Sunday February 14, 2016

Sheila writes in black, Rick in blue

Monday, February 8, 2016

In Seminary we are discussing Moses and Genesis and in my class tomorrow I wanted to share that whenever I  hear people talk about life on earth coming from a big bang without involvement from God, I think about all of the non-essential things on the earth that bless our life that seem to serve no purpose other than to bring us joy.  I clipped some of the roses from the hedge by our flat and took them as an illustration of one of those things.

In Australia, schools require uniforms and each morning on my walk I see the kids coming to the private Catholic School dressed in these cute uniforms.  They all wear their hats religiously.  The thin ozone layer in this country and the high altitude of Armidale result in lots of melanomas.

These cute kids were happy to pose for me.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Today Seminary seemed to have a great spirit with good discussion.  Sam loves Star Trek Next Generation and once I told him I was an original "Trekie" we had something in common.  I managed to find a good reason for bringing up the concept of a Prime Directive.

We ran to the store for some basics and walked by the doughnut display we see every time we shop.  After, we took a ride to Dangar Falls (pronounced Dan-Gar) which is, we are finding out, a waterless experience in most cases.  One must need to view the falls in the middle of a rainstorm, much like the Virgin River Gorge water falls.

Once home we did our February Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching visit with Sister Fenton.

No Dear, the falls are behind you.

Donuts are very expensive here. This display is an average price that we have seen. Even accounting for the exchange rate they still come to about $2.60 US each. I'm glad that we do not have a donut habit. Needless to say, we cannot afford to develop one.

Sheila with Sister Fenton, our Gospel Doctrine Class President.

Wednesday, February 12, 2016

After Seminary, a walk, and food preparation, Elder Berger dropped me off at the church for the Relief Society "event" as they called it.  Everyone brought something to eat and a show and tell.  Two of the sisters make gorgeous quilts, one knits, one crochets and one does scrap booking.  I asked her if she used Stampin' Up! as I worked with that company at Jones Waldo and she said yes, they were definitely the best products.

One sister brought "savorys" which turned out to be buttermilk biscuits she referred to as scones with blackberry jam and thick cream.  Cream is often used rather than butter here.  I think all of the seven attendees enjoyed themselves.

After the "event" we went looking for a sister on our branch list in Wollomombi.  It was a beautiful ride and we stopped to look at the waterfall there.  We found the address but the two houses on the property were vacant.  

After dinner Elder Berger went to Branch Presidency meeting and I prepared for tomorrow's Seminary lesson.

Views in and around Wollomombi.

Our little, noisy Toyota.

I like to call these the three witnesses - witnesses to the time when this area was inhabited by Aboriginals fleeing the persecution of settlers.  The area is full of deep gorges and steep inclines, not a wonderful place to try to live.

These fireplaces with their chimneys were once attached to a house. The house burned down but these structures, which by definition are fireproof, did not.

Wollomombi Gorge.

The Aboriginals lived in these gorges, how very difficult it must have been.

The Falls.

This Photograph is one of the pictures that are required if you are a tourist. I guess it proves in some way that you really are here. Don't get me started.

Wednesday Late Night, Feb. 10,2016

Tonight was the first perfectly clear night that we have had since we got to Australia. I just got back after Branch Presidency meeting and at last I was able to go outside and look at and actually experience the clear night sky and see the stars. I would include a picture but I couldn't get a good one. Alright, now I'm getting started. Sometimes I wonder how important a "sense of place" is. Does it really matter where we are in this world, geographically speaking.  As you know (or should know unless you live in LaVerkin), in theory at least, and now for sure, the stars that can be seen in the southern hemisphere are different than the ones that we can see at home. I was able to identify the Southern Cross constellation so I am finally sure that I am actually down under. I have to admit, (and if you are a psychiatrist STOP reading this NOW) that I needed to see this to prove to myself that I actually am on this continent. I have seen the movie "Truman" and all of this could be an elaborate ruse. Everyone would get a kick out of that, wouldn't they. They could take me somewhere that is similar in appearance and climate and teach everyone to say "G'day" and "How ya going" with that cool Australian accent. I really have no personal evidence, until now, that the funny looking Opera House really is in Sydney. You could issue everyone Aussie money and raise the prices on donuts. I guess that you could even get everyone to drive on the left and move the steering wheels to the right, Kangaroos can be seen in Zoos all over the world and some could be planted in the wild.  But after all of this, even you have to admit that it is very hard to "fake" the night sky or the stars or the sun and moon above (not to mention the wind and rain). Yeah, I know that they did it in "Truman" but he was kind of an idiot, wasn't he? Plus, I have driven over many bridges and gone a hundred miles in every direction and that would be one BIG dome. Okay, I will settle down and accept the fact that I am 8000 miles from home and get on with this wonderfully authentic experience. I am, however, going to wait for another clear night to verify these alleged facts. In the mouths of  2 or 3 witnesses, you know. Well, all this is just food for thought, so eat up, my friends.

 I am getting a little tired now, so I am going to put the finishing touches on my Seminary lesson, we will say our prayers, and we will hit the sack. Rick

Thursday, February 11, 2016

After teaching Seminary, with the elders in attendance, we went back to the flat where I prepared visuals to teach songs in Primary Sunday.  In the afternoon we went with the elders to teach a single lady the first discussion.  She was smart and very friendly.  She said she had been thinking lots about religion the last while.  She is in the nursing program at the University of New England and has a seventeen year old son who says he is an atheist.  She said her biggest concern right now is influencing him to change his mind.  We had a lovely time sharing the experience and the spirit that was there.  This was the first time I have had this type of missionary experience and it was wonderful.

Once finished, we headed for the Old Gostwyck Road (so glad to have GPS and our Tom/Tom,  I would have found it anyway) to find a less active branch member who is having a birthday today.  We found him and he was so appreciative of the birthday card and cookies.  He said he knows they should be in church and really want to get their lives together and return to activity.  We felt good about our visit.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Today after Seminary we joined with the elders and took them to meet the Bateman family in Kingstown.  I took them snicker-doodle cookies that I made and the Elders taught the Plan of Salvation lesson.  Again and again we think about how hard it would be to live an hour's drive from the church.  We had an enjoyable visit and their kids loved the cookies.  Brother Bateman would probably self identify as a survivalist if he lived in the U.S. He knows the political systems of the world very well. He follows politics in the U.S. and  has opinions on the presidential candidates who are running. He is concerned about privacy and lives way out in the bush. I saw several kangaroos on the way to their house and we saw a very large goanna lizard (about 30' to 36' long) in the road a few kilometers away. The Condies have seen much larger lizards in Sri Lanka but this one seemed huge to us.

We enjoyed good conversation with the elders to and from our appointment.  Once home all of us went to a sister's home where Elder Berger and Elder Kehlor gave her a blessing.  She is struggling with depression and a weak immune system keeping her sick much of the time. We pray for this sister because she could be a great influence in our branch. She is very smart and could really add to the discussions in our classes. She would be a great teacher.

Saturday, February 13, 2017

Not much to report today.  We spent about 3 hours cleaning the church, we cleaned our flat and did our grocery shopping, I guess about half a Preparation day.  We both worked on lessons and I worked on Primary music and sharing time.  We each prepare 5 Seminary lessons every fortnight ( that is 2 weeks for LaVerkinites, we take turns teaching every other day, Sheila teaches the odd numbered lessons and I teach the evens) and I teach Gospel Doctrine every Sunday. It is hard for me to keep the lessons straight in my mind when we are juggling so many at once. I am afraid that I will mix lessons and name Enoch as Nephi's brother in law via Ishmael. It was Shadrach, Lemuel and Abednego in the fiery furnace, wasn't it.

Sunday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentines Day!

Today President Mackie from our District Presidency spoke.  He made a very good comment on how to preserve our testimonies, taken from previous talks of the prophets and/or apostles.  He said "Hold fast to what you know, not to your doubts". Don't doubt what you know. doubt what you doubt. First, listen to the Holy Ghost; second, study the scriptures; third, follow the living prophets, In this day with so much social media throwing comments that can not be verified on the web and so much that one needs to wade through with great effort in order to "maybe" determine the truth, everyone needs to treasure and protect their testimonies. 

The Primary President left early with a child complaining about stomachache so I did sharing time and music which worked out fine.  They are sweet children.  Lucy asked me if we would substitute for her grandparents, who live five hours away and can't come to grandparent's day at her school, and I told her we would love to.   

After we finished our Missionary work for the day, we returned to our flat and I prepared two very nice porterhouse steaks for our Valentines day dinner. Sheila said they were delicious.  

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

We started early morning Seminary at 7:30 a.m. this morning.  Getting up to an alarm at 6:00 is something I have not missed.  Our students, a brother 16 and a sister 14 are great kids that I admire as they are the only kids their age in town and perhaps in the district.  I really feel they deserve to have this experience as much as groups of 30 kids in the seminary program back home.

We talked today about how the Old Testament points to Christ.  We both hope that we can bring the spirit into the class as well as make it enjoyable for them to be there.  We invited the missionaries but today was their preparation day and we didn't see them.

As President Checketts asked us to get involved with the community to get the name of the Church out in the public, tonight we joined the Armidale Choir and for me at least, it was a very different experience.  The chorister is very well trained in music and we are singing Handel's "Alexander's Feast".  Everyone seems to have a great understanding of music.  There were 47 there but only two tenors so Elder Berger was very popular.  The majority of the members are over 60 in age I would say.  The soprano part went up to a high A which I cannot hit so I will have to try to learn the soprano second part.  The high notes for the tenors was a stretch for Elder Berger. Since I was one of only two men attempting to sing the tenor part I was almost the best one. I think that Handel wrote this piece for a boys choir. Even the bass line was kind of high, but we had a good time and met lots of people who are not now afraid of us. I think that it's a good start!

No this is not the choir, this is a picture of all of the Senior Couples in the mission (and a few others) with President and Sister Checketts. It was taken at Christmas but we just received it via e-mail. The Sisters are in front of their husbands. Elder and Sister Ellis from New Harmony are next to us on our left. There are 3 of the couples who are assigned to the Pacific Area, not just our mission. There is also one single Sister (pink jacket right side in the photo) who will serve in Papua- New Guinea.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Early morning seminary followed by practicing the Sunday music with Sister Betts was followed by cookie making day.  I doubled a batch of chocolate chip cookies and we delivered them around to the other tenants here.  Several suffer with dementia but Australia here in Armidale, has some wonderful programs with health care workers coming to the homes and doing brain tests and exercises to help control the dementia and to assist them with things they should not do like cook on the stove.  One lady openly discussed her situation and seems to be doing very well.  I am surprised with the service.  It no doubt helps many stay independent in their homes.

We enjoyed talking to Sister Bernadette, as always, when we delivered her cookies.  I asked her some questions about whether she had heard of Mormons.  She said of course, in the United States but not so much in Australia.  She asked us if we would  be willing to join with some people for lunch so they could ask us questions about our faith to which we happily agreed.  

Sister Berger & Sister Betts knocking out another hit song!

 Kristen, Elder Berger and Samuel in Seminary class.

Another selfie with my misshapen head.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Well, today is John's birthday here but tomorrow in the States.  Hard to imagine how quickly life passes.  If he were here, we'd have to have Pavlova instead of birthday cake I think.   Preparation is a big part of our day since we started teaching every day.  We had a district training meeting by phone and then met with our elders to plan strategy for the requested increase in reactivation in our Branch.  Elder Berger attended his Branch presidency meeting while I put together finishing touches on my seminary lesson for tomorrow.  We are so blessed in the church to have so many media aids on LDS.org to use in our teaching. This morning it was my turn to teach. The lesson was on studying the scriptures. We watched the Legacy Scriptures video and had some discussion of why it was important to read from the scriptures each day. I believe that the lesson went over very well and that we all learned something that we needed to know. 

Friday, February 5, 2016

The elders came to early morning Seminary today which was fun for everyone.  We enjoyed the lesson and the discussion.  This morning, Sam asked a great question about the Savior. I am really pleased that he is thinking about these things. Then we decided to clean the church today instead of  doing it on Saturday. When we got back to our flat we had a Zone training meeting by phone which was informative.  

In the evening we went home teaching and had dinner with the members which was very nice.  

Saturday, February 6, 2016

We were glad to have a little extra time this morning to catch up a little on sleep.  It continues to rain every day or two and is quite chilly to my St. George blood.  I really wonder how I will deal with Armidale's winter.  We made phone contacts with members dealing with branch callings and Sunday responsibilities.  We also walked to the store and contacted one of our potential investigators who works there. She seemed happy to see us and we talked about a teaching appointment this week. She is married to a member who hasn't been to church for a while. It would really help their family if they would come to church.

I will be doing music in Primary on a pretty consistent basis so I worked on that and made cookies for the visit we have planned tomorrow afternoon.  Brother Smith invited us for dinner. He is a wonderful man and his three children very nice kids.  The two oldest are our seminary students.  We enjoyed a very tasty barbecued steak, salad, Cole slaw, corn on the cob and blueberry cheesecake for dessert.  His wife is a non-member but has allowed the children to be baptized and to attend church.  They are a wonderful family and we enjoyed our time with them.

Sunday, February 7 , 2017

What a wonderful Fast day.  The testimonies were wonderful and there was a lovely spirit in our meeting.  Elder Berger's lesson on Nephi (1 Ne:16-22) and the nasty brothers was very good with lots of discussion.  It was fun to experience the energy of various ideas and thoughts.  

Once again I had to do the sharing and music time in Primary.  It will take me a while to figure out the best dynamics for five Junior Primary age kids and one eleven year old who I would like to have experience a little more mature Primary experience.

We heard back from two of our members whom we seldom see due to their work schedules and arranged times to Home Teach next week.  They are so sweet and appreciative of whatever attention and help they receive. Sorry that there are no new pictures. That last one kind of ruined it, huh?

Sunday, January 31, 2016
Sheila in Black Rick in blue

Monday, January 25, 2016

Today it rained buckets.  We took a birthday card to a ward member.  After, we went to the store and purchased more cards and a can of ajax cleanser that I have been wanting and not sure they had here as some of the Primary classrooms have crayon on the walls and I am hoping the Ajax will remove it. As is the case with many items in Australia, the price was much higher than in the States.

The new elders arrived and called us and we invited them over for dinner.  They are Elder Peterson from Bakersfield, California and Elder Kehler from Las Vegas, Nevada. I hadn't planned on guests so they got meatloaf.  I think they enjoyed it.  They are wonderful young men and we are excited to work with them. I love the Australian accent, but I also am glad that I can easily understand these young Elders. They are full of the spirit and up for the challenge. They will do well here. I think, that because of television and movies, the Aussies understand us better than we understand them. Almost no one here, except Sister Berger, ever asks me to repeat anything but I am always asking them to talk a little slower or please spell something that I did not get. Of course,another theory is that they don't understand me either but do not particularly care about what I have to say.

The infamous $3.50 Ajax Cleanser.

Sheila, Elder Kehler (rhymes with Taylor), and Elder Peterson

Making Plans.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - Australia Day

Today we traveled to Kentucky to meet with Sister Josephine Pendragon.  She was gracious and asked us to pray before we left.  Her son, Shane and granddaughter, Lilly were both there. Lilly is as cute as can be. She introduced herself to me as Elsa (from Frozen). We talked about the movie and the scary snow monster, She makes me miss my granddaughters, she reminds me so much of them.   There is a sadness in me to see people with a variety of challenges of life not taking advantage of the peace and direction provided through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On our way back to the flat we thought we would try to catch another member we missed before.  We found Jennifer Cunningham and her husband, Alex home and just ready to start eating their dinner but they insisted we come in and visit.  They were fun people and insisted they would be coming to church or to a potluck if we held one,  He is not a member but a lovely person who has an accent very much like Paul Hogan's of Crocodile Dundee. We definitely want to spend some more time with these great people. They are bright, funny, and make you feel great when you are around them.

The MacDonald family had invited us to dinner along with the new elders to celebrate Australia Day with them.  Australia day is interesting as it celebrates the arrival of Captain Cook to Botany Bay with the prisoners that began the practice of using Australia as a huge penal colony.

We had such a lovely time at their home.  Brother MacDonald has begun medical school here and his wife just completed her Masters Degree with plans on being a teacher.  They have four darling children age 20 months to six years, some of whom make us miss our grandchildren heaps, as they say here.  We had what they call a "works" burger.  I decided to eat it just like them so it starts out with a bun about 1 1/2 times the ones in the States, fresh from the bakery, then the meat (I chose a chicken mince burger instead of the beef mince), then a fried egg, cheese, tomato, lettuce, beet root (that's pickled beets) and then pineapple.  I loved every bite.  She made us Pavlova for dessert which is very Australian.  It is like the meringue from a lemon meringue pie with fresh cream and lots of fruit.  It was really good too.  They are a wonderful, very active family who provide much needed stability and commitment to our branch.

I don't know what kind of trees that these tall ones are but they are all over this area. Here is a picture of an average sized one with Sheila standing next to it.  She is at the edge of the road. I would estimate this one at 85 feet. I put this picture in twice in case you did not believe it the first time that you looked at it. There are many of these trees that look to be well over 100 feet tall. This one was just a few meters away from the Pendragon home. I figured out that the reason that they are so tall is that they are on the bottom half of the world and are actually growing DOWN, whereas the trees that grow on the Northern Hemisphere have to grow up and that is much more difficult. You have to admire the California Redwoods. If they were here they would be 1000 feet tall if my theory holds.

Hey! I thought we were in Australia. This sign looks like we are just south of Indiana. Actually this is Kentucky, New South Wales. It is also of note that at the far north end of our area there is a town named Texas. You could win if you bet that Texas is north of Kentucky.

Left to right: Josephine Pendragon, granddaughter Lilly, son Shane, and me

                            

Left to right:  Alex Cunningham, Jennifer Cunningham, and me

Yummy Pavlova dessert with its creator, Kate MacDonald and son, Toby

Lucy, to the left, who reminds us so much of our granddaughter, Kate. It is not so much the way that she looks, but her "I'm in charge" attitude. There is no shortage of self confidence in Granddaughter Kate or in Lucy MacDonald.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Today we drove to Kingstown to see if we could find an inactive family there.  So many of the roads we have traveled here are oiled, narrow roads with sheep or cattle farms on both sides.  Kingstown is by itself and the neighbors are far from each other.  Rick found directions on Google Earth.

When we arrived at the coordinates, we were greeted at first by a barking, growling dog and then its owner, Mr. Bateman, who turned out to be who we were looking for.  He was very gracious.  He joined the church years ago as a single dad with three little children and fell out of activity when changes occurred in his branch.  Those children are grown and he is now remarried with three little children.  They were so glad to obtain their current home, away from any city.

We really enjoyed our time with this cute family and when Elder Berger asked if we could return each month and if they would like us to leave a message each time we visited, they said yes, and yes.  We hope to involve the elders in our next visit. I really thing that the Gospel would be welcome in their home. We have since seen wife Alicia working in the grocery store "Woolworth's" and she was happy to see us. I think that she would be a great member. I also feel that Brother Bateman would like to be active. He seemed happy when he told us about the time when he was involved and active.

We returned home to work on calendaring for the next week and month and to compile materials for our early morning seminary next week.  

Alesha, Eli, Lauren, Brother Bateman and Nevaeh (Heaven spelled backward)

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Not much to report today as it poured rain so we used it to plan.  We received pictures of the Jackman house from Sister Sully who I asked to take pictures when she visited them today  When we visited them a week ago, we forgot to take pictures.  This is the family with 1500 acres of property who have built their home themselves in stages.  

This backsplash Sister Jackson did herself



Ivy over the kitchen table (plastic)

Brother Jackman's tribute to the "Old West" along with some of his shooting trophies. 

The kitchen//living room with carpet covering the dirt floors

Friday, January 29, 2016

Elder Berger went with the elders to teach a lesson to an elderly man at one of the rest homes.  When he returned I did my weekly music practice with Sister Betts.

We traveled to Boorolong to look for two sisters on our branch list. We had a physical address but no phone numbers or e-mail addresses. It was about an hours drive northwest of Armidale, where we live.  It was raining lightly and the drive was beautiful.  The ranch was huge and we finally found someone who informed us the sisters had sold their property and moved to Armidale.  Hopefully, we can find them.  

A kind of spooky Halloween looking tree.

I love the tunnels created by the trees on each side of the road growing over the road 

and meeting in the middle

Saturday, January 30, 2016

We had some inactive members that said they were too busy to meet with us today so used it more as a planning/preparation day as I have to plan sharing time for tomorrow and Rick has his Gospel Doctrine class to work on.  Monday we start early morning seminary. It will be interesting to have my first High School Seminary experience to be as a teacher. I was a rebellious youth who refused to take Seminary in High School. I feel sorry for the students but I will do my best. Sister Berger will do her usual wonderful job when she teaches. I am afraid that my efforts will suffer by comparison. I sincerely hope that we can do some good in that situation.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

It rained heavily in the night but was a beautiful sunny day.  Once again, when Sacrament meeting began, we had few members (12) but some more came within a few minutes giving us a total present of twenty four.  That included children. It included everyone in the building. Our new elders commented on it being the smallest group they had been part of.  Neither one of them have ever been in a branch before.

Elder Berger's Gospel Doctrine class was on the great and abominable church and was very good with lots of discussion. It went way better than I thought that it would. I could feel the Spirit in the class and many of the members told me later that they felt it also. The class members shared insights that were spot on interpretations of the scriptures that we were reading. No one fell asleep in class today (somebody call Ripley). My sharing time was a learning experience when I had to lead singing, play the piano and try to control the kids who obviously have had a pretty unconventional primary experience thus far but they were darling.