April 6 – 12
What a fabulous week – watching General Conference (we had to watch it after the fact since we’re a day ahead); feeling the awesome Spirit AND receiving timely and needed direction/commandments from the Lord’s prophet and His church leaders! In Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 it says, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken…whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” In case you missed any part of General Conference, you can watch/read it here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2026/04?lang=eng
Another fun part of the week was having some friends we made at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah visit us for a few days – Elder Ron and Sister Nancy Best, from Las Vegas. We were able to practice teaching to each other at the MTC and got to be good friends! They are assigned to the Adelaide, Australia mission and flew in to attend the temple and spend a few days here in Sydney with us! It was a fun change to have company and show them around our city!
Here’s how our week went:
Monday –
We were able to call family – even though it was their Easter Sunday/General Conference day, clean up the Holy Walk rooms at the church building and attend District Council.
Tuesday –
Today was our own zone, Abinadi zone, emotional literacy training. We love when we get to be with our whole, AWESOME zone! We attended a missionary lesson and taught the Book of Mormon study class in the evening. Update on my step dad’s health – although they finally stopped all the bleeding, his large incisions on his abdomen started oozing so they had to open back up the wounds. This poor guy has been through the ringer the past couple weeks! One blessing that’s come out of it is seeing Dave’s family and ours come together to support him and each other. We have all been united in prayer (and in a group text) for Dave to be saved and now to get well and recover. Continued prayers for him and my mom.
Wednesday –
BLAIR’S 12th BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday to our oldest granddaughter! This was our first grandcutie’s birthday we missed…and there will be more to come! 😭Thank goodness for FACETIME and AMAZON!!! I love that we can still see our grandkids open their presents, get a sneak peak at their party and send gifts and treats to our loved ones in the US – with Amazon Prime speedy delivery! Woo Hoo!
We also had to get ready for company today then worked at the temple in the afternoon.
Thursday –
We picked up Elder and Sister Best at the airport, brought them back to our apartment, then walked down to Darling Harbour for dinner. Yes, we took them to eat…hamburgers and chips (french fries) at Betty’s Burgers. That was the first restaurant we ate at here in Australia so it still holds a special place in our heart. 🤣
After dinner we took the VERY crowded train to the Olympic Stadium to watch our first RUGBY game- the Bulldogs versus the Panthers. The Panthers (from the Blue Mountains) were undefeated before the game but got knocked out (literally!) by the Bulldogs (Parramatta)! Wowzers, and I thought American football was rough! Rugby was hard for me to watch – NO pads, helmets or body protection and there is a LOT more tackling – including head butting at high speeds, neck grabbing, kicking (not sure if that’s allowed but we saw it happen plenty of times), and even picking up players to throw them to the ground! I told Eric that was the last rugby game I’ll probably watch but he thinks we’ll see another one (only to watch one of our friends who is getting baptized, though!).
Friday –
We attended the temple with the Best’s this morning then drove to the Blue Mountains. It was so beautiful to see the changing autumn colors on the drive there! It was also great to chat with them about what we thought we’d be doing on our missions and what we are actually doing on our missions! It was fun to hear about the great work they’re doing in Mildura! They are super star missionaries! We ended our day by eating at an american restaurant, Outback we all loved eating a bloomin onion. We stayed up way to late talking.
Saturday –
We took them to Paddy’s Market – the BEST (and most inexpensive) place to purchase Australian souvenirs! After filling up our bags with tshirts, sweatshirts, and boomerangs, we headed to the harbor to ride the ferry to Manly beach and dip our toes in the ocean! They were having an open market there with booths along the promenades. I, of course, could have spent more time window shopping the booths, but we made our way back on the ferry to have Mexican food at El Camino Cantina at the Rocks. We all ordered fajitas and they were…delicious! I don’t know why everyone says Australia doesn’t do Mexican food! I’ve loved what I’ve had of it so far! Now, if they only sold green chili here…! That night we went to the IMAX theater to watch “Hail Mary.” I liked the movie but was disappointed that the IMAX theater doesn’t have reclining seats – what the heck?!?! 🙂 I also didn’t realize that the movie was almost 3 hours long! We might not have chosen to go to the 9:30 PM movie – ha ha!
Sunday –
Today was the rebroadcasting of General Conference here at the church buildings. Eric and I set up the feed for anyone who came to the church building to watch with the Bests helping out. It got a little crazy from there – trying to get ready for a baptism and get the Best’s to the airport so they could fly back to Adelaide. Thankfully, the baptism all worked out – with the sister getting baptized wearing my temple dress! Not only did it fit her, but she looked lovely in it! I love that God helps cover our small mishaps (in this case, things we forgot) so His work can roll forward! Congratulations to our newest group member, Estephania!
Dinner was bittersweet as we just found out that over half our district and Summer Hill peeps would be transferred next week. We will miss the AWESOME missionaries we have gotten to know and love. We know they are needed in other areas of the mission and will be fabulous assets wherever they go! We learn so much from each missionary we serve with! Good-bye to Sister Thompson, Sister Rowe, Sister Ledesma, Sister Maukeni, Sister Leslie, Elder Menezes, and Elder Salazar! Fortunately, the Elders are moving from our district to Summer Hill so we will still see them for Sunday dinner! 🙂
Some things I learned this week:
- Whenever I prayerfully read the scriptures or listen to/read General Conference talks, I feel the Spirit likening the words to my own life and giving me inspiration, guidance and answers to prayer! I love how I can ALWAYS find specific direction for ME in the words of God! I know He will do that for EACH of His children as we turn to Him.
- The phrase, “turn it over to God,” has always made sense to me – to share our problems with the Lord and ask Him for help, but to actually stop worrying about it is hard for me. I realize that as I pray for help and guidance – even miracles – and then continue to fret and stress, I am lacking faith in Him who is mighty to save, to heal, and to do what is best for each person’s eternal growth. I know that feelings are natural and normal, but I realize that I need to have more TRUST in God’s will, in His ways. In Matthew 10:29–31 it says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” If knows when the sparrow falls, He is ALWAYS aware of the details of our lives. We are His beloved children. I love the new church hymn – His Eye is on the Sparrow – check it out – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ha9a9YF3UI
The Helland's Down Under 