Mission P-Day

Australia is home to many unique and interesting animals. We had a great

P-day at the Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.

Koala Bears were so fun to watch. They eat leaves that do not give them much energy so they sleep for up to 20 hours a day.

We did not get near this snake!

Photo of a sleeping koala bear

We enjoyed the company of Elder and Sister Mickelsen from St. George at the Koala Sanctuary. 

                         


                This was a very large lizard.

This is an emu.

Elder Madsen fed a kangaroo.  There were "heaps" of kangaroos.

Sister Tavalea knelt by a baby kangaroo.   The kangaroos were so tame and not afraid of humans at all.








This emu was happy to pose for a photo with some senior sisters.

This is a wild Australian dog called a dingo.

"Kookaburra sits in the old Gum Tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he,
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh"...
He really does laugh.

Here are more beautiful birds...

This one would squawk at you if you squawked at him.
  

The Tasmanian Devil is named correctly - you would not want him as a pet.

        Sister Tavalea from Tonga spent a few days with us to get a medical evaluation.

Mission Life

                  Elder Madsen working in his home office.  He is now the Pacific Area
                  Medical Advisor for 18 missions.  He is dealing with medical issues he
                  never saw - only read about in med school!

Part of the Coomera Zone at interviews

       







                                                            

We celebrated Sister Madsen's birthday with Elder and Sister Mizukawa at a restaurant on Tamborine Mountain.

      An old mansion called the Coomera House will be torn down and a new Coomera Stake           Center will be built on the site.  The groundbreaking was held on February 7, 2015.

The neighbor boys came for a visit...

and wanted to take our picture.  Sister Madsen is wearing her apron as usual.

Cleveland Zone posed for a picture after the temple session.

                        

We love the plants and trees in Australia - so many different varieties.

The woods behind our complex can be seen from our kitchen window

We meet the new missionaries at Golden Orientation.  We present a
Power Point discussion about adjusting to missionary life.

Mission Experiences

Elder Maden is giving instructions for medication to Elder Esekia - just released from the hospital and Elder Howell, his companion.  Elder Coles was the temporary companion during that time.

Sister Iurato and Sister Isenberger served in the Coomera Zone.  They were transferred to Cairns and Mackay in the northern part of the mission.

Elder and Sister Johnson from Salt Lake City came to dinner at our flat
one evening.  They serve as Self-reliance missionaries for the mission.

We watched our next door neighbor, Zico,
play in a tennis tournament.  He and his
dad agreed to listen to the missionary lessons.

We spent part of the day with Elder Laufale Lua and Elder Allapitan
as we traveled from Warwick to Toowoomba and back for dental work.

We returned home one day to find hearts with messages printed on them stuck to our front door.

The Coomera Zone at the Brisbane Temple in February 2015.

Christmas 2014

Elder and Sister Hansen hosted our Christmas Social which was a barbecue at their flat
common area.  We had a great time socializing and sharing missionary experiences.

We invited several families to participate in the
Christmas Nativity Play.  Twenty-two people came to
our flat including seven non-members.

The Australia Brisbane Mission Christmas Zone Meeting was a great success.  We enjoyed training, a wonderful lunch and some fun entertainment.

We spent Christmas in Australia at the beach with a few of the senior missionaries.  It was our first time to visit the ocean since we arrived, though we had seen it from a distance in our travels.  What a beautiful day!!!

We visited Barron Falls near Cairns with Elder and Sister Johnson and Elder and Sister Mizukawa in a recent visit to the northern part of Australia. 

We enjoyed an Italian dinner on the waterfront in Cairns with our dear friends.

Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef was an awesome P-day activity.

A hike to Mossman Gorge completed our wonderful trip to Cairns.

Elder and Sister Dennis who serve in Mackay stayed with us during his time in 
Brisbane for surgery and his recuperation.  They helped us prepare and serve 
lunch to the Gold Coast and Coomera Zones after our temple sessions.

Wonderful Experiences

This photo was taken with the city of Brisbane and the Brisbane River in the background. 

Elder Tupuola, recuperating from surgery at our flat,
was visited by Brandon Wong See, our neighbor.

John and Sheila Goddard, a lovely non-member couple, who are interested
in the church are being taught by the missionaries in our area.

Breakfast with the Gold Coast Zone after our session at the Brisbane Temple 

We served lunch to the Coomera Zone after our temple session.

P-Day with the Cleveland Zone

Some of the neighbors in our complex came to
visit when Elder Murakami stayed with us.  He taught all the children how to do origami.

Elder and Sister Miller spent the night with us.  They are the missionary couple that serve in Gladstone.

The Zone Leaders Council with President and Sister Henderson. It was wonderful
to be part of the training to learn about the "He Is The Gift" initiative.

We rescued these missionaries from the airport when their flights home
were cancelled because of a mix up with tickets.  They made a memory.

Our Christmas gift to the elders and sisters in our zones was to polish their shoes during zone meeting. They loved the surprise!

The new Cleveland Zone after transfers.

The new Gold Coast Zone after transfers.  We will
miss the missionaries who left but are excited to
get to know other wonderful servants of the Lord.