WEEK 5

We have been here 5weeks yesterday!  It's a bit hard to believe.  We have learned SO much and of course have much left to learn.  The computer is still a bit daunting, but Ray is going like crazy on it and has his part about down!  No one is surprised, I know.  There are still new levels and parts of the website to conquer, but we will!

 Last Saturday, May 17th, we drove about 90 minutes to see tha kangaroos!  It was our celebration for being here a month and was the first Saturday we hadn't gone into the office. It was such fun!  We went alone and it was like an ordinary outing on an ordinary Saturday and we enjoyed the whole day!  

They were so great, lined up along the road on both sides like a welcoming committee!  You just have to love them!

We noticed along the way that their are few American food chains here.  The only ones we've seen are McDonalds ( which seem more plentiful than back home) KFC, Dominoes and Outback.  We may find others, but that's pretty small compared to what you all have.  There are others of course, but they aren't recognizable and have a bit of a strange taste to some things.  Don't worry though, we eat anything but lamb, pretty much.  You know us!

Last Monday night we went to a real rugby game and sat in a box.  A lady from down in the service center had offered tickets to the couple missionaries and we all snapped them right up!  It was such fun! We went with 4 other couples and one brother, whose wife was in Utah.  Those players are SO fierce with each other and no helmets or pads.  It's like they go after the necks.  But it turned out to be one of those games where the home team came from way behind and won in the last quarter.  We got lots of food in the box that was catered.  Lamb Curry.  (Only in Australia.)  I had some and it wasn't bad actually. Just not JAZZ food.

I read a conference talk from April Conference this morning.  It's called 'Your Four Minutes' by Bishop Stevenson.  I remember hearing it, in April and liking it, but we weren't in Australia then and our mission hadn't started.  It took on new meaning to me here.  We have less than 17 months out of 18 left and that is amazing.  Want to just get out there and make it count!  

We love you all, and love each other. This work is awesome.  Their are public affairs people all over this country trying to get the word out through social media of what the Church really stands for.  Which in a nut shell means, "We Follow Jesus Christ".  We know that, but the world doesn't.  We are sending a letter out to a reporter this week to correct her misconceptions about the Mormons being exactly like Big Love. She honestly believes we are the polygamists and they are us!  Oh, there is so much misinformation!  Send out those LDS articles and videos on twitter and Facebook and the like.  It's the TIME for that.  Who knows how many we could touch! I have a twitter account.  Now I just need to use it.  Stay safe everyone, and keep in touch!

Week 4

We have been here a month!  Today!  Training and learning goes on daily, then we come the next day and have to learn part of it all over again.  We are old for sure!  We are in a bit of a hurry as our boss leaves for a week next Momday, and two weeks after that, he's on vacation till past the middle of September, so it would be SO good if we can do a fair bit ourselves. We love Australia's idea of vacation time here.

Last Wednesday we went to a suburb here and helped serve the missionaries for Zone Conference.  It was a fun experience and a great change from the office.  Those young missionaries come with such enthusiasm and spirit and also great appetites!  They are AWESOME!  Now may be a good time to correct a mistake I made when we blogged about Stake Conference.  We said the missionaries were almost totally islanders.  As it turns out, the missionary choir was chosen specifically for our stake, because our stake is mostly islanders.  The missionary force here is about half and half and absolutely wonderful!

Last Monday night we had another family home evening with the senior couples and Elder Halack from the area presidency spoke and his wife. It was really wonderful, the spirit was strong and we felt privileged just to be there..We sat there thinking how lucky we are to be on a mission.!  So inspite of very long learning days and , a bit of a bad back and unfamiliar grocery items and the like, there is always such sweet assurance that we belong here for now.  We are grateful for that.  We think those assurances come so often to us because we still, really, really need them, and because family and friends are still praying for us!  THANK YOU!

We will include a group shot here soon from that evening. the couple on our right in the photo (pink shirt) are the Moores who are in the same office building as us.The couple on the other side are the Halacks.  The couple second from the left are the Achibalds, the legal couple.  They and the Moores are the people who took us to Manly Beach when we were first here!  (That is all such a blurr now). The couple to the left are the Barrs, the temple President and Matron.  We love them!  The mission presidents wife is the one with the rust bottom on her skirt and the President behind her.

Just wanting you to be able to picture (pun intended) the people we talk about from time to time. We love you all and miss your faces and our relationships with you.

Weeks 2 and 3

We went to church today, May 4th,  at our new ward for the first time. Our block time starts at 11:00a.m. We are members of the Ropers Cross Ward, about 40 minutes from our house. Many of the people are from Samoa. One of the brothers bore his testimony in his own language, and we couldn't understand a word, but it was still beautiful. There is also a Samoa Gospel Doctrine class and an English speaking one. We are both at opposite ends of the cultural hall, and I'd like to say that the Samoa class seemed to sound a lot more lively than ours!

It's great to sit in a chapel across the world and feel the very same spirit and sing the same songs. I know other people have experienced this, it's nothing new, but it's still pretty amazing.

Have to tell you about a Testimony in Relief Society. A YSA bore her testimony and told of an experience when she was 18. She worked with a girl who was Catholic. The catholic girl gave her a cross necklace for her 18th birthday. She graciously said thank you and thought OK! So when it was the Catholic girls birthday, she gave her a Book of Mormon, thinking it was a fair trade. Eight months later, when they were no longer working together, the girl called her and asked her if she would come to her baptism. She was very surprised. So she attended. A few weeks later, the (past)Catholic girl came to see her had brought HER a new Book of Mormon. She said, "this book changed my life. I wonder if you have read it." The Mormon girl was chagrined to say that she really hadn't. The girl said, "I sensed when I saw you at my baptism that you were different and needing something". So she took the book and bore her testimony today that she was reading it all the way through for the first time, and working her way back to being completely active again, as she had started to slide away after she graduated from high school! I thought that was an amazing sort of double conversion story. I didn't see the end coming. She was sitting with other YSA's during the lesson so I thought she was probably a VERY active member who had been a good missionary. I loved it!

We've had a good week. Busy and a little stressful work wise, but a good one. Fall is coming here and the temps are dropping a bit. Glad we came when we did, it was nice to enjoy those beautiful days while we were just beginning the adjustment.

Standing in front of our Ward building Sunday May 4th

We made it to Sydney. We are getting used to our little home and can hear the birds outside singing all of the time. We have met so many kind missionaries who already feel like friends.

It is our first Monday in the mission, we're going to try and recap our first week! We made it to Sydney. The flight was great and the plane was large and awesome. We slept on the plane more than we thought we would and that was a wonderful blessing! We arrived at the Sydney airport Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. President and Sister Howes picked us up. We had absolutely no problem with customs and just zipped through! The Howes dropped us off at the office here and we got our keys to the house and a tag that let's us into the office and our gate at home. We don't remember a lot of that day, but people were very kind. We hope to repay that to another couple some day. The Moores, a couple from North Salt Lake who are our office buddies, who have been here since October, took us to lunch and dropped us back at the house. We un-packed, as we were cautioned not to sleep, and then they brought us to dinner at their home! So kind. Then we came home and crashed, I think we were asleep by 8:00 and slept till 4:30 or 5:00.

The next day, Thursday, is also a bit of a blur, but at least we looked somewhat normal. Spent the day at the office, working with people in SLC to get us set up on our computer. We had a meeting with Alan Wakely, who is our boss here and a full time employee of the church. Got our assignments! We have a lot to learn here but know that it is line upon line.

Friday we came in to the office again and just tried to make some head way. It was our most normal day yet. I put chicken in crockpot in the morning, and we had dinner at home here. We watched something on the iPad and went to bed. 7:00 again. But it works.

Saturday, the Moores and Archibald's (the attorney here) took us on an outing! We took the River Cat to Manly Beach, saw the sights (every thing was open there) had fish and chips and came home. It was a long but wonderful day. We were exhausted that night as we didn't get back till after 7:00. I think we sort of fell into bed! But the day was a blessing!

Sunday we went to church at the Moores ward as we aren't driving as yet. Then came home and made Sunday dinner and went to the service center (downstairs from our office there is a large conference room and kitchen and entertaining area) and had a meeting with John Cuniff who is the area Public Affairs director for North South Wales. There were all of the PA directors from wards and stakes here and it was a pretty full room, plus conference call. Then we went to the Roberts apartment for a late Easter Dinner,it was fun to meet all the couples. Came home and dropped into bed.

Monday, still a holiday, we went into the office and worked for a bit. Soon we are off to go on a drive with the Archibald's and Moores, to pick some apples and have lunch near the Blue Mountains. I think everyone is trying to keep us from going nuts, and we are grateful.


 

Pictures of us at the office

The pouch address for the mission is:


Elder Ray and Sister Pat Allen
Australia Mail Pouch
Public Affairs Department
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
P.O. Box 30150
Salt Lake City, Utah
84130-0150


Cards or letters only, regular U.S. postage stamp

Home in Australia

These are pictures of our new home when we get to Sydney!  It makes us excited as it looks like a cottage from a movie.  It's located right next to the homes of the temple president and the mission president, so we know we'll be in good company. 

Our address is: 

Elder Ray and Sister Pat Allen

756 Pennant Hills Road

P.O. Box 2723

Carlingford, NSW 2118

Australia

 

We will also post the pouch address soon.  It is much less expensive to send letters that way.  We would love to hear from you.

The Beginning - April 14, 2014

These are some of the significant dates before our departure.
Call Arrived- November 7, 2013
Non-Farewell- March 23, 2014
MTC- April 7-11, 2014
Leave for Sydney April 14, 2014

A note about our farewell: We had SO many wonderful people attend.  Ward friends, old friends, new friends and best of all family!  It was so great to feel everyone's love and support!  It gave us a spiritual boost and helped us get through those daunting talks! Most notable were our long time friends the Robinsons, coming from St. George.
 Our daughter and son-in-law and kids came the next week, March 29 to spend Spring Break, and that was a boost as well!
We are excited and scared as we embark on this adventure, but we know we will have heavenly help along the way. Our love to everyone who has been so kind.