Today we were going to go into the City and have Elder and Sister Lems take us out to Watson Bay. A beautiful beach area I am told, with the best fish and chips in Sydney.
At 5 a.m. our daughter, Cambria called to say she was admitted to the hospital and getting close to delivering their 3rd child. Monty and I were both very excited for this new ones arrival. No one knew what the sex of this child was, not even the parents. Since we all knew the sex of #1 and #2 child, Cambria and Josh decided to not find out and have a surprise birth. How excited we all were to find out who would be joining our family. We hurried, got ready for the day and rushed down to the office to hook up to Facetime.
I was concerned about missing the birth of this grandchild. I have been to most of our grandchildren's arrival into the world and I had been feeling sad that I would miss this birth. Well, this actually turned out to be a pretty amazing experience. Here we are halfway around the world in Sydney Australia, connected to Facetime with perfect visual and audio. It was so wonderful that Josh and Cambria are so willing to share this special experience with us. It was also very interesting to hear the doctor tell Cambria to "push" and watch this strong woman push as hard as she could, then, stop, turn, look at the phone, smile at us, and casually pick up where we had left off on our earlier conversation. I think it was only 3 or 4 pushes before the baby was born. They had one of the nurses video record Josh, Cambria and Lynlee as they brought the baby out and lay the child on Mommy's tummy and announce, It's a BOY!". I think we were all expecting a girl but oh so happy to have another precious little boy. We were able to see him as soon as he was cleaned up and once again another Penrod with lots and lots of dark hair. Mr. Nameless weighted 7 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long.
How lucky are we to live in a world with modern technology that allows us to be part of this special experience when we are so far away? When I asked Josh how he felt about having a new baby in the house he pointed out this is child number 3 and he is in his 3rd year of medical school...it should be a perfect baby.
I am always so impressed with Josh and Cambria, they make a good team. They are doing an outstanding job balancing the heavy demands of medical school, parenting, and spiritual strength. I love this little family. So grateful to Heavenly Father with blessing us with each of our wonderful and gifted children and their spouses. I am also, excited to be a grandmother to 10 of our Heavenly Fathers special little spirits. They touch my heart each day and make me happy to be called Grandma.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
LIGHT
Since Elder Ellison and I stay put in the office, I like to borrow some other missionaries travelling photographs. Isn't this sunset just stunning? I love looking at it.
Another interesting picture and thought from Sister Jenkins follows below.
After I saw what I had taken I realized that there was an object lesson in the contrasting pictures.
The first one, although I like it a lot, is in contrast to the second photo which is bathed in light. I realize that our lives are like that. We can live our lives doing things "our own way" or we can live our lives doing as the Savior has asked and be bathed in His light.
I feel like Sister Jenkins.
As we have been anxiously awaiting part of our family to come visit us in Australia, my excitement to see them is beyond measure.
How great will our Joy be when ALL our family will be reunited together again?
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Mail Dilemma and Obedience
2 Aug 2017
Lessons to be Learned
The time was coming for outgoing missionaries to be heading home after 2 successful years of service in Australia. Most missionaries had learned many valuable skills and lessons that would help them throughout their lives. However there are some that still struggled with being obedient.
About a month before departing missionaries leave, we will give them instructions on how many suitcase and weight they can take home with them. The missionaries returning to Islands or Countries with small airports are only allowed 1 checked on suitcase weighing 23 Kilo (approx 46 lbs), a carry on suit case no more than 7 Kilo and a personal item. The Church will pay to mail 1 20K box with specific dimensions to the individual's home. Several missionaries came into me early to get the appropriate size box. The really organized missionaries returned a week or two before departing to fill in the proper forms and have it shipped early so they would receive the box by the time they got home. One Elder we will call Elder K was going home to Cambodia. I gave him the right size box and told him to be sure and not go over the allotted 20 Kilos. A couple of days later he texted me and said he couldn't get everything in the box I gave him and could he ship 2 boxes home that totalled the 20 Kilos? I tried calling him but he did not answer so I had to leave a voice message that 2 boxes could not be shipped because there was a charge per box. I never heard back from him.
The day of departure came and Elder K showed up without a box. I asked him where his box was? He said the Zone Leaders would bring it the following week. I totd him we needed to weigh it and fill out the proper forms. He assured me the weight was correct. I told him if it was even a little bit over weight I would have to go through his belonging and choose what to pull out of the box to get it within appropriate limits. Once again he assured me there would be NO problem with his box. I had him fill in the mandatory paperwork, strongly encouraging him to be sure and fill in All information and do it correctly. Once again the cliche "no problem" was his response.
Yesterday the Zone Leaders brought in Elder K's box. Immediately I could tell there was going to be a problem. He had packed his belongings in a flimsy box that circumference was bulging. When we took it downstairs to the mail room, it was over weight and out of limits with it's circumference. Not only was the size and weight a problem, but he had left off his Postal Code. Without the postal code we can not ship it. The weight and dimensions of his bag would cost an additional $150. Why didn't this Elder follow instructions? I have sent him an email and hope to hear from him soon. But I am not holding my breath as other returned missionaries have not responded to emails I have sent regarding left behind items. We have a Sister that left 20 lbs of Beads, shampoo, hand lotion and candy that she wanted a member to ship to her at a cost of $200. I am pretty sure she can buy those things for less, even in the Philippines.
So here we sit with 2 large boxes of items that will probably never make it home. Some of the Seniors hate to throw anything away. Not me. I just want clean work spaces. Just not sure what a reasonable amount of time is before donating or throwing personal items away?
Lessons to be Learned
The time was coming for outgoing missionaries to be heading home after 2 successful years of service in Australia. Most missionaries had learned many valuable skills and lessons that would help them throughout their lives. However there are some that still struggled with being obedient.About a month before departing missionaries leave, we will give them instructions on how many suitcase and weight they can take home with them. The missionaries returning to Islands or Countries with small airports are only allowed 1 checked on suitcase weighing 23 Kilo (approx 46 lbs), a carry on suit case no more than 7 Kilo and a personal item. The Church will pay to mail 1 20K box with specific dimensions to the individual's home. Several missionaries came into me early to get the appropriate size box. The really organized missionaries returned a week or two before departing to fill in the proper forms and have it shipped early so they would receive the box by the time they got home. One Elder we will call Elder K was going home to Cambodia. I gave him the right size box and told him to be sure and not go over the allotted 20 Kilos. A couple of days later he texted me and said he couldn't get everything in the box I gave him and could he ship 2 boxes home that totalled the 20 Kilos? I tried calling him but he did not answer so I had to leave a voice message that 2 boxes could not be shipped because there was a charge per box. I never heard back from him.
The day of departure came and Elder K showed up without a box. I asked him where his box was? He said the Zone Leaders would bring it the following week. I totd him we needed to weigh it and fill out the proper forms. He assured me the weight was correct. I told him if it was even a little bit over weight I would have to go through his belonging and choose what to pull out of the box to get it within appropriate limits. Once again he assured me there would be NO problem with his box. I had him fill in the mandatory paperwork, strongly encouraging him to be sure and fill in All information and do it correctly. Once again the cliche "no problem" was his response.
Yesterday the Zone Leaders brought in Elder K's box. Immediately I could tell there was going to be a problem. He had packed his belongings in a flimsy box that circumference was bulging. When we took it downstairs to the mail room, it was over weight and out of limits with it's circumference. Not only was the size and weight a problem, but he had left off his Postal Code. Without the postal code we can not ship it. The weight and dimensions of his bag would cost an additional $150. Why didn't this Elder follow instructions? I have sent him an email and hope to hear from him soon. But I am not holding my breath as other returned missionaries have not responded to emails I have sent regarding left behind items. We have a Sister that left 20 lbs of Beads, shampoo, hand lotion and candy that she wanted a member to ship to her at a cost of $200. I am pretty sure she can buy those things for less, even in the Philippines.
So here we sit with 2 large boxes of items that will probably never make it home. Some of the Seniors hate to throw anything away. Not me. I just want clean work spaces. Just not sure what a reasonable amount of time is before donating or throwing personal items away?
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