Homeowner Troubles, Training Meeting, Mormon Battalion, a Death, Transfer #11

The spotlight above the stove burned out. Glen went to replace the weird bulbs that go in them and the whole fixture fell out of the ceiling. Glen couldn't get it back in, so he emailed our contact with the Church and soon we had a new spotlight. There are boxes of more in the garage, with the rest getting replaced soon.

We thought we had our water issue fixed. Although the water had quit flooding the lawn and flowing down the driveway, we discovered this spot in the very front of the yard that had leaking water. UGH!! Another email sent to our Church contact and this problem was soon fixed.

We had a new missionary training meeting for the missionaries who are working on The First 12 Weeks. They are about 1/3 of the way through their training.

This elder liked that his suit was matching his mission president's suit.

The sisters wanted their picture taken together.

They invited me into their photo.

Our extremely small group of missionaries and their trainers completed their First 12 Weeks of training. That means only one thing...a buffet at Tequila Factory!!!

Followed by a tour at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

It is truly a rich and spiritual experience each and every time we go on the tour and learn about the faith, courage and determination of the early Saints. Knowing Glen and I both have relatives who participated in the Mormon Battalion makes it all the better.

This sweet sister had a very unique situation requiring her to make a quick trip home to deal with some personal business. She got back in town very late and spent a second night with us. She was able to enjoy Glen's famous French toast breakfast before we took her into the office where she got back together with her companion. 

It is always devastating when we receive news of the death of a parent of one of our missionaries. Such was the case with this sister. Her mother had died when she was young and she has been raised by her aunt and uncle. Just a week after she had made her quick, one-day trip home, her uncle passed away. What a blessing that she had been able to see him a week before he died. 

In the car on the way home from the airport she had texted him to let him know she had gotten here safely. He responded back, "Thank you...love you forever!!!" I was so touched by his words to her that night. I was even more touched a week later when she was crying in my arms and I reminded her of her uncle's tender words in that text and the deep meaning they now have for her.

We had a new leadership training meeting for 5 new district leaders and 4 new sister training leaders.

We had a bit of a sister gathering in the office before the meeting started.

Time to insert a cute kid photo (or should I say cute grandkid photo). Jacob's family was visiting Utah so Natalie could attend EFY. One day his family, Rebecca's family and Sarah's family decided to spend the day at the lake.

I heard all about how much fun everyone had on this paddle board Jacob had rented. I liked hearing about all the things they were doing together and how much the cousins liked playing together.  

It really touched our hearts when we saw this photo with Sarah's caption "Proud daughter moment." Sarah's family was touring the new Missionary Training Center in Provo and came upon this picture display. Love it! Love her! And that cute little future missionary she is holding.

Meanwhile, back at the California Carlsbad mission office...we had visitors. Miah Froisland and Ciera Bradley, our former missionaries, were in town. This is Sister Bradley's 3rd visit! She can't get enough of California. They were in town for a wedding in the San Diego Temple of two missionaries from this mission who are marrying each other. 

Personally, I would love it if all our missionaries inter-married with each other. It would make keeping track of them much easier.

Here's another former missionary in town for the wedding--Kacee Haire.

We attended all the meetings of the Escondido stake conference. They had a visiting Area Authority, Elder Jay D. Pimentel. I LOVED listening to that man speak. He was a very visual speaker helping us get a good picture in our minds of the various things he talked about.

He held a meeting with the women in the stake. After that meeting, we were invited into the high council room to have dinner with Elder Pimentel and the stake presidency and their wives. The stake president wanted to take Elder Pimentel to a little Mexican restaurant close by, but his wife was not having it!!

She insisted she would take care of the meal between meetings. This is what she and the other wives did and it was lovely. I loved the beautiful flower centerpieces.

One Monday morning when we were out exploring, I thought I was finding us a great walking trail (looking on a map) and the reality was it was a golf course and the "trail" I saw on the map was for golf carts and not pedestrians. SHEESH!!

It was very beautiful, but we turned around and walked through the nearby neighborhoods instead.

Whenever Glen sees a home for sale, he always stops to look at the information to see if it lists a price. We're on the hunt for our next home. Where better to live than southern California?!?!?!???

We had a week of going to the airport three different days. Glen stopped in the middle of reading and answering his Monday missionaries' letters to go pick up these two missionaries who were arriving from the Mexico MTC.

Once back at our home, Glen interviewed each one while I talked to each one about medical stuff. They were able to take a nap before some missionaries came to pick them up for the evening.

We were back at the airport the next morning picking up this HUGE crowd of new missionaries! WOW!!! Our biggest group ever!!

The missionary in front is from our area back home and is good friends with Gabby Todd.

The elder third from the left is a nephew of one of Diane (our friend across the street from us back home) Stewart's daughter-in-law.

I babysat the father of the elder second from right wearing the green tie who lived right across the street from us on 22nd Street in Ogden.

The elder on the right is the brother of one of our first assistants.

The missionary on the right had his appendix out shortly after he entered the MTC. The sisters told us about him as he was still recovering from that and they wanted him to be careful and not lift any luggage.

We got the large group to the mission office and got busy doing our interviewing, medical stuff, feeding them, having the office people do some paperwork and training. After prayerful consideration, Glen paired them up with their new trainers. We sent them off on their way and told them to be back at the mission office building in two days for training.

Then we rushed home to get dinner cooked for the departing missionaries. Although it was not our favorite to have two departing groups of missionaries in one transfer cycle, I was kind of glad because both groups were plenty big enough to feed and sleep at our house.

We had testimony meeting and then the traditional pose on the stairs.

Elders Gantner, Bucko, Wilde, George, Trounce, Sherwood

Sisters Jones, Williams, Petterborg, Roundy and Hermana Terrón

Up early the next morning to take them to the temple, pose for photos and then drop them off at the airport. Glen was distraught to discover in all the loading of the luggage and getting everyone out the door, he had neglected to put his suit coat in the truck we were driving. 

He felt so humiliated at going to the temple wearing no suit coat. And then, of course, this group of missionaries just happened to be the group where the majority of them wanted an individual picture with the two of us. YIKES!!

Elder Gantner is from Switzerland and his family came to pick him up.

Here we are for the third time in a week at the airport dropping off this group of departing missionaries.

We dropped off all the missionaries except one. Well, actually two. The assistants had taken Elder Bucko to the airport before the temple session because he had an earlier flight. I had Sister Roundy with me on the way home from the airport. Her flight was the next morning.

She got to go to the celebratory end-of-transfer lunch at In-n-out. The sisters who were going to take care of her for the rest of the day and overnight and then get her to the airport the next morning had lunch with us as well.

This was one crazy transfer cycle!! Glad to wrap it up and move on to the next transfer cycle. All in all, it went rather smoothly for as many missionaries and various circumstances we were dealing with all throughout.

We are thankful for the assistants and all the assistance they gave in assisting us in all that we needed to accomplish!

Quotes of the Week

Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord.
--Gordon B. Hinckley

Our role is also to help and bless, lift and edify, and replace fear and despair with hope and joy.
--Dale G. Renlund

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
--Acts 5:29

You must ... see that studying the scriptures is not a burden...but a marvelous blessing and opportunity.
--Ezra Taft Benson

Returned Missionaries Keep Returning, Dinner With the Clarks

The missionaries keep returning. Here we have RM Elder Wight visiting the mission during the time Glen was doing interviews with the missionaries. He came to the church where the Del Mar zone was interviewing and got to see one of his favorite companions.

Two more returned missionaries came to visit us. On the left is Elder Mark Phillips with his sister and next to me is Elder Skyler Higginson with his brother.

They had planned a fun day at the beach and we offered our boogie boards, beach chairs and umbrella. After their hours at the beach, they came back to the house to clean up and get ready to go to dinner with some members.

Speaking of dinner...

For one of our date nights, we were invited to President and Sister Clark's beautiful home for dinner. He's the stake president of the Del Mar Stake. He knows Glen's friend Randy Bambrough.

They have a zip line in their back yard.

They fed us a most delicious salmon dinner. We loved it. And we loved visiting with them. They served as mission president and wife in Spain.

I had heard of the quilt Sister Clark had made, but seeing it was so much better than just hearing about it! She loves to sew and at the beginning of their mission, she asked every departing missionary to give her one of his ties.

From that, she embroidered their name on each of their individual little tie-shapes and turned them into this most interesting and uniquely different and beautiful quilt.

She embroidered all the sister missionaries' names along the border of the quilt. I loved the idea and the completed masterpiece. And NO!!! I did not get any bright ideas from her. I will NOT be implementing this idea myself with our missionaries.

Seth was in San Diego for a couple of weeks for work. When Kenna, baby Terje and Zack came to visit him on the weekend, they drove up to our house for dinner and a visit. Little Terje was so adorable. And social. He would walk around the house and every time he looked at us, he would wave his hand and say "hi." So cute!!

We had another RM come to see us. Actually two RMs from this mission. Even though one was before our time. Elder Jacob Ruhl and Alyssa had each gone individually to a wedding reception in Logan of a fellow missionary. Elder Ruhl was then supposed to hook up with two other friends and take a road trip to California.

His friends stood him up. Alyssa likes road trips. So off they came together to California to visit the mission. They came to our house for Sunday dinner right before they road tripped it back to Utah.

Glen very bluntly asked them if there was anything romantic coming of it. Way to get it all out in the open for all of us to inspect and comment on together.

Needless to say, they were a little embarrassed. We were enjoying the interaction. Even more delight today (weeks later) as we called and wished Elder Ruhl a happy birthday. When asked how he is spending his birthday, he said Alyssa would be visiting St. Louis to meet his parents and be there with them for the holiday weekend...

Sounds like love is in the air to me!!