Our 18 Month Australian Adventure: This Week.

One night this week I made amazing chicken Alfredo. I know I know, it's hard to believe since that is not in my usual repertoire. But it's true, I had a plan in mind thanks to AllRecipes.com, combined with what was in the fridge and the results were wonderful! Even Lee said in surprise, "This is good!"

For the past few weeks we've been noticing beautiful purple trees around the city and on our walk route, there is a street lined with them on both sides, forming a canopy of sorts that is not only beautiful but cool, as in temperature! They are so lovely and we were informed by Brother White who is an Australian, that they Jacaranda trees.

Brick homes are common in Adelaide, and the building set-backs are minimal, so that means that you could easily reach from one house to the other. Many lots are deep with row of flats along a single driveway. Addresses are the flat number over the house number, for instance 2/117 Gage Street is Unit 2 at 117 Gage Street. There are tons of little suburbs or areas and we have yet to become totally familiar with all of their names and locations. We even identify the missionary companionships by the area they live/serve such as the Klemzig or Nightcliff Elders or the Mildura or Parafield Garden Sisters.

As I mentioned in a previous post from Mount Gambier, it is highly unusual to NOT have a wall or fence at the front of your property, and many have electronic gates. Today we saw beautiful tree lined streets with wall after wall the entire length....you can only see the roof tops of the homes behind the walls and tree foliage. I don't know if the walls are for privacy or security.

Today was p day so this morning we drove approx 30 minutes to Glenelg, a beach town on Holdfast Bay. We walked out on the jetty and even though it was beautiful and sunny, it wasn't exactly warm. We only saw two people laying out on the pristine white sandy beach, but others were walking, shopping etc. There was a marina, shops, several restaurants and motels/hotels etc. I imagine it will be crowded in a few more weeks when summer has really arrived. Of course we didn't have the camera with us, but if you Google Glenelg, South Australia you' ll be able to see the jetty, etc.

Even though the office is closed on Saturday, we went over a couple of times to check for email from Terri at church travel in Salt Lake City Utah. She emailed earlier this morning saying she had received visas for some visa waiters, who are currently serving in temporary locations like Houston and Mesa while waiting for their travel documents. This is exciting, yet stressful as we have to be ready paperwork wise, companionship wise, housing wise, location wise, bike/car wise etc. It's a bit late in the game to bring in new players for this intake according to President Carter. We have 4 missionaries coming in and 5 leaving this week and the next transfer is December 17th.

For the past 4 days, President Carter and the assistants have been in his private office prayerfully deciding which, if any missionaries should be moved within the mission, and if so, where they should go, and where and with whom new missionaries should be assigned. Many things are taken into consideration and it's an interesting process. My admiration for President Carter only increases as I observe him in the missionary placement process, in his interaction with the missionaries, and in his writing, teaching, and training. I'm not exaggerating his boundless energy and stamina. I get tired just thinking about his schedule!

As we were leaving the office this morning, President smiled and said in his usual positive, upbeat way..."Isn't it great being on a mission??"

It IS great serving a mission! We are learning so much, and our testimonies are growing with every new experience! Thank you for your continued love and support!