A GREAT VISIT, A NEW YEAR, A NEW PROPHET

January 1st is usually one of my favorite days of the year. I like to just sit and ponder my life and what will come next. But this year was a little different. We had just said "Farewell" to our dear family who had come to visit us. And all of  a sudden the visit  we had anticipated for so long had come and was over.      

Time to say 'goodbye'

We had almost 2 weeks of busy activities. There is just so much to see and do in this part of the world.  The sunsets are always lovely, the skies themselves are always fantastic, the weather got hot some of the time but not too hot most of the time. 

Sunset from our balcony

Still having a hard time transitioning to Centigrade so have reverted to Fahrenheit. This was actually the Sunday after the family left. Thankfully we have not had too many HOT days!

I always like the sky!

A lovely new tree to admire!

Since we teach English to missionaries on Wednesdays we brought our family along for the classes. We decided to have a "party" complete with 'crackers' [hence the hats] and treats. We began with our usual singing of a hymn and then dissected the verses to learn new or confusing words. Then the missionaries were allowed to ask our family any questions they wanted; and our family could then ask the missionaries any questions they wanted. A variety of discussions ensued which enriched the English vocabulary and a nice time was had by all. Some of the missionaries from New Zealand performed a Hakka for the family which we thoroughly enjoyed. We love our missionaries, so Wednesdays are always a joy! We were so glad to be able to share our English experience with our family  and I think the missionaries enjoyed meeting our family as well.

One day in Hyde Park we noticed the Police Patrol riding on 'Reindeer"

Our grandson discovered that there was a "magic" show at the Sydney Opera House so we all went to see  The Incredibles which was an entertaining variety show. A fun treat.

Atop Sydney bridge. If you are brave enough and rich enough you can climb up to the top and walk across. But it is HIGH and costs about $300 per person. We didn't do it.

We walked a LOT seeing many sites. We walked across the sidewalk on the Sydney bridge which took about 1 1/2 hours with many stops for photos. We walked along Circular Quay just down from the Opera House watching the various entertainers: aboriginals, vocalists, instrumentalists all hoping we would fill their coffers. I think we walked an average of 5 miles per day for about 3 days which wore us out. We visited Paddy's Market which is definitely the souvenir place to shop in Sydney, and we also went to The Rocks which has a lot of interesting shops. 

We lunched in a couple of places and one day decided to take our hamburgers and sit in the park along the water front. In short order the seagulls were on attack. One swooped in from behind Elder Jenkins and snatched a good portion of his meal out of his hand. He was NOT a happy camper. We moved to a bench down the line and as our son-in-law was shooing seagulls away with his feet another brazen bird came up from  behind and grabbed a portion of his hamburger out of his hand as well. [I wish we could have had a video of the whole event!] We will never eat our food in that area again!!!

An Aboriginal family entertaining us with music and selling their wares.

We visited Featherdale and saw many beautiful birds and interesting animals. The marmot, the Tasmanian Devil, kangaroos, koalas, etc.

A treetop climbing adventure was enjoyed by the family, and then a trip to Newcastle to go to the beach. It was beautiful for the 2 days we spent there, sunny and warm. Lots of seashells were collected, interesting birds and pelicans were seen and beach time enjoyed which unfortunately yielded sunburns and was especially hard for our granddaughter.

Lorikeets in the morning sun.

The shell seekers.

Pelicans and fishermen looking for fish!

 Our trip to the Blue Mountains was a lot of fun. We were able to watch an interesting Aboriginal show, have didgeridoo lessons and paint some boomerangs. I was only the photographer but it was fun to see and to hear. The family had such fun learning to play didgeridoos that we had to make a second trip to Paddy's Market so they could buy their own didgeridoos to bring home.

The performers and didgeridoo teachers with the family.

Standing in front of the Three Sisters rock formations and beautiful overview.

 This looks like a travelog and I have only included a few pictures. We also went to Morisset to see kangaroos in the wild. We tried to feed them carrots but  dozens of others had the same idea so they were not very hungry. 

We had a wonderful time with our family while they were here. They were able to attend the Sydney Temple and complete some ordnances for some of our ancestors. The Temple grounds were lit with many beautiful lights during that time period and we helped a little with the tour. Literally thousands of people came to walk on the temple grounds to see the beautiful lights, the nativity and the diorama of the time of the Savior's birth. I posted a lot of those pictures in the last blog so will not do so again. But it was a wonderful sight.

We all got worn out but it was wonderful to see them and hug them. And then they were gone and we have been trying to turn our minds back to our missionary responsibilities and focus and what needs to be done.

So, my January 1st day of reflection has been spread out over the past 3 weeks. It was such a shock to me that one day it was 2017 and then all of a sudden it was 2018 and 2019  was looming ahead. I know it was only a couple of weeks in the transition and yet it seems like such a giant change. We soon will have been on our mission for 11 months which is hard to fathom. 

Next January we will be released and as we have learned a year passes so quickly . We are beginning to consider 2019 and what it will bring. We plan to take a research trip to Wales and spend a few months in the UK trying to find the Jenkins ancestors. Then we will go to Rügen and Denmark to visit some of my family history sights and see people we have come to know and love. Much of that planning must be done while we are still on our mission.

President Thomas S Monson
1927-2018

Although most of the world did not take notice, our Prophet President Thomas Spencer Monson passed from this life on January 2, 2018 at 90 years of age. His was a life of service and dedication to the Lord and the children of the Lord. He was loved by people throughout the world and he will be missed. 

But it is a wonderful thing to know that the Lord has provided a way for us to have continuous revealed leadership. A press conference held on January 16, 2018 announced that Russell M Nelson is our new Prophet. He and his counsellors will continue to lead and guide us in this crazy world. What a great blessing it is to have a prophet to "guide us in these latter days". And what a wonderful plan that provides for continuous church leadership without any lobbying or posturing of who should be the next prophet. More information about the news conference can be found at mormonnewsroom.org if you are interested.

The new First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
President Russell M. Nelson with his counsellors, President Dallin H Oaks [L] and Henry B. Eyring [R]

I am grateful for President Russell M. Nelson. I sustain him. A few weeks prior to the passing of President Thomas S Monson I had a special experience that prepared my mind and heart for President Nelson. It was a sweet reminder to me that the Lord truly is directing His church. I am so grateful for the lives of selfless service  of the leaders of the church.

This is summer time in Australia and many people take vacation with their families so many of our obligations have slowed down. But school will soon begin again and our meetings and obligations will ramp up. In the meantime we are trying to get ourselves organized so we are ready to get back in the swing of things. This week we hope to get our flat cleaned and ordered so next week we can begin a regimen of walking to strengthen our bodies.

Some of you may remember that Elder Jenkins has had some issues with his hip in the past few years despite lots of medical attention. We have been so blessed that as a result of an ultrasound and a very capable physio the pain in his hip is gone. He is now doing specific exercises to strengthen that area of his body and increase stamina. I have also benefited from her help as she is treating my trigeminal neuralgia and my spinal stenosis with good results. We are encouraged to think that our issues have a solution which no one at home seemed to figure out. With treatment and an exercise regimen we should be "good to go" for some more years which is good since we have so many more things to accomplish in this life.

So, my January 1st day of reflection has stretched throughout the month. I have such gratitude for my many blessings. Our family brings us great joy. We miss them of course but we are always so happy when we have contact with them. The marvelous miracle of technology allows us to see and speak with our family all across the world. The grandchildren are growing up and it will be fun to see them again in a year. But we are so grateful for this chance to be here in Australia serving this mission. We are learning so much about the principle of self-reliance and how it is necessary for a happy and productive life. We see the Lord's hand in this initiative and know that in a few years we will all be able to look back to this time and recognize how it was rolled out here and throughout the world as a great blessing.

The people in Australia are wonderful. We love their genuine personalities and it is a great privilege for us to spend this time of our lives amongst them.

We recently spent a day visiting the Barracks in Sydney. We learned about the settling of this great country by so many convicts. There was much suffering and yet through all that suffering a great nation was born.

Detail of a building near the Barracks.

A hallway upstairs in the Barracks where the convicts lived.

A room for sleeping. No privacy here!

It would have been hard to live in this small space.

A great place for lunch with our friends on the Barracks grounds.

Chess in Hyde Park

Only once in a while do I see the moon over the sunset.

January also marks a special day for us as we celebrate  our wedding anniversary. This will be 51 years since Steve and I were married and sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple. We were so young and yet so ready for our life together. What an amazing journey we have had! It is impossible to even list all of our adventures. The Lord has blessed us with so  many of the important things. We are grateful for our posterity of 10 children, 38 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren with a 9th coming soon. Last year our children prepared a book for our 50th anniversary with pictures of everyone and it is still a delight to look at.

We are grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and for the Plan of Salvation that allows us to return to our Father in Heaven with our families.

We celebrated our anniversary a few days early and went to the Sydney Opera House to see a matinee of The Merry Widow. It was such great production I would love to see it again!

In the Joan Sutherland Theatre before the performance.

It was breezy after the performance. Can you see how his tie is blown straight out?

A view from the opera house.

A view of the flags on the Sydney bridge from the opera house.

Our anniversary lunch at a lovely restaurant at Circular Quay. Such fun to sit and watch the throngs of people passing by us.

There was a large cruise ship when we arrived. Then we heard the loud blasts from its horn as it prepared to leave. It was amazing to watch it maneuver itself backward towards the Sydney bridge, change directions and then head out of the harbour to the sea.