2019 Week 18 (28 April-8 May)




April 30th 2019 arriving in Sydney, Australia.  We are so excited to be here.


 What a big city.  It feels like Montreal.  I felt like singing;" Montreal, la nuit c'est un peu comme Sydney" au lieu de Paris.

 That is the view from our room.  I have to pinch myself.  I have seen this view while watching the movie "Finding Nemo".  After seeing the real thing I am impressed at the replica in the movie.
What talent.  I would have loved to go inside and attend the ballet "Giselle"  that was performing at the Sydney Opera House Wednesday night but it was not possible.  I hope we go there again and see the architectural phenomenon from the inside.


 I felt special to see this message on the tv when we came in.  I guess it was addressed to me because, unless the message be on the computer, Benoit would not see it. 😊
And that is a compliment.  It is transfer week when we come back from the Mission Leadership Seminar and there are changes continually because of last minute notices of " visa waiting" one day  for 3 sisters and at the end of that day, another message one has received her visa and will be with us after all.  Benoit is on top of it to avoid confusion and mayhem. 👍



 We did not dare try the Wood fired Coffin Bay Octopus or the Tasmanian Pepper Crusted Kangaroo Loin that first night.  I just wasn't sure our tired stomach  could take it and I really did not want to miss the temple trip the next day.  We have no temple in our mission.  We had not been at the temple for 10 months.  Even with being cautious, I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach ache.  Thank goodness for Digest Zen Oil to save the day.  I went back to sleep and was fine the next day.


We received a goody bag making us feel welcomed.  The couple and sister in charge of organizing this part of the seminar are wonderful at making us feel so good.


1 May 2019

I enjoyed the view in the morning



 I just loved the architecture of the old buildings mixed with the new ones.  I would have taken a lot of pictures if we had not been in the bus.


 It was so good being in the temple again.  And what does a mission president do when he gets out of the temple?  He reads and answers e-mails.  We were discussing with the other mission presidents and their wife that the big difference with this calling and any other leadership callings they have experienced, is that it is a 24/7, always on your mind, responsibility.



Now that is strait, narrow and linear.                      This picture is rounder, softer and still strait.😀😀




I have been missing eating grapes.  These were so good, crunchy, juicy and sweet.  The ice cream and date mud cake are the reason for the roundness on the above picture. 😏

May 2, 2019


President Nelson is talking a lot about staying on the covenant path.  Enduring to the end does not mean being miserable living the gospel all our lives.  If we are miserable something is very wrong.  After all " men are that they might have joy".  Satan is the one that wants us to be miserable like him.  To me enduring to the end is to  keep following Jesus Christ every day of our life.  And when we fall ( and we all do) it is to quickly partake of the blessing and gift of repentance- to change for the better.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

We are never too far gone or a hopeless cause for Him.  If we were He would not be God.  But He is God, the Son of our Heavenly father, with the power to save all that will come unto Him.  It breaks my heart to see loved ones thinking they can do it on their own with their limited understanding.

One great blessing of being on a mission is to be front and center to witness how the gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy, peace and happiness to the once troubled souls.  It does change us for the better.
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13



A picture taken of us while we were on a dinner cruise in the Sydney Harbor.  What a view!
I am talking of below.





May 3, 2019







After another day of training we finished with a lovely dinner.  It is really nice to be with other Mission Presidents and their wives.  We share the same challenges and we are experiencing the same joys.


May 4, 2019
 The seminar is over.  We need to be at the airport only at 5:45 pm.  We took a stroll around the harbor and walked to the Royal Botanical Garden next to the Sydney Opera House.








Look at these cool birds guys.










Above I showed you a picture from our hotel room.  Below are the views from the Sydney Opera House





The Hotel we stayed in


We had lunch on the wharf and got some entertainment



We landed around midnight and finally went to bed around 1:45 am.


May 5, 2019

We need to get up bright and early to pick up the new couple that will be serving in Solomon Island.  Their assignment is humanitarian/self-reliance.

Elder and Sister Goodin.  Interestingly, he has some ancestors from Quebec (Godin/Gaudin).  Est-ce qu'on a des Godin dans nos ancêtres maman?

 They left today, Wednesday to fly to the Solomon Islands.  We said goodbye to 10 missionaries this week and welcomed 3.  The saying goodbye is not getting any easier.  My heart is sad today.  It does not help that we said goodbye to our first assistant.  We get to know the assistants more and so we get attached to them.  The thing is, I also got attached to all the missionaries.  😢
Even the sky is sad.


Yufala gat wan gudfala wik.
Lukum yu bakegen.
Lavem yufala tumas.



Comments

  1. MyleneMay 10, 2019 at 5:21 PM

    This is kade and I have a question why don't you do you moto for your endings any more (keep calm and have a coconut)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Month 4:1 (5-11 April)

Image
  We are surrounded by such beautiful flowers. Two flowers from our mission garden left this week.  Elder Teriitaohia will be circling the globe before he can finally arrive in Tahiti in 11 days.  😲 Sister Nalau returned home to the island of Tanna because of health concerns.  We are so grateful for their diligent work in the mission. The Lord is watching over his missionaries.  We had a lot of paperwork to prepare before Elder Territaohia was ready to leave.  Since it is a little complicated, we made sure he had a sim card in a phone so he could contact us. The best way to communicate is by Messenger.  We took care of that before he left.  When he arrived in Australia, he realized the sim card was not working.  He tried to find where he could purchase one but could not.  We really need for him to contact us every step of the way to make sure all is well.  As he was looking to find where to get another sim card, a member from Vanua...
Read more

2019 Week 3 ( 14-20 January)

Image
When I think of this week, it is a mixture of happy and sad moments, of absolute beauty and some foolishness.  And mostly moments of feeling pure love then feeling more love. First let me talk to you about the green oranges of Vanuatu.  I know I spoke about it in a previous blog but there is more... The secret with green oranges is to make sure you ask the mamas before you buy them what they are.  In July and August they were mandarines.  In October they were lemons. And in January they are oranges but they taste like sweet grapefruits.  They all look alike, but the inside is very different depending on the season.  There is an object lesson in this.  I am sure papa/grand-papa will be able to use that someday. The bounty of Avocadoes  These pictures were all taken different days.  and I have been sharing them, cutting and freezing them, eating them and still it always look like I have the same amount. It ta...
Read more

2021 Month 4:3 (19-25 April)

Image
By Kate Lee "A mother's faith can lift her family through times of challenge, trial, and heartache.  Her faith can give encouragement to, bring hope for, and inspire confidence in her children."   President Nelson :" I invite you, my dear sisters, to create a home that is a place of security.  Simply said, a place of security is anywhere you can feel the presence of the Holy Ghost and be guided by Him." Bella and her mom made this doll out of a clothespin and a glove.  The project was the story of an immigrant, Bella's mom.  Doesn't the doll just look like her?  I think it looks absolutely great! I miss being a part of these projects but I am so thrilled they did it together and it turned out so well.  Yes girls, you do have the creative gene! I started the week scrubbing the baptismal clothes brought back from Tanna.  It took all night soaking and all day scrubbing and it was a little better but mostly still stained.😥 Horror of horrors, Monday n...
Read more