Sister Parsons & Sister Myers area in Australind W.A.
(approx. 20 mins out of Bunbury & 2 hrs south of Perth)
(Monday July 30 2012)
We got a phone call from Sister Lindsay yesterday
afternoon just to see how Sister Myers and myself were going. She has such a
bubbly personality. Church yesterday was good. A very small "ward"
probably between 50-100 people there. Closer to 50 I'd say. Our area is a lot
smaller than Ellenbrook. We are the lower missionary area of Leschenault and
are called the "Leschenault" area. The Elders (Thomson from Canada,
and Daniels from New Zealand) are called the "Australind" area.
Our area was large with 6 suburbs including Collie an outlying area about
50km out of Australind but they gave that area plus Roelands and ? to the
Elders because it apparently isn't a very nice area for Sisters to go visit. So
because the Elders travel to the outlying towns they get the car and we ride
our bikes. I don't mind except this area has a lot more hills than Ellenbrook!
So our house is on Lucy Victoria Avenue in Clifton
Park, so we have to travel each day across the bridge down to our 2 other areas
Eaton and Millbridge. We travel along Pratt Road, then cut onto Hamilton Road,
but Hamilton Road is full of big hills so to get to Millbridge we decided to
continue along Pratt because it goes all the way to Millbridge almost. Well, that's
what it looked like on the map. The footpath disappeared soon and we didn't
want to ride on the road especially when it was only two lanes and had islands
all through the middle of it. So we found the footpath. It goes right next to
the river edge and is like a dirt/gravel/bmx trail. It was pretty fun I won't
deny it. But Sister Myers doesn't have any lights on the bike she had to
borrow, so she was pretty brave following me as best she could. Especially when
there is a drop off a ledge right next to you.
We went to follow up on a potential last night but I
ended up standing outside of their house from 6.30-7.30pm in the cold waiting
for Sister Myers while she rode her bike around in circles under a street
light. I had no idea what was going on. We then had to go home. On
the way home, I was leading and I went to go the way we had come and she
disappeared from behind me! I waited where I had last seen her for 20 minutes
but she didn't return. I was concerned, as I didn't know what to do when
my companion leaves me. I know to call president immediately but I didn't have
the phone, Sister Myers did. I prayed a lot then decided I had to go home. Soon
along the path she came riding towards me, thinking I had gotten lost. She had
decided to take a different way home but had forgotten to let me know and
didn't check to see if I was behind her. We got home and I stood in
front of the heater (it was freezing this whole time) and I asked her what
had happened that evening, if I had done something to make her act weird
and she said, "No, I was just thinking." She apologized for riding
her bike in circles for an hour and said she had something happen recently
which was still "fresh" and she was trying to get over it. After
I found out she was ok, I was ok. Sister Myers is different to my other
companions. She spends a lot of time alone and even talks differently
which I am getting used to. But she is wonderful. She is from Sandy Utah and
studies Accounting at Provo BYU. She has been out for 10 months.
At church yesterday we had an R.M from Rockingham ward
speak. I can't remember his name but he was tall, white and skinny
with dark hair and he had just finished serving his mission 7 weeks ago in
Japan. I asked him if he knew an Elder Triffiit and he said yes :)
Australind only being 2 hours from Perth may sound
like nothing, but it's not like Sydney. 2 hours out of Perth and it is country.
I've seen cows, horses, kangaroos, camels, and seagulls so far. We are near the
sea. But no beach or sand near our area. Our area tends to go a bit more
inland.
Um... Elder Mata and Elder Ballard love food. Elder
Ballard is from American Fork, Utah and Elder Mata is from NZ. It was Elder
Ballard's birthday on transfer day (25th July) and I only found out in the car
park at transfers so luckily I had just received rainbow cupcakes in the mail
from Kate. BEST THING EVER. Plus it made it even better that I have a Tardis
book to write in. I adore it.
So our mail in Bunbury gets sent to us directly in our
mailbox but I won't actually give you my address because I could get moved or
transferred then that would be a waste. So the office sends it on to us. I
haven't gotten any mail since Wednesday at the office which was Kate's package.
Karen Parish also sent me a beautiful card she had made telling me how much she
appreciated what I had done for her. The last package I received from you was
my scarf, ring and India’s picture etc. and a letter from dad with the picture
of Gabi, Bree, Aliyah and Indai on the couch. I LOVE that picture! I cut it out
and stuck it on my wall although I got a raindrop on Aliyah's head so it's a
bit splotchy :(
I'm fine after my accident. It wasn't even really an
accident. I just misjudged in the dark and tried to miss the pole. I'm ok
honestly.
I did get a winter coat. It's a lovely burnt orange
colour. It was originally $70 but I got it half price at Target. Only problem
is it is slightly tight on my upper arms and pinches. I would say yes to you
sending me a jacket, but the only problem is, it could be the right size for
me, but my arms might be too fat, or it could be too tight across my shoulders
so it would be a waste unfortunately.
Could I please have some more personal money? I don't
have enough to change my license over. I'm out of MSF money until Wednesday (so
next pday to buy food) and the elders were kind enough to leave us with not a
lot of anything to eat. I got sick a few weeks ago and had to buy medicine so
that chewed up all my MSF money. So my current bank balance is $0.88 haha.
We're being fed 3 times this week by members, which is really nice though.
I have really been enjoying reading Jesus the Christ
lately. It is really helping me to understand everything a lot better. And I'm
finding answers to questions that people ask so it helps me have a better
"perspective" on things.
Do Gabi and India get my emails? And did Gabi get my
letter? I sent one to her a few weeks ago.
Love
Sister Parsons
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