26 June 2021 Not "Goodbye," but "See You Later"

The past week was bittersweet as we had our final All Mission Conference with President and Sister Runia.  With nearly 12 young missionaries and the Mata'utias also scheduled to leave  us soon, this was a day to share priceless memories and lasting friendships.  After the morning of devotionals, hymns, instruction from Runias, the luncheon was held. 

Karen Scott, wife of President Aaron Scott, 1st counselor in the mission presidency, out did herself once again.  All the senior office couples had been to their home last week for another surprise good-bye dinner with the many friends Runias have throughout the wards and stakes.  So it was not surprising to see another beautifully prepared dining experience.  The missionaries love when she is catering their Zone conferences and other gatherings.  I arrived early to  "help" but found most was already done.  We had a few last minute touches for the dessert table and drinks and then it was time to enjoy.

Beautiful table settings 

Dessert table of cake and ice cream cookie bar with chocolate "lollies"

Getting seated and ready to eat!

And the masks can come off now!

After luncheon and dessert, it was time for the missionary created videos all set to well know Disney musicals with their own interpretations!  Lots of laughter and smiling.  But it didn't stop there. On to performances too.

Sister Stubbs and Sister Tonumaipe'a performed a Tongan dance with others joining in at one point.  

And then the leis were given to Runias.  But that wasn't all.  Everyone received a missionary made candy (or lollie) lei to share as they wished.  Those leaving us were showered with love!

Those leaving us include Sisters Salima, Pham, Lealofi, Foisa, William, Stubbs, Kerwin and Elders Min, Ruagi, Ma Chong, Trillo, Kaburara along with Runias, and Mata'utias.  A few have some delays due to their home countries still having limited flights but we keep working with consulates and the travel department to help them get back to their homes.  Many have served past their release dates with continued dedication.  And as it is said here, it is never "Good-bye," just always, "See you Later!"

Elder Trillo always happy and willing to do what was asked of him including wearing his lollie-made crown.

President Scott and Tammy Runia could hardly hold their heads up from all the love they were shown!

The Mata'utias were overwhelmed with the missionaries' generosity to them.  They have been so devoted to their self-reliance responsibilities.  We will miss them a great deal also. 

Sister William and Sister Lealofi

Sisters Stubbs, Kerwin, and Pham

A little bit of dancing!

The whole group with their leis of love as I call them

Serenading with Tongan music

Elder Elisara leading a Samoan song

And of course, the Haka to show honor 

At this point some of the Australians thought it would be good to remember that the mission is actually in Sydney and began singing "Waltzing Matilda" which everyone joined in.  I am certain had this been anything other than a mission conference, the party may have lasted much longer!  But the missionaries had an afternoon of volleyball and lawn games under the direction of the Assistants, Elder Davison and Afoa.  And then the clean- up began.

Many of the young missionaries left on Wednesday with only a cancelled flight to Melbourne being rescheduled.  Then Elder Trillo's itinerary changed totally and we spent Wednesday getting his documents ready to transit through two different countries rather than the originally scheduled flights.  The good news was he could read and complete the Spanish documents for Madrid!  But it all worked out.  Even Elder Ruagi who, like several before him, had to fly across the Pacific 17 hours to Los Angeles, and then wait all day in LAX before boarding the flight back across the ocean to Tahiti.  The pandemic has caused such difficulties in travel home for these young adults. 

By Friday, Sydney was reporting an increase in cases of COVID19,  Vaccinations have been slower than desired.  Unfortunately, this now means that by Friday night the government issued lockdown orders for a week,  By Saturday, the orders changed to lockdown until July 9.  We can leave for essential shopping, medical, work if it can't be completed remotely, and limited outdoor exercise.  So here we go again.  Just like a year ago,   We were feeling pretty safe and maybe too complacent.  So the masks are back on in offices, public transportation, and shops if open.  

Our exercise on Saturday was a bush hike along the cliffs at Dee Why Beach.  This is probably my last visit for at least two weeks as we will need to stay closer to home now for exercise.  We had tickets to a play next Saturday so we are hoping to be rescheduled or for a refund now that it is closed down also.  

Our new mission president, Gabriel Reid and his family arrived two weeks ago and have been in hotel quarantine.  They should arrive here at the mission home this coming week only to continue guiding the mission through this lockdown,  We are looking forward to meeting them in person as opposed to Zoom where we first met them at the Conference and each night with the young missionaries.  "For such a time as this!"  

 

6 June 2021 A Plague of Mice? What next? Our graduates!

During the last weeks, we've had a number of experiences that remind us we are not in the U.S. anymore!  Primarily, the plague of mice that is over-running the rural areas of New South Wales.  The Aussies have dealt with months of bushfires  in 2019, the pandemic continues to cause difficulties for businesses and travel, and now a plague of mice.  Hay bales, siding, feed buckets are filled with the rodents.  Who knows if they are carrying any other disease. To add insult to injury, the animals rights groups are more concerned that the eradication of the mice must  be humane! Literally, hundreds of thousands of mice over running homes and ranches is a stunning sight on the news. Think the great movie, The Birds, only with mice!

What a horrific experience for the farmers and others living in regional  lands.  One little boy interviewed  after his home burned due to mice chewing the electrical wiring, said they had mice running over him while trying to sleep and now his family has lost literally everything they owned as they were not home when the fire engulfed the residence.  It is a ghastly scourge. As we had an assignment to travel to a northwest area last week, we wondered if we would see any evidence of the invasion. Fortunately, we saw no evidence where we were.   I don't think I could have slept in the motel if I'd seen traps or rodents!

We enjoyed the lunar eclipse right from our house.  We would run outside every 10 minutes or so to see how much the shadows had moved.  Our cameras didn't capture the scene as well as we hoped, but our colleagues in New Zealand sent his photographs out the next day.  So thanks to Jeff Edwards, we have a great memory of the evening. 

On our 6-hour drive to Grafton for a speaking assignment, we stopped in Coff's Harbour on the north coast to enjoy a lovely late lunch by the ocean and enjoy the view.  The fishing boats bring in the fresh catch of the day.  The walk along the jetty provides great views, benches, fresh fish, shops, and green space to enjoy.  After our break, it was back in the car and on to Grafton where we spoke in church the next day.  Friendly, welcoming people everywhere we went.  

The weekend before we spent with other senior missionaries visiting Featherdale Wildlife Park. The park has one of the largest collection of Australian wildlife.  It is the home of over 2000 native animals from more than 260 species.  Feeding the wallabies and kangaroos, birdwatching, loving the koalas and wombats, checking out the Tazmanian Devil, dingoes, reptiles, bilbies, echindas, and the other iconic Australian animals made for a relaxing day with friends.  Our Australian friends are probably not as in awe of the animals as I am.  Steve Pollard said he'd seen enough kangaroos munching on his property to last a lifetime!  But they all think watching the deer that are sometimes found in our backyard would be wonderful!  It's all about perspective.   

Beautiful, large birds; pretty fluffy kookaburra too

Featherdale has a substantial collection of koalas and offers encounters with them like we had in Port Macquarie.  This time we just watched.  But Nina Anderson and I did have our picture taken with one of the little marsupials.  

Cassowaries -just smaller than an ostrich or emu

Some wombats - we were excited to see some running about since they tend to be mostly nocturnal, sleeping during the day or burrowing underground.  Interestingly, their scat, or poop, is cubic in shape which has to do with their digestive system.    

And of course, the Kangaroos!

Emu

Echhinda

Tazmanian Devil

I am certain we are not finished viewing more that Australia has to offer.  I know we will be in Bathurst this month and there's a great reserve to just walk through and spend time with more kangaroos.  They may be more pest-like to some, just like the rabbits in my backyard, but how can I not enjoy this unique experience?  

Finally, two graduates of the class of 2021, a granddaughter and a grandson off to conquer the world!  Both having shown incredible scholarship, she thinks the law like her grandfather and uncle have embraced may be in her future, while he thinks engineering could be his choice.  For now, she's off on a Humanitarian adventure to Belize and he is home from early entrance into BYU working as they both prepare to be in Provo next fall. We could not be more proud of their accomplishments and examples they are to their siblings and cousins and all others!