Boxing Day 2013.

Missionaries were seated in the chapel by 9:00 am for a multi zone meeting Thursday, December 26th. (Remember Mildura, Mount Gambier, Kangaroo Island, Broken Hill, and Robinvale are all 'far' and do not usually attend zone meetings in Adelaide.)

Office staff and helpers were in the kitchen preparing early so we only got to see/hear small portions of Elder Goodrich's training presentation on the Blue Binder and brief history on the church's Addiction and Recovery program. You'll recall he worked for the church for many years and was involved when the program was implemented. The area Addiction and Recovery Sr. missionaries spoke, and then the young missionaries had teaching and training the rest of the day with a lunch break at 12:30pm.

Remember when months ago Elder Sheffield refurbished the Carter's gas barbecues?  They were in tip top condition to cook the 100 burgers and 100 hot dogs and the men did a great job! We provided macaroni salad, chips, cut watermelon, grapes, apples, bananas, lettuce, tomato and cheese slices, along with the burgers and hot dogs, and water bottles for lunch. We had snow cones for dessert. There were tables, chairs, and blankets outside to sit on and a good time was had by all! One thing we didn't plan for time wise: hamburger and hot dog buns do not come pre sliced, but thankfully, many hands make light work!

 

After the missionaries reassembled for afternoon meetings, the seniors made a million more trips across the parking lot to return leftover supplies to storage, utensils etc back to the mission home, and cleaned the kitchen, gym, and hallways. We disbursed leftover food to the missionaries at 4:30 on their way out the door, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. It was a long day but the prep and planning paid off and the missionaries were very appreciative as were Pres and Sister Carter.

Lee did all of the food pre ordering and chasing, and used the trailer behind the van to pick up supplies on Monday and Tuesday, with help from Elder White.

We have a little respite now until January 13th, when a member of the area presidency comes for a mission tour. We'll have another multi zone conference with lunch prepared by the office, and there is a senior missionary dinner with Elder Pearson at the mission home that night, plus a trip for the Carters and the Pearsons to Alice Springs and Darwin, as well as other meetings in Adelaide. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Senior Skit.

These are the words we sang to the tune of chopsticks. 10 seniors sang and I played chopsticks on the piano.

'Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the Zaam
There's work to be doing
So all lend a hand

We have teaching and praying
And planning for sure
With purpose and Spirit
Our motives are pure

*We LOVE the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam

Perfect mornings are lovely
Blue binders are great
Our flats must be tidy
With sport we're in shape

The scriptures are living
The GOOD NEWS we share
Baptisms we're counting
So all can be "there"

*We LOVE the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam

Referrals and bank cards
And teaching supplies
There's bedding, k counting
And helmets our size

We have finding, goal making
Reporting and more
Zone meetings and trainings
Are never a bore

*We LOVE the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam

The seniors are helpful
They make things run smooth
From meals at transfers
Inspections, bike tubes

The Carter's o'er see things
Their 'people' pitch in
We're loyal and loving
And family to them

# We Love the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam!

We rescue our brothers
Our maps help us out
Our hearts are expanded
When lost ones are found

Our efforts are endless
Commandments we teach
Then testify boldly
And live what we preach

*We LOVE the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam

*We LOVE the gospel plan
Following Christ, building the Zaam!

Christmas 2013

To say this was a 'different' Christmas would be an understatement. Different than last year, different than previous years, well really, different from any year EVER in Sheffield/Watson history!

We opened our Christmas box from the kids Christmas Eve night. The gifts brought smiles as we unwrapped Lee's sugar pops, noodle soup envelopes, personalized I LOVE MY MISSIONARY pillow cases, razors, mentos, Oh Henry Bars, cash for dinners out, hand colored pictures, Red Robin seasoning, onion soup envelopes, almond joys, pot holders, perfumes, down east shirts, knee high nylons, notecards, spiral notebook, good and plenty candy, instant breakfasts, Carmel corn, and grape nuts for Mimi. THANK YOU FOR THE THOUGHTFUL GIFTS! We spoke to our children by FaceTime early Christmas morning and again after THEIR Christmas morning. Also called my dad Freddie and Lee's sister Debbie.

Most missionaries were invited to members homes for breakfast and to Skype home to their families. Since we have wi-fi at our flat, there were 4 sisters here for breakfast and they used our Ipad, the laptop, and one mom called on her cell phone to talk all at the same time. We had some difficulty getting Skype hooked up correctly to the family in Tahiti, but it eventually worked! There were happy tears all around from the girls, their families, AND from us as we listened to their joyful conversations with Provo, Utah, Sydney Australia, Tahiti, and Layton Utah.

By 11:00 am Christmas morning, senior missionaries were at the church kitchen to wash grapes and apples and slice 20 loaves of lemon, ginger, banana, and carrot bread for the missionaries lunch upon their arrival at noon.

After brunch, the talent show began! Elder Flood was the MC and he introduced each zone skit, musical number, and the seniors even performed as a singing Christmas Tree. I'll include the original words to the chopsticks tune later. President Carter sang a couple of Christmas songs and accompanied himself on the guitar.

When the young missionaries moved into the chapel to watch the 2013 DVD Sister Salazar made, the seniors prepared green salads, mixed veggies, baked potatoes with sour cream, cheese, chives and butter, baked ham, and rolls for 5:30 pm dinner for 120 people. Dessert was ice cream and toppings. 

The Smiths from Mount Gambier, the Larsens from Mildura, plus the Whites, Goodrichs, Sheffields, and Salazar from the office all worked together to prepare, serve, and clean up lunch and dinner, as well as zone conference lunch the next day. There were a million trips to and from the mission home across the church parking lot, and thank goodness for the senior men who hauled supplies back and forth! What a team!

After Christmas dinner, Sister Carter distributed gifts (assembled by the seniors earlier in the week) which included the 2013 DVD, a CD recording from the Christmas Missionary Fireside (both burned by Sis Salazar) a card from the first presidency, a red felt Christmas stocking sewed by Sis Goodrich that contained a scroll, candy cane, temple recommend holder, candy, etc, along with a yellow helping hands tshirt for each missionary.

Seniors had presorted all of the missionaries Christmas gifts from home by zone in different corners of the office so they were easily distributed after dinner. Missionaries filled Christmas fruit baskets to take to investigators on the way home Christmas night.

We came home tired but joyful for having celebrated our Savior's birth in this far place with people from all over the globe. It is a treasured entry in our mental memory book.

We Gladly Serve Him.

We didn't send Christmas cards or worry about gifts, greetings, parties, or programs this year. And yet, we more strongly and clearly FELT the Christmas spirit while serving as missionaries in the Australia Adelaide Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are humbled to wear HIS name, along with our own, on name tags we wear every day. We are happy to make whatever sacrifice is required to serve our Savior in Australia.

 

Some people ask if we get bored serving our mission in the office, or if it seems like a 9-5 job. We don't view it that way at all. Everyone has a different skill set and using our office/business experience to build the kingdom by supporting the Mission President and missionaries behind the scenes in the office so they can teach the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST is an honor and a blessing!

As always, we thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers. We appreciate emails and comments about the blog. We are thankful for this opportunity to learn and grow through our full time service in Australia.

Highs and Lows...Week 26.

Lee's Low: 

Some missionary's gifts didn't arrive on time and realizing some missionaries weren't going to receive any Christmas package at all.

Lee's High: 

Being surrounded by, and getting to interact with, missionaries for Christmas Day and Boxing Day! The group included Mildura, Broken Hill, and Mount Gambier, which are each a 5 hour drive away from Adelaide.

Patty's Low: 

Tired feet!

Patty's High: 

The amazing talent show skits and music presented to the whole group Christmas Day. They were creative, funny, serious, and amazing!

December 17th Transfers.

The 'leavers' always have a few minutes to speak to the group at the Tuesday morning transfer meeting. All missionaries and companions of any being transferred, as well as the senior staff, and President and Sister Carter assemble in the adjacent church and the changes/transfers are read aloud over the pulpit. Until that moment, missionaries only know they are being transferred, not who they are with or where they are going. They get a call Monday morning from the assistants who inform the missionary if they are 'staying' or 'packing.' Training meetings follows transfer meeting for new trainers and the whole place buzzes with anticipation for the few days preceding transfers. It's exciting to be a part of this great process!

President Carter challenged us to 'turn outward' and shared examples of President Monson and Jesus Christ that illustrate turning outward and thinking of others rather than focusing on ourselves.

Since we only had one 'leaver' this transfer, the Carter's took Sister Vaifale (vie(like pie) fall ee) to dinner and the office staff assembled with them back at the Mission Home for dessert. In case you are wondering, Sister Carter made brownies and her famous chocolate sauce over ice cream and it was rich and delicious! We all shared our testimonies and President and Sister Carter sang their usual parting song, which I videoed but the file is too large to email to Shelby in its entirety. It's always a wonderful meeting and the song very touching. There was lots of sniffing going on :-)

Wednesday, Lee was up and out early to take missionaries to the bus station for 'far' destinations, arriving back at the mission office in time to get another load to take to the airport for 'farther' areas. He brought back the first batch of 'arriver' missionaries to the office once they landed, and turned right around to go back for another load at the airport. The poor man didn't know if he was coming or going!

President and Sis Carter meet all incoming flights at the airport and once arrivers get back to the office, we have the usual orientation by housing, finance, and Lee about bikes and cars. President interviews each new missionary and we joined together at the church for an 'arrivers' dinner. The office prepared sesame chicken over rice, salad, and dessert and afterward, trainers were introduced to the 7 new missionaries. By this time, the newbies were asleep on their feet, so we adjourned to distribute bedding, bikes, and helmets. After clean up, we got home to our flat by 9:30 pm. 'Been a long day!'

Thursday morning Lee left very early to take the last group to the bus station, and Friday morning he took the Carter's to the airport for the Alice Springs Christmas celebration. Sunday at 3:35 pm he went back to meet them returning.

Friday night we attended the temple and Sister Salazar met us for dinner. We tried a new-to-us restaurant, although she had eaten there previously. We had a great time and really appreciated the cloudy, breezy evening, after a very HOT week! It sprinkled a few times over the weekend, but it was still quite warm temperature wise.

Saturday, Lee went grocery shopping in the morning, then we drove approximately 45 minutes to Plymouth to see a wholesale cash and carry. This was the first and only store we have seen that carries any bulk sized items at all. I enjoyed being out and about but the store is too far away to patronize regularly.

I spent Saturday afternoon sewing and finally finished my Christmas projects. I made black Rice Krispie treats (coal) and my mom's famous cheeseball.

We had missionaries for dinner Sunday at 5pm and I cooked crock pot chicken tacos with toppings for Elders Dass from Sydney and Woodfield from Texas. Yes, it's the same Elder Woodfield we knew in Mount Gambier as he was just transferred back to Adelaide.

Sunday evening at 7pm was a multi stake single adult (18-29 yr old singles) choir concert at our building. The young people did a wonderful job in song and narration depicting the Christmas story. Just before attending, we dropped some cheese ball and my quilted aboriginal fabric table runner for the Carter's, and after the concert we took them to Sister Salazar and Sister White. I gave the senior men and the assistants a 'bag of coal' mentioned above in this post. And I was NOT naughty, but nice enough to tell them to eat them at home so they could brush their teeth after because the black food dye turns teeth and tongue black. Pinterest didn't mention that..............sorry guys.

The week was busy but very gratifying. We love transfers for the new missionaries that arrive, but it's bittersweet, because missionaries leave to go home then too. Transfers mean hard work for the seniors, but we love serving and feel very blessed for this opportunity to show our love and commitment to the Savior. We love and support President and Sister Carter as they love and support the great missionaries in the Australia Adelaide Mission.

December 24th.

The Christmas holidays bring to mind and heart wonderful memories and family traditions, none more revered than my mom's coconut pie, baked beans, and cheese ball recipes. Thinking of you Barbara Louise Morgan Watson Velasquez. August 30, 1934-December 24, 2010.

Observations.

We don't eat out often as high costs can take the fun out of it. We would love to see a Red Robin Restaurant or Longhorn Steak House, but since the only familiar restaurant name is McDonalds, Subway or Hungry Jacks (Burger King), we take a chance when we choose a place to eat. There are a million places to try though.....we just hope it's good when we do go out because you still have to pay the high prices.

For perspective, Lee recently grabbed lunch for President and the assistants at Hungry Jacks (Burger King). 3 Whoppers, 3 fries, and 3 reg drinks cost over $29.00!

We suffer the same kind of sticker shock at the grocery store. Apples are $5.00 per kilogram, a
24-pak of pop is $25.00, and a tube of Pringles regular price is $3.99. Milk is in a 3 liter jug (.659 gal) for $3.00 and an 8 oz (approx) Philadelphia cream cheese block is $4.00. 

In the Coles, Woolworths, or Foodland grocery stores where we shop, they don't sell food in bulk quantities like rice, noodles, or beans etc. The largest flour and sugar packages are 2 kg, which is 4.4 pounds. We can generally find what we need, but it looks and tastes a little bit different, and comes in much smaller packages. I miss Costco sized gravy mix, pinto beans, parsley flakes and other spices! On the store shelves are one or two choices/flavors rather than 10 choices in every brand of things like salad dressing, soups, jam, or jello.

Postage costs are another shock! Lee has stewardship over all mission mailings, ingoing and outgoing. Parents send missionaries care packages, and for customs, the contents and values must be listed on the exterior. Generally, the postage costs MORE than the value of the contents. Christmas boxes are arriving for missionaries from all over the world...England, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Canada, Tuvalu, the Philippines, Tahiti, US states such as Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, as well as other Australian states.

Rent is advertised and charged by the week, and the flat utilities are billed by the quarter.

 People are fined if they don't vote. No need to tip at restaurants, hairdressers etc, nor is there sales tax in the state of South Australia. They have socialized medicine, but some people purchase 'private' insurance which allows them to be seen faster with perceived better care.

In the course of one week recently, four missionaries received infringement notifications or tickets for speeding......three were by mail at $700.00 each (camera) and one was on the spot in person for $750.00. I sent out a group email to all the missionaries informing them about the 4 tickets, and warned them to strictly obey the laws to avoid the heavy fines. Infringements are paid by the missionaries or their families so you can imagine the angst the infringements caused! Sydney notified us this week we have another $750.00 infringement. :-(  That means it was by camera and license plate identification rather than on the spot in person citation.

Australia doesn't have canned pumpkin or Crisco shortening or dry ranch salad dressing mix. Sister Carter cannot live without them, so her kids send packages from the USA to keep her in stock.

Australians are very proud of their fiscal responsibility and no national debt! There are several kinds of 'pensions' and we aren't sure how one qualifies, nor have we totally figured out the political structure yet. We find it all very interesting though and will share what we learn as we go.

Highs and Lows...Week 25

Lee's Low: 

43 degree day......that's 109 Fahrenheit !  Ughhhhh!

Lee's High: 

7 new Missionaries on transfer day!

Patty's Low: 

 Two additional days over 100 degrees this week! Whew!

Patty's High: 

The smooth 'intake' of 7 missionaries...it's nice to work with great people!

Weekly Report.

Monday, December 9th was our senior monthly Family Home Evening. The Whites and Sister Salazar carpooled with us in the van to the Goodrich's flat, approximately 30 minutes away. Sister Goodrich made chicken Alfredo lasagna rolls, and we brought salad, bread, a lovely fruit tray, and dessert.

After dinner Elder White gave a lesson taken from the conference talk No Other Gods by Dallin H. Oakes. We had great discussion and an enjoyable evening. The Whites also distributed a chocolate treat for everyone before we left for home after dividing leftovers. Sister Salazar has the lesson/activity next time and we will meet at the White's.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent working on the DVD, with help from knowledgeable missionaries with movie making experience. They were very patient and willing to help. Sister Salazar since bought them a chocolate treat and I made cookies to thank them.

Thursday morning I had a phone training with the church travel office in New Zealand, which was helpful and informative. Thursday night was a ward Relief Society meeting. We were to meet at a local rest home to sing carols and then go back to the church for " supper." Sisters White, Salazar, and I arrived at 6:15 only to find we were expected to begin at 6pm. We walked into a room where everyone was assembled as if ready for a concert, and there were only 3 other singers there before us and none of us played the piano. Talk about embarrassing! Thankfully we had hymn books and sang for the next 40 minutes, with enthusiastic clapping after each song from the audience. One lady had a musical triangle and some bells and accompanied us and all the patients were invited to sing along. The three of us were thankful we attended since we made up 1/2 of the complete group of singers.

We walked 4 days last week on a new longer route, although we skipped Friday morning since  Lee was up and out early to take the Carter's to the airport for the Darwin zone Christmas party.

Friday night we went to the 5:15pm session at the temple and had dinner at Barnacle Bills afterward. It had been a looooong week and we were beat.

Saturday mornings we always try to talk to the family by face time and catch whoever we can on their Friday afternoon. With work, piano, dance, sports, etc it's not always easy to speak with all 4 families plus Freddie, but they call back when they can if we miss them. We are so thankful for Face Time, Skype, and email!

Lee went grocery shopping and I worked on my sewing projects until noon Saturday, then we attended a baptism across the street at the church. In the afternoon, I made the cookies mentioned earlier and sewed in between taking batches in and out of the oven.

Sacrament meeting speakers Sunday were returned missionaries who served in California, South Africa, and the other missionary didn't say where he went. We enjoyed all three talks but Deegan Mutton's testimony was powerful as he shared sweet conversion stories. Woven in his message were lessons he had learned while on his mission. (His cousin or brother is now serving a mission in our Riverton Utah ward in the USA).

We had Elders Rapana and K. Taylor for dinner after church. Lee barbecued burgers, I made mom's baked beans and a fruit tray, with ice cream bars for dessert.

Sunday night was the rebroadcast of the December 8th First Presidency Devotional. We both loved Sister Wixom's talk and the music by the Tabernacle choir and the orchestra at Temple Square! Other messages were given by Elder Rasband, President Monson, and Russell M. Nelson, and it was an hour well spent.

That's our report for this week. Can't believe there are only 10 more days until Christmas!

Highs and Lows...Week 24

Lee's Low: 

Informing a missionary about another infringement and its cost. (ticket by camera)

 
Lee's High: 

Lee Googled and located a sno cone machine rental that wasn't already booked after Sister Carter's comment "Wouldn't it be fun to have sno cones?" (Planning barbecued burgers and dogs for zone conference lunch on Boxing Day, December 26)

Patty's Low: 

Continued frustration with the DVD making process.

Patty's High:  

The relief FELT in the office when the DVD was finally finished and burning! Ahhhhhhhhh!

Clarification.

Re reading the last post, it sounds like I have been working on the DVD, but the truth is that I have done very little. I watched Sister Salazar and the Elders click click click on the computer, but to keep up with the clicking, in a limited space around her desk, with bifocals and my limited knowledge and expertise, has been impossible.

They, on the other hand, have been working, watching, shuffling, etc many many hours and are the epitome of patience, endurance, sacrifice, and love. The finished product will be a lifetime memory for all of us, so THANK YOU Sister Salazar, Elders K Taylor, Barlow, Taufa, J Taylor, and Brough.

Time is Flying.

The days fly by, as do the weeks. We are beginning our sixth month of service already!

The past week, Sister Salazar and I spent many hours gathering, sorting, and shuffling pictures of missionaries, zones, baptisms, p-day antics, and local scenery from 2013 into a large file on the computer. Then we dropped the 760 pictures into a movie maker program, and put them to music, setting and resetting durations, animations, menu and title text, etc and reshuffling some more. We are almost ready to burn 140 DVDs as a Christmas gift for everyone in the mission.

Sister Salazar has such patience with the process. She loves to match music lyrics with particular pictures so she has spent more time working in front of the computer on the project. I break away for other tasks as transfer week is coming up, but I frequently check on her progress.

We designed, and printed, and trimmed to size the front and back covers for the cases with help from Elder and Sister Goodrich, and we designed and printed DVD labels. Poor Lee chased after cases, labels, DVDs, colored paper, CDs and ink.

We had help from several Elders with movie making experience. Elders K. Taylor, Barlow, and J. Taylor demonstrated with patience, but we are now to the point that time constraints are more important than knowing how to do it ourselves. Elder Brough made music suggestions and Elder Taufa was still working on animations when we left the office tonight. THANK YOU ELDERS!

Thursday we left the office early so I could get my hair done. I asked the hairdresser to trim it just a teeny bit shorter than she did 7 weeks ago, and I came away feeling scalped. I have difficulty understanding Jo since English is her second language but it's obvious she doesn't understand me either. My dad always said the difference between a good haircut and a bad one is about 3 weeks. So I'll be fine in 3 weeks.

We work hard to support our missionaries and President and Sister Carter, whatever the needs. We are tired every night, and I thought it was just us, but we realize after talking with others in the office, that they are beat at the end of the day too! I guess we really ARE 'seniors.' 
I spent all day Saturday at the sewing machine working on Christmas projects and I have more to do! Sunday was quiet with just the regular block of church meetings.

The weather has been very typical for spring; rainy days, hot sunny days, cloudy humid days, thunder, wind, and sometimes all in the same day. We are planning a barbecue menu for Boxing Day with temperatures expected to be 37 Celsius or about 100 degrees. It's hard to wrap your head around the idea of a HOT Christmas, huh? Us too. Especially when Utah is experiencing record snowfall and cold temperatures. Brrrrrrrrrrr!

I don't know if I mentioned that we received 12 new cars in the mission (two are vans) and we are only giving up 4 according to the previously mentioned formula, so we netted 8. As you know Lee is over vehicles and although they arrived already licensed, he and Elder Smith installed bike racks on each, and licensed them in person at the DMV equivalent. Lee also provides each car with a first aid kit, owners manual, and accident reports. He filled them with fuel, one after another in a single morning at the same gas station since the motor pass cards hadn't arrived yet. Imagine the attendant's thought process as he sees the same guy come in 8 times with 8 different cars.

The location of every car in the mission is recorded and tracked by companionship. For example, the Firle area Elders drive lic #ABC123. Mileage, in kilometers, is recorded daily and reported to Lee monthly, which he reports monthly to Sydney, the Pacific area headquarters.

There is a huge whiteboard in President Carter's office with the zones and areas of the mission, as well as the missionaries serving there, what car they are driving (if any) zone and district leaders, who can or cannot drive etc. I'll send a picture of the board later as the President and assistants are working on transfers and the board is covered.

We started walking again after a period of laziness and we sure can feel it! The weather was perfect today and yesterday morning though....cloudy and 54 with a slight breeze. We are well and happy. Have a great week!

Sisters Luncheon.

Monday, December 2nd from 1-3pm, was Sister Carter's luncheon for the 'near' sister missionaries. (Remember Darwin, Alice Springs, and Mildura are all ' far.')

Sister Carter is a closet decorator, because the tables and mission home were all beautifully decked out for Christmas. Because I collect them, I asked if the nativity had special origin or meaning and she said it was from Jerusalem. The mission home has two lovely Christmas trees and room enough for three large tables that seated all 30, either in the dining area or great room.

Each place setting had a green napkin and a Santa sleigh made from candy canes as runners, individually wrapped large and mini candy bars for the actual sleigh, and a ribbon holding it all together (thanks to Sisters White, Goodrich, and Smith for wrapping, gluing, tying!)

The senior missionary sisters made salads, served with crust bakery bread and fruit. After lunch, we gathered in the living room for messages by President and Sister Carter.

Sister Carter shared the Luke 10 scripture story of Mary and Martha and indicated that both types of sisters are needed, and she cautioned us to be wise in our priorities. For more insight, I really like this article here.

President Carter mentioned noticing women's hands, particularly older women's hands, knowing they are the result of years of love, service and devotion. He spoke of his own mother and shared stories of her, as well as other influential women in his life.

President closed by singing to us, and accompanied himself on the guitar. Afterward we all went into the kitchen to participate in the cookie exchange.

Our thanks to President and Sister Carter for the afternoon of special attention and encouragement.

Highs and Lows...Week 22

Lee's Low: 

A trip to the airport with a missionary going home.

Lee's High: 

The Missionary Christmas Fireside!

Patty's Low: 

Feeling frustrated as we learn the ins and outs of DVD making.

Patty's High: 

We finished the front and back DVD cover and the sister's luncheon.

Last But Not Least.

Bailey, Zane and Riley can't wait to see what's inside from Australia!

Thanksgiving Week.

After the meeting Monday, November 25th with Elder Hamula, the next few days were quiet at the office, except when practices were held at the church for the upcoming missionary fireside. Before and after the practices, the missionaries drop by for mail or teaching aids. We always enjoy our interactions with these fine young people!

President and Sister Carter met the Smiths (senior couple) when they flew in last Wednesday at 4:45pm. They had been visa waiters for about 3 weeks at home after MTC training. President asked us to remain at the office until their arrival from the airport to meet and welcome the Smiths and then show them to their flat, which we did. They were pretty tired when we dropped them off and helped then unload at 7:00 pm that night.

The Smiths are from the Murray area of Salt Lake City and have a son that lives in our Riverton Utah South Stake. I recognized his picture when she showed me. They have 5 adult children and I think she said 18 grandchildren, three of whom are teenage triplets!

Sister Carter used her last stick of Crisco and her last can of pumpkin and made homemade pumpkin pie to share with the office staff a small portion of the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA. It tasted divine! Truly!

Thursday and Friday, the Smiths hung out with us at the office or went with Whites for flat inspections or other errands. We grabbed Subway for lunch together Thursday, and 6 of us went to the temple Friday night and Barnacle Bills for fish and chips dinner afterward.

Saturday morning after Lee went grocery shopping, we took the Smiths to downtown Adelaide to the Central Market. Sister Salazar recommended it as a destination and we hadn't been there yet. We saw huge produce booths, butcher shop/meat booths, also bakery booths, olive, yogurt, organic items, cheese, souvenir, and other booths, all within a large dark warehouse type building. The food court had over 20 different Asian food booths, and we stood in front of Mimi's Giftware shop to get a good picture for posterity. (My grand kids call me Mimi, FYI.) The meat booths had all kinds of selections, including kangaroo meat, crocodile sausage, and wallaby steaks for our next barbecue. Yum yum!

 

 

This guy was playing a digerydo and she was playing an amplified fiddle or violin.

After Central Market, Carter's took the Smiths to lunch at 1:00, and Lee and I spent the afternoon and evening at home. I made a large pasta salad for Monday's sisters luncheon at Sister Carter's and dessert for Sunday dinner, and cookies for Monday's cookie exchange. 

Sunday, we invited Sister Salazar and the Smiths over for dinner after church. I made beef and chicken enchiladas with lettuce, tomato, sour cream toppings and refried beans. Everyone enjoyed the meal and the company.

Later that evening, we all attended the monthly missionary fireside, but this was a special Christmas edition. Sister Carter and the missionaries had been working on it for a few weeks and it was beyond wonderful! Lasting an hour, the program included a beautiful power point presentation of religious pictures projected on the large screen, narration, and music illustrating the basic teachings of the church.

Large and small missionary groups performed musical numbers. Some tunes were new to me, but all were totally amazing! Sister Moss' fabulous voice was perfect for the song 

"Gethsemane." She was able to portray deep, tender emotion as she described the Savior's suffering in the Garden, and how it relates to us personally. We LOVED that piece. 

A group of 6 Elders sang " How Can I" and referenced mighty prophets as examples to follow and asked the question "How Can I Be Like Them?" It was so well done and we LOVED this piece.

A couple of the musical numbers were old favorites. In addition to the 100 missionaries, approximately 40 youth from the stake stood to sing Called To Serve and a Janice Kapp Perry Medley. We LOVE those two songs!

The three Adelaide stakes were involved in a weekend Missionary Preparation Conference (MPC) for teenagers16 and older who plan to go on a mission. For 3 days, a teenager was matched with a missionary companionship and they were able to 'experience' what missionaries do every day all day. They also were participants in the missionary fireside.

Just after a threesome of Elders left our house Saturday night (one needed his suit pants mended),

3 sisters showed up at our door and asked to come in and teach us a basic lesson. It was fun to see the sisters in action and the teenager participated also. For a job well done, Lee brought out ice cream bars, which were greatly appreciated.

One night last week at 11:59 pm, we were jolted awake by the sound of the smoke alarm beeping continuously every 30 seconds. We stumbled from the bedroom (without my glasses) to check where the beep was coming from and located two smoke alarms. Lee went to find the ladder on the back patio and proceeded to remove both batteries. But still, the beeping continued. Grrrr!

In our befuddled half asleep condition, neither of us could figure out how or why they could still be beeping without the batteries........plus we couldn't tell WHERE the beeping was coming from........so we gave up and returned to the bedroom, shut the door, and I put in earplugs. I had no more trouble sleeping that night but it was STILL beeping when we woke up the next morning!

When I walked to the kitchen for breakfast, I happened to glance at the cabinets and noticed the edge of something small and round sitting flat on top. Who puts a carbon monoxide alarm where it can't be seen?

You must know where this is going by now. Yep, the smoke alarms were fine and the continual beeping was the hidden carbon monoxide alarm waaaaaaaaaaaay up on top of the cabinets. Boy, did we feel dumb AND Lee suffered all night listening to the totally annoying beep!

Anyway, that's our week in a nutshell. In case I haven't stated it strongly enough above, the missionary fireside was outstanding! The talents shared were amazing, the Spirit was felt, the message was clear, and we (all) were blessed by our attendance!  It is a HUGE tender mercy for our lives to be touched by these fabulous young men and women serving as missionaries in Adelaide Australia!

Elder Hamula's Visit.

Mondays are preparation day for the missionaries and the office is much busier than other weekdays. We LOVE visiting with these young, dynamic, knowledgeable, sacrificing people called missionaries. They are inspiring and dedicated to sharing the good news with all who will listen.

As mentioned last week, Elder Hamula of the Area Presidency (and first Quorum of the Seventy) came to reorganize one of the three stakes in Adelaide. During the 4 day visit, meetings were held with the Temple Presidency, the Mission Presidency, the Young single adults in a Sunday night fireside, and early Monday morning with our missionaries, in addition to the regular Saturday and Sunday semi annual Stake Conference meetings.

 Kangaroo Island and Mount Gambier missionaries were able to stay after transfers Tuesday for their stake meetings on the weekend and to hear Elder Hamula, plus all 'near' missionaries were invited. Darwin, approx. 3000 miles away, Alice Springs approx half that distance, and Mildura, which is a 5 hour drive from Adelaide are all considered ' far.' I've been told that if a missionary gets transferred from Mt Gambier, the southern most assignment in this mission, to Darwin, the northern most assignment, it is the longest transfer in any church mission, distance wise. That's pretty amazing!

 We left the flat by 6:40 am Monday morning to be to the Marion Building in time to be lined up, seated, and spaced for a group picture. After finding our places we sang hymns until the Carter's arrival. Sister Salazar and I took turns taking photos with camera and iPads and the final picture will be included in the Christmas CD.

 

 

In his remarks, Elder Hamula complimented the missionaries and their good manners and also their singing of the mission anthem ( Beautiful Zion hymn #44) as he entered the church building. He expressed appreciation for assembling quickly and orderly to take the large group photo and then moving reverently to the chapel for instruction. He praised the service of the seniors from the office and mentioned that THE CHURCH NEEDS MORE SENIOR MISSIONARIES!

Elder Hamula said that the Mission President and his wife make the mission! The measure of a mission president is not how many baptisms are recorded, but how many of his missionaries are active in the church, serving, and saved! He said more than once to the missionaries, "His (the President's) mission is to save YOU!"

Here are some observations and highlights of Elder Hamula's 1 1/2 hour message:

In looks, he reminded me of my my grandfather, Bill Christman, who was very tall and slim, and had a similar hair style.

Elder Hamula quoted this poem and it is wise counsel not only to missionaries, but to anyone facing difficulties.

Put your face to the wind

No matter what happens

Every storm ends

Stand firm

Look heavenward

Don't give up or bend

Scriptures were used often and you could tell Elder Hamula was very acquainted with them, no matter the topic. He promised to take questions after qualifying the promise with the following:

1. The questions should be within his realm of expertise and knowledge, ie he doesn't know anything about being a doctor, chef, or car mechanic, but has a background in law, and serving as a missionary, a mission president , Bishop, General Church Authority, etc.

2. Don't ask questions if u have no intention of 'acting' upon the answers or changing.

Having sincere, REAL intent, Full Purpose of Heart means wanting to change/act.

Elder Hamula shared scriptures referencing how we receive revelation.

1. Through his servants, such as the Prophet or other leaders

2. By written word such as the Scriptures, The Ensign 

3. To our heart- through prayer and in other ways- we must be still and listen

He invited us to be happy and smile but warns us to be sober and serious minded about serious things so we can hear/feel the Spirit and be observant (quick to act).

We should be light hearted, not light minded.

Our young missionaries asked wonderful questions of Elder Hamula, and his answers were powerful. Following are very brief portions of his answers....what I can recall and from my hastily written notes.

How can we as missionaries better understand the Atonement and utilize it to better teach?

Learn to repent and turn yourself around. Once you repent and are forgiven you can then be genuinely concerned for the welfare of others. (see Enos). We REMEMBER past sin for PROTECTION. Repentance can relieve guilt, but we remember so as not to repeat past mistakes. When you are truly concerned for others, you love them, they will feel it and be receptive to what you teach. Repentance allows you to focus on other than you!

How do we know if it is personal revelation or just my mind?

Don't try to distinguish YOU from the Spirit. The Spirit will work through you!  Trust your thoughts and feelings and act. Stop if it doesn't feel right.

 How do we fight the Natural Man in us, the not wanting to act when we know we should?

Choice has been preserved since the beginning and will always be challenged by physical bodies. The ongoing condition of mortality is spiritual versus physical. Learn to manage the best we can. Strengthen your spirit by living what you are taught. We can only do the best we can do and then rely on the grace of Christ for the rest. Be wise and avoid evil.

How do we fight discouragement?

Discouragement suggests a weariness of mind and spirit. To avoid discouragement, keep your eye on Jesus and you will get what you need to carry on. HE will show, comfort, sustain and support! His hand is always extended!

Suggested reading referred to by Elder Hamula: THE POWERS OF HEAVEN by David A. Bednar, April 2012 Ensign.

We are grateful we attended this meeting. We felt uplifted, inspired, and encouraged on the mission and for life in general. We marvel that we are really here in Australia, two small-town senior ish types, who GET to have these heart expanding, testimony strengthening, powerful experiences! We are blessed!

New Pictures.

Here we are in the mission office:

The Smiths, who are new to the mission, and will be serving in Mt. Gambier.

Elder and Sister Goodrich, who are from SLC:

 Us with the Whites:

Us, Sister Salazar and the Whites:

Christmas Decorations.

Brody loved the koala ornaments in the Christmas box from Mimi and Papa in Australia. 

The girls......not so much.