Calling down the rain!

Jan. 8, 2020

As all of you know, the Pacific Area Presidency sent out a plea to members of the Church last week to pray & fast for relief from the terrible drought & fires sweeping through Australia. As you can see from the picture below....prayers have been answered! Elder Poxon called down the rain & shortly after, the heavens opened in Karratha & the rest of Australia! 

Much more rain is needed, but we are sooo very grateful to everyone for the heartfelt pleadings to our Father in Heaven for the relief from the wildfires. The loss of animal life is staggering...500 million animals lost to fire, smoke or related incidents. Dozens of people have died, including several volunteer firefighters; thousands of homes destroyed & the town of Balmoral, south of Sydney has been all but wiped out. The people in these areas are very grateful for the generosity & support they are receiving from around the world...we certainly are not surprised that the US has sent firefighters & emergency personnel to aid the Australian responders here, as well as giving financial assistance.

Now if we can just get the people here to recognize the need to repent & come unto Christ! It is very difficult for missionaries in Australia as the people just don't recognize the need for spirituality in their lives or have desires to draw closer to God. So, please keep praying for continued relief from the fires & drought, but also, please pray for the spiritual drought in people's hearts to be watered that the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ might take root & grow.

And, closer to where we are, there are cyclones happening. Fortunately, we haven't been in the path of one yet...this could change, but we did have to cancel a trip inland to find members because the threat of flooding was pretty. We don't have four-wheel drive (much to Elder Tate's sorrow) so we can't take a chance on getting stuck in the middle of the bush with flash flooding happening around us. In Karratha we're on the 5th floor of an apartment complex so aren't worried about that issue & we have lots of extra water & food, a few movies & games in case we had to stay in for a couple of days...you know how much we like to be prepared!

We decided to have a Game Day party here at our complex for families that didn't leave town during the Christmas holiday break. If we got hit with a cyclone it would have become a Cyclone Party! No luck there! But we knew our family would be having our traditional game day at home & it helped us feel a little bit closer & more connected to them.

                                

We had five families join us as well as the missionaries, so about 30 people. Lots of delicious food, laughter & good times. One family of 5 we've been trying to get together with came...the dad is not a member & mom is inactive. They aren't married even though she was raised in the Church in Hawaii & comes from a long line of strong members. She would come back in a heartbeat if he would join...they have such wonderful member friends who love them & set such good examples. In fact, they even traveled to Perth to be there for friends who were sealed in the Temple last year. So we're very hopeful he'll come around. We also had other non-members & less actives come & a wonderful time was had by all. We're making plans to have another game day & swimming party in mid-February when our other branch families & non-member friends are back in town from what is the summer break here.

This is our good friend Anwar Shamoon from Iraq & our Karratha Elders. We've shown pictures & given you a bit of background before about Anwar....he's such an amazing, wonderful man. He is very generous & kind...grateful to be living in a place of freedom & peace. He often tears up as he tells us of his near-death experiences growing up & escaping as a teenager from his homeland or when recounting numerous examples of the suffering of family members as refugees or as unwelcome immigrants. He is so grateful to America for our military strength & willingness to come to the aid of those being persecuted around the world. He struggles with the hardships of his past...understanding how a loving God could let bad things happen to good people, but he is trying to move forward in faith.

Anwar is reading the Book of Mormon in his native Aramaic & also in English so he can better understand the stories of his ancestors & gain a testimony that this book came forth by revelation from God to a young boy, to testify to the world of Jesus Christ's divinity. He wants to believe, but does not know this Joseph. His family needs the gospel in their lives & he could be the one to show them the way. Please pray for him.

Our Branch Pres. & his family in Port Hedland, the Pages, are leaving for Queensland. He has been the Pres. for over seven years & they take two teenagers with them, have a daughter serving a mission in the States & another daughter at university who is preparing to serve a mission. Such great examples & devoted disciples of Christ. They will be sorely missed in this small branch, however, their loving examples of faithful service & love will linger long after they are gone. It was a bittersweet celebration for all...

On our P-Day this week we were able to go out in the bush to a cattle station. If you ever saw the TV series, The Thornbirds or Quigley Down Under...that's what it's like. Red dirt everywhere, scrub bush/grass & pretty flat. It was about 50 miles out of town off a dirt road & the ranch is about 650,000 acres. His brothers ranch is 1.5 million acres. It takes an entire day for his son Owen/helper to go out & check all the windmills to make sure the cattle have water. It was about 105* today on the ranch & about 60% humidity....soooo hot! So you can imagine working in that kind of environment! It's crazy! 

Here we are at the road/station sign. Have to watch for deadly snakes & scorpions...couldn't believe it when Elder Peterson wore shorts! We had a bit of excitement when I thought we had passed by one of these snakes in the road while driving. We turned around to check it out but, alas, it was just a cow pie!

Below is the owner's 13 yr. old son, Owen. He drives everything on the station...graters, tractors, water trucks, cattle trucks, etc. Until this year he & his younger siblings were all home schooled, but now that he's in 9th grade his mom drives them all to school then back home every day...these are really tough, independent people! Much like our pioneer stock that settled the West.

                                            

                                              
         






Here's Owen's dad,   Zane Day. We had a good chuckle because his name's so like the American west writer, Zane Grey. Next to Randy is Tasha, one of our Port Hedland members & their employee. She handles all the dirt moving business for him. He actually has multiple ventures going on...the dirt business, which is mainly minerals like lithium, iron ore; cattle ranching/beef & other things. She was also the hostess for our farewell party for the Page family.                                                                
                           

Transfers happened this week & Elder Gardner, our district leader in the dark hat, (Port Hedland) & Elder Yavala (Karratha) have left us. Elder Poxon is our new country district leader & will be here for awhile longer...which means he will have been in Karratha for almost a year of his mission. That's a very long time for any young missionary to stay in one area. We're not complaining, however...he's a fantastic Elder & we're very happy to have him still with us. 

Our new missionary is Elder Allen from Dallas, TX...Yeehaw!! He's a handsome, tall, southern boy & will be here until he finishes his mission in April, so they saved the best for last! He brings lots of excitement & energy to the area & we expect great things to start happening here because of the faith of our members & our dedicated, hard-working missionaries.

Of course, we are staying right here in Karratha, most likely until July. However, we found out that Port Hedland will be getting a senior missionary couple, the Vawdrey's, so we won't be going over there every month after this Sunday because Elder Vawdrey will be the new Branch President. Generally they wouldn't call a senior missionary couple to take on this responsibility, but Pres. Bennallack felt impressed that this is who was needed at this time & we are very excited for the branch there. They deserve to have someone who can focus their energies full-time on the members & in working with the young missionaries to grow the branch all the time.

We are also very happy for the Vawdrey's, who will make such a huge difference in Port Hedland & the lives of the members. They have a wonderful spirit & are excited to be going somewhere that needs them & their particular set of abilities & talents. They bring strong testimonies & a love for the Savior & His gospel & years of experience to share & will be of great benefit to these good saints. They will be able to bring the light of Jesus Christ into the community in a way we couldn't do only being able to visit 3-4 days a month. We will continue go visit whenever time permits to keep in touch w/our friends there & provide whatever support is needed in the branch. We hope to be able to have combined activities w/both branches & maybe some exchange opportunities w/our young elders. We believe there are truly amazing times ahead!!

 You may recall that we were going to take a trip a couple weeks ago down south to a small town called Tom Price to visit w/aan active member family & look for several inactives. Because of the cyclones we decided not to rish driving because they get much more rain in that part of the county than we do here. One of our members who has a landscaping business took a trip there & this is what they experienced when a flash flood came as they were crossing a diverted stream. A day later our missionaries (exciting 2nd day for Elder Allen!) accompanied two other brethren out to the bush to help retrieve the vehicle...4-wheel drive w/extended exhaust pipe for high water. If this is what could happen to him I can only imagine what might happen to us in a little Corolla...Fortunately, they are safe & the vehicle's insured so all's well. 

In closing...thank you all again for the countless prayers & faithful fasting you held for the benefit of the people/land of Australia. They are truly appreciated!! We are so very grateful to the Lord for his tender mercies & the way He blesses those who are truly striving to become His disciples. We testify that He loves us & waits patiently for us to come to Him in prayer that those righteous blessings we are in need of can be granted, according to His will & timing.

We love you all & are looking forward to the new year & the opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with new friends. We have been challenged to bring 200 souls to Christ this year in the great Australia Perth mission & with the continued dedication & faithful service of our members uniting w/missionaries, we know this can happen. Please continue to pray for those serving missions around the world! We feel the power of those prayers in our daily lives & the strength they bring to us. May the Lord bless you & your families as you strive to keep the commandments & become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. Hurrah for Israel!!

Love to all....Elder & Sister Tate