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Showing posts from December, 2019

Smoke

Just a brief entry to record that our new years day was made famous, according to the news, because our air quality was the worst, in the world, for any city.  The smoke is so thick today that it's truly permeating every nook and cranny.  The bush fires are on every side of the capital city and there doesn't seem to be any reprieve.  I posted, yesterday, on Facebook an appeal for fasting and pray this coming Sunday.  So far, several of my friends have indicated they would like to join us in that request to the heavens. Evelyn made hamburgers last night and they tasted so good.  We've had so many good meals here in Australia but I have to admit that a good old "American style" hamburger was wonderful.

We Remember

It's December 31st and the young missionaries have been instructed to be back at their flats by 5:00 tonight so that they will be safe through the New Years Eve festivities.  Apparently, Australians celebrate the season with a little greater enthusiasm than other cultures. Last night, Evelyn and I sat and visited about what December 30th has become, for us.  It was 24 years ago that Joseph left this earth and it seems that some of the memories are as vivid as if they were yesterday.  How does a father's heart, or a mother's, ever get past the experience of losing a child.  It's out of order.  We're supposed to bury our grandparents and parents, but not a child. December 30, 1995 had been such a good day.  That morning Joseph had borrowed my pickup to take the boy scouts around and pick up the discarded Christmas trees from around the town of Issaquah.  He'd gotten back in time to grab his ski gear and head out the back door to drive up to Alpental  where he

December 30, 102 degrees

I'm sitting here, listening to the wonderful sound of a washing machine.  It's a sound you can't fully enjoy until you've have 10 days without it.  I'm also looking at pictures that our sons have posted on some sort of fancy device that downloads photos of the most beautiful people in the world. If our family are reading any of this, please keep sending pictures.  It's wonderful.  I guess you'd say this is our "P" day but we've found that our preparations are best spread out over the week.  I had to run to the hardware store to get a few parts for the plumbing of the washer.  The guy that delivered it, I'm certain, thought I was some old guy in a white shirt that didn't know anything about tools.  I never realized how nice it was to have a garage, or barn, filled with all the different tools required to make life work.  I had to buy a set of pliers and I'm certain there will be more purchases over the next year and a half. Yeste

A story to tell

Dear Boys, I'm writing to you, as I did over ten years ago, so that you can tell your grandchildren a story as you sit at their bedside, many years after I'm gone. When I last put my story on to paper we were living in Highland Utah and I was teaching at the Orem Institute.  I was serving as the Bishop of the 197th ward at BYU and everything was in order. I'm not sure what it sounds like, or what it feels like, to be moved upon by the spirit but something told me, and your mom, that we should consider one more assignment with the Church Education System.  In November of 2009 we made a trip to Connecticut.  Michael was working for an airline company and we were able to fly into JFK, on a redeye flight that was quite cheap.  We rented a car and drove to New Haven.  The Church asked us to keep our trip quiet so that personnel on the east coast wouldn't know we were contemplating the change.  The weather wasn't exciting, the Fall leaves were all gone but something

Saturday the 28th of December

Two months ago, today, we left Wyoming to begin another adventure.  In some ways that already feels like another lifetime ago. On Thursday, Boxing day, we went down to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.  It was hot, and there was still a lot of smoke in the air but we determined to have a very Australian experience.  We were able to walk within 10 feet of a mother kangaroo with her little "joey" in her pouch.  It was quite the sight.  We went on a couple of walks that were probably about 3 to 5 kilometers apiece and saw a few animals.  The only koloa bears were in an enclosure where they had fresh eucalyptus leaves and a spray mist to keep them cool.  Not hardly a natural habitat.  We made a loop of the drive, from Canberra, so we saw new countryside both directions.  It looks just like the hills around Escondido California. Yesterday we had district council over at the Lyneham Chapel and they made a luncheon out of it so Evelyn made brownies and we took ice cream for dessert. 

Boxing Day

Good morning world.  We're receiving posts from family and friends, back in the states, where they are in the midst of Christmas Day.  It's Boxing Day here in Australia, going to be above 95 degrees, and the smoke is still in the air. The last two days have been quite peaceful and pleasant.  We arrived back at our flat, last night about 11:00 from Sydney.  We spent the day at the mission home with 5 other couples.  We wandered around the Temple grounds, thus a picture of a cockatoo in a tree, and had an excellent dinner.  Evelyn made an apple crisp for the dessert and others had brought ham, funeral potatoes, green beans, rolls, salads, a cheese ball, shrimp and lots of smiles and love.  We visited, shared Christmas memories and traditions, watched BYU lose their football game in Hawaii and then watched the movie about the fighting preacher. Evelyn and I drove up the day before and took a new route.  We went along a back road to Wollongong and had a great drive, minus all o

small world

It's Monday afternoon and I imagine that most of our grandkids are fast asleep on Sunday night.  We had a short meeting this morning with the District.  We have two new elders and one new sister.  Sister Smith was in the MTC learning Mandarin and she is from Idaho Falls.  Elder Leishman is also brand new, speaking English, and he's also from Idaho Falls.  Elder Eden is not new to the mission and will serve with Elder Tolson.  However, that's not why I titled this post as a small world. Last night we had a meeting with the Stake Presidency, Bishop Loney and Brett Baker, one of the members of the Stake High Council.  The contents of the meeting shouldn't be shared today but it was such a sweet experience to visit with those men, and especially to have Evelyn there.  The spirit was strong and it was sweet to watch the workings of the Lord.  Now the fun part;  President Stuart's nephew is visiting from another part of Australia and we were visiting with him as we were

spinning wheels

I believe time is a tremendous healer and a tremendous drug for removing certain memories.  When I look back at Texas, I remember the long days of tracting but my memory seems to tell me about the Edwards family that lived at the end of the street, at the end of the block, at the far edge of town, that answered the door in the 11th hour.  In reality, many days we arrived back at our dingy, hot and humid apartment without anyone saying yes.  The memory comes more clearly after a day of "spinning wheels" like yesterday. Our washing machine died a few days ago and Elder Stoker had ordered a new one and said they would call yesterday morning with a delivery time.  So, I missed a chance to help a family move while we sat and waited for the call.  When they finally called about 2:30 they informed us it would not arrive until late next week.  I shouldn't complain because we have a cooler on the roof and there are many things to read but it felt like a wasted day.  I've rea

Andrew's birthday

It's another hot and smoke filled day but Facebook just told me that it's Andrew's birthday.  I sent him a post on Marco Polo of happy birthday greeting which is kind of cool because it's only the afternoon of the 20th for him.  His birthday, there in Reno, Nevada was such an amazing day.  Evelyn was the director of a singing group called "The Young Americans" and she had scheduled a performance at a mall just south of Reno, for that evening.  She led the group, which did a tremendous job and then we took the older brothers home, to a baby sitter, and drove to the hospital.  Dr. Terry Drake was her doctor and one of the attending nurses was a member of our Stake.  For me, everything was a breeze.  I can't imagine what it would be like to give birth but Evelyn was amazing.  As soon as she was holding Andrew in her arms, she looked at me and said, "there's one more".  That was one of the most revelatory experiences of my life.  It was a revelat

Christmas Carols

It's 105 degrees outside and I received a message from Barbara Jenkins back in Wyoming and she said it was 5 below zero.  Can't hardly believe we're 110 degrees apart. Last night we went over to the Goodwin Senior Center and Evelyn played the piano as members and missionaries sang together for the residents.  Every time I go there I have my heart strings tugged thinking of my mother back at Seville and hoping she's listening to the different choirs and musical groups that come to perform.  We've made some good friends by going over there on Wednesday evenings.  Afterward we drove over to the Lynham building and had our first Institute class.  There were five young people and that included two sister missionaries.  We had a good conversation talking about the necessary pieces of the puzzle to be in place for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. We are in communication with the mission home because there is an Elder arriving in Canberra tonight, on a flight fro

Wednesday the 18th of December

Evelyn is upstairs getting cleaned up after our gym workout.  I've already showered and enjoyed a few of the ginger snap cookies that she just brought out of the oven. We're going to be having our first Institute class tonight at the Lyneham Chapel and we don't know if we'll have two students or twenty. The reason Evelyn baked the cookies is because there was left over dough from yesterday.  We were making Tuesday a preparation day and getting things done around here when her phone rang and it was two of the sister missionaries.  I heard her say, "come on over" and I knew the rest of the day was going to be different than planned.  Transfers are going on this week and two of the five sisters are being transferred out and Elder Prakash is going home.  The phone call was from the two sisters that are here in Canberra and everyone else is up to Sydney for the transfers.  These two sisters are both from the states and I think they were feeling a bit lonely and o

Sunday in the world down under

It's the 15th of December and I haven't written for a few days so I thought I'd take a few, quiet, minutes on this beautiful Sunday to catch up.  As you can tell, I have a tendency to write backwards, telling you what's happening right now and then go back. We went to Church this morning in the old scout hall in Goulburn and we took Elder Palmer and Lee with us.  It takes about an hour to get out there so we had a nice visit with the Elders while going both directions.  Elder Palmer will be returning to SE Idaho in six weeks and he is currently serving as our District Leader.  Elder Lee is from Korea and does quite well with his English.  Elder Lee is Elder Palmers fourth companion to be from Korea.  They are going to be in a threesome after Wednesday when the mission receives 15 new missionaries.  We scheduled to take them out for dinner on Thursday night.   Evelyn has asked Elder Lee to teach her more about Korean food so that should be fun.  The entire Stake Presid

smoke filled air

It's Wednesday, around noon, and the air is quite a bit better than yesterday.  There was so much smoke in the air, from the bush fires, that we were warned to stay inside.  We did make a trip over to the gym but the rest of the day was inside.  The Jackson family left after breakfast.  It was nice to have them and they really contributed to the success of FHE. Last night we went over to a noodle restaurant that is here in Belconnen and it was one of the best dinners we've had since coming.  We tried to engage the server in a little conversation but it was quickly obvious that English was not a comfortable language. We finished reading the Book of Mormon in our companion study today so we'll be starting over tomorrow.  In a few minutes, one of our YSA's will be coming by the flat.  Michael is a recent convert to the church and comes to FHE and church quite regularly.  He texted this morning and asked if he could visit with us. I went over to the gym, this morning, b

Monday, December 9th

Except for the clanking of the washing machine, back behind the kitchen, it is relatively quiet here in the flat.  It won't be that way in awhile when the young adults arrive.  Hopefully the flat will be filled and loud after 7pm. The smoke is so bad outside that it doesn't feel healthy to spend any more time outside than is necessary.   We went to Costco this morning after our workout at the gym.  It was a much lighter workout than normal because we've both been a bit under the weather.  We went to the "Woolies" next door to Costco to pick up some things and we had lunch at the little Asian food shop.  That was our second try of their food and neither time was very exciting so we'll move on.  We spent some time visiting with one of the sample servers, a woman who moved here, from the states, to retire with her husband.  We exchanged phone numbers and Facebook information so we'll invite them to come to church with us. Last night was the Stake Christmas

All Mission Conference

It's Friday here in Canberra and will probably be above 85 degrees.  We're staying inside today because I'm fighting a sore throat and bit of a fever.  I was starting to feel it as we were driving toward Sydney on Tuesday but I'm so glad we made the trip.  What a great experience the last three days have been. We had seen some smoke and fires since we'd arrived in Australia but nothing like our drive to Sydney this week.  Both directions we encountered probably 50 kilometers of heavy smoke.  It was thick enough that Evelyn was covering her mouth and nose as we drove through it.  The winds in Australia are nothing like what I've seen in the states.  It even makes Rexburg and Reno seem tame.   I can't imagine how hard that makes it for the firefighters. We were invited to stay with the Blackhams in their flat near the Temple.  When we arrived at the Mission home Sister Blackham said that she'd started a crock pot dinner that was waiting for us.  After

Rain

Dear loved ones, Evelyn just read an email from her sister Louise that indicates she's reading our blog.  Hello Louise! This past Sunday was a day of fasting for the saints and the Priesthood leaders asked us to remember those who have been affected by the bush fires and the concern of the ongoing drought.  What a joy to wake up yesterday to rain and then have it continue, on and off, through the morning.  It's certainly not over but we are grateful to acknowledge the hand of God in our lives. Last night was FHE here at our flat and we had a few new faces join us which was wonderful.  Three of the boys are professional rugby players and they can tell some stories!  Sylvia also joined us last night.  We had met her brother David a few weeks ago but we just met her on Sunday.  She and Joe both work for the government offices of one of the political members.  We had a great time with the kids and had some serious discussions, great food and lots of laughter.  Nobody has a la