February 20, 2011 Sunday
Saturday afternoon we had an appointment to teach a 9 year old girl who was baptized last year. She is one of the middle ones in a family of seven kids. The parents are from England and really sharp. We pretended to be the investigators and had the kids take turns telling us about the various elements in the lesson about the restoration. Then we had Sydnie, the recent “baptizee,” summarize what they said and tell what she knew. It was fun to be with a big family again. They even fed us dinner at a table a little bigger than our big table at home. The sticky date pudding with homemade butterscotch sauce she made was incredible! It was a great time.
Later we went to the Tomlinson’s home. Collin had never received the new member lessons, so we started teaching him. It was good to discuss the Gospel with him and Verian, his wife. And they fed us cake and ice cream. We went home feeling very well fed.
This morning we went to teach a fellow who had been contacted in the city by the elders. He turned out to be a “uni” student from Zambia. Seth is a sharp kid. We met in the tiny room he’s renting in a house over in Gosnells. On his desk he has 3 photos of his mom—yay, he’s not living with a partner. He has a pretty strong Baptist background and his bible has had a ton of use. We went over the “17 Points of the True Church,” and then we taught him very briefly about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He wouldn’t give us a return appointment, but he said he would call us. We both felt really good about the time we spent with him. He gave a beautiful prayer at the end. Afterwards, we realized we hadn’t invited him to church, so we called and invited him to attend church at 1 pm. And he accepted! We found a member family that lives close by who picked him up and brought him. The Sacrament Meeting talks were excellent. The Stake YW President talked about the power of the priesthood, and the patriarch talked about revelation. Seth only stayed for the first meeting, but we were very happy to have been blessed to teach him.
Tonight we attended the missionary fireside presented by Elder Callister and his wife. It was incredibly powerful. They spoke about the prophet Joseph Smith and what he accomplished in his short life. He said that Joseph Smith had translated the Book of Mormon in just 64 days. We had been telling people 90 days, so now we have something even more impressive. He also mentioned that Willard Richards is his great-great grandfather. He quoted a prophecy that Joseph Smith made to him that in the not distant future he would be amid bullets flying around him and that his friends to drop on his right and his left but not one bullet would pierce his garments. Willard Richards was in Carthage Jail when the mob hit. Each of the other 3 men, Joseph & Hyrum Smith and John Taylor were struck by 4-5 balls, but Brother Richards only had one ball graze his ear. Brother Callister also talked about how Satan works to prevent good things from happening. He spoke to the investigators present telling them that Satan would work hard to prevent them from being baptized and then told of an occurrence that we’d never heard before. He said that one day not long before Joseph went to the grove to pray a bullet whizzed past his head as he stepped out of the house. They later found the bullet imbedded in the neck of one of their cows. They never did discover who did it or why it happened. The fireside was one of those that you wished would continue for another hour or so. I’m so impressed with Elder Callister. He truly is a man of God.
Monday, February 21, 2011
FOLKS
February 18, 2011 Friday
This morning we found a member family that has been inactive since moving to Australia from New Zealand 6 years ago. The wife came home just as we got there. She invited us in and was very friendly. She’s from the Philippines and a convert. They have 2 children 11 & 5. We asked if they’d been baptized and she said, “Not in the Mormon church, but in the Catholic church because they were born in the Philippines and it’s required over there.” She didn’t seem to appreciate that the kids really needed a Mormon baptism. We have an appointment to go back next week and meet the kids and teach them a little. We hope we can bring the parents back to church.
This afternoon we visited a sister from New Zealand. She said it was really good we had come because she was having some really hard times. She’s been living with her partner for 17 years and has 4 kids. He basically pays the bills, drinks, smokes and leaves everything else to her. Her older son is rebelling against school and her and just wants to stay at home and do nothing all day. The kids don’t help at all. She wants a different lifestyle. We listened and talked and left with the promise that she’d be at church Sunday. She wants to visit with the bishop about the situation with her partner. Our hearts just ached for her because of the pain that she’s now suffering for a decision she made 17 years ago.
Then we went to Michelle Oxby’s. It’s a delight to visit her. She’s trying so hard to bring herself back to the church. She’s gone 4 days without a cigarette. Her “ex” boyfriend has been trying to get back with her and she’s holding out strong that she doesn’t want to get involved in another relationship. We showed her and Kiera the Restoration DVD. (Kalen was at a sleepover.) We assigned Michelle to read the Joseph Smith pamphlet with the kids and show Kalen the DVD. She gave the closing prayer and it was beautiful. She’s planning to bring the kids to church Sunday. Sure hope she does!
This morning we found a member family that has been inactive since moving to Australia from New Zealand 6 years ago. The wife came home just as we got there. She invited us in and was very friendly. She’s from the Philippines and a convert. They have 2 children 11 & 5. We asked if they’d been baptized and she said, “Not in the Mormon church, but in the Catholic church because they were born in the Philippines and it’s required over there.” She didn’t seem to appreciate that the kids really needed a Mormon baptism. We have an appointment to go back next week and meet the kids and teach them a little. We hope we can bring the parents back to church.
This afternoon we visited a sister from New Zealand. She said it was really good we had come because she was having some really hard times. She’s been living with her partner for 17 years and has 4 kids. He basically pays the bills, drinks, smokes and leaves everything else to her. Her older son is rebelling against school and her and just wants to stay at home and do nothing all day. The kids don’t help at all. She wants a different lifestyle. We listened and talked and left with the promise that she’d be at church Sunday. She wants to visit with the bishop about the situation with her partner. Our hearts just ached for her because of the pain that she’s now suffering for a decision she made 17 years ago.
Then we went to Michelle Oxby’s. It’s a delight to visit her. She’s trying so hard to bring herself back to the church. She’s gone 4 days without a cigarette. Her “ex” boyfriend has been trying to get back with her and she’s holding out strong that she doesn’t want to get involved in another relationship. We showed her and Kiera the Restoration DVD. (Kalen was at a sleepover.) We assigned Michelle to read the Joseph Smith pamphlet with the kids and show Kalen the DVD. She gave the closing prayer and it was beautiful. She’s planning to bring the kids to church Sunday. Sure hope she does!
MOANA’S FAMILY
February 17, 2011 Thursday
Tonight we met with Moana and her family. She’s from New Zealand; we met her about 2 weeks ago and set up to go back to teach her and her girls about the Gospel. She’s been inactive most of her life. She postponed once and then we had to, but tonight we got together. Her 3 girls are Ebony-13, Sasha-9, and Ja-4. We took our dominoes to break the ice with them and it worked well. And her partner sat in for almost the whole time! His name is Rob and is really a nice guy. We gave them a short lesson on prayer and it’s importance and gave each of the girls a 5x7 picture of the Savior. And they marked so we can go back next week. Ebony went to YW a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The YW president picked her up. Moana is the only member of the church; the girls haven’t even been blessed. What a neat family. It would be so cool if we can unite them in the Gospel.
To catch up: We had Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Callister on Tuesday. What great teachers they are! He’s been a mission president in Toronto, Canada, and had lots of great suggestions. He also taught about the Atonement. He explained that many people think that because Christ was part god, he was able to withstand the suffering he went through easier than a normal person would. But he explained that when a person experiences too much pain, our bodies are built so that either we pass out or we die. Christ used his divinity to “switch off” that bypass so that he could suffer ALL things and not die or pass out. It made me appreciate even more what He did for us. Elder Callister also taught about becoming a “consecrated missionary.” It was a great learning experience.
That night we had a BBQ with the other senior missionaries at the Crawford’s flat. We ate, played a few games, talked and laughed a lot. It’s good to be able to associate with such good people. We found out that Sister Orth has diabetes and a form of leukemia. Right now, she just has to make sure she eats a really healthy diet and it will remain in check. What a trooper to come on a mission like that!
Wednesday we turned the teaching of Yingping over to the Zone Leaders with whom we traded areas, wards and flats. There’s just no way we could arrange for the fellowshipping and stuff not living in the same ward. We will still see her from time to time. She’s a good girl. After the lesson, the elders suggested we eat lunch with them at the International Food House in St James. We had kebabs that were really good. (They are like big wraps in the states.) It was fun to just sit and visit with the elders. They are such good guys.
We’ve also taught the Sotos twice this week. Today we covered the plan of salvation with them. Rod just got more and more excited as we answered many questions and filled in the gaps for him. It is so fun to teach them. They’ve both struggled with smoking and have been on the patch for the last couple of weeks. Rod has weaned himself off that and Pauline is still using it, but neither has smoked for almost 2 weeks. They had quit before baptism, but it grabbed them later. They are working really hard to make it stick this time.
Tonight we met with Moana and her family. She’s from New Zealand; we met her about 2 weeks ago and set up to go back to teach her and her girls about the Gospel. She’s been inactive most of her life. She postponed once and then we had to, but tonight we got together. Her 3 girls are Ebony-13, Sasha-9, and Ja-4. We took our dominoes to break the ice with them and it worked well. And her partner sat in for almost the whole time! His name is Rob and is really a nice guy. We gave them a short lesson on prayer and it’s importance and gave each of the girls a 5x7 picture of the Savior. And they marked so we can go back next week. Ebony went to YW a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The YW president picked her up. Moana is the only member of the church; the girls haven’t even been blessed. What a neat family. It would be so cool if we can unite them in the Gospel.
To catch up: We had Zone Conference with Elder and Sister Callister on Tuesday. What great teachers they are! He’s been a mission president in Toronto, Canada, and had lots of great suggestions. He also taught about the Atonement. He explained that many people think that because Christ was part god, he was able to withstand the suffering he went through easier than a normal person would. But he explained that when a person experiences too much pain, our bodies are built so that either we pass out or we die. Christ used his divinity to “switch off” that bypass so that he could suffer ALL things and not die or pass out. It made me appreciate even more what He did for us. Elder Callister also taught about becoming a “consecrated missionary.” It was a great learning experience.
That night we had a BBQ with the other senior missionaries at the Crawford’s flat. We ate, played a few games, talked and laughed a lot. It’s good to be able to associate with such good people. We found out that Sister Orth has diabetes and a form of leukemia. Right now, she just has to make sure she eats a really healthy diet and it will remain in check. What a trooper to come on a mission like that!
Wednesday we turned the teaching of Yingping over to the Zone Leaders with whom we traded areas, wards and flats. There’s just no way we could arrange for the fellowshipping and stuff not living in the same ward. We will still see her from time to time. She’s a good girl. After the lesson, the elders suggested we eat lunch with them at the International Food House in St James. We had kebabs that were really good. (They are like big wraps in the states.) It was fun to just sit and visit with the elders. They are such good guys.
We’ve also taught the Sotos twice this week. Today we covered the plan of salvation with them. Rod just got more and more excited as we answered many questions and filled in the gaps for him. It is so fun to teach them. They’ve both struggled with smoking and have been on the patch for the last couple of weeks. Rod has weaned himself off that and Pauline is still using it, but neither has smoked for almost 2 weeks. They had quit before baptism, but it grabbed them later. They are working really hard to make it stick this time.
TAD R CALLISTER, OF THE SEVENTY
14 February 2011 Monday
Tonight we met Brother Callister and his wife at the mission home. He is the Area President of the South Pacific area. What nice people! He grew up in Glendale, California, and was part of a family law firm when he received his call to the Seventy. They’ve served here in the South Pacific for about 2 ½ years. We and the other senior missionaries were able to eat dinner with them and then had a short FHE with them. They were jet lagging. Our 8 pm here was 1 am New Zealand time. President Cahoon had a copy of a book he’s written called The Inevitable Apostasy. Sounds interesting. Now we know him, we’ll have to read it some day.
Tonight we met Brother Callister and his wife at the mission home. He is the Area President of the South Pacific area. What nice people! He grew up in Glendale, California, and was part of a family law firm when he received his call to the Seventy. They’ve served here in the South Pacific for about 2 ½ years. We and the other senior missionaries were able to eat dinner with them and then had a short FHE with them. They were jet lagging. Our 8 pm here was 1 am New Zealand time. President Cahoon had a copy of a book he’s written called The Inevitable Apostasy. Sounds interesting. Now we know him, we’ll have to read it some day.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
COLLIN TOMLINSON, OPERA SINGER
13 February 2011 Sunday
Wahoo! Curtains! Friday afternoon we went to the mission office and picked up curtains for the 3 windows in our house that still need to be covered. It will be nice to sit in the house at night and not wonder who/what may be peering in the windows at us.
Yesterday afternoon we attended the World Wide Training that was given about the new handbooks. President Packer was missed. We do hope he is doing okay. He’s not as young as he used to be.
Last night was stake conference. We had planned to go, but the Elders’ Quorum President had called and said he had a friend who wanted “the elders” to come and dedicate his new house. It was to be at 6 pm so we figured we would make there and to conference. Well, it turned out to be the “friend of a friend.” They are Filipino. They didn’t get started until 7 and had a ton of food set out for everyone who attended. (I understand that is typical of Filipino gatherings.) Alvin, the Elders’ Quorum president’s friend turned out to be Roy Nicomedes, also a member from the Philippines, who knew the non-member couple who’d bought the house. He’d had the missionaries teach them before, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. He ran into them again and one thing led to another and there we were, the only Caucasians in a group of at least 30 folks. As part of the meal, they had a small roasted pig. “Eat some of the skin, it’s crispy!” It was an interesting evening.
This morning was Area Conference. It was great. The church leaders acknowledged the floods and cyclones that have hit this area. We heard from Sister Sylvia Allred, Dallin H Oaks, Richard C Scott, and Dieter F Uchtdorf. It was excellent. James, our investigator, came with his daughter and 2 young grandchildren.
After conference, Elder and Sister Orth, the Aussie senior couple came over for lunch. They serve in a branch waaaaaaaaay south of here (5 hours away) that is part of our stake. We had a great visit and compared experiences and families. They are staying at the Crawfords’ place so they will be here for our meetings this week with Ted Callister, our area president.
Tonight we went out to meet a few people on our list. Our final stop was to visit Brother and Sister Tomlinson. The ward had recently fasted for her because she has cancer. Brother Tomlinson greeted us warmly and Orson and he recognized each other from the temple. Sister Tomlinson had breast cancer 3 years ago and was treated for it. She was fine until two months ago when she had terrible back pain. The GP ordered a bone scan because of her history and they found cancer all over her body. She’s still getting around well but is tired a lot. She’s not going to fight it because she took care of her first husband who was sick for 6 ½ years. Brother and Sister Tomlinson met each other when each was first married to their first spouses. There was an attraction, but they let it go because they were both already married. She and her first husband joined the church 40-something years ago. Brother Tomlinson made his living as an opera singer here in Australia. About 4 years ago, each of them was prompted to move back to West Australia. She looked him up in the phone book, called him, and his life changed totally. He’s been baptized, is the music chairman of our ward, and is also a temple worker. It was delightful to listen to their story. Another interesting thing he told us was about his son who was born with a double cleft palate and had 15 surgeries before he was 20 to correct everything. The amazing thing about it is that the son then went on to have his own successful opera career. He’s now the “poster boy” for the Australian hospitals whenever a baby is born with a cleft palate. What a miracle!
Wahoo! Curtains! Friday afternoon we went to the mission office and picked up curtains for the 3 windows in our house that still need to be covered. It will be nice to sit in the house at night and not wonder who/what may be peering in the windows at us.
Yesterday afternoon we attended the World Wide Training that was given about the new handbooks. President Packer was missed. We do hope he is doing okay. He’s not as young as he used to be.
Last night was stake conference. We had planned to go, but the Elders’ Quorum President had called and said he had a friend who wanted “the elders” to come and dedicate his new house. It was to be at 6 pm so we figured we would make there and to conference. Well, it turned out to be the “friend of a friend.” They are Filipino. They didn’t get started until 7 and had a ton of food set out for everyone who attended. (I understand that is typical of Filipino gatherings.) Alvin, the Elders’ Quorum president’s friend turned out to be Roy Nicomedes, also a member from the Philippines, who knew the non-member couple who’d bought the house. He’d had the missionaries teach them before, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. He ran into them again and one thing led to another and there we were, the only Caucasians in a group of at least 30 folks. As part of the meal, they had a small roasted pig. “Eat some of the skin, it’s crispy!” It was an interesting evening.
This morning was Area Conference. It was great. The church leaders acknowledged the floods and cyclones that have hit this area. We heard from Sister Sylvia Allred, Dallin H Oaks, Richard C Scott, and Dieter F Uchtdorf. It was excellent. James, our investigator, came with his daughter and 2 young grandchildren.
After conference, Elder and Sister Orth, the Aussie senior couple came over for lunch. They serve in a branch waaaaaaaaay south of here (5 hours away) that is part of our stake. We had a great visit and compared experiences and families. They are staying at the Crawfords’ place so they will be here for our meetings this week with Ted Callister, our area president.
Tonight we went out to meet a few people on our list. Our final stop was to visit Brother and Sister Tomlinson. The ward had recently fasted for her because she has cancer. Brother Tomlinson greeted us warmly and Orson and he recognized each other from the temple. Sister Tomlinson had breast cancer 3 years ago and was treated for it. She was fine until two months ago when she had terrible back pain. The GP ordered a bone scan because of her history and they found cancer all over her body. She’s still getting around well but is tired a lot. She’s not going to fight it because she took care of her first husband who was sick for 6 ½ years. Brother and Sister Tomlinson met each other when each was first married to their first spouses. There was an attraction, but they let it go because they were both already married. She and her first husband joined the church 40-something years ago. Brother Tomlinson made his living as an opera singer here in Australia. About 4 years ago, each of them was prompted to move back to West Australia. She looked him up in the phone book, called him, and his life changed totally. He’s been baptized, is the music chairman of our ward, and is also a temple worker. It was delightful to listen to their story. Another interesting thing he told us was about his son who was born with a double cleft palate and had 15 surgeries before he was 20 to correct everything. The amazing thing about it is that the son then went on to have his own successful opera career. He’s now the “poster boy” for the Australian hospitals whenever a baby is born with a cleft palate. What a miracle!
NOW THAT'S A HAMBURGER!
February 10, 2011 Wednesday
Yesterday morning we went to teach James Mikaere. He’s the fellow who bore his testimony in church Sunday. He’s really a nice guy and trying hard to change because his 2nd marriage has fallen apart. We reviewed the first lesson about the restoration and especially the Book of Mormon. He hasn’t done a lot of reading even though the elders taught him the 1st and 2nd lessons. But he is solid. He’s trying now to quit smoking and really wants to have a good relationship with his kids. I think his drinking was a big problem for his family. Right at the end of the lesson, his son, Jay, came in. He’s 19 and was friendly. It would be great if we can teach him too. We told James to bring him to church.
Last night we went to the mission leader’s home for dinner and a first discussion with a young man who is engaged to marry a member girl. Dinner was great—Australian hamburgers. They served bread instead of buns and that became a challenge since bread doesn’t hold together as well. Here’s what was there to put on them: thick meat patties, fried eggs, caramelized onions, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, and all the regular mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce that you wanted. They also served fries, but remember that they call them “chips” over here. After dinner we gave Ben the lesson. His girlfriend was there also. He’s a uni student planning to become a math teacher. He took the lesson really well and we felt the spirit as we were teaching. We had to leave right after the lesson, but they stayed and talked about the church with the mission leader and his wife for another hour. They said he was excited to start reading the stuff we’d given him: The Joseph Smith pamphlet, the Restoration Pamphlet, and the Book of Mormon. School starts next week, so he didn’t schedule another lesson, but he did tell them he would see them on Sunday.
This morning we visited Yingping. She was happy to see us. We had called her and offered her a blessing before her test on Saturday. We explained a little bit about it and then Orson gave her the blessing. The spirit there was very strong and she felt it. She always says she feels things but wonders if it’s her imagination. We told her for sure that it was the presence of the Holy Ghost she felt.
Then we went to teach the Sotos, the young couple that was baptized in October and November. What a privilege that was! These two have had just a ton of problems for years. After the birth of their baby 7 years ago, the mom went into a serious depression which combined with his problems made it necessary for them to live with her parents for the first 3 years of their daughter’s life. When they moved out, the daughter stayed with the grandma. Rod had had a lot of contact with Mormons and finally asked for missionaries to visit them. Pauline, who’d had no religious background, just ate it up; it took Rod a little longer because he had been “researching” all the big questions of life for 10 years and had all kinds of theories of his own. But they did recognize it as truth and were baptized. Since they’ve been in the church, they’ve brought their daughter into their home and are loving being parents. Both of them have also started studying to improve their lives. They recognize it as true blessings from the Lord. We spent an hour talking about the first two principles of the first lesson: God is Our Loving Heavenly Father & The Gospel Blesses Families. They just ate up what we talked about. Once again the spirit was incredibly strong and they asked if we could come back to teach them twice a week. (It’s the New Member Lessons that we are doing with them.)
This afternoon we went with Brother Prall to visit a neighbor family of his. They are from Burma and are refugees. The parents are in their 50’s and they have 5 kids. The children are all studying. It was very difficult to communicate with them and eventually everyone except one son wandered off. He spoke English the best. The family is Baptist. There are many Christians in Burma because of the English who ran the country for many years. The country now is controlled by a dictator who has the backing of the army and it is pretty much a communist state. They attend a church here that conducts services in the afternoon on Sundays in a language they all understand. We left a “17 Points of the True Church” with them. It would be very difficult to teach them because of the language barrier. Even talking with and understanding what the son who spoke the best English said was very difficult.
It’s been a good couple of days. The Lord has blessed us so much.
Yesterday morning we went to teach James Mikaere. He’s the fellow who bore his testimony in church Sunday. He’s really a nice guy and trying hard to change because his 2nd marriage has fallen apart. We reviewed the first lesson about the restoration and especially the Book of Mormon. He hasn’t done a lot of reading even though the elders taught him the 1st and 2nd lessons. But he is solid. He’s trying now to quit smoking and really wants to have a good relationship with his kids. I think his drinking was a big problem for his family. Right at the end of the lesson, his son, Jay, came in. He’s 19 and was friendly. It would be great if we can teach him too. We told James to bring him to church.
Last night we went to the mission leader’s home for dinner and a first discussion with a young man who is engaged to marry a member girl. Dinner was great—Australian hamburgers. They served bread instead of buns and that became a challenge since bread doesn’t hold together as well. Here’s what was there to put on them: thick meat patties, fried eggs, caramelized onions, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, and all the regular mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce that you wanted. They also served fries, but remember that they call them “chips” over here. After dinner we gave Ben the lesson. His girlfriend was there also. He’s a uni student planning to become a math teacher. He took the lesson really well and we felt the spirit as we were teaching. We had to leave right after the lesson, but they stayed and talked about the church with the mission leader and his wife for another hour. They said he was excited to start reading the stuff we’d given him: The Joseph Smith pamphlet, the Restoration Pamphlet, and the Book of Mormon. School starts next week, so he didn’t schedule another lesson, but he did tell them he would see them on Sunday.
This morning we visited Yingping. She was happy to see us. We had called her and offered her a blessing before her test on Saturday. We explained a little bit about it and then Orson gave her the blessing. The spirit there was very strong and she felt it. She always says she feels things but wonders if it’s her imagination. We told her for sure that it was the presence of the Holy Ghost she felt.
Then we went to teach the Sotos, the young couple that was baptized in October and November. What a privilege that was! These two have had just a ton of problems for years. After the birth of their baby 7 years ago, the mom went into a serious depression which combined with his problems made it necessary for them to live with her parents for the first 3 years of their daughter’s life. When they moved out, the daughter stayed with the grandma. Rod had had a lot of contact with Mormons and finally asked for missionaries to visit them. Pauline, who’d had no religious background, just ate it up; it took Rod a little longer because he had been “researching” all the big questions of life for 10 years and had all kinds of theories of his own. But they did recognize it as truth and were baptized. Since they’ve been in the church, they’ve brought their daughter into their home and are loving being parents. Both of them have also started studying to improve their lives. They recognize it as true blessings from the Lord. We spent an hour talking about the first two principles of the first lesson: God is Our Loving Heavenly Father & The Gospel Blesses Families. They just ate up what we talked about. Once again the spirit was incredibly strong and they asked if we could come back to teach them twice a week. (It’s the New Member Lessons that we are doing with them.)
This afternoon we went with Brother Prall to visit a neighbor family of his. They are from Burma and are refugees. The parents are in their 50’s and they have 5 kids. The children are all studying. It was very difficult to communicate with them and eventually everyone except one son wandered off. He spoke English the best. The family is Baptist. There are many Christians in Burma because of the English who ran the country for many years. The country now is controlled by a dictator who has the backing of the army and it is pretty much a communist state. They attend a church here that conducts services in the afternoon on Sundays in a language they all understand. We left a “17 Points of the True Church” with them. It would be very difficult to teach them because of the language barrier. Even talking with and understanding what the son who spoke the best English said was very difficult.
It’s been a good couple of days. The Lord has blessed us so much.
LORI MANNERS
February 8, 2011 Tuesday
The first Sunday we were in Thornlie Ward we were introduced to a million people and promptly forgot their names. We were also given the names of 2 women who lived in a care center in the ward. The elders had told us about them and that we needed to visit them once a week. Today we were out chasing down inactives and referrals and came to the names of the 2 ladies on the list. We were close by the center so we went. We asked for them at the front desk. Maria Bykowski had gone out to lunch with her daughter, but the receptionist offered to take us to visit Lori. (Her name on the ward list is Lorraine.) She asked us if we’d visited Lori before and we told her we hadn’t. She said Lori is her favorite. Lori was lying down when we got to her room, but a nurse went in to wake her and then beckoned us in. As soon as we saw her we realized we had met her the first Sunday and that Lori had born her testimony last Sunday. And she is memorable!
Lori can’t talk. It appears she’s had her voice box removed because of cancer. She’s about 73 or so, skinny as a rail, walks with a walker, and as happy and animated as anyone you can imagine. She always has some gauze around her neck. I assume it’s to cover her tracheotomy. She jumped up out of bed and greeted us, moved a chair to the other side of the bed so we could sit by each other for the visit. She then disappeared into her bathroom for about 5 minutes and when she came out, she was fully dressed with jewelry on. She told us she hadn’t been asleep but was using mind control technique to lessen the constant pain she has. When we met her the first time, she had a stenographer’s notebook and a pen so she could write whatever she wanted to “say.” She had written down her testimony and had a member fellow in the ward go up with her to read it. She joined the church in 2004 and says that has made all the difference to her in the world. Her room is a mass of photos on the wall plus 3 beautiful oil portraits. We commented on one of them of a young dark girl with a tear on her cheek. Lori indicated we should take the picture down and turn it around. She had painted it while she was in Bali as a nurse years and years ago. Another picture was of her granddaughter at age 18. Lori was born in Queensland (northeast Australia) and moved around a lot with her family. Later she married and moved around some more. Her husband was a “playboy.” She stayed with him as long as her kids were around, but then she left him. She’s had cancer 7 times pretty much everywhere. She was very depressed and tried to commit suicide before she found the church. We weren’t able to find out how that came about, but we will next time. She likes to have her picture taken with the missionaries who visit her so she told us to bring our camera next time. She likes to read; she had a lot of books in her room. On her wall there were lots of pictures of her seven grandkids and then a bunch of pictures of a young family with 3 kids. It’s the family of the missionary who taught her the Gospel. He has stayed in touch with her and keeps her updated about him and his family. She told us he called her his “Aussie Mom” because his own mom had died just two weeks before he had left on his mission. She wants us to stay longer the next time we come. She even grabbed her walker and “walked” us out to our car. We figure time spent visiting her will be as much good as doing the crossword puzzles with the patients at the nursing home in Broome.
Today we also met Les Child. He’s 55-60 and married to a member. He has a testimony of the church, but smoking is holding him back. He flat out says he will be baptized when he quits smoking which he will do “when the time is right.” He says that when he’s baptized he will “take out an ad in the Ensign” so all the missionaries who’ve visited him over the years will know that he’s finally done it. It’s a 2nd marriage for both of them. He’s a good guy—born in England and came here 25 years ago. He raised his two kids on his own.
There just seems to be good people everywhere. We’re happy to be able to get acquainted with and learn from them.
The first Sunday we were in Thornlie Ward we were introduced to a million people and promptly forgot their names. We were also given the names of 2 women who lived in a care center in the ward. The elders had told us about them and that we needed to visit them once a week. Today we were out chasing down inactives and referrals and came to the names of the 2 ladies on the list. We were close by the center so we went. We asked for them at the front desk. Maria Bykowski had gone out to lunch with her daughter, but the receptionist offered to take us to visit Lori. (Her name on the ward list is Lorraine.) She asked us if we’d visited Lori before and we told her we hadn’t. She said Lori is her favorite. Lori was lying down when we got to her room, but a nurse went in to wake her and then beckoned us in. As soon as we saw her we realized we had met her the first Sunday and that Lori had born her testimony last Sunday. And she is memorable!
Lori can’t talk. It appears she’s had her voice box removed because of cancer. She’s about 73 or so, skinny as a rail, walks with a walker, and as happy and animated as anyone you can imagine. She always has some gauze around her neck. I assume it’s to cover her tracheotomy. She jumped up out of bed and greeted us, moved a chair to the other side of the bed so we could sit by each other for the visit. She then disappeared into her bathroom for about 5 minutes and when she came out, she was fully dressed with jewelry on. She told us she hadn’t been asleep but was using mind control technique to lessen the constant pain she has. When we met her the first time, she had a stenographer’s notebook and a pen so she could write whatever she wanted to “say.” She had written down her testimony and had a member fellow in the ward go up with her to read it. She joined the church in 2004 and says that has made all the difference to her in the world. Her room is a mass of photos on the wall plus 3 beautiful oil portraits. We commented on one of them of a young dark girl with a tear on her cheek. Lori indicated we should take the picture down and turn it around. She had painted it while she was in Bali as a nurse years and years ago. Another picture was of her granddaughter at age 18. Lori was born in Queensland (northeast Australia) and moved around a lot with her family. Later she married and moved around some more. Her husband was a “playboy.” She stayed with him as long as her kids were around, but then she left him. She’s had cancer 7 times pretty much everywhere. She was very depressed and tried to commit suicide before she found the church. We weren’t able to find out how that came about, but we will next time. She likes to have her picture taken with the missionaries who visit her so she told us to bring our camera next time. She likes to read; she had a lot of books in her room. On her wall there were lots of pictures of her seven grandkids and then a bunch of pictures of a young family with 3 kids. It’s the family of the missionary who taught her the Gospel. He has stayed in touch with her and keeps her updated about him and his family. She told us he called her his “Aussie Mom” because his own mom had died just two weeks before he had left on his mission. She wants us to stay longer the next time we come. She even grabbed her walker and “walked” us out to our car. We figure time spent visiting her will be as much good as doing the crossword puzzles with the patients at the nursing home in Broome.
Today we also met Les Child. He’s 55-60 and married to a member. He has a testimony of the church, but smoking is holding him back. He flat out says he will be baptized when he quits smoking which he will do “when the time is right.” He says that when he’s baptized he will “take out an ad in the Ensign” so all the missionaries who’ve visited him over the years will know that he’s finally done it. It’s a 2nd marriage for both of them. He’s a good guy—born in England and came here 25 years ago. He raised his two kids on his own.
There just seems to be good people everywhere. We’re happy to be able to get acquainted with and learn from them.
INTERESTING FOLKS
February 6, 2011 Sunday
Thursday while we were tracting, we ran into an inactive member. Turns out she wasn’t even on the ward list; she had moved from the Armadale Ward while she was inactive and had become one of the “lost” souls who wanted to remain lost. Cecilia is originally from Chile, separated from her husband and has two daughters. She finally consented to let us return and visit with them on Friday. But when we went back, her car was there, her husband and daughters were there but they all said she wasn’t home and didn’t know when she would be back. We left them the chocolate chip cookies anyway and told them not to give her any. They laughed at that. We’ll try to drop by again.
Saturday morning we had just finished chasing down a bunch of referrals when we got a phone call from the Sotos. They are the family we tried to see last Sunday and got the door slammed in our face. They said they wanted us to drop by right then if we could. So we turned around and went there. They seemed kind of discouraged about a lot of things. They hadn’t had much attention from the ward (HT & VT) since their baptism. We told them we’d give them the new member discussions and they seemed happy about that. They asked Orson to give the prayer before we left. Bro Soto called later to say they had both felt “something” really strong while he was praying. They didn’t seem to remember us from last Sunday—I guess they really had thought we were J-dubs.
This morning we went to visit some folks the bishop wanted us to see. We finally got in at the last home. The wife is a member but has been less active for a long time. They have 3 daughters. The oldest is YW age and is being fellowshipped by them. Sister Mihaere said we could come back and teach them. Her daughters’ last name is different from hers, so we think she may not be married to their dad. “De facto relationship” is what they call it here.
James Mikaere came to church. He’s a fellow the elders had taught a couple of lessons. He seems to know half the ward. He was married to the granddaughter of the Preedys who are in our ward. Near the end of testimony meeting, he went up and told folks he thinks this is the right church and he’s been able to quit drinking. During Sunday School, he did let us know that he doesn’t want to be baptized for a year so he can “get everything down.” He seems like a really good guy and has been attending church for a month or so now.
Thursday while we were tracting, we ran into an inactive member. Turns out she wasn’t even on the ward list; she had moved from the Armadale Ward while she was inactive and had become one of the “lost” souls who wanted to remain lost. Cecilia is originally from Chile, separated from her husband and has two daughters. She finally consented to let us return and visit with them on Friday. But when we went back, her car was there, her husband and daughters were there but they all said she wasn’t home and didn’t know when she would be back. We left them the chocolate chip cookies anyway and told them not to give her any. They laughed at that. We’ll try to drop by again.
Saturday morning we had just finished chasing down a bunch of referrals when we got a phone call from the Sotos. They are the family we tried to see last Sunday and got the door slammed in our face. They said they wanted us to drop by right then if we could. So we turned around and went there. They seemed kind of discouraged about a lot of things. They hadn’t had much attention from the ward (HT & VT) since their baptism. We told them we’d give them the new member discussions and they seemed happy about that. They asked Orson to give the prayer before we left. Bro Soto called later to say they had both felt “something” really strong while he was praying. They didn’t seem to remember us from last Sunday—I guess they really had thought we were J-dubs.
This morning we went to visit some folks the bishop wanted us to see. We finally got in at the last home. The wife is a member but has been less active for a long time. They have 3 daughters. The oldest is YW age and is being fellowshipped by them. Sister Mihaere said we could come back and teach them. Her daughters’ last name is different from hers, so we think she may not be married to their dad. “De facto relationship” is what they call it here.
James Mikaere came to church. He’s a fellow the elders had taught a couple of lessons. He seems to know half the ward. He was married to the granddaughter of the Preedys who are in our ward. Near the end of testimony meeting, he went up and told folks he thinks this is the right church and he’s been able to quit drinking. During Sunday School, he did let us know that he doesn’t want to be baptized for a year so he can “get everything down.” He seems like a really good guy and has been attending church for a month or so now.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
February 2, 2011 Wednesday
Yesterday morning we started up the tracting process here in Thornlie. Right off the bat, we ran into an ex-Mormon. She was about our age. Her mother had been in the Salvation Army and this woman had loved it. Her mom converted to the Mormons and took her kids with her. This woman hated leaving what she had loved so much. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven her mother for that. She was nice enough to talk to but certainly NOT interested in hearing from us.
We went to Michelle’s house in the afternoon to meet her kids and check on how she was doing. The kids are 8 and 11 and really great. We took our big set of dominoes and taught them to play “Chickenfoot.” They loved it and especially when the younger brother beat the rest of us. We challenged them to start family prayer and personal prayers.
In the evening we went to ward council. It was good. The RS president is an American who served in Brisbane on a mission 15 years ago. She ended up marrying her DL! But so what—I’m married to my DL too;o) We were able to bring up a couple of things that needed attention from the ward. The ward mission leader wasn’t there, so it was up to us.
This morning we both went to our first mission Leadership Training meeting. It was good. President Cahoon spoke about hope and not getting discouraged. The ZLs gave some good training. Lunch was pizza, salad, and ice cream cones.
Yesterday morning we started up the tracting process here in Thornlie. Right off the bat, we ran into an ex-Mormon. She was about our age. Her mother had been in the Salvation Army and this woman had loved it. Her mom converted to the Mormons and took her kids with her. This woman hated leaving what she had loved so much. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven her mother for that. She was nice enough to talk to but certainly NOT interested in hearing from us.
We went to Michelle’s house in the afternoon to meet her kids and check on how she was doing. The kids are 8 and 11 and really great. We took our big set of dominoes and taught them to play “Chickenfoot.” They loved it and especially when the younger brother beat the rest of us. We challenged them to start family prayer and personal prayers.
In the evening we went to ward council. It was good. The RS president is an American who served in Brisbane on a mission 15 years ago. She ended up marrying her DL! But so what—I’m married to my DL too;o) We were able to bring up a couple of things that needed attention from the ward. The ward mission leader wasn’t there, so it was up to us.
This morning we both went to our first mission Leadership Training meeting. It was good. President Cahoon spoke about hope and not getting discouraged. The ZLs gave some good training. Lunch was pizza, salad, and ice cream cones.
SISTER CLINCH
January 31, 2011 Monday
This morning the phone rang, Orson answered it and a little old lady asked, “Where’s the boys?” She had some sandbags she wanted moved. He told her we’d be over. About an hour later, we drove up to a nice middle class home. Sister Clinch greeted us with a handshake and said she was so glad we had come. A few minutes later her home teacher and another brother showed up. She’d called them too. There were only 4 sandbags (big ones). The Kiwi picked up 2 and Orson and the Australian each struggled with their one. Orson asked her what else we could do, and she quickly said she’d like her back yard raked. Thank heavens it was a small area of grass. The home teachers left and we got acquainted with one of the sweetest 87 year olds you’d ever wanted to meet. She was raised in the church, joined the military during WWII, married an American, and gone to California when he finished his tour in Australia. They had 2 daughters. She didn’t like it over there. I’m not sure when they divorced, but she’s been alone a long time. Both her daughters have died of pulmonary fibrosis. She nursed the older one ‘til she died and is now living in her house. Both her daughters spent time in the states and one of her granddaughters married an American dentist and lives in the Salt Lake area somewhere. She says friends describe her as a “tough old bird.” Instead of “tough,” I’d call her “strong.” She said it was hard to cope with her daughters’ deaths, but she’s certainly not bitter. She goes to church when she can and loves to go to the temple when she can get a ride. She totaled her car and now has a “gopher,” a motorized chair to get around. She was raised on a farm up near Hartog Island and was excited to hear about our family “connection” there. Because of her farm background, she enjoys taking care of her yard. She feeds hard boiled eggs to a goanna that lives in the back yard and loves “her” birds. I hope I can be like her when I grow up!
(Hurray—the shelves and drawers in the kitchen are all lined!)
This morning the phone rang, Orson answered it and a little old lady asked, “Where’s the boys?” She had some sandbags she wanted moved. He told her we’d be over. About an hour later, we drove up to a nice middle class home. Sister Clinch greeted us with a handshake and said she was so glad we had come. A few minutes later her home teacher and another brother showed up. She’d called them too. There were only 4 sandbags (big ones). The Kiwi picked up 2 and Orson and the Australian each struggled with their one. Orson asked her what else we could do, and she quickly said she’d like her back yard raked. Thank heavens it was a small area of grass. The home teachers left and we got acquainted with one of the sweetest 87 year olds you’d ever wanted to meet. She was raised in the church, joined the military during WWII, married an American, and gone to California when he finished his tour in Australia. They had 2 daughters. She didn’t like it over there. I’m not sure when they divorced, but she’s been alone a long time. Both her daughters have died of pulmonary fibrosis. She nursed the older one ‘til she died and is now living in her house. Both her daughters spent time in the states and one of her granddaughters married an American dentist and lives in the Salt Lake area somewhere. She says friends describe her as a “tough old bird.” Instead of “tough,” I’d call her “strong.” She said it was hard to cope with her daughters’ deaths, but she’s certainly not bitter. She goes to church when she can and loves to go to the temple when she can get a ride. She totaled her car and now has a “gopher,” a motorized chair to get around. She was raised on a farm up near Hartog Island and was excited to hear about our family “connection” there. Because of her farm background, she enjoys taking care of her yard. She feeds hard boiled eggs to a goanna that lives in the back yard and loves “her” birds. I hope I can be like her when I grow up!
(Hurray—the shelves and drawers in the kitchen are all lined!)
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