Barricks, District Meetings, Mother's Day Booth, Speaking to the Persian Group

It was a fun surprise to learn Scott and Shauna Barrick were in town and wanted to stop by for a visit. They were in town for a family wedding. Shauna's brother lives in one of the wards nearby.

They ended up visiting the ward we actually live in, but we weren't there because we had to go to an earlier ward's meeting. Glen needed to go to a 4-hour-long coordinating council meeting that afternoon in San Diego with our Area Seventy. But, let's face it--we are basically never in our own ward because we are always out visiting other wards in the various 6 stakes included in our mission boundaries.

We invited our friends to have dinner with us. It was so nice visiting with them.

They brought us a gift of chocolate-covered cinnamon gummy bears and the newest Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD that Scott told us wasn't even released to the public yet.

This is what happens when we're friends with the general manager of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! Thanks Scott!!

We attended district meetings that week. It was exceptionally delightful to spend the morning with this group of missionaries. Not only because they are wonderful, but because it was wonderful to only have to drive a couple of blocks to the church near our home to meet with them.

We joined this group of missionaries in Escondido for their district meeting. Our elder who loves to take group selfies at every meeting offered to take a selfie with my camera. It was a nice way for us to be in the group photo.

These are some of our Spanish missionaries, except for the two elders in the back.

We attended a morning district meeting in Vista where I neglected to take a photo. UGH!! Shame on me!! As much as I love pictures, I can't believe I forgot!

This is our group of newer missionaries (not newest anymore--there is a batch younger than them now) and their trainers. We had a follow-up training meeting with them at the mission office double chapel building.

With chapels on both sides of the building and stairs going up to the classrooms on the second level, this impressive stairway makes for the best picture taking and the best lighting with a beautiful portrait of Christ as a backdrop.

These missionaries are two-thirds of the way through with their First 12 Weeks of training. Next time we meet it will be at the Mormon Battalion! Neat experience for all who go there. Here is their serious pose.

We met with this fine group of missionaries in Mission Leadership Council. My portion of the meeting was sharing with them some of what we had learned in our seminar the week before.

I felt really good about the article we had them read to prepare to learn, "The Doctrine of Christ: Our Daily Walk" by Douglas D. Holmes.

The missionaries just read the talk, but on the video there was a great graphic toward the end about the doctrine of Christ that we showed to them. It illustrates the doctrine of Christ as one eternal round spiraling upward as a spiral staircase with the Book of Mormon at the center. (Better watched than me trying to explain).

As we were leaving the building that day. We saw this police excitement going on across the street from the church. Who says we don't lead an exciting life???

Some of the missionaries in Vista decided to set up a Mother's Day booth at a park. They made it look really nice.

A member had set up a camera to video the reasons why people love their mother. This was the first person and his children that were videoed.

Sister Kopenhefer put up this sign in the mission office and I LOVE IT!!!

We were asked to visit the Persian group's gathering on Fast Sunday where they asked me to introduce ourselves and asked Glen to teach their second and third hour meeting. It is a challenging assignment as we have to say things in small chunks so it can be translated into Farsi as we go along.

Glen was pretty worn out by the time it was over. It is hard to keep up your train of thought, but he did an excellent job. And the people loved us for being there.

We were presented with a lovely potted flower plant and the most touching thing was a signed copy of the Book of Mormon written in the Farsi language. We were there when Elder Davis had visited them and had brought with him a case of copies of the Book of Mormon written in their own language and he gave each one of them their own copy. 

It was a tender and touching moment for us to observe. And now they have the tradition for each person in attendance to sign a book to give as a thank you to anyone who visits their group.

We were invited to attend the Persian group's break-the-fast meal after church. We hadn't planned to attend, but when they told us they had bought a huge platter of shrimp just for Glen--because of the shrimp story he told at stake conference--we felt like we had to stay.

We were so glad we did because the food was delicious, the people are wonderfully gracious and they sent home a special platter of shrimp just for us. Such faithful and giving people. We were truly blessed to be in their presence that day.

Quotes of the Week

Don't get discouraged.  Things will work out.
--Gordon B. Hinckley

The future is as bright as your faith.
--Thomas S. Monson

Satan wants all of us to think that repentance is not possible.  This is absolutely not true.
--Elaine S. Dalton

Let people repent.  Let people grow.  Believe that people can change and improve.
--Jeffery R. Holland

Quotes of the Week

Surging selfishness has shrunken some people into ciphers; they seek to erase their emptiness by sensations.
--Neal A. Maxwell

Keep your chin up, trust in God, and believe in good things to come.
--Jeffery R. Holland

Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely.  Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly.
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

If you have doubts, please know that you are quite normal.  Just keep pressing forward with faith in the Savior.
--David A. Bednar

Mission President and Wives' Interim Seminar in Los Angeles

The morning we were leaving on our "vacation" we took another walk around the Flower Fields. This is the view from the parking lot of the nursery.

These are the yellow and orange wild flowers that are prevalent along the freeways these days growing right there in the parking lot.

The parking lot is actually quite beautiful with flowers and trees everywhere.

The most wonderful thing about our walk this particular day was I COULD BREATHE!!! And I wasn't coughing nearly as often. In fact, not that much at all. The new medications added to enhance the other medications appeared to be working. HOORAY!!!! 

Up until the day before, I was thinking I probably wouldn't last long in our meetings with my obnoxious, incessant, deep, juicy, annoying and constant coughing. 

But the day of our Mission President and Wives' Interim Seminar, I woke up with hope. Hope that I would finally be able to conquer my cough. Hope that I would be able to attend the meetings and be able to absorb all the information myself (rather than relying on Glen to tell me what was said) and be able to enjoy the wonderful feeling of being filled with the Spirit as we always do when we are being instructed by our inspired leaders.

We arrived at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott and thought about how it wasn't anywhere close in comparison to the beautiful Coronado Island Resort we stayed at 6 months ago for the annual MP and wives training. 

But, hey! We still had palm trees and blue skies, so what more could we want? Actually, I was very thrilled it was at a location close enough for us to drive. 

Instead of a beautiful, peaceful, calming waterfront view from our hotel room, we had a view of the airport and could watch planes coming in on both sides of us.

Looking at a big building and parking lots filled with parked cars, while listening to the construction noise going on in the hotel which was being renovated, was almost as calming as the luxury island resort...almost...

Actually, it didn't even bother us at all because we spent the majority of our time in the basement of the hotel in one of the ballrooms.

And look at the delicious lunch we ate our first meal there. All the food and snacks were very tasty.

We felt very privileged to be able to be there with other mission presidents and their wives from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

We spent most of our time being instructed all together in the big group. 

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom is in the Presidency of the Seventy that is over our group. Elder Carl B. Cook and Elder Ian S. Ardern assist him with his group of mission presidents in the United States. Elder Weatherford T. Clayton is a General Authority in training this past year and was there as was his older brother L. Whitney Clayton, Senior President of the Quorums of the Seventy. All their wives were there with us except the younger Elder Clayton's wife. 

I like it when we break off for a couple of hours when the men to do their business portion of the meeting because we women have a spiritual, instructional time together. Sister Hallstrom takes the lead and invites participation from the wives of the General Authorities, along with participation from everyone in the room. 

Every one of the General Authorities and their wives definitely do an excellent job modeling teaching in the Savior's way.

Our little getaway hadn't been as restful as I had hoped. I was still battling my cough, albeit the coughing had subsided a lot. More than that, Glen was still reeling from having sent yet another missionary home early earlier in the week.

Then as soon as we arrived in Los Angeles, we got notified that the Missionary Department had deemed another one of our missionaries needed to go home. It is a lot of work to send a missionary home early and it is very emotional--for the missionary and for us, especially for the mission president.

We felt bad that it happened while we were out of town and we didn't get a chance to tell the missionary good-bye. It also leaves a big hole that now needs to be filled as to what to do with the missionary's companion for the rest of the transfer.

By the end of our time together, we had been richly taught and the Spirit was felt strongly at the end when all the brethren and their wives were sharing their final testimonies with us.

This is the Lord's work we are about.

Our missionary purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

We are here to teach repentance and baptize converts. Our unique message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a blessing to all who will receive it.

Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ. We have a living prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson. He leads the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints according to the way the Lord wants His Church run.

I know our Lord and Savior has redeemed us from the fall of Adam. Through Jesus Christ's Atonement, we are able to overcome sin and death and will live again.

We have the beautiful hope and knowledge of being reunited once again with our family members who have passed away. We have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to Him and has provided a divinely inspired way to do it.

How thankful I am for the plan of salvation which comes to us through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.