The end of an Era!!

March 26, 2020

These past few weeks have been very busy & productive. Elder Tate's basketball days here in Western Australia have come to an end. His boys played hard & gave it their all, but it wasn't quite enough to stay in the tournament. It didn't help that they didn't have any subs & two of the better players moved mid-season. But they learned a lot about sportsmanship, discipline & teamwork w/Elder Tate, their amazing & very patient coach.

A couple weeks ago we held our first missionary fireside. It was specifically for members & we had a great turnout w/many people remarking how much they loved the format & ideas that were presented. The Elders were in charge & gave assignments to each of the auxiliaries to figure out & implement. Those in attendance were divided up into four groups & rotated to another room every 10 minutes. Each group watched a 1-2 minute video from the gospel library app called 'How to Share' & received great suggestions on how to be better missionaries using proven methods of friendship & sincerity. We ended in under an hour & then spent another hours eating & visiting about what we had just done. Lots of questions about if/when we would be having another missionary fireside, so I'd call it successful!

Here's Elder Tate playing w/the Mortley kiddos, Eli & Lillum. They love Elder/Grandpa Tate & he gets his grandkid 'fix' when we can hang out w/these cuties. They will be missed when we leave to return home. One little part of our heart will always be in Karratha & another part will remain in Kalgoorlie. 

Our new missionary is Elder Meads. He played his first 'Murder' marble game w/Elder Tate as his partner, & as you can tell from Elder van der Linden's face, our team lost...badly. The game has caught on on we have eight boards now in circulation in Western Australia that Elder Tate has made w/six more that Bro. Barr's family have made & play in Perth. We leave a legacy of 'murder' in our wake.

Randy has become friends w/the father of one of the boy's from basketball over the last few weeks. The family are originally from Ghana, Africa but have lived here in Kalgoorlie for the past nine years. The dad, Peter, is a geologist turned assistant pastor at the Assembly of God church & chaplin at the Baptist college. The mom, Harriet, works at the local hospital. They have five children...two in college in Perth & three here in high school. They are lovely people & we are enjoying getting to know them better. Peter has been coming to the Family History center for the past couple of weeks & has become very excited to see things coming together w/his genealogy as his brothers/sisters back in Africa send him information & he's been able to get the records digitized. The gathering of Israel for his family has started...

his questions have also started as to why we do this work.

Here we are at dinner w/Harriet, Peter & the Mortley family at a local Italian restaurant. We wanted to introduce them to a member family & Scott is our EQ Pres. & they are awesome missionaries. Come to find out, they have a mutual friend who is starting work at the prison where Scott is an administrator, so the Mortley's will invite both families to their home along w/several other members who also work at the prison to do some friend shipping & fellowship. 

Here is a picture of Elder Tate & Peter on their way back from a visit to an Assembly of God group last Sunday in a very small settlement about an hour from Kalgoorlie. There were about 12 in attendance & the ladies loved the chocolate cake Elder Tate made to share w/them after their meeting. The two guys had a great conversation on the way home about our Heavenly Father's plan for his children & self reliance. We just happen to be facilitating the 'Start Your Own Business' self reliance class, so Peter is planning on attending in the near future to see what it's all about. He is a very good man & we are hopeful these things will be the catalyst for more questions & missionary lessons.

The other picture is of a huge lake of salt...one of many in our area. 

Here we are at another of our Monday night FHE in the park...Two of our Chinese families came & they had a great time. Henry/Yue (she's expecting in May) w/daughter Amy on the left (below) & James/Chen Chen w/baby (boy) on right...they have another little boy, too & he had so much fun playing w/all the other children.

Several of Elder Tate's basketball boys came to hang out & eat some hotdogs, play some ball & games.  Adom, (front right) is Peter & Harriet's son. They all had a great time playing the game below, which is an old family favorite w/a spin. I had totally forgotten this game until just before we left for the park. The Spirit whispered it to me, so strange to remember this from when I was growing up...what we used to call the 'States' game. Instead of states, we had everyone choose a fruit or veggie & say what they were in the circle. A person is in the middle w/a rolled up newspaper & getting to smack someone if they don't give the right response quickly. We played using fruits/veggies instead of names. The little Chinese boy is sitting next to the Elders & he got so excited to be able to participate. He doesn't speak much English but chose to be a peach (the fruit)...he learned quickly that when 'peach' was called out, to jump up & yell 'apple' or 'banana' or something else & laughed so much when they got hit. If he got to have a turn hitting someone with the paper, then that was even better! His parents were so happy to hear/see him laughing & to know he had fun. It's a great game for all ages...the youngest playing was four.

This is last Friday nights couple's dinner...enjoying good food, good laughter & good times. They're all from New Zealand & the guy on the left is a convert w/a story similar to Elder Tate's. The other couple have the most adorable kids & the little one calls Elder Tate 'Papa'. We had a great time getting to know them all better & sharing experiences. We've become like a set of parent's/grandparents to a lot of these young couples whose families are all back in NZ or gone. They like talking about the differences in America to here, talking about marriage/parenting & work. People are the same wherever we go...they love their family, worry about their kids, work, relationships & want to be happy. The gospel answers so many questions on how to become our best selves & achieve happiness in this life & joy in the life to come.

Yes...we do post lots of pictures w/food & it does appear that we are always eating somewhere or with someone! We do spend a lot of time w/people at one kind of celebration, activity or church function that has food as a part of it. Not much different than being back home, actually! Elder Tate is doing very well taking off the pounds he's put on while we've been on our mission...me, not so much. Even w/Zumba starting back up, I've got to get out more & will do that as soon as the temps start to drop. 

What is also the same is that lots of people need service! On the left is Elder Tate & one of our YM, Lennox helping to stake a tree that had fallen over; many other hands cleaning out dead bushes/trees & cleaning up a single sister's yard. We had two nonmembers helping out & two less actives...plus lots of little kids giving us a hand. The old adage is still true...many hands make light work!  

The Primary put together a great activity in preparation for Easter. Families met at the Church then received a series of clues an their phones sending them out on a scavenger hunt. They had to figure out the clues to know where to go to complete an activity, put together a message or receive a treat. The handout they received also had codes to find additional activities, the treat recipe & Easter stories. Lots of participation & everyone said how much fun they had together! 

And the bagged goodies are...wait for it...Rice Krispy treats! They have been introduced & reproduced on several occasions & are now beloved by both young & old alike! They love 'American' food!

Another busy few weeks have  passed & we are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to go to Perth next week for a very quick trip to see our dedicated, long serving missionaries from Kiribati finally getting to return home. They have been out over three years due to Covid having closed the borders to their tiny island home. What trust & pride our Heavenly Father must have in them to send them out knowing they would remain faithful & obedient in such times as these. They never complained...just kept working, loving & serving by loving & serving our Father's children. We have been so blessed to see their devotion & selflessness. It will be hard saying goodbye.

This thought brings me to thinking about how difficult it must have been for us to say goodbye to our brothers/sisters who rebelled against Heavenly Father/Jesus in the pre-mortal realms. How much grief must our Heavenly Parents have felt to know so many of their children willingly chose to turn their backs upon all that was good/true because of pride & would never be able to return to live w/them again.

How much joy must they experience when we choose to follow the Plan of Salvation & be obedient/faithful to the love which has been so freely given us. To have a Savior who loves us so much that he gave himself as a ransom, regardless of whether or not we will follow Him. Because of this perfect understanding & selfless love, Christ became our Redeemer & provided a way back to our heavenly home for all those who choose to take His yoke upon them & follow him. 

My heart fills w/peace & joy to know because of this great plan of happiness, I can see my beloved Father & little Jack-Jack again & dwell w/my family for eternity. The path is not always easy. It is strewn w/detours, mountains, great divides & barriers sadness & grief. It is also filled w/rivers & lakes of great peace & serenity; valleys covered in green pastures of peace & mountains that spread wide before us the incredible creations of God.

May the next few days lead be filled w/joy as you create or relive wonderful memories of family & the true message of Easter. We pray you will take time to reflect, study & learn more of our Savior & Redeemer & share the incredible story of His life & Atonement w/those you love. May the Spirit touch your hearts as you seek to hear His voice & learn of Him. May you feel impressed to share that joy w/others that they may come to know the Lord & receive the promises He offers each of us. 

We give thanks for the blessings of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. We know He lives & love us. We know this is His true Church & is led by men called to lead/direct it. That Russell M. Nelson is His chosen Prophet; that he & the Apostles direct the Church according to His will & that as we follow their counsel, we may find safety/shelter amid the storms that rage around us. May we always strive to be worthy of the blessings we have been promised through obedience & endure w/patience & faith until He comes again.

We love you all & look forward to the coming days when we will be together once again. Hurrah for Israel!!  Elder & Sister Tate

March 5, 2021

Good'ay mates! We send our love & greetings to you all. There is a young sister in Perth that is beloved by Senior Sister missionaries. She is so very thoughtful... bringing us little gifts for Mother's Day, birthdays & other special days; cards to express her love for us as she knows we are far from our own families; thoughtful little crafts she makes (sometimes for dozens of RS sisters that she doesn't even know & at her own expense) to brighten the day of anyone she thinks might need a pick me up. 

    'Bloom where you're planted' handouts           a Mother's Day quote on a key ring

Card of appreciation & love to me

She's a convert of about 2.5 yrs & at times, is very insecure in her faith. The only member in her family, they are often very vocal about her affiliation w/the Church & express their disappointment. She had many fights w/her father before being baptized & sometimes thinks that is the only reason why she was baptized...to go against his wishes. Still living at home at the age of 32, she doesn't really believe she will ever marry & have a family .She often doubts her abilities to receive answers to prayers, doesn't think she qualifies to receive promised blessings, is convinced of her worthiness to go to the temple. But in all my dealings w/this sweet gal, it is apparent to me that she is not only deserving of all these things, but is exactly the kind of person the Lord is desirous of us to find, teach & baptize. 

Yes, she questions lots of things. But that's ok because she wants to believe & is willing (usually) to ask, seek & knock...Her prayers are simple & not always believing, yet I can tell her heart yearns to know of a surety that what she has been taught & is still learning, is true. At times she can be negative & snarky (I call her my snarky Australian girl) & makes light of those things that make her a little crazy. Sounds like a lot of members I know, except she is vocal about her concerns & really wants to have answers...while so many of us just let things simmer until the pot boils over & covers everything/everyone is a sticky, uncomfortable mess. However difficult her challenges, she never gives up but just keep trying. She is totally focused on learning, growing & becoming.

My reason for pointing out/writing about this sister is to illustrate that we all feel this way at some point during this journey we call life. Whether we are life-long members of the Church, new converts, returning to activity or a non-member or not interested at the moment, our journeys are more similar than different. We all experience doubts, fears, disillusionment, grief/sorrow, disappointment, rumors, finger-pointing, trauma...the list goes on. On the positive side, we all feel joy, enjoy smiles & laughter, experience inclusion, discovery, satisfaction, happiness, find answers, acceptance & count our blessings.

So where are you on your journey? What is your focus & purpose moving forward? How do you propose to accomplish your goals/dreams? Are you including the Lord & seeking His direction?

We are constantly learning from those we are teaching. Our Chinese friends are such good examples to us of having that laser-like focus. See how intently they are looking at the screen & listening to Elder Tate as he helps them understand what they are seeing. This is why they succeed...they give it their all. Teaching them the gospel is more challenging because the language/words can be very difficult to translate & the principles are so very new. But we are patient & know the Lord is aware of their limitations & will bless them as they make sincere attempts to learn. 

We have been having couples over every Friday night for the past few weeks for dinner & to introduce them to the 'Invite to Invite' invitations. This was something we did all the time with great success up in Karratha so we were very happy when the mission introduced something very similar. We then share a ten minute message filled w/great ideas/suggestions that would make an awesome FHE to teach/inspire the whole family. We would encourage everyone to utilize these new videos found in the gospel library app under 'Sharing the Gospel' & 'How to Share'. There are 12 very short videos that demonstrate how easy it is to share & give great ideas on how to go about doing it. We promise as you put this to the test you will be successful & find great joy...unexpected & wonderful blessings will come into your life & the lives of those you invite into your homes. 

We've been having dinner groups for the past several weeks to get to know all our members, include some less actives & introduce non-members to others of similar background, work, kids, etc...Here are a few that we've enjoyed spending time w/so far. 

 

                  Brother & Sister Riquelme (from Chile)   Sister Thompson (made the cake!)

  CeCe & Josh Katene; Sherayne & Nathan Lui 

  Tureia & Elaine Kaese;  Adeedas & Jessie Lemusu                                                                                                         w/new baby boy                         

We've also been having FHE on Monday evenings in a local park & have shared some photos of those gatherings. Some are very well attended while others, well...not so much. But even when the group is small, we still enjoy those who do come. Game nights will be starting up again soon but the different auxiliaries will take care of planning & putting it together. We're happy to let them take over & run the show because we are MLS missionaries... that's Member Leader Support...not in charge. 

Above is Mason, our littlest cancer survivor! His mom is a member but his father is not. His dad would like to get baptized, but we need to get his parents married first! They are progressing, so please keep them in your prayers so this can happen soon. The other little tyke calls Elder Tate Papa...for grandpa. She is adorable! Her mom & dad are great members & part of a large Polynesian family from NZ. We love them. Her mom is the one that made the incredible, three layer black forest cake pictured above. 

Here are Eason & James, two of our Chinese guys playing ball in the park at FHE. They love B-ball & soccer!  

A big welcome to guests joining in at our first Rootstech seminar! Here's the Sheck family (Bro Sheck is our new Bishop!!). They were excited to get in touch w/their New Zealand & Maori culture & roots; helping members get connected by setting up accounts on FamilySearch & problem solving. Those who attended had a good time watching a few of the videos, learning more about their Polynesian culture & experiencing new things as families. This will be a new annual event & will become a very powerful tool in drawing family's closer to each other; bring the community together w/members & a way to unite generations past, present & future. Such a blessing to be a part of this amazing Church sponsored event!

This is the boy's basketball team Elder Tate's coaches. They have been working very hard to improve & be more unified as a team. There is only six boys left after two moved away last December & it has been very tough getting them all to commit to coming every week to practice & show up for games. Their hard work has begun to pay off though as they have won the last two games against much bigger players & teams w/more boys to sub in & out. Last night they rallied & came from far behind to end up winning by one point. They are now in second place going into tournament play. Fingers crossed that they do well! 

Here is a sign we often see around town which was very confusing. We had no idea why people would be cutting down then restumping trees...didn't make any sense to us. Come to find out, houses are often built on short stilts or stumps here because of flash flooding, which we now know about. So 'restumping' is too replace or reinforce the girders supporting the house from underneath. 

Sometimes I think we should wear a sign that says, 'needs restumping'! At times we are all in need of girding up, strengthening, support or reinforcement. These are a few of the reasons why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so invaluable to each of God's children...it provides us all w/these needful things to assist us on this journey of life. 

Fortunately, we don't need to call an outside repair guy to come in an tell us what's wrong, how much it will cost & how long it will take for the repairs or reinforcement to take place. We can make a call to our Heavenly Father through prayer at any time & in any place; much of the work to build up our supports can be done ourselves through studying our scriptures, pondering & consistent attendance at Church & in sacred worship in Temples. It doesn't cost us anything for the reinforcement or supports to be put in place...just hard work & dedication to keeping the commandments & our covenants to the Lord.

We've been instructed, counseled & encouraged to put our houses in order & to more diligently #HearHim. The Lord is the master builder...He alone knows what is needful in our lives & how to assist us as we attempt to rebuild ourselves to more fully become like Him.

As we prepare to see/listen to General Conference in April, it is our hope that we may be more willing to let the Lord prevail in our lives & follow the counsel of our Prophet & other leaders more quickly & with exactness. 

We love you all & pray for you daily! May the Lord watch over & bless you/your families. Hurrah for Israel!! 

Love...Elder & Sister Tate

PS...from Elder Tate:

Things are really changing very quickly in our home town of Boise, we will return to a foreign city that we no longer desire to live in.  Seems like the rest of the US has discovered the Mountain regions and our once easy pace of life no longer exists.   

We are well...yes we extended our time here and are still serving in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.  We will be the last Senior Missionaries to leave the mission.  June 22 is our projected departure date; 8 days prior to President & Sister Bennallack's end date.  We are working with success around every challenge; reactivating members one by one just as Elder Bednar encourages us all to search, find and nurture the One.  Many personal spiritual experiences, those small at first impressions of guidance, have turned many hearts.  We keep on keepin' on in the face of adversarial challenges until we can see the light guide us...and lead us to the next level of understanding the One.

We are excited to participate in this great work through our learning curve.  Since we have moved past our 18 month mark, the results of our work is showing us what MLS is really all about.  Patience, perseverance, humility, regrouping with our companion and moving forward with faith. We get a glimpse of heaven here on Earth with moments of pure joy; though, insignificant as it may seem during the moment, the building blocks to get back on track take a lot of faith with the correct words and actions inspired by the Holy Ghost.  Then the magic of the moment appears...it is hard to express.

We are full of excitement as our prayers are answered and guidance is received.  The Lord is keeping us safe and secure.