Lost....& not metaphorically speaking :-\

November 3, 2019

The last weekend of October we visited our Port Hedland branch. I posted pictures of our activities there...the radio station, serving w/the elders at the soup kitchen, hanging out w/Jacob (in his underwear), & in general, doing what missionaries are supposed to do. 

On the way home to Karratha, Elder Tate was passing one of the big road trains...they're called this because one semi can have up to 7 trailers...yep, that's over 225 ft & looks like a train on the road! So we're driving on the wrong side of the road...on the wrong side of he car...& passing on the wrong side of the road. No worries, mate!! Here's a picture as we're passing one & I couldn't get the last trailer in the frame.

So, we're passing this monster & totally miss our turn off cause it was blocking the sign telling us where to go. And we have no idea cause everything looks the same...red dirt, small red hills w/scrubby trees/grasses, more red dirt, etc. You get the picture. So, we drive for almost two hours then notice the hills are getting greener...there's some mountains in the distance & what looks like rain! Rain?! We haven't seen that since we've been here. And, oh, look...there's a termite hill & a balancing rock we've not seen before....Wait! We've never seen them before! 

Yep, we're totally lost w/no idea where we're at. No road signs anywhere along the way, no cell service or GPS, no pit stops, gas stations...nothing. Half hour later we see our first & only road sign telling us we're about 140 kilometers from Tom Price (a small town six hours southeast of where we live). Fortunately, we come to a roadhouse (truck stop) a short time later where we learn there's a short cut only 30 mins back...but we need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to travel that road, which we don't have. So back we go to where we started...a 7.5 hr. road trip we hadn't planned. At least we didn't hit any kangaroos after it got dark, which is when they usually hop out of nowhere onto the roads. You know the safety roll bars our vehicles have in the states? Out here they're called....roobars! 

Safely back home we enjoyed a good nights sleep on our new mattress from IKEA. We had been sleeping on one of the most uncomfortable beds ever & the mission had purchased us a new mattress. It got lost then found, lost again then reordered then both showed up 7 weeks after being ordered. (Notice a theme about being lost yet?) Upon getting it upstairs we discovered the hideously hard mattress we had been sleeping on was actually upside down! Whoever had made up the bed for the future tenants (us) had done so w/the soft mattress side face down. Who does that?! So now we are very comfortable sleeping on two mattresses...we're like princesses. 

Wonderful week spent meeting new people & teaching English to a missionary sister from Samoa. She is a wonderful, strong missionary with a humble heart of gold. She has a large family of 10 children...she's # 9 & also the ninth missionary to serve & her younger sister is preparing to leave in just a few months. Her parents were converted 25 yrs ago & have been so faithful in teaching their children the gospel & instilling strong values & a desire to serve. Amazing people!! 

The Elder we teach English is from Thailand & comes from a small village where his parents are dairy farmers. His goal is simple...to return home, marry in the temple, raise a righteous family & help run the farm. He wants to learn how to help grow the farm to provide work & income for others in their village. No big dreams of being a millionaire or traveling the world, just making a difference in his part of the Lord's vineyard the best way he can. We love these missionaries!

We had our Primary program two Sundays ago & it was such a beautiful meeting! The spirit was strong & we could feel the love of our Savior as the children bore their simple testimonies of Him. The family singing above are Maori & originally came from New Zealand. They have three of the loveliest children! The two boys have long, curly hair...the daughter's is short. Our branch has several such families...living far from home & family members, so this little branch is truly one big family who love & care one for another & welcome all into their circle.

We have one family who can only come to church one weekend a month as they live 6 hrs away. They're from the States...she's from Utah & he's from Arizona & they have 4 little ones. He worked for Kennicutt mines in SLC & was promoted to be the general manager at one of the big Rio Tinto mining operations over here. They are so faithful & determined to make sure their time here is spent teaching others of the Gospel & being true disciples of Christ. Another family is a hour away so come a couple times a month; there are also numerous fly-foes...these are workers who are flyin & flying out all the time. They may live 1200 miles away from their families yet come work for weeks at a time before flying out again. Lots of sacrifice.

We took a little drive over to Point Samson on Saturday...it's about an hour away so we didn't get lost. Along the way we saw our first real river...it was high tide & coming inland. We met a couple from Scandinavia...Her name is Ingrid & he's Gaston. We spent some time visiting & watched as some sea turtles swam in the river. She's going out to one of the islands in a few weeks to help tag the turtles & take an inventory of their numbers. It's always so interesting how the Lord's hand can be seen in the smallest of things. She was excited when we told her we had a friend from Sweden, Inger Bishop. Then we find out they live in the unit right next to us in Karratha...crazy!

We had a relaxing time exploring the area...beautiful beaches, a cool ghost town & a small park in the town of Wickham that had some retired machinery. This picture is for our grandson Lucas who loves everything about trucks! These can be seen all over the mining areas along with huge trains that can be up to 2 or miles long with cars filled w/iron ore being shipped off to China.

Then Elder Tate felt prompted to see if we could find one of the other families that have to travel in order to come to Church. The grandmother was home with two of the boys & welcomed us in. She got quite emotional as she shared some concerns that have been weighing heavy on her mind about her family & expressed her gratitude that we had made the effort to come visit. We were humbled & grateful to know the Lord had trusted us to meet her needs at this time. We know the Lord loves & cares about each & every one of His children regardless of where they live, what they do & who they are. He will send those who are able & willing to do His work...so we must always be listening to & for that still, small voice.

One of our neighbors is a returned missionary from Thailand who no longer attends church. She is a professional chef & seamstress...a very busy woman. She has been holding cooking classes in her home on Monday evenings, so we try to go as often as possible. It's more of a friendshipping thing than learning to cook...but she creates some beautiful dishes that taste as good as they look. She has friends who are partiers, so she now parties; she is lonely even in a crowd because she's forgotten who she is/where she comes from. So, along with others in our branch, we try to give her opportunities to feel & remember those things she once taught others. We are kind & try to show by example that you can find true joy by being in the world, but not of the world. 

We have a dear sister who was recently baptized & who has made some mistakes so thinks she is no longer worthy to attend church & participate in her new calling. It is difficult for her to think that she is not alone in this...that others feel the same way & it takes all of us to love & accept each other...wherever we are on the path of discipleship. 

So, I end with the beginning....in some way, at some time & in some place, we are all a little bit lost. It may be the result of poor choices we've made or that have been foisted upon us by another; it might be that we allow our doubts to push aside our faith or life just gets really, really hard & we think it might just be easier not to live the gospel for awhile. 

Elder Holland has expressed it this way, "...however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."

We are so very grateful for this knowledge. It is humbling & yet thrilling at the same time to be a part of this great gathering of the last days. We pray for the strength & ability to continue moving forward as we serve His children in this remote, but beautiful part of the world. 

Love to all,

Elder & Sister Tate