The Long Way Home: A Final Walkabout
The Long Way Home: A Final Walkabout
December started our long journey home. It is sad to think
about leaving this special place we have called home for the last year. We have
grown to LOVE so many people and have experienced so many once in a lifetime
memories. We consider this to be our home away from home and will miss the
beauty and the people more than words can express. The mission has taught us so
many things. It has changed us. We have learned the joy and POWER of service.
In the October 2025 general
conference Ronald M. Barcellos said it best…. The Savior invites all to “serve
him with all your heart.” Each act of service and worship becomes a
powerful spiritual experience that strengthens our faith and testimony and
fills our hearts with joy and love for God and our fellow man.
We have witnessed this during the past year.
While in Albany, we had the opportunity to participate with
a great group of people to prepare and serve breakfast for community members
every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6:30 a.m. What a blessing this was!
We served about 4,680 sausage, egg, & cheese breakfast sandwiches (called
toasties). Each one of these represents someone who has become a dear friend of
ours as we have talked with them over the last year about their lives, hopes,
struggles, and dreams. We have truly grown to love them and will miss them.
Through this simple act of service, we began to see them as Christ sees them.
Hopefully they were able to feel His love through us. We were very touched as
they presented us with an Aboriginal painting painted by one of our friends as
well as other heartfelt gifts of appreciation. We will never forget them and
our time at breakfast.
In the October 2021 general conference M. Russell Ballard asked us, “what would be the cumulative effect of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our heartfelt Christian love for others?” He goes on to testify that “Over time this would have a transformative effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of His love to them through us. These simple, daily acts of service may not seem like much in and of themselves, but when considered collectively they become life changing. There is POWER in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it is transformative.” We learned that God loves and knows each of us personally. We have felt that life changing effect in our own lives. It truly has been transformative.
December brings Christmas celebrations. Christmas has always
been my favorite time of year filled with lots of traditions. This year we celebrated
with different traditions and celebrations. We started the month out with our Branch
BBQ and Christmas party. It was so fun to have a BBQ outside and enjoy the
Christmas season. This is definitely something we could not do at home without
freezing. We watched Christmas movies and then ended the evening with gifts to each
other of personal acts of service. Dave made his famous brownies, and I made
Chocolate Chip cookies to give away. We hit the jackpot and was able to score a
personal dinner cooked by the best Filipino cook we know. We love the Villanueva’s
and are excited to have them come visit us in 2027. Jennifer taught me how to
make her delicious noodles. I will have to try to make them when we get home
but I’m sure they will not taste as good.
Christmas season in Albany brought a Christmas parade complete with boats decorated with festive decorations. We had a great time. My favorite part was everyone blowing bubbles which gave a feeling of snow in the air.
My dad’s favorite part of parades was always the horses. Years ago, my parents attended the Rose Bowl parade in California. When we later watched the parade videos my dad filmed, we realized he had recorded all the horses instead of the stunning, flower-covered floats. Needless to say, my mom was not happy. I’m sure he would have been sad to only see two horses in Albany’s Christmas parade.
We finished off our Christmas celebrations with a Christmas Caroling concert on the beach. We will miss “our beach”. Middleton Beach is only a short distance from our home, and we would regularly stroll along its sandy shore—chatting with others, listening to the ocean, picking up shells, and observing ships. Our year in Western Australia has truly been unforgettable, filled with many cherished memories.
The second week of December we headed to Perth for our last Zone Conference. We went up the night before and took a cruise through the Mandurah canals to see the Christmas lights. It was spectacular. I love Christmas lights and had been missing them because there are not many put up in Albany. It was magical and amazing to see the mansions along the Mandurah canals all decked out. Our boat even played Christmas music during the cruise to add to the festive spirit. Scrooge was visiting one of the mansions and tried to spray us with a hose.
On our way in to Perth for Zone Conference we stopped and took Elder Annerl and Elder Clowers to lunch. It was great to see Elder Clowers again and meet his new companion Elder Annerl. They are doing great things in their new area.
We love our time in Perth at Zone conferences. It is sad that this is our last one. Zone Conferences are always so inspirational and it is fun to see all the other missionaries. We had the opportunity to bear our testimonies and received a farewell Lei from President and Sister Wi Repa after which the missionaries sang “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” to the departing missionaries. It was hard to say goodbye to so many people we have grown to love. They have been such a great example to us. We finished the day with a nice Christmas dinner, games, and Christmas Carols by the missionaries.
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Our last week in Albany was heart breaking. We visited many of the people we have grown to love to say goodbye. It was one of the hardest weeks on the mission but we also have never felt so much love from people. They have all become our family, and we will miss them terribly. The Thorn's had us over for a farewell dinner and they even sang for us. We wish it was closer so that we could come back to see everyone. A few of them have promised that they will make the trip to St. George to come visit us. We will hold them to it and are counting the days.
Our final week in Albany was full of lasts…… one last meal at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Albany, one last DUI check point (he passed again), one last look at dog rock and our tree lined streets, one last Family Home Evening, and one last time at our little chapel 10,000 miles from home to say goodbye to many more.
We packed the car and headed on the final 5-hour drive to Perth passing our last view of mountains of grain, road trains, and even a wild Emu. Endings tend to evoke a sense of reflection and contemplation. Our time in Australia has taught us a lot and brought us countless memorable experiences. From learning local names and noticing differences between our countries to taking in the breathtaking landscapes and meeting remarkable people, along with moments of both joy and sadness—it truly has been the adventure of a lifetime.
One of the things Dave will not miss in Australia is his "favorite truck".
December 23, 2025 was our last day in Western Australia. As we arrived at the mission office, we were excited to see Elder Clowers there so we could say one last goodbye to one of “our kids”.
We then had our final exit interview with President Wi Repa. We have so much love for President and Sister Wi Repa. They have been a great blessing in our lives and taught us so much. We hope we will see them again someday. We gained a greater appreciation for the many long hours they spend and can see how much they love the missionaries.
We boarded our flights for our long way home and final walkabout.
257+ pounds of luggage, 3 layovers, 49 hours from the time we woke up and started the day (plus a 5-hour drive the day before to get to the airport) until we arrived in St. George.
The grandkids were excited and ready for us. Remi sent us a picture of our house keys that they picked up from the property managers.
We arrived home December 24th to family and friends in time for the family Christmas Eve party complete with grandkids, kids, and Santa. What a memorable year we have had. We are forever grateful for the experiences we have had.
It's not about the journey or the destination; it's about the friends we've met along the way that help us appreciate the journey. We miss our "family" in Albany but it’s wonderful to be home with the kids, grandkids, friends and family. We truly are blessed! We can’t wait for hours and hours of family time. There’s nothing like it.
God is good.
Put your trust in Jesus Christ. He will lead you the right way. He is your strength. I believe the Savior Jesus Christ would want you to see, feel, and know that He is your strength. That with His help, there are no limits to what you can accomplish. That your potential is limitless. He would want you to see yourself the way He sees you. -- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
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