Totaled Car, Elder and Sister Bangerter Mission Tour, Dad and Mom Visit

It is never a good phone call when we learn of a car accident. Thankfully these two sisters survived a car crash despite the car being totaled.

We took them home after they were released from the emergency room.

That took extra time out of our Monday which was already busy with the senior missionaries coming over for dinner and Family Home Evening. Glen was feeling very pressured to get all the letters finished that day because the Bangerters were arriving the next day for our mission tour.

It was going to be a busy week and had already started off busy that day. He worked late into the night finishing up reading and answering all the missionaries' letters so he didn't have to worry about doing that with our visitors here the rest of the week.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the airport to pick up Elder Steven R. and Sister Susann Bangerter.

After stopping for dinner, we had a meeting for a while with them and then the assistants came to our home to have a meeting with all of us.

Wednesday morning we were up early and driving to Temecula. Elder Bangerter had requested a short leadership meeting before zone conference with the zone leaders and sister training leaders of the Temecula, Murrieta, Escondido and San Marcos zones.

Between that meeting and zone conference each zone posed for a picture with the Bangerters. 

Glen and I were asked to take a few minutes at the beginning of zone conference to do some teaching. We opted to teach together and felt the inspiration during the preparation process. The visual chart Glen came up with really helped drive the point home. 

We talked about the desires of our hearts. Joseph F. Smith said, "You and I must take great care in the education of our desires." 

Elder Neil L. Andersen spoke of the power of educating our desires in such a way that our hopes, longing, and anticipations align with the desires of our Father in Heaven. We have control over our desires--righteous or unrighteous. Before our choices come our desires. Our desires influence our choices."

President Dallin H. Oaks said, "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions." He went on to explain the desires we act on cause us to change, achieve and become. 

We really loved the teaching of Elder Andersen as he pointed out how we need to educate, nourish, feed righteous desires and starve unrighteous desires.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell's words on the subject, "Righteous desires need to be relentless. Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence, righteous desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings... Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity."

We used scriptures and talked about one of the many changes in Preach My Gospel as we taught. Each point added to the visual Glen had been inspired to draw and then had turned into a PowerPoint presentation.

After we were finished, the rest of the day was for the Bangerters to teach. They did such a great job covering a variety of subjects as they inspired, uplifted and motivated the missionaries. Most of all, they helped us all feel the Spirit so deeply and it really left an impact on all of us. We loved it!!

It has been a pleasure this past week to talk with the missionaries during interview week and ask them what their favorite learning was from zone conference. There was a wide variety of favorite things which made it even more fun for me to hear all that they gleaned from the meeting.

That evening we went to the mission office building in Vista and enjoyed a lovely dinner with the mission presidency, stake presidents, temple president, Area Authority and their wives. Elder Bangerter took a few minutes to do a little instructing and speaking to the group. It is always special when a visiting Authority is in our midst. 

(left to right) President and Sister Marín - 1st counselor in mission presidency; 

President Thomas and ME; President and Sister Ham - Temecula stake president; 

President and Sister Clark - Del Mar stake president; Elder and Sister Davis - Area Authority; 

Elder and Sister Bangerter; President and Sister Badal - 2nd counselor in mission presidency; President and Sister Ellsworth - temple president; 

President and Sister McMaster - Escondido stake president; 

President and Sister Ballif, Vista stake president (they hosted the meal and did most of the cooking); 

President and Sister Whittier, Murrieta stake president 

Thursday morning we were up and running again--this time meeting in the La Costa building in Carlsbad--so we didn't have to get up quite as early. We met with the zone leaders and sister training leaders like we did the day before, took photos and then moved into the chapel for zone conference. 

This day the missionaries from the Carlsbad, Del Mar and Vista zones were in attendance. 

Fortunately, we had attended church in the Cardiff building on Sunday and learned the air conditioning had been broken for a couple of weeks and no one knew when it would be fixed. The fortunate part of that unfortunate news was we learned about it BEFORE the day of zone conference.

We had scheduled that building to have our zone conference and with this knowledge, we were able to change the meeting to a different location. Talk about a blessing!!! It would have been so miserably hot the whole day with no A/C! 

Both days after the meeting, Elder Bangerter had requested interview time with 8 missionaries each day. That turned out perfect as we had scheduled Walmart to be there at the end of both of the zone conferences to give flu shots to our missionaries.

By the time the shots were all given, Elder Bangerter had finished with the interviews. He enjoyed talking with various missionaries and the ones who had been chosen felt it a great honor to be able to have some one-on-one time with him.

After zone conference that day, we had reservations for dinner at the Chart House in Cardiff. When we told the Bangerters where we were going, they got huge smiles on their faces as they looked at each other with nostalgic looks. 

They told us about how when they lived in Southern California, they used to go to dinner there every time they went to the temple. They love that place and it holds great memories for them.

The restaurant is right on the beach. It appears the windows are so clean, but the fact is there was no glass on the windows. It was open air viewing watching the sunset and hearing the waves coming up onto the sand. Such a great restaurant for upscale dining with a beach atmosphere!

Friday morning we went to the mission office church building to have Mission Leadership Council with all our leaders. It was very intense. The Spirit was there in abundance. Elder Bangerter set it up for us and then Glen did some powerful teaching and shared his inspired goal for the upcoming month.

The four of us then left the room while the MLC did counseling together to come up with a plan for how the missionaries could all help to meet the goal. It was pretty amazing. The assistants presented the council's thoughts and ideas to us. Elder Bangerter left them with a blessing. When the meeting ended, none of them moved. They just sat there relishing in the sweet feeling and special experience they had all witnessed.

We had to get Elder and Sister Bangerter to the Palomar Airport to pick up their rental car so they could be on their way to their next appointment. We had enjoyed so much the time they had spent with us and with our missionaries.

Not long after the Bangerters left, my parents arrived on the scene. We were so happy to see them!! I was thrilled they felt like venturing down to our part of the country for a few days before going to St. George to spend some time with Dad's sisters and their husbands. 

We were starving (no lunch that day) and were very ready to eat at the Old California Mining Company in San Marcos.

On the way home we almost witnessed an accident. We didn't actually see the car hit the man on his electric scooter, but we saw him rolling around in the street. Some people helped him to the side of the road. Glen called 911 and we waited until the fire truck and ambulance arrived.

Nothing like providing dinner AND a show for Mom and Dad that evening. Excitement!

The next day Dad and Mom went to the Mormon Battalion and walked around Old Town while Glen and I had our weekly planning meeting with the assistants and we also went to a baptism.

We were able to have dinner together at one of our favorite restaurants in Carlsbad Village--Coyote Grill where we always order ribs. Dad was looking forward to going there again as we'd taken them there last time they came and he liked our recommendation.

Glen and I went to an evening baptism and when we got home it was time to play my favorite game--QWIRKLE!!!!

The sad thing (for me) was Mom killed it during both games and beat me soundly. Both times! Yes, a little blow to my ego that she caught on so quickly and beat me--TWICE--at my own favorite game. But, it was worth it just to get to play the game with someone again.

Calling all people!! Who wants to come and play Qwirkle with me??? I don't even care if you win!! It's the thrill of playing the game every once in a while that counts!!

Mom and I took a little walk around the yard to look at all the plants and spotted this beauty in the backyard. We always notice the red flowers when they bloom, but this rose was blooming off to the side of the yard and it was a pleasant surprise to see it that day.

Dad had asked about a certain missionary serving here who happens to be the niece of my cousin Melanie who lives in Clifton, Idaho--the small town where Dad grew up.

It just so happens that Dad and Mom requested we go to the 9:00 sacrament meeting at the church closest to us so they could be off and on their way to Las Vegas as soon as church was over.

It just so happens that particular ward is the very ward that Melanie's niece is serving in, so Dad got to see the one missionary he was asking about. Tender mercy for sure!!

As planned, Dad and Mom lost no time in bidding us farewell after we got home from church. As with all our visitors (including General Authorities), I insisted on taking a picture of them standing in front of the palm trees in our front yard.

Both Glen and I commented on what a nice looking couple my parents are. They are such beautiful people--so young looking for their age.

We are so thankful for their positive influence in our lives. They continue to bless us with their prayers on our behalf, their concern for our welfare and the things we are dealing with, and we know their love is constant and unfailing. Oh how we love these goodly parents!!

Transfer #20; Balboa Park; Jeff Home Visit

After we dropped the departing missionaries off at the airport, we picked up a new sister who arrived here from the Philippines. She is now our shortest missionary in the mission! We have two other sisters from the Philippines and they are pretty tiny, but this one is the tiniest. She just turned 22-years-old. She says the hardest thing for her on the mission is people think she is a Primary child. 

We had some sisters drive to San Diego to meet us at Tom Ham's Lighthouse near the airport--the restaurant where we eat lunch with the assistants every transfer day. 

The sisters discovered a scenic area behind the restaurant while they were waiting for us to arrive. It provided a great look at the downtown area of San Diego and the bridge crossing the water over to Coronado Island.

It was a prime location for photo shoots for all of us.

We bid the sisters farewell. They went to the mission office where our new sister missionary was able to have a nap for a couple of hours. In the meantime, we went back to the airport to pick up our incoming missionaries--some from the Mexico MTC and the others from the Provo MTC. 

We drove back to the mission office in the rush hour traffic. Our new office couple, the Burrises, had California burritos ready for us to eat. Glen got busy interviewing each missionary. The mission couples did some training. I talked about medical stuff with each missionary. Then it was time for Glen to assign the new missionaries to their respective trainers. After that, they were off to their various apartments to get to bed.

Transfer #20 was completed.

It makes for a late night, but I really like this new way better than when we first arrived in the mission. We used to welcome the new missionaries, do all the above with them and then hurry home to fix dinner for the departing missionaries and host them overnight and take them to the temple the following day.

This way it is a better order because we bid the departing missionaries farewell--closing that chapter, before welcoming the new missionaries--opening a new chapter.

On the Wednesday after transfers, it is usually a pretty calm day for us. We were able to get caught up on computer stuff and were working on getting our part ready for our upcoming mission tour visitors and zone conferences.

Two days after the new missionaries arrive, we bring them back to the mission office for new missionary training. Halfway through the training, we give them an assignment to read and talk about and prepare to tell the group what they learned while they walk twice around the mission office church building.

It is such beautiful weather, we might as well let them enjoy it!! The little bit of exercise also works to wake them up a bit as they get so tired sitting in the meeting.

What a fabulous group of new missionaries and their trainers.

Elder and Sister Burris had our lunches all ready for us when we were finished with the group photo. They all chowed down on Thai food that day.

By Friday we were ready for a little bit of a break. We worked on our zone conference stuff for a while and then we were off for an afternoon date at Balboa Park. The buildings in that area are so ornate and beautiful. They reminded us a lot of the buildings in Rome.

The impressive structure is the California Building and Tower and was built for the 1915 Panama California Exposition. It is now the San Diego Museum of Man.

Not only were the buildings large and impressive, but the trees and the roots were equally large and impressive.

The Spreckles Organ Pavillion houses the world's largest open-air pipe organ in a fully outdoor venue. Unfortunately there was not an organ recital going on while we were there.

San Diego Air and Space Museum. 

We hopped on a free tram and rode to another part of Balboa Park.

As soon as we stepped off the tram, Glen got a very long phone call. I was happy I had some artwork to look at while he was talking.

 

He was talking and talking and talking. I wondered what big missionary problem he was dealing with. After he got off the phone, he told me it was a just a random survey. I can't believe he consented to take the survey and then can't believe he stuck with it for the length of time it took to complete the survey. 

I would have said, "Sorry! I'm enjoying date night right now!!"

We walked on the Cabrillo Bridge and got a bird's-eye view of the traffic. Off to the left is an archery course. 

I thought of my brothers and my dad who would probably really enjoy walking the course and shooting at the various targets.

On the other side of the bridge was a big grassy area for lawn bowling.

This is the Botanical Building.

The beautiful lily pond reflected images of the nearby buildings and trees.

Casa del Prado Theater

As we were leaving Balboa Park to go find a place to eat dinner, the food trucks lined up along the street did not seem to have the appeal for us as they did for a lot of the people who were enjoying the various food options.

We ended up at California Pizza Kitchen. That place has become a new favorite of mine as they have cauliflower crust pizza. I really love the barbecue chicken pizza on that crust. It was a very fun, much-needed date break for us that day.

Look who the star patient has been ever since shoulder surgery. When we went to the doctor for his 6-week post-op check-up, the physician's assistant said if she hadn't looked at the chart, she would never have known which shoulder had been the sore one.

As she was having him do various movements and tests of strength, we were all impressed he could get his surgery arm up higher behind his back than his other arm. His recovery has been amazing, and he only went to one physical therapy session. What a blessing!!

Here's a little peek at what was happening back home in Utah. Jeff was able to have a short break from his training back East to go visit his family at home. I wonder who was more excited for the reunion--the little boys or the adult boy. 

Looks like all 5 boys were happy to be at the doughnut store.

It was good to see these two reunited again--if only for a very short time.

And then as quick as Jeff was there--he was gone again.

Sarah said she is so thankful Ben and Haley are living in the house with her for a little while. They have been a big help for Sarah with the little boys at church. The little ones LOVE Ben!! She also likes having other adults in the house at night.

I thought it was so sweet that Cowleys invited Sarah, her boys, Ben and Haley over to their house for dinner. Sarah is being blessed in many ways while Jeff is gone.

The last photo goes to Wynne--the little ballerina riding her scooter to ballet class on the streets of San Francisco. 

What a little cutie! We FaceTimed with Abe's family last night and when Newland was asked if their new baby is going to be a boy or a girl, he said it's a boy. When Wynne was asked, she said it's a girl. We will all know for sure some time in the coming weeks.

Klarissa's wish for the new baby is that Abe will be in town for the birth. Fingers are crossed and prayers are being said for that hope to be realized!!!

The race is on to see if Klarissa or Haley deliver first. They are both due this month within days of each other.