Family Birthday - Church - Visitors - Theatre

The first half of February 2008 was filled with lots of office work plus a Warby family birthday celebrating Joel Warby's 16th birthday. He is part of a family we have met while here (distant relatives) that have made us feel really welcome. We also met Stephanie Rogalski, one of the Church's directors of public affairs (Perth). She came to Sydney to visit her daughter and we had a most enjoyable time being with her for a day. We also continue to support the Fairfield 3rd Ward, mostly Pacific Islanders who are so loving and wonderful. We continue to enjoy excellent weather, some rain and cool temperatures for a summer environment. They tell us this is unusual that it is usually sweltering heat but we have no complaints. We went to a wonderful musical theatre production featuring John Williamson, the Australian folk singer and really enjoyed the program.

Happy Australia Day

We helped celebrate Australia Day on Saturday, January 26, 2008 by going downtown to Sydney Harbor. The date commerates the arrival of 11 ships of the first Euroupean settlers in 1788, later to be known as First Fleet. Most of the passengers were convicts sent from England. This is a day for Australians to celebrate with pride their country. We had a vantage spot midway on the famous Harbor Bridge we walked across. There was lots of activity in the harbor itself which you can see in the photos. We also had a senior missionary couple go home (McMullins) and the arrival of a new couple (Clarks) and we took a photo of our current staff. Joyce also discovered one morning a large spider which we promptly disposed. It is quite warm and humid now with occasional rain to cool down temperatures. We miss the snow back in the States but not the shoveling.

Back To Work With Assignment Thru The Snowy River Mountains

Right after the beginning of the New Year, we traveled south of Sydney on assignment to visit various locations stopping first in Canberra, Australia's capitol city. We visited several museums, including the famous War Memorial where we stayed most of the day, seeing many exhibits and discovering some of Clint's ancestors who served and died in Australia's military. We then traveled through the Snowy River Mountains reaching Wangaratta, where we stayed at the Warby Lodge, visited businesses on Warby Street and visited Warby Range State Park. We had an orientation visit with a new Director of Public Affairs called for that area. We stopped in the city of Tumut to visit the Blowering Reservoir where Clint's cousin Ken Warby set the world speed record on water in the 70's which still stands. On our way back to Sydney, we stopped in Campbelltown to visit some other Warby landmarks. After arriving, a few days later we had an invitation by our supervisor one day to visit beautiful Terrigal and its famous beach which is north of Sydney. We are staying busy and seeing much of this beautiful country which we really enjoy and love!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

What a joyous holiday season we have had in Australia! We have had a great experience of attending a Christmas concert at the Sydney Opera House; having a special Christmas Eve program with other senior missionaries and the LDS Church Area President Sybrowsky and his family; being involved in Christmas celebrations with a distant relative with the same name (Paul Warby) (Clint's first name is Paul as well as his father); playing with more distant relatives including the cute, adorable Page triplet boys; and experiencing first hand the world famous fireworks celebration on New Years Eve in the Sydney Harbor and Bridge. Though we miss our families so much back in the States, we have met many wonderful people here in Australia that makes us feel like we are really home here in the land down under. May the Lord bless us all in 2008!

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like An Aussie Christmas

Instead of snow, we have been having lots of rain these past few weeks. So instead of hot, humid weather, we have cool, humid weather so far this Aussie Christmas season. We have been busy doing our regular Public Affairs duties as well as doing some family history research, going to libraries and historic cemeteries. We succeeded in finding the graveyard of three small Warby children who died in a two week period in 1853. Less than a year later, their parents and two siblings left for America after joining the Mormon Church. Clint is a desendent of them. We did not find their specific gravesites but hope to do so in the future. We also found the gravesite of Clint's Uncle Thomas Warby, a brother to James Warby Jr. who came to America. We also are getting involved with Australian Scouts, being scout leaders ourselves in the States. Our activities also involve Relief Society, with a real diversity of female church members here in Sydney from many cultures. We also have a periodic assignment to show Church videos outdoors in the evening as part of the Temple Hill Christmas Lighting activities. We are staying very busy and enjoying this Christmas season, Aussie style. Love to All, Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men....

Visits and Christmas

The spring is beautiful in Sydney and we are finally able to get out and see some of the beautiful sights. One stop was the Maritime Museum in downtown Sydney where Clint's distant cousin's speedboat is on display, The Spirit of Australia, built by Ken Warby. It is the still the fastest boat in the world, the record set back in the 1970's (317 mph). There were lots of other displays that we will need to explore further. We also visited the Barrenjoey Lighthouse which is north of Sydney. We have a picture of ourselves with the younger missionaries we work with with. We also have a picture of the LDS Sydney Temple whose grounds are decorated with many Christmas lights and a nativity display. We are preparing for Christmas, (Aussie Style) our first with spring like conditions, pretty flowers and lots of green grass.

Love to all and a very Merry Christmas.......

Springtime - Office Work - Family Visits - Walkabouts

It's now springtime in Australia with many flowers and trees blooming. One of the pictures is of the beautiful purple Jacaranda trees that are on the Sydney Temple grounds where we work. These trees are most striking as you travel. We also have included a photo of our office inside the Public Affairs building. As you can see, we are rather close to each other both at the office and in real life. We have made some visits to some distant family members with a Warby connection. One family is the Sharna Warby family. She is a member but her estranged husband is not. She has three delightful children who we are setting up e-mails addresses to communicate with our grandchildren who are of the same age. We also made more visits to Meagen Warby Neifui's family who is more closely related. After attending Church with them, we had a great visit at their home with Meagen's mother Helen who was there. They are all Church members. We also spent a Saturday back in the Blue Mountain with our friends the Bartholomews who are also senior missionaries. We hiked down into a rain forest at Wentworth Falls which was flowing quite rapidly since there had been some recent rainfall. We are staying busy and getting ready for the holiday's, Australian style.