March 23 – 29, 2026
Yes, this week was March Madness and Eric wasn’t able to watch many (any?) games but he still sent out the bracket to the family last week (no gambling – just for fun!). He did check the scores daily to see who was in the lead. It looks like Blair and Macoy were #1 almost the whole tournament! Woo Hoo! Only a 5 year old can truly predict the outcomes – ha ha!
Besides March Madness (college basketball tournament) we had zone conference, zone emotional literacy trainings AND lots of crazy apartment issues! It TRULY was March Madness for us here in Sydney – ha ha!
Monday –
We received an email that the A/C would be turned off for the whole building for Monday and Tuesday, due to some sort of maintenance. Unfortunately it was very humid so we had to leave the apartment for the day! It seems the complex doesn’t seem to care about any inconveniences for their residents.
We also got an email that some company will be coming in to check our balconies and we “must” be here on the date/time for them to check it (or we will receive a $180 fine for rescheduling)! This apartment complex asks a lot of its residents! Previously we all had be here to have our fire alarms checked at a specific time (or we’d get the same fine to reschedule), we had NO access to our car for 5 days and no access to our elevators for 7 days due to the flooding (with zero compensation for the extreme hardship to many residents!). After letting the management know that we had a water leak from our A/C that was thoroughly soaking our carpet, they didn’t bother to check it out until ANOTHER leak (from the dishwasher) dripped into the apartment below! I guess that was a blessing since we finally got all three leaks fixed – dishwasher, washing machine and the A/C!! PLUS, the plumber tried to fix the sewer smell that comes from our back bathroom by changing the rubber seal under the toilet. We haven’t smelled anything since he was here – woo hoo! AND while an electrician was working on our A/C, we snagged him to fix a broken ceiling light that has had a short since we moved in! Woo Hoo! Almost all our apartment problems are now fixed! If only we could get new carpet (or laminate would be even better!) throughout the apartment! The carpet is old, stained and YUCKY! Maybe we’ll ask for it due to the previous flooding in the hall…! Fingers crossed!
Leaving our apartment to go study somewhere COOLER, we got to explore more of Darling harbor! There is a HUGE playground there with a big splash pad and many water features for kids, a carousel, climbing structures, swings, everything a kid could ask for! It’s cool because the city made use of this space under 4 freeways that converge above. It’s also right by the Darling harbor so the views are gorgeous! It seems that every restaurant along the water front had a “lunch special” so we ate at a delicious Italian restaurant and were NOT disappointed! I definitely want to go back! We walked down to the huge Crown building (which looks a lot like a building in London) and found out it’s actually the Crown from Rolex building – VERY gorgeous inside! We sat outside that building and read our scriptures, studied Preach My Gospel and read passages from a 33 day study of Christ as we approach Easter (given to us by our Mission Leaders). The weather was gorgeous as we sat in the shade by the water! After, we rode the ferry back to Circular Quay then the train back to our apartment. Riding the ferry is such a treat – being out on the water, seeing the beauty and feeling the cooler breeze!
Later, we attended our District Council to discuss the work happening in our area. We had a lot of extra fruit syrups that we made for the missionaries so we took the ingredients to make pancakes for the two zones that meet at our building. I knew there was NO WAY we could eat all that peach and raspberry syrup and didn’t want to waste it! Eric was the super star pancake maker and I think it was TOTALLY appreciated by all the missionaries!
Tuesday –
Today we helped our sister missionaries with a lesson with one of our favorite friends, Ansii from Finland, then went to the mission office for an afternoon/evening Emotional Literacy Training for the Teancum zone. We love to visit with the zones from around the mission! It feels like seeing dear friends whenever we meet for trainings! We didn’t get home until about 10:00 PM and realized we still had to make a brownie raspberry cheesecake trifle for the senior luncheon. Thankfully, Eric and I are a great team and helped make the dessert in no time! Yes, I had an amazingly helpful husband, which I truly appreciate! 🙂
Wednesday –
We had to leave early this morning to attend our Zone Conference, which was about an hour away. Again, such a fabulous opportunity to see so many missionaries we know and love – as well as our AWESOME mission presidents – Elder and Sister Doane and many of our senior missionary friends! Today our senior zone leaders (Elder and Sister Seager) planned a senior luncheon back at the mission office to welcome our new seniors and say “good bye” to those seniors who will be leaving in the next month. The food was delicious – yummy pastas, salad, garlic break and desserts! The Delpais’ planned a fun game to play (with some of her DELICIOUS homemade candy as prizes!). I think all but one senior couple from the mission was in attendance so it was wonderful to catch up with everyone!
After the luncheon we hung out for an hour until our temple shift we work on Wednesdays. As we waited, we checked our phones (which had been on vibrate for the zone conference) and saw that we missed many “URGENT” messages from our apartment complex – stating something in our kitchen was leaking into the apartment below and we needed to contact them RIGHT AWAY. Unfortunately by the time we got the message and contacted the office, it was too late for a plumber to come so they just shut off the water to our apartment (of course they did!). The blessing was that we were still able to work at the temple and did not have to rush home. We only had to go the night and morning without water – ha ha!
Thursday –
Thankfully the plumber arrived early in the morning…but only to assess the situation. He said he couldn’t fix anything because they had to determine who was paying for it – the owners or the apartment complex. He did find the kitchen leak in the dishwasher so he turned the water off to that and was able to turn back on our water for the rest of the apartment. Phew! So, nothing really got fixed but at least we’re not leaking into any other apartments at the moment!
My step dad – Dave Jones – has been in the hospital for a few days, for complications with diverticulitis. This afternoon we found out that his situation was much worse than we thought. Being ½ way across the world and unable to be there to help him and my mom made me feel a bit hopeless and sad! We knew that going on a mission could be tricky if anything happened to our family members, but also knew we could fly home for any emergencies, if needed. It was sobering to actually face the reality but THANKFULLY, my siblings were there to help out – Thank you Jennifer and Jay! We are praying for Dave and my mom, as well as the doctors to find out how to stop the bleeding. He’s been receiving constant blood transfusions this week and getting weaker all the time.
Friday –
Today an electrician was supposed to come to fix our A/C leakage problem but we waited all day for him and he ended up NOT coming! It felt like a major waste of the day – as he would keep postponing throughout the day and finally at 6:30 PM told us he wouldn’t be able to come out after all! Ugh! We ended up going for a walk in the late afternoon to get out of the house then took one of my Young Women to the Mortdale stake center for a youth activity. Afterwards we went out for gelato with our friends, Manda and Ella.
Saturday –
P-Day – This morning a different plumber came early and actually fixed ALL the leaks- in the washing machine, the dish washer leak and fixed something in our back bathroom to stop the sewer smell – so far, so good! After he left, we went to Coogee beach to see an apartment for the Putnam’s (to see if it would be suitable to rent for the young missionaries). While visiting the Coogee beach area, we went to the beach and walked around. We were surprised to see NO ONE lying/sitting on the beach. We didn’t realize the beach was closed to all swimmers and waders (actually, all the beaches in Sydney were closed) – only people with a surf board could go in. The waves were intense – “once in a hundred year weather phenomena causing huge waves.” We did realize a lot of people WERE there – just sitting on the grass and stairs watching the enormous waves! After the beach walk and apartment check, we went to the mall by Costco to purchase a gift for one of our missionaries – Elder Latu. We thought we had plenty of time to get Costco pizza and sides for dinner for the missionaries at 6:30. Unfortunately, the Costco closest to us was SLAMMED! It took over an HOUR to get our pizza! We ended up postponing our dinner until 7:30 – thankfully our missionaries are super flexible and understanding! We were able to celebrate Elder Latu’s birthday! He’s from Melbourne and was originally called to serve in Zimbabwe. Due to visa delays, it looks like he’ll be staying in the Sydney mission. We’re super glad to have him here. We’re the most veteran of the missionaries who have been in the Hyde Park district and Elder Latu comes next. He came out a couple weeks after we did – so we were “goldens” together! After everyone left, I had to stay up late to complete the Good Friday Easter Activity we’ll be having in our group next week on Good Friday. We need to get the announcement, flyer and invitations ready to be given out at church tomorrow!
Sunday –
I’m sure I’ve mentioned that my GERD has gotten worse since before we left for our mission. Since we ate dinner so late with the missionaries, I had terrible acid reflux and ended up trying to sleep in the recliner. Even with two heavy duty prescriptions AND sleeping upright in a recliner, I still had some crazy choking attacks, which led to no sleep and a major migraine this morning. I felt bad about staying home from church to rest and get the headache to go away, especially since Eric and the RS leader, Manda, facilitated the 5th Sunday lesson based on President Oaks talk – Coming Closer to Jesus Christ. They were prepared for some awesome engagement so I’m sure the lesson went wonderfully, through the help of the Holy Spirit!
I pretty much slept most of the day and even went to bed “early.” Hopefully I’ll be feeling normal again tomorrow. I’m going to the Dr. on Tuesday to get some prescription renewed and ask about my GERD so I’ll be praying for some answers. One thing I know for sure – NO EATING after 6:30 PM and NO soda or spicy foods in the afternoon! Fun, Fun!
Things I learned this week:
- Heavenly Father ALWAYS hears and answers our prayers in His own time and in His own way! It’s funny to be grateful for our latest water leak, but because it actually affected someone else, the management stepped it up and sent in plumbers and electricians to fix the leaks, and while they were at it, we had them fix the other problems in our apartment. The silver lining was that ALL the repairs we’ve needed since we moved in were fixed over a 3 day period. I don’t consider that a coincidence at all! No more stinky sewer smells in our apartment, no more water leaks, and our ceiling light is the living room is FINALLY fixed (I like a well lit room!).! Thank you, God, for your tender mercies!
- I’m grateful that each day ends and we are awoken and blessed with a new one each morning! Sometimes things can pile up in a day and feel very stressful and overwhelming – planning, helping/supporting others, feeling behind, uncertainty, balancing time, etc. For some reason, things seem bleaker to me at night, in the darkness. Thankfully, a new day always comes – with new light, new energy, new beginnings, and a new outlook (usually much more positive). I know that the “light” I experience every day is the Light of the Savior! He IS the Light of the World! He brings new beginnings, second chances, do-overs, fresh starts and HELP in our lives! Just like I feel ready to tackle the day each morning, I know that I can accomplish whatever the Lord needs me to do with His Light, His Love, and His Spirit!
Eric’s interesting Aussie info:
We have a family bracket challenge every year. We call it the Helland Honyoks in honor Grandpa Helland. we always invite my brother and his kids and grandkids to participate. This year the Robinson kids dominated. Blair, was leading our group after the first weekend. My grandchildren are so smart! The top four are all my grandkids.
after the second weekend a five year old leads the way!
The real tournament Ha Ha!!
My favorite team the New Mexico Lobos. qualified for the NIT tournament. They are doing good so far they have won three games and play next week> if they win they will play in the NIT championship.
Go Loobos, woof woof woof!
The Helland's Down Under 