100 Days and counting!

Today marks 100 days until we report at the MTC in Provo, Utah. This a milestone! Yesterday, the 19th, marked 4 months since we received our mission call. With only 100 days to go the time will fly.

On Wednesday our grandson Ethan Jenkins, now Elder Jenkins, reported to the MTC to begin his training for his mission to the Tahiti Pape'ete Mission. He will spend 6 weeks learning French and then 3 weeks learning Tahitian. So great to read his exuberantly joyful letter detailing his first days in the Mission Training Center. If you are interested to learn about his adventures you can check out his blog at elderethanjenkins.blogspot.com. 

Here he is in front of the Provo Temple the day he entered the MTC. He was and is so excited for this opportunity to serve the Lord. We look forward to sharing our missionary experiences.

We are making progress with our preparations. 

Today we sent off copies of our new drivers licenses. It was necessary for us to wait for our birthdays and then renew our drivers licenses a year early or they would have expired while we were in Australia. Now we can get the correct permissions to drive all the while we are there.

Our final requirements are the 2 hepatitis shots still remaining  but they are already scheduled for September and October.

The walls of our home are so empty! It is such weird feeling to see bare walls. I miss seeing all of our family pictures. I experienced a lot of nostalgia as I took them down. How I love our family! 

The smaller pictures are all packed. Next week we will pack the big ones. So grateful for all the boxes we have been given. Packing boxes are VERY expensive. Hope to get our dishes packed next week as well. It is beginning to feel real.

Monday afternoon at 5PM our time, which will be Tuesday 10AM Sydney time, we will begin weekly training sessions to help us learn our responsibilities and be 'in the loop  with what is happening. We will be on a Skype call for the training with Elder Leota, who is over the self-reliance program in Melbourne and Sydney. Also attending the training meeting will be the  2 Senior Missionary couples who work in the Melbourne Missions, the Senior Missionary couple assigned to the Sydney South Mission and the Senior Missionary couple from the  Sydney North Mission[this couple will soon be finished their service and we will be their replacements]. I am excited but very intimidated to begin this training. I am certain there will be so much to learn and just hope I am able to learn enough to make a difference when we are there.

So grateful for technology. We can accomplish so much more so much easier that it is fantastic! Have a great week! Yes, I will try harder to report weekly.

And the beat goes on...

Its been an  interesting week with lots going on. A big thanks to the several young men from church who came over on Wednesday and helped load up all of our packed boxes into a couple of pickups, a van  and a suburban and put them into storage. Our storage will be at our friends' house who have graciously offered a room for us to store our belongings. With those boxes and our futon out of the house  we now have more room to put more packed boxes ;) It is crazy how many boxes are filled with our bits and pieces. I keep hoping we are packing the things we really want to come home to and discarding the things we really don't need.

I began to pack up the wall decorations and little things on shelves. Funny how those things bring back memories. The string of rocks with holes in the middle- a gift from my cousin- when we went to Denmark where I was born. The holes are caused when organic matter is washed out. What fun it was to find them and also various fossils as we walked along the coast on the Island of Mors. Then the carved wooden love spoon from the museum gift shop in Cardiff, Wales when we were learning about my husband's heritage. And the little picture of a tree with all of the leaves made of small pieces of amber given to me by a friend on the Ilse of Rügen when we explored another of my ancestral homes, and other little things that were gifts from children and grandchildren.

Memories are interesting. My mind was flooded with all kinds of thoughts while packing up the small china tea set that was first my mother's and then mine. The little cream picture that was pieced and glued together long before it was mine, the sugar bowl with the chipped lid, the tea pot and 5 cups and saucers. At one time surely there must have been at least 6 cups and saucers? I remember birthday parties when my friends and I drank Koolaid from those small cups. And that made me think of the birthday cakes with wax paper covered coins randomly secreted under the frosting.

Our little bits and pieces are not of great monetary value but they each represent a small piece of our life.

By the end of August we plan to have almost every non-essential item packed. Bring on the paper plates!

But then there are projects we need to finish before we can really finish packing and move forward:
-A couple of major family history projects to complete.
-Scanning and putting away LOTS and LOTS of family negatives and pictures. How is it possible that we have almost 50 years of photos in boxes and not organized? I just never seemed to have the right equipment or binders or folders and so...
-Writing some more installments for Our Miraculous Journey book which consists of chronological stories of the miracles we have experienced in our lives with our family. We have tried to give our children and grandchildren new stories every year for Christmas but our lives have been so crazy we have skipped the past couple of years so we must write something before we leave on our mission.
-Working in the Vancouver Temple every Friday and trying to attend the temple at least one other day during the week.
-And so on.

When we got our mission call in April it seemed like November 28 was a LONG way off. As is always the case Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need including the best timing. Various things popped up in our life that have required more of our time so it would have been very difficult for us to have left sooner. But I am confident that we will have everything ready for us to leave at our appointed time.

And yes, we are still learning about the Self-Reliance program. It is amazing and can bless so many people's lives. There are so many wonderful things the Church does to help the less fortunate and much of the world does not  really even know about those wonderful things.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes; interesting detours; time out for our reunion...

It has been 3 weeks since I last wrote. I am not exactly sure how so much time passed but pass it did. The days are filled with events that steal our time. We have also experienced a few interesting obstacles. There have been appointments with eye doctors and new glasses ordered, an annoying little tumor that Steve had removed, and a short bout of cellulitis on Liz's arm after a bug bite which was resolved by large quantities of antibiotics. But all is well so on we go.

We have our house full of BOXES!

So grateful for good friends who keep us supplied with so many boxes! Of course our packing is not keeping up with our supply of boxes but we keep at it. The sewing room, the toys, crafts, Christmas decorations are mostly packed. The more we pack the more we see that we still need to pack. Some days are overwhelming but we are getting reacquainted with a lot of items we had not seen in years. A great opportunity to downsize!

But the work goes on with the hope that most of our things will be packed  by the end of August.

We had a great opportunity to Skype with the Pacific Area Education Coordinators a couple of weeks ago. It was wonderful learn more about the way things work so we can prepare to actually be of some help when we arrive in Australia. We were excited to learn more about the Educational Initiative which has been put in place by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it relates to the Self -Reliance program. The lives of so many people can be be blessed as these programs teach them to value themselves and improve their circumstances  as they develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We also took a time out for a family reunion. Seven of our 10 children and 27 of our 38 grandchildren were able to be with us. It is always a happy time for us when we can be around our family!

Now it is time to get back to work!

Lots of PACKING, lots of TIES, new CLOTHES and stuff

Time flies by and we are trying to keep up. Back in April, November 28 seemed like along way  into the future until we leave but almost half of that time has passed. Our time has been used up with papers to fill out, preparations for our house to be left, our business affairs and family. We are not in panic mode yet but we do realize that our time to prepare is getting shorter. A measured approach is what we hope to accomplish.

We are packing. At first it seemed strange to consider packing everything up when we still had so many months left to go. But we are making progress. We are all but done packing our books and there are a LOT of books. Some we have given away because we will not use them anymore, some were duplicates but most are resting comfortably in approximately 40 heavy boxes. Only a few family history books remain to be packed away but that will be later as I am still using them from time to time.

Next week we will start stripping the walls of our pictures and then the little knickknacks we have around the house. Already it is beginning to seem empty with no books on the shelves. Then we will move on to the dishes we do not use regularly. All along the way we are discarding or giving away items we do not need anymore but we also do not want a huge expense of replacing items when we return home. So there are lots of things to think about.

It is a strange feeling to be packing things up. Memories surface as we come across items we have not handled for a time- like projects not finished. But the good news is that we are finding some things we had not seen for awhile which are now grouped as they should be. I found a bag with several envelopes and old family pictures that had been my mothers. I need to scan those pictures before they are packed.

And that is not to mention the dozens of boxes of photographs and negatives that need to be processed before we leave.  And there are the books of family photos from almost 50 years of marriage. Yes, it is a big job!

My family history is in about 4 dozen binders, 4 drawers of files, other books and folders. And I have my mother's family history. Not to mention all of Steve's binders, books and files. I would imagine that we will have at least 30 boxes with all of that information. It will seem strange to put it all away since working on my family history  is such a big part of my life. But that does not mean I will stop searching for my ancestors. I am grateful for my friends  on Rügen who have helped me find so much information on my German family. I am always hoping there will be a miracle and more records will be found. It has been great to find connections through MyHeritage for both my German and Danish families. I am sure there will be enough down time while we are in Australia for me to keep my hand in the research. But I cannot bring all my books with me so I will have to rely on my computer files.

There is a list of recommended clothing for us to bring on our mission. We are supposed to present a 'professional' image to represent the Church. That means Steve will be in a white shirt and tie and in suits or dress slacks probably 6 days a week. I will be in dresses or skirts or suits as well. So, we have been on the look out for the clothes we need to bring.   I have been finding items along the way as there does not seem to be a specific store that carries everything I would like. The past fews years my clothing purchases have been geared to our goal of serving a mission so everything does not have to be newly purchased. Steve's is somewhat easier since he just needs 2 suits, some slacks, white shirts and ties.

Have you every considered how many days he will need to wear a tie? We will be serving our mission for 23 months. There are 52 weeks in a year so 23 months will be about 100 weeks. If he wears a tie 6 days in every week that means he will wear a tie 600 days! Is there a term "tieology'? So we found a lot of nice ties for him. If he has 12 ties and rotates them regularly he will be wearing each tie 50 times! He may bring more than 12. We will see. At least they are not too heavy to pack. Here are the new ties we just bought.

The reason I said Steve will be in a shirt and tie 6 days a week is because we will have one day each week for shopping, cleaning, recreation, etc. Then we can wear our more casual clothing.

We are learning more about Australia, we are studying more of the materials we have been given. We are grateful for our opportunity to serve. I was thinking one day how important this mission is to us. And yet there are hundreds of other senior couples who have and are serving missions all over the world. So, in this we are not unique but for us this mission is very important. We love the Lord and hope that we can be able to serve Him and those He cares for in a way that will please Him. There will be a learning curve for all we are being asked to do. But I know that with His help we will be able to a accomplish what is required of us.

To Pack or not to pack - that is the question!! not to mention new luggage

As our saga continues I wish I could say that we had packed lots of more boxes. But that would be a lie. Steve packed up a box with his model airplanes that used to hang from the ceiling of our office. But that still only makes 7 boxes packed.  Although I did wash my blue glass so it is ready to be packed.

Life seems to get in the way of serious packing!!!

And we have to decide what we really want to come home to after a 2 year absence. It is hard to decide. Do we want the expense of replacing a number of items when we get back - but I will want new pots and pans since mine are getting worn out, even though it seems I do not do much cooking any more. And of course our towels and linens will not store well. But what else should we store and come back to use again? What furniture do we really want to keep?

And what about our hundreds of books? Will we read them again or should we just pass them on. But I have worked hard to create a good library, so...

And then we also have to decide what to bring with us for 2 years. We are each allowed 2 check through suitcases not to weigh over 50 pounds each as well as our carryon and personal item. We looked over our luggage and realized we needed to buy new luggage that was lightweight to give us maximum opportunity to bring what we need without paying extra for exceeding the weight limits.

This week our Macy's store had luggage on sale and closeout. We found 3 matching 29" cases in our local Bellingham store. The helpful sales staff located more in the Burlington store and the next day we drove that short distance to pick up the 4th piece.

And yes, they are ORANGE!!! Not really our first color choice but we think they will be easy to spot on the luggage carousel at the airports. :) And the price was right!! Now we just have to figure out what we will pack into these cases for our 2 year adventure!

A special shout out to the staff at the Bellingham Macy's Home store. They were so helpful and friendly!!

Our education continues as we read booklets called "Study Buddy Group", "Mum's Preschool", "English Study Group", and "Leadership Guide" all of which have been developed for use in the self reliance program. 

There is much for us to learn so we can have a storehouse of knowledge to use to help those who want and need our help. I love that the Church invests so much time and effort in lifting and strengthening its members. I love that educational opportunities are available for all.

I love that there is a spiritual basis for all that is offered and that people are not just "given". I love that there is a way for everyone to learn and to grow and to be productive and to increase their feelings of self worth. I love the concept of everyone doing all they can for themselves and then sharing what they know so that others can follow their example. I love that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and wants us all to be the best we can be.

Elder Bednar said: "Our individual responsibility is to learn what we should learn, to live as we know we should live, and to become what the Master would have us become."

Galations 6:7 states: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

The adventure continues.... hopefully with more boxes being packed soon!

Australians in Whistler BC - definition of Self Reliance

Disclaimer: reading over some of my past posts I have noticed typos and misspellings - sorry! Hope my meaning still comes through.

Well here I am again. Time keeps marching forward at an amazing pace. We have just returned from a few days of a badly needed break in Whistler BC. Such a beautiful place to sooth the soul.

We were surprised to be checked in to our room by a nice young Australian man named Simon. His accent was a dead give away verified by his name tag that he was from Australia. He is from Sydney, Australia working in Whistler on a 2 year visa, so we had something to talk about. He was surprised to learn we would be going to his home area come December. We hope he will keep in touch.

It continued to be a shock to discover that there were MANY international visitors and workers in that area. We learned that almost 60% are from Australia. Everywhere we went we heard that distinctive accent and often struck up a conversation. On  a hiking trail we met Eddy and Pat who are from Terrigal on the beach a bit NE of Sydney. We had a delightful conversation with them and explained what our mission entailed. They asked if our service was the same kind of service given by the young men with black names tags. :)  They knew we had a center in Carlingford and have probably driven by the Temple there. I was brought to tears as Pat explained the things they had been doing in their family to help those who are less fortunate. There are so many good people who are trying to help others.

The people we have met from Australia have been warm and friendly which causes us to look forward to our time there with even greater anticipation.

I am sure we will be busy as we try to work with those who need our help. We studied more of our materials and watched more videos discussing our responsibilities.  There is so much to learn and I am grateful we will have the Lord's help as we move forward in our responsibilities. Here is a definition of self -reliance found in some of our training materials:

Self-reliance is the "ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family."

Wow! first we need to make sure we are self-reliant so we can feel comfortable encouraging others to be the same.

The organizing continues. Some furniture and canning jars left our house this weekend. This upcoming week should end with many more boxes getting packed. Grateful for friends who are saving boxes!

"No Record of Arrests" and the Aged Visitor Health Check

The FBI reports came back to show that I passed - no record of arrests. That is reassuring since I have never been arrested. Then as we scrambled to send in our visa application we learned that there was one other form we needed to submit.

Apparently the Australian government wants to know if anyone over 70 years old is well enough to be in the country. Hence the "Aged Visitor Health Check" form. Yep, Steve is 70 and they want to know things like:

Does the applicant require assistance in day-to-day living?

Is mobility limited by shortness of breath, joint pain or musculoskeletal problems?

Do you consider the applicant will stay fit enough to undertake the long, unaccompanied and unassisted journey home?

And the doctor had  to certify that Steve was really Steve by "writing across the top of photo and running onto the page that this was a true liking"

See, he really is him :)

So we finally got all of our papers gathered and took the completed visa application to the Post Office to get it mailed. It should arrive in Salt Lake on Friday so the process can begin. Here is our sweet post office lady who is always to cheerful when she helps us.  

                     

We were told that "no news is good news" regarding the issuing of our visa. We do not expect to see it until we are in the Mission Training Center as it can only be issued for 24 months. So, now we wait - again.  

And while we wait there is so much to learn! We have a very long list of readings to read and videos to watch to help us learn more about how the Self Reliance program works to help people lift themselves to a better temporal level. And how spiritual self reliance works hand in hard with temporarily successful living. We are trying to read a little each day and work our way through the videos. I am constantly amazed at the information I am learning! Wow! I look forward to working with people in this amazing program.

We are still trying to get our house packed up for storage. What a job! What do we want to keep enough to put it into storage for 2 years? It is almost like we have to interview every book and item to see if it is worth holding onto. I mean who knows what we will really want after we have been gone for 2 years? We are gathering boxes. We gave away a bed so now we have room in one of the bedrooms to stack boxes as they are packed. I think we have 6 boxes in there so far.

As Steve says "we make our plans and then life happens". There always seems to be so much of "life" going on. We are beginning to realize the Lord's wisdom in setting our reporting date in November instead of August when we had indicated we could be available. As always the Lord knows what we need. And knowing that I have to believe we actually will get everything packed and be ready regardless of what else is going on. :)