MAY 3, 2013:  The wind is really stirring up the leaves today, and I'm thankful to be sitting in a warm, comfortable office.  We had pizza from Pizza Hut for lunch, and for their first time in my life, I took my favorite pair of black shoes in to be re-soled and re-heeled.  We are looking forward to having the Wong family for creamy enchiladas on Sunday and finally found all the ingredients.  Diced green chilis aren't available here, but thankfully, we brought a few cans with us.

 It seems we can never get enough of the beach, even when the wind is blowing.  This photo was taken along the Great Ocean Road, and we commented about how warm it was, in spite of the wind.  Within 5 minutes, the temperature changed and we were freezing cold. 

 Before Elders Kirklin (pictured with pizza in his hand), Wing, and Petersen were released, we bought pizza at Costco and took to FHE.  Elder Priestley and Jacky joined in for the feast.

 This is a very crooked photo of Yvonne and Elders Snyder and Christensen when we celebrated Elder Snyder's birthday.   Note the lovely dining table and retro chairs. 

 All the girls at Gina's baptism. 

The cameras come out in full force at the baptisms, and memories are digitally captured. 

  

We are trying to see as much of Victoria as we can before we ship off to Tasmania, and Woffindens are happy to join us for PDay adventures.  This day we drove about 2 hours to Phillip Island, home of the little penguins and Seal Island.  We hadn't planned to visit Panny's Amazing Chocolate Factory, but were glad we did.  The chocolate was yummy! 

Picnic lunch while we waited for the 45 minute boat ride to Seal Island. 

 We never dreamed we would see so many seals playing/fighting in the water and lounging on the rocks.  It was a beautiful day, and the stench from the seals was blown away by the wind.  The boat captain circled around, probably for an hour, while we took photos and watched these amazing animals.

 The playful pups frolicked in the water and on the rocks, while the moms swam far into the ocean looking for food.  Occasionally those lounging on the rocks would heave their huge bodies over the sharp rocks into the water.  We were fascinated watching these magnificent  beasts. 

We learned that when sharks come near the island, the bulls, who normally avoid each other, band together, get in the water, and chase the sharks away. 

Another ocean view; this the coastline of Phillip Island

We purchased tickets for a private penguin parade experience and were happy we sprang for the upgrade.  We had a very informative private guide and were ushered to seats right on the beach.  We watched  the little birds wash up from the surf, form sort of a line, then waddle as much as 3 K to their burrows, where their offspring waited impatiently for food. 

A local elementary school built hundreds of penguin burrows that were put in the hillsides by conservation volunteers.  The penguins live in these little burrows when not fishing, when moulting, or when sitting on an egg.  The young stay in the burrows during the day. 


We'll never see a road sign like this in the USA.....



 

....nor one like this. 

They are very much creatures of habit and follow the same path to their burrows.

 Three of our favorite missionaries from the Language Zone went home in April.  We worked with these three daily while we lived in the city.  Elders Kirklin, Petersen, and Wing impacted the lives of many, and we love them.

 One of our office assignments is to make airport runs.  Generally President Lifferth likes to pick up new missionaries, but he was involved in a training this day, and we drew the lucky straw.  We took Elder Cowser to meet his new companion, Elder Chang-Tung.  New missionaries are either wasted from the long trip from Provo, or if coming from New Zealand, are relatively fresh and eager to start their new experience. 

 Another PDay adventure with the Woffindens took us to the Otway Forest and Warrnambool. In the forest, we walked along a prehistoric path and saw lots of dinosaurs.  We were glad this snake was high in the tree and seemed rather benign.

 The Otway Fly Treetop Walk goes through a rainforest on a high steel structured treetop canopy that takes you right into the treetops. 

Looking down from the top of the walkway

 

The walkway is over 600 meters long and 30 meters high. 

 The road was winding and we were almost lulled  into thinking we were driving someplace in Utah.  We remembered we were in Australia when we saw the road sign warning us to watch out for kangaroos and echidnas that might be crossing.

 Or there might be koalas sleeping in the trees.

 Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool was built around 1858 and was a very lively port during that time period.  The village reminded us of "This is the Place State Park" or "Pioneer Village" at Lagoon, but was a reflection of life in a sea village.
 

 This is one of two working Warrnambool Lighthouses.  When ships enter the port at night, they line up the lights from the two lighthouses  in order to have safe passage.  Over 180 ships came to grief along the Shipwreck Coast prior to the lighthouses. 

     

        Sorry, there were no glazed donuts available.

The ocean was rough, and it was easy to see why many ships met their demise trying to find their way to Warrnambool's port. 

May 1, 2013

In our minds, the calendar reflects spring, but in Australia we are experiencing fall weather.   The leaves of some trees are turning from green, to red, orange, and yellow, and they crunch under our feet when we walk through them.  The numerous varieties of Eucalyptus and Evergreens seem to lose needles and leaves all during the year, so they are still green and lush.  The grass that was so dry during the summer is also green, roses are in bloom, and hydrangeas are at their peak.  We have become accustomed to our "summer home" and like the proximity to the Mission Office and a shopping center.(more than one actually)  We walk and run through the many reserves nearby, and so far, neither of us have encountered a snake.  Here's hoping we never see one!  My favorite time of the day is when we leave the office for the evening and walk out to see the Melbourne Temple 50 yards away.  Daily changes in the landscaping and weather enhance the beauty of this House of the Lord. 

We maintain regular contact with our many sons and daughters in the Chinese Branch and participate with them on Sunday, Monday for Family Home Evening, and at baptisms, which occur pretty much every week-end.  We have invited some to our home for dinner and a lesson and love the time we spend with them.  We don't miss our "winter home" in Richmond or having to take pubic transportation or walk where ever we go, but we do miss the city and activity of Melbourne. 

In June we will leave our summer and winter homes, the mission office, our Chinese sons and daughters, the mainland, and the city behind, and move to a vacation home in Tasmania.  We are told it is a beautiful island, and we are excited to get a bit closer to Antartica. We are in the process of down-sizing what little "stuff" we have accumulated before making this move.  We anticipate that this will be the final resting place of our missionary service, but know that the new mission president, President Maxwell, might have other ideas for us.  We feel lucky to have served three missions in one:  our experiences with the Chinese Branch, the Australia Melbourne Mission office, and a South Pacific island.(Indian Ocean)
Work in the office is just that:  WORK.  We are thankful for a variety of additional assignments and the onslaught of missionaries who invade the office from time to time, all of which helps break the monotany of a daily 9 -6:00 routine.   We've helped furnish  flats for the influx of 100 additional missionaries by putting 20 IKEA desks together, made many trips to the airport to transport arriving or departing missionaries, and welcomed the arrival of 10 brand spanking new white Toyota Corollas, which Max gets to adds to his fleet. 

We become frustrated with flight schedules that change daily, visas that are slow being approved and delayed missionaries scheduled to arrive, disobedient missionaries, vandalism to vehicles and flats, all the holidays that Aussies take, and stores and banks that close at 5:00 daily.  But we love seeing the Spirit ignite a fire in investigators, listening to the missionaries teach and bear testimony, watching recent converts accept and magnify callings, and visiting some of the beautiful places in Victoria.  We are fortunate to be serving in a country where freedom is treasured, people are accepting and kind, water is pure, and everything we need is readily available.  We also feel blessed that Medium Max, our oldest grandson has been called to serve as a missionary in the Mexico City South Mission.  We are proud of him and all of our children and grandchildren, and treasure photos, emails, and letters we receive from them and from friends.







One of our favorite P Day activities was golfing 18 holes with Elders Gray and Lacy.  Elder Christensen, dressed in his suit and tie, was our caddy, photographer, and security guard.  The scores weren't very good, though Elder Gray did have some really good shots. 


Cuckaburras are hard to spot, but this one posed for us when we stayed in  Lorne, our first stop on the Great Ocean Road.  Occasionally when we are in the reserves or mountains, we hear one of these unusual birds laugh. 



MARCH 23, 2013

Another month has passed, and "down under," we are heading into fall.  For the last couple of months, other than in some of the more famous parks, (gardens) the grass has been brown and looked dead.  But two good rain storms turned everything green and looking more like spring than fall.  We are wondering what winter will bring and are thankful for a good heater in our flat.  

Successful completion of another Ikea chest of drawers.  We built this one for the Lins, the very first Senior Couple to serve a Mission from Mainland China.  

Missionary cars waiting to be inspected by Max, the Inspector General.  The missionaries leave the keys on the seat, open the boot (trunk) and go to their meeting.  

Some of the girls:  Sisters Woffinden, Willfred, Edmunds, Gonzalez, Fillmore, and Epa.  Note the wall of Books of Mormon on the left.  Many languages are represented.  

Elder Rawnsley, one of the AP's  wore himself out in missionary work.  We sent him home in a box.  Actually, the box contained furniture designated for the Melbourne Temple, but was delivered to the mission office.

It's been a hard days work.

We snapped this photo one day on our way home from the office.  The double rainbow stretched from east to west. 

We picked up the Lins at the airport.  They didn't speak a word of English, but the glow of their countenances speaks of their commitment to the Gospel.  We took two Chinese speaking missionaries with us, so we could communicate with them.  Even though they took/are taking our place in the Chinese Branch, we love them and are thankful for them.  

We were invited to the Snows for dinner.   We were each served a plate of appetizers, referred to as entrees in Australia.  We have never  eaten such yummy food presented so beautifully.  

Following the main, Sister Snow brought out 5 trays of delectable desserts.   YUM!!

Half of the bedding packets awaiting the arrival of an onslaught of missionaries.  

We rented a bus to bring 26 new missionaries and their luggage from the airport.    The anticipation of their arrival was a bit like waiting for Santa to come. 

A new group of "Goldens" as new missionaries are affectionately referred to.  Some came from New Zealand; others from Provo.   We at the office breathed a huge sigh of relief when they all had a companion, a place to live, a bed to sleep in and a way to get to their area.  The logistics of running a mission is huge!

Our sheets hanging on the clothes-line on our back patio.  Most people use outside lines to dry their clothes.  There's something very therapeutic about hanging clothes to dry, kind of like canning fruits and vegetables.   Sometimes I think progress really isn't progress. 

Our new rain gauge, since Max dropped the new one we bought a few weeks earlier.  The gauge sits on the corrugated steel roof of our shed.  Since the roof isn't level, we scrounged the neighborhood for a board to screw it to, leveled it with cloths pins and added two bricks we also scrounged (not pictured) to keep it from blowing over.  

Our patio set could use a paint job. 

We have a lovely archway leading to our back patio area.

Lorraine Clabby probably rolled over in her grave when she saw these cinnamon rolls, made from her famous recipe.  Obviously, the oven in our summer home doesn't cook very evenly.  However, with enough frosting, they were yummy, and the missionaries didn't have any problem eating them. 

We took a Sunday afternoon stroll around Blackburn Lake which is about 2 miles from our flat.  

Yvonne, Sarah, and Olivia preparing Chinese calligraphy materials for the belated Chinese New Years celebration.

Elder Tsui might be small in stature, but he has the biggest heart and love of the Gospel of anyone we know.   He is the Branch Mission Leader and loves, leads, and guides the  missionaries, investigators, and recent converts. 

Food preparation for the Chinese New Year's celebration.  Brother Wong made his famous sticky rice in these bamboo pots.

Everyone pitched in to make dumplings, a mainstay of the Chinese diet. 

President and Sister Lifferth with the Lins.  Lifferths are amazing leaders and support and attend every function possible.  

Lian Su, dressed in traditional dress, played the Chinese Flute for the program.  She looked beautiful.

Three of our Chinese daughters:  Yolanda, Jasmine, and Sasa.  We witnessed the baptisms of all of them.  

Olivia was one of the MC's for the Chinese New Year's Celebration.  She has terrific poise and charisma and is as beautiful as they come.  Many of the girls came to the celebration in traditional Chinese dress and looked exquisite.  

The Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens.  We had a some time to kill before FHE, so even though the temps were terribly hot  walked through the gardens.  It was HOT!

You can get about anything you want at the corner C Store.  

Pretty amazing sunrise taken from our flat. 

People put unwanted items on the park strips waiting for someone to haul it away.  One of our favorite pass-times is walking through the neighborhood and seeing all the "good" stuff people put out.  

We are still collecting street signs named after family members.  This is an "L"shaped cul'de'sac in our neighborhood.

Service project doing inside and outside spring/fall cleaning at a community center in Altona, Max's first area of service as a missionary 50 years ago.   We looked for the place where he lived, but progress has taken over, and the home he lived in has been replaced by a freeway.

We walked to the end of the Altona Jetty in Port Phillip Bay after we finished the service project and saw lots of huge  jelly fish in the water.  The missionaries who also ventured onto the jetty left in a hurry when we arrived.  

Sisters Hu and Zhang are serving in the Language Zone and have made a huge difference in the Branch.  We love them.  

Max was mixing potato salad for the Homeless Service Project, and this volunteer seemed to want to get real close to him.  We, along with 24 missionaries, helped serve over 800 homeless, old, mentally challenged and  underprivileged people.  For Aussies, a BBQ consists of beef, chicken, and "snags," a sausage wrapped in a slice of bread.

We loved the diversion, and Max especially felt at home feeding the mobs.  

Is this Larry DuPaix?  Whatever.  This gentleman certainly enjoyed the BBQ.

Max, Elder Guy, and Elder Petersen admiring what we wish was the new mission van.