Rain and Rainbows, Fire and Fear

 

Rain and Rainbows, Fire and Fear

It has been a busy month here in Albany. We had the opportunity to have our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Wi Repa, come and visit us and enjoy this slice of heaven. 

The Elders had the opportunity to go tracting with President Wi Repa and had a great time. It was wonderful to spend time with them, get to know them better, and see their love and care for the missionaries. They are both very inspiring. Over the past 6 months President Wi Repa has imparted valuable lessons on the significance of nurturing spiritual growth within each one of us. Observing their actions and learning from them throughout the weekend was truly enlightening.

Before President and Sister Wi Repa left, we took them out to see some of the wonders of this area. We went to The Gap and Natural Bridge and had a great time. Hopefully, they will be able to make it down here again and spend some time with us.

The weather conditions here have changed, and we are now in winter. The temperature has dropped, and unlike home during winter, everything becomes greener. We have been getting a lot of rain…more than we have ever seen in our entire lives. With the rain comes the beauty of rainbows. They are beautiful! Rainbows appear every time it rains in this region of Western Australia, aptly named the Rainbow Coast. The daily occurrence of rainbows serve as a reminder of the natural beauty found here. We feel blessed to witness the beauty of God's creation every day.

Albany had a 20-year ocean swell event which dumped thousands of shells on the beach. The previously pristine white sand beach, resembling powdered sugar, was now covered with a layer of shells approximately three to four inches deep. We love to walk on the beach in the mornings and gather shells.

The large waves resulted in some damage. Middleton beach has a shark net enclosing part of the bay, so it is “safe” to swim. The swell has caused damage to portions of the shark net, prompting the installation of a sign that advises swimmers to proceed at their own risk. This really does not pertain to us because we have no intention of getting in the water. There are way too many shark sightings or attacks for us to try that, and the water is cold.
 

The construction of the artificial surf reef has been finalized, and it is currently being utilized by numerous surfers who are enjoying the water. They do not seem to be worried about the possibility of sharks.

As we have had the opportunity to visit members of the branch, we marvel at the beauty they experience every time they step out their front doors. The Entwistle’s had us up to Mt Barker for dinner and the view was truly breath-taking from their front yard.

Another one of our favorite places to visit is Nicklup Orchard and Donna and Nick. 

A new family from Vanuatu moved into the branch with their newborn baby, and Dave had the opportunity to bless little Vaaliyha on my birthday. We will always have a special  connection. Vaaliyha is adorable, and we are excited to welcome this little family into the branch. We love them.

Once again transfers have come, and we lost Elder Bingham. We are sad to lose him but excited for his new opportunity. He has worked so hard here training Elder Smith and is such a great missionary. Once when asked what scares him, jokingly his reply was “girls.” He is now the District leader for a district with three pairs of Sisters and one pair of Elders. God has a sense of humor. We are sure that by the time he finishes this assignment he will have conquered his fear. Elder Corry reminded him that even though he is the District leader he is only the leader because the Sisters are letting him. 😂🤣😂 He will be a great District leader, and we are so proud of him.

20 years ago, when we went on our honeymoon to Tahiti, we decided that we would return to Tahiti for our 20-year anniversary.

We ended up in Australia for our anniversary instead, but Tahiti has now come to us. Our new missionary is Elder Brothers from Tahiti. It is so fun to have him here. Elder Brothers is amazing. He has been out 22 months and will probably return home from Albany. He began his mission without knowing English, as his native language is French. His language is great now and we are amazed each time we hear him teach and testify.

It has been really fun to have Elder Brothers teach us French. Dave has learned tu es belle chérie and my favorite is comment allez-vous aujourd'hui. We are excited to have him here in Albany with Elder Smith who has grown as a missionary in just the short 3 months he has been out. He is a great missionary and has incredible memorization skills as well as being very witty. He is fun to be around and makes us laugh.

We get the opportunity to do a lot of service here in Albany, and one week we helped clean up some of the landscaping at the church. We removed some of the shrubbery that has been there many years and has become overgrown. In the next coming months, we will replant it with new scrubs and flowers.

Another project we had the opportunity to help with was for a Sister in the branch who fell and broke her back. Her flower garden had become overgrown with weeds because she is unable to do yard work at this time. We enjoyed weeding her flower bed so she could enjoy her flower garden. Of course Dave wore his Gilligan hat. 😂We love serving these people and feel the joy it brings.

On p-day we ventured out to The Gap and Natural Bridge again to show Elder Brothers and Elder Smith this amazing landmark. It is such an amazing thing to see every time we go. This time we even saw an accumulation of salt from the ocean spray that had accumulated on the railings.

For lunch we ended up on the top of the hill at the ANZAC memorial for lunch. The view from here is amazing. We saw our first bandicoot and had some visitors stop by and join us for lunch. Elder Brothers shared his lunch and Elder Smith had fun playing with them. We love being with the missionaries and have adopted them as part of our family.

We have been distracted this week and have had many sleepless nights. Although we are 10,000 miles away, sometimes events back home pull our thoughts back there. Many childhood days were spent at our family cabin tucked away in the secluded mountain forest of Pine Valley, Utah. This week that beloved cabin has found itself in the middle of a raging forest fire. Each day and night we have tracked the fire fearful that we would lose this beloved cabin along with all the memories and memorabilia of parents who have long been gone. Our hearts ache. Due to the rapid spread of the fire driven by strong winds, evacuations were mandated before it was possible to recover valuable heirlooms. The fire currently has burned 8,899 acreas. As we listen to and watch news briefings, talk with fire and law enforcement personnel and our children we have felt so helpless awaiting the outcome. For now, because of the tireless efforts of many brave firefighters, our cabin still stands in a little pocket untouched by the raging flames. Some were not so lucky. 12 homes and 2 out buildings have burned to the ground. Our hearts go out to these families. Pine Valley is also home to the oldest meetinghouse in continuous use of the LDS church which was built in 1868. The chapel also has escaped the fire and stands as a beacon in this little town in the mountains. We are so grateful for the many firefighters who are sacrificing so much to protect our cabin. Numerous prayers are being offered on their behalf. It is our sincere hope that in the near future, we will experience a celebration filled with joy rather than the sorrow of heartbreak.

July will be a very busy month with two zone conferences and a missionary transfer. We will bring back inspiring messages, take lots of pictures, and share more of our adventures with this wonderful little branch on the edge of the world. Until then…................................ Bonne soiree