13 February 2012

We’re in Albany this week.  I have to give the Gospel Doctrine lesson this week, so I’m preparing for that.  My companion has been working on his Institute lesson. 

 It’s hard not to be discouraged!  It really takes effort not to be negative when people miss their appointments with us.  We spend so much time and effort to prepare, and sometimes go far out of our way to make the appointments!  My husband always gives them the benefit of the doubt, because he is so positive.  But, being a more negative person, I want to believe otherwise, if you know what I mean.  This is the essence of missionary work, and I should expect it.

Today we went to the op shops to look for bottles for the bottle band.  We also found some nice wine bottles at the local restaurant.  Elder Ashby is now washing them out to practice with tonight at Branch Presidency Meeting.  We met a nice couple about our own age at one of the op shops, but he wouldn’t let us come to explain our religion to him.  So I suggested that E. Ashby invite him to join their bottle band!  He and his wife are very nice, and enjoy friendship with many of our members.  So we’ll see…

Albany Branch has discontinued Fast Breakers.  I must have been mistaken to think that was a good idea…But they still have one Sunday a month when they serve something after the block so that members can socialize together before they head home.  In cold weather it is soup that they serve, in warm weather, ice cream.  It’s really nice, I think and makes for more of a family feeling among them.  I noticed that the Perth wards have the same tradition, and so does Bridgetown.  They (the members in Bridgetown) do it in an especially nice way, in that they arrange the chairs in a circle around the food tables, and have a blessing before they begin.

I talked to some of the members this week about Aussie feelings toward Americans.  They all agreed that there is a fair amount of resentment toward us in general because everything that comes out of America has always been bigger and better.  Even in the church, some wonder why the restoration had to happen there, and not in their own country.  Now they seem to take almost a gloating attitude because of the problems in America, economic and otherwise.  They don’t say it.  I just feel it.  One sister said that she noticed that Americans seem unaware of other people than themselves; another sister answered that she could see why that would be so, seeing how they have just what they need all around them, and that the country is so big and so populated, a world in itself, so to speak.

We’ve enjoyed watching the world news here.  They seem to report it in a far greater depth than we can get from the major networks in the U.S.  Because of the fast dialect here, we have trouble keeping up, but we still enjoy watching.  We also learn much from the many interesting TV programs, which are often stories about people around the world, and the way they live.  Even the weather reports here show forecasts for every part of the globe, not just AU.  There are news reports in several languages, and originating from several countries.  We can even see Al Jazeera reports!  I guess that’s because there are so many nationalities now in AU. 

It has only been since the 1950s that Australia would allow these countries to come here!  Before that, the policy was “All White Australia!”  When China threatened to take some of this great empty expanse of land after WWII, Aussies decided to encourage populating the country, but they limited it to white, blonde, and beautiful people.  They purposely made immigration difficult for other nationalities.  When that policy finally changed, under great political duress, people poured in from all over the world, except America, I think.