Mission Possible Brisbane

It's War. . .  First the case of the Ghost Ants. Here is an idea of their size.  They are very small. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas. They are attracted to food (especially sweets) and water. We first saw them in the bathroom when we arrived in Rockhampton. I thought they were gnats but they didn't fly.  There is nothing more exciting than seeing an ant go in and out of the air holes in our laptop. Or sauntering across the screen of my Ipad. If we are diligent keeping things clean and using pesticides we mostly keep ahead of them. We were over to the church the other day when a church maintenance person was working on the internet.  Elder Wright mentioned that he saw ants in the sacrament preparation area and he said, "Welcome to Queensland".    They especially like to come out at night.  If I get up to go to the bathroom at night I may find myself chasing ants and spraying closets.  We rinse our dishes before putting them in the...

 First Excursion Yes, it is a kangaroo on the beach.  We took a three day trip 5 hours north to Makay area.  At Cape Hillsbourgh State Park kangaroos and wallabys at the crack of dawn come to search for mangrove seeds that the tide brings in.  It was actually worth it just for the Sunrise.  There were about 6 wallabys and 2 kangaroos but it was obvious that they are used to having people come and stare at them.  The park service actually feeds them to keep them coming all year round.  It has become a great tourist attaction. We went with another Senior couple from our district who are from Teton, Idaho.  We walked along the beach and lookes for shells. We decided that since it was half way through our mission we had earned a small trip.  It was very nice. We also went to a sugar cane factory and learned how sugar cane is turned into sugar.  It was interesting. It is already starting to get warmer. The nights are still cool but each week ...

   Brisbane    Australia     Temple I have a testimony that getting new members to the Temple quickly is vital for strenthening their testimonies. A couple of weeks ago we had three new converts fly down to Brisbane to attend the temple for the first time. They went down and back the same day.  They all came home with wonderful feelings about the trip. Patrick Donovan, is about 65 years old.  He has a very bad back.  He is quite tall, about 6 ft 4 inches. His body is very stiff and unflexible.  He has a brother in the ward that has been trying to get him to learn about the church for decades.  Finally he was ready to listen.  Every lesson taught him he just absorbed it like a sponge.  He could not wait to be baptised.  The day of his baptism for some reason the font was not filling up as full as it should be.  Elder Wright and myself felt impressed to have Elder Wright dressed in whites and waiting at the si...

  Today's young missionaries are walking miracles. . .  Last night we had an amazing teaching experience. Sister Hsiao from Taiwan and Sister Sonntag from Boise, Idaho along with Elder Wright and myself met with Valli a man from Zimbabwe, We had met with him once before but he works in the coal mines as a machine mechanic and they work for one or two weeks then are off one or two weeks.  It make it difficult to know when they are available. He was very gracious the first time we met met him and he seemed interested. Last night we showed up at his flat and he had invited 4 other men, flat mates or friends, to join the discussion.  So we are teaching 5 men.  They were very engaged and nodded as the sisters talked.  They taught them a lesson on the restoration.  Valli basically encouraged them to consider what was presented. It was one of those lessons where it was spirit driven and each person during the lesson knew exactly what to say and when to say it...

Here is my picture with Elder Benar. . . . Well, with Elder Bednar and a couple of hundred of our friends. (Back row, right side, just in front of Elders on the Stage) It was quite an experience. We all get in our places then Elder Bednar and his wife, mission leaders, area seventy, etc. come in and a photographer standing on the top rings of a tall ladder takes a few pictures. Elder Bednar and those who came with him leave.  I would say they have done this a few time, LOL. They know exactly how to organize things to go as smooth as possible. We had a three hour meeting conducted by Elder Bednar. The meeting was very much geared for the young missionaries but wonderful for us all. He is truly a master teacher.  He is also pretty funny. We got to see a different side of him than conference talks. Much of the time was taken up with Elder Benar taking questions asked by the missionaries. He told us all to not to try and take detailed notes but write down what we felt the Spirit w...

European discovery and colonization  Captain James Cook did not "discover" Australia in the sense of being the first human to see it. He was the first European to chart and map the eastern coastline of the continent. In 1770, while on his first voyage, he and his crew, including the botanist Joseph Banks, made landfall near Point Hicks and then sailed north, charting the coastline and eventually claiming the eastern portion for Great Britain, which he named New South Wales. After European arrival in Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations experienced a drastic decline due to disease, violence, and the loss of their traditional lands and way of life. European settlement resulted in a population reduction of up to 90% between 1788 and 1900.  "...without laying claim to this country by conquest, without even pleading the mockery of cession or the cheatery of sale, we have unhesitantly entered upon, occupied, and dispossed of its lands sprea...