. But Sister Checketts made us some pancakes!!! YAY!!! 

Love yall heaps!!! 

Elder Maxfield

I'm an islander now! Oh and 2 Apostles came!!!!!!!

Well, this has been such a good week!!! First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM AND CLAIRE!!!!! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!!! AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY!!! HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY!!!! 

Man, this week was pretty awesome! We've been jam packed and it sounds like next week is gonna be even busier! But that's good! That's how the work is supposed to be right? So that's good. We found a ton of new investigators. Some of them are keen, some don't sound too interested, but that's okay, we'll just sift wheat from tares. I love being here though. I'm probably gonna gain HEAPS of weight, because last night we had dinner and they made us keep eating. Thankfully Elder Saedan (a missionary that came to dinner with us) is skinnier than me so the dad left me alone and made him eat a ton! hahahahahahahhaa 

Sounds like a Polynesian ward. But its been fun. I'm trying to pick up the culture and the language, but I'm gonna be honest, its hard. Thankfully Elder Clark is from New Zealand and he'll be there to help me out! He's already a really great companion. We seem to be on the same page most of the time, but more unity will come as we go. 

Okay, so highlight of the week!!!!!! PRESIDENT BALLARD AND ELDER STEVENSON CAME AND VISITED!!!!! Man, that was so cool!!!!!! We had a stake conference in the morning with President Ballard, and a combined mission meeting with both of them in the evening where we got to shake their hands. That was such a special experience. They really got us excited for the work and now we are ready for the transfer; to hit it with a ton of enthusiasm and faith. They're both great disciples of Christ.

I love this area. The people are mostly Polynesian, Indian, or Sri Lankan... if that's what they call themselves. hahaha All super nice and humble people. We went on trade offs and I got to be with Elder Graffe again for a day. We knocked one street with 50 some-odd doors on it. That took 3 hours cause most of the people were so nice and Really talkative. hahahah so fun though. 

I love it here, I'm doing well, and I hope all you are doing well too. The church is true guys. I can promise you that. Check it out, whats the point of not testing it? I love you guys heaps!!!! 

Love Elder Maxfield

We found this on a door. hahhaa I don't think they'd be allowed to do that

Early morning runs and Nimrod, the mighty hunter

HEY HEY HEY!!!! So this week was pretty dang fun. Super eventful, thats for sure. 

To start off, we had trade-offs on Tuesday. I went with Elder Aumua to his area. Not much really happened. We did a lot of finding and some service, so that was good. 

Wednesday was pretty average until  that night. We went on splits with the bishopric. That was so fun!!! I went with Brother Rorani, and Elder Ferguson went with Bishop Vinson. So fun! We went and visited some less-actives in the area and tried to get to know them a little better. We were able to get in touch with Nicholas and Vivianne. Both really nice people, and were happy to see us. I hope we can move forward with them; we'll see what happens. Elder Ferguson tried to see that massive family, but missed the mom by probably 5 minutes... her son was home. Oh well, overall pretty successful. 

So I've been trying to figure out what to do to get this area and the rest of my district moving. We decided to play a game this week where you get a certain number of points based on getting a new investigator, or having a lesson or getting someone to sacrament. From Friday to Sunday we played Dural area verses Normanhurst area. Man, the work went so well!! Although the new investigator numbers didn't really increase, work with less-actives did, and we had a pretty good turnout at church from the district! So I'm really excited about that even if Dural lost. I thought we were for sure going to win based on our awesome name, "Nimrod, the mighty hunter". Oh well. We all did well. 

Well, this morning elder Ferguson and I went on a run at sunrise. In the national park right by our house. Man, I learned two things this morning; 1) I love running!!! 2) I am soooo out of shape!!! hahahahaaha Oh well. We had a good time. 

Overall, not much movement with investigators this week as they were sick, but they came to church, so thats good!! Woohoo!! 

Love yall heaps!! I love to hear whats going on, so let me know! 

Love Elder Maxfield

 we made a fort again

runnning

End of run