Steve, Patti and Robbie visit

Yarra River in Melbourne

Werribee Mansion

Churches

Apostolic Church

 Thai Church

Buddhist Temple

Buddhist Community Center

Thai statue

Cleaning apartments

The dirt and grease was so disgusting.

Loose wires hanging all over the house.

No working heat or a/c.

Shower hanging mirror and broken window.

Latvian Festival

The man wore the wreath on his head because it was a day of honoring his name.

One beautiful costume.

The blouses are handmade with an exquisite lace.

The stockings and pantaloons are all handmade.

More costumes.

Dear Family,

Well, this has been a busy and exciting week.

Monday afternoon we went with Sister Hullinger to a Latvian craft show which turned into a Latvian Festival for the residents of the Latvian Village. Thinking we could just walk in  proved to be a bit embarrassing but they invited us to stay and enjoy the program.  They gave us some different cheese to eat and offered us a drink.  We settled for water.  We explained who we were and they welcomed us but said, "please don't try to convert us."  They were dressed in beautiful costumes.  Even their stocking were hand made.  We have posted pictures on the blog. It was a really fun event and the people so gracious. There are little villages like this throughout Melbourne.  We sang Christmas Carols last year at a German village.  

Tuesday we went to visit John and Rosemary Body.  We have been visiting them on a monthly basis for 11 months.  We were sad to find that Rosemary is in hospice and won't live very long.  It makes us very sad.  She and John are such good people and we have always enjoyed laughing with them.  We were able to meet their family.  One of their daughters lives in Provence, France.  She has lived there for 42 years.  We met her son and his French wife and their daughter, Lisanne.  They were speaking French.  Thought of you Craig and wished you were here to talk with them. John, as always, kissed and hugged us before we left.

Wednesday we went with 6 elders and Elder and Sister Hullinger to clean a very horrible, terrible, awful flat.  Adrienne and I have never seen anything this bad.  Bless the hearts of these elders for living there and for trying to clean it.  They definitely need lessons in cleaning.  They really did work hard.  We brought them lunch from McDonald's.  I will say their fries are still the best and they loved the meal.  We took pictures of the flat and put them on the blog.  Wires were hanging from the ceiling and doors, holes in the walls, one window wasn't attached to the house and the list goes on.  It was a disaster waiting to explode.  The toilet was an after thought.  It was put by the back door.  Weird.

This flat was located in a beautiful neighborhood.  It was a real eye sore.  There were three churches at the top of the street.  They were built right next to each other.  Pictures on blog.  The Apostalic Church, a beautiful and very ornate Thai church, a Buddhist temple and a Buddhist community center, still under construction.  We love wandering neighborhoods and seeing so many sites and sounds.

Wednesday evening we went to the temple.  We love going to the temple.

Friday morning Steve, Patti and Robbie came to visit for two days.  We were so excited to see them.  We took Steve to work in Deer Park.  He works for Huntsman.  While Steve was working we went to the Werribee Mansion.  It is beautiful and the landscaping is fabulous.  There is a zoo, a golf course, rose garden, tennis courts and a lovely hotel attached to it.  The weather was cold so we stopped at the cafe and had hot chocolate and chips, or fries, or wedges.  From here we drove to Williamstown, the first sea port in Melbourne.  They have turned it into a very cute town with boutiques, hotels and lots of restaurants.  Standing by the water you can see Melbourne city.  After that we went and picked up Steve and drove back to our flat.  We had dinner at DeGani's, our favorite restaurant.  Patti was very happy to have a steak dinner after eating Malaysian food for a week.

Saturday, Steve, Patti and Robbie went to the temple.  Steve and Robbie did baptisms and Patti did initiatory.  We picked them up and headed to the city for the day.  We basically ate our way through the day.  We had just finished brunch and were walking when Robbie spotted a Lindt chocolate store.  We went in and he got a waffle with ice cream and salted caramel sauce.  We walked along the Yarra River and then wandered the rest of the afternoon.  Patti, Adrienne and I bought a pair of shoes.  Two hours later Steve and Robbie bought a Schnitz sandwich to eat. Schnitzel is very popular here in Melbourne.  Two hours later we were eating dinner at an Italian restaurant near our flat.  OINK OINK OINK

Robbie ordered a steak that is cooked at the table.  The patron cooks his own steak on a very hot lava rock. It is in the shape of a square.  He loved it.  The rest of us shared a couple of pizzas.

Sunday morning we took the family to the airport at 6:00 am.  They were going to Cairns and to see the Great Barrier Reef.

All three hours at church were great.  The talks on hope and making good choices were great. The speakers were very prepared.  We also sang Joseph's First Prayer. That song is so touching. It is hard to imagine it has been 171 years since Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. Our investigator class was on the Plan of Salvation, and combined RS and Priesthood was on Finding Faith in Christ.  Not often all three hours are so uplifting.  

ANOTHER MIRACLE.

Richard, our cleaner, called in the afternoon.  He and his wife and child want to come to church next week with us.!!!!!!!!!! They will stay for the first and second hour.  We were so thrilled with the call.  We told him we would see him on Tuesday when we pick up our cleaning.  Please keep Richard, Keisha and Jasper in your prayers.  

Our closing thought to you,

"But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come."

We love you all,

The moms,  The sister sisters, The Grandmas

Shopping, a party and Jupiter

Shopping with Sister Santos and Sister Wairepo.  

Sister Santos came from the Phillipines without clothes.  We enjoy helping the sisters.

Elder Gifford Neilsen at the senior couples dinner.

Venus, Jupiter and the Moon.  Regulus Winter Solstice.

Dear Family,

DISCLAIMER; I REALIZE I MAKE MANY GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION MISTAKES IN MY LETTERS BUT I AM ALWAYS DOING THIS AT THE OFFICE WITH LOTS OF DISTRACTIONS. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we had transfers.  Seven missionaries went home and 4 of them are going to BYU. Ten new missionaries came in.  It seems that every six weeks we transfer at least half of the companionships.  These two days are very long, tiring and wonderful with hellos and good-byes.

President and Sister Maxwell go to the airport each time the missionaries leave.  They are usually going to different countries and that means running around a very large airport to get everyone to their destination.  Then when they are all at their departure gate they quickly go back to arrivals and wait for  the new missionaries.  They usually don't return to the office until 1-2 pm.  They feed the new missionaries or goldens as they are called, at the mission home. Bless them for being so great and kind and wonderful.  They are so spiritual and teach us many lessons by example.

One sister was going to Germany.  Her flight was late afternoon on Wednesday.  We took her to the airport.  Anytime we can see the missionaries off at the airport we jump at the chance.  She was a good missionary and we will miss her. Because we took her to the airport we weren't able to meet the new missionaries but we will in two weeks at the "Golden Review" for the new arrivals.

President interviews each new arrival.  After interviewing Sister Santos, a new sister from the Phillippines, he called and asked if we could take her shopping for clothes.  She is very petite.  She didn't even have a coat and only had 2 skirts and 2 tops.  It is so cold here that the first thing we bought was a warm coat.  We can buy her clothes in the children's department. Her companion, Sister Wairepo is from New Zealand.  She also needed a couple of things.  President says there are a few missionaries that need help.  We put a picture on Facebook of the two sisters with Adrienne and me.  Her comment was, "whoever thought shopping would be part of your mission."  We thought that was so funny.  We are more than happy to help these very special missionaries.  Sister Santos has a younger sister who is working to help pay her mission. Both of her parents are dead.  There are many missionaries serving who really are dedicated to the Lord. After shopping we took the sisters to dinner.  We ate Asian because Sister Santos was missing rice.

Friday night was a great evening at the mission home.  President and Sister Maxwell had all the senior couples to dinner. Elder Gifford Nielsen, 1st quorum of Seventy and counselor in the Pacific Asia area Presidency was visiting.  Elder Johnny Leota, an area seventy was also there.  We talked with Elder Nielsen about the U of U and BYU sports.  He said he really liked the University of Utah because it helped him become an All-American quarterback.  He then worked for CBS TV in Houston, Texas.  He was a sportscaster for 25 years.  After dinner both Elders talked. When we are lucky enough to have them in a small setting they are funny, entertaining and very spiritual.  They really buoyed up the senior couples and senior sisters.  They need more senior couples to serve missions!!!!! Elder Nielsen said that Adrienne and I were very delightful.

 OUR MIRACLE;

     Richard came church.  His wife was working at the cleaners.  We told our ward missionaries he was coming so they sat with us during the meeting.  He asked many questions during the service.  He brought his Bible and the Book of Mormon we had given him.  Some of the questions; Who is the Pastor, we had introduced him to the Bishop, was surprised at the suit and tie, where do we put the children during the meeting, who speaks in the meeting, why not the pastor. Anyway he wanted to know everything.  He did partake of the sacrament and sang every song. Originally he had said he would just stay to the first meeting.  I asked if he would like to go to the investigators class and he said YES. He participated by reading parts of the lesson and asked questions during the class.  We invited him to bring his wife and 3 year old child next week.  We have prayed that he would feel the spirit and he certainly felt something.  He said it was different from the Christian church he is attending.  PLEASE KEEP RICHARD AND KEISHA IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK. 

President Maxwell asked us to all read the talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson on the Book of Mormon.  "Keystone of our Religion" given in October, 1986.

BY HIS OWN MOUTH THE LORD HAS BORNE WITNESS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

1. That it is true  (D&C 17:6

2. That it contains the truth and His words  (D&C 19:2)

3. That is was translated by power from on high  (D&C 20:8) 

4. That it contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ  (D&C 20:9, 42:12)

5. That it was given by inspiration and confirmed by the ministering of angels  (D&C 20:11)

6. That it gives evidence that the holy scriptures are true  (D&C 20:11)

7. That those who receive it in faith shall receive eternal life  (D&C 20:14)

We have put pictures on our blog.

We love and miss you,

The Moms,  The Grandmas, The Sister Sisters

Hello

Dear family, 

This has been such a busy week and when we get home at night we are tired. We have had transfers, new missionaries coming in and last night Pres Nielsen, Elder Leota and Elder Dunfield ( all area Seventy ) at the mission home for dinner and discussions. The week has been great but busy.

I was in a meeting for about 3 hours on Thursday to discuss and be trained on having the missionaries in the South Pacific area getting a better education. The Church really wants to help this missionaries progress when they leave the mission. So much is offered to them. It is wonderful.

So excited to have Patti ,Steve and Robbie come next week. I just hope the weather will be nice. 

Andy,do you know any more about my SS? Hopefully Erin was able to find the documents.

This is a very short letter. I love you all and miss you. Send Pictures. I love to see what everyone is doing.
Love, Mom

Senior Missionaries

Sister Young and Sister McDonald having lunch by the Yarra River.

Beautiful warm day. 

City and Yarra River. 

Cleaning day with Sister Stevens, Sister Brown, Dee Dee, and Sister Edrada, Adrienne and Sister Hullinger. 

Dear Family,

Monday night we had dinner at Sussan Lim's home. She cooked a full Chinese dinner.  Some of the food tasted better than other food items. Our two elders (those serving in our ward area) were there plus Sussan's son Nathan. Nathan joined the church and served a mission a couple of years ago. Sussan joined the church last August. She is a great missionary.  Anyone new in the ward she welcomes immediately and is always offering them food.  We really enjoy her company. I am sure she will go to the temple in August and we will be able to go with her.

Thursday we went with Elder and Sister Hullinger to clean another flat.  Sister Brown (Fijiian) and Sister Edrada (Philippino) are living there. Previously, it had been used for a long time by Elders.  These are usually the flats that need deep cleaning.  We enjoy the cleaning because it gives a break from sitting in the office and gets our bodies moving.  It is always a fun time cleaning and clearing out cupboards.  The sisters are always so grateful for the help.

Friday we went to the cleaners to leave some clothes. Richard and Keisha, the owners were there.  We asked Richard if he had read the Book of Mormon and yes he had read some of it.  We took him a Chinese Book of Mormon and he was quite excited to receive it.  We talked about the Bible and the Book of Mormon, revelation, prophecy and prophets. We asked them if they could come to church with us and they told us they could come on June 21, next week.  HOW EXCITING IS THAT?

Saturday we went to the city to see the Glenn Miller Orchestra perform with singers and dancers.  Several of the senior couples went also.  Adrienne and I took two older sisters,who are ordinance workers in the temple, with us.  Donna Young and Louise McDonald have become good friends.  They are so fun, yes you can be old and still laugh.  We had lunch at the Teatro restaurant.  We were able to eat outdoors because it was a warm sunny day. This restaurant is situated on the Yarra River.  It was so pleasant and enjoyable. The program was fantastic.  The music, of course, was Glenn Miller but WW I WW II music was also played.  One of the singers sang, "Roses of Picardy".  That was one of Mother's favorite songs.  I couldn't help but get a bit teary missing her. They also celebrated ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corp) with "Waltzing Matilda". It was wonderful and the Australians were clapping and have a great time. WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, Sunday, was quite warm and we were able to go for a good walk.  It felt glorious and our bodies loved it.  We also watched the THORN BIRDS and hoped for a different ending.  The music was still beautiful, Meggie was still very dear and Father Ralph was still very good-looking.  PAUL we thought of you the whole six hours.  

Our parting thought:

   "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."      HELAMAN 5: 12

We love you all,

The MOMS, The GRANDMAS, The Sister Sisters

Hello

Dear family

Another week has gone by and it is still cold. Every day has about 3 different types of weather. It is either cold,rainy or windy on and off all day. But we still have beautiful sunsets.

Patti ,let me know when you are coming and also where you are staying. We are trying to figure out what to do. I am so excited to see all of you. How is the house moving going? I am anxious to talk to Robbie about his trip. 

We went to the dry cleaners again this afternoon and gave them a Chinese B of M and he seemed excited to receive it. He stated he had read some of the English B of M. They agreed to come to church on June 21. We are really excited. We have a couple of young married in the ward where the wives are Chinese. They are really cute couples. We are going to talk to them this week. Hopefully all will go well.

We went and saw " Aloha" on Tuesday night. It was a cute show. Nothing offensive,after all we are missionaries. Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone are both darling. Tomorrow we are going down to the city and hear the Glen Miller Band. It is music ,singing and dancing. Hopefully it will be fun. We are taking two " senior"  ladies with us who work at the temple.

Andy have you heard anything about the SS ?

Gifford Nielsen is coming to our mission next week and the Senior Missionaries are having a special dinner with him. It should be a great experience. He is in the Area Presidency. The area leaders and the area seventies are wonderful leaders. The opportunities we have had to be with them have been  so good. We really have had some great experiences.

I love you all and miss you. Keep sending pictures, videos and letters.
Help each other and love each other. 
I miss our Sunday Dinners
Love, mom and Grandma

Friends

A sleeping koala.  The real color of them is more brown than grey.

The Intercontinental Hotel we stayed at on Friday night.

Really nice.

Adrienne, Dee Dee and Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

Heidi and Jeff Jacobs

It is Monday morning and all of Australia is on a holiday, THE QUEEN'S (ELIZABETH) BIRTHDAY!!!

Dear Family,

Monday night we were invited to a member's house for dinner.  They are missionaries that live in our ward.  They are in their ninth year as missionaries.  They teach the addiction program and are going to start teaching the marriage and family program.  Anyway, the dinner was lovely and the table decorated beautifully.  There was another couple and single sister.  As always it was a very fun evening.

This past weekend was the highlight of our week.  My best friend from elementary and junior high school, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, came to Melbourne.  Her husband Jeff Jacobs came with her.  She is a renowned educator and speaks all over the world.  She has written several books. She travels constantly and has seen the world.  I always knew she was very smart.  We had not seen each other for 40 plus years.  She had a speaking engagement in Brisbane and then came to Melbourne.  Adrienne and I came to the city and stayed in the same hotel where they were staying.  When we saw Heidi it was a very emotional reunion.  We hugged for a long time.  Memories came flooding into my mind.  We did everything together, our families were close, her dad taught me to water ski, and the list goes on.  We went to dinner at the Pure South restaurant.  It was organic Tasmanian food.  It was good food and the atmosphere was very pleasant.  We walked along the Yarra River to get to the restaurant.  It is a beautiful site walking along the river with all of lights from the city. It was a most relaxing and very pleasant evening.

Jeff is Jewish but not practicing his religion.

Heidi is LDS but not practicing her religion.

They are a very happy compatible couple who really enjoy each other.

We talked about religion. Yes, we did and it was a great conversation.  His comments were that religions of all kinds should come together and associate one with another. He said the world would be in such a better place if we were all agreeable.  It gave us the opportunity to talk about the church being a worldwide church. They were surprised that there were 144 temples throughout the world. We told them that in the Melbourne mission we have 25 different countries represented by young missionaries.  We explained these young missionaries from all over the world are serving missions in many different countries. He was very impressed and said, "I am glad to hear that."  This was another little miracle for us.

This morning (Sunday) we went to the Chinese branch, in the city, to Sacrament meeting.  It was a very spiritual meeting.  There were about 80 people in attendance.  The count included the missionaries but they have enough converts to do the whole service without the missionaries.  That is good.  They were either speaking Cantonese or Mandarin. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong.  Both languages are written almost the same way but when it is spoken it is different.  Hope that made sense.  We wore headsets and one of the members translated for us.  A couple of the missionaries bore their testimony and it was very touching.  We may not have understood what they said but the spirit was very strong. Whenever we are around the missionaries in church or meetings or conferences the spirit is very strong.

The office got together last night at the mission President's home for dinner.  It was to say good-bye to the Brent, Maika and little Ether Daire. He has been a volunteer in the office dealing with the vehicles and all the problems with driving a mission car.

Brent is 31 and Maika is 25 years old.  Ether is 10 months old.  They have been married 3 years.  They have been called as a senior couple to serve a mission.  They can't tell us where they are going because the country hasn't recognized the church yet.  It will happen soon but until then it is a secret where they will be living.  Last Thursday they came to the office to learn and understand what each of us do.  He will be going with an area seventy to the country and meeting with the government officials.  It is very exciting but very unusual. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks he can tell us where they are going.  Brent has a master's degree, has graduated from a military school, compared to West Point, and is a veteran of the Afghanistan war.  He gets some compensation from the government because he was wounded. He is very funny and very patriotic.  We will really miss them but what a wonderful opportunity awaits them.  Being a missionary is GREAT!!!!!!

In closing; 

    "Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.  And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."           D&C 58: 27-28

We love you all,

The moms, The grandmas,  The sister sisters

Hello

Dear Family,

Today is turning into our usual Friday afternoon. The parking lot is quiet, the Temple is closed till 5:00 and the people in the office are getting ready for the weekend. This morning we were all listening to the couple in the office who are over flats. We have around 100-115 flats. They had been out to a flat to inspect it. The elders had only 1 or 2 light bulbs that were working. Instead of buying new ones they would sometimes just move the light bulbs around . Needless to say there was no light bulb in the bathroom.

When the Hullingers went into the bathroom they noticed dark spots on the walls. After putting in a light bulb, they realized there was mold growing on the walls that the elders had not really noticed before,because it was dark!!!!

Another set of elders had a swamp in their backyard and had not really mentioned it until it got a slime on the water and really started to smell! The leasing agent came and told them somewhere there is a water leak! That should be fun to find.

The weather has been very cold. This morning it has been 48 degrees and then when you add in the wind chill and humidity,it is really cold. Whenever we go outside we have on coats, scarves and gloves and always have an umbrella in case. They did saw there is snow up in the mountains.

We are going to Chadstones tonight to go "shopping" and then tomorrow we are going to the city to stay overnight and then going to church Sunday morning at the Chinese Branch. They do have interpreters  if we need them.

I was excited to see Robbie's post from Nauvoo. What a great picture and what a great experience he will have. I love hearing about what everyone is doing and also pictures.

I love you all and miss you.
Love, Mom and Grandma