What We'll Miss About Australia. . .

We've just left beautiful Sydney.





We have spent thirteen months here--and after our three years in Perth, we feel like we are part-Aussie. We love the good people, their accent as they speak, their blunt, no-nonsense approach to things, their beautiful land, and the adventures we've enjoyed as we've explored everything--from mountains to beaches to villages to new and interesting foods to absolutely unique people to breathtaking vistas and magnificent sunsets. This is a sunburnt country we have come to love, and we say G'day--with sad, but very grateful hearts for the joy of having been here.


Great experiences await us in New Zealand. But--we are going to miss some special things about Australia:

The beautiful Harbour Bridge--which we sailed under every time we took the ferry into the city.

We loved going exploring into the Blue Mountains. Here we are--on the zigzag train. The train zigzags down the mountain--so steep the train can't make turns..............
Here's Kaye on the ferry, headed for the city-----------------------our favorite way to go anywhere!

At beautiful Watson Bay--with the city skyline across the water and a group of happy senior missionaries.

Everywhere we went, there was WATER!! And ferries like this to take us everywhere. (A benefit of being "old," we got "Seniors' Fares!" $2.50 took us anywhere--for all day, and on train, ferry, or bus. A great way to get around!)

At the Watson Bay lighthouse--overlooking the mouth to Sydney's harbor. Straight across from here are the "North Heads"--the northern side of the "gateway" to Sydney from the Tasman Sea.

Lots of water--and an opportunity every now and then to "try it out." Here is Dad, ready to snorkel in Cairns.

Carols By Candlelight: a wonderful Australian Christmas tradition, where HUGE crowds gather. Families come, bring picnics and blankets, and, as it gets dark, the music begins. Christmas music--sung by EVERYONE!!!!! Booklets with the words to all the carols are handed out, and everyone gets a candle to hold. It is a magic setting, with those candles dotting huge hillsides, and a great feeling of Christmas in the air! It is warm--no snow! And wonderful!
We'll miss the humor of all our Aussie friends (and of our Aussie-like American friends). This sign was sent to us by one of our terrific mission presidents, who hated to see us go...................
Our humble little croaky-voiced senior missionary choir. We put on three programs: a Christmas Eve program, which included a narrated presentation on the birth of Jesus Christ, and also featuring a slide show (with music) of all of our grandchildren; an Easter program, which we took to a couple of different wards; and a "farewell" devotional for staff at the Area Offices, where we sang and told of our love for the work--and of our appreciation of working with them.
We'll miss the Aboriginal influence. Here we are at Circular Quay--on the wharf with one of the didgeridoo groups that play all day every day.
We'll miss colored Australian money. How logical is this? Fives are pink, tens are blue, twenties are orange, and fifties are "yellow-ish," and one hundreds are green. They are also different sizes, with the smallest values being the smallest in size, and getting larger as the value goes up. No pennies, and no one-dollar bills, only one-dollar and two-dollar coins. It's great!

We've loved running into our missionaries everywhere we go! They have come to see us, have brought their wives and babies, or their girlfriends and parents. We have taken them out for dinner, for lunch, for hot chocolate, for visiting, and listened to their woes and excitements. We have run into their families everywhere, and have felt "at home" with all of these dear ones about us......

Here we are--in a picture postcard setting. This was three days after we arrived. A little jet-lagged and dis-0riented, but so amazed at the beauty everywhere!
Beautiful Mosmon Point--looking back at the city.
We'll miss sausage sizzles! Aussies love them and have them every chance they get. They are like hot dogs, only bigger, and always have grilled onions to smother them. Yum!
We'll miss fish and chips. Okay, they have them other places, but who can beat the real thing, eaten overlooking the water, and vying with the seagulls for every last chip?

Every few months, Australians have a city cleanup of sorts. Anything "extra" that Americans would haul off to the dump is placed on the "verge," or area next to the kerb (curb) for pickup by city trucks. The only thing is, people put their stuff out, and it sits there for a couple of weeks. So----others come by, help themselves to whatever looks good, and it's like Deseret Industries on the side of every road. (Lots of "missionary supplies," we like to say!)

We love the look of traditional Australian homes: they are usually square, with a pitched [corrugated] tin roof, and have a veranda around all four sides. The veranda keeps the direct sunlight off the windows, and gives folks a cool place to sit in the hot summer evenings. This one has the traditional "bullnose" shape to the porch: it is rounded on the ends--like a bull's nose.

We will miss our 500-square-foot flat. It has meant for lots of "togetherness," but it's been fun to fix it up a bit and to find that we don't need much, when it comes to "things." It's also a whiz to clean, by the way!

We chuckled over our "fat" furniture they got us. Dad sat in one of the chairs and said it looked like extra-plump first-class airplane seats. But--they were comfortable. The sofa was a two-seater, but Dad even learned how to "stretch out" on that, and we did great!

Ohhh--we've missed our central heat! Everything is turned off when we leave--and at night, so coming in the door, or getting up in the morning, the first thing we do is run to turn on the space heater. Then--we hover nearby till things warm up. The walls are cold, the bathrooms have VENTS (that can't be closed or covered--year-round!), and there's just a general air of "chill" everywhere. O well--it doesn't take 500 square feet too long to warm up!

Here's our little fridge. Mom just about had to stand on her head to get anything out......

And here it is with precious pictures from some of the grandchildren adorning it. (Or rather, COVERING! it!)

Here's our tiny, not-quite-3-feet-wide kitchen. Very cozy!
And--only one "power point" (plug outlet) per room. So--you plug in converters that make one outlet into two or three.........
.......and you plug in extension cords with multi-outlets on them, drape them around the edges of the room, and you're in business!

We're going to miss meat pies at Harry's "Cafe de la Wheels"--an old streetcar converted into a meatpie stand. The BEST meatpies, we might add!
We won't miss taking a blanket to Church--to keep warm. (One senior missionary actually took her portable space heater to Church for weeks--to keep warm!)
Here are our two clocks on the living room wall: one set at Sydney's time, and the other on the time at HOME!

It takes getting used to, but this is what our cars look like--for left-hand driving. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car, and the gearshift in the center. Turn signals and windshield wipers are reversed, so a lot of American drivers go around for awhile with very clean windshields! (They turn the wipers on every time they mean to signal a turn!)

Oh--we LOVE that left-hand driving!

We also love the way everything blooms here. Not necessarily all at once--but, with each plant "taking a turn" to bloom, something is flowering all the time. Beautiful!!!!
And--with such vivid colors!
Here's a jacaranda tree near the Sydney temple--and this is the view just out our office window. The jacaranda trees bloom for a good 2 months--right around Christmas time! And it is not a "gentle" lavender--but a full-blown, bright, PURPLE!

Such a beautiful contrast here--and they are EVERYWHERE you go!

We love the history and traditional feel of Buckland House, where our ofices have been. The grounds are lovely, the temple is on the same property, and we have enjoyed working here.

This is the view outside our office window. We have often looked out to see birds (huge, over-sized Australian birds!) perched on Moroni's trumpet. And the glass is a little "pebbly" and old-fashioned, and it is wonderful to look out and to see THIS!

We have loved being near the Sydney Temple. It was the first temple to be built in the south Pacific--and now there are temples throughout all of Australia (We have five now!) and throughout the islands. People used to save for years, sell their homes, and quit their jobs in order to make the big trip to come to this temple. There are great stories of faith connected with the saints and their service here.

We have loved the noisy, beautiful Australian birds. This is a sulphur-crested cockatoo, and he came to perch on our balcony railing. These birds are everywhere, and have a LOUD, croaky call. But everywhere we look, we see vibrant-colored birds of green, bright pink, red, and blue, and their calls range from the kookaburra's "laugh" to some birds that sound like bells chiming. They are all amazing!

Everywhere you go in Australia, there are picture-perfect beaches with absolutely brilliant white sand! This is world-famous Bondi Beach--looking out to the Tasman Sea on the east......

Here is Dad, with a Melbourne sunset behind him. Australian sunsets are beautiful!

And best of all have been the good friends we've made. We' so enjoyed our outings in the area--with various senior missionaries.

Here we are at Circular Quay--enjoying ice cream before boarding the ferry to go home.

Here is Dad with Elder Osborn on the way to Canberra--at the Southern Cross Yacht Club (which they joined, so we could eat at the restaurant!)

Near Darling Harbor--with some of the senior missionaries

It has been a joy--and a blessing to serve here. Now--we are off--to a new adventure, in a new land! G'day, Australia!

Adventure in Manila!

Here we are--at the airport in Manila, Philippines. We took the ten-hour (!) flight to participate in orientation for new mission presidents for the Philippines Area. What an adventure! We went from Sydney winter to Manila SUMMER, and it was HOT!



Manila is also very crowded, has AMAZING traffic congestion, amazing shopping (cheap and plentiful), and the friendliest people we have ever been around. Everywhere you go, they greet you, "Hello, Sir. Hello, Mom!" (They are saying "ma'am," but with their accents, it sounds like "MOM!") And they drive on the right side of the road, have great American bacon, and--with drivers to take us everywhere, we did great!

Besides being driven in cars, we also saw pedi-cabs (bicycles with little side-car-type seats), tricycles (motorized bikes with side-car seats), and Jipneys. Here is a pedi-cab.

We squeezed into a tricycle for a little 2-block ride. (Curtains, no less!)

And we jumped into one of the thousands of Jipneys (based on the old troop-movers left over from WW II), for a giggly picture--with lots of students.

They are decorated in every way possible. Some with religioius sayings or pictures of Christ or Mary, and others with psychedelic drawings and designs. Here's one version......(from the front)
.......and from the side. Note the open windows, where you can lean your elbows out.

Here's a view of a little of Manila traffic--out the windows of our car.....
Here goes one of the better-looking Jipneys.

More traffic! Think five lanes of traffic crowded onto three lanes of pavement! "The lane markings are just decorations, and the traffic lights only suggestions," one of our drivers tells us.

Another open-air Jipney, with students in white--just finished with their school day.
In a church, we saw a poster explaining "Proper Attire" for Church: lots of things we suggest--like no shorts, no plunging necklines, and no sleeveless tops!
The interior of a beautiful cathedral in downtown Manila--in Intramuros, the old walled portion of the city.
This cathedral was built within the walled portion of the city--when they were worried about attacks from pirates!

We headed for CORREGIDOR--in the mouth of Manila Bay, and the site of big battles during World War II: a sad defeat, and the occupation of the Philippines by the Japanese (1942), and the war to defeat the Japanese and free the Philippines in 1945.

Boarding the boat, there is a prayer (!) said (as part of the safety video) for protection in our travels that day!

On the island, there is much evidence of the thousands of troops who were there to fight. This is one of the dormitories for the army and navy personnel, and evidence of the terrible bombings is everywhere!

When the soldiers were there, they had a golf course, a beautiful movie theater, a swimming pool, homes for officers--and their families, and barracks everywhere!

Here are some of the great guns used during the battles--many of which could shoot up to 17 miles away. "Spotters" were on cliffs with binoculars, helping the shooters of the guns "aim" with the guns, since the shooters couldn't see. The guns were hidden--down in low spots, behind bluffs, etc. on the island...............

Here's Dad on the cute little trolley which took us on the tour around Corregidor.

This statue pays tribute to the American and Filipino soldiers, who fought side by side, and to the fellowship and respect which both felt for the other.

Here are some of the craters--still there!--from the bombings.
General Douglas MacArthur led the American and Filipino fighters through much of the fighting, but was ordered by the US government to Australia. He made his famous statement to the defenders of Corregidor: "I will return!" And he did--three years later.
In the biggest hill on the mountain, a huge tunnel was cut--the Malinta Tunnel--and MacArthur had his headquarters here. Also, the government of the Philippines was evacuated from Manila, and the president of the Philippines and his famiily were brought to the Malinta Tunnel for safekeeping. There was a hospital there, the area for storage of ammunition, and several thousand troops stayed inside for safety.Here is a diagram of the tunnel. The corridors on the upper right-hand portion of the diagram were actually a hospital!
We walked inside, and there was a light and sound show, including a re-enactment of a bombing attack. The mountain shook, the sound was terrifying, and smoke was everywhere. It must have been a frightening experience!

We came away with a renewed appreciation for those who fought--the "Greatest Generation," as Tom Brokaw has called them. If they had not stood to defend our freedoms, we might all be speaking Japanese--or German!

We also visited the AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY in Manila.......

There are acres and acres of crosses--looking in all directions.
There are large granite slabs listing the names of 36,285 soldiers who are still Missing in Action. We looked for Pridays and Farnsworths and Nallys.
Beautiful gardens, respectfully maintained by the U.S. government in this far-off land.
There is a feeling of reverence and respect there.
On the ground--in the center area, are seals for each of the fifty states which sent their sons to fight for freedom. Each cross (or occasional Star of David) bears the name of a soldier, his military rank, and the date of his death. It is a sacred, patriotic place. And--it is historic for the Church, because it was here that [then] Elder Gordon B. Hinckley went in 1961 to dedicate the land of the Philippines for missionary work. We're so glad we went--and grateful for what we learned and felt!