On a mission

Elder Kaden Winn and Elder Blake Allen. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 460494_01

Nebraska and Colorado are a long way from Werribee, but home is anywhere when you are on a mission.

Elder Blake Allen of Nebraska and Elder Kaden Winn of Colorado are currently in Wyndham, fulfilling a mission assigned to them by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

Assigned to the Australia Melbourne Mission, which covers all of Victoria, Tasmania and parts of New South Wales, two 20-year-olds have been rotating across Melbourne since 2023.

The path to Wyndham was one of chance, as per the procedure of the church.

Elder Allen and Elder Winn have only been in Wyndham for seven weeks, but are already enjoying the area’s multiculturalism.

“It’s awesome, personally I love it here,” Elder Allen said.

“It’s just been great to meet all sorts of different people from different backgrounds and different ways of life.”

“I’m from a place called Nebraska where there’s not really much there.”

Performing a mission can be daunting, especially when you have to knock on the doors of strangers and approach people you have never met, but the residents of Wyndham have proved quite welcoming.

“It’s been pretty good, there’s been a lot of people accepting us into their homes,” Elder Allen said.

Naturally, they have visited Victoria’s famed destinations like the Great Ocean Road, but they have also been embracing local life by touring the Werribee Mansion and playing basketball at Eagle Stadium.

Jaidyn Kennedy