November 2, 2014

Jim and Roger

Another great week!  It just flew by - again.  Monday was a great day.  It started with a visit to one of the Marines that we got to interview for the Mormon Battalion Flag day ceremony.  Jim Gulardi really impressed me as we spoke with him.  He changed me and my respect for those who serve us to keep us free and safe.  We went to him beautiful home in Oceanside and visited with him and he then took us to lunch and a wonderful "mom and pop" place close to his home.  He will be getting married in a few months and invited us to come to the wedding if things work out.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and look forward to meeting his fiancé.  We then took off for an afternoon in San Clemente.  It almost felt like going "home".  We got to eat at Fisherman's Restaurant and get Roger's free meal for his birthday.  It was a nice rest from the non-stop days and evenings that we have had and were looking forward to for the rest of the week.

View from the restaurant

Sunsets while eating....

Us!

The set of Bright Star

Tuesday was the arrival of new missionaries - 11 in all the departure of 14 missionaries.  Wednesday was transfer day.  It is a crazy day which leads to a crazy week.  I was able to go to the airport and pick up two SL Temple Square sister missionaries as they come to serve here for two transfers.  What darling girls!  One is from Italy.  She is a professional dancer and felt impressed that she was supposed to come on a mission.  She left a very successful dancing career to serve a mission.  She told me her story and I was in tears along with her.  The other sister missionary is from Chile.  She was in the end of her year long training to take the Medical aptitude test in Chile.  Her scores on that test get her right in to medical school and how well she does affects the price she pays and which school she goes to.  She decided that she was to go on a mission and was so afraid to tell her parents.  They had paid for her to go to the training and were so proud of her.  She finally got the courage to go tell her father after much fasting and prayer.  When they sat down to talk he told her that he already knew what she was going to say.  He had had the same impressions that she had and was even more proud of her that she was willing to go and serve.  

We spent the rest of this week putting together new phone lists, getting missionaries into new apartments etc.  Everything didn't go really smoothly but it was Salt Lake's problem not ours this time!  

 Tuesday, Friday and Saturday we had the opportunity to usher three different plays.  We usually have to arrive about an hour and a half early before the play starts and we are able to sit and talk with the other ushers.  It has been a great way to get to know so many wonderful people.  Then we usher the people into the play for about a half hour.  They then tell us to find the closest seat to the front and to sit down and enjoy the play!  Oh such horrible work.  I guess some times when the plays aren't that good it is a bit of a sacrifice but most of the time it is so wonderful.  

Hunchback set

This week hit the jackpot!  Two of the three plays were the best I have ever seen.  Tuesday's play was Bright Star and was a musical.  It was full of Blue Grass music, the best little fiddler you have ever heard and a wonderful story with beautiful voices!  We loved it.  I felt like jumping up and dancing every now and then - but you will be glad to know - I didn't.  Bright Star will move to New Jersey in a few weeks and then they are talking Broadway.  It was wonderful.

Friday was another play that will for sure be on Broadway.  It was The Hunchback of Notre Dam,  I didn't think anything could beat Bright Star but this one was just as good or better.  Hunchback was in the La Jolla Theatre on SDSU campus.  Alan Menken is the composer of the music and is noted for Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Newsies and more.  It is done in collaboration with Disney.  We loved it and so did the audience.  What a treat.  The play on Saturday was The Royale, the story of Jack Johnson, the first black boxing world champion.  It was good but not on the order of the other two.  We can usually get in to good conversations with those we usher with and are able to invite and share while with them.  What a great opportunity we have to do this! 

Thursday was our regular scripture study class but the home we usually have it in wasn't available this week.  We decided that we would have it in our little apartment and it was really nice to have it here.  We didn't have to leave and they all came to us.  It was nice to fill our place with those good people and the Spirit.  One of the ladies brought goodies so we sat around for quite awhile after and talked.  It was a great evening with a great Spirit.  Our missionaries were there, a newly baptized member, a reactivated member, a member who we are trying to activate and a few other active members.  

Elder Soffe and his "Mad
Scientist" costume.

Sister Knorr made a fun
dessert

Halloween day was good but I have to admit that I was officially HOMESICK as I saw all of the darling grandkids - and kids in their Halloween costumes.  I loved it but wished so badly that I could transport home for a few hours!  The missionaries that serve in the area of the mission office, quickly become great friends.  One of them had a birthday so we had lunch for him.  We made Navajo Tacos and they tasted so good.  

Navajo Tacos!

Missionaries are told to stay
dressed as missionaries.
Creativity helps to have
fun anyway!

Saturday was another baptism!  Julie Stivers was baptized.  Julie asked me to say the opening prayer and that was nice.  We invited the Relief Society sisters to provide the refreshments for the baptism and that turned out really nice.  We had lots of great food and many of the sisters in the ward then came to the baptism.  The real trick comes now when we have to depend on the ward to fellowship and include Julie in the ward.  That is where so many people are lost.  We were pleased with the amount of people that showed up to see Julie join our ward family.  Happy day.  

It is amazing how quickly the days go by. We are busy all day and most of the evenings and it surprises me that we really can do it all. I love it when we can get an evening off to just be in our little apartment together. But I also love that we don't sit home all evening on a regular basis. We love our mission!