20 - 26 April

The 25th of April marked the ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Centenary and although it is a traditional holiday for Australia and New Zealand, the events scheduled for this year were on a grand scale. "The Spirit of ANZAC was born in the predawn darkness of Sunday 25 April 1915, when, at 4:28 am, the first ANZACs leapt ashore at Gallipoli in Turkey. The soldiers faced a formidable task - to seize the Gallipoli Peninsula and suppress the Ottoman defenses guarding the Dardanelles.  Heavy casualties were suffered that morning and a stalemate developed.  In the months (8) that followed, their comradeship, courage, sacrifice and loyalty to their mates were admired by all observers."   (Taken from the Dawn Service of Remembrance program)  There were parades, wreath layings, speeches and singing of the National Anthem (Advance Australia Fair).  Our thought had been to be a part of the festivities at King George Square, but the early hour and uncertainty of where exactly we needed to park, etc, kept us in the flat, watching some of it on the television.

This is a war memorial honouring those men and women from the Hamilton suburb, where we live. 

A souvenir newspaper that we picked up, which helped us to better understand the significant holiday.  The movie, The Water Diviner, with Russell Crowe, was based on the troops landing at Gallipoli and the effects felt by one family.  Blockbuster was letting people rent it for free, so we took advantage of the deal and re-watched it.  

ANZAC biscuits are a national tradition, which was developed by the wives and girlfriends of the soldiers. It is a sweet biscuit made of rolled oats, coconut and held together with golden syrup (eggs were scarce during the war).  They were sent to the soldiers as a bread substitute and traveled well. Sandy's parents served a mission in Adelaide, Australia, loved these biscuits (cookies) and bought home the recipe and golden syrup, but we didn't understand the meaning behind the name.  It is fun to now know and we have come to regard these as real treats! 

Even Goggle marked the special anniversary day with their page identifier.  It certainly embraces everything about the event - the battle began shortly before dawn, the traditional Aussie hat, rosemary sprigs and poppies.  Traditionally sprigs of rosemary are worn on Anzac Day along with poppies. The poppies are exactly like the ones we wear on November 11th.  Rosemary has particular significance for Australians, as it is found growing wild on the Gallipoli peninsula.  There were several bouquets of rosemary laying at the memorial shown above. 

At Christmas, the missionaries were each given a tie or a scarf from the Henderson's.  These gifts came from the orphanage in Cambodia where our Elder San grew up and was converted to the gospel. He was born to an unwed mother who left him to die under a tree.  The grandmother found this out, went to find the baby, who was barely alive.   She took him in and raised him until she could not financially manage and then placed him in an orphanage.  In this place he learned the gospel because the woman who keeps the orphanage is L.D.S., but he had to wait until he was 18 to be baptized.  There are 34 children who are benefiting from the sale of these items - $3 each! We just received our Christmas because the original order was short and so the seniors and some of the local young missionaries waited to get theirs, so that what was available could go to the farthest areas of the mission.

One morning as we were returning from the airport, this Aussie Pooch Mobile turned out from a side street in front of us.  Looks like a great idea for those who would rather not leave home to have their canine family members groomed!

One of Arlo's walking routes takes him along the Brisbane River bank on the left side of the picture to a point and then he returns to the tall buildings, which mark the street where he turns to come back to the flat.  It was along this river where the ANZAC Memorial for our neighborhood shown above was located.

Another week full of missionary interaction, both positive and negative, but we love being a part of this "hastening of the work" here in the mighty Australian Brisbane Mission.