June 23, 2014

Another busy week.  We have no idea where it went.  We have written and had approved, 5 articles.   Feeling so much better about all this computer stuff, but we still struggle and go backwards sometimes,   It is fun to get the good word of the Gospel out, however we can.  For us, that happens to be mormonnewsroom.au. We love searching out the stuff to post, it's like being informed about ONLY the Church ALL the time (at least at the office) and we hope it effects us and others here in Australia in a good way.


Saturday we went to Bondi beach, about 60 minutes away from our place.  We went by ourselves and spent a good 2 hours on the sand watching the ocean and reading.  It felt a great deal like a vacation! We sat in our levis and hats and lots of sun screen.  It IS winter here, but we didn't need a jacket. It was a good retreat!


We came back and dressed up and went to a chapel about 1 hour away from us, to attend and inner faith service project, which one of the Public Affairs leaders in that stake had organized.  It was very interesting.  There were people of the Jewish faith, Muslims, and Latter Day Saints. Some Budists had contributed product, but didn't come.  They were doing projects for an orphanage in Cambodia.  They played one game, which we thought was very inspired.  They had people in a circle, and they could each choose 3 colored blocks out of a bin.  All 3 had to be the same color.  Then they went around the circle, one block at a time, putting them on the table to make a big building.  The first one was asked to think about the word FOUNDATION, before she placed it.  She was probably about 7 years old, and put down the tiniest square that anyone had.  No problem, all the other people built to the side of it.  No blocks made the others tumble, and when it was done, it was an amazing tower, of all colors and shapes. Actually a work of art!


Then of course, the moderator made the point that no matter what color or shape, or what our beliefs, we can always make something beautiful together. Makes you really stop and think how true that is.  ALOT of emphasis here is placed on having inter faith gatherings of any kind.  Trying to show people that different faiths CAN work together.  I think maybe that does more to improve the reputation of the Church here than a lot of other things.  It's great to experience it and hear about them..


We had ward conference yesterday and it was really good. The Stake President talked about how only God knows our potential and how important it is to pay attention to HIS opinion of us, and not other peoples.


The Bishop based his talk on the phrase in "I Am a Child Of God" . . . "Lead me guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way." Very powerful.  Talked about how we should make being close to HIM a priority in our lives so he can bless us.


In the combined adult meeting, the Stake counselor talked about caring for our buildings.  A subject that's really needed in our stake. They feel no responsibility to clean or put trash where it goes.  They'll get it.  They are all fairly new to the church and not yet understanding the concept of it being the Lord's House.


 Then the other counselor talked about budgets in a family. One of his points was a little surprising.  He told parents, when YSA's were saving for a mission, not to raid that fund for other needs.  It must be a problem here in this ward.  Not the usual budget talk from back home, but he did such a good job, used a lot of humor. Then they took a ward picture, which we will put up on the blog when it is sent to us.


All in all, it was a very good block time.


We read a talk Sunday in the June Ensign by Elder Holland.  We love especially the part called "Build Zion Where You Are".  There is a quote there that is especially nice. "In these last days, in our dispensation, we have become mature enough to stop running.  We have become mature enough to plant our feet and our families and our foundations in every nation, kindred tongue and people permanently.  Zion is everywhere-- wherever the Church is. And with that change, we no longer think of Zion as where we will live, but how we will live."
The whole article was so fantastic, that's it's silly to try to pull out a phrase, but that was a good one.  Check it out, it's worth the read!
"How we will live".  That is the quest isn't it?  To remember why we're really here, and whose we really are. And then live it!

June 16th 2014

This last week has been so very fast.  We don't know where it went, but we have been busy! Such delightful stuff.  We have 4 articles ready to put up now, all ones we have written, and already posted 3.

We really are getting the hang of it, and enjoying the process. What a huge blessing!  I don't think we would go back over the last two months for anything, but it sure is worth it to be here at this end. Just like anything else in life . . . gets easier as we do it. And do it!!!  And do it again!!! A metaphor for sure.

We went to lunch last Monday, with the Country Public affairs directors for the church in Australia. Steve and Rosalee Webster. They are just wonderful people.they are the head of the natures sunshine conglomerate, so very well to do.  But very passionate about public affairs and anything that surrounds it.

We are doing a story on Patrice Tipoki Arkins, who is very famous here.  She has a "why I believe "video on LDS.org and and a I'm a Mormon video on the same site.  You should listen to her.  She is playing Fantiene in Les Miserbles in Brisbane.  We got to get some quotes from her and write Up the article for news room.  Great fun, it came together in what we hope is a nice way!

We had a meeting Sunday Evening at the Service Center with all stake and ward and State PA people and it was interesting.  So much talk about the article in the tribune about the women wanting the priesthood and two of them possibly being up for excommunication.  What a mine field.  They were all so worried there would be a zillion calls Monday morning from reporters about this situation and WHY the women can't have the priesthood.  The calls were to all be forwarded to us and the Moores, with very specific guidelines of what to say to them.  But guess what!  No one called.  Not one!  I was glad for many reasons.  I mostly wanted to believe it wouldn't be that big a deal over here, so far from Salt Lake.and it wasn't !

Ray and I had a long talk about this tonight.  He was asking how women felt and how we got to this point of pushing the church, etc.  I told him I thought it probably started out as a good thing, or I hope it did.  Just women wanting more of a voice in correlation meeting, young men young women meetings and the like?  And like every-discontent in these days, it's blown into this huge public spectacle. And saddest of all has gotten angry instead of helpful.

I don 't know about all women, but I wouldn't trade those quiet blessings women are given, for the more visible ones men are given.  For example, child bearing and rearing and being the person to pick them up and haul them around and be their after school and tuck them in bed at night, and listen to their tough times. I can't imagine trading that so I could work all day and shine in a career and hold the priesthood, and give blessings etc.  not me!  Maybe I lack something, but I think I've done the thing I was most suited for when I came here, and I refuse to want more because someone else does,  How often a as mother have we given our own kind of blessing to our kids when they didn't get in the musical or needed stitches, or lost the girlfriend, or didn't make the team.  They weren't preiethood blessings, no.  But it blesses our kids at the time anyway.and it's our own kind of healing using our own God given compassion.

To hold the priesthood?  Nope, it wasn't the plan. I don't understand it, but I will someday, and I can wait.  The Lord loves me as a woman, and appreciates my role, and so do I.  Some answers we won't get in this life.  Sometimes Faith that he loves us, has to be enough.  For men and women.  But I am lifted up by the way Christ treated women when he was on the earth.  There is a lesson there.  Are we listening? Are we learning from that?

We read President Monson's SUNDAY morning, "Love the Essence of the Gospel".talk tonight. Our new favorite conference talk.  40 quotes worthy of Pinterest and to be used as life long words of wisdom.  Here is our current prophet telling us things about TODAY.  Certainly some things in there to apply to the purple pant ladies and the priesthood.  End of soap Box.    

Bless you all, for keeping in touch and praying for us.  We are having a really fine experience.  Sometimes it almost hurts to be so far away from everyone, but that comes and goes, thank goodness!!

Pictures

Vivid Sydney! A light show against the opera house we went to see

More of the Light Show

A flower that grows on a tree outside our office entrance. So amazing, a perfect reminder of who we're working for

The sight that marks our corner as we drive home

June 6, 2014

This week has flown by!  We have put 2 new stories in for approval and have another one in Draft.  That is amazing for one week if you use our past weeks as a measuring stick.  Our boss has been gone now for 2 weeks so we send everything to New Zealand before it can go to the Area President for approval.  Somehow it just works.  We will be without a superior until September 19th.  Talk about the blind leading the blind here, but if we wonder about anything, we just call New Zealand or Salt Lake and there are always quick answers.

We are finding it necessary to say a prayer before we try to do anything important or daunting on the computer.  It works every time!  We are still learning!  This morning we had a web seminar with Salt Lake Public Affairs People.  New computer program to learn!  It was great instruction though and one of us (that being Ray), will be doing great on it by next week.  

The longer we're here in the office, the more we get a real feel for the scope of social media in the Church.  It's so exciting to hear Elder Perry's voice talk about social media and the role of Public Affairs.  Not what we're doing, as we are such a tiny little spec here.  But what the Church is doing world wide with 'Mormon Messages' and 'I'm a Morman' and Bible Videos and Newsroom and Facebook and Twitter etc.  It just takes a few days of going through those things on the websites and seeing new stuff that comes in every week, some times every day from Church Headquarters, not to mention the material that comes to us from Stake and Ward Public Affair Directors.  They are all so busy getting the word out about the Church!  The TRUE word, to dispell all the false ones. Talk about out of obscurity!  It's just very exciting.  Who knew you could feel the spirit of the gospel just sitting at a desk day after day, but we do!

Are we changing anything?  Probably not, but we're involved in our own small way and it just makes us happy to feel part of something great, and true and do it every day!  So different than being out there in the world every day. We are lucky!  Sometimes we think it's the perfect job for us. . . Other times we wonder if we will ever, ever get it all straight in our little tiny minds.

We miss everyone, all the time.  Sometimes we just miss being able to drive on auto-pilot like we all do. We watch very little TV, ever.  There is just nothing to see. We do watch their news pretty regularly because we're suppose to. Not much different than news at home.  Same accidents and killings and missing children and sports stories, just different people their happening to.

We love our family!  No one could ask for better support than they give us in every possible way.  Friends are so loyal, we just hope you all remember us in 16 months!  Love to you all.