Family Home Evening, Auckland, Australia, Koalas and Kangaroos, and Twelve Apostles

Monday started with catching up on all the things I didn't do while I was sick. There was quite a bit to do. The second thing I had to do was schedule an ultrasound for my back for after we get home from Australia. 

We had the Bream Bay Sisters over to use the Wi-Fi to call home. We also talked to Season's family during that time. It is always nice to catch up on what is going on in their lives. 

We ended the day with a Ward Family Home Evening activity at the Chapel. We played several games and had a short lesson on hearing the Holy Ghost. We had a lot of fruit for our refreshments. We had a really good turnout. It was a lot of fun.

After we got home, we had a special Mission Zoom call. Our Mission had set a goal of 75 baptisms for the transfer. The transfer ended that week. Monday night they announced that we not only met our goal, but we exceeded it by hitting 81 baptisms. Woohoo!!!!

Tuesday started with Early Morning Seminary since the Elders were teaching. We had a really good lesson about showing reverence to the Lord. After Seminary, we went home and quickly packed for our trip. I think we remembered nearly everything we were supposed to. 

We made three stops on the way out of town. The first one was to Leona’s house to drop off her tax statement. Then we went to the Murdoch Crescent Elders flat to pick up some barbells that we needed to turn into the office. Next we went to the Bream Bay Sisters flat to pick up another set of barbells that we also needed to turn into the office. 

From there we stopped at Costco to pick up paper products for the next four Zone Conferences. We were making very good time, so we headed to the Distribution Center next. We found out last night that neither the Sydney nor Brisbane Temples rent Temple clothing, soooooo we decided to buy what we needed. We’ve been wanting to get new robes anyway, so we are all set. We got everything we needed.

After we dropped everything off at the office, we went to dinner with the Garners, the Warwoods, and Sister Mortenson. After a fun dinner, we headed a few blocks away to President and Sister Allen's house for the Treats and Testimony meeting for the departing missionaries. That was such a special experience. It is wonderful to see how much these sweet missionaries have grown on their missions. It was life changing for each of them. We said good-bye to three of our Northland missionaries who returned with honor. We spent the night at the Warwood's flat.

Wednesday was spent with all things related to traveling to Australia. We had a Senior Couple drive us to the airport in a Mission van. We picked up an Elder who was going home to Melbourne since he was on our same flight. I was so surprised how quick and easy it was to check in for our flight. It was a four-hour flight, so I watched almost all of the two part movie of Harry Potter 7. It was a breeze getting through customs in Australia. So, we headed to pick up our rental car. That is when it got a little crazy.

After finding out that the travel agent used a third party to book the car rental and the third party we were looking for didn't have a rental desk at that airport, we found out that our car was really coming from Alamo which did have a presence at the airport. Everything went smoothly until the agent summarized our rental agreement. She mentioned that we would be returning the car on 15 June. I didn't pay much attention to the date because I knew it was for 5 days. Sister Garner asked if we were turning it in on Sunday and I told her it was on Monday. She said Monday was 16 June. We checked with the agent, and she only had us down for 4 days. I was back on the phone with the travel agent. Long story short, we got it all straightened out and were finally on our way.

After checking in to our rooms, we met downstairs for dinner. We walked just a little down the block to a Korean restaurant and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Later we played some games in the lounge before heading off to bed.

Thursday was day 2 in Australia. We spent much of the day at the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Park. We had so much fun seeing so many animals that are unique to Australia. We even got to pet a Koala Bear. We had a delicious dinner before heading back to the Hotel.

Day 3 of our trip (Friday) was spent driving to Port Campbell to see a national park called The Twelve Apostles. On the way there, we stopped in Ballarat where Steve had served as a young missionary back in 1968 to 70. We had a delicious lunch and started toward Port Campbell to see The Twelve Apostles. On the way out, Steve turned on a street that went past a street that he recognized. He then turned around to go down that street. That was the street where his flat was. That was the only thing he wanted to see in Ballarat, and it was a Tender Mercy that the Lord granted him. 

The Twelve Apostles was stunning, especially at dusk. We got some great pictures. After we checked into our motel, we walked a couple of blocks to a wonderful little restaurant for dinner and dessert. I ordered a Sticky Date pudding with caramel sauce and ice cream. It was SO delicious. I'm glad we had to walk back to the motel to work off some of those calories. Hahaha

Day 4 (Saturday) was spent driving all the way back to Melbourne with a few stops along the way. We stopped in Geelong, where Steve served as a young missionary. The town had changed a lot. He wanted to show us Her Majesty’s Royal Gaol (jail), but it is now a museum. He was unable to find the flat he lived in so that was sad.  

We found a cute little restaurant right on the beach where we went for lunch. It was colder today, so we were glad they had a nice wood stove in the dining room.  

When we got back to Melbourne, we went to a little town called Collins that was recommended to us by a Senior Couple from New Zealand that works with the Garners and is from Melbourne. The architecture was so quaint and old-fashioned. We then went the other way down the street and got to the more modern area. It was filled with so many different restaurants for so many different cultures. You could get any type of food you could ever want. Unfortunately, we were all still full from lunch, so we didn’t stop to eat anywhere.  

After our long two days of travel, we headed back to our original hotel to get settled in for the evening.

What a sweet Sunday we had. Steve wanted to go to Footscray Ward since he served there as a young missionary. At the time he served there, Melbourne only had one Stake. There are now five Stakes. If there were any members that may have known him, they were probably in one of the other Wards in the area as the Church grew. Still, we met some wonderful people who welcomed us with open arms. In the States, it would have been Father's Day. When we walked in, we saw they had the Cultural Hall all set up for a grand luncheon. It turned out, it was their Ward Conference, and they had a big luncheon after Church. Lots of delicious food and so much friendly fellowship. 

After that, we headed to the Melbourne Temple. It has been closed for renovations for about a year. It was supposed to reopen in April, but tiles started falling off in the baptistry, so they had to redo it again. It will reopen on 24 June. We go home on 21 June. 😢So, all we could do was take some pictures. 

A Senior Couple that works with the Garners in the Auckland Office is from Melbourne. The Sister sent Sister Garner places to visit while we are here. One of them was a place with some beach huts that wasn’t too far from the Temple. So, we decided to check it out. Apparently, it is a historic site. The Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes hold a key place in Melbourne's heritage, providing a rare and unique glimpse into Brighton's origins.

Dating back to the 1860, as the suburbs sprawled down the coastline, bathing boxes started popping up along Brighton's beaches to allow for modest bathing. There are 96 boxes. Today they are privately owned and cannot be rented.

After we got back to the Hotel, we met in the lobby area and played some games. It was fun to just relax and laugh. As we were heading back to our rooms, we met a delightful man who we all talked with for about 15 or 20 minutes. He was so smart and knew lots of history. We had a very enjoyable visit with him.

We hope you have a Wonderful Week!

All Our Love,

Elder and Sister Wilcox