January 19-25, 2026

This week we had to say goodbye to two of the missionaries we worked closely with as they completed their missions. One was our district leader, Elder Weng from Taiwan and the other one was in our zone and served in our “sister ward” – Summer Hill. Her name is Sister Hansen from Utah. I’m sure it’s a bit bittersweet for them to finish up their mission service but I know they’re excited to see their families and friends after working hard for 18 months to 2 years! Both of those missionaries were phenomenal, taught us so much and became dear friends. 

I actually met Sister Hansen and her companion, Sister Moncrief, the first day on my mission. After we were picked up from the airport, we were driven straight to a church building for the Christmas Zone conference. Once at the church I headed straight for the restroom to brush my teeth, comb my hair and wipe any smeared makeup off after two flights totaling 18 hours plus a 5 hour layover in CA! I met those two sisters in the restroom (Aussies call bathrooms “toilets”) and they were so kind to me! They seemed genuinely happy to welcome me to the mission! Who knew they would become such dear sister friends to us!!! During our time serving together, they invited us to some of the lessons they taught people who were interested in finding out more about the gospel. It was so spiritual to help teach and share our testimonies of the Savior Jesus Christ and His gospel! Those occasions are some of our favorite parts of the mission so far!!! We were grateful to have a special “congratulations” dinner with the Summer Hill sisters before Sister Hansen went home. Although both Elder Weng and Sister Hansen went home this week, we all promised to keep in touch! It feels like there is something special about the relationship you have with the first people you get to serve with! 🥰Well done thou good and faithful servants! We love and appreciate their service and the INCREDIBLE sons and daughters of God they both are!

Here are some of the adventures for the week:

Monday

• This is the day we try to call both kids and grandkids since it’s their Sunday and they’re usually home. We love getting to see them on Facetime and catch up each week! Seeing and talking to them regularly helps us not to miss them all too much!
• Today we also met with our Preventative Mental Health Training group to talk about the next lesson we will be teaching.
• In the evening we had the missionaries over for dinner and district council. We fixed some of Elder Weng’s favorite foods (hamburgers!) since he’s leaving home to Taiwan this week. 

Tuesday 

• We had our last zone conference training with the Alma zone for Lesson 6 – Having Difficult Conversations. It’s now time to start preparing for Lesson 7 – Plan Your Change, which we’ll start teaching soon. This is another favorite part of our mission assignment.

In the evening we were able to take a new “golden” senior couple, the Lathans from Oregon, out for dinner (FYI – new missionaries used to be called “greenies” but now they are called “goldens”). We took them to Betty’s Burgers then gelato, which is where the Dalpias’ took us when we just arrived. FYI – there are tons of frozen dessert places in downtown Sydney – you have your choice of ice cream, gelato or frozen yogurt! All are favorites!

Wednesday 

• We prepared for our combined lesson this coming Sunday on the Pacific Area Focus for 2026 – “Strengthening Faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ One by One.” The goals are focused in three areas – Home – Making our homes sacred spaces for Christ centered worship and discipleship, Church –  Gathering individuals and families to the ordinance of the sacrament and Temple – Gathering individuals and families to the ordinances of the temple.
• Today was our first day to help with “apartment checks.” Once a transfer the senior missionaries help out by using a checklist to make sure each missionary flat is being kept clean and safe, while documenting anything that is broken and things that they may need in their apartment. We were able to visit two different missionary flats to check. 
• After the checks, we left to work at the temple for the rest of the day. There are HEAPS (as the New Zealanders say) of road work here in Sydney so they close many freeways at night. Getting home from the temple has been taking us over an hour and a half each Wednesday evening. It’s not that bad except we usually get lost once or twice on the route since GPS isn’t always aware of the road closures! It’s an adventure in itself! 😆

Thursday

• We finished our lesson planning, contacted some families in our area who could use some extra TLC, and checked another missionary apartment.
• At 6:00 pm we had our Young Women’s activity at our house. Thank you to Alyce who sent me some quick ideas – ha ha! I love having our two AMAZING young women in both Sunday classes and at our house for the activity, along with my very sweet assistant, Sister Valerie Li.Eric took a nap during YW time – ha ha – and the girls’ moms sat on our balcony to chat!

Friday

• We completed our last missionary apartment check then visited a lady in our congregation who could also use some TLC. It was wonderful to minister to her for a couple hours; talking about her needs, reading scriptures together and praying.
• We found out that we received our first (hopefully our last) traffic ticket today – they have cameras everywhere! It was my fault! I had tucked the seatbelt strap behind my arm for part of the drive home from Coff’s Harbor. It was buckled, but I wasn’t “wearing my seatbelt properly” – $423 ticket – eek! I won’t do that again. We were sent the photo. I won’t include it here! Ha ha!
• That night we were supposed to go to “game night” at the church but I was too tired so I flaked out and went to bed early!

Saturday –P-DAY!

• Today we kept our calendar open so we could have a full day of Pday! Woo Hoo!
• First we met the other senior Sydney missionaries at the Chinese Friendship garden. On our way walking to the garden, Eric and I found a huge market in China town – the Hay Market. This is the place for good quality, low cost souvenirs. We’ll definitely head back there again later! 
• It was so nice to see our Sydney senior friends and catch up with everyone at the Friendship gardens. The gardens were so beautiful!
• Afterwards, we all went to an Italian restaurant nearby that tasted authentic and was delicious! We’ll definitely go back to eat there another time!
• Following lunch, 4 senior couples took the ferry to Watson Bay for a short hike to Hornby Lighthouse. We got to know another golden senior couple, the Barnetts from Utah, who joined us on the hike. Watson Bay is a quaint and beautiful beach town, with a picturesque hike along the ocean to the lighthouse (we did pass a nudist beach but thankfully there were bushes along the path so we didn’t see anything!). We got to stick our feet in the water and get an ice cream cone before the ferry ride back to Sydney.A huge thank you to the Westovers who know all the cool spots in Sydney and invite the rest of us on their fun adventures!

Sunday

• Eric and I helped teach the combined lesson then had our group leader, Lyle Elisara and his beautiful family over for lunch – Lyka (his wife), Zea (his 7 year old daughter) and Nea (his 3 year old daughter) and his mom, Michelle and Auntie Elaine (those two are my new Aussie sisters!). We had a great time getting to know each other better and just enjoying the company. I especially loved having some time to play with their two little girls, who are super smart and adorable! Such cuties!
• After their family left, our favorite Summer Hill sister missionaries came over to say goodbye as we found out that one more of them is being transferred. It’s sad to form close relationships then have some of them transferred or go home! But we are excited to get to know the new missionaries who will be in our area. We also found out that 3 of the elder missionaries in our district are getting transferred. We’ll have a “going away” party for them Monday night!
• What an awesome – FULL day – teaching, making food and getting to know new friends, then saying goodbye to our “old” new friends.

Some things we learned this week:

1. Sometimes we think we’re not doing “enough” to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ or to minister to His children, then we look back at our week and see the different opportunities He placed in our path.It may not have been in the way we thought we were going to serve, or the way we wanted to, but every day we have opportunities to do good in one way or another, we just have to recognize and seize those opportunities!
2. Getting enough sleep is actually important for your body AND spirit. This is a weakness for me – I tend to be a night owl then have a hard time getting up early in the morning.I realize that if I choose not to get adequate sleep, not only am I fatigued (and possibly crabby) but I also have a harder time hearing and heeding the Spirit!There’s definitely something to be said about the truthfulness of the scripture, “Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.” 

No wonder the missionary handbook reminds:

“Sleep is essential to good health. If you hope to function at your best as a missionary, you must prioritize getting enough high-quality sleep each night. Seven to nine hours of sleep a night is optimal for most adults. By following the recommended missionary schedule, you can get up to nine hours of sleep a night. Studies show that when we chronically lack sleep, we begin to experience physical and mental health issues. We will feel tired and run down and will struggle with memory and focus. In addition, lack of sleep worsens anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. All these things can greatly limit your effectiveness as a missionary and negatively impact the work.”

This is a goal both Eric and I are starting to work on so if you’re inclined, we’d love for you to pray for us to overcome this weakness! TIA! ♥️ 

NEW – Eric’s Aussie Fun Facts Section:

We keep reminding ourselves that things here aren’t “weird,” they’re just different from what we’re used to. Here are some interesting things we’ve seen at the stores: