Baptizing Brisbane: The Adventures Begins . . .The First Week in Australia

Oh man what a week. I couldn't write about my last week in the MTC because I flew out on my P-Day. The week was good and I grew so much. The MTC was a great experience and I made some life long friends.

On Tuesday morning we woke up at 4 am to say goodbye to our district members going to Florida. They will be missed so much. They are going to be great missionaries. My flight didn’t leave until 2:00 in the afternoon so we went back to bed and then went to class until it was time to get to the travel office for our flight.

At the travel office I was told I could pick up my passport but they did not have it and I did not know where it was. So in a panic the MTC tried to find where it went. I thought I was not going to be going to AUS that day. But they eventually found out my parents had it and I was able to get on a bus and have my parents bring it to me at the airport. It was fun but sad to see them one last time. I was the travel leader so I had to get all 7 missionaries to AUS safely.

My wonderful dad gave us money to get Cafe Rio before we boarded the plane. Everybody loves him now and we had a great meal.

In the airport we found where our plan was and when it was boarding. But when it was time to board 3 sisters were not there. So I was running around the whole airport looking for them. I couldn’t find them and the plan was leaving so I ran back and they were just getting on the plan. Ah it was so good to see them and that we all were on our way. It was a 2 hour flight to LA and in the LA airport the 3 sisters ran off again and we had to look for them. Haha it was a crazy day but we all made it on the 747 and had a 14 hour plane ride to Bisbane. Everybody sat next to each other and we all slept for 11 hours strait so the plan ride was not bad at all.

We landed and got our stuff and started looking for the mission president. We saw him and I ran up and gave him a big hug. It was so good to see him and he took us all to his home to figure everything out. The drive there was really scary because we were on the "wrong side". It is going to be weird getting used to that. I was told that I would be driving that day to my area. That made me super scared!! But we got to the mission home had lunch and got settled.

We had a meeting and found out who our comps are. It was sad to say goodbye to Elder Hansen and Johnson and Sister Day but I was excited to meet my new comp. They called his name and looked around and he was not there.

I then was told I would be getting on another plane to go to my area. So I packed up my bags and was told I only could have one bag so I had to unpack and repack to fit it all in one. I made my flight and flew to Townsville. I met my comp and 2 other elders. They were all nice and really helpful. We drove to the flat and it was covered in bugs and smelled terrible. There were only 3 beds and I had to sleep on the floor!! It was terrible.

The next morning I woke up and a senior couple pick us up and drove us to our area. I am in a little town called Ayr (pronounced air). And it sucks!! It’s hot, small, and dirty. Oh well. They don’t have a house here for us so we are currently living in a room in the church. It is not terrible but not amazing. Oh well. We stay here for two weeks and then go to Charters Towers for two weeks and switch back and fourth. It is going to be a pain. Oh well I am here for a reason.

My comps name is Elder Cadiang. He was born in the Philippines and grew up in Australia. I thought at first he was a cool guy but we do not get along to well. I am trying my best to give him a good shot. It is hard though. He does things his own way and I am not used to it. He is a convert and has been a member for two years so when we door knock he says stuff I would never say. He is a hard worker though and we get stuff done.

The area we are at is called Ayr and missionaries haven’t been here for 10 or so years so we have nothing to go on and nothing to do except knock and talk to people. I have been rejected hard already. But some people have been really nice.

Most of the day is spent knocking or talking with people. The branch has 10 people in it and 5 of them are one family so it is TINY!!!!!!! The people are so nice even though they are so small.

We had our first lesson with a boy named Jackson and his friend and sister. They were interested and we are going to see them again so that was really fun. Grandpa Cahoon will be proud because I love talking to people. Everybody I meet I just talk and get to know. It is super fun and I see why he loves it. Aussies love to talk so we ask a question and then listen for a long time.

It has been a good first week and I tried vegemite for the first time. It is terrible.

I will be more organized in the next email, I am just really rushed today. My comp doesn’t let us look at emails during the week so I have to read and then write.

So for this next week keep them sorta short and full of questions.

Oh I forgot to say . . .

Everybody here has a dog in their yard because there are a lot of robbers. When we door knock we usually whistle and make sure we're are not going to get attacked if we go in that person's yard. Most of the dogs are friendly, but there are some mean dogs that look like they could rip you up. We usually skip those house. We have not been chased yet but it is bound to happen. Haha I hope I am faster than my comp.