July 27 – August 2, 2026
Monday –
Today was set to be a BUSY day – a meeting at the mission office at 10:00 AM, a “good bye” luncheon for the Seagers at 1:00 PM at President and Sister Doane’s house, a final zone leader training from the Seagers before they headed off, then attending a district council at the Mortdale Stake Center at 6:00 pm. We were out the whole day and didn’t get back home until almost 10:00 PM!
Tuesday –
Since we didn’t get our usual “Monday” things done yesterday, we worked on them today – talking to family, studying, preparing and planning! Eric attended a couple lessons with the missionaries and Book of Mormon class while I completed other mission work and got us caught up!
Wednesday –
Today we drove to the mission office for our first day of Mission Leadership Council (MLC). Usually only the zone leaders and sister teaching leaders from each zone attend (there are 12 zones) but this time they also invited all the district leaders so there were too many people for one training session. Today’s training was for ½ the mission and tomorrow will be for the other half.
We had FABULOUS leadership training on the goal setting process – creating plans, identifying key indicators, and regular data review with accountability. I felt like I was reviewing things I had learned in a master’s level leadership course! It was so amazing to see these 18 to 22 year olds using these advanced skills, mentoring other missionaries in their districts/zones, checking in with them, and holding themselves and others accountable! It took me back to a year ago when I was working at the district office and we were trying to motivate both teachers and school administrators to participate in the continual improvement cycle – using the same leadership tools these young missionaries had been taught, were regularly being trained on, and were using effectively! I told our mission president how blessed the missionaries in our ASM are to have this on-going leadership training that most people would only get in graduate courses! He asked me to share that with the junior missionaries so I let them know how leadership skills will not only help them on their missions but when they return home as they pursue college, careers, marriage, etc! I shouldn’t be surprised when I see that the Lord’s way always includes “best practices.” He IS the author of BEST PRACTICES! Throughout “Preach My Gospel,” the most effective teaching pedagogy is woven through so missionaries can be effective teachers and utilize the most successful strategies and processes! I guess leadership training wouldn’t be any different! What a blessing this is to all these awesome young adults – not only are they building strong testimonies to follow the Savior and bring others to Christ but they are also learning valuable life-long secular skills!
Thursday –
Today was the second day of MLC Training. I’m one of those people who need to hear things more than once for the content to really soak in so I loved getting to hear the training a second day – maybe in a slightly different way, to really solidify my learning! Plus, I’m a training ‘junkie” so I loved the whole thing! For lunch today some of the seniors made soups to go along with rolls and fruit for the MLC. We took a double batch of the Creamy Tomato Tortellini soup, which was a HIT! Ours was the first soup GONE!
Once we got home it was time for roadshow practice at church. Our stake is having each ward perform a skit the night before stake conference in a couple weeks. Our group has been practicing some short sketches about the things that have happened in the Hyde Park group this past year. Even though we haven’t had a lot of group members participate, we also have a great time at practice! 🙂
Friday –
I finally decided to try a different hair stylist. Although the group I’ve been going to since arriving in Sydney (Hair House) hasn’t been bad and was a reasonable price, I have had to be at the salon for up to 4 hours – which is just WAY TOO long! So, my friend Manda recommended her hair stylist to me. I’ve been pretty much sporting a skunk line (thank you, Revlon spray for covering it up!) so I was well over-due for a color and cut! I was able to share about our mission with my new hair stylist and we had a great conversation about her 4 year old son. It’s crazy to me that I not only miss MY grandkids (which is of course expected) but I just miss being around little kids! I really want to hold someone’s baby! Ha ha! While I got my hair cut/colored, Eric helped the missionaries with a couple lessons. That evening we finally made another Helland favorite – salmon with wild rice and veggie (usually I love brussel sprouts or even broccoli but we made due with fresh green beans). We don’t have a grill here so Eric baked the salmon in the oven and it turned out DELICIOUS! I think this should be on our weekly menu! YUM!
Saturday –
Today was P-Day! Eric has been wanting to take the train to Kiama. The last time we were thinking about it, some of the train lines were down. Today things were all running on time so we walked to central station and took a two hour train ride to Kiama to see their “famous” blow hole. Except for a guy talking too loud behind us on the phone and another couple who could’ve whispered, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable trip! I studied for my upcoming talks – for Anssi’s baptism and for sacrament meeting in another ward. The views were gorgeous as the train mostly ran along the coast. We were either in a forest of trees, a tunnel or viewing the coastline! We ordinarily thought we’d visit Kiama to see the blow hole then travel about 30 minutes back to hang out in Wallangong. THe blow hole was VERY cool! The water pressure from the waves would build up then shoot up like Old Faithful! The coast line here in Kiama looked more like northern California. After walking around a bit we had lunch at a local seafood restaurant we wandered around the little town. It was tiny but quaint. Instead of going to Wollongong, we waited for the train and rode all the way back home! I think we were a little tired from the drive there! All in all, it was a great day – the scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the company was awesome! 🙂
Sunday –
Today was a typical Sunday – teach at church, pick up the house, make food for the missionaries, host the dinner and clean up the mess! After dinner was an ASM Sunday devotional (we have them at least twice a month). Sister Doane previously asked Eric to share his conversion story with the mission. He did a beautiful job sharing! I want to get a hold of the zoom recording so I can have that as a bit of our family history. I loved hearing him share about his spiritual journey and I know it was a blessing to the rest of the mission to hear it.
Things I learned this week:
Heavenly Father’s Plan is not just spiritual! He has created this beautiful earth and everything on it for us – His children! He cares about and is interested in all areas of our life! If we look, we can see His hand in everything we do!
The Helland's Down Under 