Rain’s a coming

 Hello!!!! I don’t have heaps of time but I wanted to share a few quick photos I’ve collected that show evidence of the impending rainy season. We’ve been in the calm pretty much since we’ve arrived here they call it the dry season. So very pleasant. Next we are to expect hot and humid and I believe that goes until sometime in December. Then the rains come. And I know they’re coming because of the following evidences! 

Many trucks have snorkels on them.

                                                                                  

Many of the houses are raised. 

There's mold everywhere! 

The roofs are all metal. 

The school and park playgrounds are often under cover. 

This is a sign at the local hardware store. 

I'm actually looking forward to the rain. I've pretty much always lived in arid climates so I think I'll enjoy it. I'll let you know! 

Joel and I have had the opportunity to go on visits with the Sister missionaries. One was to a migrant farm worker from Timor-Leste.  An island between Australia and Indonesia. Many people come to work the fields in the far north Queensland area because they can make a lot more money than in their home countries. They come for months at a time. Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati....many places I've never heard of.  

I've seen a few more interesting wild creatures. 

This huge grass hopper was right outside the Sisters front door.

This python was at my neighbors house! I didn't actually see it but I'm okay with that. 

Can you see the iguana? We sure did. He made quite a ruckus as he scurried up the tree. 

There is a green butterfly hovering above a black one. The black one is still now but when they were flying around it looked as if they were attached by a string. Maybe some kind of mating thing? They were the size of my hand. 

And today I saw this little Kookaburra in a tree outside a members home. The aborigines believe they are angels sent to watch over us. I'll take it! 

One of the activities Joel and I did a few weeks back was to walk up and down the Main Street in Atherton. We are trying to just meet people and get our faces and badges out there so people in the town know we are there. It was a very fun couple of days and we did meet many people interested in what we are doing. If you know me very much at all you'll know that I love old main streets so this was a natural fit for me for sure. Here's some pictures of the town of Atherton. 

Our branch is in Atherton but we live in Tolga which is just a few minutes away. Here are some overviews of that community. It is smaller and mostly agricultural with some homes here and there. 

We spent a preparation day with our faithful sisters this past Monday. We went to a lovely town called Kuranda. We did some shopping, ate lunch and saw the Barren River Falls. Absolutely beautiful. 

On that trek we also saw what the Aussies call a Billabong. It's a swamp of sorts but it does look lovely with its floating lilies. 

It may seem from these blogs that we spend an awful lot of our time touring and not doing much missionary work. Well it's not true. Our days are filled with service, teaching, encouraging, mentoring, but most of these things do not lend to taking pictures. But we do get to drive around this beautiful country while we try to spread the wonderful news of the Gospel.  Our sisters are teaching 4-5 people right now  who have showed interest in learning more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and Joel and I are actively fellowshipping 3-4 other families so fear not... the good news is spreading here in the Tablelands of Far North Queensland! 

And I would be very remiss if I didn't mention our new grandchild who was born September 9th to Elyse and Drew Webb. Herschel Lynn Webb. We love him from half way around the world!