Week 3 Brisbane


We're settled in now and are starting to explore this beautiful part of Australia in which we are serving.  This is from the last week or two, but it was a shot of the city from our mass transit catamaran at night.  The bridges light up and have a wardrobe of colors they can dawn.  Plus, if the buildings want to become part of the night time light show, they can pay a fee and do so.  The rumor is that the bridges and buildings try to coordinate.  Not sure if that is true  or not--it was beautiful this night for sure!

After sunset at Pine River.  In the very top of the river you can see a bridge..That is the M1--a major motorway (freeway) into the city.  The tide is out right now.

So many flowers here and they all bloom freely.  It's the end of summer and they are all flowering profusely.  There are frangipani, too, which are plumeria in the southwest USA.  They smell heavenly.  The flowers pictured above are not frangipani, but some other popular bush.  Bougainvilla are here, too, and many more colorful flowers.  
Birds galore here and even large fruit bats that look like Halloween bats!  Cockatoos, cockatiels, parrots, crocodiles, lorakeets, koalas, kangaroo, and on and on.  Snakes of all varieties.  Over 200 varieties of mosquito and only 7 like humans.  I'm sure I will get bitten by one of those 7 varieties sooner or later.  I hope to never meet any of the snakes.

We also are assigned a missionary district, where we support the missionaries in the district (14 of them) and help them with their flats (apts), cars, etc.etc.  We love these young people are learning so much from them about diligence, obedience, commitment, and love for others.  OUstanding group of missionaries, dedicated in their service to the Lord.  We enjoy these young missionaries and serving them.

We don't start teaching institute or Pathway for another month but already have some kids signed up.  Trying to visit all the stakes (5) under our responsibility and a district up north quite a ways.  

We love you all and are so grateful for your support and kind words!  Serving the Lord full-time is rewarding and a blessing in our lives.  This week we have Senior MIssionaries conference  for the Brisbane Australia Mission and we will take more pictures.  God bless everyone!!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Preparing to Serve the Lord Dale and I are called to serve the Lord in Brisbane, Australia as Welfare and Self-Reliance missionaries starting February 6th, 2023.  There has been much to do, temporally, in preparation for this calling; passport renewals, visas, vaccinations, not to mention preparing our home for rental, financial arrangements, insurances, and a myriad of tasks, many legal, many personal.  It's a long list!  There has also been much to learn about what we will be doing in our roles serving the people of Australia.  We have enjoyed this aspect and also spending time in the temple.  Attending the temple has been the best preparation for our mission! We will leave for Brisbane, Australia, around the middle of February.  We are very grateful to be able to serve in this way and pray for the Lord's spirit to guide and direct us as we help to move the Lord's work forward .  
Read more

week 10

Image
Week 10 Went to the Australian Zoo on our prep day.  I'm glad this guy was around because look who was there! Luckily, I made it out of that crocs jaws--Popp P saved me! The hibiscus were more my speed and much prettier.  They are all around this zoo.  Which could qualify as a botanical garden.  Just missing the labels for the plants.  The zoo is well maintained and thoughtfully laid out.  Well done all around. Here is a sentinel meerkat, scanning the surroundings for signs of danger.  I guess people are not a threat --they seem to just ignore the humans staring at them.   We were both able to pet a koala while he was sleeping.  There were a few "escapees" just beyond the koala area, which had a fence.  Maybe they weren't escapees, but came in to be part of the koala group for company.  Whichever, the zoo keepers didn't explain why they were outside the enclosure.   Another few weeks in Australia have passed!  We love the people we serve and we love the Lord who g
Read more
Image
  Missionary Training Center We arrived at the Missionary Training Center  (MTC) on February 6th, Monday.  What an amazing place!  Despite my being ill for a few days, the spirit there was undeniable.  Lots of energy, enthusiasm, and testimony.  Here is a photo of the senior missionaries in the MTC at the same time we were there- Pretty large group, about 72 senior couples. We received our official badges upon arrival.  It felt great to be able to wear the badge and be identified with the Lord's church.  What a privilege to be able to be His servant doing His work. We we were at the MTC for 10 days; 5 days of general instruction and 2 days of instruction specific to our assignment, which is Welfare and Self-Reliance.  Here is a picture of our group during the first week of training- In our group (district) these are the countries represented:  Oman, Qatar, Jinkasa- the Republic of the Congo, Cape Verde, Tokyo Japan, Fort Lauderdale.  Some were going as goodwill ambassadors, a few a
Read more