27 April - 3 May

Monday morning was marked with sadness, but yet happiness as we bid Elder Kumar good-bye. After every effort humanly possible to extend his visa, the Immigration Department did not grant our request and he had to leave Australia.  A member of the Quorum of theTwelve re-assigned him to the Fiji Mission, where he served the first 6 months of his mission, while waiting for his unusually short Australian visa.  He was a kind, gentle yet strong Zone Leader and loved by all. Each time we saw him, he always asked what could he do for us.  He will bring a great strength to Fiji and has grown tremendously since coming to Brisbane six months ago.

Thursday and Friday brought some pretty "wild weather" according to the local television report. All day Friday rain kept falling (300 mm or 12 inches) causing the rescheduling of the annual rugby game between Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 1948.  Sister Arseneau, in Alaska right now, sent an email wondering if everything was ok because her news broadcast talked of our floods. Two of our elders went out to pick up their suits from the dry cleaners and found the roads were flooded, came back empty handed, but soaking wet and holding their shoes and socks in their hands,  after trying to help a man stalled because of all the water.  These pictures (borrowed from the web) are of the flood in 2011 and we were fearful that there was going to be a repeat in 2015.  It was amazing to watch the skies just continually empty out.

After spending Saturday morning taking care of some office work that required quiet, concentration and no phones ringing, we took to the road to find Brisbane's tallest mountain.  Mt. Coot-tha (287 metres above sea level),  means "place of honey" because the Aboriginal people used to come to the area to collect honey produced by the native stingless bee.  It has a spectacular look-out, well known in the community as the perfect spot for parties and weddings.  A 90th birthday celebration and a small wedding were happening as we visited.  

As we drove down the hillside from Mt. Coot-tha, we stopped for a short visit to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, as it was almost closing time.  Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium is located within the gardens, another spot we will visit at a later time.

This stunning rose sculpture marked a small, but beautiful garden area filled with many varieties of fragrant roses. 

This has been an especially busy week as Sister Arseneau, one of the senior office sisters, needed to return home to Alaska to help her daughter following some back surgery.  She is truly missed because we have to pick up many of her responsibilities on top of our own.  The Henderson's welcomed their youngest child and daughter home from her mission in Taiwan.  It was interesting to learn that our President has set apart and released all six of his children in their respective missions. There was special permission given to him to release Sarah.  She will be here for the next couple of months, until needing to return to Utah for school.

Autumn is really here and it is so exciting to need a light jacket at times and not have to have the air conditioning running constantly.  It was even feeling drier, until all the rain started to fall, but should soon feel dry again.  Life is moving at a rapid pace, but we are feeling very blessed to be a part of the missionary effort here in Brisbane.