Spiders, Crocs and Kangaroos!

Family!

How are you all!  I am so excited to come to good Ole Taree Library and read your emails with about 50 80+ Year olds around me:)  They truly help me so much and bring such happiness to my soul.  This week has been INCREDIBLE!!!  Joseph, there are massive spiders everywhere!  We did some service for a Less Active member the other day.  He won 1600 bricks off ebay for 100 dollars.  Yes we moved every single brick to his backyard.  But at the bottom of the bricks this massive Huntsman spider came out of the stack and we smashed it with a brick.  The spider was no smaller than a large mouse.  We have also run over a few 2 meter long Brown Snakes which are the most poisonous in our area and in the top 3 in Australia.  We went to this Koala park the other week and they have a Croc that is 4 meters long and weighs over 600 kilos!!!!  We got to see them feed him. It was awesome!!

My companion is AWESOME!  He loves dirtbikes, and just being outside.  We really do get along so well! He reminds me of Riley.  Sometimes I feel like I am out here with Riles preaching the Gospel.  My Flat is amazing.  It is probably the nicest Flat in the mission.  The last missionaries that were here several years ago had the worst Flat and so they really tried to get us a nice one.  But it is incredible and I love being able to go back to it each night and have such a great place.  Each day we eat really anything for lunch and tea or (Dinner).  People have tried to make American Hamburgers for us and it just doesn't work out hahaha  I for sure miss a good Hamburger!  But we have heaps of fruit and everyone always feeds us Sausages.  In Salt Lake we put Ranch on everything but in Australia it is BBQ sauce.  If you go to anyone's home they will always have the same bottle of BBQ sauce so that is funny and pretty good.  The food really isn't that different.  Just different brands and tastes a bit different.  It is good though!!  We actually have a car. We have been trying to get bikes to save k's but fleet never comes this far up cause we are in Taree, about 4.5 hours from Sydney. But it’s all good, things are great!

This week has been crazy busy and so much fun!  We had a really good lesson with the Turra family and committed them to be baptized. Joe had something happen in his life and he said that he had to be baptized in April.  We aren't exactly sure what it is but we do have them on date to be baptized in April! haha yes pretty far away but it will be good to really prepare them!  We also are going to baptized Samson this Saturday!!!  I am so excited and can't wait for it.  Something that happened this week that was a blessing for us was we found a new Investigator we are now teaching.  Her name is Tanya.  We were going to visit this Inactive member and we got to her door and she didn't answer but this lady across the street yelled to us and said she wasn't home and what not.  We said thanks and got back in the car.  I had the strongest feeling to go knock on this ladies door!  Unfortunately I felt like we needed to get to another appt so we didn't..  The next day it just kept hitting me to go to this ladies home.  We finally did. She has had a VERY rough life and especially the last little bit has been going through some hard things. She just broke down and started telling us all this stuff.  It was heart breaking to see someone so devastated about her kids and all these other things.  At the end of our conversation she said, "I know that God sent you two angels to come help me, Even though I feel like God doesn't think of me I feel like He has told me I am of some worth and that I need Help."  The spirit hit me so hard and I had tears running down my face.  I knew that this lady needed the Gospel and we are meant to help her in her life right now.  It was such an amazing experience.  We are now just working with her and she actually has 3 kids that we think will be good to start teaching too!  We are just trying to catch her on a good day because she has anxiety and bipolar attacks that are really bad and she loses it. We just pray every day that she will be alright and be able to pray and strengthen that relationship with heavenly father.

I know that Heavenly Father is Hastening his work right now, here in Taree.  It is incredible to be a part of it!  I see miracles every day that normally wouldn't be happening in this area!  We are slowly building the branch up and Less Active members are coming back!  It has been so dry here but the last two days it has poured rain!  It has been soo BEAUTIFUL!!  I am so grateful to have all your love and support and the wards as well. The members really are catching our vision and we are becoming united.  We will baptize each month.  Heavenly Father will provide a way.  Words can't describe how happy I am out here.  One thing that I have learned and I keep thinking about is how important families are. The love and the learning and growth a family can have is Incredible. These people out here are all having all sorts of problems and I am so happy to introduce them to the Gospel.

I know without a doubt that this church is true. I am so honored to be a Missionary at this amazing time. Thank you all for your love and prayers. I DO feel them every day and in times when I need them.

I love you all so much! Have an amazing week and be safe!! 

Love, Elder Watts


Here's a few pictures Sister Howe's sent to us after a Zone Conference in Coffs Harbour: