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.

Hodges Lake, Mormon Battalion, Farewell to Radfords

We had a fun Monday morning adventure hiking around Hodges Lake. I always get excited when we find new places to walk. Hodgee greeted us upon our arrival.

I had spotted this lake from a distance and was anxious to get up close and see the conical-shaped island.

We walked for a while on a lower trail.

Good news was we did not see any rattlesnakes!!

The trail went up, up, up.

A rusted out car was a very unexpected sight to see in the ravine. We could not figure out how it could have gotten there.

It looked like it had been there for quite a while.

As we hiked higher and higher, we got a whole different view of the lake.

This reminded me of the Grand Canyon with Glen perched on a rock on the cliff so we could get a good picture.

I liked the pattern of the water as the boat went by.

The floating house on the water caught my eye. A boat pulled up alongside the house and the boatman went inside for a short time.

It was just as I suspected--a floating porta potty!!

The lake was a beautiful sight to behold.

It was definitely worth the drive to spend some time in nature.

Glen did a wonderful job planning a full day of one-hour exit interviews with the departing missionaries at the mission office. When he does interviews there, I don't have to be nearby because there are other people in the office. I got to go shopping at the mall.

It was that time of the transfer again where we took the missionaries just finishing up their training, and their trainers, to have lunch at Tequila Factory followed by a tour at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

 

The missionaries love panning for gold almost as much as the grandchildren enjoy it. They also like to walk up the stairs to the look-out tower to get a good view of Old Town San Diego.

It worked out so nicely for Glen to be able to talk to missionaries at Mormon Battalion who he might be using for new leaders.

The assistants provide him with a calling list of who the new leaders will be for the new transfer and then he makes the rest of the calls (with me as his car secretary finding the numbers) as we are driving home from Mormon Battalion.

When we first got here, he used to wait until later in the evening to make the calls. We find this is a good use of our car time and it frees up his evening hours to do other things.

The new leaders joined the assistants, two sister training leaders and us the next morning for a new leadership training meeting.

A few days later we had all the departing missionaries over for the traditional roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy dinner--their last evening meal in the mission.

It was Elder and Sister Radford's last few days in the mission and they were anxious to attend the testimony meeting following dinner.

It seems so unfair that the sisters sleep upstairs in the beds and enjoy the nice bathroom with the double sinks and separate tub/toilet room. The elders sleep on the main floor--literally on the floor--and have an all-inclusive one-sink bathroom to share amongst the larger group of them.

I don't know how it happens, but no matter how large or small the number of missionaries we have going home, each time they have all been ready to leave the house by 6:30 a.m. the next morning.

We were able to get photos in front of the temple before we went in for our 8:00 a.m. endowment session.

Then it was off to the airport to bid them all a fond farewell. 

We're learning it's not usually a final good-bye. They tend to trickle back to the mission for vacation. Former Sister Abby Laing has been back twice. Hermanas Kaylene Parris and Brenna Donnelly were in the mission separately, but just happened to be at the mission office at the same time. And Hermana Danielle Dean came on vacation with her family.

We had a farewell dinner with Elder Steven and Sister Kim Radford at the Chart House in Del Mar.

We had a table right next to the open-air window which looked right out onto the beach and the ocean. 

We will miss our Radford friends. Working with them for so long tends to make us get a little attached!! We feel this way with all the missionaries and with all the missionary couples.