The training wheels come off.

We have been out officially for three months.  The first 2 1/2 months the spirit was with us so strongly.  I am not saying that we don't still feel the spirit helping us but it as if the Lord has said, I am taking of the training wheels, you know how to do this. 

We are getting somewhat used to missionary life.  I know that that every senior couple will have their own experiences and feel directed on how they can best serve.  It has been a little bit like being on the role as a substitute in that each day is different.  We may have a crazy week with appoints with the missionaries to be at almost every day and other time there might be only two appointments a week. We are learning to deal with this by having a list of things to do each week that doesn't involve working with the sisters.  That being said it is still our favorite thing to do - that of being apart of missionary discussions.

We have been visiting a list of people that the Elder's Quorum gave to us composed of widows, less actives, new members and others who can benefit from our visits.  We also have a "break the fast" meal on fast Sundays and invite Young Single Adults and "friends" (investigators). Yesterday Elder Wright, spoke in Sacrament meeting and in the evening, we had a meal, and he taught a lesson on the priesthood to recent converts.

We go to the grocery store a lot. And we cook a lot. I am actually enjoying it. Cooking became less fun when my kids started getting picky and later when it was mostly just Dave and I.  I am doing things that I haven't done for a long time, like cooking cakes, and dinner rolls, and food for bigger groups.  Dave is an excellent sous chef and the sister missionaries are great at helping clean up.  The senior missionary couple that was here before us had a monthly pot luck for sisters int he ward and have been bugging me to do the same so we will get that going next month. We also plan to start helping with "meals-on-wheels" a couple of times a week.

Being with each other 24/7 has its moments.  Even though we have a wonderful relationship and are used to spending a lot of time together there are times when one of us needs to go off by ourselves to do errands.

We are enjoying the missionary life but are glad that we don't have to follow all of the rules that the young missionaries do.  We can get up when we want, go to bed when we want, choose which "P" day we want, etc.  But we are blessed when we have structure like them by having couple study time, and daily and weekly planning meeting along with our personal study and scripture reading. We can be more flexible as seniors. On a MLS mission it is up to you do prayerfully decide how to serve and what should be our focus.  We have a senior couple in our district that are on their 3rd mission. They are from Idaho. That is amazing.

My biggest concerns about coming on this mission to Australia was that I wouldn't be able to handle the heat, I wouldn't be able to physically do all of the service I would want to do and that we may not be able to connect with our granddaughter in a meaningful way.

The Lord has blessed me.  I am handling the heat; I seem to have the energy I need, and we are having wonderful zoom meetings with our granddaughter that sometime take 2 or three hours once a week. God is good.

We still get a kick out of their signs like the one to the right at the zoo which cautions us to stay on the trail to avoid "a high number of snakes".

Love you all.