Missionary Report No 54

Glen with his niece Taya, and her baby boy, Kye.

Monday, 10th April, 2023

Today we had Senior Council Meeting. There are more than 25 senior couples serving in the Brisbane Mission now.  A couple who have just arrived from Idaho are being sent to Mackay which is an area they have just opened up for seniors.

Tuesday, 11th April

Murray and Glen picked up Sister Pullen to take her to the airport.  They then walked up the Red Arrow which is a popular exercise spot located in the Botanical Gardens. Then on their way back, they picked up Hong who had been staying up at Port Douglas.  Hong was born in Hong Kong and then his family moved to Zambia and then to Australia. He and Murray worked at the same company for a while. He went to high school with Grant Leeworthy and knows a little bit about the church.  After having some breakfast, we headed to Barron Falls again which is about a thirty minute drive from here.  He was keen to see it before he caught his flight to Melbourne in the afternoon. We then went to buy a wheel for one of the elder's bikes because "someone" had bumped into something with a bit too much force. We dropped home to do something and as Murray bent over his back seized up on him.  Fortunately he was right next to the bed and was able to roll onto the bed. He wasn't able to move so I messaged the elders to see if they could drop by and give him a blessing, which they were kindly willing to do.  Glen was also in pain with a toothache and he said he would like one too.  My admiration for these elders skyrocketed as they handled the situation with such maturity. Afterwards, Murray was able to stand up and move cautiously and Glen's toothache disappeared. Glen enjoyed talking to them and was also impressed by them. It has given Glen more things to consider about the church.

Murray with Hong at Barron Falls

 

Wednesday, 12th April

Glen and Murray spent a lot of the morning talking about the church. In the afternoon, we had arranged for Taya, who lives here in Cairns and is Glen's niece, to visit. We have seen her a couple of times since being here and she has a baby about 12 months old and very adorable. Taya's father, who is Glen's brother, passed away a few years ago so it was nice for them to catch up. What was interesting was Taya said the elders had knocked on her door several weeks back. 

Glen, with his nephew Kye, for the first time.

Thursday, 13th April

Glen headed back to Ingham this morning. At 10am, we had District Council Meeting and it was my turn to teach the Self Reliance lesson. We then spent the afternoon preparing pizza for Institute. The regular Institute teacher asked us to fill in and when he teaches, he always has food afterwards so we thought we should follow suit. I do believe it helps to boost attendance.

Friday, 14th April

Today we were meant to go out to lunch with Yoriko and her friend who had just flewn in from Japan but Murray's back was too sore. She kindly dropped over some Japanese spray and ointment to help alleviate the pain. The elders from Atherton were down as the windscreen on their car needed to be repaired.  We got to meet Elder Clark for the first time. He is from Utah. Murray then went to receive treatment from a Bowen therapist.

Saturday, 15th April

Murray's back is still sore but has decided to rest it more. Today they were showing the General Conference videos and we were asked to be in charge of the Saturday evening session. Murray came back early but the elders were able to lock up everything.

Sunday, 16th April

We were meant to pick up Lois for church but she is having problems with her feet so cancelled. Again spent the day watching Conference videos. Murray continues to rest his back and is doing a lot of stretching while laying on the bed. He seems to be making a little bit of progress. Those of you who know Murray well, will know that he has this situation on a semi-regular basis. In the past he has had MRI's and once had a cortisone injection in the spine to help speed up the healing process and reduce inflammation. So don't worry, he's been there before and got through it, and he will get better, and it will probably happen again in another year or two. He knows it occurs when he sits too much and his normal exercise routine gets interrupted, like it has over the last few weeks with so much driving down to Innisfail and a lot of work editing videos etc.