Dear Family,
We have had a very very busy week.
Craig, Caren and Cathy came to visit us for 3 1/2 days. We were so happy to have them with us. Thank you for making the effort to come and see us.
Friday night we picked them up at the airport. The airport is very large so we lost them for a bit but eventually we found them and off we go to dinner with President and Sister Maxwell. There was a large truck that turned over on the freeway. We had a 5:30 dinner appointment and we finally got to the restaurant about 7:00 pm. For over two hours we moved very slowly. When we finally arrived at the restaurant everyone was starving. It was a very fun evening. President went to school with Caren and between all of us we had many mutual friends. Dear Sister Horne, a volunteer in the office also came. She is wonderful and so funny.
Saturday we went to the Dandenong Mountains and ate a very English breakfast at Miss Marple's Tea Room. Afterwards, we drove through the Yarra Valley, (wine country) to the Healsville Zoo. We saw kangaroos, koalas, emus, Tasmanian devils, and wombats. There are also birds of every kind and every color. They are not afraid of humans so they walk right by you and don't fly away. We have seen orange, bright blue, bright green,and red birds. Too bad we are not real photographers to take pictures of them all.
Went to church on Sunday and then drove to the city. Our first stop was Shrine of Remembrance and then we went and checked in at the hotel. Had a delicious Sunday dinner in Breslin's Restaurant. It is right on the Yarra River. It is a spectacular view with all the lights. We just talked and laughed about home, Princeton Avenue, Laird Park, school, friends and favorite singers.
Monday we walked the city for about 7 hours and saw so much. Had another delightful dinner on the river. Adrienne, Cathy and Caren went up to the top of the Eureka building. It is 86 floors high. It takes 38 seconds in the elevator to the top. It is the highest point in the southern hemisphere. Cathy and Adrienne loved it and Caren freaked out. That is why Craig and I didn't go to the top.
They all left on Tuesday morning. Craig flew home and Caren and Cathy went to Tasmania. Hated to see them leave but so grateful for our time together.
We went back to the hotel, showered and got ready for the day. We needed to be to zone conference in Heidelberg. We are going to all of the zone conferences and teaching. I am teaching about the baptism records and Adrienne is teaching about being clean in body and our flats. We went on Thursday and Friday to zone conferences also. Places are spread out in our mission so we are driving 1 1/2 hours to and from each building.
Friday night we were exhausted but had a RS Midnight Madness event we went to because Adrienne was in charge of making Christmas wall hangings and to and from cards. I socialized with the sisters because I do not do well with crafts.
Saturday we went to a bazaar called Paris to Provence. It is held every year so we decided to go. Totally French, language, people, entertainers, FOOD, games, art work, costumes etc. C'EST MANiFIQUE! Afterwards, we drove home and watched a BBC production of Cranford. A great show. We were tired and so we chilled all afternoon.
We finished Matthew this week so I am going to tell you some things we learned.
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew was a Jew. He was a publican, and so he was not popular by profession. He was on of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, and he was alive when these things were happening, although he certainly wasn't an eyewitness to all of them. Matthew was probably a thorough Jew with a wide knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures, and able to see every detail of the Lord's life the fulfillment of prophecy. (BD p.729.) His book was written to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
A little parable recorded in Matthew is especially applicable to the Jews."Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." (Matt. 13:52) The "scribe" would be a man knowledgeable in the Jewish religion. "Things old" would be the Law of Moses and "things new" would be the the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Matthew included a lot of anti-Pharisee comments to show that the law was not an end in itself, as the Pharisees seemed to think. Chapters 5-7 give the higher law. "The Kingdom of Heaven" would be important to the Jews, and many parables in Matthew liken something to the Kingdom of Heaven. The parables describe trees growing or bread rising, showing that the Kingdom of Heaven is a process, not an event. (Fronk)
Matthew is the only gospel that includes the story of the wise men. Jews would have been more impressed by wealthy, learned men who had the studied the scriptures in far away lands (they might have been displaced Jews) and recognized the signs of the Messiah's coming.
Matthew included five major discourses given by Jesus Christ. He highlighted these using a key phrase at the end of each. The phrase is "When Jesus had finished these sayings..." Is there a reason he chose 5 sermons? Of course! There is a reason for every number used by a Jew in the Bible. In this case, Matthew was adding a sequel to five writings that were very near and dear to every Jew, and were in fact, a foundation of their religion,The five books of Moses, the Torah. By doing this, he was showing the Jews that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and that His counsel superseded or added to that Law. (Bokovoy)
1. 5:1-7, 27 The Sermon on the Mount, given to the multitude. Tag is found in 7:28
2. 10 5-42 The instruction for the ministry of the 12 Apostles Tag is 11:1
3. 13:1-52 The Sermon from the ship, given to great multitudes Tag is 13:53
4. 18:1-35 "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? spoken to the apostles Tag19:1
5. 24:3-25,46 The Olivet Discourse, given to the 12 Apostles Tag is 26:1
Time to get to work.
Love to you all,
The moms, The grandmas, The sister sisters
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