The End of November

Wow!  Time gets away from us!  The last six months have just flown by - it seems like we just barely passed the anniversary of the beginning of our mission.  It's been a busy and eventful past six weeks.

Cute kids, singing at the baptism

On Oct. 6,  we flew home to Utah.  What a great and special occasion it was as we were able to witness the baptisms of our 2 little grandsons, Cade and McCoy.  Being born on the same day has meant sharing a lot of special experiences together for the two of them.  So, we flew out late Thursday, and came back on Monday.  Too short to settle in at all, but long enough to realize how much we miss our bed at home!

In the airport, excited to go home!

While we were there, we had our annual McGuire Halloween Party - with all of the kids in costume.  We also celebrated Ellie's 4th birthday.  So much family fun, but we could feel the draw of the mission on us.

Halloween Costume Party

So, we're back to work.  Our semester is busy.  We have independent study students that we meet with, two different classes that we prep and teach, our Forum lunch that we prepare (plan, shop, cook, and clean up), and various mission responsibilities.  On Oct. 12, we had a zone meeting.  On Oct. 14, we did apartment inspections on the Elders' apartments.  And of course, we have to fit in BYU Football watching!

One thing we did while we were home was to pick up a new van.  Jeff, Natalie, and McCoy drove it down to San Diego on Oct. 15.  So, we were able to have some time with them here.  Our apartment is big enough that we used some blow up mattresses and they could stay with us.  They went to Church with us on Sunday.  That afternoon, we took a drive to La Jolla to see the tide pools.  For a few days, we juggled our missionary work and playing with Nat - going to the zoo, beach, etc. She went to Disneyland for a couple of days, then came back and picked up our Lexus to drive back.  That way, we have our minivan to drive home.

Jeff, McCoy, and Bumpa - chillin' at the beach!

On Friday night, we went to Lucha Libre for dinner with some of the other CES Senior Missionaries.  Our very good friends, the Perry's, left for home that evening.  They had been assigned to the Chula Vista Institute, and we had worked together very closely throughout our mission.  Miss them!

Elder and Sister Perry with us

The next day, Saturday, Oct. 22, Bobby and family came.  So excited to see them - they hadn't been to San Diego yet.  Unfortunately, by Sunday morning, Leila was throwing up.  Erica, Bobby, and Gavin also got sick.  Somehow it bypassed us - the blessings of the mission!  They somehow found the strength to trek through the zoo, Sea World, and the USS Midway. Then Wednesday, they left for Disneyland, stayed a few days, and flew home from there.  LOVED having them there!

Grandpa and Owen on the USS Midway

By Thursday, Oct. 27, we were back to a normal mission schedule with Forum Lunch, classes, etc.  Friday was a wedding of two of our students:  Tina Trepanier and Micheal Guevera.  Micheal had just barely been baptized when we came on our mission.  We had the privilege of teaching him Temple Prep, and attending his endowment session when he first went to the temple. To see that culminate in a temple wedding was a beautiful experience.

Tina and Micheal Guevara

On Saturday, the San Diego Stake held their Trunk or Treat.  So, we did our very first Trunk or Treat - lots of fun with many darling kids!  Glad I packed our Mr. and Mrs. Incredible shirts - we have used them!

Our new van, and Mr. and Mrs. Incredible!

Sunday morning at 7:15 am we had a missionary meeting with a General Authority.  It was supposed to be Elder Rasband, but his wife fell and broke her shoulder, so they headed home.  Elder Hallstrom spoke instead.  Then we attended Stake Conference in the San Diego East Stake. For Halloween, we went to a party at the Bishop's house.

On Tuesday, we went to Hobby Lobby with Brother Mackay to purchase new Christmas decorations for the Institute.  We wanted to get started early with setting up Christmas since the semester ends so quickly after Thanksgiving.  On Nov. 10, we "Decked the Halls of the Institute" - with a special Christmas dinner for Forum.  The students stayed and put up the tree and other decorations.  So, we have had Christmas here early - we love it!

We have had Senior FHE, dinner for the missionaries, etc. This last transfer, we had Sister Missionaries transferred to the 2nd Ward.  They have been so great to work with! And of course we juggle into our schedule activities with the wards like FHE, helping whereever they need us.

For Thanksgiving, we went to Bishop and Sister Goff's.  They are such great people, we will really miss them.  On Friday, Nov. 25, we had a Departure Temple Session, then a Departure Dinner and Testimony Meeting with the Mission President.  The week was topped off with the baptism of Thomas on Saturday.  

Sister Chang, Sister Whitcomb, Thomas Perkins, and Aaron Schmid

Last night we took the Sisters out to dinner.  Sister Whitcomb flew home today.  We have loved working with them, and hope to keep in touch with her.

Us, Sister Whitcomb, and Sister Chang

Only 21 more days here!  We made a big list of all of the things we still need to accomplish while we are here.  So we're working furiously to get it all done.  We still have people that we feel inspired to work with and do a little extra "push" with.  Our new Temple Prep class will have to have a condensed schedule in order to get everyone through before we leave. We keep adding people to the class who come to us and want to take it.  So happy to be of such assistance in building the kingdom!

Some thoughts

My dear wife has agreed to post the daily or weekly or monthly activities of our mission and for that I am ever grateful.  It is left to me to just record some thoughts about things that have occurred over the past few weeks.
As we contemplate our time in the mission coming to a close (only three weeks left from today), we approach it with mixed feelings.  We are ever so grateful for the experiences that we have had.  We could never have had the spiritual and experiential things occur anywhere else but in this mission at this time.  We have been touched by the people we work with in both the wards we work with, the Institute, and the mission friends we have made.  Never would we have met these wonderful people and allowed them to affect our lives if we had not gone on our mission.  Just a few examples: We went to our departure temple trip and dinner the other night and had the wonderful opportunity to be among Elders and Sisters, some of whom we had worked with, and others that we had not, along with our beloved Mission President and his wife.  We spent time worshiping, eating and testifying and the spirit was strong.
Another example was our experience with a four month member of the church, Yessie.  She called just yesterday to say that her non-member sister was in the hospital and asked us to come and have me participate with her Bishop in giving a blessing before the surgery.  What a choice experience to invite the Lord's blessings on one of His children.
Later that night we attended both FHE's of the wards and had a great time interacting with the members.  How we love them!  Sister Whitcomb was leaving the next day (today) and we took her and her companion Sister Chang to dinner and later she requested a Priesthood blessing and I was privileged to give it to her.  She is an example of the marvelous young missionaries that we deal with on a regular basis.  We will miss them and look forward to seeing some of them at reunions and maybe visits to Utah.
I have written on other occasions about the wonderful Senior Missionaries that we work with.  The Lord must be pleased that some of His most diligent and faithful sons and daughters take the time in their later years to serve and do it so well.  We love them and are grateful for their unselfish service.  It is so important for the Lord's work to have all those who are willing to leave children and grandchildren and lovingly serve.  I just wish that all senior couples were in a position to serve.
Finally, I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach.  We have learned so much as we have studied the scriptures and gained new insights and a love for the gospel.  Hopefully we have touched a few lives in our teaching, but we certainly have increased our love for the scriptures and the teachings of the church.
As we look ahead at the last three weeks of our service there is so much left to do.  We will be busy right up to the end and that is the way it should be.  We will leave tired, but happy.  It will be good to be back with family and friends, but some part of our hearts will remain in San Diego.

Just an Uplifting Experience

I am much better leaving the day to day posts to Sister McGuire.  I struggle at best with them.  But every now and then we get a special blessing in the mission where we come in contact with a young single adult whose life has changed due to the gospel and we get to share in that.  This happened this past week one of our students, Kimberly Almaguer, told us the story of her coming back.  She had signed up for Institute, but was inactive even though she occasionally was involved in Institute and church.  She attends our Eternal Family class and a few weeks ago said that she loves the class.  That is always payback to a teacher.  Then last week she explained that although she has been inactive she always said her prayers.  As she started Institute class she began again to read the scriptures.  She explained that she had a strong feeling that she should move to San Diego where she had grown up as a child.  She found an old neighborhood friend who just happened to be looking for a roommate and she moved in with her.  As the first rent payment approached she realized she did not have the money and she was returning to her car the other day and she noticed a note on her car.  A lady had dented her fender and left contact information so that she could reimburse her to get it fixed.  Kimberly contacted her and the lady's insurance arranged for payment for the damages.  After receiving the check, Kimberly went to look at the damage and noticed the dent was no longer there, although several scratches remained.  She decided not to repair it and instead had enough money to pay her rent.  She viewed that as a true blessing.

She began about two weeks ago to come back to church and attends the YSA 2nd Ward.  Other blessings have followed.  She just got a job teaching special education children that will provide her the employment in an area that she needs.  While it is only an internship now, they have indicated that once she graduates it could become permanent.  It is exactly the kind of job she wants.

The blessings of the Lord come as we follow the commandments.  Like the prodigal son who returned, there are blessings awaiting all who turn to God.  Blessings come as we serve, and we also see those blessings in others as we serve diligently.  Kimberly will continue to feel those blessings as she is faithful and we too can see similar blessings in our lives as we remain faithful and follow our Savior.

Another Busy Semester!

How familiar the excitement of a new school year is!  That was my life for so many years.  And I feel it again this fall - especially now that we have some experience behind us here!

We have had many good things happen this fall semester.  Elder McGuire and I worked really hard during the summer on Summer Institute. We had some great experiences with meeting new students and providing an "Institute Experience" for the Region. As fall came, and we sat down with Bro. Mackay to make plans, we all felt very inspired to try some new things for scheduling, etc.  For one thing, for our daytime classes we tried to match the on-campus class scheduling better.  We offered classes beginning every 1 1/2 hours, and each class only required once a week attendance. We also have the option of Independent Study for students who need a class at a certain time, or are the only ones signed up for a class.  Our class offerings are equalized such that Monday and Tuesday daytime classes are the same class as Wednesday nighttime.  In the reverse, the Tuesday night class is the same as the Wednesday and Thursday daytime.  It has resulted in a lot more activity here at the Institute during the days, and feels much more like it's a "place" for students to gather.

We also spent time cleaning and redecorating.  Bro. Mackay created and printed some wall hangings/posters.  We love seeing his creative brain at work!  (So glad he can do that, we don't have any creativity AT ALL!)

We basically gave up on the idea of LDSSA.  The campus threw too many complications at us to be compliant with their "open/tolerant" policies.  (That means tolerant of everything except LDS standards.)  So, instead, we are making an Institute Advisory Council that is Ecclesiastically led. That means representation from each ward/stake in both priesthood leadership and student leaders.  We held our first meeting on Aug. 28.

August 30 was a real payday for us.  One of the new converts, who was baptized just before we came, passed her year's membership mark and left on a mission.  Her name is Myduyen Nguyen Ngo - she is from Viet Nam.  Such a darling, enthusiastic girl!  She's going to San Jose, English speaking. We felt so pleased that she asked us to come to her setting apart.

Bishop Skaggs and wife, Megan, Nguyen, myself and Elder McGuire, Pres. Hendrickson

August 29-31 was our "back to school" orientation.  We made lemonade in our big cooler and set up a table in the parking lot where the new students would come in to park.  That was we could catch people, talk to them, and get them signed up for a class. We had a very busy week with that, feeding missionaries, our first night class of the semester, Forum Lunch, apartment inspections, Mission Departure Dinner, etc.  By the end of the week my shoes had taken their toll!

"Real" missionary shoes!

We are able to watch BYU Football on the TV in our apartment.  I'm so grateful (for Elder McGuire's sake!)  This year though, we have one of the missionaries we worked with on the team - Elder Austin McChesney.  It makes it much more interesting when you have someone you know there!  On Labor Day, since we didn't have class, we went for a drive to see some of the more quirky and interesting sights in San Diego - things like the Lemon Grove lemon, Harper's Topiary Garden, etc.

The Lemon Grove lemon

The next week our daytime classes started.  At this point, we have class on Monday at 3:30, Tuesday at 2:00 and 3:30, Wednesday at 7:00, and Thursday at 3:30.  The Monday and Tuesday times only had one student in them, so we do an independent study/discussion time with them.  Wednesday night we teach the New Testament (the Four Gospels), and Thursday 3:30 we teach The Eternal Family.  Those, plus Forum Lunch, ward activities, and missionary assignments seem to keep us busy.

We did go to an SDSU Soccer game on Sept. 9. Elder McGuire likes to watch our LDS players on the team and it's just walking distance from our Institute building.  And of course, we had a BYU game on Saturday.  Sunday we held the Worldwide Devotional Broadcast by Elder Cook here at the Institute.  We went to FHE at Nonie's house in Point Loma, and on Tuesday, we filled Elder McGuire's craving for good Mexican food by walking over to Trujillo's Tacos for Dinner.  Friday we did vehicle inspections during Zone Conference for the missionaries. And that night we had a beach party/bonfire/dinner at Mission Beach to welcome in some of the new couples and say goodbye to some others.  Sister Richardson and I planned it - we decided we must be the unofficial "party crowd" since we're always the party planners!

Trujillo's Tacos

Elder McGuire with Elder Bird

Saturday, Sept. 17, was a baptism - Jovana.  I usually play the piano for those, and try to bring treats for afterwards.  I've become a real expert on making cakemix cookies!  We also watched a BYU game again.  On Sunday, I was in charge of Linger Longer since the Bishop and his wife were out of town.

The next week, the most memorable happenings were getting the Elders to clean our Institute tables and chairs, and going to dinner at the Hamburger Factory with the other Senior YSA/CES missionaries.  I think it's a special type of person that gets that missionary calling - they all certainly have wonderful personalities and testimonies.  We have several new ones who are just beginning their first classes this fall.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, I watched the Women's General Broadcast from my apartment.  We had missionaries for dinner on Sunday and Monday.  The next week continued as usual, busy, but "good busy".  And of course conference weekend was great!  It's a real treat when you're a missionary.  Sunday, we divided our time between our two wards, picking up on brunch at both places.  

Tonight we have our night class.  Our little non-member friend, Kylee, just wandered in to talk and needing a healing blessing.  Tomorrow we do lunch, and then fly out at 4:30 to go home for Cade and McCoy's baptisms this weekend!  Woo hoo!

Getting Ready for a New Semester - Where Did the Summer Go?

Wow! So much time has passed and I just simply didn't get anything posted! So, here I am, trying to remember everything we did in July and August.

I think I last posted after the 4th of July.  Summer Institute continued through July.  It turned out very successful, and we were able to get to know a lot of different students in the area.  In total, we had about 150 different students attend at one or more of the classes.  On July 8, Elder McGuire and I decided to take a break and go to the zoo.  San Diego Zoo is amazing, and since we have season passes, it's great to go for just a short time, knowing you can go back anytime.

At the zoo

In addition to taking care of Summer Institute, we spent time this summer teaching Temple Prep to various students.  We teach during Sunday School time in both of the wards, and then we would meet with students here at the Institute if they had missed lessons. So far, 15 of the students we taught have received their endowments, and we have others who are ready.  Many of them invited us to go to the temple with them, which has been such a joy.

I've been asked to play the piano for several baptisms in our Stake or Zone.  We're always happy to attend those, they are such wonderful occasions.  One of them was for Alexandra, an investigator from "The District" videos.  The church missionary department came and videoed the entire program.

Many of the missionaries we have worked with are completed with their missions and returning home.  When possible, we've tried to take them to lunch for a last goodbye. On July 14, we were able to meet up with Elder Hansen (from Kaysville), and we went to Tacos El Gordo.  We worked with him for a long time in the 1st Ward and really learned to love him.  Can't wait to see him again.

Us with Elder Hansen

Julianne, Natalie, and Kristina came to visit July 15-18.  It was so much fun!  Julianne brought Livy and Kristina brought Henry.  I was able to spend 4 days just doing "girl stuff" - went shopping, to lunch, to church, etc.  It was relaxing and just so much fun.  I love my girls!

Kristina, Julianne, Natalie, and Me - Lunch

Henry and Olivia

Natalie, Me, Kristina, and Julianne

On July 17, while the girls were here, we attended a Fireside by Alex Boye.  It was a great experience for all of the YSA's - they loved him!  Beginning July 18 through August 11, we spent just about every noontime on campus at a booth for campus orientation times. Because we have had so much trouble with getting LDSSA approved on campus, we have turned instead to working with the Campus Religious Council.  Brother Mackay has been very instrumental in organizing this, and it allows us to participate in campus activities as a "group".  It's been very interesting to get to know people who work with other religious groups - Catholics, Jewish, Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians. Hopefully, it gives us a little more "presence" on campus.

We did apartment checks for the Elders on July 21, then attended the temple with another of our Temple Prep students, Joel James.  He left on his mission to Houston the second week of August. On July 23, we helped with a Stake Primary Activity in the morning, a YSA Regional Conference in the afternoon, and had dinner with Elder McNaughton that evening.  (He requested Cafe Rio Salads.)  We worked with Elder McNaughton for a long time in the 1st Ward.

Working at the Pioneer Photo Booth for the Stake Primary Activity

The San Diego YSA 1st Ward had 2 wonderful baptisms - Jesse (July 29), and Tyler (Aug. 6).  On July 30, we attended the Temple with Carmen Rodriguez, who had attended our Summer Institute class and invited us.  She was a single mom who had overcome some really hard times to reach the point of temple worthiness, so it was really rewarding to be there.

On August 1, we had a Senior FHE at the Chula Vista Institute. They have an Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, so the speaker was a young LDS woman who goes there.  She is the Alternate for the Olympics in Archery.  It was so interesting to see what is involved in the training to become an Olympic Athlete.  

Sisters Harris, Moore, Johnson, Parkin, McGuire, Perry, Butterworth, and Richardson

Elders Butterworth, Perry, Moore, Parkin, McGuire, Johnson, Harris, and Richardson

On August 2, we worked at the Temple Information Booth. August 8, we had lunch with Elder McCloy at SoupPlantation.  He was the first missionary we really worked with.  When we arrived, he had been in the YSA 2nd Ward for one week and stayed for about 6 months.  We interacted a lot with him, he sang on several occasions and I accompanied him.  We worked very closely with him with the ward members and investigators and really learned to love him.  He lives in Farmington, so we'll be anxious to see him again.

On Aug. 13, we were in charge of the luncheon for the Regional Seminary Training Meeting (about 80 people).  We started out with yogurt, granola, and parfait sundaes.  Lunch was Ham and Cheese Sliders, Spinach and Strawberry Salad, and Lemon Bars.  We had help from the Perry's, so that was fun.  The following day, we hosted a Regional Fireside on "Self-Reliance".  Brother Price from the Grossmont Institute was our guest speaker.  We had about 45 in attendance. For refreshments, I baked Monster Cookies.

On Monday, Aug. 15, we had our Zone Meeting.  We are really fortunate because most of the zones don't invite their Senior Couples to attend, but the Richardsons, Harris's, and us go to ours.  It's just so delightful to see the hard work of these Elders and Sisters.

Zone 2

On Friday night, Aug. 19, we attended a Barbecue at the Butterworth's for the Parkin's (who left Aug. 23).

Butterworth's, Parkins, Us, Richardson, and Iverson's

Sunday, Aug. 21, we took care of Linger Longer for the 1st Ward since the Bishop was out of town. We plan on 60 in attendance, so I made 4 big crockpots of potato soup.  On Saturday, Aug. 20, to do something different, we had lunch at Lucha Libre.  It's a Mexican Wrestling themed restaurant.  Fun!

Elder McGuire at Lucha Libre

Currently, we're busy preparing for school to start next week.  We attended the temple with Lei on Tuesday.  She was the first baptism we were here for, and she went through the temple on her one year anniversary of her baptism date.  So wonderful to be there for that.  Wednesday, we took a little time to go to the Safari Park.  

What a blessing to be here.  We now see some of the results of our work with these kids.  To see people progress from baptism to going to the temple is amazing.  This is truly the work of the Lord in the last days.  His work is hastening, and we are all called to be a part of it.  The church is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet and we have a prophet now.  Our Savior lives, and has provided a path for all of us to return to live with him.  Of these things I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Summer is going, going ....

Well here we are another month gone and another time for posting.  The time seems to move along quickly, even if we should seem to be not as busy.  Those two sentences were written last week - just goes to show how difficult it is sometimes to get back to posting.  Although it shouldn't be as difficult as I make it.  As of today we only have 18 weeks left in the mission field.  It seems that is such a short time left.  It makes us think that we must step up our efforts to work with these YSAs.  Of course with the semester beginning at the end of this month, we will be much more busy and the time will probably fly by.
I will try to recap the past few weeks as succinctly as I can.  We were blessed to have Kris, Natalie and Julianne come here along with Henry and Olivia.  They stayed from July 15 until July 18.  It was fun to have them here.  Diana enjoyed doing their girl things (I have no idea what those were)!

The field from our seats - pretty nice!

It was an interesting game ending in a balk by the Giants' pitcher in extra innings.  Of course I left before that and watched it while riding home on the trolley.  It was a 50 minute ride each way and I didn't relish getting to bed after midnight.  The next day we were able to go to the San Diego Zoo where we had a nice leisurely visit with the animals.  The Zoo is always a fun place to go and we had a great time.  Sunday they all went with us to the YSA 2nd Ward meetings and the YSAs enjoyed seeing the babies.  Monday we had to say goodbye to them which is always hard - but the visit was great!

The girls outside our front door

We spent time during that week going over to the campus and doing "tabling" with the other religious organizations to welcome incoming freshmen.  It really amounted to watching the Catholics get most of the action while the other religions got a few.  Not only were we limited in the numbers that stopped by to speak with us, but it was hot!!!  Although the walk over to campus was only about 10 minutes, you really felt it.  We aren't used to this heat and humidity even after being here for over a year.  I think Sister McGuire and her hair will appreciate a return to a less humid climate.

On Thursday, July 21 we were privileged to attend the temple with Joel James, a YSA who went through our temple preparation course and was going for his first time.  It is always a blessing to be in the temple, but especially so when you accompany someone for the first time.  Since we began teaching the temple preparation classes we have tried to view the endowment session from the eyes of someone going through for the first time.  It has been very interesting to look for the nuances and the experience it as if it was new to us.  Joel left for the Mexico City MTC recently and will be serving in the San Antonio Texas Mission.

Saturday, July 23 was a busy day.  We started by going to a Pioneer Day celebration sponsored by the San Diego Stake Primary.  They had a bunch of activities for the kids along with a spaghetti lunch.  It was interesting to find out that there were only about 70 children in the entire stake.  That is fewer than in most wards.  It just shows how the stake is populated by an aging general population.  But the kids that came had fun and we manned the photo booth where they could dress up and sit in a cover that looked like a covered wagon.  It was a lot of fun.

The inner courtyard of the chapel for the Primary activity

After that we headed up to a YSA Regional activity that we agreed to help with.  We had planned on only being there for about an hour to sign YSAs in as they came, but it turned into about 3 hours.  It was fun to see many of the students that had participated in Summer Institute and made us realize how much that had helped us to get to know YSAs that were outside of the two wards we deal with.  Summer Institute was really a great success.  We had around 125 YSAs show up during the summer and averaged 55-60 each night.  It was also great to see that they came for the class portion more than for the activity that followed or the small treats that were served.  We had only about 1/3 stay for the activity and that was satisfying because we wanted the class to be the draw.

Following the YSA Conference we headed over to a baptism that Sister McGuire had been asked to play the piano for by Elder McNaughtan.  We always enjoy the opportunity to see baptisms even if we haven't worked with the new member.  It is just a joy of our mission.

Elder McNaughtan on the left

After the baptism we had arranged to have Elder McNaughtan and his companions over for dinner at the Institute as he was leaving the mission field for home on the 26th.  He is a great young man and will continue his education at SUU when he returns.  We definitely miss those missionaries who leave, but hope to continue to have some relationships with them after we leave the mission field.  

Well here I added a whole bunch during the last two days and suddenly it has disappeared!  How I love computers sometimes.  So I will try to recreate it and post this today so that I don't get further behind.  On the 29th we were able to attend the baptism of Yessie Teposte, a very exuberant young lady who accepted readily what she was taught.  She told us her life has changed dramatically since accepting the gospel and is so happy now.

Yessie at the time of her baptism

The next day we were able to go the temple with Carmen Rodriguez for her first time.  Carmen has regularly attended Institute and was so excited to go to the temple.  It really is a blessing to these young people to go to the temple and fortify their testimonies.  She came out of the session with a kind of shocked expression that is so common after the first time.  But she was so grateful to be able to go.

On Monday August 1, we were able to attend the Senior missionary FHE in Chula Vista.  LaNola Pritchard, an alternate US Olympic archer spoke to us.  She has been at the Chula Vista Olympic Training center since she was 17, and now four years later she just missed making the team due to sickness.  It was unfortunate for her, but she told us some faith building experiences that she had during her time in Olympic training.  

LaNola with President Schmitt's youngest child

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday we were able for the first time to spend some time at the Information Booth by the temple.  It was fun to speak with visitors, both members and non-members.  We had several Chinese stop by and were lucky enough to have one of our Chinese converts, Lei Ma, there to speak with some of them.  

On August 6 we attended Tyler Williams baptism.  His is another interesting story as the missionaries say that he was a golden investigator.  He asked a girl he was dating why she was so happy and she introduced him to the missionaries.  He accepted everything and did everything the missionaries asked.  When Elder Schroader baptized him, Tyler hugged him for a couple of minutes and just cried.  He was so overcome with the opportunity to be baptized.  Following the baptism, he bore a strong testimony of the gospel and expressed how much it had changed his life.  The next day he was confirmed a member of the Church by Elder Raleigh and then during testimony meeting again bore his testimony for about 10 minutes.  Very unusual for a new convert.  Without being here in the mission field, we wouldn't be able to have these faith building experiences.  We are so blessed to be here and participate with these fine young missionaries and the YSAs we work with here.  

On August 8 we were able to have lunch with Elder McCloy and his companions since he was due to leave the mission on the 20th.  He is a great young man and has been an excellent missionary.  It is nice that he will return to Farmington close to where we live.  In addition he has agreed to sing at our homecoming which will be wonderful as he has a beautiful voice.  

Elder McCloy next to us with Elder Kunz before he was transferred

 On August 10 we had a mission visit by Elder Mervyn Arnold.  It was an interesting visit for the young missionaries as he focused his presentations directly toward them and preaching the gospel effectively.  Although it didn't have as much for us a senior missionaries, it was great for the young missionaries.  Here's just a small portion of his teaching that really pertained to all of us:  After 30 years your legacy as a missionary lives on.  They know who gave it their best and who didn't.  Obedience is the first law of the gospel.  We ought to be happy about this work and excited.  It should be a happy, joyous time.  Why did the Lord say that obedience is greater than sacrifice?  If you are obedient your spirit is being guided by Christ and the body is being led by the spirit.  When you get rejected it is not you, it is the Savior they are rejecting.  Obedience - then - Sacrifice - then Consecration.

On August 13 we had the opportunity to fix lunch for the Seminary teachers in the area.  Ham and cheese sliders worked wonders - it was easy and tasty.  We spent about 6 hours of that day just getting everything up to the Pegasus building, preparing the meal and cleaning up.  As usual it seems to take it out of us, but then it was a lunch for 80 people!

The 14th brought another activity which we sponsored: a fireside with Brother Price.  He spoke about self-reliance which was an important topic for this age group.  The turnout was good, about 40 people, but the sponsoring ward YSA 2nd only had 2 people there because the youth decided to have a going away party for one of their own around the same time as the fireside.  Needless to say the Bishop was not especially happy.  

Well that is enough for now.  I need to get this posted and I'm sure there will be more for later.  As we look now at less than 4 months left in our mission, we are coming to realize the time is short and we need to make every day a day to do all that we can to support the Institute and the YSAs here. 

I let too much time go by without posting!

Wow, the time slips by and suddenly I'm trying to remember everything we've done!  Even without classes going on this summer, we seem to be busy.  We have been trying to work a little more with the wards and helping the "missionary work" (which means helping wherever we are needed).  So this will be a conglomeration of that.

One of the great blessings of a mission is the relationships you make with the other Senior Missionaries. We have dinner once a month with the CES/YSA group.  We also do "fun things" together. On Memorial Day, we went for a drive to Julian (a "Park City" type place) with the Monks and the Richardsons.

At Julian

CES Missionaries (and friends), having dinner together at La Jolla Institute
Scott's, us, Monks, Richardson's, Perry's, and Tanner's

On the 4th of July, we all went to the USS Midway for the evening, and sat on the flight deck to watch the fireworks.  What a great day, and such fun people!

On the Midway with Sisters Glahn, Moore, Richardson, Monk, Perry, and Parkin

We also feed people - the last 2 months we were in charge of the MLC luncheon (Zone Conference - 50 missionaries). I have been able to work with Sister Richardson, who lives next door.  We get along SO WELL - my husband says I've just about met my match in regards to who can talk the most!  Our two husbands just kind of stand back and do the dishes!  Ha, ha!

Since we're in the same Zone as the Richardson's, we decided to hold a barbecue at our pool for the Zone on their P-Day.  So fun!  We just LOVE being around these young, enthusiastic missionaries. We love going to Zone Meeting, helping them with investigators, helping with baptisms (I usually play the piano), etc.  Elder McGuire and I are lucky because we work closely with two companionships (since we work with two wards.)  We try to have each companionship for dinner (with an investigator) about twice a month. We also try to celebrate their birthdays by making a cake for the ward, etc.

Baptism for Alexandra Thacker

Elder McGuire, the hamburger chef!

We've had a little more time to serve individuals in the ward.  We've taken a couple to the airport, we take George to the Bishop's Storehouse, we provide rides to various things.  Most of these kids have so few resources and no transportation. We are still teaching Temple Prep, and many of our class graduates have been able to receive their endowments.  We just finished teaching a young woman, Nicole Lunde, whose baptism date was July 10 - and she was determined to prepare to attend the temple by then. So we scheduled some extra classes and met here at the Institute individually with her during the week. We have a young man we're meeting with today and tomorrow who has his mission call and is leaving in a month. So he needs a quick Temple Prep course!

The biggest thing we have been working on this summer is the combined Summer Institute that we've had each Tuesday night.  Five stakes are participating, and we have between 50-75 students attend each week.  After class, we have an activity (like volleyball, futsal, etc.) and a treat.  We've gotten to know a lot of new kids, and have had a lot of fun.

Meeting up with one of our Institute students, Teresa, at Chick Fil A

After Summer Institute - Us, Perry's, and Monks (who are leaving this week)

Being a Senior Missionary means doing whatever is needed to help out the mission.  This past month we have worked a day at the Mission Office, helped with mission meals, done vehicle inspections and apartment inspections, and attended broadcasts and mission conferences. We also work with Brother Mackay with whatever he needs done (like clean out closets).  Recently, we've been attending meetings regarding the Pathway Program, and are learning a lot about the directions Church Education programs are going to be going in the future. We've been very fortunate to have several General Authorities visit recently (President Nelson, Elder Holland, Elder Davis, Elder Dube, Elder Hamula), either for the mission or stake conference.  It's been a spiritual feast for us.

Elder McGuire sorting through "stuff" from the custodial closet

For Father's Day, I brought our two sons, Billy and Bobby here to play golf with their dad for a couple of days.  It was so fun to have them here, and I think Elder McGuire really enjoyed it.

Bobby, Elder McGuire, and Billy

My brother, Dan and his wife, along with his daughter, Lori and some of her children, came to visit and have lunch together.  It was so good to see them!  Lori lives in Orange County, and Dan was there for her oldest daughter, Marie's, graduation.  

With Dan his family

We are enjoying our new apartment!  It's a lot cooler and more comfortable.  

Outside of our front door.  Just relaxing and reading!

We are enjoying our mission so much!  We love the people, we love the immersion in the gospel, we love seeing the conversion and life changing process, we love the Spirit of it, we love the other missionaries, and we love the Savior.  We're so grateful that we've been able to do this, and are so grateful for the support we feel from our friends and family.  We are grateful for the prayers offered in our behalf, because we know they sustain us in health, energy, and safety. The time is passing way too quickly, and it's hard to believe that we're in the last stretch here.  Our hearts will never be the same!

Here we go again

It's a month later and the post must be made.  I delay as long as possible even if I seem to have more time.  The days seem to go by anyway without me accomplishing everything that needs to be done.  I thought it might be nice to post some of the notes I made for the visiting general authorities we have recently had.  Let me start with President Nelson.  He came to the San Diego Stake Conference on May 14-15.  As was mentioned in the last post, the YSA Ward fixed dinner for him and then listened to the adult session and the next day for the general session.  So here are some of the highlights:

President Russell M. Nelson

Why did we make an emphasis on keeping the Sabbath day holy?  One thing is to distinguish the people of God.   It is a symbol of our devotion to God.  Exodus 31:13;  Ezekiel 20:20.  By turning the children to the scriptures we start something that will be perpetuated in our families.  We are to be a covenant keeping people; the world has forgotten that but we have not. 

A nurse he worked with during the war wondered why he was so different from other doctors.  “I don't know if I am but if so it is because of the Book of Mormon.”  He gave her a copy and her husband, a doctor, brought it back a couple days later and threw it on the table – President Nelson said “You haven't read it have you.  You can have it back and return it after you have read it.”  Later he brought it back reverently saying they knew it was true.  They were both baptized.
As the Anointed One Jesus was given two titles: the Christ in Greek, the Messiah in Hebrew. The resurrection is an unconditional gift while eternal life is a conditional gift - earned through obedience and covenants.  He is our creator and advocate with the Father.

Men are that they might have joy.   2 Nephi 2:25

We have the great opportunity to have a body.  Our bodies heal themselves due to the great healing power God gave us.  We are here for just a short period of time to have a soul that returns to our Father.  Father wants to hear from you morning and night. 

If you want more joy in your life get to know Jesus Christ.  We make our oath to the Lord by taking the sacrament.  We agree to remember him. 

Read the Book of Mormon.  Pay attention to the prophets.  Learn the word of the Lord and you will find more joy in your life.  God took a bright, young and foreordained young man to restore his gospel.  He translated the entire Book of Mormon in 3 months.  One page per day is a rate for a good translator; Joseph did 9 pages a day. 

If you want more joy in your life understand the power of a priesthood blessing. 

If you want more joy in life be a missionary.  Be a connecting link between your friends and the missionaries. 

If you want more joy in your life work in the temple and do your family history.  If you want more joy in your life keep the Word of Wisdom.   

 If you want to lose joy and find utter despair find pornography.

If you want joy; keep learning.  Be good citizens. 

If you want more joy serve other people.  There is something magic about service.
Your joy will be full in the next life as you become like God.

It was truly a wonderful experience to listen to him.  

We were pleased to have Elder Jeffrey Holland visit the mission on the 27th of May.  He was in town to meet with the Boy Scouts of America at a conference and decided to meet with the missionaries.  We were blessed to listen to him for over two hours as he told the missionaries his feelings about the work they were doing.  One thing cam across crystal clear: the most important convert for each of them was themselves.  He stressed the need to leave the mission and not step back but move forward with their conversion.  Here's a glimpse of what he said:

Elder Holland

Joyful and serious in the work is a good combination.
There is no fictitious church leadership ladder.  Every calling is important, but it is really who you are not what calling you hold that is important.  God will want to know who we are in our heart.  You cannot imagine what wonderful things God has in store for you.  It has nothing to do with money, position or status in the community for you. 

 I want you to love everyday of your mission; cherish it whether good or bad, etc. Story of the athlete in southern Utah who went to church at 16 when he hadn't been active and was met by a friend who said that he was there because he must have lost a game.  He left and never came back. He told Elder Holland that even though he had come back and is a High Priest, he missed 50 years of activity.  He felt sad that he never had the opportunity to tell his children and grandchildren about his mission because he failed to serve.
During the period of your mission you are called to the same service as Apostles by preaching of Christ in an apostolic manner.  All days are good, even the bad days - maybe they are the best of all.

Maybe it takes more faith to not be healed.  The most important thing in this whole world is the salvation of a human soul.  I can't stand for those who don't get it!  The first thing that must be done in the temple is the law of obedience.  Nothing else occurs before that. You are the most important convert that you can make.  I cannot live with a returned missionary who goes back and claims he will return to real life.  This is real life - the church is where it is.  Your role after your mission is the same, you cannot go back to something else.  You must go forward.  You are God’s investigators.  There is no going back.  You will be faithful to this forever.  We cannot lose the shepherds of the Lord.  The ultimate measure of your mission’s success is your ability to stay active and steadfast.
Preach my Gospel was born when Pres. Hinckley said "there is something wrong with the missionary program of the Church." 2001.  Be a little bit bold, not obnoxious but bold.  Story of Wallace Toronto in Czechoslovakia.  A woman had lost a child and her minister said she and her child were in hell because the child had not been baptized.  There was no lesson for Moroni 8.  You can't write enough lessons for everything that comes out.  The object of Preach my Gospel is to convert you not the leap to merely convert others.
The capacity of love is a gift.  Read Moroni 7 one of the greatest chapters of all scripture.  A gift for a certain kind of life.  Add Ether 12 - pure love of Christ has only existed once in this world.
Helaman 5 scripture that it was given what to say and how to say it.
D&C 50:13-14 preach my gospel by the spirit.
The ability to love others comes from the knowledge that God loves me.  The first great commandment is to love God, but the first universal truth is that God loves us.
Learn to love the Book of Mormon.  It is the keystone of our faith. Section 5 /God insisted that the Book of Mormon be the first thing that Joseph should be doing.  It is not coincidental that the Book of Mormon was published on March 26, 1830 and the church was organized on April 6.
3 Nephi 21 - you may know when they are about to take place - the book will come forth to the Gentiles.  The first vision was the private sign of the 2nd coming - the Book of Mormon was the public sign of the 2nd Coming commencement.  Find your teachings in the B of M, use all the scriptures, but lean upon the B of M.

From President Schmitt:

TEACHINGS OF ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND:

Here are just a few favorite one-liners from Elder Holland's visit. Please take time to carefully and prayerfully digest your notes and, most importantly, what the Spirit taught you.

• “Joyful but serious” – that’s a good combination in missionary work.
• “All service in the Church is lateral.” It is not vertical. God loves the Nursery worker just as much as He loves President Monson.
• I want you to love every minute of your mission; to cherish your mission.  
• “This is your apostolic moment.” You are “little a” apostles. You are doing work as close to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency as you will ever have.
• “The most important thing in the universe is the salvation of a human soul.”  
• “Obedience is the first law of everything. Agency exercised in the act of obedience.”  
• “You do it God’s way.” and say “Lord, I accept and do it your way.”  
• When you are obedient, “that leads to the Holy Spirit.” “This is the way you work miracles.”  
• “You are obedient all the time, with exactness, to the extent you can be.”
• I cannot promise you any number of other converts, but I promise and demand at least one convert – yourself. You are the most important convert.
• “You are to go home and be faithful to this (Gospel/Church) for the rest of your life.”
• “You can never go back to what you were before!”
• “You are God’s investigators and He is teaching you lessons.”
• “There is no going back!”
• “Let’s be persistent.”
• We need to get the lessons and doctrine from the head to the heart.
• We want you to have this in your soul!
o People do not know how much you care until they know how much you love.
o We have a concern about the trajectory of a missionary. You leave the MTC skyrocketing upward, then it often flattens out at 6 months and may even begin to decrease. Your trajectory should never flatten out or decrease!
• I want you to love the Book of Mormon!
• Work hard. Love every minute of it.

I put this in here to memorialize it more for me than other readers, but hopefully it will be of importance to anyone reading this.

On Saturday, May 28 we had the opportunity to attend another baptism; this one of Allen Leow.  Allen is from China but has been here several years.  His English is broken, but he is now studying for his GED.  He has been very receptive to the gospel and has been extremely active since his baptism.  As usual Sister McGuire played the piano and the baptism was well attended by the 2nd Ward members.  

The next day we had one of the Naval members of the ward call us, Shaun Jury.  He was in Singapore and feeling lonely.  We later learned that he had called the Bishop and several other people.  Shaun was struggling as he is the only member on the submarine and needed to be strengthened.  Diana had sent him an email earlier in the week and he appreciated the support.  

Later that night we went to a Pathway meeting to plan on how to get the word out to YSAs and others about that program.  It is a unique program run through BYU-I which allows students to take online courses for credit with the end hope of getting into BYU-I or some other college.  It is inexpensive and includes some general courses of English, Math and religion.  We have subsequently learned that this is the tip of the iceberg for education for the Church.  There are plans to provide education from 7th grade up to a Master's Degree all being organized through the Institutes of Religion which will provide education in a religious as well as a secular context.  With the way the world is pushing some things into education that create some teachings and circumstances that are contrary to the gospel, it is understandable that such a vision can be of real benefit to members of the church.

On Memorial Day we got together with our neighbors the Richardsons and the Monks to drive up to Julian for a few hours.  The ride was nice and Julian was a quaint two block long main street town that is famous for their apple pie.  We enjoyed just looking around the town and eating lunch there. 

On June 3rd, we had the pleasure of having another general authority visit the mission - Elder Hamula.  I will include my notes from his visit as well.  The Richardsons and us prepared the luncheon following and made Hawaiian Haystacks.  Only problem - the rice tripped a fuse and we had to scurry to get some rice made.  It all worked out okay though.  This is one of the things we senior missionaries share in - making lunches for the Mission Leadership Conferences as well as lunches for departing and arriving missionaries.  It is really a fun time to prepare and spend some time with them.  We're already slotted to do another lunch on July 1.  

 Elder Hamula

It doesn't matter where you go - this will always be sacred ground for you.
Joseph Smith - I never told you I was perfect, but there is no error in the revelations.
Spiritual sobriety allows you to see what others cannot, e.g., the signs of the times. You must have the quietness that allows you to hear the still small voice.  When you are sober you are quick to understand.
The doctrine of you.  Only when you can understand who you are can you really preach about the doctrine of Christ.
The name of Christ means 3 things - you take upon yourself his identity, you are witnessing his identity.  To be him to the people you are sent.  People can see Him through you.  The Apostles are "special witnesses of his name.  Second, when you take upon you his name; you are to take upon yourself his work - the salvation of souls.  You serve until you can't ever more.  Third, his authority or power.  You assume whatever power and authority that name has.
The difference in the Apostles and the Seventy is that though they all have collectively the same authority, the 12 have the power (keys) and the Seventy do not.
Who we are - Abraham 3:18 - we are eternal beings.  We have enough of the past and enough of the future to understand the things we are going through now.  Intelligence in the scriptural sense is light and truth(93rd section).  Why might one have more intelligence that another.  Why - section 130:18-19.  Knowledge and light is directly connected to diligence and obedience.  Perfect knowledge comes through the diligent pursuit of duty.  Christ reveals himself to us only at the end of our pursuit.

On Saturday, June 4th, we had another baptism - Alexandra Thacker.  She had been coming to church for some time but had not committed to be baptized until recently.  She decided it was time and she finished the lessons with the missionaries and was baptized.  It is interesting that at Allen's baptism the missionaries asked for someone to bear their testimony about the Book of Mormon; Alex was present and got up and bore a very nice testimony of the Book of Mormon.  It is always wonderful to see people accept the gospel and decide to be baptized.  Happiness is always evident in that person as well as those who are present at the baptism.  

On Sunday, June 5th we were able to celebrate Elder Kunz's nineteenth birthday with the members of the 2nd Ward.  Sister Goff provided a large cake and we took the above picture.  Amazing that elders now celebrate their 19th birthdays in the mission field!  Elder Kunz is in the red tie in the middle of the picture.

One of the fun things that Senior Missionaries do is get together for various activities.  Each first Monday we join in an FHE.  This often happens at the Mormon Battalion due to its availability and location.  On June 6th we met there and had a great speaker who had worked for the Church Historian and at BYU.  He gave us some interesting stories about the Mormon Battalion that were often not told.  We always seem to stay for a good period of time after the end of the FHE just to visit and enjoy each others company.  We often have extra interaction with the CES and YSA Senior Missionaries, but the others, Military Relations, Mormon Battalion and Member Leader Support, we only see at FHEs and meetings for all the missionaries in the mission.  These are great people giving of themselves willingly.  

Some of our CES/YSA missionaries are leaving soon: the Scotts and the Monks.  As such we wanted to get together with some of those senior missionaries who had worked closely with them.  We get together once a month generally on the third Friday of each month.  This time we decided to have it on June 17th at the La Jolla Institute where Scotts' are working.  We got there early and walked down to Black's Beach.  It is surrounded by some steep cliffs and the walk down is fairly steep.  Luckily we got in cars for the ride back up.  

Walking down to the beach

A pretty view of the beach

Looking down toward Black's beach from the bluff

After walking around on the beach for a while we went for a quick drive to see the large and expensive homes around the area.  We then went on top of bluffs to look down toward the beach.  

A good looking group - Sister McGuire, E. Richardson, E. Scott, S. Richardson, the Perrys, the Monks and S. Scott

UCSD chancellor's home

Owner of Ralph's home

It was fun to gather together at the top and look across at the large home that was built for the owner of Ralph's grocery store chain and the head of the University of California San Diego.  After the fun we got together to eat and socialize.  It was a great evening.

We have been having Summer Institute since June 7.  It meets at a stake center and YSAs from four stakes are invited.  There is a lesson for about 1 1/2 hours and then an activity and small treat.  It has drawn between 60 to 70 each evening and the total number attending at least once has been about 108.  Activities have included tarp surfing, volleyball and futsal (indoor soccer), with games on the side.  Treats have included soda, ice cream sandwiches and watermelon.  As I write this we are planning to have another lesson tonight with dodge ball as the activity along with root beer floats.  So far we have regarded it as a success.  We just hope that it continues as the classes go through next month. 

On the 21st we were able to invite the Zone of missionaries that we work with over for a barbecue at the RV Resort.  I was the only Senior Elder our of the three of us in the Zone that knew how to barbecue so I got the pleasure of spending the entire time cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  Notwithstanding that we had a great time with the missionaries.  It was fun to get together with them.

On Thursday we picked up Billy and Bobby from the airport for my Father's Day gift of having them there to play golf for two days.  Friday we played Steele Canyon and Saturday Coronado.  It was great to be with them, but over a year of not playing golf had taken its toll on me.  I played some of the worst golf in my life.  But it was just good to have them here and have guy time with them.  

The three of us at Steele Canyon

We spent a couple of days of car inspections.  Boy are these missionaries lucky they have such competent people making sure they are safe!  Actually lucky for me that they don't require a lot from us in doing that inspection.  Then on Friday July 1st we prepared lunch for the mission leaders.  Around 50 came and were well fed with Cafe Rio.  They really like that dish and it has been requested on numerous occasions since Sister McGuire did it last time.  It requires a little more effort, but the satisfied look on their faces and the depletion of all the meat made it worth it.  

The 4th of July was a busy day for us.  It began with a Zone Meeting in the morning and then a barbecue with the 2nd Ward.  We then began what was the unforgettable part of the day as we caught the trolley with the Richardsons and the Monks to head down to the USS Midway for fireworks.  Our four o'clock train arrived downtown at about five and we walked over to the Midway where we waited to board.  Just before six we were able to go on top of the flight deck.  It was a lot of fun!  They had a live band playing some good music and we enjoyed visiting with each other.  Later the Perrys, Moores, Sister Parkin and the Glahns joined us.  It was a great time just waiting for the fireworks to begin.  Around 9 o'clock the fireworks started and they were right over us.  It was amazing!  And worth all the time that we had waited.  It will truly be a very unforgettable experience.  

The gals waiting and mugging for the camera

Elders Perry, Richardson and Glahn

Well, enough is enough and so I will end my post.  This mission has been a blessing in our lives.  We have learned the importance of being actively involved in the spreading of the gospel.  Our service has enriched our lives and brought us closer to our Savior and our Father.  We encourage all to set a goal of serving some kind of a mission, whether away from home or near, so that you can gain the blessings of the Spirit in your life.