Glenbrook National Park & Parramatta

We had a great experience with our friends the Marcantelli’s on Tuesday, March 25^th. We went to Glenbrook National Park and got to see a group of 7 kangaroos. The little Joey kept us mesmerized as he jumped around his mom. He would get thirsty and would go to his mom for a drink of milk in her pouch. The kangaroos were really tame and let us get within about 10 feet of them. We watched them for over 45 minutes and enjoyed seeing these animals in the wild.

The next week on our P day (March 31) we went to Parramatta with the Evans and Marcantellis to see this historic area. The first fleet arrived in Australia 18 Jan 1788. The soil around Sydney was not good for growing crops so the area around Parramatta was selected as a good site to grow crops. The Old Government House which was the governor’s home and served as a place to conduct government business. It was constructed between 1799 and 1816. We enjoyed Christine, our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and got us interested in the history of Australia. It is quite prestigious to have a convict on your pedigree. Many of these convicts were sent here for 7 years for poaching a fish or stealing a loaf of bread.

Fun With Chuck & Diane

Our friends Chuck and Diane Graham from Poway spent the day after Easter with us. They had been on a cruse to New Zealand and had four days in Sydney. They rented a car and drove out from Sydney to see our beautiful Blue Mountains. We went to Mountain High Pie Shop and had meat pies for lunch and then we went to Echo Point which overlooks the Three Sisters.

Then we went to Scenic World where we rode the world’s steepest railroad down into the canyon. It was pretty steep all right. Then we walked through a great trail enjoying some of the information about the early mines and the trees in the area. It was raining and we decided to take the easy trail to the Cable Car to ride up to the top again.

Easter Monday is an official holiday in Australia. Talk about a traffic jam coming back down the mountain. It took us 2 hours to go about 35 kilometers. We had a great visit and had a chance to hear that all is going well in the Green Valley Ward and in Poway.

BAPTISMS AND SYDNEY TEMPLE

The highlight of the week was the baptism of Bob Cochrane on March 22. The Cochrane's have a great family. We have been teaching Belinda Cochrane New Member Lessons the past couple of months and Bob has attended the last three lessons. Elders Wellard, Orton, and Glazier taught Bob the Missionary Lessons. Glenn was honored to confer upon Bob the Aaronic Priesthood on Easter Sunday.

On February 15th Susie (Akuel Abdelrahman Myaing Akol) was baptized. Sister Palatua and Sister Scanlan taught Susie. We helped with one of her last lessons before baptism.

On February 16th Jason Knight was baptized. Sister Tuttle and Sister Batchimeg taught Jason. We were also present for one of Jason's last lessons. Sister Batchimeg is from Mongolia and is doing a great job learning English.

On March 5th our dear friend Anna Lee from the Leura Ward went to the Sydney Temple for the first time. Many of the members of the Leura Ward attended with us. Elder Orton and Elder Brennan who had served in the Leura Ward also attended. We had a great picnic on the Temple lawn after the temple session.

Our Ferry Ride Into Sydney

We needed a second post to get all of our photos in. Posting photos is so much funner than working on taxes but not near as much fun as meeting with people and sharing the gospel which is what we will be doing in an hour.

Our First Trip to Sydney

We finally did it. On Monday March 10th we took the ferry into Sydney and enjoyed the day with three other Senior Couples in our Mission. We had a beautiful day. We left on the ferry for Sydney at about 9:10 am and arrived an hour later. The city was beautiful as we arrived in Circular Quay which they pronounce Key. This is the main train and ferry station. We took another ferry to Manley Island and had a really nice dinner there. Did I say, it was a lovely day? As we went to the train we passed an Aboriginal man playing a didgery-doo. What a great sound that odd instrument makes. Then we went to the Queen Victoria Building. It is like a huge shopping mall but is beautiful inside. As you might imagine we will have to return to see more of this beautiful city. We are still enjoying being on a mission and meeting wonderful people. We have already been away from home for six months. The time is flying by.

Christmas Festivities 2007

The dinner at our flat on Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. We had a white elephant exchange of gifts. The food was great and the Elders and Sisters enjoyed themselves.

Zone Conference was so much fun. The Elders and Sisters had their gifts from home distributed to them so they could take them home and open them later. I know the Elders did not wait until Christmas morning but our sisters did. We have a new sister in our zone from Mongolia. She is doing very well; she even participated in the talent show.

The Blue Mountains

We have a beautiful area to work in. Here are a few of the pictures we have taken of this area recently.