April 17, 2011 Sunday
Tonight we went to visit Betty Reeve, an 88 year old widow in the ward. She lives in a “granny flat” with her daughter and family. She’s very active and was one of the members who came up and introduced herself to us on our first Sunday in Thornlie Ward. But, sadly, she has her arm in a sling because she fell outside while hanging up her temple dress to dry and broke her left arm just below the shoulder. Her hair is dyed a soft auburn and she keeps herself up very well. We had a good visit. After they joined the church, her husband was hired to work construction for the church here in Australia. They moved all over, even living in a trailer while building the chapel in Geralton. They had 3 children. One, a little girl who died in an accident, they found out was learning the gospel before they even knew about the church. Betty’s husband’s boss was LDS. They used to invite her daughter over once a week. She would come home with pictures she’d colored and scripture verses. It wasn’t until they later joined the church that Betty realized the family was doing “home Primary” and her little girl was attending. She told us when missionaries came to their door, she told them she was busy ironing. They told her one of them would iron while the other visited with her. It worked! She’s been a member 50 years.
When Betty let us in, she motioned to where the living room was and indicated it was “the bookstore.” Her daughter, Janine, and husband, Paul, run a local version (in miniature) of Deseret Book. The room had beautiful white book cases all around it on which were tastefully displayed books just like you’d see at home in a Utah store. They have books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, pictures, ties, etc. We wish we’d know about it earlier. We ordered a quad and scripture case for Yingping for her baptism and it still isn’t here. I hope the members here support it. We did a similar thing when we were in Thailand. You don’t make any money off it, but we were able to get a lot of books we wanted at cost.
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Just read all your latest posts. I love hearing about all the people you visit and meet. I wish there was some way to put a face with all the names (at least for me on this end!) Glad you guys were able to watch Conference - even if it was a week late. It really was fabulous wasn't it?! Keep up the good work. We love you!
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