Suprises of Life.....

May 4, 2015

So much has happened since my last post......  We have had new missionaries come into the mission, we have taken a trip up to the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands with Elder and Sister Mickelsen and I am currently in Alaska helping my daughter who had major back surgery for a herniated disk.  I will be returning to Australia in another week or so.....

Moolooaba Beach

The last comment on the previous blog was about the trip to inspect a couple of flats the mission was closing.  One was about an hour north of our residence.  After we inspected it we drove over to Moolooaba on the coast.  There we found a beautiful long beach.  We took a long walk in and out of the water.

 

Beach Dancers

Along the way we came across a group of people dancing on the beach.  They appeared to be having a great time.  I was tempted to join in.  Then we came across a sand Giant taking a nap on the beach.  The beach also has a wonderful boardwalk with many restaurants, clothing shops, souvenior shops, ice cream shops, etc.  It was too late to do much shopping as everything closes down at 5 or 5:30 on Saturdays except the restaurants who open at 5:30 or six.  It was an amazing beach that we want to revisit.  Much more family friendly than the Gold Coast Strip to the South.

Giant Sand Man

No Spring in My Legs

Amazing Companion

 On April 18th Sister Parsons and I took Elder and Sister Mickelson to the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands.  They had never been up to see the Glass Mountains, or Mary Cairnscross Reserve (rain forest).  We drove to Melany first and toured the Botanical Garden (Sister Parsons and I had not visited it before) We saw some amazing plants and flowers plus a beautiful view of the Glass Mountains.  The big purple chair is supposedly the largest chair in Australia and they are in the process of building an even bigger chair.  This garden is privately owned and operated and they have done an amazing job.

Lilly Tomlin Double

Pond

Amazing Plant

Ginny Hens

 Next we went to find the Melany creamery which was suppose to have wonderful soft serve ice cream.  They did have ice cream in cups which was really expensive but no cones which is what we were looking for.  Our next stop was the Cheese factory where we were able to taste a number of unusual cheeses.  I found one I really liked called Tuscan.  It is really delicious hope it is still good when I get back.  There menu said they had milk shakes so we ordered four milk shakes to our amazement they were flavored milk which had been beaten in a blender.  Could not identify any ice cream in any of them.  Great disappointment.....

Elder & Sister Mickelsen

 Our next stop was the Mary Cairscross Reserve.  It was my third visit and each one gets better.  Part of the trail was closed because the huge fig tree is in danger of falling and they are trying to figure out a way to protect it and keep it upright.  It will be a shame if they cannot save it because it is hundreds of years old.  Because of this we walked a different part of the path than I had before.  We met some people on the trail who told us there were a number of Pattimelons up the trail.  They are a part of the kangaroo family.  The smallest and have red ears.  We were on the lookout and saw several along the trail and next to the trail.  As we rounded a corner I saw one standing in the middle of the trail and there was a baby beside it.  Mom took off and it took a minute for the baby to follow.  We almost got a picture of it but not quite.  He stopped just off the trail so we got to see him up close but he did not stick around.  He hopped over and climbed into Mom’s pouch.  How amazing was that to watch...... We were really disappointed we did not get his picture.  I was able to get a couple of pictures of one along the side of the trail.  He is really hard to see but he is in the center of the picture.  He is looking to the right......

Patemelon

 The Monday following Easter Sunday is called Smyngus Dingus in Poland.  We decided to bring a little of Poland to Australia and surprise our Office Missionaries.  In Poland it means water day.  You never know when someone might come after you with water in any container.  We forgot to buy balloons so used sandwich baggies filled with water.  Our intention was not to hit them but just throw water in their direction.  They were surprised and some joined in as missionaries came to the office.  Senior missionaries can have fun.......

Smyngus Dingus - a bit of Poland in Australia

Denise hurt her back in March and the last week in April had surgery for a herniated disk.  The surgery went well and she is recovering but I was not staying in Australia while my daughter had major surgery.  I left Brisbane at 10:50 AM on Saturday April 25th arriving at Los Angeles at 6:30 AM on Saturday April 25th.  Denise had arranged a flight from LAX to Juneau for me.  I had about a 5 hour layover in Los Angeles.  I had frozen the whole flight so was hoping to warm up in Los Angeles but no such luck.  It was a cloudy cold day.  I arrived in Seattle in time to get a bowl of Ivar’s Clam Chowder before the flight to Juneau.  It was soooooo good and helped warm me up.

My granddaughter, Kiera was coming home from BYU and we flew to Juneau on the same flight.  It was great to catch up with her.

Classic Queenslander

I have wanted to share the Queenslander homes with you for some time.  This distinctive tradition originated with rough timber huts of early settlement and developed into the multi-gabled bungalows of the 1930s. Buildings continued until, and were adapted after, the Second World War.  The most typical early twentieth century Queensland house is characterised by:

    timber construction with corrugated-iron roof;
    highset on timber stumps;
    single-skin cladding for partitions and sometimes external walls;
    verandahs front and/or back, and sometimes the sides;
    decorative features to screen the sun or ventilate the interior; and
    a garden setting with a picket fence, palm trees and tropical fruit trees.

There are many styles of the famous 'Queenslander', but they share a distinct construction style, internal spaces, furnishing, and gardens. They are now valued as a key element of Queensland heritage and conservation and renovation of Queenslanders is widespread.  I understand they were originally built up off the ground to help keep them cool with the air circulation under the house.  There are so many examples of the Queenslander in and around Brisbane as well as throughout Queensland.  I love the looks of them and the iron work is beautiful around the windows and porches. 

Australia Landscape

While I have been gone I understand Queensland has had some terrible rain with flash floods.   I am glad I missed it but am sorry for those who have been affected by the bad weather.

To close out this blog here are three pictures of Alaska:  the Mendenhall Glacier with the Mendenhall Lake in the foreground,  Mendenhall Lake with icebergs from the glacier, and a creek that runs into Mendenhall Lake.  The beaver have damed the creek so it has backed up and killed the trees.

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Lake Icebergs

Duck Creek 

I will be forever grateful to the Area Presidency, my Mission President and the Lord for the opportunity to come to Alaska and help my daughter.  I know the Lord loves me, my family and all his children and he does bless us everyday.

PS:  I am sitting in the Juneau Alaska airport awaiting my flight to Seattle.  It is the beginning of the long trek back Down Under.   Denise is doing very well and will recover fully.  She just needs to take it easy for the next four to six weeks, no bending, twisting or picking up heavy items.   How very grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who knows us and our needs....

May the Lord bless each of You........ Until the next Blog from sunny Brisbane......

Fall

March 28, 2015

It is hard to believe fall has arrived.  It has become very apparent in the last week.  The Poincea trees are losing their leaves and others are turning yellow.  It is still warm but most evenings cool off now so it is easier to sleep. 

January was a quiet month.  It was pretty warm so we did not venture far from home.  I did take the opportunity to swim several times a week but found out it was irritating my back and causing me pain so had to give it up.  It has been real hard because I was enjoying the lap pool.

Cyclone Marcia

February 29 Cyclone Marcia came ashore north of Rockhampton at Yeppoon.  The young missionary flat in Rockhampton was flooded.  Power was out for several days but all the missionaries were safe.  They moved their beds into the dining area for two days.  We were blessed with a miracle and able to find them another flat within two days.  It usually takes a week or more but the Lord was watching over the missionaries.   The storm turned south but had weakened considerably and we just got lots and lots of rain.  Here I am soaking it up as it came in under our front door. 

 February 24, 2015      We had a surprise visit from Tonga the 24th of February.  The Office Couple, Elder Garth Hamblin and Sister Sandy Hamblin flew into Brisbane.  Sister Hamblin came for some tests to check out pressure she was feeling in her chest.    The mission was able to provide them with a vacant flat in which to stay until Sister Hamblin was cleared to return to Tonga.  The best part of the visit is they are friends from Alaska.  In fact I was working with Elder Hamblin and the Tonga Mission President (President Tupou) to be called to Tonga.  The Missionary Department had Sister Parsons and me flagged for Tonga but when the call was issued the Lord had a different plan and therefore we are here in the Australia Brisbane Mission.  We had a great weekend together.  Sister Hamblin was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon.  Friday evening they went to the Brisbane Cultural Arts Center to see Wicked and they loved it.

Summer in Australia

February 14, 2014

Summer is in full bloom.  Summers in southern Queensland is in the 80s and 90s with high humidity.  Summer is also the rainy season.  The storms move really fast.  One minute it is perfectly clear and the next the thunder clouds have come rolling in with thunder, lightning, and rain.  It is not the rain of the northwest (misty); it is like the mid west and east where it comes down in buckets.  You want to have a big umbrella if you need to venture out in the rain.  It is nice when it comes because it cools things off.


I think flowers bloom here year round.  Here is a picture of the seed pods formed by the Poinscea tree that had the beautiful large cluster of blooms in December.  They really grew fast.



The plumera trees are now in full bloom.  There a several colors, white, pink and yellow.  I am accustomed to the white with the yellow center from Hawaii with a beautiful fragrance.  The ones here don’t seem to have much fragrance.  They are still beautiful.









Next came the crepe myrtle with there pink or lavender blooms.












I do not know what this tree is but I love it’s spiky blooms.  The Lorikeet Parrots love the blooms as well.  If you look really close you can see one eating the blooms or whatever it is they like.  They are a very loud bird when they are feeding in the trees.  They are easy to spot if you recognize the sound.






On the 24th of January Sister Parsons and I took the train down to the central station and walked over to the City Hall.  It has a beautiful clock tower that at one time was the highest point in Brisbane.  It is now overpowered by many other buildings.  The highest being the Meriton building.







 This church is next to the City Hall.  It was built in 1929.
View of the Presbyterian Church from the City Hall Clock Tower and street level. 

We took the elevator to the top of the clock tower to a viewing platform where we had a 360 degree view of the city.  Could not see much of the river because of all the buildings.



 There is a museum on the 2nd floor of the city hall which we visited.  It has an amazing display on the Brisbane River.  It relates the history of the river.  First it was the mode of  transporting timber to the coast by floating the logs down river.  Later sugar cane was transported to the sugar mill and wool to the wool mill.  As time passed the city of Brisbane grew up along the river.  The Customs House is also located on the banks of the river.   There is an exhibit of “Costumes from the Golden Age of Hollywood”.  It was an amazing exhibit with costumes from the 1930s through the 1960s which included Lucille Ball - The Long Long Trailer, Elizabeth Taylor - Cleopatra & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Debbie Reynolds - Tammy, Ester Williams, Cyd Charise, Marlan Brando and many others.  The best part was the film clips from each of the films that were being projected on the wall as you walked through the exhibit.   

Brisbane from clock tower

After our tour of the museum we walked down Queen Street which is a pedestrian mall close by.  Amazing wall of building on Queen Street.

We visited a couple of shops and then on our way back to the train station we stumbled upon the Memorial to WWI.  Part of it is being renovated but it is a beautiful memorial which has not incorporated WWII. 

World War I Memorial

Barrel Tree 

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The train station is a block from our flat so is very convenient for travel downtown with no worries about parking.  “No worries” is an Australia saying that is used extensively as we would use “no problem”. 

This month all the senior missionaries are helping with flat inspections to determine a baseline for the mission.  We have over 100 flats in the mission and missionaries from 23 different countries some who have never had the convenience they have here.  Some of the missionaries have never had anything but a dirt floor so have no idea how to clean.  Some of the flats have not been maintained by the missionaries and we are trying to remedy this within the mission. 

On January 29, Sister Parsons and I did half of our flat inspections.  Our first inspection was in Stanthorpe, Queensland which is about 331 kilometers south west of Brisbane.  We left at 6:15 to make it there by 11AM Funny thing happened on the way......Our GPS did not recognize the address but did recognize another one so I chose it.  As it turned out it was at the opposite end of Texas road which was over 80 kilometers to the west.  We drove over 200 kilometers farther than we needed to.  We should have gone straight south out of Warwick but instead went the round about way.  We traveled A to B to C to D when we should have gone A to D. 

 




  It was beautiful country that we drove through.  We had hoped to see some wildlife but did not except for a couple of kangaroo laying alongside the road.   Here is a picture of the road we drove .....  We had a 12 hour day.      Saw parts of Australia we normally would not see. 

On 4th we went to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to see a production “Chin Yan”  by a Chinese dance group.  The group is made up of Chinese from America who are based in New York City.   There are nine companies and they perform all over the world except are prohibited from performing in China.  They do traditional Chinese dance and perform the legends of China.  They were amazing.  Beautiful costumes, incredible jumps, and choreography.  They are all very accomplished dancers.  It was well worth the time and I would go again.  If you get a chance to see them I would recommend the show. 
           




 This is the Story Bridge at night from the City Cat ferry that runs up and down the Brisbane River.  You can climb to the top so I intend to climb it before I leave.  It is 1 in 3 bridges in the world you can climb. 





 
Saturday we went to Nudgee Beach with our lawn chairs, sat in the shade of a tree, watched the ships coming into Moreton Bay and listed to the tide as it went out.  We then took a walk through the mangroves on the boardwalk through the estuary.  Saw a few birds and some crabs....pictured here.

High Tide at Nudgee Beach

The tide was in when we arrived at Nudgee Beach as you can see by the water level on the trees.  Just behind the trees is Moreton Bay which is a very large bay.  The Brisbane river runs into Moreton Bay. 

Mangrove trees at Nudgee Beach

This is a small river or slough that runs into the ocean.  It is lined with mangrove trees.  It is a bird refuge for many birds during the summer.  Some of them fly from as far as Alaska and Russia to feed and store up fat for the long journey back north to nest. 








This is a White Ibis.  He has a very long beak which you can't really see in this picture.  He was sitting on this limb watching the mud flats as the tide went out looking for his dinner.  The mud was full of crab hole and I am sure other critters which we did not see. 


Mud flats & Boardwalk Nudgee Beach

     

Sister Parsons on Boardwalk

The crab came out of his hole while I was very still waiting to get his picture.  He was after the leaf.  After I got the picture he took it into his hole for dinner.  Love his red claws. 

Crab

So today is Valentines Day here in Australia.  May you all have a Happy Valentines Day.  I hope your winter is soon to be gone and a beautiful spring will come.  I am looking forward to fall with a little cooler weather.  I love the warmth but the humidity is hard to deal with.  The Mission is wonderful and I am loving my responsibilities.  I feel I will have done some good by the time I return home.  May the Lord bless each of you everyday. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

December 21, 2014  (Australia Date)

It is winter at home with cold temperatures, rain and snow while we are enjoying the beginning of summer with temperatures in the 80's and sometimes 90's.  When it get really hot for a few days we get summer storms full of lightning, thunder and rain.  On occasion the heavens even send down some hail.  We had an amazing storm on the 27th of November.  Sister Parsons and I were at the mission home helping to make beds when it hit.  There were hail stones over an inch in diameter.  Put a number of dimples in the mission cars that were out in it.  President Henderson was kind enough to go out and move our car into the garage but not before it had a number of dimples.  The storms move very fast with a lot of wind, lightning and thunder.  They are amazing to watch especially after dark when the whole sky lights up. 

Bribie Beach

On November 29th we drove north to Bribie Island which is the only island on the Queensland coast that you can drive to.  It had an amazingly long beautiful sandy beach on the ocean side.  The sand was like sugar and we walked in the surf as many people played in it.  The water was bath water warm.  It is the best beach we have found.  Our next trip to Bribie, my swimsuit will go and I will enjoy the surf.



I had to walk the beach under an umbrella because on the 19th of November I had gone to have a spot on my nose checked out.  There is so much skin cancer in Australia that there are cancer screening clinics everywhere.  This red spot had appeared this summer and just would not go away.  It did not hurt but it concerned me. So I went to a clinic down the street from the mission office.  A doctor checked my entire body and was only concerned with the spot I had come in for.  She took a biopsy and the results came back as Basal Cell Carcinoma.  The Clinic doctor referred me to a plastic surgeon, Dr. Belt.  I saw him on the 2nd of December and was scheduled for surgery on the 4th at 8:15 AM.  We arrived about 7:20 and I was in surgery before 8AM and back to the flat by 9:30 with a stop at the Chemist to pick up some pain medication which I did not have to use.  I had two options: 1. To have the surgery with only local deading or 2. To be put under while the surgery was done.  I chose to do a local and am very glad I did.  I felt nothing and did not have the side affects of being put under.  I had very little swelling or pain and know that is a blessing given to me by the Lord.  President Henderson gave me a blessing the night before surgery and blessed me to write down my impressions during this time and to remember the Lord loves me and is aware of my work.     

Brisbane Temple Night View

I know that the Lord blessed me with this calling to Australia because he knew, I would need this medical care.  He blessed me to be just down the street from the clinic where it was diagnosed and a referral to an amazingly talented plastic surgeon.  I would not have this care in Tonga nor even been diagnosed with it until I returned home and maybe not then.  In President Henderson’s blessing he told me the Lord loves me and is aware of my service.  There are times when I wonder if he knows me even though I try to live worthy of his blessings and love.  It was good to hear of his love in the blessing.  It brought me great peace.

All the stitches are out and it is healing really well.  I am told by the physician who is serving here in our mission that in six months it will hardly be noticeable.   Noticeable or not it is better than the skin cancer hanging out on my nose.

This mission is much different than the first mission to Poland.  We have a lovely flat to come home to every night.  It is so rewarding to be able to support the mission by working in the mission office.   We have been able to participate in the zone conferences, transfer meetings, new missionary orientations and best of all welcome all the new missionaries into the mission every six weeks.  We have some amazing missionaries here in this mission.  They are from 33 countries.  Some have so little but their faith and courage to travel far from home to serve the Lord for 2 years or 18 months.  Many of them will take home experiences that will affect Their entire lives and many lives they touch.  We had a young missionary, Elder Porutu in the office for about two months.  He came from a horrible background and has little support from family in French Polynesia.  Last transfer he was sent back out into the field and this transfer he was made a trainer.  I am so proud of him.  Hopefully he will return and make major changes in his life and the life of his family.  I pray he will have the desire and opportunity to attend college someday.  I want to keep in touch with him when he leaves which will be next transfer in January.

What an amazing view we have of the mission from the mission office.  I am working with Sister Henderson to improve the flats and help teach the missionaries to respect and take care of the flats they are provided.  Some do not know how to clean and some do not understand the need.  They have a tendency to put up with things and not report problems with the flats as they are only going to be there for a short time.  We need to change that perception.

Bethlehem Market

Shepherds

There was a Christmas program at the Temple on December 13 - 14, 2014.  There was a live nativity, a Bethlehem market, shepherds and sheep, the Three Wise Men, two small singing groups around the stake center grounds which is next to the Brisbane Temple.  Each night there were two concerts.  A community Choir performed on Saturday night and a Church Young Adult Choir on Sunday who performed “The Forgotten Carols”.  Sister Parsons and I went Saturday night and had I known they were doing “The Forgotten Carols” on Sunday we would have gone then too.  Good thing we did not because many people could not get into the concert on Sunday.  People started lining up outside the gate at 5PM and it opened at 6PM.  There were over 2,000 attendees Sunday night and 1000 on Saturday night.  It will be an event again next year.  There was some concern about the weather but only had a couple of small sprinkles Sunday evening.

Three Wise Men

Nativity

Wheel of Brisbane

Monday evening December 15, five senior couples went downtown Brisbane to attend the Meyer Christmas Parade and then the Christmas market at Southbank.  We parked at the Temple which s on the bluffs overlooking the river.  Walked down to the river and took the free ferry over to Queen Street where the parade was held.  It is a pedestrian street with multiple shops.  Most were open.  This town closes up at 5:00 PM except for Thursday night when the stores stay open until 9PM.  The parade was well attended.  It is held nightly until Christmas Eve.  The market was made of  Christmas vendors but we did not look much because we were all so hungry by the time we arrived.  We were just looking for food.  We walked by the Wheel of Brisbane on our way to the market.  It is right on the river and am sure has an amazing view of the city from the top.  Will let you know later.....

Christmas Tree with Church behind

South Bank w/city skyline

We had a visitor to one of our plants last week.  Looks just like a grasshopper but 10-20 times larger.  We did not let him stick around too long because he was devouring our nice green plant.  Sister Parsons knocked him off the balcony with the broom handle.






So here is our Australian Christmas tree for those who did not see it on Facebook.  It turned out pretty cute and was easy to decorate.  It brightens up our lounge (living room).


The best news of all is my Grand-daughter, Kiera, who was serving a mission in Curitiba, Brazil returned home on the 1st of December.  She had a marvelous mission and influenced a lot of lives in Brazil.  Her Mother was extremely happy to have her home but it will be short lived as she will be returning to BYU Provo in January. 

I want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and express my love for my Savior whose birth we celebrate.  He came to earth to provide a way for our return to our Heavenly Father.  I could never express my gratitude for all that he has done for us.  I do not have the words.  But I know he lives just as our Heavenly Father lives.  Heavenly Father loves us so much he sent his son to endure all that is required for our salvation.  May we each remember our Savior at this Christmas season. 

Happy New Year 2015.......