July 20 – 26, 2026
Monday-
Today was a regular Monday of phone calls to the kids, studying, planning then district council in the evening!
Tuesday-
This morning we had our first mental health training for the transfer with our own zone, Abinadi! We love when our own zone can be our “guinea pigs” as we give a new lesson for the first time! This training is on changing inaccurate thinking patterns, such as “jumping to conclusions,” “All or nothing,” “Negative Mental Filter,” “Discounting the positive,” etc. Great stuff! I’m excited to teach this 5 more times so hopefully the lesson will sink in for ME!!! Ha ha! The lesson helps us “rewrite” our negative (or inaccurate) thinking patterns by asking ourselves different questions, such as:
- Considering all the evidence, is this thought 100 percent accurate?
- If a friend had this thought, what would I tell him or her? (Then take that advice to heart!)
- How might thinking about Heavenly Father and the Saviour and their teachings help me correct this thought?
One thing that helps me when I have negative thoughts is to think, “Is this something that Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ would be saying to me?” Because I know of their great love and mercy for me, I know that those negative thoughts and feelings are NOT from them – but from another source! That helps me to “rewrite” my thinking and think of what loving, positive and helpful things they might say to me in that particular circumstance!
After our training, we walked to Darling Harbor to have lunch and for companion study! It was a BEAUTIFUL day – with gorgeous weather! That evening was Book of Mormon class. We had a great turn out with a wonderful Spirit of love, testimony and personal insight!
July 20 – 26, 2026
Monday- Today was a regular Monday of phone calls to the kids, studying, planning then district council in the evening!
Tuesday- This morning we had our first mental health training for the transfer with our own zone, Abinadi! We love when our own zone can be our “guinea pigs” as we give a new lesson for the first time! This training is on changing inaccurate thinking patterns, such as “jumping to conclusions,” “All or nothing,” “Negative Mental Filter,” “Discounting the positive,” etc. Great stuff! I’m excited to teach this 5 more times so hopefully the lesson will sink in for ME!!! Ha ha! The lesson helps us “rewrite” our negative (or inaccurate) thinking patterns by asking ourselves different questions, such as:
- Considering all the evidence, is this thought 100 percent accurate?
- If a friend had this thought, what would I tell him or her? (Then take that advice to heart!)
- How might thinking about Heavenly Father and the Saviour and their teachings help me correct this thought?
One thing that helps me when I have negative thoughts is to think, “Is this something that Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ would be saying to me?” Because I know of their great love and mercy for me, I know that those negative thoughts and feelings are NOT from them – but from another source! That helps me to “rewrite” my thinking and think of what loving, positive and helpful things they might say to me in that particular circumstance!
After our training, we walked to Darling Harbor to have lunch and for companion study! It was a BEAUTIFUL day – with gorgeous weather! That evening was Book of Mormon class. We had a great turn out with a wonderful Spirit of love, testimony and personal insight!
Wednesday-
Today we trained the Alma zone, came back home for lunch and a quick rest before heading to Carlingford to work at the temple for our afternoon shift. After my short snooze, I woke up even more tired than before…and a little grumpy. As I was trying to get up and get ready for the temple, I read some messages that came in while I slept. It was then that we “heard” the EXCITING news that our dear friend, Anssi, had decided to be baptized!!! I was SOOO happy, I jumped out of bed to tell Eric (who was taking a snooze in the recliner). We’ve known Anssi since January and have been part of almost all his lessons with the missionaries. We’ve become good friends with him and are excited for his decision to be baptized and the amazing blessings we KNOW he will have as he continues his journey in following our Savior Jesus Christ! Funny thing, I wasn’t tired at all during our temple shift and I couldn’t stop smiling about the wonderful news we had received!
Thursday-
This morning we visited the Hyde Park barracks – which provided a free tour detailing the story of the early European settlers, the prisoners and the Indigenous inhabitants. We were planning to go to the Art gallery but ran out of time so we just had a treat in their cafe – warm scones with jam and cream – YUM!
After our excursion, we walked to the church to meet with Anssi; to congratulate him in person and participate in his lesson with the junior missionaries! He will be baptized on Tuesday, August 4 in the ocean! Because he has deep ties to the ocean, as a sailor, he asked if he could be baptized in the ocean instead of a font. Originally he had thought about getting baptized in his home country of Finland, with his parents, sisters, and grandmother present, but since he’s not going to Finland this year, being baptized in the same ocean that connects to Finland, symbolically includes his home country, family, and friends – along with his new friends (US!) whose home country is also connected by the same ocean! Anssi made a beautiful invitation that includes this symbolism. I think this is a first for an ocean baptism in our mission!
For youth night, we participated in our group “Road Show” practice. Each ward (or unit) in our stake has been asked to put on a skit to perform at an upcoming pre-stake conference dinner event. Our group leader, Lyle, has written a script to tell the story of our Hyde Park group from this past year. Tonight was our first practice, where Lyle shared his vision and we started learning some of the short scenes with the music, narration and dances! I’m a slow learner when it comes to dances but we had a fun time laughing and learning together!
Friday-
Since we have missed out on some of our P days, we decided to have a two day P-day! Today we drove to Palm Beach, which is the northernest tip of Sydney beaches. We heard that the beach and area are beautiful. We sat on the beach, relaxed and watched the surfers. The weather was so perfect I could have just sat on the sand for hours listening to the ocean! We then walked around the area and had a healthy snack at a diner on the beach (cookies and hot cocoa). We decided to drive around the area to explore the gorgeous mansions and found out that an Aussie soap opera, “Home and Away,” has been filmed in Palm Beach since 1988, serving as the fictional town of Summer Bay. We might have to go back sometime and watch them film the show and hike to the famous Barrenjoey Lighthouse! We then drove back south to Avalon and found a Mexican-ish restaurant for gourmet tacos (sorry, not even near as good as Puesto!) then drove back home.
Saturday-
For our 2nd P-day, we had to do some shopping in the morning then decided to go on a “walkabout” to Darling harbor and beyond! We hadn’t been to Barangaroo Reserve, on the other side of Darling Harbor, or on the coastal walk from there to the harbor bridge then around to Circular Quay. WOW! I didn’t realize how beautiful that area was! It would be a beautiful place for a picnic or reading a book! They also opened this interesting space UNDER Barangaroo, called the Cutaway, this massive underground, cavernous architectural space beneath, where they will be holding contemporary art exhibitions and cultural events. We were fortunate to watch a father and his son fish off the pier and film them catching a HUGE burramandi fish! Barramundi is native to Australia. A lot of the fish and chips here are made from Barramundi. It’s pretty tasty! Walking along these “new” piers, we found many sea-side restaurants we might have to try sometime! We also walked past a whole theater area in the Rocks that we hadn’t previously known about! Who knew that exploring a little further than we usually do would turn out to be such a treasure! We had planned to walk back home to make dinner but after such a long walk, we decided to stop at our favorite fajita spot instead! MUCH better than the tacos in Avalon! Back in the US, we eat Mexican food at least twice a week so two days in a row here is NOTHING! You have to take the opportunities as they come!
Sunday-
I’ve also been CRAVING alfredo sauce (no, I’m not pregnant, just missing some of my favorite foods you can’t find here in AU!). It’s not a thing here! I’ve looked it up online and you can find carbonara sauce but not alfredo. So, since that’s my favorite Italian sauce/food and you can’t order or buy it here, we looked up a recipe to make it ourselves. After church and group council today, Eric made us a delicious fettuccine alfredo dish with chicken, mushrooms and broccoli! SOOOOOO yummy! Even though I LOVE this city, with all its beauty and diversity, I haven’t really loved the food. Australia’s known for sausage rolls and meat pies AND international restaurants from all over the pacific islands and Asia! That’s the majority of the restaurants I see. I’m not a fan of the Aussie foods and I’m very picky about Asian food (what’s in this?) so we’ve had a couple weeks of finding our favorite foods – one way or another!
Something I learned/was reminded of this week:
I’m so grateful that Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness centers around families! What a blessing it is to experience mortality with the people we love the most! I am grateful for my sweet husband, Eric. We have been married for almost 39 years, and, like every other couple, we have experienced highs and lows through those years. Things haven’t been perfect but we have experienced our greatest joys together, and our saddest days, we have had the best of times, and shared our biggest disappointments. I’m grateful for the journey we’ve had – side by side – going through the different, beautiful, seasons of our lives – young newlyweds, still growing up and learning about sacrifice, compromise, selflessness, then becoming parents and raising our family, doing our best to help our children feel our love and the love of their Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, next becoming empty nesters, with grandchildren, and getting to know each other in a different way. We have now spent one year “retired” – spending pretty much 24/7 together – and although I will say it was a transition being together so much, I am grateful to have the BEST missionary companion, friend, partner, and sweetheart a person could ask for! Eric is one of the GREATEST blessings in my life!
The Helland's Down Under 