Preparation Day

We have several quality community recreation buildings and fields. One of them is a “Squash & Racquetball” facility that is frequented by the missionaries about once a week, where the frustrated, athletic, young men of the Alice Springs District are continuing to challenge an old man of 60 years. They just know, in their heart of hearts, that if they work at it long enough and hard enough, they will eventually wear him down and win a match. May I say to those University Soccer and Baseball players, GOOD LUCK!
Update as of Thursday, January 21,(last prepartation day):Well they still didn't manage to beat him, but that pulled hamstring was painful. Now if he just milks it for all it's worth maybe he won't have to play them again? That would accomplish two goals: save Elder Shumway embarrassment and irritate them to no end.

Projects in the Works

We are finding that the literacy program is helping several people and opening doors for opportunities to teach the gospel. Sister Shumway has been asked by the District Church Education System Director to type up a summary of how she has converted the phonics and concepts of each Church literacy lesson into Power Point Presentations that are easy to teach.
President Marriott, of the Alice Springs Branch, assigned the District to work on a series of three DVDs in which the basic gospel lessons are taught in English as well as Aboriginal language. These DVD’s will be sent “out bush” to help new members and investigators continue to learn about the gospel when the missionaries are not readily available. This project is somewhat above Elder Shumway’s intellectual capacities, but thank goodness, Sister Shumway and a couple of the other missionaries seem to know what they are doing, and the work continues to march forward. It will be a busy month. We are grateful for this opportunity and constantly feel the Lord’s spirit and direction.

Baptisms

The district had five more baptisms this month and we are working with several people who are coming very close. We have met a wonderful couple, Mark and Karen, and are teaching Mark. Karen joined the church when she was sixteen. We feel as though we have known them so much longer than we have. They are the age of our own children, feel like family and are a constant source of inspiration and happiness. Please keep them in your prayers. Our goal is to meet in Hawaii, on our way home in May of 2009, and go to the temple with them.
We are also teaching several other people; a great little family from Kenya, a 14 year old boy whose mother joined the church last year, a young mother, and a Sudanese woman who has been through some very difficult things in her life.

January Blessings

This has been another good month. We had a great Zone Conference with President and Sister Quinn. We were inspired and thrilled to hear from them. We had a celebration for the successes of last month and year and set goals for the future. They taped a panel interview of the Alice Springs District missionaries to record insights that we had received as a result of last month’s successes. We were again amazed with the wisdom and teachings we heard from the Elders, 20 years old and going on 40 when it comes to inspiration, knowledge and teaching ability. We have made the wise decision to have one of them or Elder Jackson (an area authority) accompany us when we do our gospel teaching.


We met Tanya, who is a recent convert Elder Collet taught in Adelaide. She and some friends drove up to Alice and spent a few days here on vacation. She is such a great example of enthusiasm and what a strong testimony can do. We are always so thrilled to see the positive difference the gospel can make in the lives of others. She constantly looks for ways to share the gospel and even spent a day of her vacation to take us tracting. We found several people to teach. Her door approaches were amazing. We email back and forth now. In a recent email she exclaimed, "I am so happy!"

Rachelle's Baptism Miracle

One weekend in December, we were preparing to hold a baptismal service for three converts. As the Elders were on their way to check on those who were to be baptized they saw one of them, Rachelle, in a nearby park. They stopped and told her the Senior Missionaries would be right back to pick her up, and they proceeded to her family’s flat (apartment). Elder McKnight and I picked up the other two and went back to pick Rachelle up at the park.
We couldn’t find her there, so we drove to the Church with the other two so they could be interviewed and change into baptismal clothes. At the Church her grandmother agreed to go back with Elder Collet and me to see if we could find her. When we arrived at the family flat her mother informed us that Rachelle had left over 15 minutes earlier, in a red car, and was headed “out bush” to an area that was over 100 K away. As we disappointedly got back into the car, Elder Collet turned to me and said “Pray for a miracle”.
We looked for the red car as we headed back to the church. As we drove through the traffic, the three of us were in kind of a reflective mood, and very little was being said. Suddenly a red car some 200 yards ahead caught my attention. I had never seen the car before, but I immediately blurted out, “There’s a red car. Is that them?”
Elder Collet, looked for a second or two, and said “I think it might be.”
He then turned to Sister Ilene Bird and asked her. She looked up ahead and said, “Yes, that’s them. Go stop them.”
I caught up to them and honked several times until they pulled over to see what we wanted. Elder Collet had asked us to pray for a miracle and it looked like we had one. They should have been several miles away, heading out bush, but in a city of 26,000 there they were.
After we stopped them, and Rachelle's grandmother visited with her for a few minutes, she decided to be baptized before going out bush, but she wanted to bring the friend she was traveling with and go back to get her mother. Of course we agreed and got into the car to leave. As they made a U-turn, one of the wheels on the car began wobbling dangerously, so we waved them over again to see what was wrong. The driver got out, took off the hubcap, and discovered 4 of the five lug-nuts had broken off, and the fifth one was extremely loose. Elder Collet and I were in kind of a state of shock as we walked around that dilapidated old car and imagined what could easily have happened if we had not stopped them and discovered the problem that exposed itself when they made a U-turn. Instead, they would have proceeded another few blocks to Stuart Highway, and been traveling at speeds in excess of 110 K/hour (70 mph).
As it turned out, we had the privilege of baptizing Rachelle that evening, along with two other members of her family. That was a miracle, but an even greater miracle occurred that scorching hot day, with an old red car, and its nine occupants, without seatbelts, that never entered the Stuart Highway. Because we were listening to the Spirit, and following His promptings, we were instrumental in helping nine people’s lives be protected. They were saved from potential physical harm or death, and we saw a beautiful young girl baptized.
This is a marvelous example of how God is mindful of all His children and how much He loves them.

December Baptisms

This blog will follow many of the happenings, feelings and miracles of the Alice Springs District for the month of December. It has been a joyous experience. Prior to the Christmas Zone (District) Conference the 6 of us met and discussed a goal which the 4 Elders had just set. They asked our support as team members in the district, with explanation that though many might deem this impossible, they believed we could baptize 16 people in the month of December. Being new missionaries and believing in these great young men we excitedly threw in with their vision. That vision was conceived with faith, and a plan was set forth. We agreed as a District that we would share a portion of the plan, but the goal as a whole was withheld.
We committed, as an entire district, that we would faithfully follow the mission rules. We became a companionship of 6 as we found each other’s strengths and built upon them. We worked as a team. We prayed, fasted and depended upon guidance from the Lord. All of these things became an integral part of our lives. We put together daily and weekly plans, and then proceeded to work, always relying on further inspiration and revelation. These plans were modified as needed to achieve our ultimate goal.
In the final analysis, the names may have changed in some cases, but the goal we reached always remained the same. When one door closed, the Lord opened another one. We have grown to truly love each other. We love our Savior even more than we did a month ago. We understand the concept of teamwork better than ever before. We love our investigators and new members more than a month ago. In all of our baptisms we have found Heavenly Father’s children who had been properly taught, had attended the requisite church meetings and were worthy of baptism. Our missionary efforts were flexible and unrelenting, and always within the bounds set by our church and mission leaders.
We have much work yet to do. We have faith in each other. We have faith in the Gospel. We have experienced physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and renewal. After reaching the goal we were inspired to set and accept, we have taken a few hours to catch our breath and assess where we should now be going. No one will ever know how many changes of plans, miracles and “pre-filled baptismal fonts” we have experienced. It has been a glorious run. The magic number of 16 was inspired. We had to take so many twists and turns to reach the goal, but we know that what happened was supposed to happen. We also know there is still much to do. We are now better prepared to press forward. Our districts baptismal numbers may never again be the same, but they will continue.
We love and support our Mission President. We honor every church member and missionary who ever worked in Alice to prepare this field in order for us to be allowed to reap the harvest.