June 29 – July 5
Downtown Sydney throws a fun, winter festival – Christmas in July – in The Rocks area. I’m guessing that since it’s mid-summer (and could be 100 degrees) for the REAL Christmas, no one will be drinking hot cocoa or wassail so winter is a much better time for those yummy treats! For two weeks Christmas booths are set up, lining the streets of the Rocks – with yummy winter goodies and local-made products. Local restaurants serve their best “Christmas” treats and a local green space transforms into an outside Christmas Fireside Cinema – with cozy loungers snuggled around individual fire pits. Included in the cinema package is a smore kit, blanket, and headphones to watch your favorite Christmas movie, all the while sitting smack in downtown Sydney, amidst the hustle and bustle of Circular Quay. Ever since I heard about this I’ve been excited for this event. Who doesn’t want TWO Christmas celebrations in one year?!?!
Monday –
In between talking to the kiddos and planning for the week, Eric and I walked to Pott’s Point to see if we could find the only hypoallergenic chapstick that I don’t seem to be allergic to! After leaving Pott’s Point (not a great part of town) we walked through the botanical garden then ate lunch at Wahlburgers at Circular Quay (they have an AMAZING salad!). That evening we attended South Harbor’s District Council, which is one of the three districts in our Abinadi zone.
Tuesday –
This morning I was on the hunt for a nail salon with a better pedicure experience! I found a place to try in the downtown Westfield mall (by the QVB) so Eric watched the World Cup soccer game which was being shown on a big screen set up in the mall. Before walking home we decided to stop in and audition for The Bear (a cooking show on Hulu). It wasn’t actually an audition, it was just a challenge set up to mark The Bear’s finale for the season. I figured that since Eric and I would be competing against each other, it would be a sure “win” – one of us would have to win the prize (a super cool, “The Bear” apron). Oh my goodness, we were TERRIBLE! Neither one of us even got to the 3rd plate we were supposed to be arranging (we only had one minute!) and we didn’t even get the first two plates correct! It was determined that I won because I had more food on my plates – ha ha! Later that day we met with two missionaries for “Career Coaching,” which is something all missionaries get during the last 6 months of their mission – helping them think about and plan for when they get home from their missions. Eric and I recently received some training so we can be career coaches to a few missionaries at a time. That night was Book of Mormon class then after, Eric and the elders ordained our friend, Terry, to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Wednesday –
Today we drove about an hour to train the Ether Zone for emotional literacy lesson two. In the afternoon we drove to Carlingford to work at the temple.
Thursday –
Today we met with another missionary for “career coaching.” In the evening we decorated the church and set up for the “Christmas in July” group party. I had to “unpack” the few Christmas decorations I accumulated last Christmas to help with decor. I had a Charlie Brown Christmas tree we had purchased from K-Mart for $10 as soon as we arrived. I also had a much nicer flocked and pre-lit Christmas tree that one of the elders gave to us. I guess he didn’t want to carry around/store a 4 foot christmas tree through a year’s worth of transfers. It is actually a lovely tree!
Friday –
This morning I attended a new member lesson with Pilar then we met the 3 sister missionaries at the mall to treat them to lunch at Grill’d. Once home we cooked and got ready for the Christmas in July party. Lyle Elisara, our group leader, wanted us to host a traditional “American” Christmas tradition and thought smores would be a good idea. I told him that decorating sugar cookies would be more of a US tradition but he said they had done that last year. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that smores are not really a Christmas tradition, but more of a camping tradition. Since we can’t have an open fire at the church, we purchased an electric smore kit on Amazon, along with the rest of the supplies to make smore’s, a fancy cup of hot cocoa (with whip cream AND sprinkles), and wooden Christmas ornamgent for a Christmas craft station for the kids (and whoever else wanted to color). Our friend, Anssi brought his mom to the party. She had lovingly and painstakingly made a traditional Finnish salad from beetroot and apples. She actually had to pickle the beets first then a few days later make the delicious salad and the bright pink creme topping! It was my favorite dish of the night.
A couple fun parts of the evening were at the beginning when Lyle started calling people up to the front. We weren’t sure why he was calling the “random” people up until he had all 13 of them lined the front and asked them to each teach us how to say, “Merry Christmas” in their native language. Both Eric and I were so surprised to find out that in our little congregation there were 13 different languages from countries around the world. What a magnificent demonstration of how the gospel of Jesus Christ is for EVERYONE and that we are ALL Heavenly Father’s children. It was also a beautiful reminder of how diverse our group is and how blessed we all are to learn from each other!
Another special part of the evening was a unique and spiritual “nativity,” put on by the young missionaries in our group. They followed the “Christmas Carol” type story by having visitors come to a “skeptic” during the night and teach him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each visitor helped with decorating his Christmas tree, likening it to the message they brought. It was very beautiful and brought a sweet spirit to our Christmas in July festivities!
Saturday –
Today we had a fun Young Women’s Activity, meeting at the church at 9:00 AM. We took the train to circular quay, met up with a few more friends, then took the ferry to Watson Bay. Our new YW Activity specialist, Gianella had planned a fun 4.5 mile coastal walk to Rose Bay. WOW! It was a gorgeous walk along the ocean! Once at Rose Bay we had lunch at a yummy cafe Gianella had previously selected then we took the ferry back to Circular Quay. Sadly one of our YW was not able to attend but Ella and I then rode PT back to our apartment and waited for her mom to pick her up. While we were gone in the morning, Eric went golfing with our friend Brett and his son Jason. Although I had hoped that Eric and I could do something fun in the afternoon/evening, I was too pooped out from the morning hike so Eric just went to Costco for our weekly run! He’s the BEST!!!
Sunday –
Today was a regular Sabbath – I taught YW, Eric taught Primary then we had the missionaries over for dinner. This was our last dinner with Elder Sorenson and Sister Gehring, who are going home this week as they both successfully completed their missions! They are both STELLAR missionaries and will be greatly missed by us and our group!!! Of course, we are super excited for them to return home to their families and move on to the next adventure in their lives!
The Helland's Down Under 