April 27 – May 3, 2026
May 1 was our 5th month on our mission! Woo hoo! Almost a ½ year out! So, this week called for a CELEBRATION – plus, it was my birthday week as well! 😉I am so grateful for modern technology that allowed me to talk to my parents, kids and grandkids for my birthday! A shout out to both Blair and Camry who made me beautiful birthday cards then sent a video sharing and reading the cards to me! Soooo awesome! ♥️The rest of the grandkids sang Happy Birthday to me and I was just so happy to see them!!! 🥰😍♥️
Here’s how our celebration week went:
Monday –
Regular Prep Day – Called grandkids/kids, planned for the week, attended District Council
Tuesday –
This morning we taught the Alma zone for the first Emotional Literacy class. After our happy reunion with this amazing zone and the training, Eric and I split up to go out with the missionaries in our district. Eric went with the elders to teach a friend in the park. I was able to drive the sister missionaries to the hospital to visit sweet Ruiyi (pronounced Ray-EE) who I shared about in last week’s update. What a blessing and privilege it was to be part of the lesson they taught her, about our Savior Jesus Christ and the power of prayer. They invited her to pray daily and get to know our Savior and Heavenly Father, which she accepted. Although most of the lesson was taught in Chinese, I could feel the Holy Spirit in that area of the hospital where we taught and I felt the compassion and love for sweet Ruiyi, knowing her parents back in China were praying for her, missing her, and trusting the doctors here in Sydney to help her. I can only imagine what a stressful time this is for Ruiyi and for her family!
Wednesday –
Today was catch up day – I had 3 lists where I had given myself assignments for various things – for my YW calling, for the group, for our missionary work – and just some day to day stuff! So, I had to find all my lists and complete my assignments. The lists didn’t turn out to be as daunting as I had thought (phew!) so I was actually able to cross the items off and feel “caught up.” I realize that sometimes I procrastinate and/or worry about something that I think is going to be “hard.” Instead of moving forward, I can become “paralyzed” by the seemingly difficult tasks ahead, when in reality, when I sit down, get organized and work on the “project,” I feel calm and able to complete (or at least get a good start) on the task. I think many people feel that way about living the gospel and walking the covenant path. They think of all the things that are entailed with being a disciple of Christ and it may seem overwhelming or daunting, when in reality, following the Savior – keeping His commandments, loving and serving His children brings us TRUE joy, peace, and guidance in our lives! When we keep His commandments we are immediately blessed with feelings of peace. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ also brings us the maximum “safety” as we journey in this life. NOT following the Savior, not living His laws is where we will find confusion, feelings of inadequacy and despair. Following Him does NOT ensure a carefree life – free of pain, sickness, disappointment, or grief, but He does promise us that He will ALWAYS be with us, He will send His spirit to comfort and guide us. My testimony has been strengthened knowing that our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father ARE involved in the details of our lives and that they only want what is BEST for us – for our growth, learning and progress – to have all the blessings they have to offer – even joy and safety in this life and in eternal life with our families in the world to come!
Thursday –
Today the sisters asked us to drive them to the mission office for interviews at 9:00 am. We decided to start our celebration today so as soon as we dropped them off, we headed to Wollagong, NSW to check out the city and beaches. Our plan was to have lunch in Wollagong then head to Hyam beach, where they supposedly have the whitest sand in the world. Unfortunately we only made it to Wollagong because it was getting late in the day. We spent a couple hours at a beautiful, deserted beach, enjoying the gorgeous weather and sounds and sights of the ocean. We also had lunch and walked around the downtown area. We will still have to leave Sydney early one morning and make our way to Hyam beach! 🙂
Friday –
Our awesome kids gave us tickets to the Taronga Zoo for Christmas but we decided to wait until the weather cooled down and the humidity subsided! We took the light rail to Circular Quay then the ferry to the zoo – it has it’s own harbor!. We had a fabulous time seeing all the Australian animals – the dingo, koala, kangaroos – including the Red Kangaroo (the big ones), wallaby, bilby, platypus and more! Eric was excited to see a Cassowary bird – which looks like something from the dinosaur days! Look it up! The zoo itself was beautiful – on the side of a hill, full of trees, plants, and grassy areas – and right next to the ocean! We were only able to see about ½ of the zoo (we got hungry and had plans to eat Mexican food at the Rocks) so we decided to put the tickets the kids bought us towards a season pass! Thank you Alyce, Nathan, Adam and Cortney! 🥰 After the lovely ferry ride back to the Circular Quay (the main harbor where the Sydney Opera House is) we went to our Mexican food find – El Camino Cantina – located in The Rocks area of the harbor. We loved the fajitas on our last visit so we ordered the same. What a great celebration day!
Ferry ride back
Saturday –
Today we had plans to get up early and ride the ferry to Parramatta and up the Parramatta River (where a shark was filmed recently jumping out of the water!). However, we realized we hadn’t been to Costco and the grocery store yet to buy food for the Sunday missionary dinner so we headed grocery shopping instead. On our way back we stopped to get a gift for Ruiyi as the YW were planning to visit her after church Sunday. We got her an adult coloring book, markers and an embroidery kit to give her something to do while at the hospital. I wish I knew what her prognosis was and how long she’ll be in the hospital so I knew better how to encourage her but for now, we’ll just visit her and hopefully bring some joy to her! 🙂 That evening we went to the movies to see The Devil Wears Prada 2. I LOVED the first installment and have been dying to see the second! It actually was great and was the perfect way to end my birthday weekend!
Sunday –
Today was church, group council, then spending the rest of the afternoon getting ready for birthday dinner with the missionaries. We made my favorite bow tie pasta with spinach, mushrooms and white sauce (thank you, Dana Hough for the yummy recipe!), a big salad, garlic bread, and apple crisp. Besides the missionaries, we had a friend who has been meeting with the sisters for lessons – Iris – and Ruth and her friend Elizabeth. The dinner and company was FABULOUS! The elders from our district made me the sweetest homemade birthday cards – which made my day – as well as cards from the sisters and a beautiful bracelet, gold purse and shirt from Ruth (so sweet and generous!)! This was one of the best birthday celebration weeks! The only thing better would have been to have my family here – ha ha!
The Helland's Down Under 