Mission Report No 19

 We are getting busier all the time now. Hard to remember everything from the past week, but will backtrack in my diary. Don't really have time to write it all either. When I sit a the computer on a Sunday night, my choice is to either read or write. Reading is easy and I love reading. I have a couple of LDS blogs that I like to read (Times and Seasons and By Common Consent). I occasionally make comments, when I feel that I can contribute in a positive way. But I think this blog is more important to me and maybe my family. Who knows, maybe someone else gets something good out of it. I'll never know really. For those who have come here via Facebook, if you make a comment or ask a question on Facebook, I still cannot respond as I cannot even see my own page, because of a hacker who had nothing better to do one day. But you can make a comment right here, or on Instagram, which I will see and respond to.

Anyway, the week that was is below!

Oh yeah, sometime in the week before we almost had a visitor, but he or she got runover crossing the road before getting to our place. Pretty sure it's a Coastal Taipan. They are listed as Extremely Venomous, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. The have a very small head, and jaw, and they don't look that scary really. I didn't measure it, but it's around 1.2m long. Don't really care how long it is, as long as it's not in our place!

Monday 8th August 2022

Zone Council via Zoom. Held down in Brisbane and mainly relevant to what's happening down there. Cairns is the northern outpost. Still good to be in touch with all the other seniors though!

I had a kite foil session late in the afternoon, from 4 to 5pm. Covered 3.75kl. Slept well that night. Without a fairly intensive bit of exercise, I have to take melatonin to get a good night sleep.

Tuesday 9th August 

Big day today. Brekky at the Kimi'ias, teaching Gypsy in Atherton, and then visiting real estate agents in both Mareeba and Atherton, trying to find a flat for some new missionaries that we hope will be sent up there.

Wednesday 10th August  - Miracle Day!

Today we decided to head to Innisfail, to do the rounds of the Real Estate agents down there, trying to find a place to rent. There is a real shortage of rental homes all around Australia at the moment and it is very difficult for many people to find any accommodation at all. There was really very little available in Atherton and Mareeba. We had a good talk to the last agent we visited in Atherton. Very nice older guy (maybe even older than me!) at The Professionals office. He didn't think he had anything, but the staff who handled the rental properties were not there at the time. So, we left him with our contact details and he said he would contact us if anything became available.

So, on our way to Innisfail this morning, just after we had driven past the turnoff to Atherton, the phone rings. "It's The Professionals from Atherton here. The flat that your Church rented from us for the young boys from the US, before Covid, has just become vacant. We haven't even listed it on the website yet, but you can have it if you want." "OK, we'll just do a U-turn and see you in about 45 minutes, if we can come and inspect the place." To me, that's a bit of divine intervention to help the work progress in this part of the Lord's vineyard.

Thursday 11 August

Flat inspections this morning. I think it's fairly clear that some missionaries have been taught how to clean by their parents and some haven't.

Took my friend Nimai for his third kitesurf lesson today. It had been almost 2 months since his last lesson. He did very well. We had a great afternoon together!

Friday 12 August

Busy day - 

A sales inspection at 11.15 to prepare for, then lunch with our friend Yoriko at a Thai restaurant,  then choc chip cookies for the Luki twins birthday, then Margot went to pick up my dry cleaning, while I rode the bike down to Mt Whitfield for a good strenuous walk.

Saturday 13 August

The Japanese Bon festival was held in Cairns today, and our friend Yoriko invited us there. We met here and she bought food for us. It was her birthday today, and we bought lunch for her yesterday, but she insisted on buying food for us today. What a good lady!

Sunday 14th August

Church in Innsifail today. Margot and I both spoke in their sacrament meeting. There were almost 20 people there in total. Innisfail is a town of about 10,000 people about one a half hours south of Cairns. Of the congregation there on Sunday, half were visitors. So it's not exactly a thriving branch. There are a small number of committed members there. Two of them are seasonal fruit pickers from Vanuatu.