The Cyclone aftermath...& lessons learned :-O

Feb. 9, 2020

We survived!! Not that we ever doubted, but it was a wild & crazy ride there for about 12 hrs. It was our first, & we hope the last, cyclone we ever have to experience. Don't know how people do this year after year...would make me crazy! Well...crazier, anyway. 

Here's some photos of before/after & during the storm. These first pictures are of the downtown area from our apartment pool area.

 Almost all the trees lining main street were blown down or had to be removed. 

The connected plaza where they would hold farmers markets & gatherings. Soon to be the site of a Hilton Hotel...without the trees.

This is from our apartment pool deck looking down on the street below...extension of main street. Very few trees left. 

Looking down on the neighborhood below us during the cyclone. 

Cyclones are fickle things...they can change direction quickly & that is what this one did. Originally, it wasn't supposed to be a direct hit, was supposed to go either between us & Port Hedland or further west away from the coastline. Nor was it supposed to be a Cat 4 storm. But it changed course Thursday afternoon & increased in intensity. 

Being in such a remote area we don't have the ability to just jump on a plane, a bus or train when these kinds of things occur. There's only a couple roads in & out of the area...& both were in the path of the cyclone. The planes only fly in/out a couple times a day. And there are no long distance buses or passenger trains. After a certain point, one just has to do whatever can be done to be prepared & stay safe. We did exactly what was required. Got our food/water/first aid supplies/flashlights/batteries, etc. & made sure to follow all the directions provided by the Cyclone Emergency agency. We never really worried about our safety. A little apprehensive, perhaps...but not afraid.

Of course, one of our main concerns were making sure our Elders were safe. We had thought to keep them w/us, but we're in a small unit w/only one bed/one bath & nowhere for them to bunk down. Maybe we could put them up in the game room so they could have their own bathroom/kitchen, but that thought came into my head & quickly went out because people would be doing their 'cyclone party' thing & playing games/partying. It's a good thing we didn't do that either because the ceiling collapsed on what would have been their sleeping area. 

The thought then came into my mind to call a member of the branch & ask if the Elders could stay w/them overnight...to which they said 'absolutely'. So we expressed our desires that they go to the members home, but told them they could decide for themselves. 

They decided to ride out the storm at their place. They live in a two story brick townhouse w/a tall wrap around brick fence & large metal gates. Unfortunately, one small section of the roof pulled away from the frame & rain came pouring into their study area & totally freaked them out cause it sounded like a freight train rumbling through the house! They were able to rush in & get all their important things out & stuffed towels underneath the door to keep the water from pouring out. They went downstairs to the main floor & hid in the closet, praying to be kept safe. Which, thank heavens, they were. 

Upper left corner is where the metal roofing pulled away. Inside the room & hiding out in the closet like Harry Potter.

These things certainly make for fun, exciting stories after it's all over. But that's only because it turned out well. It certainly could have had a very different ending. We all learned a valuable lesson that very long day & night. Being prepared means more than having the necessary provisions & a place of safety. It means being sensitive to the Spirit to hear that still, small voice & then being quick to obey. We will all experience loud storms & the noise of dissenting voices in this life. They can be figurative or very literal. Our physical & spiritual safety depends upon our listening & obeying the warnings we receive. This is more real now than at any time before.

We spent our Sabbath Day cleaning up member's homes. Monday will be the same for there's much to be done, but it's a great opportunity to meet new people in the community.

Tuesday: Here's Elder Tate cutting tree limbs/branches from one of two huge trees that fell into an older woman's yard. And he thought his lumberjack days were over...silly boy!! 

 As they say here, it's all good. Life has a way of bringing things into perspective. When it comes to nature, there is no distinction between rich & poor, good or bad, skin color or age. And the same can be said of the Lord...He loves all His children equally & understands our sorrows, grief, joys & pain. It often takes these kinds of things to occur for us to remember how much we should depend upon Him. We shouldn't be waiting until natural disasters, personal tragedy or trials force us to our knees before we turn to prayer.

So what humbling lessons did we learn through these past few days? For starters...being prepared temporally is very important, however, being prepared spiritually is absolutely essential in these latter days. Secondly, a cyclone gets your attention but, as Helaman teaches...'it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper'. When promptings or personal inspiration comes, we must act immediately & have faith that if it is for our good, it comes from God. Third...there are people everywhere who need our help & we should be anxiously engaged in seeking out opportunities to serve. We are our brother's & sister's keeper. Love one another & look for ways to help your neighbor...keep them wondering why you're so happy! That's when they'll start asking questions.

Thank you family & dear friends for your heartfelt prayers & words of cheer! We appreciate the support more than words can express & pray the Lord's blessings upon you all. That will open the windows of heaven & let our Father's love shine down upon them. Then wonderful things will happen. We testify that through the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, eyes that are downcast will see the Light & the storms of life will be calmed. 

Love to you all!!  Elder & Sister Tate  

It's a CYCLONE!!

February 7th, 2020

I'm starting this entry early because Elder Tate & I are having a bit of excitement. Santa came to town several weeks ago, but here's what's coming to town this weekend....a Cat 4 cyclone!! It's supposed to make a direct hit Saturday morning & hang out throughout the day. We've had calls from several wonderful members of the branch to ensure that we've battened down the hatches & have food/water/batteries & everything else we might need to ride out a few days of 'red' alert, meaning where you shouldn't be on the roads or out in the weather because of extreme wind/rain. Fortunately, all the electrical cables are underground, so the power seldom goes out, but that doesn't mean there won't be problems w/falling trees/lights, etc. Here's some pictures of what's coming our way...

Above is the projected path...satellite image...below, the pointy finger at the bottom is just above Karratha. 

Here's what it's supposed to look like as the cyclone makes landfall & passes by Karratha. 

We had planned on going to Tom Price Thursday (about 350 miles south) to stay w/one of our branch families for a couple days & look for inactive members there...then were turning back & heading up to Port Hedland for a couple more days to say hello to the new senior couple & visit w/branch members. But, as you can see, the cyclone is covering the area between Karratha & Port Hedland then later it goes right over Tom Price. So we won't be going anywhere for quite a few days because of flooding.

It's always a good thing to have a record for posterity so they can see how brave & fearless their grandparents & great-grandparents were in fighting nature's fury while serving a faithful mission. Of course, I'm not going to mention we did it in the comfort of our 5th floor apartment building w/all the modern conveniences & comforts like A/C, internet, plenty of food & clean water, a nice bed/hot shower, etc...don't want to ruin their little imaginations!

This is the neighborhood right below our apartment complex. It doesn't look bad now, but that may very well change over the next 6 hrs as the eye approaches then passes by. Winds are starting to pick up & rain is coming down very hard. 

I'm not making light of it...there's certain to be destruction & flooding problems. But these people are pretty tough & have dealt w/this kind of thing before. Even so, there hasn't been a Cat 4 cyclone for many years so, we just do the best we can to be prepared & then sit back & watch nature's power unfold & be grateful we're indoors & protected. 

Of course, many prayers will be going heavenward from those of us in the storm's path as well as from family/friends concerned for everyone's well-being. We do our part to be prepared & follow instructions...then we must have faith. We feel a little apprehension, but that is only normal, but we are not afraid. I believe this is because we know we are on the Lord's errand & He will protect us. 

Until tomorrow...from wet, windy city Karratha! Love to all...Elder & Sister Tate

Happy Palindrome Day!!

How fun is it to write that date down? I did several times today just for the fun of it!
Can't believe it's already February & we've been on our mission now for 5 months. Time is certainly going by very quickly. Everytime I write a new post I hope to have something important or eventful to share; something of spiritual significance or an obvious answer to prayers. When I begin writing that is not usually the case...initially. As I start sifting through the happenings of the weeks prior I can clearly see the blessings & tender mercies of the Lord and am so very grateful for this time to reflect & give thanks. 

One of the goals we have this new year is to have an increased spiritual awakening through following President's Nelson admonition to make a dedicated study of the Book of Mormon. There are so many new ways to do this... most are found on the Church's website at: www.churchofjesuschrist.org       Our personal favorite so far has been the Joseph Smith Papers Podcast  But if you haven't visited   www.ldsmag.com  you should really check it out also. So much information about the Come, Follow Me program as well as wonderful articles by really good writers.

Last Sunday was our friend Anwar's 50th birthday! Happy birthday to him! We had a linger longer after church w/fruit trays & I baked up a big chocolate cake w/Elder Tate's favorite marshmallow frosting...it was a huge hit! We gave him one our favorite pictures of the Savior for his home...he loves it. Still waiting for him to take the final step & be baptized...he's getting a little closer each day. Please keep him in your prayers...they're helping! 

January 26th was the nation's Australia Day...a celebration of all things Aussie. Not quite like our July 4th, but still a pretty big deal. They had fireworks & lots of different activities throughout the area. Our branch had a big party Monday at a local park & it was such great fun! Perfect day to play in the water as it was about 102*. The men put down plastic for a huge slip n' slide. We had several children from the Aboriginal community that came w/their care provider, who is a member of our branch. Below & on the right is President Lekias w/his daughter in the pink hat.

Here are a bunch of our branch kids & their friends having a blast on the slip 'n slide. On the left is Sister Elkington (in the hat) & Amanda, a non-member who came w/her three darling girls. You might recall her from previous entries from the Garden Group. I think we've finally convinced her we aren't a wacky cult...just wacky. However, it was tempting to grab her for a quickie baptism in the kiddie pool! 

Sister Lekias is in the center...left is her non-member friend, Tasha & on the right is Sister Dimitrov, mom to 5 adult kids & 7 grandkids here in Karratha. We spend quite a bit of time w/their family as they make up about 20% of the branch. Pres. & Sister Lekias are from New Zealand as is the whole Dimitrov clan.

Our beloved missionaries..
Elder Allen, in front from Dallas, TX & Elder Poxon, from the motherland, England. It was fun watching them interact w/everyone in a crazy, fun setting. They had a blast being able to get wet like everyone else for a change! Now they want to do this every month until summer's over.


Here's Bro. McKay cooking up a storm at the grill. I think he cooked up over 100 sausages...which, in these parts is called a sausage sizzle.  :-) He's 1st counselor in our branch Presidency & is married to Lavinia who was busy taking all these great photos! They have a recording studio in their home because they both love music, but Leroy really loves to sing...Karaoke! 

And last, but not least....in front is our fearless Elder's Q pres., Caleb Dimitrov, then our branch clerk, Bro. Ta'ala, followed by Pres. Lekias. The three amigos! I think the final count was about 60 people in attendance & almost half were non-members or less actives. Awesome! 



We actually took off for a few hours one hot afternoon & went to see a movie at the beautiful theater in town. It's huge & very state of the art, but prior to going into the theater, I noticed several people carrying in pillows...after sitting for about 30 minutes it became obvious why...the seats were uncushioned, hard plastic...SO uncomfortable. We felt bruised afterwards! And everything was very expensive...movie $16.50/person; $4.00 for a little bag of popcorn; $2.50/drink & $4.00 for candy. There were whole families going in with hands full of popcorn, drinks & candy. Had to cost them $150+ for a family of 5. Went & saw the new Jumanji....don't recommend it as there was a whole lot of swearing...especially taking the Lord's name in vain & not nearly as funny as the first one.

We welcomed back lots of members returning home from summer holidays. The last month we've averaged probably 18 people to church...one Sunday there was ten. Very strange to experience, but also helps me appreciate how challenging it can be to provide consistent structure & support to these far distant towns & settlements. It also renews my faith in the absolute necessity of having an organized Church organization to provide said structure & support. It's not difficult to imagine how easy it would be for these good saints to get lost if not for the technology & teaching materials that helps everyone stay connected. 

It's so weird having it be summer in the middle of winter months...very surreal. We've had several days in the 100's again & a possible cyclone heading our way. It can change direction very quickly but one should always be prepared w/lots of water, food & things to do indoors.  School starts up again this week & we will start teaching Seminary to two students & a recent convert. So, early morning Seminary, here I come again! 

We'll also be starting a family history class in a few weeks...one at the community Library & one at the church. Not sure yet how many people will be signing up, but we'll all be learning together cause we're certainly not experts. We've worked on our own family lines, but neither of us have helped anyone else with theirs, so it will be interesting. Any suggestions or ideas to help us get started are very welcome!!  


We were planning on going to one of our distant areas this week but will probably have to wait to make sure the cyclone heading our way doesn't cause serious flooding. We would hate to get stuck in the middle of a river like our friends did from our last post! We don't have a 4-wheel drive so wouldn't stand a chance. If you want to check out the cyclone's path you can go to www.windy.com & see what's coming down the northwestern coastline. 

The Church is true. God lives & loves us. He provided the world with the restored Gospel through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are not perfect people, but we are striving to overcome our weaknesses by being obedient & faithful to the principles we know to be true & correct. We are eternally grateful to the young Joseph Smith for his humility & desire to know for himself which church he should join & then being willing to do all in his power to bring that marvelous work & wonder to pass. We testify that this work we do...bringing souls to Christ...is the most important work we can be engaged in at this time in our lives. We pray for you, our family & dear friends, & know we are all in the Lord's hands.  Love to you all...Elder & Sister Tate!

In closing & w/our Elders...we say to you, our friends....Hurrah for Israel!!