Beautiful December

I don't know what we have done to deserve it but we have had the best weather for December. This year the weather has been in the mid and upper 80's. Last year at this time it was in the high 90's and felt over 100 degrees. I'll take it. The trees, bushes and fruit are in full bloom. Mango's come in multiple varieties and each tastes a little different. Grapes will be next. Their grapes are delicious.I continue to be amused by the signs they have here. On the side of the truck it cautions people to stay a safe distance behind other by counting 1 Barramundi, 2 Barramundi, 3 Barramundi. Barramundi is a favorite and plentiful fish in Queensland area. I apologize. I am having trouble with this blog format. It is a little late in our mission to be looking for another one.

Liquor here is sold in a bottle shop. No liquor is sold in grocery stores. They make it very convienent as you can see they have drive-thru lanes. They also have a beer brand called XXXX. When I first got here I thought they were X rated video or book stores. I was glad to find out they weren't. The next picture is of a postal worker vehicle. They range in size from motorcycles to golf cart sized. They are very bright and they drive any where they want to, on lawn sor footpaths (sidewalks).

All tradies (blue collar workers) specifically those who work out doors wear brightly colord clothing with reflective stripes on them. This more than anything else is Australia to me. I want Elder Wright to bring one home. They come in pink, blue, yellow, green and other flourescent colors. You see them everywhere, flying on planes, shopping in the grocery store and of couse, working.

We continue to love the work and the people. For the most part the Australians are friendly and kind. The members of the church are wonderful. I really believe that you could go anywhere in the world and find wonderful members of the Church. We had a new baptisim last week. Once again it is a worker from Papua New Guinea. He is here without his family working in a salt factory. They drain ocean water into shallow pools and they let the sun evaporate the water and leave the rock crystals. It is hard physical labor but they are happy to do it. They are just glad to have a job. In P&G it is hard to find a job. Usually they sign a contract for 4 years. Often they are very humble men and lonely. It has been a pleasure to help teach them. Fredric, our new convert, is bringing many of his roomates with him when he comes to church. The joy of being here is being able to talk about and testify of Jesus Christ and his gospel multiple times weekly. Sometimes multiple times a day. The sisters are amazing. We currently have a threesome but this is unusual. Next transfer with probably have us back to 4 sisters.