26 Jul -2 Aug 2020 It's Moving Day!

We have been relocated to new office space in the Service Centre of our office building.  It's taken a bit of ingenuity and effort to get things organized and ready, but I think it will work out fine.  The office we had will become a conference room for the Seminary and Institute group.  More people are being moved to other offices too, so I've spent a lot of time these last two weeks moving, refiling, and creating legal files.  Most likely, they will all be digitalized soon, but we've tried to put everything in good order to make that an easy process. It's been a lot of work and there is still quite a bit to do.  Don has a rather nice looking "legal" office while I have a little cubicle right outside his.  I rather like my little corner office downstairs.  I also have one in the mission office upstairs that I share with Nina Anderson.  Don reminds me that I had two offices in Germany too so I guess that means I have a lot to do!  Our computers will be moved tomorrow and then we are all set.  

Here are some of the young missionary sisters that came to the mission office last week.  With the uptick in Covid cases here in Australia, we don't want to take any chances with their (or our) health.  So the building has a government approved plan just like most businesses.  Everyone signs in, takes a temperature reading, and wears a mask regardless of personal feelings.  The young missionaries are good about calling ahead to make appointments and check that we will be there.  I had a few that needed some help with phones this week due to cracked screens and total failure.  They always hate having to explain what happened, especially when it's the second phone in two months that we've have to get fixed!  But they are darling and so personable.  Zone conferences are again this week and next, so I will get to see them all and probably deal with some more phone issues. I've been trying to help some with college applications which is a little challenging from here.  

 Some of my great new friends!

We may be in the middle of a pandemic but life still goes on with other experiences - some happy and some sad.  This week my brother and his wife lost her mother to the same cancer that also took our dad.  How sad we are to say good-bye to Elisabeth Heep Beckman.  She was a lovely French woman who loved her New York home and family also.  My sister also has faced some health challenges this summer, but we are grateful that she has come through with the grace and determination I have always admired.

Our youngest granddaughter was baptized today and with our technology, Don and I got up around 1:55 am to be able to "be there" too.  It was great to see everyone and still feel that we aren't totally missing out on their lives.  We love being able to speak with family easily and often.  

 Last weekend was referred to as a "rain bomb" here with a steady downpour and even flooding in some suburbs.  Since we were stuck inside, it was great to be out again yesterday.  We went with Ron and Elise Christensen to Watsons Bay by ferry.  Situated at the end of the South Head peninsula, we walked the South Head Heritage Trail up to the Hornby Lighthouse to take in the beautiful scenery.

I have just finished reading "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek."  One of the characters in the book explains that God saved the last color he created - blue - for himself.  Well, it certainly seemed apparent on this day. Stunning skies on a lovely winter day. 

Looking across the bay toward the Sydney Skyline.  Locals moored their boats here by the ferry dock.

 In the 1857, a ship ran aground killing 120 people.  Just a few weeks later, another ship crashed on the rocks below so the Hornby lighthouse was erected. It was painted with the red and white strips to distinguish it from another lighthouse just 2 km away.  The light keepers' cottage still stands near the lighthouse also.

 The lighthouse is one of the oldest still in use here in New South Wales.  There are also old military fortifications where defenses and cannons were located to protect the harbor.  Interestingly, one of the signs mentioned that six American ships sailed in unnoticed during the early days.  Though there was no conflict, but it was apparent that if the Americans could do this, others, presumably enemy forces, might also. So the fortifications were built along with several bunkers. 

 There was a sailing course set up on Saturday and we spent some time watching all the sailboats.

Another view of the Sydney skyline. 

 One cannon is still located in another fortification.  The view of the cliffs is part of South Head looking toward the Tasman Sea.

 More sandstone cliffs along the peninsula.

 ICONIC is a word I've learned that Australians love to use to describe most anything.  But I have to agree that the Opera House, the Harbour, and the Harbour Bridge are truly inspired, recognizable, and celebrated.

 On our first visit to Sydney in  2016, we loved wandering through The Rocks area and eating at the Fortune of War which I'm sure is "iconic" since is was built in 1828 and is Sydney's oldest pub.  It was originally built by a former convict who became known as the "Botany Bay Rothchild" due to his successful and shrewd business dealings.  Our day ended with a visit to several shops including "Stickies" which makes great taffy lollies!

19 July 2020 Our Mission continues in the land of Oz

This week was bittersweet as we said good bye to two of our young sister missionaries.  They have been serving past their release dates as the pandemic as hampered efforts to get them to their own countries.  But finally, they were able to go.  Here I am with Sister Afo who I dearly admire and love.  She has been a great influence and I have loved getting to know her.  I will also love getting to hear from her and learn about the next chapters in her life. 

My driving continues to improve as I navigate driving on the left.  I just try to hug the middle of the road and love it when the traffic has to go slower.  However, some of the truckers must not agree.  As I was signaling my right hand turn, I must not have been getting over fast enough to satisfy the semi that was following.  Startling me with a long, blaring blast of his horn, I wondered why he was so impatient?!  Well, someone did the same to Don today again as we made another right turn.  Maybe I'll get one of the "P" or "L" signs to put on the car to indicate we are just novices!

With cases of Covid rising again, we thought we better stock up on some essentials.  So after some shopping, it was off to explore some of the southern beaches of Sydney.  With over 100 beaches around Sydney, we know we will never see them all but we might give it a go.  The surfers were out on a beautiful winter day.  The temperature was about 70 degrees as we walked along the bay.  Another great day to enjoy the water, beach and social distant from everyone else.  Next time, I'm bringing a picnic.

 Cronulla Beach on Bate Bay

Cronulla Point

 Waves were just right for the surfers. 

Hard to show the height of the waves

We were supposed to be able to start church services again today.  It seems strange to me that thousands can be allowed to fill stadiums for "footy" games with screaming and yelling, but we can't social distance and sing in religious settings.  Many opt to stay home a bit longer.  It will be interesting to see how things go this week. 

But we continue to follow all the guidelines.  With the state of Victoria shutting down again, pubs and restaurants are feeling the pain.  Now with cases rising here in NSW, we too may see restrictions again.  So, I wear my mask when out in the shops, and we've asked the young missionaries to make appointments instead of dropping by the mission office.  I really hate to see that happen, but we are the "old" guard that need protection I guess.  

1 -12 July 2020 Witchetty Grubs? Really?

Our last night with the Blackhams and Stokers before they returned home to the United States was another dinner out together with office couples, service missionaries, and President and Sister Runia.  These wonderful couples welcomed us and have served for nearly 2 years each here in the Australia Sydney Mission.  All four have left big shoes to fill.  They will be missed not only by us but all the young missionaries that have loved them also and come to rely on them for help and information as needed. 

Our 4th of July was a small celebration with traditional foods but also was the day of Ron Christensen birth.  So a double celebration with some of our Australian missionaries Anne and John Parton also joining us.  John wondered if he should bring "witchetty grubs" to throw on the barbie!  Thankfully, the large, worms were absent.  I asked him if he'd ever eaten some himself and his answer, "I've seen them eaten."  Yes, he was content with hamburgers and brawts (or sausos, sausages as they say here) and I was happy not to see them roasted on the grill.

Then more birthdays gave us another excuse for an afternoon lunch last Friday.  Theresa Thomas and  Gose Mata'utia both were born on the same day, so we enjoyed more time together to socialize and of course, eat.  Spending time and working alongside the other senior missionaries is a real blessing in our lives.  All willing to leave family, grandchildren, and other interests to serve in any way they can.  I love being with them and learning from their amazing examples.

With Covid19 pandemic restrictions easing somewhat here, we headed back to Darling Harbour where we planned to take in the Sydney Aquarium. and Wildlife museums. The day was a little rainy and foggy, but if we wait for perfect days, we may not see anything!  Unfortunately, though we arrived early at the aquarium, the personnel said they were sold out for the day since the numbers allowed are still very limited.  We will have to get tickets online earlier in the week if we want to visit on a Saturday.  So we decided to walk the pedestrian Pyrmont Bridge across Darling Harbour to look at the National Maritime Museum.  The ships outside the museum are all available to tour however, with due to current health safety concerns the ships were not totally open.  The HMAS Onslow submarine was closed and the we could only go on the deck of the HMAS Vampire, one of the Daring class of destroyers and one of the last big gun ships.  We will return when we can see everything!

Walking across Pyrmont Bridge

                                 The HMAS Vampire                                   The HMAS Onslow

This is a replica of the Endeavour, James Cook's ship that he sailed to chart New Zealand and the coast of Australia on his world wide travels. It is not only an accurate representation of sailing from 1768-1771, but is also a fully functioning ship which takes regular voyages along the Australian coast. 

 Another ship in the harbour is the 1874 square rigger or Tall Ship, James Craig. Originally built in England, it carried cargo all around the world until about 1922. This ship is a true restoration and still sails to sea with passengers on various trips.  Again, we couldn't go aboard this one either.  We are going to have a lot of things to return to if and when this pandemic lightens up.

We continued our walk through the park area and the Chinese Garden of Friendship on our way to the famous Paddy's Market. A market for over 150 years in Sydney, it houses hundreds of stalls selling everything from clothing, to gadgets, to souvenirs, to food and produce.  In order to enter, we had to have our temperatures taken to prove we were healthy and wear a paper bracelet indicating that we were okay to be inside.  At least everyone else had to pass the same requirements too, so we felt somewhat at ease with the other shoppers.  

 Over 500 stalls at this location, we wandered up and down every aisle but only looked not finding anything we actually had to have right now.  One Chinese lady wanted to give Don a massage and another kept asking me to look at her items.  I had visions of our visit to China where we thought we were bringing an aggressive female vendor home with us.  We just kept on walking though.

 A foggy day at Darling Harbour but still beautiful 

The replica of Endeavour and the Cape Bowling Green lighthouse.  The lighthouse was once a working lighthouse on a headland in Ayr, Queensland.  It was moved several times until it was placed here in Sydney. 

Time for a late lunch at a familiar location.  We also had to fill out a questionnaire and have our temperatures taken in order to be able to eat here.  The questionnaires are being required at many restaurants, pubs, and other venues in order to contact patrons  in the event of a community outbreak.  

Passing Town Hall and a statue of Queen Victoria outside the Old Victoria building on our way back to the express bus to get home. 

Currently, we are told we may be returning to regular church meetings next week.  However, Victoria has shut down again due to a resurgence of the virus.  Melbourne looks like a ghost town from the pictures on the news.  Not nearly as many cases as the U.S., but no one is taking this lightly.  The state boundaries with Victoria are closed and no one from Victoria is able to travel to the other states though New South Wales citizens can now travel to Queensland and the Gold Coast.  But with the increase of cases growing, we are wondering if it is just a matter of time before we are shut down again.  What an interesting time to live.  For Don and I, we are able to continue our missionary work at the office and with online meetings.  How grateful we are to communicate with our family though we worry about them all. Many are in states where the cases are substantially increasing too like Texas and Arizona.  Sam arrived in his first mission area in Arizona and reports 110 degree weather plus doing most of his service right now by social media close not unlike our young missionaries here. 

21-28 June 2020 Two busy weeks

Everyone tells us the kangaroos are easily spotted when you are out in the bush areas.  But we found a mob while coming home one evening from shopping at Costco.  Right by the soccer field across the street we turned and saw about 16 just grazing.  They may have been wallabies by the looks of their size, but I am not certain.  They were oblivious to us until a large truck loudly started up and they took off across the field. 

Each day, as we walk to the office, we are met by the birds.  In the morning as I walk with some of the other senior missionaries, we hear kookaburras right at dawn.  Here is one bird that just sat and looked at us as we walked by.  His green coloring though not readily apparent in the picture made him especially noticeable to us.

These weeks have been busy and hectic.  A week ago, the young Australian missionaries that were sent home were reassigned to Sydney.  They arrived over three days from all over the continent leaving their homes again to serve.  I was touched to hear them tell of their previous assignments and their desires to continue to serve though some really only have just months left.  Others, like our grandson Sam, have completed the online MTC work and are just beginning their two years.  This past week and through Tuesday, there will have been 5 Zone Conferences for more training and instruction from the mission president, the assistants, and the newly called tech missionaries which will guide the social media work. 

With arrivals, the office couples all handle orientation responsibilities.  I watched and assisted Sister Blackham as she explained all the ins and outs of their phones, passing out SIM cards and the expectations for approved use.  She  and her husband return home this week, so it's now all been handed over to me.  I have been surprised by how much work it takes to help keep these phones working and repaired.  I have had my phone since before our mission in Germany and have never had to repair it.  I just gave some out last week that will be brought in tomorrow with cracked screens and cases or missing volume buttons and a myriad of other problems.  Some can be fixed for a price.  Others may just need a hammer taken to them!

 It is fun to get to know the young missionaries and watch how enthusiastic they are about missionary service.  They always want to know how they can help us or if there is anything else they can do.  Social distancing is still supposed to be the order of the day, but they were so happy to see each other after weeks of isolating in flats and elsewhere.  These are a few of our Sydney Australia missionaries.

With Elaine and Carl Blackham and Karleen and Claude Stoker returning to the states this week, the mission office will be down to just three and a half couples working there.  I am basically the "half" as Don works in our office downstairs.  So now I have two offices.  I will spend morning upstairs for now dealing with the phones and spend some of the afternoon in our office downstairs in the Service Centre doing my other work with humanitarian projects and preparing for more ESL classes to resume.

We're into the days of the long good-byes as we spend time saying good-bye to these two wonderful couples that will be very difficult to replace.  Friday evening after the fourth Zone Conference, all the senior couples went to dinner at Gringos Mexican Cantina.  We really enjoyed the time to relax and get out together.  President and Sister Runia made all the arrangements and invited us all to join them.  Again, I found the social distancing requirements funny as we could have six at one table and 10 at the other.  I have no idea how that arrangement is determined but it worked out well and the staff were so friendly and helpful.

Yesterday, the four couples that will be left working in the mission office headed to Manly from Kissing Point on the ferry to enjoy the decidedly great winter weather, the beaches, and more food.  So Don and I, Ron and Elise Christensen, Mel and Nina Anderson, and Mike and Theresa Thomas set off together.  They ferry took us by several stops, one being Cockatoo Island, the largest island in Sydney Harbour.  Originally inhabited by indigenous people, it once served as a penal colony primarily for re-offenders in the early European colonization days and is listed as one of  the convict sites.  From the mid 1800's it became the site of Australia's biggest shipyards until the 1990's.  Now it has a camp and glampsite and is used for many cultural and historical activities.

It's always great to see the harbour and sites of Sydney from the water.  We passed many of the skyscrapers and under the Harbour Bridge pass the Opera House.  It's always a good view from the water side.

What would Circular Quay be without a Crocodile Dundee poser?  Lots of sail boats on the harbour today too. 

The ferry took us to Manly where we walked again down the other side of the Corso pedestrian way where we've come once before though the shops were mostly closed on that occasion.  Today, we all got take away food and sat on the beach to eat.  Then we hiked to some look-out spots to watch for whales and the surfers.  

Here we are with the other six missionary couples that we are working along side for now.  Mike and Theresa Thomas from Centerville, Utah.  Mike handles all the finances, bills, and now is in charge of the transporation fleet too.  She is a mission office secretary that has had travel and visas added to her other duties.  Elise and Ron Christensen from Highland, Utah are filling in as the medical team.  Don and I each have assignments from the Area Legal Counsel and now I will have a few more things to help with upstairs in addition to starting our ESL classes again.  Finally, Nina and Mel Anderson from Hooper, Utah handle the missionary flats and other duties in the office.  International travellers and flights allowing tourist visas are not expected to begin any time soon.   

And the birds just keep posing and waiting for you to get the best shot!

The waves were larger than they look here.  Cormorants and gulls all over the beaches and rocks.

Cabbage Tree Bay with Shelly Beach- a great place for snorkelers too.  Around the beach there were an abundance of turkeys looking for hand-outs from picnickers.  I don't think these look like Thanksgiving size however.  Another great day returning on the ferry and preparing for the new week-another Zone Conference and saying good-bye to Stokers and  Blackhams.  They will be greatly missed for their tireless service to all.

Our Sam will leave his home for Tempe this Tuesday also as he begins his own mission service.  How great to serve at the same time as our first grandchild.  We are so proud of him and his righteous desire to help others find peace by inviting all to "Hear Him."