G'day all.
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting RAAF Base Richmond and meeting with the latest course of Defence Chaplains. Whilst they were being presented with their personalised laundry bags I gave them a brief overview of Aussie Heroes and what we do. Some of them had heard of us before but for a number it was a brand new intrduction. Giving them their own "Aussie Heroes experience" by visiting them and presenting them with their laundry bags will hopefully mean that they will rememver us when one of their troops is deploying or perhaps even doing it tough. I did not have time to talk to them all individually but many of them took the chance to shake my hand and thank me for what we do. One of them thanked me for the quilt that his wife received on a recent deployment.
.....
Dear Janis,
First of all thank you
so much for making my lovely quilt. It is perfect. You have gone
above and beyond with the design. Spiderman is my favourite childhood
character and Arsenal is who I support in the English soccer.
All little about
myself.
I currently serve on
HMAS Armidale and we work out of Darwin.We have a crew of about 30 people so we
have to get along out at sea. I was born in Papua New Guinea and moved to
North QLD (CAIRNS) with my family when I was 9 years old. I currently reside in
Darwin, I have been here since 2017, my partner has just moved up a
couple days ago as it was getting too hard doing long distance, which we are
both happy about.
P.s. Thank you for
your lovely letter and the snacks, those snacks bring excitement when we
are out at sea.
.....
Hi Kaye,
Thankyou so very much for the awesome laundry
bag you made for me! It is outstanding and just what I wanted to get as it
reminds me of home. I really love my sailing and blue water, even though I am
in the Army. It is proudly hanging on the outside of my cabinet in my cabin. I
will send a photo of it and me in the week once I have my uniform back on
again.
Thanks again for the wonderful laundry bag. It
is always nice receiving mail. A great morale booster. I will send a photo
soon.
Kind Regards
.....
To
Robyn,
Thank
you so much for my wonderful quilt. I absolutely love it.
Thank
you for your thoughts and prayers. It is very humbling to think that there are
so many people who think of us while we are away from home and use their
wonderful talents to create amazing quilts and laundry bags for us.
I
was born and raised in Fairfield and my Dad now lives in Emu Heights so reading
about the river brought many memories. My Nan and I often caught the train and
ferry to Taronga Zoo as we both loved the animals. I unfortunately lost my Nan
in 2012 to illness, so your amazing quilt will remind me of trips to the zoo
with her.
Thank you so much,
.....
Dear Beverly
I have just completed Module 1 of my Chaplaincy training and was thrilled to receive the laundry bag you have lovingly made. It is truly beautiful and I was deeply moved to receive it.
My Grandfather also served in WWII in the middle east and Africa as part of the 2/25th Battalion from Brisbane. Having become part of the defence community I feel a different connection to him and am very proud to have his picture hanging on my wall. In receiving your gift on Thursday I was very conscious of him and all that he did for his country and family.
Again- I am deeply moved by your gift and thank you, from the bottom of heart, for your kindness and support.
May God Bless you, Peter and your family.
.....
Hi
again Jan-Maree and hello Dianne,
I
received my laundry bag today in a box full of useful toiletries, games and
munchies, thanks! Dianne's note describing the town of XXXX was lovely to
read.
The
box took a bit longer to get here than normal as it was sent from the main
Aussie base in UAE on a Canadian C130 Hercules transport but was offloaded at a
base in northern Iraq! It's since travelled through multiple coalition bases
and aircraft but finally found me yesterday. Quite the journey for a well
travelled laundry bag!
Dianne
you have done marvelous work. The embroidered Rising Sun, Aussie flag and
Army vehicle silhouettes are perfect and match well with my quilt. As I told
Jan-Maree I've been extended, so
the laundry bag will get plenty of work on Operations!
My
sincere and heartfelt thanks to you both and all involved with AHQ.
......
Hey Sue,
I was super psyched to get the package from you. It actually
made me tear up when I got to see your hard work. I honestly don't know how to
thank you enough. I am chuffed to say the least.
The bag is beautiful and perfect!
Thank you so much Sue, from the bottom of my heart.
My wife is equally chuffed and was saying to me how good it
felt to be thought of (our family) and that you would think of us and do
something so selfless for us is really amazing. Truly.
It was great to hear about you and your life, especially
your dog and working towards getting him hospital ready. Our little bundle is
perfectly cute too. Bronte (7Yr old Boston Terrier) is an absolute joy and
great company for the family while I am away. While Bronte is
a couch potato for 90% of the day, she can get quite excitable and
inconsiderate of personal space so I don't know how she would go in a hospital
setting, stomping on tubes and vulnerable areas. You have inspired me to look
into doing something similar though.
All the best Sue and again thank you for your generosity;
towards both me and the countless others in the ADF who benefit from yours and
AHQ's enduring support.
Take care
.....
Hi Ellen,
Thankyou so very much for the awesome Quilt you made for me!
It is outstanding and just what I wanted to get as it reminds me of home. I
really love my sailing and blue water, even though I am in the Army. It is on
my bed over here and I will send a photo of it and me in the week once I have
my uniform back on again.
Thankyou for your kind letter and the detail in it.
You definitely have a lot of relatives of military history. Your retirement
looks fantastic and full of adventure and family enjoyment.
I’m nearly 3 months in to my deployment and due to return to
Australia in Jan 20. It is a great experience working in an underdeveloped
country. The locals appear to be just getting on with their lives.
Thanks again for the wonderful quilt. It is always nice
receiving mail. A great morale booster. I will send a photo soon.
Kind Regards
.....
.....
Jan-Maree and Sandy,
You will be pleased to know that my quilt arrived today and
it has pride of place on my bed!!!
Thank you both for your hard work and thoughts of us over
here. It means a great deal!!
Kind regards,
What a great bunch of messages.
Till next time... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx
Lovely.
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