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!!