October 17th 2014 -- BAPTISM

It is a very cold summer day today, and last night we had 80 km winds and rain all night long! Rain like we have never seen before, even in Florida! Yesterday was the same.  Kind of an odd summer right now.  Pretty sure we will miss these 3 days of weather all too soon.

Last Saturday, October 11th, our grand-daughter Libby was baptized by her dad Spencer.  On August 2nd, our grand-daughter Mia was baptized by her dad Ryan. Those are very important events and close to our hearts! No baptism can ever take the place of a baptism in the family! They matter SO much, even when we can't attend them, they bless our lives and make us happy.

Going along with that, last Friday, October 10th, the Ranasinghe's were baptized.  They are the couple from Shri- Lanka (and their daughter) who became interested in the Church when she (the mom) was walking around the temple grounds 5 months ago and felt profound peace there. There was a question for a while if the father, David, would actually be baptized, as he is out of town 85% of the time, so the discussions were more difficult for him.  What a blessing that the whole family did it together!

It was a very special evening.  Seeing the dad come up out of the water was just amazing!  Prior to the actual baptism, I had a spiritual experience that stays with me even at this minute. The senior missionary men were asked to sing 'How Great Thou Art' in the chapel after the talks. It is Dave Ranasinghe's favorite hymn (mine as well). There were maybe 10 of them who sang, and it was so beautiful.  I watched them,in their suits and ties, (a couple just in white shirts) with their missionary badges and a glow on their faces and listened to those words as if they were brand new.  The spirit was so strong, the sound was extraordinary and it was one of those perfect moments in life. I knew I was so blessed to be there, that I was exactly where I was suppose to be and that the Church is so true that it astounds me, even at my age. The thought that came so strongly was, 'who would have thought, a couple of years ago, that we would be serving a mission in Australia and have an evening like this one?

Watching them was such a testament of the power of the priesthood, you couldn't help but feel that. Also, it was so touching to know that we had come to know and love and respect these men, and that I am fortunate enough to have Elder Allen as my eternal companion. I was so proud of him in that moment and so in love with him.  How does that still happen after 46 years? 

This is probably the only baptism we will witness while we are here, but we are grateful, and it was enough.

We are so busy, it is a true blessing.  Stories just seem to come out of the woodwork right now. It takes a lot longer to get them approved and posted at present, but we are confident that will improve. We love what we are doing, even though most of the time, we are very tired at night. Extra projects just keep coming at us and it's hard to know which ball to keep in the air, and how!!

The times we can break away on a Saturday just hold us together and keep us sane.  Last Saturday we went to Palm Beach (really, in Australia).  It was the best beach we've seen so far.  Lots of pine trees and not very busy.  It was a bit cool that day, which was perfect! We sat and read and talked and soaked in the beauty around us.  We took our camping chairs from K-Mart and enjoyed every minute. I walked up the road and got us 'take out' from this little outside place.  We felt like we had died and gone to heaven, and came home feeling totally decompressed.

Conference was wonderful, we watched it on our little i-pad in our flat, for the most part. Didn't even matter, it was still amazing, even if it had to buffer pretty often, we still loved it.  Just different than Utah where you can all watch it on your big-screens, live.  Such a blessing!

A couple of days ago we got a request from our boss that was interesting.  Bruce Lindsay, the former KSL anchor and present mission president in Perth, asked for a couple of PA people to coach 2 of his missionaries prior to a radio interview, as he was not in the city at that time.  We got elected.  So, we did a little research of what their responses should be to various questions and called the Elders. We were so ready to be of help, and save their day!  Every scenario we presented to them, they had the absolute perfect answer.  EVERY time! We didn't come away from that phone call feeling very helpful, but it sure boosted our confidence in the divine spirit that guides these young missionaries.  We all know they have it, theoretically, but it's something else to see it literally. They are so amazing!! There is just no other word for it. (we could say awesome, but they tell us that's WAY to American). However. . . they were AWE --SOME!!

We need to end this epistle for now. We are so grateful for e-mail and face-time. Don't know how we would have done a mission 20 years ago?  Just when we feel all weird and missing home, someone calls or writes and it does us SO much good.  Thank you all. Please don't think we are ever too busy for that!!  Hope you are all well and that you all know we love you. You are all, and forever will be, our best 'mates'!

October 5th 2014/ Sunday

Sister Allen's favorite tree in Australia

We can’t believe it's October, and yet we totally can. Day after tomorrow, we will officially be 6 months into our mission.  I know, I know, you're all saying, "have they really been gone 6 months?"  Because, that's how missions seem to work.  If they aren't yours, they go really fast.

If they are yours, the first 3 months are really long, and then (according to others) after 6 months, the time seems to fly.  So we will see.  We are certainly busier and more tired than we have been so far. 

On the other hand, most everything seems pretty normal to us now, and we can get almost any place here.  There are hours of the day and sometimes days of the week that we actually forget we're in Australia.  It's so weird.

We were set apart as temple workers last Thursday.  Ray will start in 2 weeks and I may not start till January.  It will only be a couple of Wednesday nights a month, so that will be good.  They say December is really busy here, as we all take turns hosting at the temple Christmas lights display.  Apparently they have like 12,000 people come to see the lights and singers etc.  This will be our first and only one, so we'll enjoy it and be glad to be busy during that particular season. We are having some pass along cards prepared for the month, which will be handed out to visitors, advertising the Newsroom Website.  Feel free to visit the site any time Mormon newsroom.  You will be called UNIQUE VISITORS on the monthly reports, and we get brownie points for that!

We had some interesting news yesterday. At least in Australia, they are no longer asking senior couples to extend, as the visas for them cost more than the 2 to 6 months are worth.  We have often wondered what we would say, if we were lucky enough to be asked.

Lucky, meaning that it would be a sign of sorts that we had at least done an adequate job.

I have to say (however undedicated it sounds) that it's nice to have it taken out of our hands.

We are including some pictures of our visit to the Targee Branch here.  It was a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't want to lose them along the way.  They don't have anything to do with the text, but here you go.

Targee Branch Pot luck after block time

Targee Branch members and missionaries

Targee Branch building

We have been able to watch just a bit of conference so far.  The official time to watch it at our ward is next weekend.  I have seen all of Women's Conference, and we have watched most of Saturday morning.  It is interesting to be away from Utah when Conference happens. We miss all the traditions that go with it, but it is so amazing to know that we can get it on the i-pad this quickly.  We could watch it live, but the time difference makes that difficult.  Unless we want to get up at 3:00 in the morning, which we don't.

We spent last Saturday in downtown Sidney.  All day!  The Feils (the mission office couple) took us down. They will end their mission in 3 weeks, so we were happy to go on a trek with them.  They are the couple who have been married 6 years now.  They know SO much about this area and are a treasure chest of information.  They are also fun to hang out with, so it was a very good day, one we will always remember!

Elder and Sister Fiel

 

We walked the Sydney Harbor bridge and took many, many pictures that will never do it justice.  The views of the entire city were absolutely stunning!!!! What an area we're in!  I think we seldom have a prayer that we don't thank Heavenly Father for letting us be here.  It is an honor and a privilege to serve Him and it is just plain amazing to do it here in Australia. What a blessing!  

Later this month, we head to Adelaide to do some training to those who have been called to Public Affairs in that area.  The council members are all new, so it will be great to spend some time with them and go over the packet of their responsibilities and share the vision.  Not that it's OUR vision by any means, but we are finally seeing the scope of it. We are so happy to be involved in Public Affairs, even in our small way.

The more we travel around this country, the more we see that, so far, the whole of the outer perimeter is absolutely beautiful. So happy to see a bit of it, and be doing the work at the same time.

It is Sunday evening at 9:50 and we are just headed home from the office.  There was a PA meeting this evening, as there is twice a month.

One more thing.  We started daylight savings time today.  We sprang FORWARD an hour!  It boggles the mind to know what time it is now for you, as we have kids in all 4 time zones in the U.S. and 2 family members in Lebanon? Too much for our tiny pea brains to work with. But we will try.

Just a last note.  It is Monday here now, Labor Day!  The service center is actually closed, so we are here for a while and it is VERY quiet.  That's both good and bad. Conference is over for you all.  We are so excited to hear the rest of it, because you are all saying it was wonderful.  But then, it always is!

Love you all, and appreciate your contact with us, more than we can ever say. We still miss you!

September 25, 2014

We have not written for almost 2 weeks. We have to be more diligent, or when we get home, this "little journal" will have big spaces and we will never remember what took place.

I think we mentioned that we were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit of a stretch for us, but Heavenly Father knew it would be good for us, and it was! Some really good things have happened from that opportunity.  After we spoke, the people in the ward were SO friendly and kind.  It was like we were finally members of the ward.  So amazing.

Someone commented to me when we first got here that we would need to reach out to the members, because they wouldn't reach out to us, given that the ward is at least 98% Polynesian . So we have tried, one at a time. We have had some success, and made some connections and some people were friendly to us.  After our talk, it was SO much the opposite, and it continued to be the same last week.  We are so grateful.  It's like it just broke the ice or something.

We had a another very nice experience last Sunday in Church.  In R.S. the teacher gave me a quote to read, before she began her lesson. That has never happened before.  So I read through the quote ahead of time. Tears came so quickly!  It was an exact answer to our prayers of late.

I read the quote to Ray when we got home and he said, "no way"!  So I let him read it. Way cool for both of us, and the quote came from a prophet!  We are blessed with tender mercies, and sometimes God signs them with His 'Divine Signature' so we know exactly where they came from. (Gerald Lund wrote an awesome book by that title and it is wonderful).

If we are diligent about following what the quote actually said to us, it will change our lives in many happy ways. Forever, but especially now.

Last Saturday, we came into the office for a bit and then headed to Featherdale Animal Park.  We took lots of pictures, but they may not get on the blog till next week, as we leave tomorrow (Saturday) for a speaking assignment that is 5 hours away, so Ray may not get to the pics today.

 


It was a fun day.  It was really a zoo, but it was great to see birds and animals that we have never seen before. It was a good day.

This week has gone VERY fast.  We have learned a lot of new things and we are adapting to reporting to a different boss once again.  It's good for us. 

Last night we headed up to the Blue Mountains to take pictures and quotes from 105 kids plus leaders on a Pioneer Trek.  We saw the most beautiful places, as we had not been that far into the Blues before. 

It was SO well organized and it was fun to see the large group, setting up camp and building fires.  We hope it ends up being a good article.  It will take at least two weeks to get it up. We have to say here, that the natural surroundings for a trek in Australia is WAY different than a trek in say . . . Wyoming!! They were in a fantastic, beautiful, awesome spot as they made camp last night.There is no way to describe those mountains. Lots better than any of the shots in "The Man from Snowy River'.

Tonight we are having a man from the Temple Department in SLC over for dinner.  He is here for a couple of weeks, and staying in Temple Housing, so it will be nice to cook him a dinner.  The Archibald's (the legal couple) are also coming, so it will be fun. They say he has a very interesting story.

Last Monday we cooked dinner for FHE for a group of 21.  We had creamy Italian chicken (thanks for the Good Seasoning Mix Spen and Beck) and mashed potatoes. They don't have them here. It's ALWAYs rice or pasta. We got raves and raves!  It was so interesting.  Such a simple thing to make Americans so happy!

We love the news from family!  It keeps us going here.  Thank you all! I have to say that all the marathons and triathalons make us very tired. But good for you! We'll just have to go with the 'mission marathon', which certainly has it's own rewards,  but also sometimes leaves us very tired at the end of the day. It is  wonderful as well, and we wouldn't trade it for anything. 

And friends are so good to keep in touch as well.  It's great to know what is happening in the Ward and Stake and also in all those families back home who we feel so connected to. Our prayers are with all of you, family and friends, really!

We are happy, and yet the yearning for "the usual" is almost over whelming at times.  We don't know if that will ever go away. We miss people there, but for now, we are blessed with some nice people here, who make the days pass more quickly than they otherwise might.

We love you all, so much. You have no idea.

September 12, 2014 / Indian Ocean and Perth

We had a very interesting week!  We just got back from Perth last night, having spent 6 days away from our little Sydney office.  It was a little of a shock to realize that our place here has become a comfort zone. Along with that, we also felt like we were on a bit of a work vacation, and that was a good feeling too.

We flew to Perth last Saturday (a 5 hour flight) and arrived in time to check into our room, find out we had no internet service there, walk up the street to grab a very late burger and get ready for bed.  The next day, we woke up to pouring rain and very stiff winds.

A Public Affairs person in Perth had suggested the hotel for it's reasonable prices, and although, it had a few little glitches, it was right across the street from the Indian Ocean!  The air smelled like San Diego and we had to assume the ocean was beautiful, but we couldn't tell for sure. We headed for Sacrament Meeting about 30 minutes away, in-land. 

 After church, we were able to meet with the Stake President about Public Affairs. It was interesting. They had submitted one article from Perth since we have been here, and it was a great one. A Family Values Award with some great inter-faith wove in and wonderful pictures, along with 900 people in attendance. It kind of felt as if they felt like they were done for a while.

We hope we were a good influence in encouraging him to get his people doing more, as some stakes will send two a month or even more, when there is a really good PA person in the Stake.

We then drove for about 90 minutes to a Stake house where we were never able to get an appointment with the Stake President via e-mail, and had decided to just drop off a PA packet and hope it helped.  As we headed up the side walk, a man stopped us and asked if he could help us.  (missionary badges are magic that way).

He was a counselor in the Stake Presidency, standing visiting with his just barely called PA person for their stake.  We all went right into the Stake Offices for a visit.  It was amazing to get to know this newly called person and feel some excitement from him. The counselor was very kind and helpful.  Then, in walks another brother, and he is Stake Presidency counselor over PA for the Stake. We all 5 had a very good visit.  We left feeling like we had just had several tender mercies in one place.

We then headed for another Stake building, but were only able to give a packet to a high councilman, and asked him to tell the President that we would be in touch.  We felt a little down hearted, but, it beat a blank.

The next stake house was . . . wait for it. . . a blank!  It was no longer the Stake Center and no one would take the packet.  The Stake Young Women's President and R.S. President were there in a meeting, but didn't think they would see the President for several weeks.  I think we will have to mail that one. We were discouraged.

All in all, it was a really good day. You can't win them all, and we decided the contacts we did make were good ones.  There are always those investigators who don't show up to church when they say they will, right?  So we're good.

We got back to the hotel at almost dark, but got to ride down to the ocean and see it. Still raining, but it looked amazing.  More green than any ocean we had ever seen.  A walking trail that went all along the coast line.  Fantastic, just to see it, rain and all.

Monday night we took the Rajahs, the Multi Stake Public Affairs Coordinator to dinner at a place they had picked out.  It was in a place called Hillary's Harbor.  A buffet that was unlike any we had ever seen.  Many more choices than the Roof in SLC.  MANY more.

It was delightful. They even had an octopus salad with the little tiny whole octipi (?) on top.  I asked Sister Rajah how she liked them and she said oh, with all the things in the salad, to off set the taste, I really enjoy them but, they do have a weird sort of crunch to them. 

Daniel and Malar Rajah at dinner in Perth

I decided I wasn't that adventuresome!  But I almost did.  It was the "weird crunch" remark that did me in. That and the fact that they were grey and extremely un- attractive.

We had a great visit with them and we felt so good about that.  We really think, having met face to face, that it will make a difference in the number of articles that come from the whole area.  And it's nice to put a face with the names we see on e-mail responses.

Tuesday, late afternoon, the rain stopped a bit and the sun peeks out for a couple of hours and we are able to drive down the beach and then take a long walk on that wonderful path.  It was glorious.  We put our feet in the water and gathered some sea shells.  Just heavenly!

The Indian Ocean

Tuesday evening (raining and winding again) we go to the multi-stake council meeting.  So fun to meet all of these people, the ones who are really in the trenches!  Some of them are so good at sending reports and photos and quotes of events.

The idea of having missionaries meet them in person and form a relationship, is so they will really want to be involved more, and feel some responsibility to go to work in their area.  Planning interfaith gatherings and putting together helping hand opportunities etc.

We pray it works.

Wednesday morning, Phil Baker, the PA person who got us our hotel, picked us up to show us Perth!  We walked through a 1,000 acre park in the middle of the city, with bridges over the Swan River and statues of important people in Perth History and lots and lots of wild flowers!  Fantastic!  Then he took us down and put us on a boat so we could enjoy the sights and the 50 million dollar homes on the river.  90 minutes of just watching. . . and the sun was out!  We know more about Perth now after 5 days, than we know about Sydney.  We just won't remember it!

Elder and Sister Allen with the fishing fleet behind them

Elder and Sister Allen with Phil Baker at the boat docks

After boat ride down the Swan River in Perth

It was a great trip.  We both decided if we were to live in Australia, we would choose Perth.  The roads are wider and the beauties are still all there.  Its quieter, calmer.  It's like the difference between New York City and Boise.

We really loved the people we met.  Phil especially.  He is our age, but seems younger, and is all about Public Affairs and meeting people and getting the work to go forward.  He loves Australia and it shows. A real Australian treasure . . . there isn't a question he can't answer. The trip was a really good one.

We are scheduled to go to Adelaide in October for the same thing.  It will be much less daunting than this one was.  It was SO out of my comfort zone. . . not so far out of Ray's.

Wednesday evening we were happy to be able to attend the Perth Temple.  It is a beautiful new building with the most fantastic chandelier we have ever seen.  It was a wonderful, peaceful evening.

While we were in Perth, we received an e-mail on the Church phone, which doesn't need internet, to speak in Church Sunday in our ward. Wow, there is always something, and we count our blessings most of the time.  We sure are getting stretched to the max sometimes.

It has been a long day in the office, and probably another long one Saturday, to try to make up for what didn't get done while we were gone.  I think it may be to make up for the 90 minute boat ride and long walk on the beach!  In that case, it was totally, totally worth it!

We keep busy, we stay happy, we enjoy each other and sometimes, we still can't believe we are actually in Australia. . . even now.

Ray said to me on the airplane, coming back, "Remember the last time we flew into Sydney?"  I did, with a bit of a shudder.  We were total Zombies then, and totally scared and clueless. The jet lag was so real. Now we are so much better!  Still clueless, but better!

We count our blessings at this point, that we can be stretched beyond any normal capacity, and still be really happy!  It's a spiritual thing and it is wonderful!

We miss you all, but we are doing OK and like the work, no, LOVE the work! We are grateful for our blessings, most of whom, we're related to! We love you ALL and miss you still!

September 3, 2014

We received some good news today. . . or potential good news.  Rashika, David and Devmini Ranasinghe (the family from India) have set October 10th, 2014 for their baptismal date.  We are all crossing our fingers, because you never know with investigators, but it is still very good news. Happy News! Please remember them in your prayers, as he is out of town until the first week in October. This could really happen!

Rashika, David and Devmini with a Australian footballer (center)

This Friday, September 5th is our 45th wedding anniversary!  Seems like a big one, so we thought we'd mention it!  It really doesn't seem like it's been that long!!! I'm sure that's what some one who is 98 says about their age! But it's been a great journey and we are happy to be here together.  Wherever we are!

We are a bit excited for a totally unrelated reason.  We leave for Perth to do some training there this Saturday, September 6th and will be back the following Wednesday Evening.  It is a 4 hour flight and the first one we've taken since we arrived here.  We think it took us that long to be able to get on a plane again, so the timing is perfect.  We hope to meet with the area seventy there, Elder Meurs and 4 stake presidents, about Public Affairs.  Then we go to a multi-stake PA council meeting. See how things are working and hope to light a fire about the importance of this work.  We have all the feelings and the statistics and quotes; the question is, can we put it across with the spirit that SHOULD accompany it.  So, while your praying for the Ranasinghe's, say one for us as well.  We so want to do what we should there!!!

In October, we fly to Adelaide to do exactly the same thing, but with different people. This weekend will be a good practice, but we hope it's more than that.  Given Elder Bednar's talk a couple of weeks ago, we really are more excited about Public Affairs than we even have been up to now.  

We had such a good Sunday yesterday in our ward.  The meetings were just good. In Sacrament Meeting the bishopric spoke.  The bishops talk just touched us, it was about marriage.  He talked about how we should never become too accustomed to another person loving us.  His point being that we should always take care of our spouse and not take them for granted.  He spoke with so much emotion, that we had to wonder if he doesn't have more than a few marriages in trouble.  The spirit was very strong as he spoke and it was a very nice reminder to appreciate what we have.

Priesthood and R.S were combined for the fifth Sunday.  It was all about family councils and FHE and was very well done by the bishopric.  Big day for them, we're sure.  The best part was that they handed out a LARGE, laminated copy of 2 Nephi 31:20 for each couple.  We brought it right home and put it on the door to our wardrobe.  So we can see it every day.  Brings us very quickly to what is important in life. We are so glad to have it.

Ward Scripture and Pat's whole clothing wardrobe

We have to share the honest truth here, for what it's worth.  When we left our flat Sunday morning, neither of us felt we wanted to stay for the entire block time.  Not a lot was said, we just both felt that way.  So after Sacrament Meeting, we stayed in the chapel for a bit, and as we walked by Sunday school, which is also on the way down the hall to the parking lot, we decided to go in.  Didn't want to, but we got that gentle nudge.Then we decided that we would stay for Priesthood opening exercises and then leave.  We soon discovered, as they were moving chairs, that it was going to be combined, we took a seat.

As I said, the meeting was really good, we sat by an Island couple who were very friendly to us and had a nice visit.  About 3/4 through the meeting I turned to Ray and said, I don't have a headache for the first time in 4 days and it feels so great!!  Ahhh.  The blessings of being obedient, even against your worst desires.  I didn't make that connection, but Ray did. Great lesson there for us, as we were sorely tempted.  They don't need us there, we don't have a specific job there, so it's easy to consider lapsing. . . but, we need to be there!

We are writing a bit early, because we will be gone over the weekend, but this is a plenty long post as it is! We love you all, and hope we don't bore anyone too much!

Just some extra pictures:

Sister Allen and Sister Moore on Pat's Birthday

Senior Missionaries after a hard day in the office at Pancakes on the Rocks

Deer in the headlights Elder Allen and cute Sister Allen 

Our fearless boss, Alan Wakeley, with bowler hat we bought him, knocking on  #10 Downing Street in London.  He will be back in September after 4 months extended leave.

Our favorite bird the Kookaburra.  It has a wonderful voice. 

The Ropes Crossing Ward after ward conference.  Prize to anyone who can find Elder and Sister Allen

August 26th 2014

So, over a week has passed since we last wrote.  It has been busy, as facts and quotes from events all around Australia have been coming in.  We love these Public Affairs people in the wards, branches and stakes around the country. They are so good.  We have been writing their events into article form, and actually have 6 articles saved for the future, which we haven't been able to do much of, up to now.  It's a good feeling. And a blessing.

We went to Mudgee last weekend to speak in a small branch there.  It is the most beautiful, quaint city.  And the drive there is even better.  It is about 4 hours away from our little flat and goes through lots of farmlands and vineyards and Kangaroo crossing signs.  Those signs are for real, as we sadly passed a few dead ones on the side of the road, just as we see deer back home.  Made us feel so bad.

We have a question for those of you who are better at the internet than we are --which is just about anyone!  We passed a herd of cows who were all black, except. . . from their tummy up around their back is a bout a 10 inch strip if white. Circles their body completely. All the herd was the same and they were beautiful.  We were too far away to get a picture, but the strip is perfectly straight and even.  We think Heavenly Father must be good at coloring in the lines. Any grandchild want to take this research on for us??

We loved the branch in Mudgee.  There were 11 members there, plus two Elders who work in the area, and us!  It is amazing that even with the small numbers, the spirit was so strong and the lessons so good.  There was a beautiful piano there, but no one to play it. They sang hymns to a CD and we kid you not, the sound was as strong and true as any congregation we've ever heard. He DOES make up for what we lack, even in numbers. So much spirit in that room, and so much kindness. It was a little building, converted from a small home and sits on 5 acres for future growth. With such a large, beautiful, town, you just have to imagine there are people out there, waiting for the truth. We're going to pray for those Elders!

Mudgee Branch Members

Elders Leintiner and Taylor  (Elder Taylor is Dixie Moss's nephew)

We had FHE with the couple missionaries last night.  It's always a nice evening and a good dinner. We had Pavlova last night for the first time, with all kinds of fresh fruit!  It was really good! 
They are a good group of couples.  All of us so different and yet the same. So many stories to share and they come out one by one, usually not in the large group. (We are having them over 4 at a time to get to know them better).
It is of great interest to us that, though every couple have a different assignment, (even the Moores in Public Affairs have a different job, they don't have anything to do with the website) and yet, we all feel like we were called to exactly the right place for the exactly the right purpose. (of course, who would ever think Australia wasn't the right place???) Says something about Heavenly Father and his hand in the missionary program that 10 couples are doing what they enjoy in one way or another.  Not one of them, however, would have said that in the first 3 months.

Another thing about the couples here.  There are two couples who are on their mission with their second spouse.  All four original spouses have died and here they are married again and serving a mission and going forward.  Their stories are so sad from the past, and so happy in the present.  They have been through SO much, and come out on top.  It's interesting that they can talk about their first partners and have tears about what happened to them, and then talk about their present partner with love and respect and happiness. They truly are pioneers in their own lives.  Trying to blaze a new trail. 

It makes us feel so grateful to be on this mission together and not have that particular challenge. Some of their grown-up children aren't happy about the situation.  I find that sad.  

We never know what life has in store, or what we'll be asked to do, but we are grateful for the gospel and the peace it brings to those who go through such tough trials.  He strengthens us and tests us in all  things, members and non- members alike.  No one is immune to those really difficult challenges.  I think it was Sheri Dew who said, something like: if you haven't had a long term challenge that feels absolutely impossible to carry, wait a bit, it will come!  That is so sadly true.

On a different note, we figure by the time we get to Oct, 2015, we will be really adequate missionaries!! Until then, it is a still a learning curve. We certainly learn a lot from other missionaries here. 
We have to say though, that we still learn the most  from those back in the states and in Beirut, who support us in every way.  We love you friends and family and learn from your every e-mail and face-time.  Thank you , thank you!  We love you.

P.S. To those who have been trying to face-time us, our I-Pad is fixed and we can now here it ring again.  YES!!!