10 June 2012

What an adventure!  We came to Bridgetown on a sudden at an unplanned time because President Ellefson called for us!  Elder Ashby had to give a talk in church in Albany, or we might have come yesterday.  We’re actually missing an appointment with our friend, Joanne, to do this.  Also, “our sisters” were coming over for dinner tonight, and we had planned a fun day with them tomorrow, because this week is transfer week, and we’re afraid we may lose one or both of them.  They won’t know till tomorrow morning.  But instead, we took them all the makings for the dinner, and asked them to teach our lesson to Joanne for us.  I sure hope Sister Salanoa doesn’t get moved because this is her last transfer before she goes home!  We may never see her again!  She does, however, plan to attend General Conference next year, one month after we arrive home, if things go as planned.

We set out after church, but the rain had started again, and after a while, the fog rolled in, and then the wind picked up.  Pretty soon there were trees going down everywhere, and debris flying through the air.  We had to wait several times on the road while people moved limbs out of the way for us, or cut trees with chain saws so they could be moved.  These gum trees are so brittle, they go down very easily, and people seem to be used to it.  There were not many other cars on the road besides the trucks that go out at these times to clear up the mess.  We trudged on slowly, dragging sticks and branches, and running over things the whole way.  No wonder so many people drive “utes” (short for utility trucks)!  Once we stopped to answer the phone (it was Pres. Ellefson, checking to see if we were all right).  As we sat there, I could feel the car rocking in the wind.  We had another prayer, and made it through again with no problem.

When we finally got to our BT flat, the power was out.  I had brought a few potatoes, so we put those in the oven and thanked Heaven for our gas stove!  Our neighbor brought us a few candles, so now we are camping in the kitchen trying to get warm at the oven.  Adrian, next door says it might be five hours or so till the power comes back on!  Ray keeps saying, “Isn’t this fun?”  Brrrr… How cold is 12 degrees C.?  We’re going to go climb into bed while we wait for our potatoes…

Woops!  Here comes the power!  (The lights down here are so dim!)  See ya!  I’m going to fry some onions and some zucchini slices to go with our potatoes.