Month: February 2026

On August 29, we had a fantastic evening! We went to the “Enlightenment” light and sound show at the historic Cathedral of St. Stephen, which is located at 249 Elizabeth Street in downtown Brisbane…St. Stephen was built in 1874.

Senior missionaries have a LOT of fun together either on our P-day, which is every Saturday, or often on Friday nights we get together. There are so many really fun things to go do, explore, and see around the Brisbane Mission! It is fun being together to laugh, share, enjoy, and make memories with each other!

Tonight was one of those jaw dropping WOW experiences that we got to share together. Fourteen of us Seniors (there are a lot more than fourteen Senior missionaries serving) were able to purchase tickets to go experience the 30 minute “Enlightenment,” at St. Stephen Cathedral. Elder Nelson and I were able to be with the Hills, the Whippermans, the Hulls, the Colemans, Sister Widman, Sister Burst, Elder Barlow and Sister Fiaui tonight.

Let me use the words taken from the Internet…which describe the “Enlightenment” show so much better than I can…

Enlightenment is a deeply sensory, poetic journey through nature and time. As Vivaldi’s masterpiece (re-orchestrated especially for the occasion!) fills the cathedral, you’ll be enveloped in a living artwork. Each season is brought to life through rich colour, light and movement, from the pink blossom hues of spring and the fiery oranges of autumn, to the golden glow of summer and the frozen beauty of winter. It’s not just something to watch, it’s something you’ll feel.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, already one of Brisbane’s most beautiful landmarks, becomes even more enchanting under the spell of Enlightenment. The soaring arches and stained glass will be reimagined through cutting-edge projection mapping, creating a visual experience that shifts and shimmers all around you. The setting is perfect: serene, sacred, and steeped in history—an extraordinary backdrop for an experience that invites you to pause, breathe, and reconnect with the rhythm of life. The Enlightenment show will run from July 5th through September 27th, 2025.

We first met at the mission office at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate Sister Widman’s birthday on the 29th with a pot-luck dinner. Pizza was purchased from the Italian restaurant next door. It was a lot of fun eating together.

We then had to leave quickly at around 5:45 p.m. to catch the North Shore Hamilton 6:00 p.m. City Cat and make our way up the Brisbane River. We got off at the Riverside stop and quickly walked through downtown and up the hill to the beautiful St. Stephen’s Cathedral. We made it there with five minutes to spare and found places to sit.

The next 30 minutes we were totally immersed in bright dancing colors shown on the cathedral ceiling, walls, windows, the front alter and the back of us and on the floor plus hearing the classical sounds of “Vivaldi” that gave us the perfect electrifying experience. Each of us loved every second of this amazing light show…it is so hard to describe. I tried to capture a bits of the light show with pictures and video.

After the Enlightenment show, we walked over to the huge Brisbane ferris wheel and took one complete turn around it and taking in the thrilling night lights of downtown. So, soooo fun! We hope you had a very fun birthday Sister Widman!

Since starting our mission in Australia and Papua New Guinea, I constantly find myself wishing that my family and friends could see what I am seeing and feel what I am feeling. Serving as missionaries has been such a rich, rewarding experience!

There is just soooo much I wish I could share with family and friends! Tonight was one of those experiences! We also love being with our young missionaries and feeling their energy and love. I just can’t thank my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving us this mission experience. It might not seem like it…but…YES, we are working hard and most nights fall into bed exhausted from a long, busy, often unpredictable day…but we also are blessed to experience fun, incredible times…such as tonight!

Elder Nelson and I have been so very blessed with two sets of amazing mission leaders while we are here in Australia from May 2025 to November 2026.

Our home base for our mission assignment as Area Medical Advisor for the Australia Brisbane Area, is Brisbane. We arrived in Brisbane on May 27, 2025 and on June 2^nd we got to meet our Brisbane mission leaders, President Tum and Sister Jamie Vongsawad, from Vista, California. We love them and feel grateful for the warm welcome they gave to us! They invited us out to dinner that night of the 2^nd to an Italian restaurant called “Marinara,” near the mission office, and we had a great time-sharing stories, experiences and getting to know them! They are both wonderful, gracious and have deep faith and testimonies of our Savior, Jesus Christ! The Vongsawads were at the end of their three-year mission service and so we only got to serve with them for four weeks until the end of June.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025, was the day that our new mission leaders, President Leo and Sister Kendel Gomez arrived in our Brisbane mission office for the turn over with the Vongsawads. It was really fun to meet President and Sister Gomez who greeted us with big smiles and hugs! That morning of the 25^th, while in the mission office, we had a mission wide Zoom meeting to give a big welcome to the Gomezs and to sincerely say our goodbyes to the Vongsawads and express our gratitude and wish them the very best in the future.

Elder Nelson and I love the Gomezs and felt an instant bond, connection and friendship with them! They are wonderful and we are very excited to serve with them and be with them! Elder Nelson and I hung around/near the mission office that day (the 25^th) for our meeting later in the afternoon.  The Brisbane mission medical team had a meeting with President and Sister Gomez around 4:00 p.m. that afternoon in the conference room of the mission office. Our mission health advisor, Sister Hancock, had just finished her mission and had flown home and our new mission health advisor, Sister Burst, had arrived on the same flight from San Franisco that the Gomezs were on. Our medical team is now Sister Keil, our Area Mental Health Advisor, Sister Burst, mission health advisor and Elder Nelson and I. At the end of our medical team meeting, I asked the Gomezs if it would be O.K. to treat them to dinner in the next few (several) months once they get settled…that we would love that. They said yes they would love that…haha.

What a BLESSING it is to us to have both sets of mission leaders in our lives! We feel they were/are hand picked for us! We feel so much gratitude and love for our Savior, Jesus Christ who knows and loves us completely. He knows what is best for us and what will thrill us or help us grow. We are so deeply grateful for our Savior and for His Infinite Atonement and for all the hope, faith, and trust He brings into our lives! Our Savior is everything to us! Elder Nelson and I are completely and utterly full of gratitude for this mission opportunity, to wear the Savior’s name on our heart and feel the magical awe that we are here serving all of Australia and Papua New Guinea!