Yep i'm busy busy. We've taught a couple of lessons and did more tracting and found some people who were interesting. Yeah i got rid of my bug and im feeling great now. Take off was my favorite, because they rev up the engines loud and it rumbles quite a bit, and they dont have to do that on landing, but langing was pretty exciting too. Both pilots did a good job landing
Today is actually the first day i've seen some sun since the morning i flew in. Yesterday the AP's (mission president assistants) sent out texts to all the missionaries and told us to make sure we have plenty of food and water and return to our flats. So we hung out, did some laundry and some other things that needed to be done. The city of Brisbane as you might have heard has kind of been flooding out, and the missionaries in the Brisbane Zone had to be evacuated because they lived on low ground, our temple trip that was supposed to be today was cancelled, because we couldnt get into the city anyway, they shut down power to the CBD (central business district near where the temple is) and there wouldnt have been any temple workers there obviously. We are allowed to go to the temple once every transfer (every six weeks) so hopefully we will either reschedule, or we might just have to wait till next transfer.
Our area (Gold Coast) has been alright as far as flooding goes. . . we live right off a river, so if for some reason they did need to evacuate Robina (the city we are in) we would be one of the first to leave. But that will most likely not happen, at least over the next couple of days, because its supposed to clear up friday and saturday, but the rain will probably continue after that. There is no reason to worry, because if our district or zone is in danger, President Langeland would make sure you all are informed if there is serious trouble. Until you get a phone call, know that we are alright and taken care of.
Its funny, there are quite a few members here, and if they see us walking around, they will always give us a ride, even if they are not in our ward. Its kind of a special relationship between members and missionaries here, they all watch out for us all the time, and they are all so nice and accomodating.
Sunday was nice, they called me up to introduce myself, which i wasnt expecting, but what could i do? it was fine and i knew it would be, but it just took me by surprise. The ward covers a big area, and there was tons of people in the tiny chapel, and it would be nearly impossible to learn all of their names and remember them.
I'm gonna put my SD card in the mail probably tomorrow. Elder Prina says it usually takes two weeks for mail from the states to get to the Mission Office, and then probably a couple of days from Hamilton to Robina. So i'll send it directly to you, so expect it in about two weeks. I still havent received the stuff that you sent when i left, which makes sense if it takes two weeks. So almost all of our correspondence will probably be email. Thank heavens for email then eh?
I hope the explorer gets running soon, and the ice melts too. There is no way that ice will be here anytime soon, even with the "cold" stormy weather. Good luck shelby with selling your car and getting a new one. Any good Camaro's on KSL?
I still havent seen a Kanga, Koala or a Wallaby. Someday. . . but there are still plenty of spiders, funky ducks, and other weird things. The other night we were eating dinner at a members home that is right next to a forest. Here, they dont have central air systems, they use electrical cooling units that are up on the wall if it gets extremely hot and muggy, but most of the time the doors are open with the screen doors. We were eating and the doors were open and there were tons of tropical sounds in the forest. Sister Reid said that most of them are frogs, maybe some other bugs, and possibly birds, but she said they were most likely frogs, and that she actually never noticed the sound before. (which makes sense because she has grown up in Australia and i havent) Its pretty though. I love the feeling of being in a jungle with all the exotic plants, animals and bugs. Note they do have cockroaches here, but i havent seen any yet because we keep our flat very clean :)
As much as I love it here, i am still looking forward to coming back to Utah. But that wont be for awhile, so i'll enjoy this! ...
...It might interest you to know that they dont sell 1%, 2% or even Skim milk in Australia. It's all full cream, all the time. They have a few brands of foods here that are the same. Paul Newmans Salad Dressing, Ferrero Roche Chocolate and Lindt Chocolate. I cant think of anymore off the top of my head, but there are quite a few. All the rest are the same product in a slightly differently designed box, and or under a different name, and there is still a bunch that is all new. A lot of things are more expensive, but some arent quite as much as double. A cheap loaf of bread is about $1.39, and a bag of large carrots is about $1.98. Contrary, a box of cereal is commonly about $7.00, and a Kg of meat can cost up to $35. But, a Kg of meat is still a lot, and we usually buy $8 worth of lunch meat, and it is about as much as a bag of lunch meat in the states. A two litre (yes, litre; and centre, and flavour, and colour) I know weird spellings; A two litre bottle of juice is about $4.50 or $5.00 (a cheap one). Lots of differences, and not enough time to tell. . .
I left one of my watches on Utah time, and its kind of fun to see how far behind us you are. I'll always keep it on Utah time so that I have that part of Utah still with me (besides all the pictures and other things).
Tell everyone I love them, tell the boys to get feeling better and that i laughed out loud when i read about the snot bubbles :) cute cute. I love you all too much, miss you all too much, and i have to constantly pull myself out of my thoughts to make sure i'm focused on the work! I will try to think of you less, maybe hoping the time will go by faster, but I will always dedicate this one hour a week to thinking of you.
