Transfer 14, week 4

G'day everyone! So good to email you all again this week! 

Monday Nov 9, 2015- Today we had missionary Choir practice for P day but before that we went to all you can eat Pizza Hut as a district! Later that night we had a wonderful family home evening with the Dixon's. 

Tuesday Nov 10, 2015- Today was such a Spirit filed day! I just felt so good today doing the work, it was really great! This morning we found some new investigators. They are an old couple from England named Joy and Lez, they are wonderful. They used to have missionaries over all the time years ago and they said we we're the first missionaries they have seen in a long, long time. They are so lovely and Joy never allows us to leave without giving us a kiss on the cheek, she doesn't care that we're missionaries, she does it anyways haha, can't really get away from it. After that we went to this amazing American Diner we found in our area and they have buffalo wings! First time I have had wings in a long long time, I was in heaven. After that we went to go see our investigator Terry, he is crack up. He is just always laughing and having a good time, its always good to go to Terry's to lift our spirits haha We then went to dinner with the Thornton's, had a good discussion with them about the Spirit World, really felt the Spirit, there is most definitely an afterlife. They told us this interesting concept that sometimes when we are teaching the lessons to investigators sometimes we're actually teaching some more spirits who want to learn the Gospel in the spirit world. That helped me feel more accountable and make sure I'm doing my best whenever I'm teaching. We then had the wonderful opportunity to go see David and Nicole today with Bishop Rice. David and Nicole are really progressing and I ope they are baptized before I go home. Nicole expressed to us that one night she couldn't sleep all night because she couldn't stop thing about baptism. The Spirit is really working with her and we hope she can commit to baptism soon. The Gospel is true Brothers and Sisters, the Atonement is real! 

Wednesday Nov 11, 2015- Today we had a huge zone training and I got to see Eder Corotan! I missed him so much so it was so good to see him again. We then went to go see our investigator Anthony. He recently lost his job so he was feeling pretty depressed, we just tried to help him have faith, we hope everything works out for him. After that we went to go see Brad, we shared the Joseph Smith Story with him. The Spirit prompted ne today to share that with him because he is dealing with a few3 things right now, I specifically shared about his experience in liberty jail and God's promise that all of our trial are for our experience and good. I' grateful for that story, really puts everything in perspective. 

The rest of the week was pretty crazy, I just forgot to write in my journal, sorry about that! I don't have a lot of time left so I have to conclude!

Love you al! 

Elder Acker

Transfer 14, week 3

Hey everyone! Another week gone by!

Tuesday Nov 3, 2015- Had district meeting this morning than had the wonderful opportunity to go on a trade off with Elder Skadins from Melbourne in  his area. His area is called Victor Harbor and it is honestly the most beautiful area in Adelaide. It was so good to go on a trade off there today. It was pretty cool visiting people there because I went on trade off there a year ago when I was serving in Trott Park and got to see some familiar faces. We had a cool opportunity to teach the YM of the Victor Harbor Branch about missionary work. It was good fun.

Wednesday Nov 4, 2015- Today we begun the day with a service at this lady's house. I always love doing service especially today beacsue it was followed by a wonderful homemade meal! We then finished our trade off and I headed back to my area with Elder Glvoa. We went to go visit David and Nicole, we shared Alma 32:28 with them and explained to them how we have seen their faith grow, it was a great lesson. We then went to go see Brad, and re introduced him to the BOM. Whenever someone is baptized, we re teach the missionary lessons. I was able to see today how much prayer can help us, I've been dealing with a lot of trials and temptation this week and I just have such a strong testimony that as we call upon our God in time of need, He will help us. I am so far from perfect so I need His help. Everyone does. 

Thursday Nov 5, 2015- Today was a very gloomy day, the weather was rainy all day but we still got to visit a lot of people today! We went door knocking and we met this one lady named Joy, she was an old lady and was so excited to see us when she opened the door! She said that it has been a long time since "Mormon missionaries" have visited her, she was so sweet. We set up a return appointment with her and her husband and before we left she grabbed both me and Elder Glova and gave us a big kiss on the cheek against our will haha Elder Glova was so startled. We then went to go visit a less active named Bro Brogan, he is very sick so we gave him a blessing. We then saw our investigator Anthony and he expressed to us how much prayer has helped him with his mental problems. I'm telling you all, prayer is the key to happiness. We went door knocking heaps today, unfortunately no one was interested, although Elder Glova and I both felt very happy, we know diligence brings blessings even if you don't find someone that day.

Sunday Nov 8, 2015- We we're glad to see Brad receive the Priesthood today! What a great blessing to witness that. He is so keen to serve in the church, we are so excited for him. There's not much else to tell this week, although I was able to receive an email from Dave and Hala this week, I don't know if you remember them from my last area but Hala was baptized!!! So happy for her!

Love you All! 

Elder Acker

Transfer 14, week 2

Hey everyone! So grateful to be able to hear from you all this week. :)

Monday Oct 26, 2015- Had a good p day today, had the chance to visit David and Nicole today, we taught about prayer and scripture study. We then got to go visit a family, the Jones in our new area. They're a great family. 

Tuesday Oct 27, 2015- Had district meeting this morning. We then went to go see Brad, had a good lesson with him. We then took a long scenic road trip to a part member family the Dixon's. Our new area is so huge and beautiful! 

Wednesday Oct 28, 2015- This morning we went to go visit a potential named Gail, really  nice lady, she wasn't available at this time but we scheduled a return appointment. We then went to go see our investigator Anthony. Taught about faith. 

There's not much else to tell. I'll be honest with you all, I'm having a hard time thinking about anything else besides my family. The news I received this week has really got me down. I know that God has everything under control and that everything is going to be alright. Sorry that this email this week isn't the most detailed, just please pray for my family. 

Love, Elder Acker

Faithful servant

Good morning everyone! It has been the first week of the new transfer and I would like to introduce my new companion Elder Glova! He is from the Philippines! He has been in Adelaide for about 2 months. And to add to my new companion we have added on a whole new area to our area now so we're covering 2 areas, luckily we got a car now. 

Monday Oct 19, 2015- Today we spent the P Day at a park! There was basketball courts there and the hoops were shorter so we we're dunking and stuff which was a lot of fun. Later that night we got to go say goodbye to a few people for Elder Corotan. Honestly this whole week I have missed Elder Corotan heaps. I'm so glad Heavenly Father put us together for that short time because I learned a lot from him. I love that man, one of my favourite companions, I definitely want to go to Philippines to visit him after the mission.

Tuesday Oct 20, 2015- Had transfer meeting today, Elder Glova is a great Elder with a big heart. He says "sorry" all the time to me because he always feels like he is doing something wrong. I keep telling him he doesn't have to say sorry so much, he's doing alright. He struggles with English and is very shy/quiet around people. We're really working to get him out of his shell, I know he has a lot of potential! We went to go see David and Nicole today, read the Book of Mormon with them. We then finished the night off with coordination meeting. I'll tell you right now, this first week of transfers is always the most stressful, I felt it strongly this week, with the new area, new companion, a lot of changes are happening and I'm just trying to adjust. Please pray for me dear family and friends. I don't want my weaknesses to get in the way of this area progressing. 

Wednesday Oct 21, 2015- Started the day off with district meeting, after that we went to do some door knocking then we got a call from a member in our ward who wanted us to do some service for her so we helped her out for about an hour. We then went to go visit our recent convert Brad, unfortunately he was not home, and to our surprise his mother came to the door and talked to us for about 30 minutes, she has never talked to us before so that was nice. We the had a lesson with our investigator Bob at the chapel with Bro Pollard, we taught about the Book of Mormon but he won't accept anything besides the Bible. That's a tough concern to resolve. Still felt stressed today because we haven't been able to go to our new area yet, so much going on, feel like my head is going to explode. But I just need to realize that this is the Lord's Work, not mine. And because it is His work, He will most definitely help me. So grateful for that support. We have the best boss in the universe! 

Thursday Oct 22, 2015- Went to go see our investigator Anthony today, shared a BOM Mormon message with him and then he said he wanted to play pool so we played a game with him and left. We might drop him soon, it seems like his interest is decreasing. We then went to go see David and Nicole, Nicole wasn't feeling too well so we just had a quick visit. We then went to go try to see our investigator Mahalla. Her house is always filled with people so its really hard to teach her with so many distractions, we're trying to get her to come to the chapel so we can teach her there instead. We then went to Fechner's for dinner, after that we had a meeting with Bishop to talk about transfer goals, this eased my stress a bit, layed everything out on the table so now we have the help of Bishop on our side.

Saturday Oct 24, 2015- We had service today with a member, dug up a huge plant for her, it was good fun. We then went home to change and because of my mistake we locked ourselves out of our flat, so we had to wait at our flat for about an hour waiting for the senior couple missionaries to come unlock our flat, we got really thirsty so we decided to bike down to the shops to get a drink. The things turned for the worst, as we we're biking Elder Glova ate the pavement on his bike, it looked like he was alright when he first got up but then I saw blood. I realized that he had grabbed the fence that was next to him as he fell and the fence had barbed wire on it. His hand was bleeding like a fountain, he was panicking and I didn't know what to do, I called the senior couple to see how far away they were, they said 10 minutes, so we decided to start walking back to our flat, as we we're walking a nice lady stopped her car and offered to take us to the hospital. What a good Samaritan. We then got to the hospital, they cleaned him up, the senior couple then arrived at the hospital. Elder Glova sprained his wrist and was very close to getting stitches. Even though this happened I know God watched out for us today. We were glad Elder Glova wasn't hurt worst, we we're thankful for the woman who picked us up, and we were grateful for the senior couple that was there by our side. Heavenly Father watches out for his missionaries.

Love you all, have a great week!

Elder Acker

More amazing experiences this week...

Hey Everyone! Hope your all doing well, another week to report! Oh BTW we just found out transfer info today, Elder Corotan is leaving, I get a new companion tomorrow. I'm really sad to see Elder Corotan go :( but I know my next companion will be good.

Monday Oct 12, 2015- Today for P Day we went to Victor Harbor once again, its such a beautiful place so we just love going, its worth the drive! We went on a gorgeous rock climb/hike on the bluffs next to the ocean. Probably the best view I have ever seen thus far on my mission. Got heaps of pictures to show when I get home. After P day we had dinner with bishop and the sister missionaries, it was a good night spent. We shared a message about listening and obeying the promptings of the Spirit, it really inspired me, I realized how important it is to listen to God and obey His will. I'm so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost which allows me to be in direct communication with God at all times, I know he has a watchful eye on each and every one of us! We then went to go visit a LA family to finish off the night.

Tuesday Oct 13, 2015- Had district meeting this morning, we then went as a district to get lunch at Hungry Jack's (Aussie Burger King). Later that day we had an appointment with our investigators David and Nicole, we asked the Morrows who are members to come teach with us so they came to pick us up and headed there, to our surprise there was an ambulance vehicle in front of their house. Elder Corotan and I were both worried because David and Nicole both experience a lot of health problems so we thought something might've happened, we went inside and found Nicole on the floor, she fell over. She was alright, she just needed to make sure everything was good. We were quite surprised to experience one of these ambulance men being quite rude to Nicole and also to us, he was mocking our religion. Nicole had enough of it and she just went off on this guy, telling him to stop calling us the bloody Mormons, she expressed how much she loves us and how were not just Mormons, we're her friends. That was such a wonderful experience to see an investigator defend our faith. The man shut up and apologized later on. We then went to go see Brad, the one recently baptized. We got there and we noticed he looked a little tense. He expressed to us that his ex wife is giving him trouble. We started talking to him out front about it and after a while his mom came outside and started arguing with him! This just added to his stress. Elder Corotan and I didn't really know what to say but then we received a prompting to share our ponderizing scriptures! They tied in perfectly well with what he was dealing with and it calmed his nerves. We then had dinner that night with a young family the Grangers, they remind me a lot actually of Spencer and Jamyn Wilson, we had a great time with them tonight and their baby son is the cutest thing alive haha. Today for some reason I just felt like the whole world was against us, it seems like in this world today, good people stand alone, acts of kindness become something to mock. I'm so grateful for the Gospel because even though we stand alone, we know the truth and that's all that matters. 

Wednesday Oct 14, 2015- Today we went to go see David and Nicole, had a good lesson with them. Nicole is so solid, she just expressed to us today how much peace, joy, and happiness has come into her life since we have shared the Gospel with her. We then went to go see another investigator, she ended up not being home so we felt inspired to go visit an investigator we haven't seen in awhile. His names Terry and today he was actually home! We went to his backyard to sit down and have a chat, kindly gave us a Diet Coke, he's a really funny man, always cracking jokes but in an instant today he got really serious, he said to us, "in 30 minutes I have an apt with my doctor to see whether or not I have prostate cancer, can you please say a prayer for me?" We gladly accepted and as soon as the prayer finished we all felt the Spirit strongly, terry is a real manly man, this was the first time I've seen him shed tears. How grateful I am for the Spirit, He led us at the perfect time to visit this friend of ours, we're so grateful we were able to help him feel peace and calmness right before he receives big news. We then went to the chapel to teach our investigator Bob, we taught the Resto but it was hard to get a word in because he just goes on and on about what he knows, he's a real knowledgeable man, we committed him to read the BOM so hopefully he does that! 

Thursday Oct 15, 2015- It was so flippin hot today! I honestly thought I was gonna die haha We went to David and Nicole's today and when we got there they both looked just exhausted, the heat really got to them, we decided to have more of a relaxing lesson, so we decided to show the Joseph Smith video. We then went to get dinner with the Fechner's and when it finished we listened to a voicemail we received from Nicole during our dinner, she expressed to us that when she watched the video she felt something she has never felt before, she said that she really felt the Spirit and she said she was pain free for 2 or 3 hours after the video and she just had to tell us. Brothers and Sisters, please listen to me when I say this, THIS CHURCH IS TRUE! JOSEPH SMITH WAS A PROHPHET OF GOD! 

Sunday Oct 18, 2015- I had the wonderful opportunity today to give our friend Brad the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This was the first time I've been able to do it. I was really nervous but as soon as I gave him the blessing I felt like it was just us in the room. Really great experience. We're so glad Brad was able to recognize the Spirit right after also. Want to hear the most amazing connection I made today!? I was talking to this man that just recently moved into the ward, he married a sister in our ward. He was talking about his mission, said he served in PNG and Brisbane, obviously that is where my dad served as a missionary, so I asked when he served, he said 89 and 90. I told him "wow I think my dad served around the same time, maybe you know him." He looked at my badge and then he got an amazed look on his face, he said, "Acker? Are you related to Brad Acker?", I said "yes...he's my dad" with even more excitement on his face he said "He was my companion!" I was about to pass out! I just met one of my dads companion and he's in our ward now!!!! His name is Brad Williams I'm pretty sure. Hope this makes you happy dad :) 

Its been a great week! I look forward to the new transfer! BTW my ponderizing scripture fo the week is 1 Nephi 7:12. Look it up!

A baptism

G'day!!! It has been a monumental week in Hackham West this week!

Wednesday Oct 7, 2015- We had zone training today. This has been one of the many meetings we have had this transfer and because of that everyone just seemed dead today haha. We're all getting pretty tired of so many meetings, we just want to go out and work! After the Zone Training we got some pizza with the other Elders. We want to go visit Brad afterwards and just ran through the baptism interview questions with him. He's so solid and humble! We then met with one of our investigators Bob at the chapel, we took him on a chapel tour which turned out really well! We ended up locking ourselves out of the chapel with all of our stuff inside so we had to call the other elders to come open the chapel for us, as we we're waiting we got a call from our investigator Phillip. We have been trying to get a hold of him for the past couple days but he hasn't answered. But when he called us at this time he expressed to us that he needs to "take a step back for a few months." Elder Corotan and I we're both pretty heart broken. We tried to figure out why he has made this decision right before his baptism but he just kept saying I need to think more. We respected his choices but we're sad to have lost him today as an investigator.... We we're blessed to be able to go to a members home for dinner this evening which helped us to get our minds off of the recent situation, plus there was like a billion kids there too so playing with them made me think f back home with my cousins, we both really enjoyed tonight :) As Elder Corotan and I talked about what happened with Phil, we both felt sad, we realized how strong Satan actually is. I was telling my companion that I have dealt with disappointments like this heaps of times on my mission. Even though they suck, the discouragement doesn't last long because in the end we know the church is true and these disappointments will allow us to prepare for disappointments we will face for he rest of our lives. Our mission are literally a training for the rest of our lives. So grateful.

Thursday Oct 8, 2015- This morning we went to go see Anthony, our investigator. We played a game of pool with him then taught him about obedience. We then went to go see our inv Mahalla. She had heaps of visitors so it wasn't the best time to teach her but we we're able to have a good chat with her. We then did some door knocking, sadly didn't find anyone. We then went to the Anderson's for dinner. It was a Filipino feast!! So good, I love Filipino food. We then went to the Fechners to try some of their lemon cake. Not really helping me lose weight haha

Saturday Oct 10, 2015- What a wonderful day! The day was filled with spiritual experiences. We were able to watch General Conference today and we were able to witness the baptism of our investigator Brad! What a great day! We we're so glad to be able to experience that today. I'm so grateful to be a prat of this church, not many people have the opportunity to experience the things we do as members of the church!

Sunday Oct 11, 2015- Today we watched the remaining sessions of General Conference! After conference we went the other elders flat to have lunch. Elder Keller cooked Nuna (Noodles and Tuna), so good, definitely a missionary budget meal. Did weekly planning for a few hours then went to go see the Davies but on the way we met a man in the park named Rick. He was eating fish and chips and as soon as we said hello he offered us food, such a nice man, we had a good discussion with him and plan to continue our discussions this coming week! Listening to the inspiring words of Prophets and Apostles this weekend has left me feeling inspired. I recognize, and I'm sure all of us do, that I have a lot of things to work on. Its pretty daunting but I know that as we have righteous desires to change a be stronger disciples of Jesus Christ, God will lead us in exactly what we need to do.

I hope everyone has chose a verse this week to ponderize! Mine is 1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you" 

Love you all!

Elder Acker

With the good, comes the bad!! He keeps pressing on!!

Hey Everyone! Another fantastic week in Hackham West!

Monday Sep 28, 2015- 

P Day today! Spent most of the day purusing the biggest shopping centre in Southern Australia. Humungous place. We then got to go have a BBQ at the beach in Hallet Cove. This beach is the beach in my first area so it was good to go back :) Later that night we had the wonderful opportunity to have FHE at the Stake Presidents families home. President Ellis is the man, and what made it so great is that we we're able to bring our investigator Brad too with his two little girls. The night was great, we got to watch the Joseph Smith movie and had a great time being together, the Spirit was definitely felt and we we're so glad Brad was able to feel that.

Tuesday Sep 29, 2015- 

Today we taught our investigator Phillip with Brother Morrow, taught about obeying the law of the land, went well! We then we're making our way to a less active when I ate the gravel yet again, I think that's the fourth time on my mission that I have crashed on my bike, wasn't that bad of one but I did get scraped up a bit, as I was getting up and started walking it off I looked over at my companion and he looked like he was about to cry, I asked him what's wrong and he just said "I just feel a little emotional right now." We walked over to a bench so we could talk about it and he just said that he hated seeing me fall. Honestly, I love my companion. We really are so close and because of that we get in arguments sometimes but we always work through it and come out with a stronger relationship every time. We then went door knocking later that night and we knocked on this one particular door, when the man opened the door, Elder Corotan and I instantly felt that something was wrong. Nevertheless, we introduced ourselves as the missionaries, in his response he says, "well I'm a satanist". He was dressed up in a black cloke and had a weird symbolled necklace on, we knew this man was not joking, he was full on. As soon as he said those words we bid him farewell. Elder Corotan and I couldn't get rid of the dark feeling we had from probably the darkest man I've ever met. Luckily we had the opportunity to go on splits with Pres Ellis, we explained to him what happened and he said a prayer for us, as soon as he finished the prayer, the dark feeling left both of us. What a powerful experience that was to see the light of the Gospel chase out the darkness, Satan will NEVER be stronger than the POWER OF GOD.

Wednesday Sep 30, 2015-

Started the morning doing some weeding for our investigator Anthony. Always a good time weeding. We then got to go teach David and Nicole, our investigators. We discussed baptism with them and they committed to pray about it. We then went to the chapel to teach Brad with Bro Harris, we discussed the Priesthood with him, we also prepared him for his baptism this Saturday by practicing and letting him check out the baptism font, he was a little nervous before but when he stepped in the font he said he felt better about it. So excited for him and Philip to make this step this weekend Oct 10!

Thursday Oct 1, 2015- Finished off the weeding for Anthony this morning. Today we biked heaps, honestly I'm so tired, we we're biking back and forth throughout our area just to get to out appointments. We taught Philip tithing today, and he seemed so amazed at the organization of the church through the tithing efforts, he accepted to live it. We then went to go see David and Nicole, talked to them about receiving answers to prayers and sincerely seeking truth. We then had dinner at the Fechner's. Such a busy day.

Friday Oct 2, 2015- Saw an investigator we have named David, he has been investigating the church for about 15 years, he goes to church every week and pays his tithing too! Yet he still doesn't want to be baptized, I don't really understand but I guess he know why. We talked about temples with him. We then saw Brad and reviewed the Baptism Interview Questions with him, he's good to go! We then went to go get fish and chips and as we we're about to go inside to order a man out of nowhere started cussing us out calling us devil workers and calling Joseph Smith probably the worst name in the English dictionary. I really don't get these people, honestly what is their problem. We try to ignore these people as best we can, I'll tell you right now this is the roughest area I have served in. There's a big morality problem here and a big drug problem. Its the ghetto of South Australia. I know the Lord is going to protect us though. We went to go teach Philip tonight with Brother Kirsch, read Mosiah 18 together and discussed baptism in preparation for his. 

Saturday Oct 3, 2015- Today we went to a less actives house for a birthday. They we're drinking and the brother started bad talking the church telling us that the Mormon Church is falling. Elder Corotan and I couldn't hear it any longer so we walked out. The adversary is strong in this area, I'll tell you that much.

Sunday Oct 4, 2015- What a wonderful Sabbath Day it was today. We had fast and testimony meeting today. I bore my testimony and the 3 other missionaries in the ward followed. A powerful Spirit was felt. Elder Corotan bore an amazing testimony about his father who passed recently. After the first hour we were going to class when one of the young men stopped to talk to us, he said that from the time he has been born he has the gift of discerning spirits. He told Elder Corotan that when he bore his testimony today, his father was standing next to him the whole time and followed him back to his seat. We both teared up and we truly felt the Spirit witness to us that the words that he said we're true. There is life after death! 

Monday Oct 5, 2015- Great P Day today! We went to a wildlife park in Victor Harbor and got to play with kangaroos! I love our district, its like a family, a great day spent :)