Melbourne

Fathers Day, Calvin goes on a Land Care camp, Marion wins the final, school holidays, Stake Youth Conference, Ellen gets another job.

I look forward to father’s day; I get presents, don’t have any extra meetings and don’t have to do the dishes. It doesn’t get much better than that. Ellen got back from her early morning missionary prep class; I opened my presents and had a nice morning chatting with the family. We all went to church in the Kombi which is a novelty these days as I am usually attending a different ward or we take both cars.

Vern’s friends Darren and Joanna Smith came down to Melbourne from Queensland for a wedding anniversary on the tenth. They stayed in the city most of the time and Joanne came to church with us. People in Melbourne normally holiday in Queensland not the other way around, for Joanna it was her first visit to Melbourne. The weather was a warm 27 degrees on the Saturday and then down to 16 on Sunday, normal Melbourne weather.

Marion’s rep basketball team made the grand final. The game was on the eighteenth down in Dandenong which is a fifty minute drive from our place. There was also a YSA ball on that night at Wantirna that Vern and Ellen had been asked to sing at. Vern and Ellen left early. When we went to go I realised that they had taken both the keys to the Kombi. That sparked a mad flurry of phone calls and the only person we could get a hold of was President Dudfield who was going to the Dance at Wantirna which is on the way to Dandenong. It was a way out of his way from his house but he came by and picked us up. When we got to Wantirna we jumped in the little car and headed off to Dandenong, arriving at the Stadium one minute before the game started. They went on to win the game comfortably.

Saturday the nineteenth was the first day of the school holidays and the first of my two weeks holidays as well. I spent most of the morning replacing the window winder assembly in the door of the Kombi. After thirty two years it decided it had had enough so I replaced it with the one from the other Kombi we have sitting out behind the garage. In the first week of the holidays the weather was wet cold and windy. Vern, Carmen and I managed to get out a couple of times and went for a walk around the Lake. I did all the jobs I had to do around the house and took Austin and his friend to the movies and that was about it. There isn’t much motivation to get out and do things when the weather is bad.

Friday the twenty fifth was the start of our Stake Youth Conference that Marion and Calvin were involved in. I was praying that the weather would hold as the forecast was for strong winds and heavy rain. The first activity was a version of the Amazing Race that was held down by the Yarra River. There were a few brief showers but they rain didn’t really come down until we were back inside the Stake Centre. Both Marion and Calvin enjoyed themselves and both went to the dance that evening at Epping.




Trae, Marion and Calvin off to the Dance

The next day it was back to Epping and on the bus to Kinglake which was one of the towns affected by the fires in February. It was about a 30min ride and we drove through the burnt forest and past empty lots where houses once stood. It was a little sobering for the youth to see. Once we got there we met a Land Care group. They told us about the effect the fires on the town, people and trees; a couple of them had lost houses and one almost her life and was in Hospital after the fires. We planted trees and pulled up an old burnt fence by a creek. Black clouds were all around us but most of the time although there was a very cold wind it was sunny. We had our lunch there and got back on the bus. We hadn’t even pulled away and it poured with rain. I must say we have a really good bunch of youth in the Stake at the moment with no real trouble makers. Both Marion and Calvin made an effort to get to know people in the other Wards and Marion was actively inviting people to attend the different activities.

Service Project at Kinglake

The bad weather continued for the second week of the holidays. Tuesday was the only fine day so Vern, Austin and I went for a drive back up to Kinglake then out to Flowerdale and back though Whittlesea to see the bushfire areas. We had a nice picnic at Flowerdale and then stopped at a park in South Morang and went for a walk through the fields and watched a large mob of Kangaroos hopping around.

Ellen has got herself another job to help save for her mission packing Christmas boxes. She said it is boring but it is full time and pays well. Calvin spent a fair bit of time in the last week at his friend’s places. On the last day of the month we had a Stake Priest and Laurels temple baptism evening that Marion came to. Afterwards we stopped by the Tempany’s place for a quick presidency meeting. Marion and Alyce were with us and talked to Sister Tempany and Andy while we had our meeting. Marion and Alyce are both really nice people but are easily the loudest people in the Stake.