We have been in the Orange District for 1 month now and are loving it. Besides loving the country atmosphere, we are loving the people.
On our 4th day here we decided to walk around the neighborhood and see just who we might meet. We saw a large man walking down the sidewalk and when he saw how we were dressed and our missionary badges he stopped to talk with us. His name is W........n T...........o. He is a member of the church from Tonga and said that he wanted to have his step sons baptized. He has not been attending church because he cannot drive. We offered to pick him up on Sunday and he accepted. He and one stepson attended with us. We invited the whole family to dinner at our apartment the following Thursday and had a very good time with them. The following Sunday, W.........n and two of his step daughters went to church with us and seemed to enjoy it. We had them to dinner again and the children's Mother is also interested in getting them baptized. We are hoping that while the children are being taught, that she will gain a testimony and want to be baptized also.
When we 1st arrived at the mission office, we were given two referral slips for P........r P.......o in Orange and his mother, D.......s P.........o in an assisted living center in Forbes. We have not been able to make contact with P.......r but have been visiting D.......s once a week. We have left her copies of the Ensign Magazine and she seems to enjoy our visits. We don't know what will come of it as she is on oxygen and not in good health and it would be a 2 hour ride one way to bring her to church. We hope she will accept the gospel, if not in this life, possibly in the next.
Tuesday evening we invited A......n P....i to dinner and spent a great evening with him. He is making a come back after a period of inactivity. He was able to go to the Temple Thursday Sept 29.
Wednesday evening we had dinner with Bro & Sis. D......e. Sis. D.... is very active, but Bro. D....... has not been going to church. He loves Genealogy and has shown us how he does it using 5 monitors. We are hoping that he will decide to come back to church before we leave the area. Their son, M......y was there from Taiwan. He is looking for work so his wife and daughter can join him here.
Thursday we tried to contact various branch members throughout the day but found no one home except J........y B........n who is from the Philippines. We had a good visit with him and invited he and his family to dinner on Tuesday evening. He mentioned that one reason he quit going to church was that everyone kept asking him if he had passed the test to be able to work in Australia yet.
Later that evening we tried to locate S...........e M.........n on National Ave. The lady at 13 National Ave. said that he comes around sometimes and so we left our phone number with her to give to him when she see's him.
We also visited Sister N......n and her children. They were waiting for her husband R.......t to get home later that evening.
Friday afternoon, S.......e M..........n called us and we arranged to meet him at our apartment. We visited with him for about an hour. He is struggling with his testimony. We challenged him to pay his tithing and he said he would. We explained that the Lord promised that the Windows of Heaven are opened to those who pay their tithing and in his case it may include a stronger witness of the Holy Ghost that God is in control as S.........e is struggling to believe in God because of all the suffering he see's in the world.We ended the evening with dinner at our place for W........n T..........o and his family. They said they would be to church on Sunday.
Next week, we will probably be working more in the Cowra Branch.
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