Missionary moments: Intriguing photo
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Shortly after Elder Jeffrey Andersen arrived in the Australia Melbourne West Mission, now the Australia Melbourne Mission, he sent home photos of his companion and their apartment and meetinghouse, to help acquaint his mother with his new surroundings and calm her anxious feelings.
As his mother studied one of the photos, she sensed something familiar about the LDS meetinghouse that featured a design common in the 1960s. Intrigued by the meetinghouse, Sister Andersen showed the photo to her father, Max Pitcher, who had served a mission in Australia 55 years earlier.
He explained that he never saw the meetinghouse, having never served as far south as Melbourne. But he knew well the man who designed many of the meetinghouses during that era.
He told how as a missionary he was tracting in a town called Penrith where he met the family of Max Maine.
The first discussions were held with Mrs. Maine and the children. After a while, Max felt to participate.
Following one discussion, the young Elder Pitcher asked Max if he had any questions.
Just three, he replied, where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going after I die?
Such earnest questions led to earnest answers. The family was soon baptized in September 1956.
The newly baptized Brother Maine, an architect by profession, was soon commissioned to design LDS meetinghouses and to oversee their construction across Australia.
That her son could be meeting in a meetinghouse constructed by a convert of her father was more than ironic coincidence, thought Sister Andersen, it was a tender mercy.
After some investigative effort, Sister Andersen located Brother Maine to share her joy. Brother Maine responded in kind, telling how the first meetinghouse was built in Ballarat, where Elder Andersen was serving. He told how during a 20-year span from 1958-78, he designed and supervised the construction of 58 LDS meetinghouses, including 18 in Melbourne. — Shaun Stahle
