October - November 2008 Activities

This is our second spring in Australia and its just as beautiful and lovely as last year though perhaps a little cooler. We spent the first weekend in October in Forster-Tuncurry, about four hours north of Sydney on the coast. We attended activities associated with the showing of the "Emma" movie at a film festival there, a film about the wife of Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We also made a trip west to visit with some other senior missionaries, the Cases in Orange, stopped at the famous "Dish", a radio telescope that was featured in the movie, "The Dish." Then south to the Church Farm near Griffith.

There was also a move of our office to another building on Church Administrative campus which took a lot of time and effort. We are still in the process of getting settled into our offices. We also had a visit from the Presiding Bishop of the Church, Bishop David H. Burton who wife is a Matheson descendant, the same as Clint.

Additional activities with our Scout group which keeps us very busy as well.

We are looking forward to Christmas and the joy this brings to many especially remembering the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means for mankind.

September - Visiting Newcastle, Perth and Wollengong

September down under brings on Spring with warmer temperatures, longer days and more beautiful flowers. We look forward now to this second change of season, though backwards it may be from what we are used to back in the United States.

In early September, we were privileged to travel north from Sydney to Cessnock and Newcastle. We stayed with another missionary couple, Elder Larry and Sharlene Jenson at their rented home. Clint spoke at the Newcastle Stake Conference about his Warby ancestors joining the LDS Church nearby. On one of the back roads in the area, we also had the experience of hitting a large unseen pothole with the left front tire, which bent the rim, requiring a change with a spare.

We also went south one Saturday to Wollongong, to a Scout Shop and then stopped at various scout camps on the way back to Sydney. We bought several items at the shop and enjoyed the camps which varied in climate with a rain-forest environment at Mt. Kiera and less vegation at Camp Cataract which will host the 2010 National Jamboree.

Mid-month, we spend some days far across the country in the Perth region, doing training, attending the Perth Temple and meeting and talking with Church leaders and members. We enjoyed our stay, though the weather there was somewhat cold and windy. We got to see the Indian Ocean which really looks like any other kind of ocean.

We find ourselves now on the downhill side of our two year mission, wanting to increase our efforts in what we can contribute and do....

Busy August - Spring is Coming

Another installment in the remarkable journey we are taking here in Australia as public affairs missionaries. In this past month, we have experienced the high levels of government, then meeting the humblest of people from Papua New Guinea, teaching Cub Scouts how to make S'mores and helping with their camp, and traveling to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney to speak in Church.

We also were happy to have Clint's brother Lanor, his wife Kathleen, their son Robert along with Kathleen's mother and father, sister, brother and brother-in-law all come to Sydney. Kathleen's mother is a native Australian and wanted to showed them her homeland. We were also able to show the Warby roots in Australia as well, visiting ancestral lands near Newcastle including St. James Church in Morpeth where great, great grandfather James Warby Jr. and Mary Blanch were married in 1846, later joining the LDS Church and coming to America.

It is now officially spring in Australia and we look forward to warmer weather and more beautiful flowers. It was just reported on the television news that this was the coldest winter in 68 years. Still didn't get below freezing but we still had to dress warmly and snuggle on occasion.....

Important Events

The month of July has been filled with lots of activities and events. Most of our work has been "behind the scenes" but we have enjoyed supporting some major events such as our Church representatives attending Final Mass as part of World Youth Day in Sydney. One of those is Hyde Park Stake President Trevor Jones who also has an important security position with Qantas and flew with the Pope back to Rome (see picture).

We also helped with presentation to the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of his family history prepared by our Church. The presentation was made by Elder Terry Vinson here in Sydney.

We have also involved with our Aussie Scouts with Sister Warby making some tablecloths and aprons in the color of the 1st Ermington Scout Group.

We have had some fun times with our fellow missionaries as well with dinners and learning to lawn bowl.

We look forward to warmer temperatures this coming spring. We love being near our Sydney Temple and took a photo at Sunrise.....

Keeping Busy

The month of June has been a very busy time for us with a variety of activities and events keeping us looking at our calendars to remind us what and where we should be. All this, along with our normal public affairs work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Australia as well as missionary work.

We have been involved a great deal with the Scouting program here in Australia, learning how the Aussies do such activities with lots of training and attendance at various Scout events. We have also been to some interesting places in the area including the Targona Zoo in the Sydney Harbor as well as attending the Katoomba Winter Festival in the Blue Mountains west of the city. It is now winter with the days short, the nights long and the temperatures cool but not freezing like home in Utah.

We are nearing the half way mark of our mission here in Australia and look forward to many more exciting experiences and adventures....

As part of our assignment here in Australia, we went with over 50 young single adult members of the Church and leaders to Canberra on May 27-28 to visit Parliament and federal politicians who have been elected to office from their various districts. It was a great experience to see democracy in action and learn about how government works in this part of the world. The activity was enjoyed by all.

We also received both good and sad news from home. Our 13th grandchild Kylie Warby was born on May 20, 2008 in Kaysville, Utah to our oldest son David and wife Karene Warby. We are grateful for her safe arrival and well-being. Though she will probably be walking when we come home next year, we look forward to this newest edition of the family.

We also received sad news that our dear friend and neighbor Carol Sweat had passed away. She had been battling leukemia for some months and her health rapidly deteriorating. She and her husband decided all the painful treatment wasn't worth it and so she came home to die. She only lived a few days more and we are told her passing was peaceful. We will miss her so much.

We are staying busy with our work and love this country and people. The weather is much cooler now, going into winter. Joyce makes cookies to keep our tummys warmer...

BYU Young Ambassadors

These past three weeks has been very busy with coordinating and even traveling with the Brigham Young University Young Ambassadors touring Australia. The musical theatre group arrived the end of April in Brisbane and came south to Newcastle, where we met them. Elder Warby has been the Area coordinator for the group so it was great to have them come.

On to Sydney, then Canberra, and Albury where we said goodbye. They then traveled to Tasmania and then back to Melbourne. Nine outstanding performances; Seven spiritual firesides; Appearances at State Parliaments in Brisbane and Canberra; Several radio and television interviews some even live; Numerous workshops with secondary students and some pre-schoolers as well; Consultation with the performing arts faculty at Monash University in Melbourne; Cultural and sightseeing visits throughout eastern Australia including beautiful Tasmania; Billeting and Sunday Church attendance with many members and some non-members; Temple visits at Brisbane and Sydney with endowments and baptisms performed at the Melbourne Temple;

At the Canberra performance and reception, they met and performed before Ambassadors and officials from many countries, some where the Church is yet to be officially recognized, thus planting seeds of goodwill that will sprout blessings in the future.They also personally met and performed before many important opinion leaders from government, business, academia, religion and the media.

With all of the tremendous goodwill these great Young Ambassadors accomplished, most touching is a story of tenderness and mercy performed by a few of them in Melbourne before they returned to Provo. Arrangements were made for a visit Sunday, May 19 to the home of Ron and Tailene Bradey, faithful Church members in the Cranbourne Ward, Braeside Stake. In consultation with priesthood leaders, beautiful Church songs and hymns were sung to Sister Bradey, a 24 year old mother of two, dying of cancer. Such “tender mercies” are part of the Young Ambassador’s repertoire as well.

We look forward to future visits from such outstanding young men and women who represent the Church in such meaningful and significant ways.

Autumn - Scouts - Famous Warbys

The weather is changing now to Autumn, cooler temperatures with rain and some leaves changing colors. It's flu season so Elder Warby got his flu shot. Sister Warby declined. Our duties are busy with final preparations of the tour of Australia by the Brigham Young University Young Ambassadors, a large performing group that will be here the end of April thru mid-May. More in our next post about them. We have also been busy with our Scout work, attending Family Camp in Berrima, which is about two hours south of Sydney. We had lots of fun with great leaders and youth. We also attended a session of Parliament in Sydney, where Scouts were honored and having our picture taken with the Speaker of the House. We also visited the gravesite of one of Elder Warby's distant relatives, John Warby. He came to Australia as a convict in 1790 and later had a large family and was much honored and respected. He is one of Campbelltown's most famous historical figures.

Royal Easter Show - Missionary Work

The weather is starting to change ever so slightly here in Sydney. We are going into the Fall season with temperatures cooler in the evening. In the States, we have "fairs" to celebrate the harvest and such is the case here in Sydney, with the Royal Easter Show. We went two times, first with Elder and Sister Keith Hilbig of the Area Presidency to enjoy the event as well as determine whether a booth about the Church would be feasible for next year. The second time was to help with Scout Day at the Show. We helped set up,work the displays and particpate in the Grand Parade. Clint also videotaped the event for future use by the Scout Association. On Easter, we joined our fellow Senior Missionaries and presented an Easter Program with musical numbers and talks at various wards in the area. We also were able to get away for a day going to the Southern Highlands south of Sydney to a beatiful location called Kangaroo Valley. We then drove back along the ocean coast to Sydney. Clint has had some health issues but got good news about his heart. His back is still bothering him in walking so we are seeing about getting that better. We love Australia and its people.

Elder Bednar Visit - Real Aussie Scout Leaders

The first half of March 2008 has been quite the month for us. We have been very busy with a variety of projects and tasks. We have been busy with our new roles as Aussie Scout Leaders, being fully invested with uniforms and titles as Associate Leaders in the Cub Scouts. We have also attended meetings and assisted with firesides relating to the visit to Australia by Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He spoke at a fireside in Sydney which was televised by satellite throughout the country. We also were able to take a short trip north of Sydney to Clint's ancestral home in the Hunter/Williams River area where we met Warby relatives. Clint also kept having his blood checked to regulate the dosage of warfarin needed to help reduce the risk of a stroke because of possible heart problems. He had a stress test that showed his heart was doing fine but still needs to take his medicine. Life continues to be good. We love the weather, the people and this great land!