July 13 – 19, 2026
Monday-
This morning we got a call from Sis Pownell, the mission secretary, and asked if we could come to the mission office to meet with President Doane at noon. Eric and I immediately started wondering (worrying?!?) what the meeting was about-were we getting transferred to the new Brisbane South mission (we heard they had asked for another senior couple) or were we getting moved to work in the office (our friends, the Westovers are going home next month and so far there’s no missionaries to replace them for the cars and other office work)?
We tried to be calm and be ready for either assignment – praying that the Lord would give us comfort and guidance in whatever we were asked to do. So, we were happily surprised to be asked to be the new zone leaders for the senior missionaries in the mission! This means no change in living location and we still get to stay in Hyde Park with our awesome group family and group callings! We also will continue to teach the mental health classes, help with career coaching and support the AMAZING missionaries in our district and zone! With our new assignment we will communicate regularly with the other senior missionaries – making sure everyone is up to date on the what’s happening in the mission (ie direction from mission president, where they need to be and when, etc.), provide training for the seniors at zone conference every 6 weeks, plan dinner events to coincide with zone conference, attend a bimonthly Missionary Leadership Council (one is usually an all day training event and one is a zoom check in), and whatever else our mission leaders need us to do! We are excited to get to know President and Sister Doane better, learn from the mission-wide leaders, and grow in our testimonies and conversion!
After our meeting with President Doane, we traded cars and drove the panel van home so we’d be ready for transfers tomorrow (and the luggage pick up/drop off!)
Tuesday-
Today was transfer #6 for us! The night before, we get directions from the AP’s (assistants to the president) on whose luggage we pick up and occasionally any people we may need to pick up. We left early to pick up luggage in Sutherland, which is about an hour away, then we drove another hour to the church building for transfers. The sisters have transfers in the morning and the elders have transfers in the afternoon. We had to wait until all the elders showed up so we could get the correct luggage for delivery – for both elders and sisters! The van was TOTALLY full! We drove almost 100 miles today but it was fun being together and driving around the city!
Wednesday-
Today we drove back to the mission office to meet with the Seagers, who are the current senior missionary zone leaders. They are finishing their mission in a couple weeks. We had a great training with Elder Seager (Sister Seager was back in Marimbula) on what we would need to do in the assignment. The Seagers were our first mission friends, as I reached out to them via Messenger before our mission to ask questions about what to bring, what we’d be doing, etc. They have been a HUGE blessing to our whole mission and will be greatly missed!
That evening we met the Westovers and the Woolfs for the Christmas in July fireside cinema downtown in the Rocks – part of the Christmas in July festivities. The package included watching a Christmas movie outside on a big screen (we all had headphones) with each group having our own little fire pit and s’more kit! It was a beautiful evening and so fun to be with friends, pretending it’s Christmas time – ha ha!
Thursday –
Today is our granddaughter, Lilly’s 6th birthday! Happy birthday, Lilly-Boo! We love you sooo much! In honor of Lilly’s birthday, we worked from home, catching up on planning, studying, and cleaning! Since there’s a stake youth activity this weekend, we didn’t have Young Women’s tonight. I’ve been CRAVING one of our menu favorites from home – breakfast burritos – but they don’t sell Jimmy Dean hot sausage here (or any of that kind of sausage), frozen diced potatoes, green chili, or the self-cook tortillas BUT Eric did his best to make it for me! I have the BEST husband!!!
Friday-
Today we helped our awesome missionaries with a couple lessons then helped with game night at the church that evening.
Saturday-
Each month we have a senior missionary activity – which we take turns planning. Today we met at Circular Quay and took a ferry to Watson bay. From there we took a bus to see the first lighthouse that was built in Australia. After our “photo shoot” at the lighthouse, we took the coastal path back to Watson bay and had lunch at Doyle’s. We had a GREAT time being with so many of our senior missionary friends – getting to know the new ones better, laughing and just enjoying each other’s company!
Once we got back home, Eric and I only had about 30 minutes to sit down and catch our breath! We then quickly changed back into church clothes and drove to pick up Ella (one of our two young women) and Gianella (one of my YW assistants) for a stake trek pioneer devotional. Our stake boundaries are SOOOO big, you really have to plan ahead when picking up people and driving to various church buildings! This time we had to leave the house about 1.5 hours before the event started in order to arrive on time!
I thought the event was to get the girls motivated for the upcoming pioneer trek but little did I know that the program would turn out to be BEYOND AMAZING!!! It was SOOOO professional and beautifully done! The narration, music, dancing, set/props and videos told the story of the pioneers of the church – beginning with the early pioneers in the US east, then from England/Europe, the long trek to Salt Lake then on to the story of the missionary work and pioneers in Australia and the Pacific Islands. WOW! I can’t even begin to describe the feelings and Spirit the whole event evoked in me – such great love, respect and reverence for each early pioneer – their love, devotion, obedience and FAITH in the Lord! So many of the narrators were direct descendants of early stalwart and devoted pacific island pioneers! What a treat it was to hear their stories – told by a great grandson or great granddaughter! From each Island, there were stories, music, videos, testimony and dances. I was amazed by the talent of ALL those who participated! How could one stake (Mortdale Stake) have sooo many TALENTED dancers, singers, musicians, etc.?!?! It was a night I will never forget and was blessed to attend! I just wish I could see the whole thing a second time…!
Sunday-
Once a month we have “Linger Longer” after church, where we bring some kind of “pot luck” food and stay to have a meal with our group family. It gives everyone time to relax, have a meal together, and catch up! The theme of linger longer this month was “soup and sides” so we made a double batch of soup this morning to take. I taught youth Sunday School, Eric taught primary, and we had an enjoyable linger longer. We then went home to get ready for dinner for the missionaries AND celebrate Sister Nichol’s bday! Besides breakfast burritos, I’ve also been craving green chili chicken enchiladas, however, you can’t buy enchilada sauce (my favorite is Las Palmas Green Chili Enchilada Sauce) OR green chilis (as I stated before). We looked online and found a store over an hour away that supposedly carried Las Palmas (it didn’t!). I think we learned our lesson and will call before we drive across town to purchase a product to make sure they actually carry it! Instead, I tried to use Herdez tomatillo salsa in place of green chili enchilada sauce. It wasn’t quite as good but it hit the spot for my craving! I will BEG whoever comes out to visit us next to bring a few grocery items – like canned green chili!
The Helland's Down Under 