August 17 – 23, 2026
Monday –
This morning we needed to pick up a few things at the mission office, so we joined everyone for the Monday Office Meeting. It was great to hear all the updates and find out what’s happening around the mission this week!
Mondays are P-Day for the junior missionaries, and many of them have invited us to join them for their P-Day adventures. Usually, we have plenty of our own things to get done, so we thank them for the invitation but politely decline. But since this was the LAST P-Day for two of the missionaries in our district, we decided to relent and join them for their “EPIC” P-Day!
Sadly, the rainy weather put a damper on many of their “EPIC” plans. 😂 We did join them for lunch at the food court at Westfield downtown, which was fun! When the next items on the agenda became hitting an “Op Shop” (thrift store) and then heading back to the church to play Catan, we decided that was our cue to bow out and head back to our apartment.
We get it—sometimes you just want to RELAX on your P-Day! 🙂 And apparently, an Op Shop and a game of Catan is exactly how you do that as a missionary! 😂
Tuesday –
This morning we trained the Ether Zone on Lesson 3 of Emotional Literacy. Anssi joined us so he could attend the temple with us afterward. We had a WONDERFUL time at the temple with all the junior missionaries in our district, Elder and Sister Westover, and Manda Ihaka! It was such a special experience—not only was Anssi able to participate in proxy baptisms, but he was also able to baptize Elder Khatswa for some of his own family names.
While we were at the temple, we ran into Haven Larkin, a missionary serving in the ASM who is from our home stake in Goodyear. It’s always so fun to see a familiar face from home—especially all the way over here in Australia!
After the temple, Sister Westover gave Anssi a quick tutorial at the FamilySearch Center, and then we all met across the street at the mall for lunch. Once we got home, Eric helped the sister missionaries with a couple of lessons and then attended the Book of Mormon class. It was a full, but wonderful, day!
Wednesday –
We drove to Carlingford AGAIN today so I could FINALLY get all my bloodwork done! Afterwards, we decided we deserved a little reward and treated ourselves to Five Guys—yes, another American restaurant! 😂 You can get FREE refills on soda here AND it might be the only place in Australia where you can get a truly THICK milkshake!!! The downside? It is PRICEY!!! 😳
That evening, we had our final skit practice for the Mortdale Stake Roadshow coming up on Friday. At this point, I’m just hoping for a small miracle that I’ll actually remember all the dance moves…! 😂
A HUGE shout-out to Lyka and Lyle Elisara, who are the creative masterminds behind the narration, skits, choreography, and everything else! Our 10-minute performance includes five shorter “sketches” that tell the story of our Hyde Park Group over the past year. It’s been so fun putting it all together, and now we’re just hoping we can pull it off on Friday! 🤞😂
Thursday –
Today was FLAT CHECK day! With a few of our senior missionaries heading home soon, we were asked to help check some extra flats this transfer. We normally check five apartments/flats every six weeks, just before transfers, to make sure the missionaries are keeping them clean and in good condition, see what supplies they might need, and identify anything that needs to be repaired. We then pass all that information along to our housing coordinator.
Today, however, we checked TEN flats! We left home at 8:30 AM and didn’t get back until 4:30 PM. Most of the day was spent driving all over the city from one flat to another. I started feeling a little carsick after all those hours in the car, but it was still nice to spend the day driving around with Eric. And one of the best parts of flat checks is getting to visit with our AMAZING junior missionaries! They all did a GREAT job getting their apartments cleaned up and ready for inspection!
That evening, we got BACK in the car and drove AGAIN to Mortdale for our Roadshow “dress rehearsal” on the actual stage where we’ll be performing. Thankfully, rehearsal was pretty quick, and we were able to head home and finally RELAX after a very full—and very drive-heavy—day! 😂
Friday –
Today we made a quick Costco run to pick up drinks for the Roadshow and food for our missionary dinner on Sunday. Later, we picked up three friends and made our way to Mortdale for the BIG event!
The Roadshow was scheduled to start at 7:00 PM, although dinner didn’t actually get underway until about 7:30. It was quite the feast—roasted pig, salads, purple sweet potatoes, and LOTS of yummy desserts! There were more than 200 people there, so it was definitely a BIG night!
The performances started around 8:30 and went all the way until 10:30—WHEW! It was obvious that every ward had put a LOT of time, effort, and creativity into their skits. Some of the larger wards had as many as 50 people on stage at once! It was so fun to watch everyone perform and see all the different ideas they came up with.
By the time the Roadshow ended and we dropped our friends off at home, we didn’t walk through our own door until MIDNIGHT! Another LONG, FUN, and memorable day! 😊
Saturday –
P-DAY! And you might guess that after our late night last night, we SLEPT IN! 😂 After getting our apartment cleaned up, we were just about to head out for lunch when I received a very strange text—supposedly from the sister missionaries, but from a phone number I didn’t recognize. All it said was, “Sister Helland—we need help! This is Sister Nichols and Hall.”
Ummm…WHAT?! 😳
Eric looked up the sender on Facebook, and it appeared the person was from Pakistan. I had JUST read an article about scammers using AI and pretending to be people you know who are in trouble, so immediately my mind started racing. Was this really the sisters? Were they actually in trouble? Or was this some kind of scam?
I immediately called the sisters’ regular phone number. No answer. Then I called the elders to see if they knew where the sisters were. No answer. I called the sisters AGAIN. Then the elders AGAIN. Still nothing!
Finally, I sent a message to our district: “URGENT! I received a strange message from the sister missionaries, so I need them to call me ASAP!” I also asked the elders if they knew where the sisters were. Still…NO RESPONSE.
At that point, I told Eric, “We need to get to the church and find out where everyone is!” It’s actually faster for us to walk there than drive—our parking spot is on the SIXTH basement level!—so we started walking/running to the church. On the way, I called Sister Doane to give her a heads-up and let her know what was happening and that we were on our way.
Just before we reached the church, Sister Westover contacted us and solved the mystery: the sister missionaries had LOCKED THEMSELVES OUT OF THE CHURCH! They had borrowed someone else’s phone and tried to reach us, and then used that phone to call Sister Westover through Messenger.
PHEW!!!
I immediately called Sister Doane back to let her know everything was okay, and when we arrived, we found Sister Nichols and Sister Hall sitting outside the church lobby. Apparently, they had left the chapel to use the restroom—which is in the stairwell—and accidentally got locked out. Their missionary badges and phones were still inside, and one of them didn’t even have her SHOES! 😂
At that point, none of that mattered. I was just SO relieved they were SAFE! A friend had arrived for their lesson, so I gave both sisters a big hug and we continued on our way to lunch. Once we got downstairs, I asked Eric to offer a quick prayer of THANKS that the girls were okay. I couldn’t believe how much adrenaline I had been running on—I seriously felt like I could cry from relief!
And, of course, it wasn’t until we were already walking AWAY from the church that the elders FINALLY returned my call! Ha ha! Good thing it wasn’t a REAL emergency! 😂
After all that excitement, Eric and I walked down to Circular Quay to eat at Wahlburgers. Yes—ANOTHER American restaurant! Hey, I love what I love! 😂 They had a salad I really liked, Eric liked their burgers, AND it was right on the harbor with a gorgeous view. What more could we ask for?
We walked down the promenade looking for it…but couldn’t find it. So we turned around and walked back up the promenade, this time looking much more carefully. Finally, we found the building—and a sign on the door announcing that they had PERMANENTLY CLOSED…TWO DAYS AGO!
SAD!!! 😭
Of COURSE a restaurant I love CLOSED! It’s not like that hasn’t happened MANY times before! WEIRD! 😂 Not only was the salad delicious, but the location was perfect—right on the harbor with that beautiful view. I guess we’re now on the hunt for another YUMMY, AFFORDABLE restaurant in the area!
Since we were already downtown, we walked over to The Rocks and decided to eat at our favorite fajita restaurant instead. We’ve probably only been there five times, but apparently that’s enough to become “regulars”! As soon as we sat down, the servers asked if we wanted water—with ICE and LIME slices—which, of course, we did. Then they asked if we wanted our usual chicken-and-steak combo for two—which, of course, we ALSO did! Ha ha!
Either they are VERY attentive servers…or we stand out because we’re some of the only people who come in and DON’T partake of their crazy, gigantic margarita specials! 😂 Either way, it made us laugh—and our fajitas were DELICIOUS!
Sunday –
Today was the Sunday session of our Stake Conference, and it was such a POWERFUL and spiritual meeting! Our dear friend Anssi spoke and gave a BEAUTIFUL talk. We were so proud of him!
Our stake president, President Jassar, reminded the adults in the stake of his invitation for each of us to:
- Serve in the temple.
- Join the missionaries for at least one lesson each month.
- If circumstances allow, serve a service or full-time mission.
President Jassar then recognized the Westovers and Eric and me as the full-time senior missionaries serving in the Hyde Park Group. He spoke about what a blessing senior missionaries can be to the junior missionaries, the congregation, and especially new members. It was very kind of him to recognize us, and we feel so blessed to be serving here!
He also spoke about how important it is for each of us to have the Spirit in our lives and to learn to receive personal revelation. He reminded us of President Russell M. Nelson’s powerful warning:
“In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding,directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
President Dallin H. Oaks reiterated this counsel earlier this year and explained why having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is so critical in our day:
“I feel to emphasize the warning President Russell M. Nelson issued us that ‘in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, … comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.’ One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season where the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you don’t have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many. Even active members may sometimes have concerns about some historical, doctrinal, or social issues connected with the Church. I want to help all our members overcome present or future doubts. Whatever those doubts, the way to overcome them is to get closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Again and again, He has taught us that He is the way.”
Such POWERFUL words!
President Oaks then shared four impressions that can help us draw closer to the Savior:
- Strengthen our faith in Him.
- Increase our humility.
- Seek help from others.
- Be patient.
It is a beautiful talk and definitely worth reading or listening to in its entirety.
I am SO grateful that we have a living prophet on the earth today, just as Heavenly Father has called prophets throughout the ages. I know that Heavenly Father loves His children today just as much as He did in days of old and that He continues to lead and guide His Church through living prophets. I know that prophets are seers and revelators and that there is safety, peace, and comfort in listening to and heeding their counsel. I’m already looking forward to October, when we will once again have the opportunity to hear from our living prophet, apostles, and other leaders of the Church!
Our wonderful Sabbath continued that evening with our missionary dinner. Now “BROTHER” Fisher—who was released as a missionary on Friday—joined us along with his parents, who had flown all the way from Rexburg, Idaho, to pick him up. It was so fun to have them with us!
As part of our dinner, each of our “leavers”—the missionaries who will be leaving our area with this transfer—shared a favorite scripture and their testimony. It was sweet to hear their testimonies and reflect on the experiences we’ve shared with them.
What a BEAUTIFUL way to end a wonderful Sabbath day! ❤️
The Helland's Down Under 