8 - 28 June

To quote one of our mission serving friends, the Davies', our days and weeks are all running together. It seems as if the month of June just began and here we are nearly closing it out!  Our president thinks life would work out much better if there were 28 hours in each day, but these would have to be during the waking hours!  These past couple of weeks have been filled with trying to work on mission tour details and preparations/deliberations for transfer week.  Two such events should not come within days of each other! The weather is fantastic, even though it is winter the temperatures are low 70's. There has been an abundance of rain and the locals say this is really unusual for the time of year, but they are happy to take whatever comes their way!

One of our great office elders sharing his newest creation with all of us - Oreo Truffles drizzled with white chocolate.  His companions appreciate his culinary efforts with their meals.  His mum sent the Oreos and white chocolate from Arizona, so these are pretty pricey treats!

One Saturday after taking care of the necessary laundry and housekeeping details at our flat, we decided a change of scenery was necessary and headed out for the Koala Sanctuary.  We purchased an annual pass for just such occasions.  It was rainy on and off and a little chilly and these fruit bats had wrapped their large winds totally around themselves as if to shield themselves from the elements. Our only wish was that the mesh wire fence hadn't obscured the bats. These guys were so ugly that they were cute and we spent some time watching the wings opening and closing as if they were trying to keep warm and dry.  It seemed as if the cooler temperatures gave our koala friends more energy because they were very lively, jumping from tree to tree searching for the perfect leaves to chomp down!

During the past couple of weeks, we were able to squeeze some time and attend a session in the temple.  There are not very many sessions weekly and most occur during our office hours.  Our spirits are always buoyed up when we can be in the temple. 

Family Home Evening on June 16th at the Madsen's home in Coomera.  There was 100% of the Brisbane seniors in attendance that evening.  Sister Madsen had prepared two crockpots of soup and salad for dinner before our lesson.  Each couple shared a short experience concerning, In the strength of the Lord we can do and endure and overcome all things.  This was our submission.  "After serving in Emerald as MLS missionaries,which was challenging, President Henderson asked us to serve in the mission office. To be honest, before beginning this new aspect of service, in our minds we knew it would be difficult, but something we could handle. Well only a week or so of training, our minds were giving us a different story. Each morning begins with petitions for help with the multitude of tasks that will be placed before us that day. As we kneel in prayer at night, it is with thankfulness for the insight, wisdom and understanding poured out on us as we have worked throughout the day. Some are simple things, like finding out how to call a stake president in a foreign country and what time was it going to be when he was reached or how were we going to find the support card for a missionary that should have arrived in the office, but didn't. The list could go on and on with large and small examples, but time after time we have felt of the divine help and strength being poured out in our behalf."

The week of 23-25 June was the Australia Brisbane Mission Tour with Elder Kevin W. Pearson, the Pacific Area president as our visiting General Authority. The Pacific Area has a total of 18 missions and just the weekend before our mission tour, President Pearson had been in Vanuatu organizing the first stake in that little country.  One of our newest missionaries came to the mission mid-transfer two weeks ago.  He was to have been here earlier, but Cyclone Pam struck his island (Vanuatu) the day he was to have left to report to the MTC in New Zealand.  Nothing was going in or out and so he waited patiently until the ok was given for him to leave and begin his mission.  Such a humble young man, (on the right)  full of energy to share the gospel.

Because of the size of the mission (250 plus), the mission was divided into three groups and sessions to allow the missionaries to have a more intimate experience with Elder Pearson.

We were unaware of this little secluded area of the beautifully manicured grounds of the Brisbane Temple until we were searching for spots to take the group picture for the first session held at the Kangaroo Point Chapel which is next to the temple.  

In preparation for the arrival of Elder and Sister Pearson and President and Sister Henderson to join the group for the picture, the missionaries were all positioned and singing "I Stand All Amazed." This was the pattern each day in the different locations to have the missionaries sing - "Teach Me To Walk in The Light"  (Wednesday) and "I Need Thee Every Hour" (Thursday) as they were waiting.   As we reflect on the events of the week, it was a truly humbling experience to feel the spirit so strongly as they were singing and being so reverent to start the sessions.

Arlo was assigned to take the photos and it was an amazing and spiritual time for us all.   A miracle was had this morning as the skies stayed closed until the camera finished clicking and as if on cue at the last click, the rain starting coming down and we all quickly, but reverently walked up to the chapel and inside to shake hands with the Pearson's.  President Pearson asked about the missionary's home and other questions, as they shook hands.

The Wednesday Mission Tour session was held at Mudgeeraba Chapel, a building which we have not been to and a floor plan never before seen by us.  Wonderful stake Relief Society sisters in each area prepared a wonderful meal and they were served in real plates with real utensils, instead of the usual plastic.  

The third and final session of the Mission Tour was held at the Karawatha Chapel.  Our senior missionaries were divided amongst the three days.  Each missionary both younger and "more mature" were asked to prepare a three-four minute talk on "How Can I Become a More Effective Missionary."  It was asked that we bring two copies and one was turned into the mission president.  Five missionaries were called on to share their talks and the rest of us were told that now we had a talk in our pocket, all ready to be used!  

Tuesday evening,  the seniors including service and live at home missionaries, were privileged to have dinner with Elder and Sister Pearson at the Mission Home.  After we finished eating, Elder Pearson shared some thoughts with us concerning how things are going in the Pacific Area and then concluded by asking if there were any questions he could answer from us - it was a special time for all 44 of us together. 

Two of our hard working assistants hadn't realized their ties were almost mirror images of each other until Sandy commented on it as they came in the front door one day this past week.   The Thursday session of our Mission Tour needed to be translated into Chinese and Tongan for some of our missionaries struggling with the English language and these two capable men were pressed into service.   They are humble missionaries and will be great leaders in the Church when they return to their countries.  Nearly six hours of translating was shared with two other missionaries. The other half of the Tongan duo was Tongan, but the second half of the Chinese duo was a extremely capable Mandarin Chinese speaking American.   Sandy asked our Tongan elder if it was difficult to translate and he said yes, but his father had offered some good advice - don't worry about word for word, just concentrate on the doctrine being taught.

Passed under this banner as we were heading to church and commented to ourselves that some people look for any excuse to celebrate!  

Time to close as we come to the halfway point of our mission.  We love serving in Australia, being a support to the missionaries and our mission president.  

1 - 7 June

It really is winter in Brisbane!  We tried to not turn the heater on, but finally the house was becoming too, too chilly to be comfortable after returning home from our office work.  Arlo wears a light jacket while on his walk each morning.  It is interesting to see how different the people are in what they wear, while all experiencing the same degree of cold.  The air is crisp and the skies bright blue for the most part and it is hard to realize that our grandchildren are nearly all out of school for the summer and enjoying everything it brings.

It was Family Home Evening at our home, and unfortunately our senior zone leader and his wife left before we had a chance to get a picture of the group.  Two couples, who normally are part of the Brisbane seniors, were unable to join us.  Every fortnight, we meet together for either refreshments or a light buffet dinner and a gospel discussion.  The host chooses the topic and puts together notes which are emailed out to the couples not able to attend serving up in the northern area of the mission.  Our discussion centered on the principle of agency.

Three fine elders came through our mission doors this week.  At first, it appeared that they were all coming the same day, but it ended up differently.  Wednesday brought to the mission a new permanent elder from the island of Vanuatu, which was ravaged by the cyclone back in April.  He was to have left for the New Zealand MTC the day it hit and so his arrival in the mission field had to be pushed forward.  Thursday brought an elder returning to his home in Townsville which meant that President Henderson needed to release him from one of the Philippine missions. Then on Friday morning, the above elder arrived from Provo MTC to serve as a temporary missionary here while waiting for a visa into Taiwan.  Interesting for us to discover that he is from the Gold Coast area here in Brisbane.  His Mandarin language training will continue to grow stronger as he serves with our Chinese missionaries.

Our week of arrivals, also had one departure.  Elder Namok from Brisbane Ward has been serving for a month with our mission as he waited for his visa into Portugal.  Since President and Sister Henderson were in Townsville for a District Conference, we had the privilege of sending him off to the United States to learn Portuguese.  He joined the church 18 months ago and is the only member in his family.  Upon reaching Salt Lake, he was met by the elder who baptized him here in Brisbane and and his family.  They will keep him until time to drop him at the MTC Tuesday next.  It was a tender moment as hugs were shared and some tears shed by this humble elder and his companion (center). Elder Namok was met at the Brisbane Airport by his mother, sisters and a cousin and we left them having a little family reunion.  Since it is officially winter, the weather has turned cool enough that many of the missionaries are coming into the office with jumpers (sweaters) on.

Saturday after sending our elder off, we gathered the two senior sisters and headed out for a road trip to Warwick, about a two hour drive inland southwest of Brisbane.  Much of the scenery was crop lands, some of which still had produce growing and some which had just been cultivated.  A really interesting field was the one in which carrots were growing - the frilly green tops were beautiful. Cattle, sheep and horses were in great abundance.  There wasn't time to explore too much, but we were told there were many wineries around.  The picture above was the center point of town and there were center medians filled with rose bushes. Just loved everything about Warwick!

Warwick is far enough inland that they feel the effects of winter.  Everywhere trees were all void of their leaves.  This hotel was restored in 1917, but has a history dating back to 1867.  The gingerbread ornamentation is so intriguing and found all over Queensland.  The building is famous for the pressed metal ceilings, which must have been very popular at the time.  Now it has been placed on the Heritage List. 

The Belle Vue Cafe came highly recommended by the owner of a neighbouring shop, so we decided to give it a try and weren't disappointed.  In addition to a beautifully presented lunch, served on a plank of wood, the building, furniture, pressed metal ceilings, and chalk painted murals on the walls, gave us lots to take in.  It felt like we stepped back in time when we walked through the front door.

Our cute waitress volunteered to take a group photo of these senior missionaries enjoying our time out.

One small piece of trivia to close with - Johnny Depp has been in the Brisbane area filming a new Pirates of The Caribbean movie on the Gold Coast, which we learned about from the local television news broadcasts.  Evidently he has been very kind and responsive to the crowds of people watching the comings and goings of the filming.  It is being billed as the biggest movie ever filmed in Australia and Queensland is very proud!     

Alyssa Joy Mickelsen on her special baptism day with some of her Mickelsen family!

18-31 May

Each week we comment between us, "This week just can't be a busy as the last week." and then it turns out to be just as full as the previous week and then some!  Some days are full of the normal routine of busyness, and others bring brand-new excitement! 

This amazing young man came to our mission as a three month trial run missionary.  His proud father brought him to the office, put the name badge into the suitcoat pocket of his son, gave him a huge hug and off he went.  Three+ months later, after the recommendation that he can serve a full-time mission, we are in President Henderson's office with the elder as he prepares to open his official mission call from President Monson.  Before opening the white envelope,  he bore a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and thanked his companion for the support and strength he had been to him over the last three months.  With tears streaming down his cheeks, he opened the envelope and read aloud to us in the room and his family who was watching via Skype, that he would be serving in the Australia Brisbane Mission!  President had never before seen that happen, and our now official elder was overjoyed to be able to continue to serve here.  His paperwork went before the normal missionary assignment committee and he could have been called anywhere in the world.  So he left the mission field and attended the New Zealand MTC for training and came back with our new intake of 17 missionaries this transfer.

Departing and Arriving, plus Transfers week is always hectic and filled with emotion.  Several of our elders leaving this transfer have become close to our hearts and Sandy had tears as we wished them everything good as they prepared to start a new chapter in their lives.

The Last Dinner at the mission home is always fun for everyone and Elder Low was doing a super job of mashing the potatoes.  His big smile will be missed and the work he has done in the Mandarin Chinese program has been so important.  Returning to his native Singapore, he will become a great asset to the growth of the church.

The original intake group for the elders in this picture two years ago was 37 new missionaries. The original sisters have left and other elders left the transfer before, due to shortened visas, but this was a very large group leaving.  Most are from the United States, with Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Philippines and Singapore represented.

On the Monday of Transfer Week, the departing missionaries spend Monday morning at the temple in a special session the temple has just for them - one more dignified picture and one of excitement as they anticipate what is ahead for them in their lives. 

Monday evening, we come to the Mission Home and bring the departure packets to them.  These contain their passports, travel itineraries, Certificate of Release and every other piece of paper that was in their folders in the office.  Even though we counsel these young people to be careful as they open their envelopes because items can get mixed up with the missionary sitting next to them, they are so anxious to see all of the contents!  

Saturday, the 23rd, we celebrated Sandy's birthday by taking a leisurely ride up the Brisbane River on the City Cat, and seeing some new sights along the river.  The morning brought several singing birthday greetings via phone calls from missionaries.  The trunks on these trees in the City Botanic Gardens were really impressive as we walked past this row.

Sandy had to gather a lot of courage to walk across this amazing foot bridge, the Goodwill Bridge over the Brisbane River. It is well used by walkers and bikers alike. 

On the Brisbane River, there are several types of boats that seemed to be used for parties or gatherings. Usually the boats are anchored, so we don't see them moving.  But this day, the riverboat was really moving along.

Our comment quite often is "the grounds around Brisbane are so beautiful and well planned." This was one of several walkways we passed through at Southbank, on our way to catch the City Cat back to our flat.  Later in the evening, we had dinner at the Portside area, which is where the cruise ships dock.  From our seats in the restaurant, we could see into the windows of the staterooms.

Each of us in the office have a little celebration in honor of our birthdays, when the time comes. Our Senior Sisters had spent their Preparation Day at a Greek Festival and brought in delicious pastries from their adventure to share with us.  This was the first Staff Meeting with our two new assistants and one new office elder.

Our FHE one Monday, was shared with Elder and Sister Richins.  They taught us a game called Hand and Foot, which our special neighbor Ken in St. George has been wanting to teach us for a long time. The Richins are living in temporary housing for another month, until the couple they will be replacing leave for home. 

The weather is wonderful, couldn't ask for better with temperatures being in the low-mid 70's during the day. The skies have gorgeous sunsets and life is good.  Tuesday was officially the first day of winter and our night time lows are becoming cooler and now we are requiring another light blanket.   We couldn't ask for anything more to be serving together as missionaries, helping support the daily needs of all our missionaries who are working so hard to serve valiantly!

4 - 17 May

Greetings from the land of the Southern Cross, which is now directly overhead and can be seen clearly at night.  After our Family Home Evening two weeks ago, nine missionaries could be seen standing in the street gazing up into the skies, searching through the stars and it was really fun when we were all able to pick out the constellation.  Autumn is really here and we are enjoying some spectacular weather with temperatures in the 70's.  When the sun goes down, the temperatures are much cooler and we have had to add a blanket to our bed.

Monday, May 4th was our usual Office Staff Meeting, but it also turned into a little birthday celebration for Sister Henderson, since this was her actual birthday.  Her sweet daughter made her a special breakfast, so she came into the meeting a few minutes late, while we were singing our opening hymn.  As she opened the office door, President immediately changed mid sentence over to "Happy Birthday" from "Do What Is Right!"  He was so excited to honor her special day with all of us in the office!  The hymn that was sung this past Monday was "Carry On", but our clever President's wife, sang it as Carrie Lon, Carrie Lon, Carrie Lon - their first names!

Since February, the mission has been waiting for a visa to be granted to the Richins but with no success.  These wonderful seniors asked for a temporary mission at the Family History Center until their visa did arrive, since they could live at home in the Salt Lake City area. They served a mission in Namibia and it was extremely difficult to obtain the necessary police clearance for the Australia visa, but with time and patience it finally came through and they arrived on May 6th.  They will be staying in the Brisbane area, assigned to support two or three stakes and will be replacing the Shute's when they leave the 2nd of July.

Mother's Day is celebrated on the same Sunday as the United States, so there was a special program for Sacrament Meeting. As we entered the chapel, the sisters were given a beautiful single rose corsage to pin on and a small fabric bag containing a golden chain necklace.  Our little group of Primary children (about a dozen-reminds us of the 8th Ward) sang a song that was new to us.  They even invited the counselor from the bishopric over Primary to sing with them, for moral support he told us later. Arlo had been asked to speak about Honoring Motherhood during the Sacrament Meeting.  It was interesting to us that later in the evening, he received a text from the bishopric thanking him for his remarks that day - maybe something that could be started in other wards!

Due to the time difference all of the American missionaries called their mothers on Monday.  Here is Elder Pinegar (one of our assistants) Skyping his family.  The office was noisy with several other Americans trying to speak with their mums, so he went out into the hallway to make his call!  It was fun to be in the office with them all and feel the excitement they were having with their families. This brought back all of the warm memories we had with our missionary sons during the Mother's Day calls from Texas, Brasil and the Philippines.  Like the other American missionaries, we spoke with our children on Monday, a unique experience since most of them were all together in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on holiday!

These four great elders are the current Assistants to President.  Elders Pinegar and Robison (the two left of center) will be leaving this next week to return to their homes.  Sandy took this picture of these wonderful young men in front of the transfer board, which holds all the changes for the coming transfer.  Usually there is a blind that comes down over it to keep information secure, but she caught them just before the blind was put into place.  On Friday morning, after a week of deliberations, the assistants, President and Sister Henderson attend a temple session together and meet for some time afterwards in the Celestial Room to confirm that everyone still feels the choices are correct.  Later that afternoon, the office elders were given permission to look at all of the changes.  They were just pacing around the office and making some predictions.  The three office elders were as excited for the unveiling, as they might have been in their younger years for Christmas morning to come! 

Since we are into the autumn season,  it has been recommended that all of the missionaries get a flu shot. The Mickelsen's decided to wait an extra two weeks and get a four-strain variety, versus the three-strain variety.  Sandy was intrigued with the signage at the doctors office.  Lucky for us, the only reaction was a small amount of tenderness in our upper arm.

It was a mutual decision for Arlo and Sandy that a real preparation day was needed, so we decided to make the hour drive up the coast to the Steve Erwin Australia Zoo.  Due to forgetfulness, we missed the photo shot of the Zoo Welcome sign, so chose to use the illustration on the gift bag, which we were very impressed with!

Koalas were in abundance and a delight to observe.  In one area you could walk through their habitat and zoo handlers would allow you to interact with them.  They are so fun to watch because the usual position is to be nestled in the tree branches, sleeping.  Sometimes as we watched an arm or leg would stretch out and then pull right back in.  Usually they are not as awake as the little one above.  We love how they are so sweet and gentle looking.  If they are not sleeping, they are eating at a fairly rapid rate, the eucalyptus leaves from branches brought into the koala compound.

The Crocoseum was our stop for the Wildlife Warriors show.  Lots of colorful birds were sent flying through the stadium and one even had been trained to land on the outstretched arm of a visitor.  Their person's hand was holding a $5 bank note, which had been folded into a compact rectangle.  The bird would take the bank note and fly back to the trainer, then shortly flew back to return the money! 

The star of the show was of course a crocodile.  Crocodiles are found in many of the waters of northern Queensland and the reason to stay out of bodies of water where they could be found and at least 15 feet back from the shore line.   Using their powerful tails to propel them, they can attack with lightening speed in the water and at the waters edge.  The trainers were very cautious and stayed way clear when the croc was in the water, but when he was on land they were more brave as they could out run him with his stubby legs.

Heading into "Roo Heaven",  Sandy is having a conversation with her new "golden contact."  The zoo had several acres where one could wander around and interact with the kangaroo population which had become very tame and use to human company.

Roo Heaven is home to several varieties of kangaroos, including the wallaby.  The Zoo is so well planned and laid out and a beautiful place to spend an day. There are many more sections, that we didn't take the time to visit during our time there.  When some American company arrives in November/December, this will be on the list of places to visit.

Although the office has kept us busier than we ever imagined, we have found time to interact with the other senior missionaries in the area.  We are enjoying getting to know the St. George senior missionaries assigned to the Brisbane Mission and will have many new friends when we return home. The local couples are meeting together every two weeks for Family Home Evening, taking turns hosting the evening and presenting the lesson.  Several of us got together for a pot luck dinner last Sunday evening on Mother's day to say goodbye to the Montague's who are returning home to Salt Lake.  We replaced them in the office and they have been serving the last four months in the northern zone in Townsville.  

It is a great privilege to serve together in the office, helping our president and his wife with the everyday needs of the missionaries.  We love to speak with them on the phone and shake hands with them as they come into the office.  They are amazing young people so happy to be serving as missionaries in the Australia Brisbane Mission and so are we!

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.