M&M Haley Mission

Sunday, 9 July

Monday, 3 July - We left Grafton and headed back to Sydney. We brought Elder Litster with us as he was being transferred to Dural for his last 3 weeks. We stopped by to see the kangaroos at Morriset, since Elder Litster had not been there. We left Grafton at 0830 and arrived at Carlingford at 1730. We were in time for senior missionary FHE - it was a 4th of July picnic dinner. The Lems taught the lesson and it was on the Constitution of the US.

Tuesday, 4 July - We tried to get our Sydney legs back and recover from the trip. Jumped back into the English groove in the morning and played catch up in the afternoon. We helped the Lems with 4th July Institute dinner - hamburgers, hot dogs, root beer floats. Got home at 11 pm and crashed.

Wednesday, 5 July - My main goal today was to get information on TAFE (vocational training offered by NSW) and to get an appointment with the international admissions person at Torrens University. The locksmith came in and changed out the locks in the room that the patriarch uses for patriarchal blessings, and sometimes we use for teaching missionary lessons. We have dinner with Lainey Xu tonight at 6 - going to a Korean BBQ restaurant. The meal was good - love Korean BBQ.

Thursday, 6 July - normal day, except for working with one of the YSA members on their University admissions. The Uni upped their tuition by 60% and so we were trying to find out why and what could be done. Ultimately we have decided to pursue a different educational track.

Friday, 7 July - Worked with one of our English students. Then had lunch with Cristina at a Thai restaurant - good food. We walked to Darling Harbour with Cristina and then back to the Hyde Park building. This evening we cleaned level 1 for the "last" time (maybe). I was able to see the pure love of Christ in action tonight as some sisters from China gathered around a white sister and helped her through some challenges. Hearts were softened and miracles happened. It was so good to be able to be with them at the end of their time together.

Saturday, 8 July - We are heading to the temple to see two of the YSA members (Sarah & Simon) come out of the Sydney Temple after having been sealed for time & eternity. They are a great couple and are deserving of each other - special people. Then off to Greenwich where we will support Katie in her baptism into the Saviour's Church. Margaret has seen how her countenance has changed over the weeks as she has worked her way towards baptism. Then finishing the day with a dinner with Helen Tang - one of the ladies Margaret tutors in English. We went to Pancake on the Rocks in Darling Harbour. Ah, we are going to miss all these wonderful people. Margaret added Wechat to her phone so she can communicate with a few of the Chinese people that she tutors or visit teaches. It looks like I will continue doing some correction/review of IELTS practice writing papers for some of the people that I work with via email - they need the support and help, so you do what is needed. Then we went home and worked some more on our talks for tomorrow's Sacrament meeting - going to be late again.

Sunday, 9 July - Margaret and I talked in Sacrament meeting today. Margaret had a nice topic - obedience (and the talk was excellent) and I had a boring topic - Clean the meeting house (which I was finally able to make a bit funny so the message got across without ruffling too many feathers). But it was good to be in Sacrament meeting and to partake of the Sacrament and renew our covenants with the Saviour, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. We also bore our testimonies to the YSA - we will miss them. It has been a very good experience to work & serve the YSA at the Hyde Park meetinghouse. They are a unique set of people and circumstances. It has been a pleasure & learning experience to see kids from all sorts of countries and backgrounds learn of the Saviour and join His Church. They are a great bunch of young adults and we will miss them a lot. But we are also looking forward to serving in Grafton and growing to love the people there as well. We went to Marlon & Fiona's home for dinner with the Lems - lots of nice bbq meats.