Mission Report No 41

This cute little frog has been hanging around
in our garden lately!

 Monday 9th January 2023

We were off to an early start today, doing some gardening work for the Davies in Redlynch and then the Lawrence family in Smithfield. I think I may have taken a nap to recuperate in the afternoon. Margot went to the dentist early in the afternoon, to have an old amalgam filling replaced.

Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful member, Courtney Luki, call us with a referral to teach a friend of theirs. We talked to Tammy on the phone and she is keen to have us come and talk to her and her partner in the morning.

Tuesday 10th January 2023

10.30am this morning was our first appointment with Tammy and DJ. What a lovely couple! We invited them to attend Church on Sunday and they accepted our invitation. 

Wednesday 11th January 2023

My exercise routine has officially hit the boring level. The wind has stopped blowing and I am reduced to walking, riding, swimming, Tai Chi and my "Ninja training". Now, I know you're probably thinking, "What's Ninja training?" Pullup, chinups, whatever you want to call them, on some gym equipment in a nearby park. Before we left Victoria, I could not do a chin up. No joke - I had just got out of the habit of doing them and had lost a lot of strength. Now I can do about 5 sets of 4, but my first couple of sets are normally 5 repetitions. Not wanting to boast of course, but it just goes to show that you're never too old to improve!

We had a great meeting this evening with the 1st Branch Elders Quorum President, Kory Johnson. We went through the branch membership list and he gave us some people to go and follow up to see if we can visit and help them come back to Church.

Probably like most countries around the world, number of people attending Church post-Covid have dropped off. There are a few people who have "got comfortable" staying at home on Sundays, rather than going through the "joys" of getting the family ready for Church by a certain time, and it's certainly the case here in Cairns.

So, we went through the membership list with Pres Johnson, and he suggested we visit some people who fall in to the "Covid Fall-out" category. I'm sure we'll meet some interesting people and hopefully be able to encourage them to come and join with us on Sunday.

Thursday 12th January 2023

Bit of running around shopping and chasing up some Church members who have not lived at the recorded address for 2 years. 

Went for a long walk along the Esplanade this evening with a very good friend who has had such a bad 2022, with people dying, battling personal issues stemming from childhood trauma, and bad luck in relationships, that he just needed someone to talk to. I think I have become a better listener. So often, people just need to talk out their problems. And they just need a non-judgmental listener who is not going to be shocked by anything that they say.

Friday 13th January 2023

Well, I have no idea what we did today!

Saturday 14th January 2023

We were meant to go to Josephine Falls this morning, with Tara and her volleyball friends this morning but it was raining too much so Tara cancelled the trip. 

We went to visit some people, bought some cheap mangoes, gave away some cheap mangoes, and in the afternoon visited our friend Heta Erueti, whom I have written about in previous reports.

I decided that Heta would be my first interviewee on my new podcast, "Gather In". We sat and talked for a while before deciding to do the interview later that day, which we did via a live post on Instagram. The raw footage is online now, but I will be doing some editing before posting it on YouTube and Facbook, and the audio only Podcast, which will be available on all Podcast apps. Just search for Gather In on Instagram and you can watch it now. UPDATE - the video is now available on Facebook and Instagram, and the audio podcast is now available on most podcast apps. Search for "Gather In Stories" or "Murray Ceff" on your podcast player. If it's not on your favourite podcast app, please let me know.

Sunday 15th January 2023

This morning's sacrament meeting for 1st Branch was one of the best that we've had since we have been here. Shannon Bredeson spoke first. She is a young returned missionary, and an environmental scientist from the US. Very intelligent girl and very spiritual, so she was able to compose an excellent talk. The final speaker was possibly the oldest active member in Cairns, 92-year-old Don Davies. Don has served faithfully in the Church for many years, and he was also a member of Toastmasters for a long time too, so really does know how to speak in public and hold one's attention.

We hoped to have our new friends Tammy and DJ come to Church with us this morning, but they didn't make it till this afternoon, but we didn't see them! They arrived late, and sat outside, as they couldn't see any space to sit - it was very crowded. I was seated on the stand as I was representing the District Presidency, conducting some business in the Sacrament meeting for 2nd Branch, and I didn't see that they sent me a txt to say they would be there late. Hopefully we will be able to catch up with them again.

Anyway, that's the week that was. Please find my podcast or YouTube video and listen or watch, and importantly subscribe and comment! Thanks!


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