12 October 2011

We had another long training session this morning with the Orths--the last one before they leave us.  They did this in segments so as not to overwhelm us, and now we understand why.  This morning the topic was Bridgetown, the little branch about 45 minutes from here which we will be visiting one weekend every month.  We went through all the members and non- for which we will have care.  They discussed the specific things each family needs, etc., and what we will be doing during the 4 or 5 days we spend there each month.  We do have freedom to do what we feel is needed; they are merely giving us the information on what they have done so that we can understand the situation better when we do go in.  One of the problems is that the little town of Denmark is included in the branch, and the people there cannot afford to make extra trips to Bridgetown if we should want to do an institute class or something.  There aren't many members in each place, and some have been excommunicated or offended by judgements in the past.  We have to work with them carefully.  The programs we take for granted at home are hard to get set up here because of the distances, scarcity of members and their lack of understanding of church policy, let alone their need for instruction in doctrine.  Few have strong enough testimonies to keep coming when the meetings are not uplifting and when there are no members their age, etc.  Even if they had a witness once, many have forgotten what that feels like. 

Albany has been greatly improved with the Orths over the last 18 months.  Attendance here has increased from about 40 to over 80 lately.  We have mostly been trying to win the trust of these members so far.    We have visited many of the older members, which make up the majority of this branch, and find them delightful.  Many have nonmember spouses with whom we are trying to make friends too.  We are going to have the Young Ones over to our flat for a movie night on the 21st to get better acquainted with them.  One of the young married girls brought me a bouquet of balloons the other day when I was down with back spasms.  It's like they are hungry for acceptance and love, and they get that from the church.  We represent the church to them.  The Lord is reaching out to them individually through us!  What a privilege to be a missionary!

Elder Ashby has been studying a lot today for his institute class tonight.  I prepared my dinner for tonight and came upstairs to write this while he finishes up.  We are feeling more and more comfortable in Albany now.  I help him by watching the map when he drives, and we can even go to some places without the map!  It's always startling to me to see the sea so close.  The missionaries all want to come to Albany some day.  It's much cooler in the summer than Perth or Broom, and we have so many attractions here to see, especially when we drive to Bridgetown.  We can take a scenic route home and see the sights at Augusta and other places on the shore.  I'm excited about that. 

I want to tell you about the fruits and vegetables here.  They are the most beautiful, perfect specimens you can imagine!  The carrots, for example are a beautiful deep orange, full and smooth with no blemishes at all.  The potatoes are smooth and white; you almost don't have to even wash them.  I bought a large head of lettuce when we first came (what's that, about 10 days?) and it is still just as crisp and bright green as the day I bought it!  There are very few pests here, due to the strict rules about bringing in any kind of food products.  You can't even have things mailed to you here from America because of contaminants!  To me, everything tastes wonderful.  We did buy a Brita water filter for our drinking water because of the high iron and the taste.  And they don't know how to do real butter, which is probably better for me anyway.  But ice cream gets A+!

I was so glad to get emails from some of you.  Ray has been wondering how his cub scouts are doing, and the ward members.  I was so glad to hear from Joe McBride and Marge Boswell, and my cousin, Brenda Dart.  Do you all realize how blessed we are to live there where the church is so strong?  How much the Lord expects from us in return?  Aren't we ungrateful servants sometimes?  I am humbled by the good saints who are so faithful in spite of so many difficulties.  Many of these members have children who have gone astray, or spouses who don't want to join with them in the wonderful blessings of a gospel home.  One sister and her husband were disowned by their families in Ireland, but she said to me, "Well, when you have a testimony..."  So they moved here to Australia and haven't seen anyone from their families since.

We love you!