6 - 19 July

Our lives currently revolve around six week cycles, which are really called transfers, and they seem to come around faster than we ever believed possible.  The days are filled with bill paying (rents, utilities and reimbursements for missionary expenditures), chasing down lots of different things concerning the cars (servicing, arranging for the entire process of ins and outs for the bump shop), and this just barely scratches the surface of Arlo's responsibilities.   Sandy answers the phone, then either listens or sends the call to the proper person who can help.  She schedules for President, tries to help our young missionaries with needs they might have and her list can go on and on, just like Arlo's.  But sometimes it gets very routine sometimes and not too interesting!  This said, we are thankful to be able to interact with the entire missionary force and support our president and his fantastic wife.  Some days have a few "fire drills" thrown in, as we like to call unexpected challenges, but they keep us humble as we receive guidance and help from above.  Thus said, here are a few of the more exciting parts of the last couple of weeks. 

Several months ago, we received a Missionary Call Notification informing us that a new missionary would be coming in July and we were so excited to learn that his home was in Esikhawini, near Richards Bay, up the road many kilometers from Durban, South Africa, our previous mission field. Elder Sanele Mthabela, arrived mid-transfer because of confusion with his visa to enter New Zealand for the purpose of attending the MTC there.  There was a stop in Dubai, and it was at this point that he was returned to South Africa and attended the MTC there.  This great elder has been a member of the church for a little more than four years and has not missed any of the Sunday meetings in that time. He was a part of the branch presidency and has a strong testimony.  None of his family are members, but his dad is supportive of the decision to join the church.  While going through his paperwork, Sandy found that Elder Mthabela's patriarchal blessing had been pronounced on him by Patriarch Courtney, the patriarch for whom she transcribed so many blessings.  It was a great morning, meeting this elder and helping him fit right in with the other missionaries.

The week following the arrival of our newest missionaries, brings them all back together for Golden Orientation training and it is amazing the difference a week makes in their missionary abilities.  This group has sisters from the United States and Thailand with elders from Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Canada, Vanuatu and Australia. After an afternoon of learning, the newbies do some street contacting as they make their way down for dinner at Fish 53.  They feast on hamburgers, chicken and fish burgers, plus chips and different salads.  As we finish, President has Joe, the owner,  come out from behind the grill and the group sing a thank you song to him.  Usually the song has been "I Am A Child of God," but Sister Henderson has taken some liberties with the words from another favorite song and this was the concluding phrase sung:   We are now the Lord's missionaries, to bring Australia the truth and thank you for the food!

One of our Saturday afternoons found us at the Australia Zoo again for a quick visit and change of pace. This little guy was our greeter while chomping down those delicious eucalyptus leaves faster than any koala we have seen.  After an enjoyable walk about, we made our way home with a stop at Costco for a few necessities, like a rotisserie chicken. These little gems are the best bargain in Brisbane and they are in great demand in the store.  People line up, Sandy included, to grab one as they come off the spit!

Another St. George couple has finished their mission here is Brisbane.  Sister Hansen has been such a help to Sister Henderson using her BYU catering and hosting skills, with various functions in the mission.

Love the name of the shopping carts here - trolley.  Each of them seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to rolling along to the car, since all four wheels independently steer.

Since receiving these pictures from a member in the MacKay Branch, some of us have been trying to come up with some clever title like, "Don't tell us you don't have any transportation to church!"  The little family has six children under the age of five, 5, 3, 2 and triplets about 8 months old and we are told this is their usual means of transport to church.   The mom and dad came to Australia from England about ten years ago and that is about all we know about them.

Love the little sister here and wonder if she is thinking, "Let me out of here, right now!"

29 June - 5 July

Our weather has been ideal - cool in the night, we have had to add a light blanket to our bed, and lots of beautiful sunshine during the day.  The school children are out on holiday for three weeks and many people have left Brisbane to holiday in America and Europe. This country loves to travel!

Departing missionaries spend Monday in a special temple session, interviews with President, a last dinner together followed by a farewell/testimony meeting and a huge sleepover at the Mission Home. Dinner is served on china and glassware, which requires lots of dishes.  We come just before dinner to meet with the missionaries, give out paperwork and passports, collect support and insurance cards, then have the privilege of staying to share the meal with the missionaries sitting at the table in the breakfast area.  The kitchen is our usual spot for after dinner cleanup, so the meeting preparations can be taken care of.  There are usually a few helping hands among the sisters, but tonight this elder was willing to spend some minutes helping before heading into the meeting.  Arlo always grabs first call for the dish water, just like at home! Sandy and our favorite District Leader from our skype district meetings while serving in Emerald are trying to keep up with drying the rinsed dishes.  He is from Bakersfield, California and his mother's family has some ties to Ridgecrest. He and his mom are returning to Brisbane the middle of August and we hope to get to meet her in person, after exchanging quite a few emails.

One Aussie, One Chinese, One Canadian and One Tongan - truly an international group!

The last time together as our Assistants,  Elder Hatch (Canada) was transferred the next morning and will finish his last six weeks on mission as a terrific Zone Leader.  One might notice the slice of strawberry shortcake on the table - not a usual dessert item here.  The sister who comes and prepares the departing dinner, made shortcake in honour of the 4th of July coming at the end of the week.

Six Americans (two of these were Mandarin Chinese speaking), One Russian, One Peruvian, One Canadian, Two Kiwis (New Zealand), One Australian and One Mission President and his beautiful wife!  By 11 the next morning,  nine of these valiant missionaries were on planes winging their way home, while three were going to spend 7-10 days visiting the mission field with parents.

Tuesday morning found us at Transfer Meeting, checking cars while the missionaries were anxiously waiting for their new companions and assignments.  It is such a joy when we watch the young elders and sisters interacting with each other, smiling, laughing, hugging and just being so loving.  There are moments for us when we say "why can't they take better care of things" but these are over ruled by the enthusiasm of the day.  A new American elder came to us looking so scared and probably a little sick inside, after he had just learned that he was going to be the designated driver in his new companionship.  Remember, the Australian's drive on the "other side" of the road!  Lucky for him, he had a confident, supportive companion who owned a GPS, even though he had never driven and wouldn't ever because of the small little country he comes from.  As we were leaving the car park, these two elders drove past with the scared elder at the wheel, but he gave us a thumbs up and we know he will be ok!

Wednesday brought eight new missionaries (five American, one Philippino, 2 Thailand), plus the prospect of two additional elders coming next week.  Orientation goes so much smoother when there is a small group and they understand our English!  Two little sisters from Thailand really had a struggle with English, even after spending twelve weeks at the Provo MTC and we look forward to watching them progress during their missionary service.

4th of July needed to be celebrated and most of the local Brisbane senior missionaries met up at Coochiemudlo Island about 35 minutes southeast from Brisbane in the southern part of the Moreton Bay.  The little island is popular because it has nice beaches on three sides and mangroves on the fourth.  The trail that rings the five square kilometer island can be walked in about an hour. The name has Aborigine origins - coochie (red rock) and mudlo (stone).  There are red clay banks above one stretch of beach where the clay is taken by the Aborigine people to use as a color for their traditional artwork.

A ten minute ride on a ferry brought us to the landing jetty and off we walked to enjoy Coochiemudlo. While walking on a trail that rings the island, a woman riding her "jazzy" stopped along side of our group and shared a lot of history about this little bit of paradise.  There are about 400-500 homes, some holiday homes, with about 720 people residing here.  We passed a group of 10-12 men and women on their hands and knees, so we stopped to see if there was something we were missing out on!  Upon asking what they were doing, a woman told us that they were weeding.  Our response among ourselves was how do you know what is a weed with all the tall grasses growing. This group comes once a month to try and make a difference along the shoreline by weeding.

Lunch together enjoying fish & chips, salt and pepper calamari, and a hamburger or two at the only real restaurant on the island.  All were in agreement that the food was great, but we still missed hot dogs, potato salad and all the other traditional 4th of July food!  This special holiday holds many special memories for our family - pool parties, 4th of July Children's Program, flag raising ceremony, fireworks, root beer floats and being with good friends!  Not any of these happened this 4th with the exception of sharing the day with good missionary friends.

If we had brought a picnic, we could have hired this pontoon boat and put some shrimp on the barbie and sail out into the bay!

There were several families fishing or picnicking on the beach.  The water was beautifully clear and smooth, but a little cooler than we had anticipated it would be.  A young girl's birthday party was going on, complete with a piñata, and we watched as the group of girls all lined up on the ferry jetty walkway and jumped together into the inviting, but cool water.  The sand was littered with seashells that many of the sisters collected by the hand full.  The shells were beautiful and pretty much intact, instead of the bits and pieces found in other beaches we have visited.  While searching for the perfect shell, we came across an area with lots and lots of holes in the sand with little crabs popping in and out.  The body on the crab was a beautiful blue color and the legs were transparent.  

Different sailboats were out in the water during the hours we were visiting, causing us to think about our two sail boating sons and their adventures.  There were a few jet skis having fun ripping around the island.  It was a relaxing time to sit, watch the water and take in all of the beauty surrounding us. As the sun was beginning to set, we boarded the ferry to go back to our car and journeyed back to Brisbane.  The senior sisters traveled with us and one had bought sparklers in the small party section of their local grocery store.  So before parting ways, we stood in the dark street, lit a sparkler in each hand, and while twirling them around, sang the Star Spangled Banner.  It is always hard to be away from our beloved United States, even with all of the turmoil and strife, and so we close with Happy Birthday, America, Happy Birthday!!

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!