Sunday September 25, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016

President Checketts will be here this coming Sunday and Monday and wants to take us to lunch on Monday so we took Sister Betz's recommendation and tried lunch at the White Bull hotel.  It was good. We will recommend it to President.  Elder Berger is working on looking like a mannequin.

Friday, September 23, 2016.

We left Armidale at 5:45 a.m. for Zone Conference in Maitland  arriving at 10:30 a.m.  It was nice to have some time to talk with the other senior couples in our district: The Browns, The Swains, The Fillmores and the Pierces.  The talks were great,  Sister Checketts made sweet and sour chicken and rice and we broke into groups to discuss a talk by Tad Callister on the blueprint of the church, each group drawing their idea to explain it.  We chose a Christmas tree and found out Elder Pierce is a pretty good artist and he drew it.

Elder and Sister Brown

President Checketts and the Assistants

Elder Molton on the left and Elder Kelly in their group

Left front is Elder Hutka from the Czech Republic, such a darling missioanry

Driving home from zone conference, I couldn't resist taking pictures out the car window of the beautiful sky

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Elder Berger cleaned the church and I started making beef stew and a yummy pinterest recipe for "the best macaroni and cheese" for Sunday lunch and the Inverell potluck after their Sacrament meeting tomorrow.  I am cooking more on this mission than I have cooked in the last several years.


Sunday, September 25, 2016

President and Sister Checketts spoke in Sacrament meeting, Elder Berger taught Samuel the Lamanite in Gospel Doctrine and I taught Teaching in the Savior's, Love.  After the block, the Checketts and elders came to our flat for Home made vegetable beef stew and we left to take Sacrament to the members in Inverell, a two hour drive. All of the members attended the sacrament meeting and President Checketts enjoyed getting acquainted with those members.  It was lovely but by the time we arrived home at 8:30 p.m. I was certainly exhausted and feeling everyone of my years.

Sunday, September 18, 2016
Monday, Septenber 12, 2016

The wonderful MacDonald family invited us and the elders for dinner and family home evening. Toby immediately brought a Clifford book for me to read to him.

Toby is fun to babysit when he is sitting still.

Tuesday

We traveled through a little town called Deepwater.  We saw a store called Mr. Tumbles which Elder Berger thought I might enjoy looking at.  It was such a fun store.  It is a co-op where people in the small community bring their homemade goods to sell.  There was art work, handwork, lots of beads, tons of polished rocks, too much to mention.  I purchased four tiny pink dolls with wooden heads and blond hair and pink lace dresses that were $1.00 each which to us is closer to 75 cents each.  I will use them for our Primary girl activities one time. This is a place we will come back to.

                                       

Sister Berger in her element.

We enjoyed the fire and the conversation but we kept the W of W.

Displays outside the store.

Views inside the store.

Thursday

We arranged to meet the senior couple from Narrabri in the town of Gunnedah for lunch which is about a two hour drive for each of us.  We had a very good lunch at a place called Chatter Chinos and talked and talked.  The fields and yards along the drive were filled with a yellow flower called Canola which was so pretty.

Elder Berger, Elder and Sister Pierce.

Lots of rain lately has flooded many of the fields.

Saturday, September 17, 2016
Our preparation is over and the Talent Night for the branch is finished.  I do not have to fit in hours of piano practicing anymore. We had lots of variety and participation from the district presidency and their wives: President Owen and counselors, President Mackay and President Alfred.  I think everyone enjoyed the evening.  We had a variety of tasty desserts after the event which ran longer than we had planned.

Program fronts for Talent Night.

President Sully greeting the Smith children

Some of Brother Smith's guitars he demonstrated as part of his talent.



Brother Smith Demonstrating a unique resonator guitar.

A skit by the Macky family

Happy audience

President Sully talks about the saddle he made

                                             

Sister Rosalie Jackman performs a skit, "Violet at the Bus Stop"

President and Sister Owen, perform a skit

Sam Smith, one belt away from a black belt in Karate demonstrates some moves

Sister Betz discusses the blessings of gardening

Elder Berger sings "Right Field" (Peter, Paul, Mary song) with Brother Smith accompanying 

Elders do a skit about answers to prayer

Sister Clarkson displays some of her lovely quilts

                   

President and Sister Alfred performed a skit about the Olympics, here is his javelin throw

Sister Alfred can hula hoop!

Kristen Smith displays and talks about the art she draws

Sister JoAnn Pearce performs  Australian poetry

Sister Sully displays one of her wonderful quilts