Jab Your Convert with a Pen

G'day Family and Friends!

Where did the week go? Is it Monday already? Wow!

On Tuesday we had a Multi-Zone Conference. We went up to the mission home and we had Elder Pearson of the Seventy come and speak to us. It was amazing! I learned so many things, he pretty much covered everything. I also felt a little rebuked in some areas, but that is okay! Just means I need to try harder and change! He mentioned the rule of 7. Apparently it takes 7 contacts with the missionaries before someone is ready to hear the Gospel. So when people reject you, just realize you are still doing vital work. Turning 1s into 2s, 2s into 3s and so on. Then one day, a missionary will come across and those people will be ready.

We biked a lot again this week. Our area is really hilly, it is so painful. We were on our way to an appointment and I would have to turn around every minute or so because I was going to fast for my companion. I felt bad but I couldn't help it and I also didn't want to be late so I kept throwing back, "Good job!" and "You can do it Sister!" We got to our appointment in 45 minutes. We taught our lesson then mowed her lawn. Time escaped me and I realized it was 5:15 and we had a dinner appointment at 6:00, which was at a place further away from where we started biking. Panicking, we said goodbye and hit the road with determination. I biked super fast and pushed my companion so hard I felt like the guy on P90X or Insanity. What a trooper through,m and we made it back in 30 minutes, right on time for dinner.

We went on Trade-offs this week, I went into Christie's Beach area. It was a really nice break to be honest. I didn't have to lead, I just followed my companion and we did service the whole time. Loved it. Also I found a street with my name on it. Which you will see in a picture. We also found a spider on our Trade-off. SCARY!!! Our recent convert TORE up her living room to find this spider! Don't even know what kind it is but didn't want to risk it.

 

We had one of our recent converts come out teaching with us for the first time. He has only been baptized for a month. We went to visit a new chinese investigator we have. Our RC did a fantastic job! When she didn't understand a word he would translate in Chinese and he bore beautiful testimony. I was blown away and so grateful! If missionaries and members work together we can work miracles! The Spirit was definitely present in that lesson and I can't wait to see her again.

On Sunday I was sitting next to my companion and one of our recent converts in Sacrament meeting. He had fallen asleep and was slowly leaning over to me. So as he leaned I leaned more into my companion so he wouldn't touch me. I looked up at the stand and the speakers were laughing at the situation because I was feeling very awkward. Even when I poked him he wouldn't wake up! So I got my pen and jabbed his leg, then he jumped up right. It was so funny. 

 We also had Specialized Training from the President this week! Which was awesome. It lasted from 9:30am - 4pm though. It was really long.. President pretty much recapped what Elder Pearson taught to us earlier in the week and commited us all to apply the training immediately and change the mission. 

 

I have been really enjoying myself out here. The tough times are all worth it. I love my mission and I love serving the Lord. I'm not sure if I have said this before but I wouldn't leave my family for a year and a half with very limited contact if I didn't know that what I was going to share is true and will help others be with their families forever.

I love you all so much, I pray for you always.

Love,

Sister Coultrup x

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Sister Bethany Victoria Coultrup

Australia Adelaide Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Blue Tongues

G'day Family and Friends!

It has been a reaaaaally long week. Quite eventful as well.

We had arrivers training for Sister Rooarii, it was a long meeting. 5 hours. They gave us lunch though so that made it okay. I love listening to President Parker, I always learn so much from him. It was a good experience for Sister R too though. They emphasized obedience about a billion times but that is very important! Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles! I want miracles.

We also had Zone training, we were challenged to have a baptism in the next 6 weeks. We will see how that goes..

We had a few really cool experiences this week.

We went to visit an investigator who isn't really progressing very much. She expressed before how she doesn't want to come to our church or be Mormon but she likes us so we can keep visiting. Anyways, we went to see her and she pulled out her Book of Mormon and said she has been reading it and studying it. Last time we saw her I shared Alma 7:11-13 with her. She went and found it in hers and marked it, then proceeded to read all the chapters around it, then went back to 1 Nephi and read all of that too, marking all the scriptures she liked along the way. She said she loves the Book of Mormon, that she feels like it was "made" for "people like her". She said it helps her with the things she struggles with and it has been a blessing and believes it is the word of God. I was sitting there estatic that she was able to recognize it as the word of God and that her testimony has been built through the Book of Mormon. I finished the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time this past week and for the 1st time on my mission. I LOVE it. This book is magical, I invite everyone to read it and see for yourself. The Book of Mormon completes the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it goes hand in hand with the Bible. They support eachother and both testify that Jesus is the Christ. 

We also saw another investigator who isn't progressing much either. We went and saw her and she read the whole Plan of Salvation pamphlet and said it just makes sense. She comes from a religious background and is quite involved in the church she is in now. She said that the Plan of Salvation answered questions she has always had. It was a beautiful lesson. It is a blessing to have a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We can be with our families forever in joy and happiness. There is nothing more beautiful than the simple truth of eternal families. We will see our deceased loved ones again, we will be able to enjoy life with them again. This parting is only temporary. 

This week we biked a lot. Poor Sister Rooarii, I felt so mean dragging her up and down many hills for hours a few days this week. Needless to say we are both sore, but there is something about biking that makes you feel accomplished. I have become more skilled at biking in a skirt, I think it is definitely a skill and talent and should be included on resumes.

We had dinner at a members house where the Father brought out a blue tongued skink, and was holding it at the dinner table! I pet it a bit then he told me it was wild, that he found it in the backyard. I wasn't as keen to touch it anymore knowing it wasn't a pet and probably isn't okay with being held. Apparently those lizards are native to Australia and they are everywhere. I was forced to hold it :-( I was so scared it would bite me! When you see the picture, my smile is only there to cover my terror. I laugh when I am nervous or scared. We went to the eye doctor about my vampire eyes and they had to put numbing drops in my eyes and touch my eyes with utensils and I had to stay very still. I was laughing the whole time! My companion said, "You reallt seemed to enjoy that!" I really did not enjoy it, I was actually scared but for some weird reason my body's reaction to fear is laughter. 

Thank you to everyone who has been sending me hand written letters, that is the nicest thing ever!

I love you all so much and I miss you!

Sister Coultrup

--

Sister Bethany Victoria Coultrup

Australia Adelaide Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Don't Panic and Carry a Towel

G'day,

So this week was crazy as! We had transfer meeting. That was a mess. So many tears! I was on and off crying that day. Near the end of the day when I was still crying an Elder came up to Sister Funaki and I and told me to stop crying. Then proceeded to call me a pickle because I was wearing a green dress. Needless to say that made me stop crying. I will miss Sister Funaki but I look forward to what this next transfer with a new companion holds!

The following day we had district meeting and arrivers dinner. We have a new district leader and he did a great job with the meeting and conducting his training. Learned a lot. Arrivers dinner was cool! This was a really big intake of new missionaries! There was 14 new. We all had dinner together and there was a testimony meeting where all the new missionaries got to bear theirs. Everything didn't end until 9:30pm, the time we should be back at the flat, which was 45 minutes away. We ended up sleeping in the mission home that night. Luckily I had a smart idea before we left and packed an over night bag just in case. 

This was one of those weeks where no one wants to see you and nothing works out. Just my luck for my first week as a trainer and leading the area hey :-) Not stressful at all :-)

We did manage to see a few people which was good. We have two solid fairly new investigators and I have high hopes for them. Our lessons were great and I look forward to watching their testimonies grow.

Our investigator that got baptised last sunday was confirmed yesterday. It was such a cool experience. She is now a member of the church and has the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are so blessed to have this gift. It has definitely helped me in my life. 

Something I have been learning this week is patience and tolerance. I know my family knows that I am not a patient person. My patience was tried when I was called to serve as a primary chorister. I thought haha, yeah I can't do that. But I managed to. I struggle with being patient with myself. I found a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that has been my walking stick this past week.

"Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end." - D&C 10:4

If you are trying to do something but it is just not working out the way you want. Or your skills and abilities are not where you want them to be, don't panic (and carry a towel). Take a step back, breathe, reasess and recognize that all things come over time. I have the "I want it now" attitude with my missionary skills at the moment. But I need to not run faster than I have strength, take things a step at a time and just be diligent. All things will come as you are diligent and steadfast in your work.

I love you all and I miss you.

With love,

Sister Coultrup

--

Sister Bethany Victoria Coultrup

Australia Adelaide Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Training a Tahitian...Terrified

G'day Family and Friends!

What a marvelous few days it has been! :-) We had a trade off on friday and saturday. Sister Funaki and I stayed in the area with Sister Aspenall and Sister Rooarii went into the Fullham Gardens area with Sister Condie. We had a CRAZY 24 hours. With Sister Funaki going home this week everything has been GO GO GOG OGOGOGOGOO! Go. Insanely busy, more so than usual. Everyone wants to see her and say goodbye, she has made great friends here. She has served in this ward for 12 months, only been in 2 areas her whole mission! So you could imagine the amount of people there are for her to say goodbye to. We went on heaps of splits, to get all of our lessons done. This week we were able to more than double the amount of lessons we did the week previous! A member and I were coming back from an appointment to pick up Sister Funaki and Aspenall and I thought everyone was in the car and started to drive away, then I heard a scream and Sister Aspenall wasn't in the car and the door was wide open, then she jumped in and we all laughed until we cried it was so funny. Now I will always check everyone is in the car before I drive. Oops. 

So I woke up one morning and had two bright red eyes, my eyes are still bright red. My Ward Mission Leader (Brother Watts) joked with me saying that when I go door knocking, people will answer the door and there is me, the devil at their door... Hahaha. Very funny. It is just an allergic reaction to something I had, I checked with an optomologist.

We found 2 new investigators this week! Which is a massive blessing, we have baptised 3 people in a week so we really needed to find new people teach and I was getting worried. We worked hard and we were able to find 2 more and they are both so lovely! I can't wait to get to know them more. A member (who is a recent convert) comes out with us all the time and helps with fellowshipping our investigators. She has been such a great help and sacrifices a lot for us. She was able to receive a blessing this week by finding a job through one of our investigators she fellowships with us. That was wonderful to see Heavenly Father bless her for helping the missionaries and serving the Lord.

 

This week we had another one of our investigators get baptized. I cannot express the amount of love I have for this woman. She is living proof of the incredible power of the atonement. She was able to quit smoking and drinking in 4 weeks. She has been addicted since a teenager. I have never met someone in my life with the amount of faith and love for Jesus Christ that she has. She is an example to me and it was a miraculous moment to see her take the step to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. She has changed her life. The atonement bears no scars. I am so proud of her! Most of her family came from hours away to support her! It was so beautiful for them to see the change in her and to witness this step into a happier way of life. I wish you could all meet her and see the heavenly glow she has. Everything is worth it once you get to meet people like her. She is one of the biggest miracles on my mission so far. When she was baptized and came up out of the water she turned to everyone from behind the glass, raised both her arms in the air and exclaimed, "Hallelujah!" It was SO funny, and very much her. I should've expected it. :-)

I am so grateful to be apart of this great and marvelous work. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of Christ restored upon the Earth today. I am grateful for the priesthood power and the blessings that I receive from it. I am immensely grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am beginning to understand it better on my mission. I feel privileged to have seen it work in other people. We are so blessed to have the atonement at our fingertips and that we can be forgiven for anything as long as we are sincere. The change to start a new is beautiful. 

 

This morning we received our Transfer call.

Sister Funaki: Packing - going home after serving honurably for 18 months.

Sister Rooarii: Remaining.

Sister Coultrup: Remaining, training Sister Rooarii.

So here we go! I will teach her English and how to be a missionary. And she will teach me little phrases in French! I hope to learn how to bear my testimony in French.
Please pray for me as I will need it.

Love you all so much!

Sister Coultrup (Sister Cool)

--

Sister Bethany Victoria Coultrup

Australia Adelaide Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Two baptisms and trio

G'day!

Okay, so this past week in a half has been crazy as.

So the beginning of last week was really rough, I was in a slump and not too much seemed to be working out. We were worried about one of our investigators and his baptism date and that caused a lot of stress but, it worked out so, phew!

We had a big surprise last week! Sister Funaki and I were driving from one appointment to the next when we received a call from the assistants to the President. They asked,

"Do you have an extra bed in your flat?"

"No we don't."

"Okay well you will need to come pick one up and pick up your new companion."

 

WHAT?! We have been put into a trio! Two Sisters came early because they are foreign speaking and so now we have a new companion! To be honest at first I was not at all thrilled. I have heard that trios don't work well and I felt like they were splitting Sister Funaki and I up early. Also because she is a brand new missionary she needs to be trained. I am finished my training in a few days which means I can train now. So when Sister Funaki leaves there is a solid chance I will be training her! So I had a little bit of a panic episode because I am so new myself! I can't train someone! Ahhh! Sister Funaki trained right out of her training as well. We will see for sure on Monday and I will let you know. Anyways, we have had her (Sister Rooarii, you roll both the 'Rs" and pronounce every letter, yes it took me a while to get it down) a week now and she is lovely. She is from Tahiti. Her first language is french, we have been trying to teach her English and she is doing quite well, but it is hard teaching English.

This past Saturday we had two baptisms! HURRAH! What an amazing experience! My first baptisms :-) I am so happy for them, they are solid in their testimonies. It was a bit of a palava before the baptisms though. One of them forgot to bring a white shirt so we were looking everywhere last minute for a white shirt and there wasn't any. So we asked the Elders to run home and grab one of theirs for him, so they did. Once they got home they realized they forgot their KEY and ran back to get their key! While the Elders were coming back one of the nice Men in our ward offered his white shirt that he was wearing, so we gave our investigator his shirt and the Man just wore a jumper. We started the baptism program 20 minutes late because of that! And we didn't get a picture with him in his white because it was too late so we took one with him and his parents afterwards. Oh well.It was so cool that his parents came to support him, they aren't members. They also came for Sacrament the next day to witness his confirmation!

My favourite part about the baptisms was listening to them bear their testimonies right afterwards. Wow, I cried. The spirit was so strong. It was beautiful to hear them and to listen to their experiences and to see the happiness on their faces. I am so grateful to have been a part of their conversion to this beautiful gospel.  

Whoever said Trios don't work is super silly because ours does!!! You just need to be a Celestial Planner like Sister Funaki and everything works out. This whole week we have been going on splits everyday to cover more appointments and we have been getting twice the work done because there is an extra one of us. We all get along really well too. Sister Rooarii teaches us french as well which is pretty exciting. One of the most common questions I get asked is whether I speak french or not because I am Canadian. Sadly, I cannot.

I had a few really cool experiences this week. I went with a recent convert to an investigators house to see how she was doing. I have only met her once before because the Elders were teaching her but they have given her to us because they think she would prefer Sisters. She stood outside with us and we had a nice chat. She expressed to us that she has been suffering from depression. I asked her if she knew much about Jesus suffering for our sins, she said yes. I told her that not many people realize that Jesus Christ not only suffered for our sins but for our pains, afflictions, sicknesses and every bad feeling you will ever feel. She gasped and clutched her chest and began to cry. I was a little startled, but then she said, "I never knew He did that, I never knew." Then she hugged me and kept crying. I shared with her Alma 7:11-13 about the atonement. She was so happy and kept thanking me and invited us back next week for Cappacinos. I graciously accepted, not having the heart to tell her we don't drink coffee. I will send her a text saying we don't before we see her haha. 

 

One of our other investigators is due to get baptized this Sunday the 6th. She struggled with Word of Wisdom issues so we were a little worried but remained faith-filled and prayed and fasted about her chosen baptism date that seemed just a little too soon. But she has worked incredibly hard and this week she has completely come off those things she was addicted too. I am so proud of her. She is proof of the power of atonement. What an incredible woman I really hope you can meet her one day, I love her so much! She WILL be baptized this weekend and I can't wait! 3 baptisms in 2 weeks! Woo hoo! I was told that is a missionaries average for a year, so I guess no more baptisms this year for me then. Just kidding, I will break that statistic.

Anyways that is most of what I have to say for now. I feel like I have talked your ear off. Oh! One more thing. Not too important, but we have a family that recently moved here from England into our ward and the Mum made me a full traditional English Victoria Sponge Cake. It was amazing. Thought Dad would like to know.

OH and we made a super fancy meal the night we got Sister Rooarii and we had it outside on our Patio! Enjoy pictures!

Alright Ta Ta! Love you all so much!

Sister Coultrup

--

Sister Bethany Victoria Coultrup

Australia Adelaide Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints