Mission Possible Brisbane

The Australian government is very safety conscious.   In fact whomever has the contract for making signs has it made. They have some intimidating signs and some interesting sign.  The sign to the right is intimidating.   The sign to the right will then be followed by measuring stick (indicators).  Some of them can be 8 meters high.  They are important mostly when a typhoon brings torrential rainstorms. The ground cannot absorb the downpours, and it can cause flooding. They also seem to be very worried about drivers falling asleep when driving long distances between towns. I guess it makes its point. I love a road trip. We drove 1 1/2 hours east to Gladstone to check on the Elders flat.  They have not had a senior couple in this area for 6 months or so.  Let's just say that there was room for improvement. The next day we drove 3 hours west to a town called Emerald.  There are 2 elders there and we checked their flat. Even more room for improve...

Some picture of Rockhampton  Some of you have expressed interest in seeing some pictures of our flat.  So here goes.  It is a beautiful flat. It has 3 bedrooms; The 3rd bedroom is really a storage room, and the 2nd bedroom has two twin beds.  We occasionally have missionaries  spend the night. The district we are in has 4 sister missionaries and 4 elders. 4 sisters in Rockhampton, 2 elders in Gladstone, and 2 elders in Emerald.  We work with them and do flat checks once a transfer. {6 weeks} It is an hour and 1/2 drive to Gladstone and a 3 - 1/2-hour drive to Emerald. Rockhampton is four hours from Brisbane. Rockhampton is very pretty.  It has hills, some they call mountains.  We would call them mountains in Ilinois because it is so flat.  Below is a picture overlooking Rockhampton, which the locals call Rocky. Love you all.

The Church of Jessus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same wherever you go in the world. We have been to church here in Rockhampton, Australia twice now.  We sing out of the same songbook, the talks given by members during Sacrament Meeting are strong, scripture laden and from the heart. The doctrine taught is focused on Jesus Christ.  We went to Sunday School and Relief Society/Elders Quorum classes and what is taught comes from the same talks or manuals we would be hearing if we were at home. Because of this there is an instant connection with the members.   We know the Bishop, and his councilors are called of God for this time and in this place. they receive inspiration for their congregation. The members have been very friendly. We have more in common than what we have different in the things that really matter: faith in Christ, a desire to have strong families, and a desire to keep our baptismal covenants, to be more like Jesus and give service to others.

 First kangaroo first miracle Today we saw our first kangaroos. Didn’t want get too close to take the picture or could have scared them away.   We had been asked by one of the sister missionary companionships to join them for a discussion with a friend they have been teaching, Michael. We have only been in the city for a week and really don’t know our way around. We put the address in our GPS and ended up in a very nice neighborhood but no sister’s car around. We were having trouble getting a signal. We called the sisters and told them we were lost. Our GPS was just not working with the address Sister Nielsen sent us. She said they were close to the Uni (University) so we just asked Siri to give us directs to the University. We didn’t even know its name. We thought we could at least be heading to the University while we tried to get the address she sent us into Dave’s phone and try again. We pulled into the University entrance and I said to Elder Wright “just pull over somewhe...

 Luggage .  Seems like a lot but it is for 18 months.  We got pretty good at dragging it all around.  We flew from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia and Sydney to Brisbane.  We stayed near the Mission Office while Elder Wright practiced driving on the left side of the road.  He is doing well although he doesn't think so.  I try to be a good co-pilot and navigator.  I am not ready to try driving yet.  We got some other training, went to the Brisbane temple and then we were sent on to our area. Southampton, Australia a seven-hour drive north from Brisbane.  It is a town of about 79,000 people.  It is called the beef capitol of Australia because they have some processing plants just outside of town.  The locals call the town "Rocky".  They shorten everything.  Our flat (apartment) is very nice.  They don't have central air but have wall mounted air conditioners in the bedroom and living...