Grati-Wednesday 20th March 2019

Lots of lovely messages this week. Enjoy reading them.

Good Morning Sue.

Just a quick line to say a big thank you for the lovely washing bag you made for me.

My Grand Father served during the Great War, and to receive a Remembrance Day themed washing bag during the 100^thAnniversary year of the Armistice is very special.

Your washing bag will become a much treasured ‘keep sake’ for my three sons in the coming years. Make no mistake, receiving these very special gifts from back home in Australia means a huge amount to all of us serving overseas. To know that our fellow Australians are thinking of us, is a great source of encouragement.

Thanks again for the additional lovely gifts you included with my washing bag. I’ll be sure to use and enjoy them in the coming weeks.

Kindest regards,

…..

Hello Sue,

Thank you very much for your wonderful craftsmanship of my daughter's quilt. You have made one little girl and her mum very happy.

We really appreciate all you do at Aussie Heroes, your thoughts and messages are welcomed and definitely put huge smiles on the faces of the recipients, especially after a long deployment away from home.

Thank you again,

Regards,

…..

Good Morning Georgina,

You sent me a Quilt and Laundry Bag through the quilt program.

I am currently a few weeks out from going home and getting to finally spend some time with my family after being away nine months, it’s starting to get exciting.

I would like to thank you for your time, hard work and kind thoughts. While over here it is at times difficult to stay positive, however gestures of kindness like this honestly mean the world to not only myself but all of us over here. Simply receiving anything from home puts a smile on our faces and we do not take it for granted.

I sincerely thank you for your hard work and time, along with Jan for the applique, your good friend for the fabric and your sons for the time they spend going through ideas with you.

I will keep both forever as a reminder of my time in the Middle East and the kindness of fellow Australians back home.

I wish yourself and your family (Dog, Cat and Bird included) all the best. 

Thank you so much.

…..

Dear Clarissa, 

Thank you very much for your parcel. I dare say you won't be surprised to hear that all the lollies have been eaten by Australian personnel at the hospital. They provided a timely morale boost during this very cold winter! If you could send over some of the Australian summer sun, it would be greatly appreciated!

Maisie sounds delightful! I have two small puppies waiting for me at home. They rule the house while my wife tries to maintain order. I truly believe I sit at the bottom of the household hierarchy. 

Thank you again for the parcel, it was warmly received.

Kind regards, 

…..

Good evening Sue,

It is 8pm and I am sitting at my desk writing this letter of warm thanks to you.

I received your parcel today and am so grateful for your kindness and generosity. The rule of thumb here is that cards and letters are your own, but everything else is shared - an Australian thing. The lip balms were a hit with the girls: even one of the blokes grabbed one. The puzzle books were meted out, as were the pens. I am writing with one of them now hence the change in ink colour. The razors were taken to the hospital ward for use by the patients, but the big hit was the Tim Tams. We share the facility with American personnel and they are mad for them. You can swap them for all kinds of goodies - personally I just eat them!

By way of introduction, I am the Senior Nursing Officer at the Military Hospital. In a previous age you would have called me Matron - not so today. I have 5 excellent nurses in my team plus numerous Army medics and ancillary staff. They are a very tightly knit team. I have Doctors as well; they would deny it, but they belong to me as well.

I have been on deployment now for some months. My wife and daughters are very supportive of my being here, but it is still very hard for them with me being away for such a long time. This is my fifth deployment. I am quite used to them by now.

Daily life starts at 05.30 with duty seven days a week. We have Friday and Sunday mornings off to sleep in, but I am so used to getting up early that I rise early and go to the gym. I think my wife will be pleased with the result.

Thank you again for your generosity and kindness we are a long way from home and family. You feel sometimes that you are forgotten - then you receive a parcel and lovely letter that reminds you of the Australian warmth of heart. You have my sincere thanks.

Once again, Thank you for your kind thoughts.

…..

Hello Anne,

I am one of the ADF members you recently made a Laundry Bag for within the Middle East.

Thank you so much for making this for me, I really appreciate it. It may not have been the most exciting laundry bag to make but none the less means a lot to me. My Corps is quite a proud Corps and we take pride in showing our colours, and I will do so with my new Laundry Bag.

Thank you for the Tim Tams, and yes Tim Tams are very popular over here - especially when we are trying to build relationships with other countries, we butter them up with a few Tim Tams. Also I enjoy (probably too much) having a few Tim Tams when I have a coffee. And just so you know, by some miracle the Tim Tams you sent did not melt! Every other lot of chocolates seems to melt!

I know you said the eucalyptus drops are a bit of a joke, but I actually enjoy them, you should try some one day.

This is my first deployment overseas and I had not heard of hero quilts so I was pretty excited to get my order in, a little bit anxious as well as I did not know what would arrive, but I can assure you that you hit the nail on the head. Thanks for doing what you do and taking the time to do this for myself and all the others you have done sewing for and all the future sewing you will do! I might encourage my wife, mum or Grandma to do the same.

Can you please pass on my gratitude to Rhonda as well for the embroidery.

Thanks again Anne, I will use the Laundry bag for the rest of my career.

…..

Hello Lenore,

Thank you so much for the beautiful quilt that you put together for me, it is amazing and I absolutely love it, you really hit the nail on the head with my request for Australian animals.

The quilters are so talented and put so much time and effort into making these for the personnel deployed overseas. Receiving a quilt really lifts the spirits not only for the recipient but for all who get to see the amazing detail that goes into these works of art.

This is my first deployment to the Middle East and you really get to understand just how lucky we are in Australia. I am slowly getting used to the new routines.

Once again, thank you so much for the amazing quilt that you made for me, your efforts and those of the other hero quilters are very much appreciated and really do lift our spirits over here.

Kind Regards,

…..

Morning Kaye,

I would like to say thank you for your lovely laundry bag that I received.

I am a Buffer on board the ship; the Buffer is the head of the Seamanship department and is the go between from the junior sailors and the Executive Officer so basically I make things happen and my troops carry out the work assigned to them.

Thank you again for the laundry bag it was great to receive something that will make life a little easier on board from a kind lady who takes the time to make and donate gifts to the troops of our great nation.

…..

Dear Lyn,

Thank you so much for the Aussie Hero Quilt and laundry bag you made for me. I really appreciate the time and effort you put in to making them. They have been beautifully made and I love the patterns you chose. They are wonderful mementos of my time here in Iraq. It’s lovely to hear about your life in the Riverland. I have never been to South Australia but now I have added it to the list of places I must travel to!

It sounds like you and your husband have a wonderful life and are spending your retirement well. Travelling in a caravan is the best way to see the country, especially if you have lots of time to do so.

I am working in a medical facility with clinicians from other countries. We are a busy facility but luckily most of the injuries I have seen have been minor. I am enjoying my deployment and making the most of it, helping plan events for Christmas and Australia Day, International Women’s Day, Easter and Anzac Day.

Thank you again for the time you put into making this gift for me. It is lovely to know there are people like you who care enough to contribute to Aussie Hero Quilts. I have loved showing off my quilt to my friends here and sending pictures of it home. I also enjoy seeing all the other quilts that people are receiving.

Cheers,

…..

Dear Jan-Maree,

I am so pleased to let you know that my quilt has found me safe and sound, as well as my laundry bag, They are both so amazing I will make sure that I thank both makers with a handwritten letter of appreciation.

Kind Regards,

…..

Hello Suzanne

Thank you so very much for my new laundry bag, my old one was on its last legs lol. I absolutely love it btw. Especially the Star Wars motifs.

Regards

…..

Good Morning Rita,

I just wanted to drop you a quick email to say thank you so very much for the absolutely wonderful quilt that you made and sent to me. It really is a lovely quilt and has significantly brightened up my room!

It has been an interesting time lately with very cold temperatures and reasonably regular snow falls that have left a few inches of snow on the ground on a number of occasions. I still find it amusing when I see grown men in the military from various nations having snow ball fights!

Thank you for all that you do in supporting deployed troops through the Aussie Hero Quilts program. It really does make a difference to us over here, away from home, to receive such wonderful gifts from members of the Australian community.

Thank you again for the thoughts and the effort that you have put in to making the quilt. It is very much appreciated.

All the best,
…..

Dearest Kaye,

Thank you so much for my wonderful quilt. I could never imagine getting something so fabulous. I have made quite a few people jealous as my room looks magical again.

Kind regards

…..

Good Morning Sheena,
 
This is my second time in the Middle East; however, the first time I was here we did not have the opportunity for Aussie Hero Quilts.

  My wife and kids are doing a tremendous job back home in my absence and I am very lucky to have them. My family are all big into sports, mainly NRL, but my wife plays netball and we will watch almost anything.
 
I cannot express enough my heartfelt appreciation for the laundry bag you made for me. You have done an astounding job and I will treasure it forever. You absolutely nailed my request
and I love it. The laundry bag is amazing, especially with only 4 years practice.
 
Sounds like you have a truly beautiful family, and it is great to hear you running rings around the boys at the local golf club. Don't ever let life get in your way! Keep hitting those goals and improving your golf game.

I hope you understand that I have sent you an email rather than written a letter, our mail is incredibly slow here, and by the time you received my letter I would probably be near home.
 
Kind regards and the deepest thanks,

…..

Hi Beverly,

Thank you very much for my package, it arrived today and it was a big surprise as my wife had organised it so I had no idea it was coming.

My washing bag looks fantastic, you obviously found out that I'm a keen golfer when at home.

I joined the RAN at 18 straight out of school. I am amazed at how quickly the time has gone. I have made a lot of good friends along the way and enjoyed some interesting postings. On completion of my tour over here and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my family again.

Once again thank you for what you do, it is greatly appreciated, and I think you may receive a few more orders shortly as everyone else here though it was amazing too.

Regards,
…..

Dear Sue,

Thank you for my gorgeous Tinkerbell and cupcakes quilt I love it.

Kind regards,

…..

Dear Clarissa,

Thank you so much for the lovely laundry bag you made for me. I absolutely love it, and you managed to get all my favourites on it. Teapots, flowers, and cats (in their secret area).

The work that the volunteers do with Aussie Hero Quilts is just amazing. I have personally seen the reaction from people here when their laundry bags / quilts arrive and it is truly special.

Once again thank you so very much for the laundry bag, it will remain a significant piece of my deployment.

Kind regards,

…..

Dear Noelene,

Thank you so much for my beautiful laundry bag. It was such a wonderful surprise.

Kind regards,

…..

Hello Su,

I am writing this short email to thank you for taking the time and effort to sew my “Hero Quilt”. I am very pleased with it and it will be something that I will treasure for many years to come. I’d like to apologise for not writing sooner, I received my hero quilt only days before returning to Australia

Since returning to Australia I have really enjoyed being able to go for walks in the bush amongst trees! This is in stark contrast to walking around the base while on deployment, not a tree in sight!

Thank you once again and I hope this email finds you in good health.

Kind regards,

…..

Hi Jan Maree,

Thank you very much for the laundry bag. I appreciate this very much for the effort and thought that went into this endeavour.

Thanks again.

…..

HMAS Melville has just received a batch of laundry bags. They were delivered to the ship by one of our wonderful Navy Chaplains, who let told us:

 “A very thankful crew of HMAS Melville. Again JM a big thank you to you and your team. One sailor said "I have been in the navy for 10 years and seen these all over the fleet - and now I have my very own" - she was very happy!”

PHOTOS from HMAS MELVILLE