August 31 – September 6
We found a great sale on an electric griddle at Harris Scarfe, and since Eric has been wanting one, we decided to go check it out—to see how big it was and what we thought of the quality.
Well…we ended up buying TWO! 😂 We figured with two griddles, we can make LOTS of pancakes all at once—for our Hyde Park Group, our Sunday missionary dinners, and even for our preventative mental health classes. The curriculum is now called “THRIVE,” and Eric thought it would be fun to make pancakes when we travel around teaching the classes—at least for this transfer!
Of course, now we’ve been brainstorming all the other things we can whip up quickly on our super-cool new griddles—hamburgers, eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, bacon, French toast…what else?!
The sky’s the limit! Ha ha! Sometimes it really is the simple things that make us happy. 🥰
#SimplePleasures ♥️
Monday 8/31 –
Regular P-day – Talked to grandkiddos, planned for the week, attended District Council with the junior missionaries.
Tuesday 9/1 –
Today Eric joined the missionaries for a lesson with our friend Joseph. ❤️
Tonight, instead of attending our usual Book of Mormon class, we joined our Senior Missionary FHE via Zoom. Elder and Sister Dalpias, senior missionaries serving in Cowra, are in charge of organizing our monthly FHEs. For tonight’s activity, they drew out different questions for each of us to answer and share with the group.
It was such a fun, simple way to learn more about one another and get to know our fellow senior missionaries even better! We sure love serving alongside so many wonderful people. 🥰
Wednesday 9/2 –
Today we taught our own zone—the Abinadi Zone—and kicked off our first official “Pancake Bar!” 🥞 We told the missionaries that anyone who showed up a little early could enjoy pancakes before our 9:00 AM training, so from 8:45–9:00, Eric was busy at the griddles!
He cooked enough pancakes for everyone to have their fill, and they could smother them with their choice of maple syrup, Nutella, raspberry jam, and whipped cream. YUM! 😋 I think our new griddles are already proving to be a great investment!
Today’s training was the fourth lesson in the THRIVE curriculum—Managing Rejection. We were especially excited to facilitate this lesson because our junior missionaries experience rejection almost daily as they share the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
One thing I found really interesting was learning that rejection can actually cause physical pain. The same region of the brain that responds to physical pain is also activated when we experience rejection. It makes sense—we all know that rejection hurts, even when we logically understand that it shouldn’t!
We talked about several strategies for handling rejection in healthier ways: acknowledge your emotions rather than ignoring them, keep rejection in perspective, and remember that a negative experience does not define who you are or what you are capable of. We also talked about the importance of treating ourselves—and others—with compassion.
Such a great lesson for missionaries…and really, for all of us! ❤️ (sorry – we forgot to take pictures!)
Thursday 9/3 –
This morning we attended an 8:00 AM temple session with the rest of the Missionary Leadership Committee (MLC) and completely filled the endowment room. The Spirit in the room felt so strong to be among such valiant and stellar elder and sister missionaries! After the session, we walked over to the mission office for a full day MLC with President and Sister Doane. The focus of this meeting was reporting out on member referrals, along with a powerful training by the Doanes and our amazing AP’s (assistants to the president).
Friday 9/4 –
Today we drove to Greenwich to train in the Alma Zone. We did remember to take pictures of the pancake awesomeness! Eric’s pancake bar is DEFINITELY a hit! That evening Eric attended another lesson with Joseph and the sister missionaries.
Saturday 9/5 –
It’s P-Day again! 🥰 Today we started out at Westfield Bondi Junction, then headed to Costco to stock up on food for our weekly missionary dinner and the coming week. Note to self: we HAVE to find another day to go to Costco! 😂 It is absolutely CRAZY here on Saturdays—especially the one in Lidcombe!
Later in the afternoon, we met our friends Elder and Sister Clough at Circular Quay and took them to one of our favorite places for fajitas—El Camino Cantina. YUM! 🌮
After dinner, we walked to a beautiful church for our very first Candlelight Concert. I had heard about these concerts but had never experienced one before. They’re intimate, live musical performances held in beautiful venues illuminated by hundreds of candles. They take place in cities all around the world, often in historic churches, theaters, gardens, and other unique spaces. The concerts originally focused on classical composers like Vivaldi and Mozart, but now they also feature classical tributes to contemporary artists like Taylor Swift, Queen, The Beatles, and Coldplay, along with movie soundtracks and special seasonal performances.
Sister Clough was SURE I was a “Swiftie,” so they invited us to attend a Taylor Swift tribute performed by a string quartet. 😂 Even though I’m not actually a true Swiftie, I absolutely LOVED the concert! The quartet was beyond fabulous, the candlelit setting was beautiful, and the whole experience was just magical. 🎻🕯️✨
I HIGHLY recommend attending a Candlelight Concert if you ever get the chance! In fact, I loved it so much that I’m already thinking I may need to buy tickets to one of their Beloved Christmas Songs performances. 🎄🕯️🎶
Such a fun P-Day with good friends, good food, and a wonderful new experience!
Sunday 9/6 –
Happy Sabbath! ❤️ Today was an especially sweet Sunday as our friend Anssi blessed the sacrament with Eric. It has been so beautiful to watch him grow in the gospel and now have the opportunity to exercise his priesthood. What a special moment!
Since it was the first Sunday of the month, we were also blessed to hear so many powerful and tender testimonies from both new and returning members. As I listened to the miracles, lessons learned, and heartfelt testimonies that were shared, I could feel my spiritual cup being filled to the brim. I LOVE fast and testimony meeting! ❤️
Today was also our first Sunday with the new second-hour schedule—25 minutes of Sunday School followed by 25 minutes of Elders Quorum, Relief Society, or Youth. I think I’m going to LOVE this schedule, especially for the youth! Their attention spans seem perfectly suited to a shorter, more focused lesson. I also love the emphasis on discussion and the idea that both the facilitator AND class members come prepared by reading and studying beforehand so everyone can contribute and learn from one another.
Tonight’s missionary dinner was hamburgers—cooked quickly and efficiently on our fabulous new griddles! 🍔😂 Our friend Alex joined us for dinner as well, and we felt blessed to have the opportunity to get to know him a little better.
Everyone headed out just in time for all of us to hop on Zoom for our bi-weekly ASM devotional.
It was a FULL Sabbath day—filled with the sacrament, testimonies, gospel learning, good food, friendship, missionaries, and the Spirit. My heart is full! ❤️
