Remarkable Rob

This post is dedicated to Rob.  He deserves it.  

He is so supportive of his Missionary Dad and Mom.  He willingly takes the  90 minute bus ride  to school when I have emergencies and can't drive him there.  (He always takes the bus home from school.)  

He loves each missionary and joins with his Dad in the birthday phone call, where Rob and President Lindsay sing Happy Birthday to each missionary on their Birthday. 

He studies really hard.

He is an awesome sax player and is in WAYJO (Western Australia Youth Jazz Orchestra), which his mother will add is a very big deal.  He loves it.

He can stand up quite a while on a surf board, and even makes a tricky turn or two.

He turned l6 and was ordained a Priest by his father.

I love to listen to him bless the Sacrament each Sunday.

This is the set up Rob's friend did for their combined l6th Birthday Party

These are the placemats they made up for the party! Rob will be embarrassed that I put this on, but I was so impressed and I am doing the blog.

Mates

Missionaries

It is amazing to see how quickly mission life moves along.  We welcome new missionaries, we train new missionaries, we bid farewell to missionaries and help them learn and grow in the process.  I always tell them they are "in the middle"!  If a missionary has been here a few weeks, I say, "now that you are in the middle.....".  It becomes even more important when they have only a few weeks before it is time to return home.  As they face challenges, and meet them, their testimonies grow.  It is the miracle of missionary work.

The all important job of weighing the bag before you go home.

Three wonderful Elders.

 The Elder on left in the above photo, went home for emergency surgery and is undergoing chemo therapy. It was a blessing to see how quickly President was able to get him from an outlying area in Western Australia to Utah.  The Missionary Department responded with great speed, arranging the flights, and having a doctor appointment waiting for him.  The Lord loves the missionaries and this was a reminder that we are here to serve them.   We are praying for this dear Elder, and his family.

All the Sisters at a Sisters Training Meeting.  We will double this amount by June or July.

Elder Mata and Elder Ford

Two Amazing Sisters

Welcome to a fabulous group of new missionaries. 

I NEVER get tired of seeing the excitement as missionaries meet their first companion

Senior Missionaries and Assistants are just as excited as the new missionaries

The Malaga Bike Shop pulls up to the Mission Office with ten new bikes!  They are happy to give us 'free delivery'

Ready to ride

Zone leaders plus Sister Trainers

 We are all excited about the new change in Missionary Organization which calls for Sister Training Leaders.  They will go on splits with the other Sisters in the Mission and take a greater role in addressing the needs of Sister Missionaries.  Ideally, there will be a companionship of Sister Leader Trainers in each Zone.  And they will attend what will now be called Mission Leadership Council, replacing, Zone Leader Council.
The above photo was taken at a meeting about one week before the announcement.  President Lindsay (along with many other Mission Presidents, I am sure) saw the need and had asked two Sisters to act as "Sister Leader Trainers" to arrange "splits" for all the Sisters in our Mission.  They made sure that every Sister had a 24 hour exchange with another set of Sisters in the month of March.  It was very organized, structured with goals, and a wonderful opportunity for the Sisters to learn from different Sister Missionaries.

January Mission Tour

The last week in January, Elder Kevin W. Pearson, his wife, June, and their daughter Elizabeth came to Perth to visit our Mission.  They stayed with us in the Mission Home for just under a week.  They were delightful house guests.  They arrived on the week end of Australia Day, so we attended the big Perth celebration at the American Embassy residence which overlooks the city of Perth and the Swan River.  The American Consul General is Alicia Woodward and she is a member of our Ward!  It was really fun to be on her patio, with her invited guests, as well as Robby and the Pearsons.  Earlier that day, Rob went boating and tubing with the Pearsons and Elder Peter Meurs and his son.  Elder Meurs is a legendary Australian who is loved and admired throughout the country, extremely successful, and kind and generous, and is our Area Seventy here in WA.

Just in case one might think all we did was play...not true.  It was a big event for us to have the Pearsons here to teach and train us and all our missionaries.  We held two Zone Conferences, one on Monday in Perth and one on Tuesday in Rockingham.  Missionaries flew, bused, or trained from the 'country' areas.  On Wednesday morning we had a Zone Leader Counsel in the Mission Home under the guidance of Elder Pearson.  We worked hard and learned a lot from the Pearsons.  

The view from the American Embassy home

The Australian flag flying over the river

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 Our Elder on the right is quite clever with card tricks!  He timed this just right, and of course, instead of playing cards he is using pass-along cards!

Megan and Andrew come to Perth!!!!

Megan and Andrew came for five days in January.  It was glorious to be with them and to have family here in our Australian home!  We went to the Beach, to a Wildlife Park, to the great Aquarium at Hillary Harbor, attended a baptism together, visited Freemantle Port, and checked out Rob's school.  Rob loved playing games and talking with Andrew and Megan.

Brave Andrew, Brave Megan, mom

 

"I'm not petting a kangaroo"

Cute Koala

The Perth Temple

Freemantle

Fish and Chips in Freemantle

The ONLY way to see a shark

January - Week one and two

Farewell to Elder Webley, a great friend and mentor to Rob and an outstanding missionary

 

Rob will miss Elder Webley

Farewell to Elder Robertson, the happiest, hardworking missionary you will ever meet

'We are as the army of Helanman...'

Two of these Sisters had their first baptisms the Saturday before this departure photo.  The new members and the two Sisters were literally full of 'light'

It is always happy and emotional when a new missionary meets their first companion/trainer

Esperance - Bruce, Robby, and I drove down to this very beautiful part of Western Australia

This family, tow elderly sisters, and the elderly gentleman make up the Esperance 'group' in the Australia Perth Mission.  In his home, Brother Barr and the other gentleman officiate in the Sacrament and the young man assists them. It was a sweet experience for us to attend the Sacrament Meeting in their living room.