January 19 2014 Weekly Letter

Australia Sun Jan 19, 2014

Dear Family and Friends:

This week has been pretty busy and several things have happened, not all good, but okay.  Monday night was FHE and we had chicken nachos, all the toppings and a salad, by the Jeff’s.  The program was by the Feils, they divided us into 2 teams, had the 3 birthday’s for the month, the Tanners and Brother Jeffs sat in front of the room and the Feils asked questions that could be for anyone of them and we had to guess which one, all of them, or none of them, such as, whose favorite color is blue, who graduated from U of U, who has visited 5 continents, etc.  It was great fun and we learned a lot about them.  Both men graduated from the Y and Sister Tanner graduated from Beauty school.  Then we had a talent show.  Sister Tanner sang a solo, then the 3 sister missionaries from upstairs at Buckland House, the Tanners, Moores, and Archibalds.  They had their husbands sit on chairs in front and sang to them “I’d Choose You Again” that is Dedicated to the Sr. Missionary Elders.  They sang to a CD.  Here are the words dedicated to my eternal companion Dix:

I’D CHOOSE YOU AGAIN

LOOKING AT MY LIFE,

THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG GIRL,

GROWNING OLDER ALL THE TIME,

AND MAYBE JUST A LITTLE WISER.

I CAN CLEARLY SEE,

ALL OF MY MISTAKES COMING BACK TO VISIT ME.

POINTING OUT THE ROAD NOT TAKEN,

SOME THINGS I’D LIKE TO CHANGE,

ONE THING REMAINS THE SAME:

THAT I’D CHOOSE YOU AGAIN,

I’D CHHOSE YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!

IF GOD GAVE ME A CHANCE,

TO DO IT ALL AGAIN,

I’D CAREFULLY CONSIDER EVERY CHOICE AND THEN…

OUT OF ALL THE BOYS IN THE WORLD

I’D CHOOSE YOU AGAIN.

IF GOD GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO DO IT ALL AGAIN,

I’D CAREFULLY CONSIDER EVERY CHOICE,

I’D LISTEN TO MY HEART AND I’D CHOOSE YOU AGAIN!

They sang and danced to the music and it was so cute.

We then went back to the conference room where we eat dinner, and Elder Williams showed his roping rope and how he ropes animals, then showed a couple of video’s of men roping.  It was really good.  Dad showed about 10 pictures he has taken from Europe and here.  It was a great program.  The Feils served homemade eggnog floats and cookie bars.  Another great evening.  We have dinner in Feb so if anyone has any idea what to serve, pass it along.  Sister Feil announced before we left that we have a mission conference on Monday with Elder O’Rierdon all day.  We are excited.

Tues we went to the Temple and stayed for sealings.  We got out about 9.  A long day but really good.

Wednesday we had Dad’s Dr. appointment at 5 so we left the office about 4.  We found parking in a little lot, $3.50 an hour.  We put enough coins for a little over an hour, and walked the 2 blocks to the clinic.  The Dr came out after an hour and said he was going to be at least another 20 min. so I walked back to put more money in.  If you get a ticket it is $150.  I put enough in for another hour.  Dad came out with big bandages on his forehead and arm.  Both results from the cultures came back positive so the Dr took 50cent size tissue out and put stitches in.  Then these cultures will go back to the lab.  We go back on Wed at noon to have the stitches out.

Tuesday we are getting on the rivercat at 6 am to go to the Quays to meet Jenny and Arnold and 2 other couples and bring them back.  Elder and Sister Williams are going to meet us at Ridlemere Warf to bring them back to see the Temple and where we work.  Then we will take them to see the bats, and eat lunch and then put them back on the ferry.  We will then go back to work and then to the Temple.  It will be fun to see them.  They get on the cruise ship to go to New Zealand and then fly home from there. 

Yesterday Dad and I got the flat cleaned and then left to go the Wisemans Ferry, we wanted a good hamburger.  We ate there and then rode another ferry across the Hawkesbury River to drive to St. Albany where Dad had seen an old Church in one of our rides with Gerry and Jan.  It was a beautiful drive along the river and there were many boats, and water skiers on the river.  It was 102 there, we were miserable eating in the shade it was so warm.  We found the Church high up on a hill, and a small cemetery down the hill from the Church.  The Church was built in 1836 by prisoners, the first Catholic Church in Australia.  It is St. Joseph’s Church.  It was burned in a bush in 1850 and the shell has just been sitting there.  Someone bought it several years, on a 99 year lease and he has restored it for an event center.  It was locked but Dad got some pictures and walked down to the cemetery and took pictures.  It was a very good day.  It was only 98 here when we got home.  We are loving being in an air conditioned building. 

Today we just stayed home as I have an ugly cough from allergies, and Dad doesn’t like the bandage on his head. Tomorrow I am going to try and put a smaller bandage on so it isn’t so obvious at the Conference.  We have both worked on our talks for next week. We go to Grafton which is an 8hr drive, so we will be gone 2 nights.  We will get back on Monday and make later calls home and send a letter.  It is also FHE that night.

On Friday we sent in almost 18,000 images so it was a good week.  This week is another story with the conference tomorrow, time with Jenny on Tues and the dinner for Australian days on Friday.

Last week we told you about the camera not focusing and Salt Lake had no answers for us, so Mark took the lens home Wednesday night and put it on his daughters Canon camera and it worked fine on automatic focus, so he emailed Salt Lake and they are sending us a new Nikon.  Dad is pretty excited.  We get to set it up as soon as it comes, hopefully this week.

FYI, we have 28 countries represented with the Elders and Sisters in our mission.

Happy Birthday to Loren on Saturday and to Aunna next Tues, a big 7 years old. 

You are all in our prayers daily and we send our Love;

Mum and Dad