San Diego County Fair; Elder Jordan's Sister's Wedding; Opening a Mission Call; Mormon Battalion

Glen carefully and meticulously arranged our schedule so we could have some time to go to the San Diego County Fair.

Last year we spent a little time watching the horses prance around, so I was happy we arrived a little earlier this year so we could watch for a longer time.

We learned that during the matinee show they have an organist in the middle of the arena who plays music for the horses to do their prancing.

In the evening there is a live orchestra in the center of the arena playing away for the horses' enjoyment.

We walked through some of the big buildings which housed different animals. I took pictures of two bunnies and then no other animals.

We spent quite a bit of time looking at all the photography and art work in some of the buildings.

There were lots of food options throughout the fair grounds.

This is the place where we ate last year and it looked the most promising again this year.

A couple walked by with missionary name tags on and sat down at the table next to ours. We struck up a conversation with them and learned they are in the San Diego Mission. They served an earlier mission in Indonesia at the same time as our friends Lane and LaVona Lewis. Small world!!

I really enjoyed looking at the sidewalk chalk artwork.

Elder Jordan, one of our assistants, had a sister getting married in the San Diego Temple. Since he couldn't go, he invited us to go in his place. We had met his sister before--right after she got home from serving in the Nebraska Omaha Mission with our friends Chad and Susie Gardner as her Mission President and Wife.

It was interesting to learn that Leela Jordan married a man whose first name is Jordan. I never managed to get a photo of Leela and Jordan together. Here she is having a moment with her mother as her little brother looks on. Elder Jordan's little brother reminded us a lot of him. 

This couple asked who we are and when he found out, he said very loudly, "Well we wish Elder Jordan had come instead of you!!"

Glen lost one of his counselors because President Burgon and his wife left to serve a Nauvoo Temple Mission. That left Glen without a counselor for a couple of months. We were very happy when he felt inspired to call David Badal to be his counselor. He didn't know the man. He had been recommended by his stake president and by President Burgon.

As we have come to expect, things just worked out for us to be able to cross paths with him. We got a chance to talk with him after church one day when he happened to be in a building where we had attended church. Then Glen felt good about calling him after prayerful consideration.

When we went to their home to meet his wife Peggy, and for Glen to set him apart as his counselor, it was a second witness to me that Glen had picked the right man for the job when I saw the words "Te Amo" on the glass wall hanging behind him. Glen hadn't thought he spoke Spanish, but we found out he is from Uruguay and does in fact speak Spanish. That ability helps a lot when baptismal interviews are conducted with the Hispanic people.

President Marín, Glen's other counselor, was excited to hear he speaks Spanish as well. He has plans to go out with President Badal and go on splits with the missionaries. They will be able to go with the Spanish-speaking missionaries as well as the others. That works out well!!

We had a 2-transfer missionary assigned to our mission. At the end of that time it was determined by the Missionary Department that she could be reassigned to complete her mission in the Texas Lubbock Mission.

Her family lives nearby, so Glen invited her family to come to the opening of her new mission assignment letter. Her parents and brother were baptized a couple of days before she arrived in our mission. Her sister was baptized a year ago. It was nice they came to see where she will be serving the rest of her 18 months.

She had a week to be home with her family before she reported to the MTC for training. She did not go to the Missionary Training Center before coming here.

She had not been endowed before she arrived in our mission, so she asked if I could be her escort at the San Diego Temple when she went to receive her own endowment. I thought that was a pretty special request. 

She also wanted the two companions she had served with to be at the temple with her. 

Her family had driven to the temple with her as this was scheduled during the week she was home. They went to the Mormon Battalion while she was in the temple. They loved their experience there.

They had been able to take the tour in Spanish and were the only ones on that tour. Her little brother got to be the one who dressed up as a soldier. They so proudly were showing us the picture they took of him.

They invited us to have dinner with them and we suggested a restaurant across the freeway from the temple. Of course I had to take advantage of the photo op with the temple in the background.

They are a sweet family. We felt it a blessing she chose to go to the San Diego Temple and that once she chose that temple that she chose a day where we had a free afternoon and just had to juggle the schedule a little bit by moving our morning meeting to start an hour earlier.

We enjoyed our yummy food. I am hooked on the cauliflower crust pizza I have been getting at California Pizza Kitchen. This time I ordered cobb salad pizza instead of BBQ chicken like I had gotten twice before. Since we have been going there so often lately, I thought I would shake things up a little bit.

One Monday we were feeling adventuresome and decided to hike Double Peak Trail. We didn't make it all the way to the top of the mountain this time, but we enjoyed the view as we hiked.

We took this group to eat at the Tequila Factory and then went to tour the Mormon Battalion. The three missionaries on the left are new from Nicaragua. Elder Lundquist and Elder Jordan were sitting with us. The three sisters on the left have just completed The First 12 Weeks training--with their trainers' help, of course. 

It is always a faith-promoting experience to go to the Mormon Battalion. 

I like to hear what the missionaries learned from it and how it helps them realize they can do hard things as they have faith, work hard and rely on the Savior to help get them through their tough times.

Quotes of the Week

Brothers and sisters, we live in the last days, wonderful days in which the Lord has promised that knowledge will flow down from heaven until nothing shall be withheld from those who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
--Dallin H. Oaks

There will come times in your life when you will need immediate blessings. You will need to live in such a way that they will be granted--not out of mercy but because you are worthy.
--Gordon B. Hinckley

Life is a competition, not with others but with ourselves. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair a mistake; each day to surpass ourselves.
--David B. Haight

Quotes of the Week

It is not enough just to pray. It is essential that we really speak to the Lord, having faith that He will reveal to us... what we need to know and do.
--Spencer W. Kimball

If you are not happy, put a smile on your face. Accentuate the positive.
--Gordon B. Hinckley

Fan the flame of faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.
--Jeffrey R. Holland

Six Missionaries From Nicaragua, Training Meetings, Gifts From the Foot Doctor

The Missionary Department kept sending us missionaries from Nicaragua...one at a time it felt like. We had received our first elder the previous week. This elder arrived on a Sunday evening.

When we got home, Glen interviewed him and then he met his new companions.

Monday evening we had the assistants take a truck to the airport to help haul the luggage of three missionaries reassigned here from Nicaragua. 

We stopped to eat at a restaurant across the freeway from the temple--which called for a photo.

We ate at California Pizza Kitchen. They all comment about how cold it is here coming from such a warm climate.

When we were finished eating, it was getting dark and the temple was all lit up.

Once back home, Glen interviewed the three missionaries. Their companions came to get two of them. The assistants took one of them home with them to their apartment.

On Tuesday we went back to the airport to pick up the 6th and last missionary reassigned here from Nicaragua. We took him to a different restaurant in the same area close by the temple.

By the time we got him fed, home and interviewed it was once again getting late when he met his companions and got off on his way.

The next day we brought them all into the mission office church building to have a meeting and to get all their forms filled out and signed. 

Sister Radford got the traditional California burritos (meat and French fries inside a tortilla) for the missionaries' first lunch with us. It's tradition! 

From lunch we went right into a first trainer follow-up meeting with the missionaries who have been here 4 weeks. We had the sister from Nicaragua and her companions join in with the meeting as she hasn't been on her mission very long.

We met former Elder Clayton Horton for dinner that evening at our favorite ribs restaurant in Carlsbad Village. He was in town on business--thrilled that a work trip took him back to his mission.

What's not to love about this place? The flowers, plants and trees are gorgeous!! 

Here's an update on my feet--same old, same old! More injections. UGH!! Every three weeks more of the same.

This time Dr. Dustin surprised me by giving us a gift. He had hand-crafted two pens and an oil vial out of olive wood he had imported from Jerusalem.

The pens have a little line of red in them which he told us is from an old skateboard. He wrote:

As you know, trees have great significance in the scriptures. I think one of the most important trees is the olive tree. There are so many beautiful cultural and religious representations of this sacred tree. My favorite is in Jacob. 

I wanted to include some local Carlsbad wood. I chose skateboard because the sport has ties to this area. Many of the best and most famous skaters started right here. I used a broken discarded skateboard. I wanted to thank you for reaching out for those in our area; missionaries, members and not yet baptized people that may feel broken or discarded. I hope it makes you think of how you rescued us and encased us in the love of the Savior.

I often think of how Jesus worked with wood and probably used olive wood to make beautiful things. The great and true carpenter sees our true value and creates a work of art in all of us if we allow Him to mold us and sand us smooth. Thank you for being a great instrument in His hands.

There were other things he wrote that makes it sound like he was giving this to us as a farewell gift.

I'm going to have to break it to him that we have another whole year here. Which means he's got another full entire 365+ days to continue taking care of my troublesome feet...!!!

Now on to other more pleasant things besides my feet. That would be Brooke, the girl who just turned 11 years old. I love how she decorated her own birthday cake. Why not?? 

She's clever and creative and knows exactly what she likes. I love it!! And I love her!!