Dear Family,

We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday.  We worked 1/2 day on Thursday.  Then we took Christmas presents to elders and sisters in different zones.  These gifts arrived late and we wanted the missionaries to have them.  We know that Christmas gifts will be arriving all through January.

Christmas Eve we had seven elders come for dinner, pizza, American salad, garlic bread and ice cream cones for dessert.  We keep things simple.  We had two Tongans, one from New Zealand and 3 Americans. We had so much fun with them.  We played Christmas charades, again because some of these elders had never played.  They had some trouble so I would give them hints.  We always thought everyone knew how to play charades.  They told us it felt like home for them.  One companionship brought us flowers on Christmas day to say thank you.  They had written a very cute note. What a sweet gesture on their part.  We were very touched by this.

Christmas morning, 7:00 am, we went to Hyrum and Sarah Mohring's home to celebrate Santa with their children.  Joseph, Lucy and Adam are the kids and we love them.  It was so fun watching them unwrap presents, laughing and screaming with joy.  Little Adam is 1 1/2 years old and finally he has become our friend.  Now he will come to us with a smile on his face. Sarah had made a wonder berry bread pudding and croissants with ham and cheese.  They were both warm and tasted delicious.  Croissants with ham and cheese is sooooo big over here.  They are on all menus.

In the afternoon, we went to Ron and Louise Vinck's home for lunch.  Before eating, they gave a gift box with goodies and each of us an Australian Christmas card.  Inside the card was $35.00 in new American money.  They wanted to make sure we had money to buy a coke when we got off the plane in America. It was such a thoughtful gift.  We were emotional, no surprise.  They have loved us and treated us so well.

Got a text in the afternoon from President and Sister Maxwell asking to come over at 7 and watch a movie. We laughed and texted back YES.

We love that they love watching movies with us.  They are very dear friends to us and will be good friends when we all are back in the states. They get released in July.

Saturday it rained long and hard.  We decided to clean our cupboards, wash kitchen rugs, all our linens, duvet covers etc.  We want everything to be clean and ready for the two new sisters coming to replace us.  We then started packing suitcases deciding what to leave and what to take home.  YES, we are getting excited.

Sunday evening we had our Indian family, minus dad because he was setting up tables for his parents 40th anniversary, come to our home for Smores, yes smores.  They had given us a basket of fun gifts and a box of microwave smores.  They didn't know what they were.  Aarti, (Mom), Caelan, 6, and Neha,3 came.  Aarti is diabetic so she didn't eat them but let the kids eat them.  We were laughing because they rarely eat sweets.  Neha took about 2 bites and ate the watermelon instead.  Caelan kept eating them and by the time he left he looked a bit ill.  It was a new experience for them and one they won't have again.  We have become such good good friends.  Thank goodness for Facebook.  We will really miss them.

We are at work now for 3 1/2 days and then New Years Eve and New Years Day we have off.

Thought for the day;

He who was burdened with sorrow and acquainted with grief speaks to every troubled heart and bestows the gift of peace.  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  

                                                    President Thomas S. Monson and  John:14: 27 

Love to you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR

The moms, The grandmas, The sister sisters

Avengers

Activators running open.

(DeeDee is Hulk)

Adrienne Loki Mug Shot.

Cataract Gorge

 Tasmania Missionaries

Potoroo

Walaby

Dear Family,

This week has been a very busy, fun filled, inspirational week.

It started on Monday when we flew to Tasmania for the Christmas Celebration with 22 of our fantastic missionaries.  President and Sister Maxwell invited us to go with them and the AP's to help with the party and program.  Between the 6 of us we had 10 very large pieces of luggage, with presents for the missionaries.

We checked into the Penny Royal Hotel which is an old gunpowder mill. The rooms have all been renovated but the exterior and design are the same with the original rock exterior.

We had dinner at the Cataract Restaurant, next door to the hotel.  It was really nice for the six of us to sit down and have a nice relaxing evening. President and Sister Maxwell have very few evenings to relax.

We love Tasmania, it's beauty, it's sheep and cattle farms, the blue ocean that surrounds the island and the list goes on.

The celebration was wonderful.  The RS had prepared a lovely lunch and decorated the cultural hall.  It was very festive.  The 45 minuted spiritual program, written by Sister Maxwell, involved all the missionaries either singing or speaking.  The slide show with music and song was a beautiful way to honor our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Many of the missionaries don't get any Christmas from home. This year we made sure all 220 missionaries had a least one package to open.

We returned to Melbourne on Wednesday night.

Thursday we went to the office at 7:30 am to start preparing for the Christmas Celebration for the remaining 208 missionaries. We had a dinner in the evening for all the senior missionaries and couples.  They help set up tables, chairs, decorate the tables, distribute the gifts to a room for each zone.  We got home at 10:30 pm.

Friday, back to work at 7:30 am running up and down stairs all day.  We had the Christmas program.  The Samoan sisters danced in costumes, the Tongan sisters danced in costume, and the Fijian sisters danced in costume.  Everyone of them was beautiful and so graceful.  It is a joy to watch them. Many of the missionaries are very talented and love to perform.  It was great fun and very entertaining.  Oh, how we love these missionaries.  JUST WRITING ABOUT THEM TODAY WE REALIZE THERE ARE MANY WE WILL NEVER SEE AGAIN.  It was very hard saying good-bye to them.  Of course, we cried.

The weather has gone from 105 degrees for three days to 78 degrees today with rain.  

Adrienne and I sang in the Christmas program at church yesterday.  The air conditioning is not working in the building so it was really HOT! We love the sacrament meeting before Christmas.  

For the Christmas party each zone chose a movie and made a DVD to show at conference.  Of course, they had to tie into missionary work and Preach My Gospel.  Our zone, the office, the APs and President and Sisters Maxwell chose "The Avengers." I have enclosed pictures of us in this letter.  Adrienne was LOKI and I was the HULK.  We are never too old to embarrass ourselves.

Final thought;

"God does not force us to believe.  Instead He invites us to believe by sending living prophets and apostles to teach us, by providing scriptures, and by beckoning to us through His spirit."                                Elder L. Whitney Clayton

Love to all of you,

The moms, The grandmas, The Sister sisters

Friends

Our Bishopric.

Jared Auger, Bishop Berry, Vince Villani

Good Friends

and 

Wonderful ladies we love.

Dear Family,

This is a very short letter because we are leaving to Tasmania for three days.  President and Sister Maxwell asked us to go with them to celebrate Christmas with our missionaries down in Tas. (Australians say Tas)  We were very excited to go.  When we get back Wednesday afternoon we will start to getting ready for the Christmas party for the other 200 missionaries on Friday.  All the seniors are coming Thursday to help set up.  We will have a dinner on Thursday night while we are all working.

We had dinner at the Snow's home on Saturday.  The Augers are moving back to the states in a week.  They have been here 3 years and he was a counselor in the bishopric.  Such a wonderful group of friends were there.  I have enclosed a couple of pictures on the blog.

Our stake had their Christmas program last night.  The choir and the orchestra were wonderful. The audience sang a carol for every two numbers performed by the choir and orchestra.  It finally felt like Christmas!!!!  It was a beautiful evening.  Of course, it was emotional for us. We get teary very easily these days.

We are doing lots of packing and sending boxes back home. 

WE LOVE MELBOURNE OR AS THE AUSSIES SAY MELBIN!!!!!

Better letter next week we promise.

Thought for the day.

"And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God."

       Ether 5:5

Our love with you always,

The moms, the grandmas, the sister sisters

Missionaries

Elder Pearson, DD, Adrienne, Elder Hartley and Elder Eyring

Sister Bennett and Sister Enoka

More Missonaries

Dear Family,

Tuesday and Wednesday were transfers and departures.  We had fifteen elders and sisters leaving for home and 12 new arrivals.  There were many split companionships which made some and happy and sad.  We got on the bus at 6:00am with all the departing missionaries and didn't get back to the office with new arrivals until 3:00pm.  This is our last transfer because we will be on the next transfer.  WOW!

Friday night we had our party for the office couples, President and Sister Maxwell and Sister Horne.  There were 14 of us in our little flat.  We did  pasta, spinach salad with strawberries (remember it is summer here and fruit is in season), garlic bread and two kinds of cheesecakes.  We like having a party without people bringing food.  They could just come and relax.  We made up a game called Matching Christmas Carols. We picked out unusual sentences in different carols and you matched it to the title.  We also played Christmas Charades.  We laughed and laughed. Senior missionaries are a very fun group of people!!!! President and Sister Maxwell enjoy a night of pure fun and relaxing.

We are giving all of our Christmas decorations and tree to Sister Horne.  Her family doesn't have much and we love her dearly.

Saturday we went to the Scandinavian Bazaar at the Swedish Chapel on Toorak road. Toorak Road is the most expensive neighborhood in Melbourne.  One of the homes in the neighborhood is worth 70 million dollars.  These old mansions have beautiful manicured lawns, gates, flowers and trees.  Adrienne and I have walked these neighborhoods and loved looking at the homes. They were built by early settlers who came searching for gold, and found it.  Back to the bazaar, we had Norwegian waffles with cream and jam.  Great memories of the Hogensen family at 390 Wall Street.

Sunday night was the Mission President's devotional.  

We are finishing our study of the 4 gospels so I am enclosing our notes on John.

   THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

John is the gospel that is not like the others.  Like Matthew, John was a Jew converted to Christianity.  Like Matthew he was one of the apostles.  But unlike Matthew, he was not writing

to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, and unlike Mark, he was not writing to convince the Gentiles that Jesus was the Christ.  He was not writing to convince anyone that Jesus was the Christ: he was writing to those who already knew.  He was writing to the Christians. This makes his gospel very different.  Near the conclusion of his book, we read, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31).  The Harper-Collins Study Bible translates the intention of that passage to be slightly different:  “But these are written, that ye might continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ”.  “The Gospel of John”, wrote Bruce R. McConkie, “is the account for the saints.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 336)

John was in the church from the very beginning.  A follower of John the Baptist, he then became one of the first disciples of Christ.  John was one of the “inner circle of three who were with the Lord at the raising of Jairus”s daughter, at the Transfiguration, and in Gethsemane.” (BD, p. 715)  So he was like a member of the First Presidency, one of the “three pillars of the Christian Church”. John wrote not only his gospel, but also three of the epistles, and the amazing book of Revelation.  He identified himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” the one who wanted to continue to minister upon the earth until the Second Coming.  His testament was the last one written, and contains unique contributions, and many more of Christ’s teachings than do the others.  He had a deep understanding of the Savior and his gospel by the time he wrote his book.  (Ludlow)

Only John tells how Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.  Only John records the cleansing of the temple.  In John, Christ explains his death to the apostles.  Only in John do we read of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, and his commandment to them to be an example of love for each other.  In John, the apostles are warned that the world will hate them and try to kill them.  In John, the gift of the Comforter is explained.  The Intercessory prayer for the disciples is found in John.  Only in John is Peter told three times, “Feed my sheep.” More of the resurrected Christ’s visit back to his disciples is recorded in John than in the other gospels. (Fronk)

John records seven miraculous signs of the divinity of Christ, five of which are only found in his gospel. ( To see the list, see Victory Ludlow’s article, “John: The Once and Future Witness”).

The gospel of John is a college text, where the other gospels are elementary school primers.  The other three gospels are like sacrament meeting, and the Gospel of John is like a temple.  In fact, John is better understood in relation to the temple ceremony.  It is deep and rich and symbolic, and it builds upon what the other gospels give us and raises our understanding to a higher level. It is for the increased edification of those who are already saints.

Only John records the descriptions of Christ gave of himself, many of which hearken back to the term used in the Old Testament to identify Jehovah: “I AM” (Ludlow)  Seven of them are especially noted, possible symbolic of the meaning of the number seven: godly perfection. These are marked with a tag similar to Matthew’s tags; they all begin with some form of the phrase “Jesus said unto them”.

When the multitude asked Christ to show them a sign, like the manna in the wilderness, “And Jesus said unto them. I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger: and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (6:35)

After saving the adulterous woman from stoning, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (8:12)

Later in that same conversation, “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM.”  (8:58) Identical with the term used in Exodus #:14, and after which they tried to stone him, but he spirited himself away.

After telling the parable of the sheepfold to the Pharisees, “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep…by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture”. (10:7,9)

To Martha, before raising Lazarus from the dead, “Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”  (11:25-26)

When Thomas asked how they would know the way, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  (14:6)

When Judas was betraying him, (I’m removing the King James translators’ additions, which are in italics in the scriptures) “Jesus saith unto them, I am.  And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am, they went backward and fell to the ground.”  (18:5-8) and Jesus repeated the statement.

JOHNS’S WITNESS OF THE LORD IS UNIQUE.  HIS GOSPEL AND EPISTLES RECORD SOME OF THE SAVIOR’S NOBLEST FEELINGS AND DOCTRINES, ESPECIALLY HIS MESSAGE OF LOVE.      (Ludlow) 

We love you all,

The moms, The grandmas, The Sister sisters