Catching Up

Let me just say that I am not a writer.  I do want to chronicle my family's adventure Down Under though so I'm turning to a blog as a way to do that.  I'll do my best to make it interesting.

We've only been here a few days and already we've seen some cool things, different way of doing things and met some incredible people. 

Let me start from the beginning....

Getting ready to go was incredibly stressful.  If I said it was anything short of a nightmare I'd be lying.  Not only was the family moving to Australia just for excitement we thought we add moving out of our rental house, getting plans in place to build a new home while we are gone, completing an Eagle project, quitting my job, getting a passport for a missionary and then of course all the everyday stresses.  In all the hubbub I managed to lose my driver's license.  I spent many precious hours looking for it with no success.  So if life wasn't stressful enough already, on the way to the airport we had to stop by the Driver's License bureau to get a new one. 

Nicholas' Eagle Project at the Elk Ridge City Park

With all the preparations completed as best I could and Carolyn mustering every ounce of patience she could we made it to the airport. 

We managed to get through check-in thanks to a very kind clerk who allowed us to shuffle things around to meet the 50 lb. bag requirement and even let the boys take their lacrosse sticks on at no charge. 



The Shumway version of the David statue

By the time we found our gate we only had about 30 minutes to spare.  We quickly grabbed something to eat (we hadn't eaten all day because we were running around so much trying to get things finished up).  I've never been so relieved to board a plane.  I finally began to relax because I knew I couldn't do any more.  Anything that wasn't done at this point was going to have to wait. 

On the plane from Salt Lake to LA I met the nicest lady named Susan from Sydney.  She had been traveling in North America for the last month  and was now on her way home.  We talked the entire flight.  She gave me all kinds of tips for making our stay in Australia memorable, safe and exciting.  She was wonderful.  We learned of things that aren't included in the travel books, places that are overlooked and all kinds of other things we could do for little or no charge as well as things that weren't worth the time or money to visit. 

I can't help but think that people are placed in our path for a reason.  I am so grateful that I was able to meet Susan and for the help she was to my family.  I am also grateful for all the people back home.  We could not have made it without help particularly those who helped Nicholas finish his Eagle Project, those who are watching over our house and much more.  We are eternally grateful for great friends and family.  We'd be lost without them!

Once we got to LA things took a turn for the worse.  For one thing we had no idea where to go to catch our next flight and no one seemed to be around to ask directions.  We finally found someone who told us the wrong direction then found another fellow who told us where to go to catch a bus heading in the right direction.  When we got to the Virgin Australian Terminal they asked for our passports.  I pulled my backpack off to get them out and discovered that my backpack was unzipped and my wallet was missing.  I was sick.  Luckily, the passports were in a different part of the backpack and I had put my visa card in a secret pocket in my pants; so we weren't in dire straights, just felt bad that it was missing. 

After about a 4 hour lay over we boarded the plane to our final destination.  The flight crew was amazing.  They did a great job to make the lengthy flight bearable.  The kids actually enjoyed it.  Each had their own personal tv screen that they could watch all kinds of movies, tv shows and play games.  They also fed us quite well.  Many people complain about airplane food but I thought it was wonderful. 

Once we arrived we got our luggage and then waited for Matt.  It took a while to hook up because of the way the Sydney airport is arranged.  It doesn't make pick-up easy.  We managed to locate each other and were on our way for a 6 hour drive to the "country".  Getting out of the city would prove to be interesting.  I have gained a new appreciation for all the interstates and direct routes we have in the "States" (this is how the Aussies refer to the US).  This country is in love with roundabouts.  You find them everywhere, back roads, city roads, highways etc.  Thank heavens for GPS or we'd still be going around in circles. 

The town we'll be in for the next month is Armidale, New South Wales.  It's a small town of about 25,000 people.  The University of New England is here and it is this university that Matt is working with.  The town sits half way between Sydney and Brisbane about 1.5 hours inland from the coast.  It's a beautiful area.  Looking out from the church parking lot you see rolling hills with eucalyptus trees spread throughout and cattle grazing.  Matt says it reminds him of Zimbabwe.  Speaking of wildlife, we've yet to see a live kangaroo.  We saw 18 dead ones on the road home from Sydney so we know they are around and apparently abundant. 

We live about half a mile from the shopping areas in town so we've made the trip up and down the hill several times (on foot) getting groceries and other necessities.  This morning I went out for my first jog.  It was incredibly cold but a beautiful morning (Australia is opposite of the States so we are just coming into spring). 

The only thing we've really done besides shopping since we arrived is go to church (the jet lag killed us the first few days).  I am so impressed with the members of the small branch.  There are about 25 people who apparently attend most weeks.  One family travels more than 3 hours to attend church so they only come on Fast Sunday.   Many of the members own farms on the outskirts of town or in the neighboring communities.  Only one couple lives right in Armidale.  There's also a young man from China who is attending the university here.  He met the missionaries about a year ago, joined the church and has been faithful ever since.  He's now assigned to pass the sacrament each week. The thing that I was most impressed with was the member's dedication to the gospel.  They are so strong in their convictions and testimony.  There wasn't a wasted moment during testimony meeting.  You'd think they would get tired of hearing each other's testimonies each month but apparently they don't.  It was a wonderful meeting.  There are only 2 other kids my kids ages; a girl who is 14 and a boy who is 12 (what are the chances his name would be Nicholas).  The kids really enjoyed both their Sunday School class and YM/YW.  I think it's going to be a great experience for our family to be part of this branch.

We've been here less than a week but loved every minute so far.  In the future my blogs will be much shorter.  I'll share some of the amazing things we're discovering about this country.