February 17, 2013

Happy belated Valentine's Day to everyone.  Valentine's Day, like most of the major holidays that we are used to celebrating, seemed to be down-played here.  School children don't exchange Valentines with their classmates, and cards and other Valentine's Day gifts/etc. are minimal.  We celebrated with Woffindins, a couple we work with in the mission office, by going to "Grill'd" our favorite hamburger joint.  For a mere $26, we each had a hamburger and shared an order of chips and a drink.   We also saw and thoroughly enjoyed "Lincoln." 

 We are in the process of changing assignments from working in the Chinese Branch (guess our Mandarin wasn't coming along well enough) to working in the mission office, an assignment neither of us relish.  However, it is the Lord's work, and someone has to do it, so it might as well be us.  Missionaries in this mission will increase from 165 to 216 by June, so there is a need to help with logistics. Max is in charge of keeping track of  63 cars, which involves keeping track of  K's (mileage,) infringements (tickets,) which missionary has which car, drivers licenses, accidents and accident repair, requesting additional cars (we are hoping for 10,)  making sure all cars are properly maintained, and inspecting cars.  Last week we attended 4 zone conferences, dressed casually and inspected the cars.  Missionaries open hoods and boots, leave keys on the seat, and go to their meeting, then, like vultures, we attack and  check for cleanliness and safety. 

  Poor Max was pooped after a week of car inspections. 

Australian money seems more like play money than real money, but it spends the same.  The coin denominations are 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, one dollar, and two dollars.  Actually, it all spends.  It just takes more of it. 

 

 The Yarra River Trail

 Brighton Beach on a P Day

 The lawn care truck.  Mostly they scalp the scanty grass/weeds with a weed eater.  

 An adventure with Robert and Rimmers to Warburton.  We hiked on an old trail used by trams for logging and where Robert's grandfather worked.  We were happily hiking along when a red bellied black snake slithered across the trail.  EEK! 

 Halloween FHE at the Branch.  Guess which mummy is the missionary?

 This colorful, very common bird, is a Lourakeet.  One day when we were walking home from the market, we met a man who had a one legged Lourakeet on his shoulder.  He had found the injured bird in a park and rescued it. 

 Liansu is one of our Chinese daughters and is a Branch missionary.  She has been a member only a few months and is faced with the challenge of telling her parents she has joined the Church.  I think they work for the government. 

 We golfed at the Yarra Bend Golf Course, and on the 13th and 14th greens, thousands of hanging foxes (big bats) nest in the trees alongside the river. They are protected, and golfers aren't supposed to bother them.  Some have insomnia and fly around, disrupting the sleep of others, who noisely complain at being disturbed.   

 Elders Wang from Taiwan and Gerber from Lehi helped clean out the fridge one day.  They also helped us install our window air conditioner so it worked more effectively.

 Aussies love their dogs, and this one patiently waited while his owners spent Sunday afternoon sitting at an outside table drinking beer. 

 Everyone on the train snickered when this colorful gentleman boarded.  The photo isn't great, but I didn't dare get very close.

 This was the first patch of real, healthy lawn that we saw and probably will be the last. 

 Hotel courtyard in a town near Queenscliff. 

 After our outing to Warburton and our encounter with the black snake, we had dinner at a great old inn with Robert, Miriam, and Paul.  They are so good to us, and have taken us places we never would have been. 

 The corner bar/hotel near our tram stop on a Monday morning.  Note the empty kegs of beer being loaded on the truck.

 Robert pointed out this area to us when we were on one of our outings then presented us with this original painting.  He is an amazing artist.

 The schedule of tram times posted at each tram stop.  Can't count how many time we looked at this, then at our watches, wondering how long we would have to wait for the next tram.

 One day we rented a car....wow, what a liberating experience... and drove to Inverloch to see Nigel and Ina.  Max met Ina when he was here as a missionary in the 60's.  The countryside was spectacular.

 The beach at Inverloch.

 When Max was in Dandnong on a mission 50 years ago,  church meetings were held on the second floor of this building. 

 The IKEA putting together furniture expert.  So far we have assembled 15 or 16 pieces and only have one black thumb.  

 On a train ride to Pakenham, we had the entire train car to ourselves.  Pakenham is near the end of the line, and it was early on a Saturday morning. 

 Ruth took us to the Dragon Boat Restaurant for a buffet lunch.  Elder Li is relishing the chicken feet.

 Cruising down the Murray River near Euchuca, during a couples retreat. 

Fillmores and President and Sister Lifferth in front of the Melbourne Temple on the day or our arrival. 

 Another first day picture.  Do we look wasted or what??

 Queen Victoria Market is a huge mostly sheltered market that encompasses an entire city block.  We expecially love the warm, jelly-filled, sugar donuts. 

 Obviously too tired or drunk to make it home the night before, this poor man was asleep on our parkway early one Saturday morning when I left for a run.  He was still there when I returned an hour later, but was stirring, so I knew he wasn't dead.  He left soon thereafter. 

 We attended an organ concert at the Town Hall in Melbourne.  All the original music was created by students and played via computers.  The lighting on the pipes was great, but we left after a couple of numbers, because the "music" sounded like traffic accidents.   

 

 The foot path leading to the MCG stadium, where Footie and Cricket are played. 

 Nika sent all this stuff for my birthday. The homemade fudge in the ziploc container was especially cherished.  Junior Mints, Sugar Babies, and Big Hunks made us feel like home isn't so far away.  The nylons were a welcome necessity. 

 A couple of characters on the tram who willingly posed for this photo.   I think they were headed for a party someplace. 

Beautiful Fitzroy Gardens was about a mile from our Winter Home  and was a great place to run, walk, stroll, or relax and read a book.

 This miniature Tudor Village in Fitzroy Gardens reminded me of our Dept. 56 Christmas houses, only on a bit larger scale.

 The Fairy Tree is near the Tudor Village and is intricately carved picturing magical people and animals. 

 Leaded glass windows in one of the naves of St. Patricks Cathedral.

 The main entry to St. Patricks Cathedral.

 The grass is sparce, but tiny yellow flowers bloom in abundance.

 Chicken feet anyone???

 WHAT GRASS??  This sign is on the grass of our "summer home" in Vermont.

 Elders Kirklin and Staples with James and Christine at their baptism.  James left the next day to study at Columbia University.  They are a sharp couple, as are all the Chinese we've met. 

 Angeal, a Vietnamese, telling the story of "The Three Little Pigs" at a FHE.  He likened the story to the fact that we need to cooperate and get along.  He drew pictures to illustrate his version of the story.  Angeal is attending Chef School and is definitely a character. 

 Max grabbed the camera to snap this photo of the Melbourne Temple, soon to be shrouded in clouds.

 He wasn't so observant this day, when he wore different black shoes to a baptism.

 After a baptism, we had a few hours of daylight left, so drove to St. Kilda Beach and watched the kite surfers.  The Melbourne Skyline is in the background.

 We love the city of Melbourne, and everytime we see the skyline, our hearts beat a bit faster.  Moving to the suburbs is definitely an adjustment. 

 Laundry/moving day from our Winter Home in Richmond to our Summer Home in Vermont.

We taught Catherine (left) and Angela (10 years old) recent convert lessons in their home, which was definitely in the high rent district of Melbourne.  Catherine's mother visited from China, and though we could only communicate through smiles and gestures, felt a real connection with her.  She requested that we visit before she went back to China, because she wanted our photo.  Maybe she had never seen Americans???  We loved visiting in this home, and Grandma always had yummy fruit prepared and iced for us.

 Our bedroom at our Winter Home.  Doesn't look so bad, but there are only about 6 inches between the bed and the chest of drawers.  I finally wrapped the bottom bed posts with bubble wrap, because our shins were always scraped and bruised.  Problem solved.

 Yes, the day we moved out of our Winter Home, cable TV was installed.  We started nagging for tv reception pretty much the day we arrived in August.  I guess that if you live on Murphy Street, you should expect Murphy's Law to be in effect. 

I asked if I could take this cute little girl's photo, because I wanted our grandkids to see the type of uniform that pretty much all girls, from KG - Grade 12 wear to school.  They have matching sweaters and blazers for when the weather is cold.  The boys wear dark pants or shorts....never jeans, and a shirt with their school logo.  Uniforms are worn in public and private schools. 

 Pretty typical of the baggage this pack horse carried to and from the Branch. 

 One of the grates in the sidewalk we tried to avoid walking on when we walked to and from the tram.  Not sure of it's purpose...maybe a utility hole. 

We decided to ride our bikes from our Winter Home to our Summer Home, a ride of about 20 miles.   We would be on a trail most of the way.  This is a pipeline bridge that crossed the Yarra River.

 View of the Yarra River from the bridge.

 About half-way home, Max's bike had a punctured tire, and we walked and walked and walked.  We weren't really sure how to get home, but eventually ended up at a train station and took the bikes on the train to the stop nearest our Summer Home, walked another couple of miles, and arrived, exhausted, but in one piece.  To ease the agony, we decided to collect street signs of family names.

 We stopped for lunch outside a pub.  At least the bench was in the shade.

 Finally we arrived at the train station and knew we could find our way home.

 If you ever get a puppy, it looks like you should move here for puppy preschool.

 Chinese New Years festivities just around the corner from the Branch

 The Year of the Snake

 Then came the dragon.

The dragon was easily 100 yards long and was embellished with jewels and fringe.

 

So as they say on the Bugs Bunny cartoons, "thats all folks"  At least for now.  We love the opportunity to be here serving. Sometimes the view is clearer than others, but we have no doubt about how wonderful the missionaires are and how much Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father love each one of us.  We do know that it is important that we all be a part of "Hastening the Work." Hopefully we are doing our share.  We are attempting to.

JANUARY 18, 2013

It is a new year, and we have been a bit derelict keeping up our blog.  We are nearing the 6 month time line on our mission and are finding that things that seemed so strange and difficult are much easier and normal.  We have fallen in loved our new Chinese friends and missionaries.

 We were invited to a Chinese wedding.  We didn't even know the bride and the groom, but the mom, Helen, visible in the background and a member of the branch, thought we needed the experience.  A 12 course meal was served, and we ate whatever we could or dared get to our mouths with chopsticks.  It was a fun, noisy, and great experience.

 We didn't eat the fish head, but Elder Tsui devoured it....eyes and all.  

 The Eureka Tower is the highest public building in the Southern Hemisphere, and the view of Melbourne and the surrounding area is spectacular.  We have fallen in love with the city...the mix of old and new architecture, the many colors, the ethnic diversity, the clamor of people, trams, and buses, the art, the small shops and the huge malls.

 Max posing by a statue in an art gallery in Federation Square.  The man behind the counter made certain he didn't get too close.

 Some of our wonderful missionaries preparing for the Branch Christmas Devotional.  The men of the choir sounded really good...the women left a bit to be desired.

 On one of our P Days, we visited an art gallery that featured art representing the Aboriginal people in Central Australia.     

 Frank Wong, accompanied by his sister Sarah, played his guitar for the Christmas devotional.

Four of our new Chinese daughters:  Liansu, Yvonne, Kiki, and Aileen

 Ann came with Elders Grey and Snyder for a dinner and teaching appointment.  

 Elders Snyder and Gray borrowed our bikes to ride to the train station to meet Ann for the dinner appointment, since they can't take investigators in their car.  It was pouring rain, but they didn't care.  They are two of our favorite missionaries, and have taken us to Costco a couple of times.

 China Town in Melbourne is basically a couple of blocks long and mainly is comprised of restaurants and small shops.  Actually, the entire city seems like China Town.  One day Max counted Asians and I counted Caucasians for one block.  I counted 27 to his 100.  

On Christmas Eve day, which was P Day,  Elder Tsui invited us all to his house for lunch.  The missionaries had just returned from playing soccer at the park, and quickly changed into their regular missionary attire.

Our Family Home Evening Christmas Eve presentation of The Nativity.  President and Sister Lifferth were Mary and Joseph, the missionaries were the shepherds and wise men, and new members and investigators were the narrators.  Angela, our only primary kid was the angel and memorized all her parts.  The narrators worked hard to learn the correct pronunciation of the verses in Luke 2.  This was the first time many of them had ever heard about the birth of Jesus Christ.  It was an incredible experience to join with them on their first Christmas Eve.  

Vietnamese and Chinese all lined up to read their scriptures from Luke: 2.  

After Family Home Evening, Max and I went to St. Patrick's Cathedral to listen to the Christmas music presented by the church choir and organ prior to their midnight mass. The church and the music were spectacular, but didn't come close to touching our hearts like our Branch Family Home Evening activity and Nativity.      

Robert Matheson, our Aussie friend, met us at the cathedral, and following the pre-mass program, we decided to see what was happening in downtown Melbourne.  We were surprised at all the activity.  Restaurants were crowded, and families were milling around at 1:00 A. M. on Christmas morning.  We liked seeing the animated Myer window displays, which depicted the entire book of  of "Russell's Christmas," at night.  The bells overhead on Burke street were lit and changed colors.  Robert slept on our couch Christmas Eve night, because there was no public transportation.  He left before we got up on Christmas morning.

The bells overhead stretched the entire length of Burke Street. 

 Christmas morning was a bit of a let-down, and we shed a few tears that we were so far away from home and family.  But later in the day, we were all invited to the Wongs for a traditional Christmas Day BBQ, consisting of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.  I think even the hungry missionaries were filled up.  That evening, we went to the opening performance of Les Mis at the theater on Collins.  We were surprised that only about 20 people were in the theater.  

On the day after Christmas, Tam, (pronounced Dumb) took us to a yummy Korean Restaurant for lunch.  It was also Boxing Day, the Australian equivalent of Black Friday.  The streets were mobbed with people searching for bargains.  

 While most of you were freezing in sub-zero temperatures, we were enjoying warmer temperatures.  Registered on the thermometer we brought from home are the maximum indoor and outdoor temps registered that day.

 LeYaung is an Aussie born Chinese, a registered nurse, and a recent convert.  She invited us to her home for a "Chinese version of Halloween."  Tradition is that for the first three days in January, guests visit the homes and enjoy pastries made from traditional family recipes.  We weren't hungry for a long time after eating everything she offered us.  Chinese treats aren't nearly as sweet as those we make.    

 We are enjoying some of the treats LeYaung and her mother prepared.  Mom didn't speak any English and was entertaining a guest in a different room while we were there. 

 We drove to Ballerat to visit Victoria and her kids.  Little Aiden, who was born 3 months early, and weighed less than 4 pounds, obviously is thriving.  We took the family to Kentucky Fried Chicken, and being with them reminded us of  our grandkids.

 This Vietnamese Church is our back-yard neighbor.  On Friday nights, they have an activity for young people, and the drums and music can get quite loud.  Fortunately, they wrap things up around 11:00.  We often hear beautiful singing on Sunday mornings. 

 We live really close to a Thrifty Car Rental agency, and this truck is generally parked across the street from where we live.  The building with graffiti is being renovated into a up-scale apartment (for sale, not rent) complex.   I'm sure it will increase the value of the place where we live.

 This seems to be part of the neighborhood decor, as it hasn't moved since we arrived.

 This is a shortcut we take to avoid the roundabouts and one way streets when we go anyplace.  Somehow, people park in some of the garages.  

 Sidewalk and entrance to our "Efficiency Flat."  Our door is just under the stairs. 

 Posing with Liansu at the Branch.  She is one of our favorite Chinese daughters. 

Melbourne Central Language Zone Missionaries, with Gloria and Liansu, Branch Missionaries, and Elder Tsui, the Branch Mission Leader. 

 Our Kitchen

 Branch members at the Melbourne temple following a night of baptisms. 

 Two old farts sitting in our "lounge" ready to go to the Australian Open Tennis Tournament.  Notice the can of Diet Coke and styrofoam cup on the ottoman.  Some things don't change.  

Max primping in our combined bathroom and laundry room.  

 Australian Open Tennis Tournament.  Tipsarevic, seeded #8 serving to Benneteau, seeded #32.

 Sam Querrey from the USA.  He had a wicked serve.

 A small portion of the venue for the Australian Open Tennis Tournament.  

 Tram wires overhead at one of the busy intersections.  

We purchased ground passes, which enabled us to go to 23 courts.  We were not able to go in the Rod Laver or Hisense Arenas with our ground passes.  We watched 3 matches in the Margaret Court Arena.   

12/12/12

This seems like a very good day to start a blog entry, since such a date will not come around again for 100 years. (at least that is what I think)  December is about half gone, and we will not have seen even one snow flake or had one day of freezing temperatures. We have seen plenty of 90 and 100 degree days,  and then we have some in the 60’s and 70’s.  We are not sure what the real summer months will bring but my guess is more consistently hot days.  We are not fans of hot days and are less fans of hot nights. It was in the high 70’s overnight and in the high 90’s yesterday, and today and our flat is a bit like a WWll bunker; cool when it is cool out and hot and staying hot when it is hot out.  Oh well !

We had an amazing Mission Presidents Fireside earlier in the Month,  the music mostly by the missionaries.  It made us less aware of the fact that we are missing the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. We also have watched and listened to the First Presidency Christmas broadcast, and on the 15th we have the Chinese Branch Christmas Devotional and social event.  On the 24^th for FHE we are doing the nativity.  Sharla has handed out the script and parts for every participant, most of whom are new members or investigators.  It will be interesting to see who shows up and how it goes.  We love these people.  They are kind,  loving, appreciative, and so willing to enjoy life. They are a boisterous and loud bunch and often sound angry. They are not; they are just loud. Later next week we have the Mission Christmas activity at the Mission Office.

Now it’s almost a week later, and we just concluded the Branch Christmas Devotional and feast. It was an experience of a lifetime. The program was rather traditional with lots of Christmas hymns, scripture reading, short talks and a power point presentation prepared by Kikik, who has been a member for 2 weeks.  The music was provided by missionaries and branch members.   Some of it was amazing, and the rest of it was also amazing, but in a different way. There is no doubt however, that the spirit was present, and the event was enjoyed by everyone.  The food was much like you would get at home, but how the whole thing was handled is very different.  People started showing up to set up and prepare food at 3:30 for an event scheduled to begin at 5:30 with the devotional,  and the meal to follow at 7:00.  Even hot food items were prepared and set out around 5:00, long before the meal was to be served buffet style. 

The rule that hot food should be served hot, and cold food served cold does not apply with the Chinese or Vietnamese.  One night for a Vietnamese Fireside we were at a member’s flat helping prepare food to take in. Her “flatmate” came bursting up the stairs yelling at her and telling her that she could not prepare food for a commercial event in their “shared kitchen”.  It went on and on. A couple of missionaries came by to pick up food to take, ( a 20 or 30 minute tram or train ride) and Elder Guy, a big rugby player from England was about to flatten the scrawny little “flatmate” with his fists.  Sharla shoved as much of the food as was ready in their arms and told them to leave, then used her “calm down angry parent principal negotiation skills” on the flatmate.  We concluded the preparations and headed for the train station, me carrying  had a big aluminum roasting pan full of something that was very hot, and Sharla and Tam loaded down with bags of food.   I’m sure we made quite a sight traipsing/running down the street one after the other carrying all of this food, with Tam tottering along in very high heeled shoes.  Tam finally succeeded in hailing a cab, and we arrived sort of on time.  It was the same that night…meeting first, eat later.

I am one to eat first and perhaps talk later, but in this blog I have talked way too much.  We love serving these people and serving with “our missionaries.” We love sitting in teaching situations and feeling the spirit witness the truth of the teachings of Jesus Christ.  We are thankful for the opportunity to share our testimony that He lives and invite others to hear his message of love and salvation. There is no doubt that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love and care for and about the whole human race. We value their love and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Max and Sharla

November 27,2012

It is a damp, cool, dizzily, morning in Melbourne. I am bummed. I bought a new rain gauge a few weeks ago and attached it with a couple of fishing nails to the 2x4 railing atop the fence near our entry door. I had one that I brought from home in the same place and it blew off one night and did a Humpty Dumpty on me and you know the rest of the story.  The new one is or at least was working fine until I found it lying on the side walk the other morning.  It is not broken but I am not putting it back up there without proper nails or screws that have large enough heads that the gauge will not slip right over them and go plop or splat or whatever again.  We were at Bunning’s yesterday, (Australian version of Home Depot). 

Actually, better than Home Depot in the area of customer service for sure and I think they have all of the (Home Depot) stuff that one would ever want or need.  My problem is I am such a tight wad.  Sharla wanted to buy a little pack of nails with heads on them. It was over $5 and I said, no do not spend that kind of money for two little nails. Of course then it would rain overnight.  What a dilemma!! It is even more complicated because we were looking at Big W (Australian version of Wal-Mart) right after we got the new gauge and I was too tight to buy nails that day.

They were laying loose in the bottom of the display case. We took, borrowed, or stole them. They did not do the required job as I have described.  Then on Sunday I was in the Member Janitorial Closet at the Branch and I found a couple of nails and a couple of screws that I put in my pocket to bring home and try. It was a hot day and I had my jacket off many times and in a couple of different trunks (boots) of cars and Sharla carried it a couple of times for me when we were walking to or from the train or tram. Very long story short,  I am still looking for those nails or screws.  I will get this project finished somehow.  It is raining quite hard right this minute and I am going to go out and put it in a temporary spot. Perhaps you will hear more about this sometime in the future.  Probably not much more.

We are doing fine.  Most of the time well, and once in a while not very well. The not very well is associated with times when we are missing our family, like Thanksgiving which of course is not celebrated in Australia. ( We did a P-Day dinner on the 19^th for our Zone. Total of 28.  Turkey and the trimmings, 2 11# whole birds and a boneless roast that was dozens or more pieces all neatly rolled in and placed in a net, all for a total cost  of $194.49.  It would have cost $194.50 had I not paid for it on the credit card, since in Australia they round all transactions to the nearest nickel.  They do not have pennies. They have 50, 20, 10, and 5 cent coins, as well as $2 and $1 dollar coin; no one dollar bills, just 5,10,20,50, and 100 dollar bills. Someone said the other day that they have a $500 bill. Probably, I will not carry one of those around any time soon.

Back to our doing fine, We are about as settled into our efficiency flat as we can get. There is no room for any more stuff.  There are at least a dozen things that we complain about regarding the flat, but we have come to accept that our complaining is not going to change any of it, so if we want it changed we do something about it (at least Sharla does) and otherwise we have limited most of our complaining to each other.

We are accustomed to the fact that we rely 95% of the time on public transportation. The newness of that has worn off, and a few Sundays ago when we walked over 60 blocks doing all of the stuff that we had to do that day (we also rode the tram a few times and even rented a Taxi) we complained to each other that it was too far, too much walking.

 We actually rented a car a couple of weeks ago for a day and went on a beautiful drive down to Inverloch and visited a woman and her son who I met nearly 50 years ago in my first area. We felt so liberated to be able to stop along the way at a travel plaza and go buy a map or a diet coke or whatever we wanted. It was a beautiful drive, The ocean there was spectacular. We also borrowed a missionary car on Friday and drove to Costco, mostly for supplies for all of the Branch feeds. (paper plates, flatware, cups and that sort of stuff).

The amazing, truly amazing part of being here is the Chinese and Vietnamese people and the missionaries. (the young ones, not us) I will never cease to marvel at how hard the missionaries work and how dedicated and obedient they are and how they are blessed to learn the language that they are assigned to learn and then speak that language almost exclusively for two years. Think about the challenge of being a missionary and teaching the gospel to someone you have never met before and then throw into the mix that you are going to do it in a language you know nothing or very little about and you are going to be teaching people, many of them who know nothing at all about Jesus Christ or his Church. That is what is going on here and we are privileged to be on the sideline taking it all in, or at least as much of it as we can.

Most of the students have completed their finals. Summer vacation has begun for them and many of them will return to China for 6-8 weeks. We are anxious to see what that means regarding participation in the various activities. We are having more than 100 in Sacrament meetings; often a dozen or more first time investigators. At “English Class” a couple of Saturdays ago there were 19 people there that had not been there before. (Sharla has them eating out of her hand.) Last night at FHE there were over 50 people there. We had 5 baptisms this week;  three Chinese and 2 Vietnamese. 

We are  touched with the testimonies spoken and the accounts that we are hearing about how these people were guided to come here. One young man told us he was trying to find a job in China and also applying for his Australian Visa concurrently, and that he had decided he would enter the door that opened first. They both opened the same day but the Visa was first and he has simply stated that God brought him here to learn about Jesus Christ, and the Restored Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. We are so impressed with them, their faith, and how willing they are to step into a brand new world with Jesus Christ being at the very center of it. Hopefully, we (all of us) can be of some worth in our lives and hopefully we can keep Him in the center also.

PS: the rain gauge has measured .96 of an inch since I put it out.  Just thought someone might want to know.  It isn't as big as it looks.  Sharla had to stand on a chair to take the photo.

 

 

Bla Bla Bla Blog !   November 15, 2012

October has come and gone, and it is past time for me to share my rambling thoughts about this “Mission Down Under” another time.  It is very interesting to look back to the day of our arrival and the first few days that we were here and to move forward as we have done each of the following weeks. It makes me think of the quote that says something about the nature of the task actually does not get any easier but those of us working at the task discover, develop, or create ways to do the task more efficiently.

Maybe we are becoming more efficient in our efforts. We seem to have completed most of the tasks that would be required if you were all of a sudden Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island. We were in fact dumped here and given our agency to sink or swim. We treaded water a few times, we drank some nasty salt water more than a few times, and now we are quite familiar with our mission, able to go about the activities, and put forth the effort to complete each day, and even feel most of the days like we have accomplished a little bit of good.

Spring is in full swing in Melbourne. We have enjoyed watching the flowers and plants and trees as they have followed the natural path of buds, blossoms, and leaves.  We had over 1.25 inches of rain at our flat in both September and October. We were hardly ever impacted by it in our travels back and forth. (I wrote this a couple of days ago and sure enough, yesterday it rained a lot and we were out in it numerous times. We stood at a tram stop after we got off of a train for about 12 minutes, and it was raining. We came home cold and wet and sorry that I had mentioned how well we had fared so far in the blog.) Unfortunately I am saddened by the demise of my rain gauge that we brought from home. It was blown off its’ perch by the wind one night; we found all of the parts,  but after we got them all put back together in the proper Humpty Dumpty fashion it does not work anymore.  Oh well Christmas is coming and perhaps we can find something similar in this civilized country/continent of Australia.

We were joined last week by another Senior Couple who live in the “flat” just above us. They are the Lacys from Centerville, Utah. We were glad to be at the Branch on the day that the President brought them there after having delivered them and their stuff to the flat. Although we were expecting them all for district meetings and Introductions about 10:00 AM, they arrived around 1:00 PM. It seems that the keys President Lifferth had for their flat were wrong and they had to drive back to the Mission Office to secure the correct ones.  As we have previously stated.  Everything, and we mean almost everything here is hard, and it takes more time and more effort than one can imagine. 

We are thankful however for a good bed and the ability to sleep quite well most nights, good water to drink right out of the tap, fresh produce that we buy at a farmer’s market every Saturday morning that sets up in a street only about three blocks away, and plenty of Diet Coke. ( We bought some yesterday 30 cans for $10. It is usually about twice that amount so we actually bought two of them and of course then had to carry them through the streets of Melbourne. The Zone Leaders however brought them from the branch to our flat for us in their car, and we did not have to carry them on the tram.) We are also thankful for the financial resources that allow us to be here, and most of all we are thankful for each other, our family, friends and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

October 29, 2012

It is a beautiful Monday morning in Melbourne, and we are waiting for the zone leaders to pick us up and give us a ride to Costco.  It takes a lot of food to make meals for 30 – 40 people three or four times a week, and we are always glad when we don’t have to buy everything at the local grocery stores and haul it home on foot.

We had a couple of great diversions last week.  On Monday we rode the train 45 minutes or so to Brighton Beach, where we enjoyed collecting shells, filling our shoes with sand, and a eating a yummy burger from a dive near the beach.  When the menu said “Burger with the Lot” we thought it would include fries.  We were wrong.  The “Lot” part meant beets, a fried egg, pineapple, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, spinach, and what appeared to be a 3 ounce sausage patty.  It was yummy and we hope one day to take our bikes on the train, ride along the beach, and eat at the dive again. 

On Wednesday our friends from Packenham took us to Warburton, sort of a resort/old mining/country town along the Yarra River in the Donnabuang Mountains, 2 – 3 hours northeast of Melbourne.  We hiked along the High Lead Walking Track, an old logging tramway through lush rainforest type vegetation.  Robert warned us to watch out for snakes, as all snakes in Australia are supposedly poisonous.  Well, a red-bellied black snake slithered across the trail in front of Max, causing him to jump and me to scream bloody murder.  Robert is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Australia, and he pointed out wombat burrows and identified bird calls.  We had a yummy dinner at an old hotel, and on the way home he pointed out an area of which he said he had painted a picture.  He drove us home and to our amazement and surprise, presented us with a beautiful 24x36 inch canvas of the scene he had pointed out to us!

Probably the best part of the week was Sunday, when what used to seem like clamor and noise to us seemed normal, and we felt like a part of the branch.  The Chinese teased us about 100…..no 1000 year old duck eggs they were cutting up to put in a soup, since it was “Soup Sunday.”   I guess Chinese used to preserve the eggs in horse urine, but now use ammonia.  Anyway, the eggs were black, smelly, and seemed like they belonged in a spook alley not in soup.  Needless to say, neither of us ate any of the soup.  Sunday we were invited to Tam’s flat for a surprise birthday celebration for Elder Lynguyen.  Eight or 10 Vietnamese members and investigators were gathered in her small flat, and yummy food was prepared and consumed.  Elder Lynguyen was surprised, because he thought they were coming to help Tam move.  Even though Vietnamese was the language spoken, once again, we felt like we belonged.  Marring the evening was a phone call to Elder Rigby that his grandfather had passed away that day.  Earlier in the week, he received word that his grandmother had died, so it was a double whammy for him.  The Spirit was so strong as, through his tears, he bore testimony of the Plan of Salvation in both English and Vietnamese.  

We have been teaching English to a number of students, and basically teaching means asking them questions then correcting grammatical and pronunciation errors.  It is fascinating to learn about Chinese customs, traditions, and what it was like to grow up in Communist China.  We are very blessed to be citizens of the USA!  In spite of tired feet and on-going frustrations with how long and or difficult it to accomplish what were quick, easy things at home, we are thankful for the spiritual and cultural experience into which we are immersed.