MacPherson Australian Mission: Sunday update from down under

Hi fab family & equally fab friends: Well, hopefully I can keep this short and sweet, NOT! I've told Elder
mac not only don't I like calling or answering the phone here. It is a corded land line, I can't move around
and we all KNOW I don't know when to stop talking, although I'm practicing. Dad can get on the phone and
in a moment or two he's done. It's partly because of his extreme sensitivity, NOT!
Even though we don't teach our two "uni" classes now and for the next several weeks and I still feel like
"whew", we keep busy.
A week ago Sunday, we had been invited to a surprise party for Kiki, one of the most fun YSA's for brunch
and she was surprised, it was a great fun group of people, probably close to 30 people, including a couple
of babies under 1, several young children, of course we are practically always the senior's wherever we go.
But such fun. We are so blessed to be involved in their personal lives. That evening after attending just one
block of our native ward, the Woden ward, we were blessed to be invited out for dinner/ supper at a the
lovely widow, Sister Loveland's (the same sister, who invited us over for Christmas Eve and who made it not
quite so difficult to be away from family) home for dinner that evening.
The past week we attended FHE and Dad gave the lesson and did well, although sometimes I struggle with
a little too much of what I call, intellectualizing of the gospel. This is where I would say, let's cut to the quick
and talk about application and just plain and simple, date and get married! and get on with your real lives!
Don't I sound empathetic? and I know just last week's letter I said I would try to be more empathetic! Well,
shame on me, even though I don't say that, I just think it!!
We did our Eternal Marriage class this past Friday and today I had moments of what we are teaching/ sharing
these first few weeks, seems so serious and as warnings to keep their marriages strong and seem just a tad bit
negative. As we shared comments from our most recent prophets, etc. warning of the dangers of divorce,
porn, etc; I commented about so many years in the church, we have seen good/ great people fall on these
issues and I said, I KNOW none of them starting out their marriages with those ends in their beginning thoughts
and hopes in their marriages. You all know us too well and know we don't claim to have all the answers and certainly
don't claim to be experts to any degrees, we just have the experience of years.
Well, again we were blessed this past Wednesday to drive into Sdyney to attend a lovely senior missionaries dinner
at the Mission home and I have to say, if the church owns that home and I'm fairly certain they do; even though
it is an older home, the quality of the construction inside, was some of the best I've seen since we've been over
here. The kitchen was granite counters and state of the art kitchen. The food was lovely, the company even better
and we / especially me came home happy!
Today, was our typical long Sunday attending two - 3 hour blocks of meetings starting at 9:30 PM and finishing @ 4:00,
with YSA's meetings following for another couple of hours. But, it turned out being pretty darn productive. We still do
not have an Institute president or assistant; but are told it was in the works.
Today, after attending the first RS meeting, afterwards I thanked a Sister, who had helped chaperone the most recent
YSA dance and she was gracious, but talked about two of her son's who are just giving her a real run for the money. So
we talked back and forth for a good 10-15 minutes after RS ended. She ended up crying, hugging me and thanking me
for being a listening ear and said she knows I'm over here for more than just Institute and YSA's. It was kind and nice to
hear and helped me feel that maybe we are being useful, even in such small ways as we pray we can be. It makes me realize all the more, we truly do live in the very best of times, side by side if you will, with the most difficult times.
Well, to change the subject, EMILY'S birthday is Monday, June 16, so we all want to wish the mother of triplets a
special HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Oh, by the way, we came back from Sydney after being with the senior missionary couples there, in time to attend a scheduled fireside with Elder/ President Snow and his lovely wife this past Thursday evening @ 7 PM. We were a bit afraid,
if we didn't get there real early, we would be sitting way, way back in the stake centre chapel. We picked up one of our YSA's on the way, got there about 5 to; and were greeted with hugs from the Scottish older Sister and her younger companion and the Scottish Sister told me she needed an extra hug, as it was her birthday, but she didn't want a fuss and hadn't told her companion, but along with her second long hug whispered into my ear, her only daughter about age 29 had called her and she had been happy for that. She has been told that she will be pairing up with a senior sister from the states once her Aussie companion finishes her really short mission time of less than 3 months. It had apparently been five years since there had really been Sister Missionaries out here, so we know our days are numbered having them in our zone. So, even though they are the north side of Canberra, which means we will need to pick them up, we are having them over for dinner this coming Friday, as transfers come very regularly here.

Anyway, after the great fireside with Pres. & Sister Snow (he is a President of the 70's); we went up to shake their hands
as the attendance was incredibly low and usually if there are a lot of people, we don't like to bother them, the handshake
thing and all. As I shook the hand of President Snow, he asked where we were from and when I said, Rockford, IL., he said
he and his wife had just been there several weeks ago for stake conference and had in talking with our stake president,
Pres. Ward asked how many missionaries were out from the stake and Pres. Ward talked about a SENIOR missionary couple
in Australia, us. OH HOW SMALL THE WORLD IS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CHURCH.

This morning, prior to us leaving for church, we picked up an e-mail from Art saying he was on his way to Singapore and
also saying the stake boundaries will probably be changing and probably a new bishop is being called for Rockford 2nd. So,
probably the Rockford 2nd, will undoubtedly have changed from when we left.
Well, I KNOW I sound like a broken record, but can't help it, plain and simple we miss all of you sooooooooooooooooooooo
much; you are in our thoughts and prayers.