We arrived back in Arizona on Sunday, October 19, 2025. We needed to finish packing and complete final preparations to leave on our mission. My former boss called me on Monday and asked if I could help at a school for a couple weeks, as the acting principal. After the call, I went back to work on Tuesday, October 21 and stayed helping until November 10. In retrospect, it might not have been the best decision since we still had a lot to get done – ha ha! However, I had a fabulous time getting to know the staff and students at the school and working with an AMAZING team. Go DH Eagles!
Meanwhile, Eric unpacked our trailer (then sold it) and began working on our “to do” list. I obviously didn’t learn my lesson from the previous summer because once again we had to rush to get everything done before our family came in for our farewell and make preparations for Thanksgiving and leaving! Eek!
November 16 was our Missionary “farewell” and luncheon. It was incredible to have our family come into town. Our out-of-town family included Adam, Cortney and kiddos, Alyce, Nathan, and kiddos. We were so glad Eric’s mom, Gigi/Mary Jo came, Aunt Janice, cousin Olivia, and both sets of co-grandparents (Allen’s and Robinson’s)! My mom, Marty, brother Jay and his family, Aunt Madgie and cousins, and many dear friends from in town also joined us! Eric and I felt like we received so much guidance from the Lord with our talks and were excited to share our testimonies with family and friends in the congregation! The love and support we felt was heartwarming! We love you all so much!
For Thanksgiving, we were blessed to have 3 of my brothers, my sister and their families. My mom, a niece and our daughter and family joined us as well. It was fun to have so many of the cousins and siblings together. It was a rare treat to catch up, share memories and laugh together! We soooo appreciated the family members who traveled from afar to be with us and see us off! We love you all so much!
Thanksgiving day fun with family!!!
Some things we learned were:
- How blessed and grateful we are for such amazing and supportive family and friends! We are beneficiaries of their love, kindness, examples, and generosity!!! What a HUGE gift from God!
- A lot of craziness and contention is happening in the world. However, there is also so much goodness and beautiful humanity! I worked at the school for a short time. During that time, I felt showered with kindness, patience, and love from the staff, students, and community!
- If you send out kindness and love, you WILL receive that back and find joy.
- If you seek the Lord, He will ALWAYS be there for you, walk with you, even carry you, when needed. I love and appreciate Him so much! My goal is to follow His example and become more like Him.
The Helland's Down Under 