Dress and Grooming, Mother's Day, Moonlight Beach

This is the position Glen assumes for many hours every preparation day as he reads and answers all of the missionaries' letters.

This particular Monday he actually finished his letters before dinner. That generally doesn't ever happen.

It happened to be the day after the Persian group had given us a shrimp platter to take home as one of their thank you gifts for speaking. The orchid they also gave us is doing well. It makes quite the centerpiece on the kitchen table.

Glen had a week full of interviews with each of the missionaries. We decided we needed to review with the missionaries the dress and grooming standards as set forth on lds.org. I went over the website with each companionship.

 This elder was anxious to show me his hat since hats are now allowed for sun protection.

In comparing the photos, it was determined his hat would be a little more suited for doing yard work. 

Upon returning home one evening, we found we had been heart attacked.

I was impressed that the cereal and box of candy was exactly what Glen likes!

Glen had to rearrange the interview schedule so we could go to Murrieta one evening for a teaching appointment with these sisters. Glen is a softy and suggested we have dinner together since the sisters didn't have a dinner appointment scheduled.

Saw this HUGE, unexpected artwork sitting outside the door of one of the churches. It appeared there was a youth dance at the building over the weekend centered around the Disney theme. Imagine that in California.

The missionaries wear their shoes out as they near the end of their mission and don't want to buy any new ones until they get home. Thank goodness for a member who provided this elder with some good insoles since his soles are pretty much nonexistent.

Good thing I took a picture of this notice for an upcoming stake conference. We quickly noted the earlier start time for the leadership meeting and the regular time start for the Saturday evening session. We are very paranoid about that since the Vista stake conference arrive-late-twice fiasco.

A few days before Mother's Day this box appeared in the mission office. We weren't able to pick it up until the next day when we had our weekly planning session with the assistants. Just jokingly I told them thanks for the flowers. 

When I opened up the box, I had to laugh when I saw the note was actually from this assistant's family. So sweet of the Romneys to send me flowers.

By the time I got them home and in a vase, they were pretty wilted and I was worried they might not last very long.

I enjoyed this quote on the window of a surfboard store. Not sure if it is in honor of Mother's Day or if it is there year round. 

Look how the flowers perked up very nicely just in time for Mother's Day!

We attended three sacrament meetings on Mother's Day and only one ward was handing out gifts to all the women. It was the Young Single Adult ward. I have loved the small potted succulent plant which they gave me.

As our missionaries were having their Mother's Day calls, we were having family calls of our own.

The next day on preparation day we went to Encinitas to take a different walk along the beach.

We came across this construction site at Moonlight Beach. 

It is Moonlight Beach Marine Safety Center which will serve as the headquarters for all Encinitas lifeguard beach operations and first aid services.

These two boats sitting right in between regular houses, complete with address numbers, made me laugh right out loud at their unexpectedness.

I guess that's one way to be prepared for a typhoon, a flood, a tsunami or whenever California falls into the ocean.

 Be prepared. It's a good motto to follow.

Quotes of the Week

God's plan is established through families.  Every family member is important, and their roles are beautiful, glorious, and fulfilling.
--Quentin L. Cook

Be faithful to him.  He is the one true source of your strength.  He is your Father in Heaven.  He lives. He hears and answers prayers.
--Gordon B. Hinckley

True happiness is not made in getting something.  True happiness is becoming something.
--Marvin J. Ashton

If ye love me, keep my commandments.
--John 14:15

Quotes of the Week

It is better to look up.
--Carl B. Cook

To repent from sin is not easy.  But the prize is worth the price
--Russell M. Nelson

If we could truly understand the Atonement...we would realize how precious is one son or daughter of God.
--M. Russell Ballard

In yielding your will to His, God will tutor you in the successful use of moral agency.  You will find freedom to be, to feel, and to do.
--D Todd Christofferson

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.